Sequel to
Jonah's Ministry
                                                                                               By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                               August 1, 2018
     "And the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
     Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee," Jonah 3:1-2.  
Introduction
     In my recent study, The Secret of the Seas, the life, calling, and ministry of Jonah was introduced into that study.  As I meditated on the Scriptures about Jonah, the Lord laid it on my heart to write this sequel to the ministry of Jonah, in order to exalt the ministry of our Lord Jesus.  I pray that this sequel will be enlightening and a blessing to God's people, and to lost seeking souls.  
Jonah's Restoration
     It was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who said of Jonah, "For as Jonah 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," Matthew 12:40.  
     Jonah, an Israelite,  had been called and commissioned of the Lord to go to the great Gentile city of Nineveh, and cry out against their wickedness.  Instead of obeying the Lord God, Jonah attempted to flee from the presence of the Lord by taking a ship to Tarshish [the present day nation of England], Jonah 1:1-3.  The Lord still had plans for Jonah, and caused a great storm to arise on the sea.  In the course of the storm,  Jonah was cast into the sea, 1:4-16.  "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," 1:17.  
     The "three days and three nights" Jonah was in the belly of the fish [and in sheol...2:2], were a type of the "three days and three nights"  the body of the Lord Jesus was in the tomb, while His soul was in sheol [paradise], Matthew 12:40; Luke 23:43.  
     I wrote about Jonah's prayer in my previous study, The Secret of the Seas.  After praying from "the belly of hell" 2:1-2, Jonah's life was restored, "And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land," 2:10.  
The Time Periods in Jonah
     Jonah then obeyed the Lord and went to the city of Nineveh.  The inspired Word tells us that Nineveh was "...an exceeding great city of three days journey," 3:3.  This literally means that the city, at that time, was so large that it would take a man three days to walk through or across the city.  At that time, thousands of people lived in Nineveh, likely typifying the hundreds of thousands of people living in the world today.  
     Is it just "coincidence" that three thousand years ago [three days in God's great week...2 Peter 3:8] the nation of Israel entered into the holy land?  And that Israel was called to be a light to the Gentile nations of the world?  See Exodus 19:5-6; Rev. 1:6.  
     Notice that Jonah entered into the city of Nineveh one days journey, and began preaching, 3:4.  Remember that Jonah is a type of Christ.  It was approximately 1,000 years [2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4] after Israel was established as a nation in the holy land, that Christ Jesus, the "lion of the tribe of Judah," Rev. 5:5, came into the world.  Also keep in mind that 2,000 years [two days in God's week...2 Peter 3:8] have passed since Christ came.  A total of "three days."  Folks, the "three days" have been completed, and it is time for the judgment of God to come upon the world.  Are you listening?  
     And what was Jonah's message?  ".....and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."  A message of warning from God, coming from a messenger of God whom God had resurrected from "the belly of hell [sheol]," Jonah 2:2.    
     Christ Jesus was also resurrected by God from sheol, and how long was He seen of His disciples after His resurrection?  "To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God," Acts 1:3.  
    Jonah warned the people of Nineveh, that in forty days the city of Nineveh would be destroyed by God.  Christ Jesus was seen of His disciples forty days following His resurrection, and preached a warning
from God to all of mankind.  
     Do all of these time periods in Jonah coincide with the time periods in the life and ministry of Christ, just by "coincidence?"  Think about it!  
The Results of Jonah's Preaching
     The inspired Word tells us that as Jonah preached, "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
     For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.  
     And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast. herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed nor drink water;
     But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way,  and from the violence that is in their hands.  
     Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?  
     Dear readers, what a soul stirring revival occurred in Nineveh!  The entire population of the city of Nineveh turned to, and sought the Lord's mercies upon them.  Has any reader ever wondered why?  Why was Jonah's preaching paid attention to, and taken to heart by all the inhabitants of Nineveh?  I can only wish that the preaching of God's men today would have such an effect upon the people.  So why did Jonah's preaching have such an effect?
Jonah's Appearance
     Because of Jonah's appearance!  Yes, his appearance!  I remind our readers that Jonah's body had been in the belly of the fish for "three days and three nights."  Now think about the effect the gastric juices of the fish's belly had upon Jonah's body.  The belly [stomach] of all living creatures, including mankind, contains a mild form of hydrochloric acid, which breaks down the food particles consumed, so that the food can be digested.  While Jonah's body was in the stomach of that fish, the acid in the fish's stomach was working on Jonah's body.  And Jonah's body made the fish sick.  The inspired Word explicitly states that the fish "vomited out Jonah upon the dry land," 2:10.  
