BOOK OF JONAH REVEALED
Welcome everyone, I wrote this essay many years ago and felt like it was appropriate to share it with all of you once again. This paper will take the entire book of Jonah and break it down to reveal the “story beneath the story” which of course will deal directly with us. I will be translating some of the words from the Hebrew, which will open a great deal of insight to us, as well as looking at this story the way God intended, allegorically, which will Glorify God in the process.
Proverbs 25:2 – It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
Now, remember no scripture is of private interpretation so everything I write below may be a bunch of nonsense, I doubt that, but you must go WITHIN, go to God to get the revelation of a thing. As I know…
James 1:5 – If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, without reproach; and it shall be given him.
So let’s get this party started with the BOOK OF JONAH.
JONAH 1
Jonah 1:1 – Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
First, let’s look at what “came” to Jonah. It was the “WORD OF THE LORD”. And what is the WORD of God? It is the TRUTH, which is revealed in CHRIST (Our Enlightened state). Hopefully, by now, we know that the Hope of Glory is CHRIST WITHIN -NOT- without (outside of us or coming soon to a theater near you).
So this TRUTH of God was revealed within Jonah’s thoughts/mind. Because the WORD OF THE LORD is TRUTH
John 17:17 -Sanctify them through thy TRUTH: thy WORD IS TRUTH.
This TRUTH has the power to Sanctify (free mankind from error and lies) those that heard it and believed it. Which is God’s predestined plan for us all, regardless of what some “religious people” would have you to believe.
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 HAVING PREDESTINED US unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
He chose us, before forming us, to be HOLY AND WITHOUT BLAME. Please catch that. We all have been predestined to the adoption of Christ to himself, for the good pleasure of God’s will. Which is… TO HAVE ALL SAVED AND COME TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH AND STATURE OF THE PERFECT MAN (christ)
So, this “TRUTH” came to Jonah. Now, how did it come? Was it a spoken word? Did the clouds literally part, and God say, “YO JONAH GET YOUR SKINNY BUT TO NINEVAH OR ELSE!” Of course not.
We are talking about TRUTH here, and TRUTH is only known as a THOUGHT or the THOUGHTS in our HEAD (thinking). There is the thought of Truth and the thought of Lies. The only way to HEAR (Understand) the TRUTH is to have the revelation of it within. Like a light goes on in your mind, and all of a sudden, YOU GET IT!…. So much for people hearing God LITERALLY speaking to them. God puts his words in our minds, so everything with God is truly happening within, while without there is a physical temporal representation to help us understand what is going on within.
Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
God’s word only comes to us through our MINDS, in our THOUGHTS. God’s word/TRUTH “came” to Jonah, the same way A THOUGHT comes to our mind. It was REVEALED. The thought of TRUTH and his PURPOSE ENTERED HIS MIND and he understood what it was he should do. Or should I say, He thought she should do this or that… He may not have known that the thought was God’s thought, in fact his actions prove he really didn’t know it was God’s will. Because nothing can thwart God’s will, Jonah knew that, all prophets know that, so if he REALLY KNEW it was God’s will for him to go to Ninevah, trust me he would have went. The same is true for us. We get the urge to do this or that, and then we think that can’t be what God wants of me, and our doubt keeps us from doing it and then things happen that eventually force us to do what we thought God didn’t want us to do to begin with. (Make sense? LOL)
Now I know the story reads as if Jonah was having a conversation with God. But God deals with us all the same. God is no respecter of persons. God communicates with us through what we some call our conscience, or through random thoughts that pop into our head. We believe them to be our thoughts, and they are, but God gave us those thoughts. (But I’m not going to explain that in this article, perhaps down the road.)
Sooooooo, Jonah did NOT hear a literal voice talking to him it was the THOUGHTS IN HIS HEAD, which Jonah had come to understand to be GOD. He learned what most of us learn through experience, to tell the difference between God’s truth and Satan’s (our carnal egotistical) lies.
But for those who don’t believe that this is how Jonah understood what he must do then is just look at what the word “CAME” from that 1st scripture means in Hebrew.
Came =”REVEALED, ENTER INTO, DRAW NEAR”.
Cool right? So the TRUTH was REVEALED within Jonah, much as things are revealed to us, about our lives, passions, and things we must do.
But here is where it gets REAL INTERESTING. Let’s look at the name JONAH and what it means. We can learn so much from the meaning of names and JONAH is yet another great example.
In Hebrew JONAH means “DOVE”.
