* Jonah was in the place of the dead (Sheol) inside the belly of the whale, for all within it would be consumed.
Thank you Chris for visiting and commenting. I'm having a bit of trouble understanding your questions because of the various translations and opinions out there.
I realize that a lot of folks like to use the original Hebrew/Greek in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of Scripture, however I feel it can sometimes backfire.
Sheol is a good example of how the KJV Translators, I believe, are giving us a more accurate meaning. But, never the less, I will expand on what I feel God is wanting us to understand about Sheol and the whale's belly...
Matthew 12:40
"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."
In the above verse we find that Sheol, which some claim is simply 'the grave', is the same as the Heart of the Earth.
I believe that 'Belly of Hell (Sheol), 'Heart of the Earth', 'Lower Parts of the Earth' and 'Lowest Parts of the Earth' are all referring to the same thing. It is the process by which the Usnaved ultimately end up back in the Womb again for another incarnation on this planet.
But wait... if it is all about Reincarnation, then why did Jesus go to the Heart of the Earth? Was Jesus going to be birthed again from Mary's Womb? Did Jesus get Reincarnated or something?
No.
Let us look at Jonah again...
Jonah 2:6 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
"I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever! But You raised my life from the Pit, LORD my God!"
Sheol is the
Prison where the
Unsaved go. It is the opposite of Abraham's Bosom. Notice how the narrative changes? No longer is Jonah in the whale's belly, he is in the
Earth. This is teaching us something very profound about this Sheol 'prison' because this prison is also a
'Pit'.
So what is the Pit?
Isaiah 51:1
"Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged."
Isn't this interesting.
The Pit is where folks are birthed from!
Who is this particular Pit from which the Righteous are birthed from? Why it is Sarah of course!
Isaiah 51:2
"Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him."
And there we have it. Sheol is the Pit from which the Unsaved are birthed, or rather, Reincarnated from.
But again, why did Jesus go there?
JESUS WENT THERE TO RELEASE THE PRISONERS IN THE WOMB!
1 Peter 3:19
"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;"
Do you see? I will repeat...
The 'Pit', 'Belly of Hell (Sheol), 'Heart of the Earth', 'Lower Parts of the Earth' and 'Lowest Parts of the Earth' are all referring to the same thing. It is the process by which the Usnaved ultimately end up back in the Womb again for another incarnation on this planet.
Jesus went to the 'Heart of the Earth', or rather, the Wombs of pregnant women to proclaim the Good News and to give gifts and to save people!
Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
*We* were the prisoners in the Womb. And now we know who the 'captives' were and what the 'gifts' were...
Ephesians 4:8
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
According to Jeremiah 1:5, the gifts of sanctification are given *before birth*...
Ephesians 4:11
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
Thus, Jesus went to 'Sheol' to give the gift of Salvation!
So let us expand on this whole 'Pit = Womb' deal. We know that the Beast rises from the Pit...
Revelation 17:8
"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
'Was and is not and yet is' is the same thing as Reincarnation. So how did the Beast get into the Pit to be Reincarnated again?
Isaiah 14:15 (Berean Study Bible)
"But you will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit."
Lucifer was one of the heads of the Beast that died long ago and was sent to 'the Pit'. In other words, to be Reincarnated again as another Antichrist.
- He dies and goes to the Pit
- He is birthed from the Pit
- He dies and goes to the Pit
- He is birthed from the Pit
- He dies and goes to the Pit
- He is birthed from the Pit
Over and over again. I believe this happens seven times. Each time, another head is added. Something like this...