     As Jonah emerged from the belly of that fish, Jonah's entire body would have been burned by the stomach acids of that fish, giving him an appearance like no other man on earth up to that time.  There would have been varying streaks of color all over Jonah's body; some deep red, some deep purple, some green, some pale; the pallor of death.  Very likely, there was not a hair left on Jonah's body. As Jonah entered into Nineveh, his appearance must have been frightening to every person who saw him.  He very obviously did not look like his former self, but rather like a man who had returned from the dead.  
     Why am I emphasizing this?  Because Jonah was a type of Christ!  
     Folks, the inspired Word explicitly says that Christ suffered more abuse than any man who has ever lived, Isaiah 52:14. Yes, even more than Jonah.  Our readers who truly believe God's Word are surely familiar with the terrible abuse which our Savior experienced as He  suffered and died to pay for the sins of fallen mankind. Read the accounts again of the Lord's suffering in Matthew 26 - 27, Mark 15, Luke 22 - 23, and John 18 - 19.  Then bow your heads and thank the Lord for loving you that much.  
     Do our readers recall that after the resurrection of Christ, His own disciples did not immediately recognize Him?  Why not?  Because during His time of suffering, some big, brawny, Roman soldier grabbed the Lord Jesus by the beard, and began shaking Him back and forth, with such force that the entire face of our Lord broke away from the facial bones and pulled off, Isaiah 50:6.  The Lord does not have the facial features that He formerly had before His suffering and crucifixion.  Father God performed "facial surgery" on the Lord at the time of His resurrection.  
     However, just as Jonah bore the "marks" of his ordeal in the belly of the fish, so the Lord Jesus still retains the identifying "marks" in His hands, and the scar of His piercing in His side, John 20:19-31.  It is this same Jesus who is SOON coming to resurrect and rapture His people to glory, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  I hope that every reader of this study will be "caught up" to glory when our Lord comes.  
     There is an old hymn, the title which I cannot remember at the moment, but I do remember that the chorus goes,
     "I will know Him, yes, I will know Him, by the nail prints in His hands."  
And so God's people will!  Praise the Lord!  Yes, when He comes again, He will still have those same prints of being nailed to the cross in His hands. Glory to God!  
     Now imagine if you can, when Jonah went into Nineveh, how his looks frightened people.  They had never previously seen a man who had returned from the dead.  Little children, after getting a look at Jonah, must have run to their parents screaming in terror.  And the result of Jonah's appearance and preaching was that the entire city repented of their wickedness and turned to God.  Praise the Lord!  
     I can only wish that mankind on the earth today would carefully look at our Lord Jesus through His Word, and repent and believe, while there is still time.  
And Now, The Rest of The Story.......
     We are not told in God's Word where Nineveh was located, nor what happened to Jonah.  I have to believe that the Holy Spirit of God deliberately ommitted this information from the Word, so that we who are living today might give praise and honor and glory to God when the truth about Jonah and Nineveh would become known.  
     During the war with Iraq several years ago, it became public knowledge that in  the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, is located the tomb of Jonah.  This indicates that Mosul, a city whose origin dates from antiquity, must have been known as Nineveh in ancient times.  Apparently Jonah continued to live there, among those people, until he died.  The people of that city were so grateful to Jonah for turning the whole city to God, that when he died, they made for him a beautifully decorated mausoleum, which can still be seen today.  
     It is commonly known today that those of the Muslim religion hate Israel and the Jewish people.  So a couple of years after the Iraqi war, the Muslim decided to destroy Jonah's tomb, and rid themselves of the body of that "Jew" from among their midst.  Bad decision!  
     They did attempt to destroy Jonah's tomb, but instead of destroying it, they fled from it in terror.  They claimed that they had heard harsh voices commanding them not to touch Jonah's tomb, and some claimed to have seen giant angels with gleaming swords drawn, ready to destroy them.  So the effort to destroy Jonah's tomb was abandoned, and it is still there, intact, in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.  When you read or hear about Mosul in the news today, remember that this was the location of the ancient city of Nineveh, and Jonah's body still resides in that city today.  Glory to God!  
     Folks, there are many evils in the world today, but don't allow them to discourage you from loving and serving the Lord.  I have read the end of the book, and we Christian believers are on the winning side.  Glory!
      "Even so, come, Lord Jesus," Revelation 22:20.  
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     Permission is granted to any true believer, or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from in context as written.  
      My personal contact information:
POSTAL.......Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 Co. Rd. 8120, Rolla, Missouri 65401
EMAIL..........francismriley34@gmail.com
PHONE.........573-202-6493
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