Doves are MESSENGERS, they are the perfect picture of the HOLY SPIRIT, which “brings to remembrance the TRUTH to our heart that Christ spoke us”. Doves only eat SEED and FRUIT, a great symbol of love, truth, and obviously God.
Jonah was a MESSENGER indeed, and THIS DOVE had a Father whose name also opens the eyes of our understanding to this parable.
Jonah (Dove) is the SON of “AMITTAI” which translates into “MY TRUTH”…
Okay so let’s put it all together now.
So Jonah is God’s MESSENGER whose FATHER was GOD’S TRUTH. The TRUTH gave birth to the MESSENGER. (Just a neat little factoid for you all).
So it should be evident now that we are dealing with THOUGHT. And not just the thought of TRUTH revealed within Jonah, but this story is a picture of how the TRUTH/WORD/CHRIST comes to all of us. For we are all SONS AND DAUGHTER of GOD’S TRUTH when we are born again within. You will see this story is as much yours as it is Jonah’s and mine. God speaks to us in our MINDS and HEARTS.
Deuteronomy 6:6
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be IN YOUR HEART:
The Trick is testing the spirits (thoughts) to see if they be God or not. Now I have a very simple method I use to do this.
1) Does the thought make me feel at peace OR fear? Since God doesn’t give us the spirit of fear, we
know fear is not of God. Only thoughts of peace are from God.
2) Does the thought encourage, forgive, love others?
3) Does this thought stretch me and encourage me to do the
right thing, even though the wrong thing would be easier?
I look at these examples and more, and this is how I know if these “words” be of God or not. And if the thought has me to do harm to anyone or anything I know it ain’t God speaking. God is GOOD all the time, and his thoughts for us are evident. If the thought gives us fear, worry, or dread, it is the voice of the DEAD (Adam/carnal man) or that Father of Lies, SATAN (Carnal man’s mind).
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
If the thoughts in our head empower us, help us to love, and we are at peace with these thoughts, they are the WORDS OF GOD (TRUTH)
Okay, moving on.
2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
God’s Messenger of TRUTH knew he had to go to NINEVAH because THE PEOPLE there were a hot mess.
Now, pay attention now because everything is an allegory in scripture. NINEVAH is a symbol of those in the world, and even those THOUGHTS in US that are not rooted in TRUTH.
But let’s check out what NINEVAH MEANS in the native tongue and what their people represent.
NINEVAH means “Abode of NINUS” – An abode/dwelling place/tabernacle – The word abode is the same that is used for God’s spirit which ABIDES with in us… So, the ABODE is the TEMPLE OF something, it should be the temple or dwelling place of GOD, but here we learn in the translation, that Ninevah means the ABODE OF NINUS….
And WHO IS NINUS? You ask… Well get ready, because it is quite a coinky dinky!
NINUS – Child of BAAL — So Ninevah literally means, it is the DWELLING PLACE OF BAAL’S CHILD or CHILDREN. And what is BAAL (Lord)( idolatry)
Baal was the false god that everyone was worshiping. Now here is where it gets a little eerie. Let me just describe Baal for you. For this BAAL bull (bull cult) – Think about what is standing outside wall street in New York City… that big old Golden Bull, the worship of money, material things, the temporal… But this BAAL strikes a similar resemblance to a “Son of God” we all know and love, Jesus. So why would so many would worship this false exterior God, BAAL. Well BAAL was said to be the SON OF EL. Jesus is said to the Son of God, same thing. Baal was said to give increase in all areas, harvest, livestock, love life etc. Today preachers teach comes to JESUS and he will give you increase in all the areas of your life… Hhhhmmmn…
The Canaanites were addicted to BAAL worship, where Priests would hold services for him in Temples. The same is true with how many worship Jesus today. But if that ain’t enough, “Baal was born of a virgin. Jesus born of a Virgin. Baal was killed as a propitiation for sin. Jesus was killed for the sins of the world. Baal was gloriously resurrected as God, and Son of God. Jesus resurrected as well. (Now these mythical legends date back 4000 years before Christ!) And check out this vain tradition, each year, the Canaanites celebrated the annual death and resurrection of Baal as a part of their fertility rituals… And yes, we do the same for Jesus. Also Baal was said to come again and defeat all his enemies and REIGN! – Quite a coincidence.
And we wonder why Elijah screamed, Lord they have torn down your altars… EVERYONE was into this LORD worship (Baal). They had statues, paintings, temples, altars, and Elijah looked around and not one stood for the TRUTH of God. I can relate to Elijah.
