Imagine getting swallowed by Leviathan.

I love that ICR charges directly into the issues that many others tip-toe around: Deep time, Jonah, Noah, etc. Don't be shy: Be ready to give a defense. Don't give secular evolutionists an inch: Stand firm on the word of God.

GREAT video! I wanted to point out for consideration too that there were times in the Bible where people were put into "impossible survival" situations, but did in fact survive. One Example: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace with the fire seven times hotter than normal. They miraculously survived without even smelling like smoke - Daniel 3:16-28. It is awesome to get intellectual evidence for Biblical stories - but no matter if Jonah died or not, survival in the stomach of an animal and/or being brought back to life are both miracles. :) I believe it is important for all of us who believe in Jesus and the Bible, to be cautious to understand that we may not always have answers that satisfy our logic or intellectual minds. There are often times with situations in our lives that God allows, that just do not make any sense and may not be understood in our lifetime on this earth. Never-the-less, God's Word (the Bible) it worthy to be trusted for so many reasons. It is awesome to see science research and study support the Bible, but always keep in mind that the Bible says in Hebrews 11:16, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him". Thanks ICR for all you do! Press on!

Dr. Thomas has really been going at it on the ICR channel lately. Thanks for your hard work Dr. Thomas!

I’m really a fan of Dr Brian Thomas. The tone of his voice and the way he articulates makes him a very good speaker and lecturer. Once again I really enjoyed the broadcast 🇦🇺🦘Thank you from Melbourne, Australia.

The Bible says God prepared a fish for Jonah this means he created a fish that specifically was designed to accomplish what it did.

Chinese Dragons look like Dog-headed sea serpents...

Jonah was spat upon the shore where many Ninevites saw him. The Ninevites (who were Assyrians) worshipped Dagon, the fish god, so when the Ninevites saw a fish spit out Johan, they thought he was a god. That is why they listened to him and believed. Yahweh already knew that and that was Yahweh's plan all along. Yahweh is all-seeing and all-knowing, and He has a since of humor. Jonah (yonah) is the Hebrew word for a dove.

I have often wondered why the people of Nineveh took Jonah so seriously when he said their nation was about to be destroyed. Of course, in the Bible, we often get the shortened versions. But some have suggested that when Jonah exited the fish, or whale, or whatever it was, his skin was mottled and patchy from the digestive juices of the animal. This could help get peoples attention. There is at least one case of a man swallowed by a sperm whale, who managed to survive, but looked pretty strange for the rest of his life. Also, since Nineva worshiped a sea creature god, someone seen and reported to emerge from a sea creature would be enough to get everybody’s attention.

Thank you, Dr Thomas! Many think Jonah went to deliver a message of repentance, but this is not so as you rightly say. I summarise it as "Yet 40 days and you get yours!". This explains why the king asked "Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?" It also explains why Jonah was hopping mad in Chapter 4. He was called to preach that judgement is coming but knew that if the Ninevites DID repent then God would not carry it through, and Jonah would be shown to be a false prophet. That's why he fled in the first place. "Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Just kill me now, LORD! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen" (NLT). I'm one of those who believe Jonah died, too.

Thank you for this great program. 🙏 God created all living creatures on this earth.

I had another thought on this. I'm not sure if it really matters whether it was a whale or a sea serpent. They're both really big creatures. To me, the bottom line is that a very large creature swallowed Jonah and then vomited him up on the beach. I'm not sure of the reference atm, but there is a reference to this in the Psalms.

when i was at university in the 1990's studying ocean science, my lecturer (who believed in a 4 billion year old earth and evolution) showed us an old black and white pic of an African fisherman from the Indian ocean coast of Africa. He had fallen off his fishing boat into the ocean. He was swallowed by a whale shark (the biggest living shark, it feeds on plankton) He had remained in-side the whale shark for several hours. When he was puked up by the fish he survived, but his skin was bleached white, this was very apparent in the pic!

The ketas looks like the gods depicted in the movie El Dorado. Fascinating to know it is documented in culture before and after in extra biblical sources

The ocean is a large place. I think it very possible a dog headed sea serpent could be hidden there somewhere.

I can’t thank you enough for doing these broadcasts ! I still remember my mother telling me in Episcopal Sunday school that the story of the whale was made up to teach a lesson and a man couldn’t fit inside a whale. 🤦‍♀️ in addition, she told my young teen self that the Bible was stories that men made up and wrote down to explain God to us. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ the sad part is she spent her entire life going to church and being involved in Church ministries.😢 Many years later when I finally gave my life over to Jesus at age 40, I learned AND acknowledged that GOD is bigger and smarter than all of us and knows everything. And the Bible was GOD’S word written down by men. Not their words. However I do get how translations caused by “modern day” politics and definitions and changes in language have affected the true meaning in HIS words. I’m so disappointed that my mother didn’t instead teach me a true faith in Jesus to give over all my woes and everything else in life. God is sovereign however nac he knew my oath to him, and I wouldn’t have met my husband when I did if I had led a different albeit somewhat easier path to HIS love and grace and forgiveness.

