₦airaland Forum

Emusan: The story of Jonah has been a confuse debate over the years by sceptics and some other religions i.e Islam because:

1. Sceptics believe that the story of Jonah in the Bible is a pure fiction of its inaccuracy with science e.g it's not possible for any man to survive under such condiction of suffocation. Simply because what most Christians has been taught was that God sustains Jonah in the belly of the great fish (though is possible for God but it wasn't so, GOD created natural laws so every thing must obey these laws and God has power to change any natural law).

2. Islam have used this Jonah's story to support their untrue story written about Jesus that "He(Jesus) didn't die because their book said so", and support it with these verses Matt 12:39-40 "when Jesus compared His death & resurrection miracle with that of Jonah's miracle.

Now the question is; was Jonah really alive in the belly of the fish?

In the book of Jonah where his story was written gave us the real clue about his life, sin, punishment, expirence at the belly, and the grace of God upon him.

Life of Jonah:- Jonah is an Hebrew man that have the fear of the Lord.

Jonah's Sin:- Jonah flee from the presence of the Lord because of God's assignment.

Punishment:- we read in Jonah 1:17 "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Expirence:- "Best expirence can only be shared by the victim". If what Jonah passes through wasn't shared by Jonah himself the story might become another thing but with the help of God Jonah was able to share his own expirence.

Jonah 2:3 "For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me." This verse by Jonah tells us what he really passes through.

When Jonah was passing through this condiction he went ahead to say the position he was at that time. Jonah 2:2 "And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I,
@bold in this phrase "...out of the belly of hell cried I...." the word HELL in that phrase was translated from this hebrew word 'SHEOL' means "GRAVE-a place of the dead'. This word (sheol) was used throughout of the Old Testament, it's different from the one used in the NEW Testament that means 'LAKE of FIRE' and anywhere this word appear in the OT means 'GRAVE-a place of the dead'. So Jonah cried to God in the place of the dead(where dead people are reserved).

To be sure that Jonah did really die he went further to explain how it happened; Jonah 2:5 "The waters compassed me about, [b]even to the soul:...." @bold "even to my soul" means it took his life.

Then after Jonah died he explain where he found himself. Jonah 2:6 [b]"I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever:....."
@bold he went down to the bottoms or center of the earth where dead ones are kept.

What make him went down to the bottoms of the earth? He said; Jonah 2:7 "When my soul fainted within me..." in this phrase Jonah sincerely comfirmed that his soul leaves his body. If not he would've used a word like this when my soul is fainting (continuos tense) or when my soul is about to faint but rather he uses the past tense "when my soul fainted".

Grace of God:- God's grace never cease on those who He loves. In the last sentence of that verse 7 Jonah remembered the Lord and He prayed then his prayer went straight to the Holy Temple of God and God shew His grace upon Jonah, then last statement of verse 6 tells us what happened after his prayer "....yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God." The word 'corruption' used in this verse was translated from the hebrew word NIPHAL which can mean; rot, spoil, ruin, decay e.t.c it might even be possible that his body has started to decayed but Omniscient God brought him back to life and commanded the fish to vomit him....WHAT A WONDERFUL GOD AND A GREAT MIRACLE.

So Jonah was not alive in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights but it pleases God to revive him.

Shalom!

Hmm. So Jonah too was resurrected from the dead? In the belly of a fish? A fish? This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.

Please give us a date and time. Harold Camping also thought Jesus was coming and made a lot of money.

@ Image123

On what moral basis do you support a person who specifically commands that children should be killed? And in some cases, that young female children were property to be shared by people who killed their parents? You're welcome to argue from whatever position you want. All I ask is that you be consistent.

momomomo: thehomer. you know what, no child pays for the sins of his father now, every one have their own life to live.Every body accounts for his action when he is able to decide what he or she wants. "But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. 2 Kings 14:6 (KJV)". any curse can be averted when that person seeks to be free.the opportunities presented for change of heart is what determines if that man is truly changed hence no body will end up saying it was not their fault..so you can be exempted from the curse of your fathers.you are given a choice to decide which one stands, to avert it or to be included in the judgement.things have been so simplified but I wonder why you don't want to know it before you go to bed to rest

Then why did God specifically say their children should be killed?

truthislight: Yeah! The Amalikite were atheist i forgot.

