Prophetic Insights on the Present Truth

Study Outline: Three Days and Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth

THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:38-40).

Though a number of times we have conclusively cleared the questions as to

(1) whether Jesus, in order to fulfill the “sign of Jonah,” was “three days and three nights” in the grave, or

(2) whether the sign was fulfilled in some other way and

(3) whether He was crucified on Friday, on Thursday, or on Wednesday, there still seem to be some points which are not clear to all, first of which underlies the question:

Was Christ Crucified on the Day the Leaven Was Put Out of the Houses-On the Fourteenth Day?

Mark, who was an eyewitness of the event says, “And the first day of unleavened bread when they killed the passover, His disciples said unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we go and prepare that Thou mayest eat the passover? And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.... And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in the evening He cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with Me shall betray Me.” Mark 14:12, 13, 16-18.

Since the Passover lamb was killed in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month (Ex. 12:6), and was eaten at the commencement of the fifteenth day (Num. 28:17), and since the gospel writers declare that Jesus ate the Passover at the very hour the whole Jewish nation ate it, the fact is solidly established that the time of the crucifixion of Christ did not coincide with the time of the killing of the lamb on the fourteenth day for the first of the Passover feasts. It did coincide, however, with the killing of the lamb for the second of the feasts, as will be seen from the following paragraphs. Even astronomical records agree that the fourteenth-day sacrifice of the Passover supper that year came on Wednesday, and the Bible emphatically states that the feast of the Passover was to be observed on the fifteenth day (Num. 28:17), Thursday that year. Jesus, therefore, could not have been crucified on either of these two days. This is borne out by the fact that, as stated before He observed the first of the feasts with the disciples. Moreover, Matthew 26:5 plainly states that the assembly of the priests and the scribes with Caiaphas in the judgment seat, decided not to kill Him “on the feast day” -- Thursday, the fifteenth. Hence the question: Why does the Bible say He was crucified on The Preparation Day?

Mark's statement, “The preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath” (Mark 15:42), explains that this preparation day was Friday, “the day before the Sabbath.” And as this same Sabbath, John calls “an high day” (John 19:31), it could only have been the seventh-day Sabbath in the Passover week, a sabbath within a Sabbath for the Passover week was a seven-day occasion (Num. 28:17), and therefore in each week of Passover there was a seventh-day Sabbath, and hence two holy days in one day--an high day.

Although in the Scriptures a group of feast days are sometimes called sabbath days, or sabbaths the Passover in itself is never called the Sabbath. This is especially true throughout the New Testament. And for any of the apostles to call the Passover day, the Sabbath day, is for them not only to ignore reason, but also to confuse the Passover with the “seventh-day Sabbath,” the only day ever called “the Sabbath.”

Thus from this angle also it is made clear that the “preparation” day, the day they crucified Jesus, was Friday--the preparation for the Sabbath in the Passover week; that the Passover lamb, which was killed on Wednesday (the fourteenth day), did not coincide with the crucifixion; and that Jesus ate the Passover on Thursday (the fifteenth day), was arrested the same day before daybreak, crucified on Friday (the sixteenth), buried before the Sabbath, and resurrected on Sunday (the eighteenth). These Biblical facts, which are supported also by tradition, give rise to the question:

Was Not Jesus Three Days and Three Nights in the Tomb?

Let it not be forgotten that He was buried on the day called the “preparation day,” Friday, and that the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate on the “day that followed the day of the preparation” (Matt. 27:62), on Sabbath, requesting him to set a watch over the tomb. It was therefore the second night after His burial, Sunday Biblical time, that the tomb was guarded. And the fact that this was the night that Jesus arose, Sunday (Matt. 28:1-5), proves that He was in the tomb only the two nights--Saturday night and Sunday night. Consequently the statement, “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,” must stand for something more than simply His being in the grave, as interpreted by some.

Then in Matthew 28:1, the words, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week," are not spoken with intention to tell the time when Jesus arose, but to show the time when the women arrived at the tomb, and therefore cannot be taken to mean, as some think, the evening at the end of the Sabbath. For the women came to the sepulchre in the morning, as each gospel writer attests:

Luke--“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre.” Luke 24:1.