"Death before sin." For gazillions of years. Exactly. A fellow-Catholic swipes that aside by saying, Yeah but Paul was only talking about human death. He's happy that God was happy with animal suffering.

I had an uncle once who denied the Lord based exactly on what you talked about! He couldn't wrap his mind around a "whale" swallowing Jonah so he rejected the whole kit kaboodle. :(

Yes makes sense as an aquatic biologist. To much stomach acid and he raised Lazarus on the 4th day when he stanketh

Very interesting! Thank You I.C.R. !

Lovely. Thank you!

Sinking in the depths of the ocean, the ship growing smaller as it floats off. The darkness of the storm overtaking his vision as his descends under water. Thrown by the current, he knew his life was over, this was the end, he failed to follow God's mission and now he will pay with his life, drowned to death in the ocean. A massive dark figure approaches as he loses consciousness. His last sight, a monstrous frame like a Leviathan from the stories he heard as a boy. A long neck the size of the cedars of Lebanon curls about, and he sees an open maw of teeth and blackness encase him. Then... nothing... A corpse, eyes glossed over, soaked in vomit, bile and sea water, washed up on the shore. Had anyone seen it they would have looked on in horror. It begins to move, a spam and then a sharp inhalation of breath, and confusion. How long was he unconscious? How did he end up on this beach? What on earth is that thing lying dead on the shore next to him? The thoughts racing through his mind, but he knew, the Lord speaks to him and he knows the answers now. He will have to write this down in the future and tell others when he gets home. But for now, Jonah tries to raise his weak and shaking body from the sand. He has a mission, and he must fulfill it. The Lord wouldn't have brought him back from death otherwise. He begins to stumble and then walk, he must find the nearest town and find out where he is.

In modern Hebrew, leviathan just means "whale" but in ancient Hebrew, it could refer to any large sea creature.

Totally agree with you about Jonah being dead... Jonah 2:2 confirms it. Great programme and discussion... I think it was a whale shark that swallowed Jonah for 3 reasons: 1: Whale sharks are plenty big enough to swallow a human and does not have the filter system in their mouth like whales. 2: A Whale shark is a fish... 3: A Whale Shark regurgitates all the undigested food after 3 days..

The narrative of Jonah doesn't say he "lived" inside a fish for three days, as the young lady states in the beginning of the program. It just says he was IN the belly of the fish for three days. Whether he was alive or dead during those three days is a matter of controversy. Some people claim it's a matter of the way the narrative is presented, because it says, "Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights," and then goes onto talk about his experience and prayer. But that can also be interpreted as a common writer's method, much like newspaper headlines do today, where it gives the headline, "Jonah in fishes belly three days and nights!" and then goes in back of the story to show what happened prior to the headline. It's my understanding that there are two fish currently living that could have easily swallowed Jonah. I'd have to look up the names of them. Jesus verified the authenticity of the account because apparently there were doubters in in His day and that's the only verification needed to support the actual truth of the account. Also, Jonah was verified as a real person in the historical book of 2 Kings 14:25 where he is mentioned, so people who think Jonah was just a fictional character are confronted with evidence of his reality and I believe God did that on purpose.

One of the most helpful statements in this podcast was pointing to the fact that Scripture does not say that Jonah was necessarily alive (though implied when he prayed to God) while in the ketos (I am assuming that his praying to God would have been with the fact that to be absent from the body is to be present with God). In fact for him to be dead and then restored to life after being spit out makes Jesus' use of Jonah even more tightly woven with His own death, burial, and resurrection. All of this information will be added to the tools I use teaching Sunday school. Thank you all for your faithfulness in ministering with the uncompromised Word of God.

So you believe in the Loch Ness monster too! Really loved this interview. Please have Dr. Thomas back.

A whale shark has a huge mouth (6x8 feet), they follow fishing boats and inhale fish etc. after digesting the meal, they vomit the remnants of their stomach near the shore. They can and have been known to swallow people. God can use his creation for his own purposes. Timing is key to see miracles. Jonah was vomited up on the shore.

Fascinating discussion. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had always thought it was probably a Megalodon. I lean against the idea that Jonah died and was resurrected for two reasons. One is that the book of Jonah says that God prepared a 'fish'. That would imply that it could be either a special creation or an alteration of something living at the time. Secondly, it is hard for me to imagine Jonah vividly describing the conditions he was living in and his prayers if he was dead. Finally, Jesus statement that he would be in the ground just like Jonah was in the belly of the whale does not necessarily imply that Jonah was dead. But of course, we will have to wait until Heaven to see which one of us is correct. God bless!