Just like the egyptians.

Did I say they were atheists? Who said the Egyptians were atheists?

truthislight: Yeah, an eye witness account from you. No ?

Selective justice from you. No ?

Yeah! "Some people killed some people" indeed!
tell me more! it was not the national army of the Amalikite i guess that attacked the Jews, but "some people". Smh.

So that ^ justified it ? I see!

You can keep on feeding whatever you are feeding Dude.

"Killed some people" Interesting!

Now tell me, while this "some people" of the nation of Israel were being killed, in which nation was the remainder staying ?

Was it by any means possible that it was the whole nation that was being attacked and killed on their way in the wilderness ? And the nation could have been exterminated ?

Please mr "eye witness" account giver, fill in the blank spaces.

*sigh*

this seems like a waste of my time really.

This is just an incoherent jumble of sentences. What point are you trying to make here? And can you do that in 2 or 3 sentences?

momomomo: @ the homer. i have address all you have said and ready to address all you want to know. ask about anything and on any thing bothering you. there is an answer and you will be getting answer

Okay now please answer this question. Is it right to command that a person's children be killed for the crimes committed by one of their parents?

truthislight: Why did the Amalikite and their god feel that the Israelites men, women, children born and unborn, lives stock and all must die

Where did you read the Amalekite God saying anything like that?

momomomo: it is the ultimate judgement. like i said the people of amalakites came as one, with the heart of destroying another. it was not a few of them.it was the whole nation that came against Israel, maybe the infant were the few you are talking about here. you know the good thing about God is that he provides an opportunity to change from your wicked and evil ways. Before the judgement was supposedly executed by king Saul, (because he did not fulfil the commandment), God gave a grace period of several decades for that heart to change, he did not judge instantly or immediately here but they kept on pouring fury and indignation on Israel in the time of moses " For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.
Num 14:43 (KJV)", and the reign of Judges in Israel "The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
Judges 10:12 (KJV)". Not one good deed from them to the Israelites. they were always looking for opportunities to deal with Israel. God already know their heart. once that wicked heart is set to do evil, only God's intervention stills the heart of that person. As a father, God chastises those he love, but to the wicked, he visits their wickedness upon their own head..Can you fight for the helpless?

You're not addressing anything I've said. You're just going off on your own tangent.

momomomo: This is not an eye for an eye. This is God's Judgement on a people that wickedly attacked another people in their weak and feeble and helpless state.it was the people of the amalakites that brought the judgement on their selves and on their generation (i.e. their children).As a child, who decides for you when you are yet a baby? your guess is as good as mine, yes! the parents or whoever is over seeing the affair of that child. at that time that child cannot really refuse though it nods his head anyway and anyhow.so the decision to attack was decided by their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters on their behalf.so they where not also in the position to refuse the judgement yet as a child.it must also be paid and accepted by them by their fathers and all included on their behalf. On an individual basis, many may not have agreed to attack but because they came as one people, from one region, with one mind united in a common goal and agenda then it is acceptable to say the people were one in the same course of destroying another people so the judgement was also passed on them as one people who came out against another.

Are you seriously considering what you're saying here? You're saying it is right that God commanded that all members of a tribe be killed because a few of them killed some people. Is this the correct judgement? Even human judges know better than to order that a murderer's wife and children also be killed because the man killed someone. All you're doing here is showing how evil and unjust this God of yours actually is.

truthislight: Why not ask about one month old baby also ?

I am also asking about one month old babies too.

truthislight: It suite you to forget that the sentence was as a retribution for what they did to the sons of Israel on there way out of Egypt.

Go read about that account of what the Amalikite did to the Jews and come back and ask if the Amalikite had kill 0 month old baby in the worm. Smh.