Mark-- “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” Mark 16:2.46

John-- “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre.” John 20:1.

Matthew--”In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week [not as it began to turn toward the first night of the week] came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” Matt. 28:1.

The statement that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulchre “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week” (Matt. 28:1), has been interpreted by some to mean that they came to the sepulchre on the Sabbath, before sunset, and then found that the Lord had already risen. But let it be remembered that on the day when they came, Mary met the Lord Himself and talked with Him. If, therefore, she was told on the Sabbath by the angels that Jesus had risen from the dead, and she herself then saw the sepulchre empty, also talked with the Lord (Matt. 28:1-9), why should she play the fool on Sunday morning by going to the sepulchre to see the Lord's body as though she knew nothing about His resurrection, when instead she should have heeded His instructions to give the news to the disciples, and to meet Him in Galilee (Matt. 28:1-7; John 20:1-17)?

Mark 16:1, 2 and Luke 24:1-10, also John 20:1, bear threefold proof that in regard to the Lord's resurrection, Mary Magdalene knew nothing before Sunday morning, when to her surprise the angel said: “He is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him.” Mark 16:6, 7. Then, too, Mark says that “Jesus was risen early the first day of the week,” and also that on “the first day of the week [not on the Sabbath] He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.” Mark 6:9.

Those, therefore, who interpret the words, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,” to mean that it was late Sabbath afternoon, and that Jesus was then risen, are in serious error. Mark says, “when the Sabbath was past,” whereas Matthew says, “in the end of the Sabbath.” In another instance, the one says, “very early in the morning the first day of the week”; whereas the other says, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.” These comparative phrases all have the same significance.

And furthermore, a comparison of Matthew 28:1 and John 20:1 shows that both scriptures refer to one and the same event, though many try to refute the fact. John says that the women came to the sepulchre “the first day of the week...when it was yet dark.” This cannot mean in the end of the Sabbath as the sun was about to set, for had that been the time, John would not have said, “when it was yet dark,” plainly indicating that the night had almost worn away, but not completely. And Matthew, speaking of this same time, says: “in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.”

Thus in the light of all the gospels, the word “dawn” can be interpreted to mean only the breaking of day -- the morning. The English dictionary also supports this definition. Now, even a cursory analysis of these four synoptic passages can result in but the one conclusion that all four observers are writing of the same event (the visit of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to the tomb), of the same place (Christ's sepulchre), and of the same time (early in the morning, the first day of the week), only each stating the matter in his own words--a threefold conclusion which is further borne out by examining the subject from the angle of The Hour of Each Event.

Anciently, the timepiece was regulated at twelve, sunset. Midnight and noon were at the sixth hour, and morning at the twelfth hour. From this original system of timekeeping, the record in connection with the trial and with the crucifixion is made as follows:

John's record of the trial states that Jesus was in Pilate's judgment hall at “about the sixth hour” (John 19:14), whereas Mark's record of the crucifixion states that Jesus was hanging on the cross at “the sixth hour.” Mark 15:33. Obviously, these two “sixth” hours cannot be the same, for at the first sixth hour He was on trial in Pilate's judgment hall, whereas at the next “sixth hour” (three hours after He was crucified, and while He was hanging on the cross) the sun became darkened: after three more hours, -- from “the sixth hour” to “the ninth hour,” when the sun again appeared (Mark 15:33), -- Jesus died (Mark 15:37)

By checking, on the diagram above, the hours mentioned by the gospel writers, the reader will see that there is no possible way by which to make all these events occupy one day only.

To begin with, check the third “sixth hour” (2nd night portion on chart)

-- the trial (John 19:14);

then check the “third hour” (2nd day portion on chart)

-- the crucifixion, (Mark 15:25);

next, check the fourth “sixth hour” (third night portion on chart)

-- the darkening of the sun (Mark 15:33);

then, the “ninth hour”

-- the death (Mark 15:34-38);

and last, the “twelfth hour”

-- the burial (Mark 15:42, 46).

