Q: Was Jonah in the belly of the “great fish” for three days or for three thousand years?

A: There are many Christians who should believe he was in the fish for three thousand years—or longer—if they are consistent with how they approach Scripture.

Many Christians oppose the belief that God created in six literal days. They quote 2 Peter 3:8, “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” On this basis, they say that the days of creation could be thousands of years. But if they were consistent, using this same logic, one could translate Jonah 2:17 this way:

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish THREE THOUSAND YEARS.

This is nonsense, of course. The context does not allow for using this phrase from the New Testament to determine the meaning of the Hebrew word “day” in Genesis 1. Peter is simply pointing out that God is outside of time, and thus is not limited by natural processes and time.

Genesis shows clearly that God created everything in six literal days, which is exactly what the Hebrew words—in context—mean.

For more information on the length of the days in Genesis, see The necessity for believing in six literal days.

Antibiblical quote of the week

From a superficial reading, the impression received is that the entire creative process took place in six twenty-four hour days. If this was the true intent of the Hebrew author (a questionable deduction, as will be presently shown), this seems to run counter to modern scientific research, which indicates that the planet Earth was created several billion years ago.

– Archer, G.L., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Moody, Chicago, p. 187, 1985.

This week’s After Eden cartoon:

September 10–11
Duxbury, Massachusetts
Dr. Terry Mortenson
 
September 10
Minford, Ohio
Coordinators Bob & Gerry Garbe
Video Conference
 
September 10
Concord, North Carolina
Coordinators Richard & Gail Hawkins
Video Conference
 
September 10
Tampa, Florida
Coordinators Arnold & Neta Schmiel
Video Conference
 
September 10
Connersville, Indiana
Coordinator James Lewis
Video Conference
 
September 10
Liberty Township, Ohio
Ken Ham
 
September 12
Montville, New Jersey
Dr. Andy McIntosh
 
September 17
Elkton, Oregon
Coordinator John Mittendorf
Video Conference
 
September 17–18
Washington, North Carolina
Carl Kerby
 
September 17–18
Villa Ridge, Missouri
Bill Jack

 
September 17–18
Dexter, Missouri
Dr. Robert "Tommy" Mitchell
 
September 17–19
Brownsburg, Indiana
Ken Ham
 
September 19
Export, Pennsylvania
Dr. David Menton
 
September 23
Petersburg, Kentucky
Rod Martin
3rd Annual Motorcycle Rally
 
September 23–24
Warsaw, Ohio
Ken Ham, Buddy Davis
 
September 24
Tampa, Florida
Coordinators Arnold & Neta Schmiel
Video Conference
 
September 24
Black Mountain, North Carolina
Coordinator Bill Thoman
Video Conference
 
September 24
Hyden, Kentucky
Coordinator James Lewis
Video Conference
 
September 24–25
Charleston, Illinois
Dr. Terry Mortensone