Jonah the run away prophet a fascinating story by Rabbi Simon Altaf
17th Jan 2011
AFNHSS – All quotes from the Abrahamic-Faith Nazarene Hebraic Study Scriptures
Yahushua – The Real name of the Messiah
YHWH – The real name for the creator
Part 2
The Big fish
Yonah 1:17 Now hwhy had prepared a great fish to swallow up Yonah. And Yonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Unbeknownst to Jonah YHWH had prepared a big fish to swallow Jonah. So when he was released in the water a big male fish comes along and swallows him up. Now here comes the crunch and what you are not usually told. Is as follows I must also warn you that here scholars hold two views and I am of the opinion of the latter view. One holds that Jonah was alive in the fish and came out alive. Another view holds that Jonah died and was raised then spit out of the mouth of the fish. The evidence I will present will help you to decide. Whichever view you adopt it matters not about your eternal fate but this is just to help you see the working of YHWH.
The events described in chapter 1 happened over several hours and not minutes so Jonah’s death seems likely and plausible by drowning because he was in the water being lowered and raised by the rope continuously and then eventually released when he fell into the water he was exhausted and then later swallowed by the fish. Now did he die in the belly of the fish or outside? Looking at the prophecy of the Messiah Yahushua for answers tells us he died outside the fish but which fish? Let us continue.
Let us examine the verse.
Yonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of my affliction to hwhy, and he heard me; out of the belly of She’ol cried I, and you heard my voice.
When do you enter She’ol? If he died while inside or outside the belly of the fish then he would enter She’ol the place of the dead.
The only time anyone can enter She’ol is when his or her soul and spirit departs from this earth. We cannot enter She’ol while alive unless Ha’Shem specially takes us there by vision or dream. Jonah was not having a vision and there is no indication of such.
Yahushua the Messiah declared the following;
Matthew 12:40 For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
If those of you hold to the position that Jonah did not die that is fine but then you will have to answer the following. Did Yahushua die or not? Was He alive when He went into the Tomb? If Jonah was alive in the belly of the fish then one can argue so was Yahushua in the belly of the earth. The Messiah would not give a prophecy in which he used an example a Type that was not really a Type. According to the Messiah Jonah was dead because He too died and was raised three days later. Note the Messiah also entered She’ol after His death
Rabbi Paulos said that the Messiah descended into the abyss or the place of the dead in Roman 10:7.
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the abyss? That is, to bring up Messiah again from the dead.
Rabbi Paulos declares that the Messiah not only died but also descended into She’ol.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
The Messiah descended into She’ol after His death and then after three days ascended. What He did in She’ol is debated and disputed so we shall not go into the details as they are unnecessary for our narrative. What is necessary is for Jonah to be in She’ol. If we take the position that he was only unconscious then he must be dreaming in the belly of the fish of being in She’ol or he was really dead. Let’s examine this further.
Let us assume the death theory a little further to see if we can ratify it.
Yonah 2:3 For you have cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods surrounded me about: all your billows and your waves passed over me.
The Hebrew word for deep is Strong’s H4688 Metsolaw. It has the following meanings:
A deep place, bottom, deep, depth.
We always look to the first occurrence of any Hebrew word to get to it’s correct meaning.
Exodus 15:5 The depths have covered them: they sank to the bottom [metsolaw] like a stone.
The word can be used in conjunction with water or sea poetically but this does not tell us whether Jonah was dead or alive in the belly of the Fish so we continue to investigate.
Yonah 2:5 The waters surrounded me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
Can weeds be wrapped around the head of a living man? I guess yes if you are unconscious. So we are still no way clearer about his death.
Yonah 2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me forever: yet have you brought up my life from corruption, O hwhy my Elohim.
The only time one is in She’ol is upon one’s death and forever here means
until you will be raised from the dead that is if you will be worthy to be judged or just thrown in to the lake of fire. This verse is pretty clear to tell us Jonah was dead. It tells us that his body did not see corruption while dead and was not digested by the fish’s digestive system while the Messiah’s body did not see corruption either. The Types match. This is our key verse apart from the verse in Yonah 2:2.
