Jesus died on the cross and went to Hell forever according to the thinking of the majority of my brothers and sisters. Let me slap you around the side of the head a bit. 🙂
Jesus used the story of Jonah being in the belly of the great fish to portray what would happen to Him.
Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Mat 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Isn’t it clear to you that Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights? Similarly is it clear to you that Jesus was in the heart of the earth for only 3 days and 3 nights?
If that is clear to you my dear believer in Jesus then what do you make of this…
Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jon 2:5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head.
Jon 2:6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God.
What do you make of Jonah saying that the bars closed behind me FOREVER? I
I thought it was only 3 days and 3 nights…is that what you thought? Is that what Jesus thought too?
Well then, why did the translators say it was forever?
They were translating the Hebrew word Olam which they wrongly thought meant “forever”, when it literally means for an unknown length of TIME. In this case we are told how long that AGE of time is– three days and three nights.
Therefore in this story of Jonah FOREVER(olam) means 3 days and 3 nights.
But if you insist that olam means FOREVER then be consistent and admit that Jesus must have been in the grave(Hell apparently) FOREVER as well!!
Notice also that Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish and God heard his prayer and got him out of there after only 3 days and 3 nights.
Jesus used Jonah’s story to illustrate his own imminent death in which He also would be raised to life up from the GRAVE.
The conclusion must be that if the grave(Hades) is Hell then it certainly is not forever.
Pause and chew on that.
Check out more like this under the category After Death
And also under category Good News
