Dead | But For How Long?

There are those who continue to controvert the issue of how long the Savior was supposed to stay dead! They read in parts of the Bible of a certain 'three days and three nights' and elsewhere, they see 'third day'. And they, without even granting that the two phrases are not exactly the same, go on to equate the two, claiming that they refer to the same event! This is doing violence to the Word of Elohiym. The truth is that the two expressions are textually different, and refer to two different and extremely important events. In this Tab, we discuss the event referred to in the phrase 'third day' and in the next Tab, we discuss the second phrase 'three days and three nights'.

First, let us sample some scripture references. And, in doing so, let us take time to recognize the Savior's words as distinct from those by both well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning 'witnesses'!

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of Elohiym, and to build it in three days.

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And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of Elohiym, come down from the cross.

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Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

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And he began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

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We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

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And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

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YaHuWshuaH answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

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From that time forth began YaHuWshuaH to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Yerushalayim, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

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And while they abode in Galilee, YaHuWshuaH said unto them, The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

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Behold, we go up to Yerushalayim; and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,

And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

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Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

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For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

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Saying, Behold, we go up to Yerushalayim; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

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And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

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For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

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(The Angel) Saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

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Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved haMashiyach to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

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And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

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We have surveyed a large sampling of Scripture, so as to see how the same event was reported by so many different entities. Is it any wonder that the simple matter of how long the Savior was in the grave became so confusing?

Some said 'in three days', others said, 'after three days', and still others said 'within three days'. All these are textually different. But, it is not our purpose here to analyze or parse each phrase for meaning, but to isolate the Savior's intent, purpose and experience.

Compare them with the Savior's preferred phrase, 'the third day'. He was quoted by a Talmiyd (Disciple) as saying 'in three days'. It is not a stretch to say that 'in three days' and 'the third day' are not too dissimilar in meaning. But, 'in three days' was not the Savior's preferred expression or description of what was about to happen. I will rather stay with the Savior's own words, 'the third day'. Take another look at the graphic below, and you will see that the Savior did precisely what He said He would do: 'rise on the third day'.

Addendum to Confusion

Another layer of confusion stemmed from the issue of 'what is the span of the Day'? Is it 'Sunset to Sunset', 'Midnight to Midnight' or 'Civil Dawn to Civil Dawn'? And, which days should be included or excluded. Should the fraction of a day be taken as a whole day or not?

Most will agree that it is difficult to discard the jewish view of the span of the Day - 'Sunset to Sunset'. After all, they were here spiritually-speaking, long before the rest of us! Still, the Papacy bucked the argument and chose a span of 'Midnight to Midnight'. In a battle between two spiritual titans, who comes out on top? Wonderfully, both missed the mark and failed to see that titans though they are, the Bible is transcendent. Alas, the Bible rejects both views and insists on Elohiym's design for the span of the day. By the Bible, the true span of the Day is and will ever remain 'Civil Dawn to Civil Dawn' which can be acceptably approximated to 'Sunrise to Sunrise'. Visit this page for the details. Consider the definitions below:

Civil Dawn

Civil Dawn is the moment when the center of the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the morning. It occurs during the period of twilight, before the Sun rises. Civil Dawn is the brightest form of twilight. There is enough natural Sunlight during this time that artificial light may not be required for outdoor activities. Only the brightest celestial objects can be observed by the naked eye during Civil Dawn. Several countries use this definition of civil twilight to make laws related to aviation, hunting, and the usage of headlights and street lamps.

Sunrise:

Sunrise marks the official start of daylight. It is the exact moment when the upper limb of the Sun appears above the horizon. Sunrise occurs after Civil Dawn, when the Sun has risen sufficiently above the horizon. It brings a vibrant and energetic atmosphere as the day begins.

In summary, while both Civil Dawn and Sunrise are related to the beginning of a new day, they refer to different moments in time. Civil Dawn is the gradual transition when the sky begins to lighten, whereas Sunrise is the precise instant when the Sun emerges above the horizon.