We could still argue that Jonah did not die and was alive but the problem with that view is that it contradicts the Hebrew here and prophetic nature of what Messiah was declaring to us about His death when he spoke about this prophecy seven hundred years later. Also what was the miracle in Jonah’ life? His death and resurrection, and not necessarily the swallowing and spitting out of the fish though that would count as a miracle but the thrust of Yahushua telling us this is to do with His impending death that He mentioned in Matthew 12:40-41 and His own resurrection. Yahushua’s story telling would have no point if it was simply retelling a fish swallowing Jonah and throwing Him out. One has to ask what relevance has that to Yahushua? Is He saying the Romans are like the big fish and He is like Jonah to be swallowed up by them and later the Romans will release him which makes no sense whatsoever.
Did you know that using Jonah’s prophecy and faulty modern Christian interpretation Ahmad Deedat concluded that the Messiah never died and was only unconscious until taken down and revived. He used Jonah’s prophecy and the Christian viewpoint of Jonah not dying to declare that since Jonah did not die neither could the Messiah since the Messiah gave that prophecy based on Jonah. Yet most of Christianity that believes this is still mistaken and if we apply Ahmad Deedat’s analysis using modern Christian interpretations of this verse then we too also come apart as Deedat but hold your thoughts and let’s examine something that is little known.
Remember I told you earlier that Jonah was swallowed by a male fish so if he was swallowed by a daddy fish then where is mummy fish? If there is daddy fish in the water then mummy fish cannot be far behind. Let’s examine this truth. Jonah was swallowed by two fishes not just one. First the daddy fish then the mummy fish. The first occurrence of the word for the fish swallowing Jonah is masculine but at the point the fish throws him out of her mouth it has changed to feminine. Let us examine this hidden gem.
Yonah 2:1 Then Yonah prayed to hwhy his Elohim out of the fish's belly,
Will the real fish please stand up because we are looking for Jonah?
Jon 2:1 ויתפלל יונה אל־יהוה אלהיו ממעי הדגה׃
Yonah Al YHWH Elohim Myaw Hdagah.
Dag normally means a male fish and dagah which is used in Yonah 2:1 only ever means a female fish.
From the Hebrew we can tell that initially Jonah was swallowed by the male fish and the same day he was vomited out by the first fish and swallowed by the second female fish so he spent three days and 3 nights in the belly of the female fish. This is again testimony that after being swallowed by the two fishes Jonah was dead and YHWH revived Jonah from the dead just as the Messiah would be raised from the dead. Those who believe Jonah was alive would struggle at this point because you cannot be in the water for several hours and be swinging between fishes like a ping pong ball in the deep and be still alive unless you want to believe that he was wearing an oxygen mask. For the convenience of some he may as well be but he still would be dead I assure you.
What do the two fishes teach us? They teach us the idea of the two graves that the Messiah could have gone to, one of the wicked (Isa 53:9) in the valley of Hinnom and one of the righteous where he was buried on the Mount of Olives in Yosef of Arimathaea’s purchased tomb which Yahushua inherited. See Beyth Yahushua, the Son of Tzadok, the Son of Dawud for his relationship with Yosef in www.abrahamic-faith.com.
Later Jonah goes to Nineveh to preach to what appears to be gentiles but are they? We see in like manner after the Messiah’s resurrection He strictly commanded His disciples to not go to the gentiles but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:5-6, 15:24). This indicates to us that Jonah was likely preaching to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (The Ten tribes) also because many Israelites lived there after their captivity.
So one can easily see that Jonah was a type of Messiah to the Ninevites who were a mixture of Israelites. The city of Nineveh was burned down by the Babylonians in 612 BC which was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. This reveals to us that if the gentiles or mixture of Israelites and gentiles do not accept the message of the Messiah then a day of burning will come. In fact we are now very close to that day.
The Assyrians had taken the ten northern tribes captive in 722-724 BC. Therefore, one hundred years before it’s destruction Jonah was sent to the city and what appeared to be gentiles were in fact many members of the tribes of Israel from the Northern sector of Israel. These indeed did repent. Later the city again fell into idolatry and was punished by Elohim with destruction and also for righteous judgment for torturing and debasing Hebrew Israelites that they took away as slaves in 722 BC;
Likewise unless we repent and obey His Torah many of us will face destruction. It is up to us to understand the message loud and clear and if we fail to heed the call of the Torah obedient servants of the Most High we will too likewise end up as the Ninevites so what should be our action after reading this if not already so? If you know the Messiah and love Him then start obeying the Torah of Moses. Start by doing the weekly 7th day Sabbath and followed by the seven annual feasts such as Passover, Pentecost, Yom Kippur etc.