Isn’t that something? The whole world was mystified by worshiping this BAAL, which or course existed outside of themselves, a BAAL that is soon to come, not a Savior that exists within, but without. Sound’s a lot like the Jesus RELIGION teaches doesn’t it.
Remember Baal’s profits (misspelling on purpose) had to do all sorts of rituals, traditions, chanting, dancing, etc etc… They had to DO STUFF to get THEIR SAVIOR BAAL to answer them. And NOTHING HAPPENED. Because they believed in a SAVIOR that could not save. Like the majority today.
Isaiah 45:20
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
How many have fish on their cars, crosses on their necks, jesus rings, etc. etc. Our Savior is not a Man standing 6 feet tall with a rocking beard, piercing blue eyes, etc etc… Our SAVIOR is the SPIRIT OF TRUTH, the WORD OF GOD, God’s SON (CHILD/IMAGE) that LIGHTS everyone from the womb.
But let’s put that behind us, my only point in bringing this up, is that there are many today that believe they are worshiping Jesus, but are in fact worshiping BAAL (a FALSE LORD/JESUS) unknowingly. So test those spirits people. If you are worshiping a PHYSICAL MAN AFTER THE FLESH, and waiting for that PHYSICAL MAN to return, then you may want to rethink some things.
2 Corinthians 5:16
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
We need to worship and know JESUS CHRIST as SPIRIT(thoughts of Gods truth) not Flesh. And the HOPE OF THAT GLORY (Revealed mystery) is found WITHIN. Christ IN YOU. Not outside you, coming soon, etc etc.
But I digress,
So God tells Jonah to get over to those meatheads in Nineveh and tell them to repent, and seek GOD within and not without.
I like to think, WHAT IF Jonah’s story was mine? What would happen if one day I just knew (God’s word came to me) that I needed to stand up and tell the world how wrong they were worshipping a Savior that will never save, because it is not the TRUE CHRIST that is only found within.
We hear everyone talking of Christ coming again, as opposed to seeing(understanding) that the TRUTH will be REVEALED again in A REMNANT.
And let me quick point out something from the original text about Jesus coming again, and what that WORD “COME” means.
Matt 24: 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
When Christ “comes” you won’t literally see a SINGLE MAN. First of all, secondly, how does he “COME” AGAIN?
MATT 23: 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Christ “comes” as POWERFUL BURSTS OF ILLUMINATION. Caused BY FRICTION between HEAVEN AND EARTH. Christ comes as ENLIGHTENMENT. Don’t believe me wait…
Now let me translate the WORD comes for you, as he “COMES” as it was in NOAH’S DAY… The WORD come in HEBREW, means “Presence, Revealed.” —
Look at this sentence to help you better understand this hidden mystery. In SHORT STORY.
“John once believe his Savior was outside of him, but ONE DAY, he CAME TO REALIZE that the SPIRIT OF CHRIST was within.”
This is the way CHRIST COMES (REVEALED, UNVEILED, PRESENCE IS KNOWN)
They shall see (perceive) the Son of man coming in the clouds (witnesses) of heaven (heaven is WITHIN YOU) with power and great glory.
But back to Jonah and what if, if was me, God was telling this too. What if I was supposed to go to some big name Church/Temple/Mosque/Kingdom Hall/etc and stand before them and say… “YOU’RE ALL WRONG and GOD IS GOING TO DESTROY your religion if you don’t repent!”
I would probably do what Jonah did, “Nah! God doesn’t want me to REALLY do that, I’m going to stay as far away from these “Ninevites” (children of Baal = children of idolatry and lies) as possible.
3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
So the TRUTH of God is revealed to JONAH, and he flees to TARSHISH, which is known to be a MARKET PLACE, where silver, gold, and precious stones and metals are esteemed above everything else.
In Psalms 48, we see that even the KINGS who saw the great TRUTH of God feared and ran away as Jonah did, and guess where too? TARSHISH. It is a symbol of the world, finance, trade, FITTING IN. Like most of us, when we first hear (understand) what we must do, we don’t want to do it, we head in the opposite direction, not toward God, but toward the world and its ways.
4 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
And this is something we should all learn right here and now, for all you FREE WILLERS out there… Sure we have a choice, we choose God’s will eventually :). Because GOD’S WILL, will ALWAYS be done. And it is GOD’S WILL that ALL BE SAVED. And of course I don’t mean saved from some future horror (that doesn’t exist) I mean saved from the hellish thoughts that trouble us in the here and now. God will change people’s hearts, of this I am faithfully sure.