From this it will be seen that all these events did not take place in one twelve-hour day, and that necessarily, therefore, Christ was brought before Pilate either at midnight preceding Friday morning or at noon Thursday. To determine which, we need only consult John's record of the trial, which disallows the midday time of Thursday, for it says: “It was the preparation of the passover.” John 19:14. And as this “preparation” day was Friday, we can only conclude that Jesus was brought before Pilate at about midnight -- “the sixth hour” -- on what we call Thursday night, but what, according to Genesis, chapter 1, and according to Jewish Sabbath-keeping, actually was Friday.

Accordingly, Jesus was arrested early Thursday morning; tried before Annas while it was yet dark (John 18:13); brought before Caiaphas in the assembly of the Sanhedrin (His legal trial) at daybreak (Matt. 26:57; 27:1); next before Pilate, Friday, before daybreak--about the sixth hour (John 19:14); then before Herod (Luke 23:7); then back to Pilate (Luke 23:11); and finally was crucified in the morning of the same day, about the third hour (Mark 15:25) -- 9:00 A.M., modern time.

This time-record shows that His capture, His trials, and His crucifixion were carefully and cunningly prearranged to take place at night and early morning to prevent any uproar, for “they feared the people.” Luke 20:19.

That He remained in the tomb two nights and rose on Sunday; that the three days and three nights is the time from His first legal trial to the time of His resurrection; that the heart of the earth has been erroneously interpreted to mean the grave, when, instead, it is, as Jonah's experience shows, symbolical of Christ's imprisonment in the hands of sinners and in the tomb (Matt. 20:19; 16:21; 17:22, 23; 27:63; Luke 9:22; 24:21; 18:33; 24:7).

“Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.” (Luke 24:46); that the sign of the “three days and three nights” literally is fulfilled from Thursday morning, the time of His legal trial, to Sunday morning when He arose; that the paschal lamb, which was about to be killed when Jesus was on the cross, was not that which was killed on the first day of the Passover week, the fourteenth day of the month, but that which was killed on the sixteenth day, the second day of the feasts; -- all these conclusions are firmly founded on the solid facts established herein in simplicity; not, dear reader, on fables or on translations unknown to you, or on so called “original manuscripts,” which you yourself cannot read, and which are not accessible to you, and some of which do not even exist!

Now, by studying the front-page chart, the reader can quickly summarize the entire subject, and thus obtain a lasting picture of the Scriptural immovable sign-posts of each event, concluding the impossibility of judging Him before both the Jewish and the Roman judiciaries, in addition to mocking and crucifying Him, in three short hours -- from sunrise (the twelfth hour) to the third hour! In other words, the chart shows that it is utterly impossible in three short hours to have at least one trial before the Sanhedrin, two before Pilate, and one before Herod, making a total of no less than four trials, besides the time to crucify Him. Dividing the total time consumed (three hours) by the total number of events (five), we find that there would be only thirty-six minutes for each event! But merely walking from one place of judgment to another, along with arranging the trials, would alone have consumed more than three hours.

We hope the information on the “Three Days And Three Nights In The Heart of The Earth” has helped to bring about a clearer understanding which has been greatly misunderstood by many throughout the years.

To God be the glory.

You May Request Any Of The End-Time Prophetic Prophecies Listed Below.

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(2) The Stone of Dan. 2 - Christ or His subjects, which?

(3) The 11th - hour Laborers of Matt. 20, who are they?

(4) The irrefutable pieces of evidence exposing the critic's eschatology of The 2300-day prophecy,

(5) Three Days and Three Nights In The Heart of The Earth, when did it began? (6) The Great Paradoxes of The Ages (an explanation of Zech. 6 regarding a change of leadership within the SDA church),

(7) Is World War II yet to be finished? (Prophecies that identify who Antitypical Assyria is at present, and their involvement in coming wars),

(8) A Message From God To The Laodicean Church-the SDA church,

(9) The Four Winds of Rev. 7 (in the light of current and future events),

(10) The Incarnation of Christ, (did Christ took man's nature before or after sin?),

(11) The Flood, “as in the days of Noah,” type, antitype, and additional applications.

(12) (The Re-establishment of God’s kingdom, When, Where and What).

(13) “The little Season” of Rev. 20:3, when is it?