You need to learn how to obey the commandments and You need to circumcise if you are a male after one year if you are older and you have enough grasp of the faith in order to keep the Passover feast completely while in exile. Note circumcision is part of the everlasting Covenant given to Abraham (Gen 17:7-10). If you claim to have the Abrahamic Covenant you must be circumcised no excuse. Being in Messiah does not preclude you and neither do misinterpreting the letter of Rav Sha’ul. Note Rav Sha’ul or Paulos’a halacha is non-binding but the Torah is binding for an everlasting period. Learn what these things mean from good teachers like myself.
Remove unclean meats from your diet to start on the clean meats such as lamb, beef and chicken. No pork chops no lobsters and certainly no shrimps. Make a habit of living a clean and righteous life then you and your life will go in the kingdom of Yah. Serve our Master with fear and trembling that you may receive your right reward and be a good example to your family and the people around you.
YHWH bless youShalom Shalom
Rabbi Simon Altaf
For groundbreaking articles… www.abrahamic-faith.com TRUTH UNLEASHED BUT CAN YOU HANDLE IT?
This article may be distributed freely without alteration and is copyright to Abrahamic-Faith International Union of Synagogues. If you wish to invite Rabbi Simon to your congregation then by all means leave a message at the telephone number below or send an e-mail at the e-mail address below. Call +44 (0) 1296-486 089 in the UK.
Snail mail address: Simon Altaf, BM Abrahamic-Faith, London, WC1X 3NN, England (UK).
Simon Altaf was chosen by God in 1998 for the special End-Times prophetic calling. A lone voice in the wilderness, one taught by God (Ps 119:120-121), a Rabbi and writer. He is from the tribe of Levi, the original Semites called out of Islam to rejoin His people after his long exile from Iran, to India to Pakistan to England. Soon we will go back to Y’sra’el when our Master Yahushua returns.
We hope this article has been a blessing to you. Please write to us and let us know if this has been a help to you and if you have any other questions or wish to receive our quarterly Newsletter. Send the mail to shimoun63@yahoo.com. For prophecy books and DVDs that will help many understand the Bible more. For youtube teachings please go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=simalt.
http://www.abrahamic-faith.com/Books/books.html
Get one of the best Hebrew Roots Bible; this will become your Bible of choice opening up many areas of the Scriptures which will give you a whole new understanding. The AF Complete Bible can be ordered at the URL below.
We suggest you visit our website to see the following Titles:
Beyth Yahushua – Son of Tzadok, Son of Dawud
Would you like to know the identity of Yahushua's family? Did He have brothers and sisters, did He get married, are not Rabbis meant to marry, was Mary Magdalene His wife? All these answered in this book. Are you fed-up of hearing objections such as if you do not know who Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were then how can you claim to have the truth? Are they not just fictions characters? How can you tell others about who they were? Now you can.
Do you feel frustrated to go to your Pastor only to be told he does not know?
What caused Rabbi Paulos to persecute perfectly normal Yahudi men and women who simply practiced Yahudiot (Judaism)? Who was Nicodemus, what relationship did Yahushua have with Lazarus? Did Yahushua have sisters? For too long He has been portrayed as the wandering man with no belongings and no family and living wildly, picking up food from the trees, fields and women offering him handouts. Is that an accurate pictures of who He was?
In fact this picture is both misleading and deceptive. Do you want to know the powerful family of Yahushua? What connection did Joseph of Arimathaea had with Yahushua and why would a rich man like him be willing to give his own expensive tomb for Yahushua’s burial?
Do rich men do such things, if so then why was the rich man in Matthew 19:21 unwilling to give away all his money? Did Yahushua carry the curse of Jeconiah (Jer 22:24-30)? The answer that Christendom gives is the curse lifted because of the virgin birth or the lineage switch. Did it? Answer NO. Christendom’s answers on this are very wrong. What about the genealogy of Luke and Matthew, why are two fathers of Yahushua in one Heli and in the other Jacob in Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23? Will the real father of Yahushua please stand up!
Who were the Hebrews, what is the West in Hosea 11:10? Where do the scattered ten tribes return from?