In fact, this was Jonah’s problem to begin with, he knew eventually God would change the Ninivites hearts, he didn’t want to be persecuted and hurt or killed by those who he knew well, that God’s will would be done regardless of what Jonah did. But you see, Jonah needed to be the Messenger he was born to be, and Jonah in fact needed to get over his own fear and bias, and learn something as well.
You see, Jonah could have listened and headed straight for that wicked (ignorant) place and their people. Who knows he might have had some Princess Cruise line to escort him over there, he might have even gotten to sing karaoke on board and dance the night away… BUT! He didn’t listen. HE RAN AWAY FROM GOD. – the reason is, God speaks to us in our thoughts. He probably thought it was a random dumb idea to warn these people. He probably didn’t trust that it was God that was giving him these instructions. Many times this happens to us as well. We are given the desire to speak up and we think of the consequences, and then say, Oh God really wouldn’t want me to do this. Jonah, like us, was a reluctant messenger. He had to REALLY KNOW that this was God’s will, and oh boy did he learn the hard way. There are times many of us don’t do the right thing because we think the consequence for us will stink, but soon we find ourselves in a worse situation doing what we originally thought we couldn’t do, because now, like Jonah WE ARE FORCED TO!
According to most religious leaders out there, if you run from God, GOD WILL LET YOU and then in the end he will BURN YOU FOREVER!
But we see this is not the case. God made sure Jonah would fulfill his purpose. So don’t any of you tell me, we can somehow RUN AWAY FROM GOD’S PLAN IN OUR LIVES. God will bring each of us to our purpose at the exact time we are meant to be there. This is good news. No one can fail. Because God is in control and God is no respecter of persons, what he did for Jonah he does for us.
God does not esteem one better than another as men do, so what he does for Jonah, he does for us. Jonah didn’t want to listen, so a GREAT WIND was sent out into the sea.
Now this is another great allegory –
WIND = Doctrine/teaching – SEA = Carnal Humanity… Proof?
Ephesians 4:14 – That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine
Revelation 17:15 -And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Jonah left the TRUTH of God and his PURPOSE to go down to the SEA and do business in Tarshish. This is a picture of how God works all things to his good. Leaving the TRUTH of God is bad, the REBUKE from God is good and returns these “Mariners” back to their intended place. Take a look at this…
Pslams 107 – 23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; 24 These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. 25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. 26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. 28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Job said, his days of humanity were are swift as a SHIP.
A SHIP is a symbol of the VESSEL (our soul) that carries the CHRIST WITHIN. And when our SHIP enters the SEA (the ways of the world) than we are tossed back and forth, we are troubled and we cry out in those times of trouble. You see, we brought this upon ourselves by not listening to God’s purpose and plan for us to begin with, but the good news is GOD ONLY DOES WHAT HE WILLS… And it is GOD’S will that ALL BE SAVED… Which is why he sent Jonah his MESSENGER OF HIS TRUTH to Nineveh (dwelling place of BAAL’S kids)
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
So the troubles come upon JONAH, and when trouble come upon us, we too find CHRIST fast asleep. (Unconscious) of the distress. As Jonah was.
When you dream, everyone and everything you experience in your dream represents you…
So too, in scripture every detail represents us. Think about it, just like when we are in trouble, we WAKE UP THE CHRIST WITHIN… God help us, we cry! We may even know as Jonah knew what we did wrong to have this stuff brought upon us.
7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 9 And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him. Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
JONAH, the DOVE OF GOD’S TRUTH fled from the presence of the LORD. Want to know who else did this? ADAM (all of MANKIND) –
We have all headed toward TARSHISH, we want to squeak out a living on our terms. We leave God’s WORD and instruction and head toward the world. And the instant our SHIP (soul) hits those waters the CHRIST WITHIN (God’s messenger of TRUTH) falls asleep… Becomes unconscious. Leaving the CARNAL MAN at the HELM. Those that worship MANY GODS.
11Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
At this point in our lives, LIFE STINKS! We don’t know what to do, where to go, You see, this story is all about us. The WORLD around us, is crumbling before our eyes, debt is piling, marriages ending, fights, anger, hater, the SEA (man’s worldly thinking and ways) becomes a NIGHTMARE.
Ever wonder why Jesus walked ABOVE the WATERS OF THE WORLD. The TRUTH exists ABOVE the influence and nonsense of the sensual world. And once you take your eyes of the TRUTH, like Peter DID, you fall right back into old ways, thinking, and patterns.