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It is important to note that there is an average of 25 minutes interval between 'Civil Dawn' and 'Sunrise'.

For the purposes of Scripture, the Savior's definition of the duration of the 'Day' or 'Daylight' is 12 hours. And, using 'Civil Dawn' for the definition will cause some days in some seasons of the year to be way longer than 12 hours! But, using Sunrise, it is reasonably consistent with the Savior's definition.

YaHuWshuaH answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? ...

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Using the Sunrise beginning for each 'date' and ending at next Sunrise, every question is answered. The Savior arose on the Third Day about Sunrise.

Finally, on that Abib 14, 31 AD, when the Savior died at the 9^th hour, should the whole day be reckoned as the first day or should the first day be ranged from the 9^th hour of Abib 14 to the 9^th hour of Abib 15?

Fortunately, the Yahuwdiym (Jews) had an established method of reckoning events in all of their history. It is known as 'The Regnal Year Principle'.

The Yahuwdiy (Jewish) day begins at nightfall (Sunset) and continues throughout the night and the following day until the next nightfall.

If an event occurs before Sunset, it is still considered part of the same day. The day does not change until Sunset.

Once the Sun sets, a new day begins, and any events that happen afterward are attributed to the new day.

In Jewish tradition, the day is a holistic unit that encompasses both darkness and light, starting from nightfall and ending at the subsequent nightfall. Events occurring near Sunset are appropriately attributed to the relevant part of this continuous day. So, whether an event happens just before Sunset or shortly after, it is reckoned within the context of the same Jewish day.

The history of the Jewish relationship with time, affirms how far removed from the Bible they are! But, of value is the fact that their reckoning of the date of any event depends on whether it comes before or after Sunset. It does not matter that the event takes place one minute before or after Sunset. It is assigned to the full day and date. One minute before Sunset, the event is assigned to the current day. But, if it occurs even one minute after Sunset, the event date is the next day. Their day begins and ends at Sunsets contrary to Scripture. But, when we reckon the days of the Savior's stay in death, we reckon our days starting at Sunrise to next Sunrise, but following the same 'accession or regnal principle'. With this, every event harmonizes with both Prophecies and history.

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The Sign of Jonah

Who was Jonah?

... according to the word of Yahuwah Elohiym of Yashar'el, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the Prophet, which was of Gathhepher.

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What was the sign of Jonah?

Now Yahuwah had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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Then Jonah prayed unto Yahuwah his Elohiym out of the fish's belly,

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto Yahuwah, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

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And Yahuwah spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

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But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas:

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth.

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The Savior said that He will be in the 'heart of the Earth' for 'three days and three nights'! So, What is the "heart of the Earth"?

Then YaHuWshuaH said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, "Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves"?

When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

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There is so much misunderstanding of what exactly YaHuWshuaH is talking about here. About the 'sign of Jonah' and being 'three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth'.

What exactly is He referring to?

Many Bible students have mistakenly equated this with the fact of Him dying and staying buried for days and resurrecting thereafter. Although, there is a connection with the death and burial of the Savior, no, they are two very different events or circumstances.

The Tomb, Joseph's tomb, is not the 'heart of the Earth'. Death, is not the 'heart of the Earth'.

Then, what is the 'heart of the Earth'?

Then YaHuWshuaH said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, "Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves"?

"When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness".

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YaHuWshuaH spent three and a half years on Earth, ministering the Gospel. He was about thirty years old when He began His ministry in the Spring of 27 AD, following His baptism by Yahuwchanon the Baptist.

From the day of His birth, Satan did everything he could to destroy YaHuWshuaH but could not even lay a glove on Him. He failed every time. Several times, during His ministry, the Yahuwdiym would want to stone Him. He became practically invisible to them.

I and my Father are one.

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

YaHuWshuaH answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself Elohiym.

YaHuWshuaH answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of Elohiym came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of Elohiym?