Hos 11:10 (KJV)…then the children shall tremble from the west.
If we believe popular opinions then they are all in Europe and America but the reality is very different. This book is a wake up call to the last generations.
This book will give you new insights and the rich history of Yahushua. Your life will never be the same again.
Islam, Peace or Beast
Have you ever wondered why radical Muslims are blowing up buildings, bombings planes and creating havoc? Why are they introducing Sharia? We illustrate in this book the reality of radical Islam and the end of days that are upon us. Why our governments are reluctant to tell us the truth, this book uncovers many details.
World War III – Unmasking the End-Times Beast
Who is the Antichrist, what countries are aligned with him and many of your other questions answered. All revealed in this book. Which might be the ten nations of the Antichrist? What did the prophets say about these events? What is the mark of the beast 666 about? Who is the whore of Babylon? Where is this place today? Is this America or a place somewhere else?
World War III – Salvation of the Jews
č How will the salvation of the Jews come about, will they convert to Christianity or will Christianity be folded into Judaism?
č Will the 3rd Temple be built before the return of the Messiah? Analyzed and explained with the correct sound hermeneutics.
č Will we have a war with Iran and when? Considering the pundits have been wrong since the last 3 years and only Simon has been on track up to this time. What signs will absolutely indicate impending war with Iran calculated and revealed.
č When will the Messiah return, what signs should we be looking for, is it on a Jubilee year?
č Will the Messiah return on the feast of Trumpets fact or fiction?
č Will America win the war in Afghanistan? Yes and No answer with details.
č Who is the prince of Ezekiel and why is he making sin sacrifices. Can one call these educational? Read the correct answers...
č Should we support the Jewish Aliyah to Israel or is it forbidden to enter the land for permanent stay under a secular godless government?
Rabbi Simon is the only Rabbi to look at the thorny issues that no one has addressed to date while many people mostly run with popular churchy opinions colored by bad theology by picking and choosing verses in isolation. Is modern Zionism biblical? Is Israel right to take over territories occupied by Palestinians today? Should people be selling up homes to go and live in Israel? Is there a mandate for Aliyah? All these thorny questions and even more answered in this book the sequel to the popular prophecy book World War III - Unmasking the End-Times Beast.
Yeshua or Isa – True path for salvation
Ever tried to witness to your Muslim friends or relatives and were mocked? Do you have Passion for the Muslims to be saved? Do you want to know how Jesus Christ is Yeshua and not Isa the Muslim prophet in the Qur’an? This book helps you to build a solid bridge with the Muslims. It clarifies your theological doubts and helps to present Yeshua to the Muslims effectively as He should be as a King and not a mere servant of the Most High.
Dear Muslim – Meet YHWH the God of Abraham
Truth explained best seller step by step detailing and unveiling Islam! This book is designed for that friend, son or daughter who is about to convert into Islam but needs to read this first. This is the one stop to saving their souls. Is the Qur’an the Muslim holy book unchanged? Do the Muslims have solid proof of transmission of revelation? How does the doctrine of takdir (fate) affect everyone? Don’t procrastinate get it today.
The Feasts of YHWH, the Elohim of Israel
Have you ever asked why the seven annual feasts were given to Israel? Their meaning and their purpose is all explained in this detailed book that delves into the signs of the Messiah and the fulfilment of the feasts and how the return of the Messiah is revealed in the feasts from a Muslim angle the first of its kind.
What is Truth? Have you wondered truth is and how we measure it? How do we arrive at the conclusion that what we have is truth? How do we know that the faith we have been following for so many years is the original faith? We examine these things. Is Atheism true and how do we examine it and prove it? What about Hinduism can we measure it as truth and arrive at truth.
Abrahamic-Faith Nazarene Study Scriptures (Complete)
The AF Complete Bible coming soon. 2108 pages packed absolutely full of information - no Hebrew roots Bible even comes close!!! The politically incorrect guide to the God of Israel. Are you willing to listen to what YHWH has said about our world and how He is going to restore all things back?
Many texts uncovered and explained in great details.
č Was Chava (Eve) the only woman in the garden? We reveal a deep held secret.
č Where did the demons come from?
č Ezekiel refers to some of Israel's bad deeds in Egypt explicitly uncovered which are glossed over in the King James Version and other bibles.