So, the Mariners came to Jonah to wake him up. Much as the disciples did for and to Jesus when the storms arose for them… NOW PLEASE CATCH THE BEAUTY of this next line. You see, GOD’S MESSAGE OF TRUTH (Holy spirit) (Christ within) JONAH/DOVE knows exactly how to calm the STORMS OF OUR LIFE (ship in the sea)
12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
DID YOU CATCH THAT? Read it again… this time, I am going to replace a couple of words to help you.
12 Take up THE TRUTH (raise it up, let it be your PRIMARY THOUGHT WITHIN YOU), and cast THE TRUTH into the HEART OF THE WORLD AND MANKIND; and the WORLD WILL NEVER TROUBLE YOU AGAIN…
So why did God send these storms again? TO WAKE UP THE TRUTH WITHIN YOU! Look at what Jonah says…
…for my sake (For THE TRUTH) this great tempest is upon you.
(This is why we see TROUBLE. God sends these STORMS, to GIVE BIRTH TO PREDETERMINED TRUE IDENTITY and PURPOSE in Christ)
READ IT AGAIN.
…for my sake (For THE TRUTH) this great tempest is upon you.
Picture the hard times in our lives as labor pain that attack us, and get so bad that we finally have to give up, bare down, and give birth!
Galatians 4:19
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
Suffering is part of the process. Our suffering is meant to WAKE US UP to the TRUTH of who we are IN CHRIST. To take us OFF THE PATH of the world and put us back on track, with REPENTANCE. (To CHANGE our focus) from the sensual world to the spiritual TRUTH that is within all men from the womb. (John 1)
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
Here is where we mess us though. We allow the knucklehead Carnal EGO US to still make the moves. Even after understanding it is our self effort that got us in trouble. We still don’t return to God. We try to FIX it on our own, we still let ADAM handle it.
We screw up by leaving the will of God for our lives and tough times come, and most of us STAY THERE and try to fight against the tide pushing us to where God wants us to be.
A precious friend of mine Elaine Cooke once told me, “Let peace be your umpire”. The Eagle builds its nest so it will soon get uncomfortable for its babies, they get heavy enough and the nest starts cutting into them, they have no choice but to JUMP and FLY! God works the same way in our life. And Jonah is the perfect example of this. You see, God cannot fail. Despite what you have been told or heard, GOD WILL FINISH HIS CREATION IN VICTORY! – That’s written folks.
So if we, like Jonah, say “No way!” and then we head in the opposite direction. God will leave those 99 with him to chase your skinny or wrinkly but down to get you back into the fold.
And oh boy did Jonah get chased down. So much for total free will. Sure we can choose to go in a different direction, IF WE WANT TO SUFFER until we change direction and get back on course. “Church” That is what a good father does in the natural, he corrects. However, GOD IS PERFECT. And God ONLY does what he WILLS (predetermined)
1 Timothy 2:4
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
This isn’t lip service. God has a PURPOSE AND PLAN and that is to TURN the CARNAL MAN away from his wicked ways, to CAST OFF his old thinking and to embrace the TRUTH of WHO MANKIND IS, (God created child).
When we leave the TRUTH of God, the straight and narrow, you enter TORMENT and destruction. But that is good news people… because.
Acts 14:22
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
This TRIBULATION that we find in the WORLD (mans carnal ways) eventually humbles us and lead us to the TRUTH. Even the most carnal of men will finally give up their fight and do what GOD has told them to do… WE ALL REAP WHAT WE SOW, and we will not leave until we pay the last farthing… (whatever the heck a farthing is!)
So the STORMS in our life come and we have to TAKE UP CHRIST (JONAH) – Take up the TRUTH and cast it INTO OUR TROUBLE SEA (wildly spinning worldly thoughts of worry, fear, hate, lust, etc)
15So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
The INSTANT the MESSAGE of TRUTH is received in the SEA (the hearts of all carnal and worldly men and women) – The troubles cease.
They RAISED UP JONAH, as CHRIST WAS RAISED.
17Now 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.
First let me address these 3 days and 3 nights. A SPIRITUAL TRIMESTER, after the TRIMESTER IS UP CHRIST IS BORN, and you are BORN AGAIN or RESURRECTED.
The GREAT FISH is simple to interpret – It is MANKIND. Once the TRUTH OF CHRIST is cast into the WORLD (mankind’s thoughts) it is SWALLOWED (INGESTED, ASSIMILATED, BECAME ONE WITH)
Jesus said, that we must EAT HIS FLESH and DRINK HIS BLOOD – to become one with him.
