Prophecy of Three Days and Three Nights: The Sign of Messiah
To understand Yeshua’s prophetic words concerning the Prophecy of Three Days and Three Nights, we need to go back to the source and see what He could have possibly meant when He made this statement before the Pharisees that He would be “buried for three days and three nights”. This study is a continuation of the study in the article The Sign of Jonah the Prophet.
We will read from the Book of Yonah Chapter 2.
Yonah the Prophet was sent by YHVH to witness to Nineveh the great city and cry out against it, because their evil has come up before Him.
Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, the worst enemy of Israel, where YHVH sent Yonah (Jonah) to preach repentance. But because of fear of the Assyrians, Yonah flew from the presence of YHVH (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 9:10:2).
He rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of YHVH, and went down to Yapho, and found a ship going to Tarshish. YHVH sent out a great storm, so that the seamen were afraid and after they found out that Yonah must be the cause of the great storm, they threw him out of the ship.
But YHVH prepared a great fish to swallow up Yonah. And the great fish swallowed up Yonah and he was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Then Yonah prayed to YHVH out of the fish’s belly and YHVH spoke to the fish to vomit out Yonah on the dry land.
This means that Yonah actually died, and his spirit prayed to the Lord. After three days and three nights, YHVH raised Yonah from the dead.
Three Days and Three Nights: The sign of the Messiah
Yeshua was doing the miracles of healing and casting demons and the religious leaders asked Him to give any proof that He was sent from heaven. And He gave them one sign that He was the Messiah: the prophecy of three days and three nights–the sign of Yonah.
An evil and wicked generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Yonah. For as he was three days and three nights in the bowels of the fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, buried for three days and three nights. (Mat 12:38-40 Hebrew Gospel of Matthew by George Howard, Mercer University Press, 1995)
As Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so will the son of man be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, and to be even more affirmative He added “buried for three days and three nights“. Thus, Yeshua predicted his own death but also resurrection in three days and three nights.
Who can count to 3?
In the Christian religion, it is believed that Jesus died on “Good Friday” evening (say around 6 pm) and resurrected on “Easter Sunday” morning (say 6 am). This means that Yeshua was dead in the tomb for 36 hours or a day and a half.
But, did the Son of Elohim not say, “buried for three days and three nights“? Are there not 72 hours in three days and three nights? And because there are indeed 72 hours in three days and three nights, why do the Christian theologians keep on teaching this nonsense, and why do the laymen still believe in it?
But the sign of Yonah which Yeshua gave us testifies that he would be dead for three days and three nights (72 hours) and resurrected on the third day, not in a day and a half between “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday”.
Sadly, “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday” became “holidays” in Christianity, along with “Christmas“, “St. Valentine’s Day”, etc.
So, how can we explain this controversy? Is there any contradiction in the Messiah’s words about his own death and resurrection, or there is something we misunderstand in the Scripture? This is not something we have to explain but those who believe in the “Good Friday and Easter Sunday” controversy.
As a matter of fact, there is no contradiction at all, because Yeshua had not even mentioned in any way “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday”; such terms do not even exist in the Scripture.
So, what seems to be the issue here?
The answer, according to the creation story, begins with the understanding that a day is defined by the Creator Himself from sunset to sunset, not from midnight to midnight. In other words, the day does not begin at midnight, but at sunset.
The next issue is that the Church has adopted pagan names for the days of the week and for the months, and what is known today as “Christian Calendar” is actually the ancient Roman calendar, which Julius Caesar adopted from the Greek astronomers in Alexandria, Egypt, and modified it (known as the Julian Calendar).
The Julian Calendar was further adjusted and renamed after Pope Gregory XIII to become the Gregorian Calendar; today this is the official calendar of the Church.
But more information on this controversy, refer to the article Pagan names in the calendar.
Thus, today’s laymen in the Church are totally disconnected from the Creator’s Calendar and His appointed times that they cannot even count to 3.
The truth of Three Days and Three Nights
Let us learn to count to 3.
The first day of the week or what it is called today Sunday begins at Saturday evening at sunset. Counting backwards three days and three nights (72 hours) will bring us to Wednesday evening.
Therefore we see that Yeshua did not die on “Good Friday” and resurrected on “Easter Sunday”, according to the Christian theology, but was buried on the fourth day of the week (Wednesday) evening and resurrected on the seventh day, the Sabbath Day of YHVH, (Saturday) evening.
Only in this case the very words of the Messiah come to fulfillment. Everything else is from paganism.
Navah
May we merit seeing the coming of our Mashiach speedily in our days.