09-07-2007, 09:39 PM
Quote:So you mean to say that the Jews at that time used to count 24 hours day as only part of the day, am I right? so Jesus entered the grave on <b>Friday night</b>, it is counted as <b>one day</b>, then he stayed the whole day of Saturday, and so it was also counted as another day, then the tomb was empty on <b>Sunday morning</b>, and yet it was also counted as a <b>whole day</b>? For the sake of discussion, I would agree, but how about the <b>THREE NIGHTS</b>? How they were calculated? <i>Please remember that on Sunday, Jesus was not found to be in his tomb early morning, so there was no night at all on that day to be counted!!!</i>
Quote:No 2. What is so miraculous for Jesus to stay in the grave for this period of time? for me the miracle is, that after all what Jesus have suffered before and during the alleged crucifixion, we expect him to die, if he died, then there is no miracle here, but if he didn’t, then that is the miracle/sign that he was talking about, because Jonah after he was thrown into the sea, eaten by a whale, remained for three days and three nights in the belly of that whale, we expect him to die, but he didn’t, and that is a miracle indeed, and what did Jesus say? For as Jonah was, so shall the son of man be. (<i>The Arabic translation of this verse is even clearer, it uses the word HAKAZA, which means <b>JUST LIKE THAT</b>, what happened to Jonah is going to happen to me, HAKAZA, just like that</i>)
No, they didn't believe that he was alive, <b>they thought that he died</b>, but when he visited them in the upper room, he proved more than 15 times that he was alive and never experience death, but let us first solve the problem of Jonah before talking about whether Jesus really crucified and died or not.
Salam
Wael.
Quote:Alsalam alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh...
The issue of what really happened to Christ has always really puzzled me. AlShamms, I get your point about the three days not being twenty-four hours. Your argument is logical in my opinion, but I don't feel that you have addressed Wael's main point: Christ was dead for three days, while Johan was alive for three days.
Rising from the dead is a miracle, I will agree with you there. Being dead for three days isn't a miracle though. Jonah was alive for that long. I'm afraid that the miracles aren't really similar at all.
Peace....
I will answer both your questions and comments in the same post.
In order to understand how Jonah's ordeal links him to Christ we have to look at his situation the way he saw it. Being in the belly of the fish was to Jonah being dead as evidenced in Jonah 2:2:
(Jonah 2:2) And he said, I cried out to Jehovah from my distress. And He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help, and You heard my voice.
"Sheol" is the Hebrew word for the grave. Brown, Drivers Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon defines "sheol" as:
1) sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit
1a) the underworld
1b) Sheol - the OT designation for the abode of the dead
1b1) place of no return
1b2) without praise of God
1b3) wicked sent there for punishment
1b4) righteous not abandoned to it
1b5) of the place of exile (figuratively)
1b6) of extreme degradation in sin
Because Jonah viewed himself as being dead, his being thrown from the belly of the fish can be viewed as a resurrection as evidenced in verse six:
(Jonah 2:6) I went down to the bases of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever. But You brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God.
Pit in this verse is the Hebrew word "shachath" and means:
1) pit, destruction, grave
1a) pit (for catching lions)
1b) pit (of Hell)
Here is where we enter the realm of faith and see that Jonah's trial is a foretelling of what Jesus Christ would suffer as he said he would. Hopefully this clears up how the co-relation is drawn between Jonah and Jesus Christ.
Shamms