The problem is most people don’t know what to do with it. They take the TRUTH OF CHRIST and turn it into a LITERAL CARNAL thing.
Well when the GREAT FISH (Mankind’s EGO) swallowed the TRUTH, it ends up making that FISH SICK.
JONAH CHAPTER TWO
Jonah 2: 1Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly,
So for those of you literalists out there, we have YET ANOTHER allegory for you. The word BELLY! And no, this is not speaking of a FISH’S BELLY LITERALLY here, but it is talking about what swallowed up whole the MESSENGER OF GODS TRUTH (Jonah, Christ)
You see the BELLY is another allegory for the SOUL of mankind. The SOUL, our sense of being, don’t believe me?
Proverbs 13:25
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
Psalm 44:25
For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
Job 15:35
They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
THE BELLY is the SOUL/sense of being OF MAN. You see this is a picture of the TRUTH OF GOD, being buried deep into the depths of our SOUL. Our SOUL ruling, our SOUL reigning, and the TRUTH/CHRIST/JONAH trapped deep within it.
At first, we pray out of our SOULISH UNDERSTANDING. We may even recite prayers we were taught. We really don’t know how to pray or what to pray for. A great example is when someone hurts us, and we hate them for it, our SOULISH prayer for them is “Lord show them how wrong they are” HA! — What meatheads we are when the TRUTH OF GOD is trapped in our BELLY (inside out SOULISH/CARNAL UNDERSTANDING)
When we become spiritual, our prayer becomes, “Lord teach me what I need to learn from this, forgive me for being angry with them, help me to be light to others, and deliver me from my hate and lusts”
2And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Here is another interesting tid bit, Jonah prayed our of the BELLY OF HELL. Man’s CARNAL SOUL is HELL, it is the place we are sent when we leave the TRUTH of God for Man’s ways. Christ also was sent to HELL (man’s carnal soul) to deliver those trapped there. (Seeing a trend yet?)
3For 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. 4Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
This is our story “Church” this is what happened to us all. We were all cast into the DEEP, in the midst of WORLDLY LUSTS AND WAYS, and the floods of lies, tradition and vanity passed over our true nature (Christ in us). We were lost, WEEDS (lies) strangling any bit of truth in our minds. We are in HELL indeed, trapped in the carnality of our soul, CORRUPT (ignorant)
6I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. 7When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
For a moment we, like Jonah, were trapped, the TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE (GOD’S IMAGE AND CHILD) in the prison of our own carnal vanity. But because of our suffering, we begin to see, the VANITY of MANKINDS WAYS.
8They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
When we follow after LIES, when we pretend that we are in control, and continue on a path of separation (in our thinking) we forsake MERCY, PEACE, AND JOY. We are in control. We can choose the easy road to redemption, by giving in to what God is telling us is true, or we can follow after the world and suffer until we do.
9But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. 10And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
NOTICE THESE WORDS…. ; I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
Now for those of you who say, we CHOOSE SALVATION, our WORKS are what get us in… you are like the Men on the Ship rowing and fighting against the storm that God is sending to TURN YOU AROUND (REPENT)
Because SALVATION is not of MAN, it is OF THE LORD!
The instant we realize our “lives” are out of our control, and GOD’S WILL, WILL BE DONE, the instant we say “Not my will Lord, but Yours” – That is the instant CHRIST IS REVEALED from within.
And then the TRUTH can stand on the SHORE (a firmer foundation of TRUTH and Understanding) AND we can then go off and teach others. As Jonah did, hopefully without all the FISH PUKE ON US. Although, we will have remnants of our soulish filth still clinging to us, because we are a work in progress.
JONAH is our story as much as it is his. Learn from Jonah, learn. Don’t continue to follow man toward riches and tradition, be Bold, proclaim GOD’S WILL BE DONE.
That way, if you turn right and it is wrong, you understand God will use your mistake to correct you. It is WIN WIN people. That is the GOOD NEWS, no one FAILS! But if we listen right away and turn the way God intended for us to begin with, then we get to that place without so much as a bad vibe.
We must Love, Forgive, Be Charitable, compassionate, and most importantly we must listen to what the Lord wants of our lives.
If storms arise and things get uncomfortable and no matter how hard you try things aren’t changing. Set your eyes on God, and your situation will change. I hope this simple essay has in some way helped. Much love to you and yours, Jacob