č Did Abraham keep the Sabbath? We show you where and how.
č Who was Balaam, we uncover the real man?
č Who were Abraham's ancestors? We trace them step by step
č How many wives did Abraham have and who was the ruling wife in the North and the south?
č Why did Isaac marry at forty years of age, surely that cannot be right?
č Where is Noah's ark likely to be? In Ararat Turkey, In Iran or elsewhere altogether?
The legendary Rabbi Simon Altaf guarantees that this will teach you to take the best out there on and open their eyes in prophecy, historical argument and theology. He will personally mentor you through the texts of the Torah, the prophets, the disciples and apostles of Yahushua. Does any Bible seller offer this extent of training? We do. And Rabbi Simon is available at the end of an e-mail or just a telephone call away for questions that you have and if he is not there you just leave a message and he will get back to you anywhere in the world that is his solid promise and he will not charge for his calls or any teachings over the phone.
Which ex-Muslim do you know who dares gives his telephone number out? YHWH walks ahead of Rabbi Simon this is the sign of a true calling unlike others who are only brave behind a keyboard and offer rhetoric hiding behind body guards but where is the substance? Rabbi Simon never walks with bodyguards his faith is proof in his life that he trusts in Ha’Shem fully.
Sefer Yashar (The Book of Jasher)
The book of Yashar has been translated from the original sources and with added commentary, corrected names of Elohim with the sacred names and with other missing text from the Hebrew. This will add to the gaps in your knowledge from the book of Genesis such as the following:
č What did the wicked do before the flood?
č Who were Abraham’s African ancestors?
č Did Abraham have two wives?
č What relationship did Abraham have with Eli’ezer?
č Did Isaac wait forty years to be married?
č Why did Sarah die so suddenly?
č Did Moses marry in Egypt?
č Moses, what colour? White or Black.
č Many other questions now answered.
Sefer Chanoch (The Book of Enoch)
The book of Enoch details the fall, the names of the angels, what happened in the beginning and what was the result of those fallen angels. Where are they now and what will happen to them. He also reveals the birth of Noach and some very important details around this about the African ancestry of the patriarchs. He reveals the Son of Elohim and reveals Yahushua upon a throne. And many other important details to complete your knowledge.
Yahushua – The Black Messiah
What ethnicity was Yahushua and what race of people did He belong to? Is it important that we know His ethnicity? What colour was Moses, King David and King Solomon? We examine and look at the massive fraud perpetrated upon the western nations by their leaders to hide the real identity of the true Hebrew Israelite people and race which are being restored in these Last Days. Does skin colour matter? Yahushua said everything will be restored and that includes His and His people’s ethnicity and colour. Would you like to know because it affects your eternity and His true message then get this book now.
Hebrew Wisdom – Kabbalah in the Brit ha Chadasha
The book’s purpose is to illustrate basic principles of Kabbalah and to reveal some of the Kabbalah symbolisms used in the New Testament. We look at the Sefirots what they mean and how they apply to some of the teachings in the New Covenant. We also look at the first chapter in Genesis and examine some of the symbols there. We examine the name of Elohim in Exodus 3:14 and see what it means. We examine some teachings of Rabbi Paulos to reveal how he used Kabbalah freely.
Abrahamic-Faith Studies The Apocrypha with Pirket Avot
Read the fifteen books of the Apocrypha to get an understanding of the events both of the exile and of Israel’s early history before Yahushua the Messiah was born. Read Ethics of the Fathers to understand rabbinic wisdom and some important elements of the story of Genesis. The tests, the trials and the miracles of the Temples. Without these books the story in the bible is incomplete and has gaps which these books will fill up and give you a more complete understanding.
Abrahamic-Faith Siddur transliterated Hebrew with English (Daily life prayers)
Many times we wonder what prayers should we do when we go to bed, when we leave our home in the morning and how do we pray daily? What prayer should I do if I have a ritual bath? What prayer is for affixing a Mezuzah? Each year you wonder how to do the Passover Aggadah and what is the procedure. This book also covers women’s niddah laws to give you understanding into women’s ritual purity. Unlike other prayer books Rabbi Simon actually bothers to explain small details that are important and often ignored. This is one book you should not be without.
Books to be released in 2011
World War III (Vol IV), The Second Exodus, Y’sra’el’s return journey home