Do you know what "eye for an eye" means ?

I know what an eye for an eye means but does God know what it means? Did the 6 month old baby go out and kill someone? If not, why does God feel they must die?

Actjulius: @manmustwac; please keep wacking and keep asking, it is your right to do so. Atleast you are smart enough to believe the fairy tales of some animals that existed some billion years ago when its even really difficult for the same scientists to provide evidence of some settlements that existed some few thousand years ago - so smart!

Ah. Ignorance is bliss. It is a fairy tale to accept scientific evidence that there there were organisms billions of years ago but it is truth to accept that there were snakes and donkeys that spoke to people.

Joagbaje: The bible gave the reason.

Psalms 14:1
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works,
there is none that doeth good.]

Romans 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Hmm so brave. This is a command given by the God being referenced.

Numbers 31:
17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

Who is the fool? The one who serves a God who gives such a command or one who rejects any person that would give such a command?

tai wo: This babe that ushered me to church 2day,saw her smokin n boozing smtimes back. Who I'm I to jugde? *in pope's voice*... Then again the issue of do not judge comes to mind, what exactly does the bible mean?...

Oh you're free to judge just that the measure by which you judge will also be used on you. I'm fine with that so I wonder why Christians keep shouting that their fellow Christians who happen to wear fine clothes or funny hats shouldn't be judged.

Yet these Christians want to preach about morality. That is why Jesus said they should first take out the beam from their own eyes before attempting to remove the mote from other people's eyes.

Bloody hypocrites.

I wonder if this lawyer is a Christian.

momomomo: the loins of the men and women of the amalakites that gave birth to the children.every seed of a man is his child.every of those children were amalakites. it was not about ages even though the amalekites killed both small and big, but about the people that did that wickedness before him.the judgement was as a people because they came as one people against the Israelites. The innocent person is that man that is not an amalakites. talk about the DNA of a man.it is also passed down to his child. "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
Deut 25:17-19 (KJV)"
the second part you should know is that they were not utterly destroyed in Saul's' time because of his disobedience, then because of the same wickedness in his heart, they rose up again in 1 Samuel 30:1-19 to smite the same people,the Israelites they were warned about to let be. talk about an unrepentant heart. so God knows what is truly good to man. Man only does what is right.

Are you saying that a 6 month old Amalekite baby deserved to die when God could have punished the parents and taken care of the child? Please answer this with a yes or no.

momomomo: God does not embrace evil. Evil to God is knowing what is not good so that you can stay clear of it."And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil

Is it not embracing evil to tell some men to go out and kill 1 year old children? Kill 6 month old children? Kill pregnant women and ripping out the children from their pregnant bellies?

momomomo: Gen 2:9 (KJV)". it was when man knew the opposite of good (which is evil, man now desired that aspect more than the good of itself. God is the only good God. He is all knowing because he knows every thought , desire and expectation of man. Every thing God does is good, not evil.Like i said before, to the good, his ways are good but to the wicked, he is wicked to them. HE RENDERS THE WICKEDNESS OF THE WICKED ON THEIR OWN HEAD. God is a good God.Evil is a conscious act of MAN not God.

If God is so good, how do you explain the commands he specifically gave men to go out and kill young children?

momomomo: God's execution of justice is not random,there is a difference between the selfishness of the desire of a man and the intervention of God.the acts of God speaks justice but that of man is bore from his wicked intention.That is why you can refuse the principles of God, you were also given a chance to chose what side you belong and how you want to live your life.every man decides his own path with God.irrespective of what every man has to say about God, it doesn't stop him from showing the man the right way to go in life. his ways are not for bad but for good.

Since his execution of justice isn't random, it would mean that he simply sat down and planned to kill those 1 year old children. Now why is it that when God who could have punished the guilty alone decides to punish both the guilty and the innocent children, it is considered as him doing something good?

Image123: thehomer, when will you realise that you lack a moral base to argue or discuss these kind of issue? Is killing of babies by abortion not justified by you?

