Shalom,
I feel very strongly that if the sign of Yonah does not mean three days and three nights (or 72 hours) in the grave, we should have a clear and concise understanding of what this sign truly meant. I know for the former understanding verses 39 and 40 have been singled out without consideration of verses 41 and 42. Also for the former understanding verses 39 and 40 are applied to the now and a physical understanding of three days and three nights. Yet verses 41 and 42 speak of a time of judgment with two examples, the men of Nineweh and the sovereigness of the south. Both of these examples are referring to a time, not in the now, when He said it, but a time in the future, which so far has been some 2,000 years. The day for a thousand year application" 2 Kepha 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with Yahuah as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
I would like to repost the example from a previous post " One example of a twist of Yahuah's word.
Genesis 2: 16-17:
16 And Yahuah Elohim commanded the man, saying, "Eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall certainly die.
Hasatan said:
Genesis 3:4-5:
4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You shall certainly not die. 5 "For Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.
So, hasatan was right ? ; because they did not die on that physical 24-hour day. Yet, Yahuah's words hold true, in that they did die in that day. So we know Adam lived to be 930-years-old, he did not live beyond the 1,000 year or millennial day. He did die in that day. The thing is, if we only look at it through a physical understanding of what a day is then we could be led to conclude that the Scriptures are false from the beginning.
I feel very confident that we can apply this same rule for the sign of Yonah. First of all, let's get an understanding of the phrase "Heart of the earth". Let's consider MattithYahu 11:1 through 13:52. All these events had taken place on the same day. Its interesting to note that 11:20-24 are dealing with repentance and the day of judgement. Going on over to 12:41-42 directly after the sign of Yonah, here again Yahusha speaks of repentance and judgement.
So let's examine that phrase: �heart of the earth" HEART
#2588 " kardia
1) the heart
A) that organ in the animal body which is the center of the circulation of he blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life.
B) denotes the center of all physical and spiritual life
1) the vigor and sense of physical life
2) the center and seat of spiritual life
a) the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors
b) of the understanding, the faculty and seat of the intelligence
c) of the will and character
d) of the soul so far as it is affected and stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions
C) of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate
Just by looking at the definition alone, there is absolutely no indication that the heart is ever representative of death, or the grave. On the contrary the heart represents life or seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors; which is quite clearly taught in Scripture. Proverbs 27:19-2019 As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reflects a man. 20 The grave and destruction are not satisfied; So the eyes of man are not satisfied.
Notice that the man's heart reflects the man and the grave and destruction are likened to the eyes. Proverbs 21:2: 2 All a man's ways are right in his own eyes, But YAHUAH weighs the hearts.
Proverbs 14:12 12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Yahusha explained the heart right before the Scribes and Pharisees asked for the sign.
Matt. 12:34-35: 34 Brood of adders! How are you able to speak what is good " being wicked?
For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 35 "The good man brings forth what is good from the good treasures of his heart, and the wicked man brings forth what is wicked from the wicked treasure.
I believe fully that this should be the context in which the heart should be taken. I mean, think about it, He just said this right before he gave the wicked and adulterous generation the sign, or parable, or Yonah. Matt. 6:21: 21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.
So if your treasure is Yahusha, there your heart shall be also. This is one of the keys to understanding that the heart of man is where He will be spending the three days and three nights. Matt: 13:15: 15 for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.'
EARTH
#1093 " ge
1) arable land
2) the ground, the earth as a standing place
3) the main land as opposed to the sea or water
4) the earth as a whole
A) the earth as opposed to the heavens
B) the inhabited earth, the abode of men and animals
5) a country, land enclosed within fixed boundaries, a tract of land, territory, or region
Although in the definition of earth it does not refer to the grave, we do know that the physical grave is in the dirt of the earth. So let us go to the Scriptures to get a contextual understanding of the earth. Genesis 1:7 7 And Yahuah Elohim formed the man out of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils breath of life. And the man became a living being.
Genesis 3:14 14 And Yahuah Elohim said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you are to go, and eat dust all the days of your life.
This is one of the oldest Scriptural understandings there are. It is fact that humans are literally made from the dust of the ground " or earth. Clearly in 3:14 this is where Yahuah had given the adversary the ability to inhabit the humans. Genesis 3:19 19 "By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.
Yahusha elaborates on this with the parable of the sower and the seed. Notice verse 13:1 states that it was the same day in which the sign of Yonah was discussed. Yahusha goes on to explain this parable to His taught ones in 13:19-23.
(This is another key to understanding the heart of the earth ~)Matt. 13:19-23 19 "When anyone hears the word of the reign, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was
sown in his heart . This is that sown by the wayside. 20 "And that sown on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived, and when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 "And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless. 23 "And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields " some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
This parable is very clear. Yahusha is saying that we are earth, described by the types of soils in which the seeds are sown; indicating them to be sown in the heart. This one parable here can conclusively give the understanding of "Heart of the earth" for all of the elements are there. So with all this taken into consideration, I will try to explain the "AlternativE" understanding ~
First of all, let us consider the Body of Messiah. We know Yahusha is the head of the body, and His body is made up of the members, or the body parts. Yahusha was raised the third day, in like manner the Body of Messiah will also be raised on the third day, but this third day has the millennial context. Hoshea 6:2: "After two days He shall revive us, on the third day He shall raise us up, so that we live before Him.
This is very reminiscent of the sufferings for Messiah in which He endured until He was raised up on the third day. In other words those who believe in Messiah spending two days or two thousand years suffering hardships, trials, and persecutions to be raised up on the third day as the Messiah rose from the dead on the third day. Rev. 20:4-6 4 And I saw thrones " and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them " and the lives of those who had been beheaded because of the witness they bore to Yahusha and because of the Word of Elohim, and who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not receive his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. And they lived and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years 5 (and the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended) " this is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
So we can conclude that the third day spoken of in Hoshea is the same thousand year period that is spoken of here in Revelation; which is referred to as the third day in Hoshea. Now by using simple math we can conclude that it has been approximately 2,000 years since Messiah gave us a renewed covenant or two days. Now when He returns that will put us in the third day that will carry us through to the end of the millennium, in which the prophecy in YirmeYahu will be fulfilled or completed. YirmeYahu 31: 31-34 31 "See, the days are coming, declares YAHUAH, "When I shall make a new covenant with the house of Yisra'el and with the house of Yehudah, 32 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, declares YAHUAH. 33 "For this is the covenant I shall make with the house of Yisra'el after those days, declares YAHUAH:
I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. 34
"And no longer shall they teach, each one his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know YAHUAH,' for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares YAHUAH. "For I shall forgive their crookedness, and remember their sin no more.
Now let us remember what took place on the road to Ammaus, and what Yahusha did ~
Luke 24: 25-27 25 And He said to them, "O thoughtless ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 "Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these and to enter into His esteem? 27 And beginning at Mosheh and all the Prophets, He was explaining to them in all the Scriptures the matters concerning Himself.
Notice Yahusha began with Mosheh, �the Torah", and the prophets and explained how they concerned Him. Yahusha was explaining the Word and it was being sown in their hearts, which is exactly what will take place during the millennium. The Word, Yahusha, will be written on their hearts. This will take place not only now, but during the millennial period in which Yahusha returns continuing through the entire third day. Yahusha will continue to be in the heart of the earth, culminating at the end of the seventh day millennial rest period in which the eighth day will be ushered in, a day of new beginnings in which there will be a new heaven and a new earth. YeshaYahu 65:17 17 "For look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to heart.
This Scripture here is the one that takes us to the end of the third day in the sign, or parable, of Yonah.
~ Greg