(14) The Seven Seals of Rev. 5-8.

(15) The Seven Trumpets, a complete and detailed explanation on Rev. 8-11.

(16) God’s Ever-Living Church, a detailed study on Rev. 12.

(17) The Two Olive Trees of Zech.4,

(18) The Old And New Testament Church History Depicted By One Allegorical Family—Hosea 1&2.

(19) The Beginning of The Hebrew day, month, and year. Lunar, Solar, or Weekly Sabbath?

(20) The Parabolic Harvest of Matt.13.

(21) The Ceremonial Harvest.

(22) The Origin of The Hebrews and Their Progenitors. The 144,000 Israelites and Their Lineage and Purpose.

(23) God’s Universal Dairy.

(24) The Return of The Fourth Angel.

(25) The Truth and The Host Under Foot.

(26) The World Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow In Prophetic Symbols of Beasts.

(27) The Harvest Period and The Close of Probation.

(28) The King of The North and The King of The South.

(29) The Six Grains of Ezek. 4.

(30) The Cleansing Fountain and The Mighty River of Zech.13 and Ezek.47.

(31) The Third Person of The Godhead.

(32) The First and Second Temple In Type And Anti-Type.

(33) Christian Standards For Seventh-Day Adventist.

Study Outline: Three Days and Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth

I. Introduction

Introduction to the topic and the common misunderstandings surrounding the phrase "Three Days and Three Nights."
Explanation of the misinterpretation of the "heart of the earth" as the grave, when it symbolically refers to Christ's imprisonment in the hands of sinners and His burial (Matthew 20:19; 16:21; 17:22, 23; 27:63; Luke 9:22; 24:21; 18:33; 24:7).
Identification of the key questions: When did the three days and three nights begin?

II. Understanding the "Three Days and Three Nights"

According to Scripture:
- The "Three Days and Three Nights" started with Christ's first legal trial and ended with His resurrection (Matthew 12:40, Luke 24:46).
- The Heart of the Earth refers to Christ’s imprisonment and not the literal tomb.
- In Matthew 20:19, 16:21, 17:22-23, Christ mentioned that He would suffer, be killed, and rise again on the third day.
Spirit of Prophecy:
- Ellen G. White, in "Desire of Ages," clarifies that the three days and three nights do not refer to a literal 72-hour period but to the time from His death, burial, and resurrection.

III. Understanding the Events of Christ's Death, Burial, and Resurrection

Start of the Three Days and Three Nights:
- Christ's death on the cross and His first trial before the Sanhedrin (at midnight).
- The Last Supper and the final moments before Christ was crucified.
Imprisonment and Burial:
- The "Heart of the Earth" is not the tomb but refers to Christ being held in the hands of sinners.
- Christ's burial and the passage of three nights and three days before His resurrection.
Resurrection and Fulfillment of Prophecy:
- Christ's resurrection on the third day as the fulfillment of prophecy (Luke 24:46).

IV. Clarifying the Timing of Events

Trials and Crucifixion:
- According to the Gospel accounts, the trials and crucifixion happened from Thursday evening (6th hour) to Friday morning (3rd hour).
- Mark 15:25 and John 19:14 show a discrepancy in the hours presented in the Gospels, suggesting that the three days and three nights cannot take place in one day.
Reviewing the Events:
- Christ's death (3rd hour), darkness on the land (6th hour), and the sun appearing again at the ninth hour.
- Understanding that Christ's appearance before Pilate was strategically arranged to avoid turmoil.

V. Importance of Correcting Misunderstandings

The common misinterpretations of the three days and three nights have caused confusion, but with careful study of Scripture and guidance from the Spirit of Prophecy, we can arrive at a correct understanding of these events.
This study emphasizes the proper understanding of the timing of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection in fulfillment of prophecy.

VI. Conclusion

The Spirit of Prophecy confirms that the events of the three days and three nights are not merely symbolic but are firmly grounded in Scripture.
The three days and three nights should be understood as part of the symbolic fulfillment of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, not as a literal time frame.

VII. Prayer and Reflection

Reflecting on the lessons learned from studying these events and how they deepen our understanding of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.

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