You and God lack a moral base to argue or discuss any issue at all. But then an abortion is different from killing a 1 year old child. Keep in mind the fact that God is fine with killing children in and out of the uterus. I am not so I'm more moral than your God when it comes to that.

momomomo: the only supreme justice is that of God every other justice is based on the desire of man.

The Rwandan genocide could also have been God's justice couldn't it? In my example, God could have been using Mugabe to achieve his aims couldn't he?

momomomo: the children were there to die because they are the product of the generation of the amalekites. the vow was for war to always exist from one generation to another, every child represented a generation.

Are you reading what you're saying here? You're saying that it is right for children to be killed because of the crimes of their parents. How exactly is that justice to you? Would it be right if Mugabe ordered that the children of his opponents be killed for opposing him? If it isn't right for Mugabe to do this, why is it right for God to do it?

truthislight: leave him, he is "exercising his right to have sex with whomever he wishes to".

" What concerns me or you with who an adult wishes to sleep with" ?

"who am i to judge gay people" ?

"What any body does in his room is none of your business".

Smh.

This makes no sense. Is a 14 year old boy an adult? For some reason, you're willing to let the fact that that same pastor was having intercourse with a woman that wasn't his wife. All you got from that story was the abuse of the child involved.

Slow down and think about the story.

momomomo: Every body tried but i think you are not yet convinced

The Amalekites were judged because of their wickedness against the Israelites when they were yet wandering in the wilderness.
The story of the amalekites is how God was called the name JehovahNissi Exodus 17:8-16. The judgement of the Amalekites as given by God to Saul was a vow he made in Ex 17:16 (KJV) '' For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation".
They were to be punished for waylaying the Israelites when they were defenceless, weak, and without their own place when they were still wandering in the wilderness. The Amalekites knowing all these, still came against them in the desert. It Pained God to see the children of Israel being attacked when they could not help their selves, so God Vowed to make sure the Amalek paid for what they did and emphasized it again to Moses in Numbers 24:20 and Deuteronomy 25:17-19 "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God, Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it".
In fact, God was so committed to fulfilling the vow that he had to reject Saul quickly for disobeying the assignment "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel
1 Sam 15:26 (KJV)".
WICKED PEOPLE ALWAYS PAY FOR THEIR WICKEDNESS.
Yes God visits the wickedness with their own evil and destruction. it is not because he is God, but that the wicked man will do evil as long as it takes, so he executes judgement speedily on the wicked and heartless to stop his hand and his power.THERE IS ALWAYS a CAUSE for every CURSE.

To theHomer and to his followers,you must be very important to God for him to send you this explanation, i just pray you have understanding.

A challenger arrives.

This is what you're addressing and trying to justify.

3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

What did the children and infants do that they too deserved to be killed?

The federal government shouldn't be doing this. This is yet another avenue for criminals to loot the treasury. $16 billion seems to be the magic figure when government officials wish to steal.

Mr anony: I am more interested in your opinion of it

My opinion of what exactly? I just saw a bunch of people hassling another bunch of people. I don't think people should be hassled for speaking their minds. But then, people shouldn't be discriminated against due to their sexual orientation.

So, are you trying to draw any conclusions from it or is it just a pointless opinion sampling?

Mr anony: For people to watch and comment on it

Are you trying to draw any conclusions from it?

Mr anony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQvjKEP6xDE

What is their problem?

What is the point of posting this video?

Tell that to Yerima and his fellow senators who adhere to the religious beliefs of this section.

Has Nigeria been able to prosecute those without the immunity clause?

ambrosini593: I think its high time the Christians and muslims come together in other to stop boko haram because the way things are going right now its only the innocent ones that will suffer. The military and civilian jtf cannot do this alone. our prayers will go a long way in exposing them. Please say a prayer of victory you may never can tell. Happy sunday

My friend, nothing fails like prayer.

iyatrustee: Just wondering what could be responsible for the increase in the birth of conjoined twins in nigeria? Used to be a rarity before.

It is still rare.