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand,

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Many times, the Pharisees and Sanhedrin authorities would want to grab and arrest Him. But they could not. They would send Soldiers to go get Him. But the Soldiers would meet Him and return without Him but with a testimony to give.

And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

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But, when His work was done, it came time for His 'heel' to be 'bruised'!

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

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The intent of the 'heart' of Man; the Earth; the intent of the 'heart' of the 'prince' of the Earth; was always to banish the Creator from existence and particularly from Earth! They were to be granted that desire of their 'hearts' for 'three days and three nights'. A sign that indeed, they had the 'Son of Elohiym' in their power! No one before Jonah ever entered the belly of a fish and lived again to tell the story. None since Jonah either! It was a signal miracle or sign to impress the people of Nineveh that they had a Prophet of Elohiym in their midst.

In the same manner, the world will know and the Jewish authorities will know that the One they had in their hands was none other than the Son of Elohiym. From the moment they arrest him to His resurrection, a resurrection like none ever before it, there will be exactly 'three days and three nights'.

And, behold, one of them which were with YaHuWshuaH stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

Then said YaHuWshuaH unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of Angels?

But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

In that same hour said YaHuWshuaH to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

But all this was done, that the scriptures of the Prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

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Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.

But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.

And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard.

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For three days and three nights, the Son of Elohiym, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them, will be subject to the power of Earth (Man and its Leader, Satan). They believed that by so doing, the 'inheritance shall be ours'!

The singular event, was the signal for the eventual destruction of Heylel, Satan. It was his final condemnation before Heaven and Earth. His 'head' will be 'crushed'. This was the most important event in divine history since Creation. It was the moment of the deliverance of humanity and the Earth from the enemy's strangle-hold and power.

Why The Confusion

It is difficult to pinpoint the reason for confusing this great event with the actual death and burial of the Son of Elohiym.

Still we sympathize and there is no warrant to condemn those who took other positions on it.

The rejection of the biblical Calendar and biblical 'timing' did not help. When studying this event as with every time-based event in Scripture, Students would impose Gregorian Calendation and timing on those events! By doing so, they automatically consigned their work to the trashbin. For they could never arrive at the correct conclusion, however hard they tried or even 'prayed'.

To easily understand any time-based event of Scripture, you must:

• ☞ Use creation timing. By the Bible, the day begins at 'Dawn', 'Civil Dawn'. Not 'Astronomical Dawn' and not 'Nautical Dawn' either. Until it begins to 'grow light', a new day has not begun. ( See Mattithyahuw 28:1 )
• ☞ Use creation calendation. By the Bible, the Calendar is Lunisolar (See here)
• ☞ Understand that an event occuring on a day is assigned the same date. This is regardless of whether it was daytime or nighttime.
• ☞ Using the end and start of a day at midnight as the Gregorian Calendar demands, is error!

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

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YaHuWshuaH was yielded into the power of Earth by 'arrest' on the fifth day of the week, in the night. He had had His third Prayer at Gethsemane when He asked His Father to 'stop His being handed over to the power of Man'. His Father's Will prevailed. ( See Mattithyahuw 26:42 ) He woke up His Talmidiym (Disciples), just in time for them to witness the arrest. That date, Abib 13 had a day and a night, the first one.

The next day, the sixth day, he was murdered. The second 'day and night'.

The next day, the seventh day, the Sabbath, he remained in the tomb all day and night. That was the third 'day and night'.

At the very end of the 'third' 'day and night', on the stroke of the clock at the end of the Sabbath, signalling the beginning of the next day as it began to 'grow light', 'Civil Dawn' on the first day of the next week, Gavriy'el the Angel, opened the grave and said with a loud voice "Ben Elohiym come forth, Your Father Calls You". And, YaHuWshuaH walked out of the grave in infinite power and divine majesty, and proclaimed 'I am the resurrection and the life'.

You may download and read the article in the link: Three Days & Three Nights for details.

The sign of Jonah was indeed given to the world.

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