I think mis-translations in general have caused more issues than we are aware of. I don't think it was done maliciously (in most translations), but with the intent to provide a better understanding of ancient words to a modern audience. We have so much more evidence about things than we used to as well, whereas I'm sure these earlier translators weren't as aware of extinct species and assumed it was a known creature.

I've understood that Jonah indeed was dead for those three days. God raised him from death.

i can tell Dr Thomas is strugeling keep going brother and thank you

It looks like a Chinese dragon living in the water. The Ketos/ Cetos

Such a great talk for this time of year, around Yom Kippur! Is K-E-T-A-S a good transliteration of that word? Dog headed sea serpent, who knew? So fascinating!

Great info guys! 👍🏻

Great videos!

I love your podcast, thanks so much for offering your time. I now have a name that I can call my grown-up wonderful sons. “DOG-FACED SEA SERPENT” ha ha ha! ❤

Fascinating😮

Fantastic talk!

Great show but I would argue that plesiosaurs most likely exist today in Loch Ness 😉

Very informative episode.

I looked up Mary Anning and she had an interesting life and was a Christian. Someone should write a book for kids that is a combo biography about her and science book about the fossils/animals from a Christian perspective since she was a believer. A British movie was made that showed a relationship between her and a woman that was made up but was presented as true. Her true story and faith should get out there.

Interesting! thanks

Very good. Thank you!

So very grateful for the ongoing ministry at ICR! Please know that your efforts are effectively equipping and encouraging fellow believers to share the truth of God's Word!

First, Im not arguing with what this guy in the video is saying. i love the book of Jonah. In the book of Jonah i dont see the evidence he died in the belly of the big fish i see evidence he was alive and prayed in the belly and thanked God for the fish rescuing him from the deep. I see both sides, whether he was dead or alive, as an awesome miracle that only God could do. I see the symbolism for Jesus as Jonah was three days in the dark and then brought back up on the third day. Awesome piece of scripture. i encourage everyone to take 5 minutes and read the whole book

Very interesting!

Fantastic discovery

I find these attestations to the truth of the bible interesting, even encouraging, but regarding 24:12 etc., I didn't first get intellectually convinced of the trustworthiness of the bible then come to be born again, but rather when I got born again the Spirit within testified to the literal truth of the bible... and addicted me to it. It's true that I was saved in part through reading the bible one evening in anguish, but mental considerations as to its truth became irrelevant when God began speaking to me through it.

My interpretation of Jonah is that he literally died...he didn't survive. He went to Sheol as stated in the text. On the third day he was brought back to life and washed upon the shore. Now, imagine a three-day digested man walking into the city proclaiming judgement. THAT would be a sign, and that would be proof to heed. Otherwise, he would just another man proclaiming judgement. Something about his testimony radically changed the people of Nineveh.

I love this channel🎉❤

I don’t know for sure if Cetus exists but the ocean is huge and we haven’t explored it all, not even close.

Another thing to remember is that many such artworks were made from oral description & not by eyewitnesses, which is why it looks fake.

Yup, sarcophagi. (Just looked it up).

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.." -John 17:17 (KJV) ***Jesus was referring to duration. Jonah’s deliverance came after three days and nights had passed, providing a foreshadowing of Jesus’ resurrection: Matthew 12:40 (NLT) "For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Jonah’s Prayer (NLT) Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. He said, “I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead,[b] and Lord, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence. Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’ “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was imprisoned in the earth, whose gates lock shut forever. But you, O Lord my God, snatched me from the jaws of death! As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

13:06 Lyme Regis ... a _plesiosaur_ was found there. Where any _land_ creatures found _above_ it, not meaning up-inland-off-coast, like 45 ° to horizontal, but really vertical, like 45° - 90° against horizontal?

Jesus was talking about his preaching of repentance to a wicked city and compared it to Jonah. Same sign given to Ninevah, not death, burial and resurrection. Note that Jonah got the second part of the message in chapter 3. 40 days and destruction comes... Did you know that about 40 years later in Jesus' timeframe that in 70 AD another wicked city was destroyed....(JERUSALEM)

Excellent! You CAN believe the whole Bible is true!

Great stuff. Please include graphics and links.

Thank you for this fascinating insight into the story, which I’ve always believed and taken at face value. Personally, I do not believe that Jonah actually died whilst in the body of the creature, but whether he did, or did not, is somewhat academic due to the fact that he was to all intents and purposes in a place that was totally dark, damp and dismal (not to mention the smell). And if I were in a place like that, I would certainly be crying out to the Lord for help just as Jonah did.

My favorite sea creature: "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms", for those old enough to remember 1950's monster movies 😊

Thinking of how the plesiosaurus used it's four flippers - I think about how a dragonfly uses its four wings. Dragonflies are the most skillful fliers of all creatures. I can imagine the plesiosaurus being a most adroit creature in the water.

define irony. After Jonah was swallowed by an apparent big fish, he himself is totally unaware of what happened as evidence by his prayer. In fact, using that same passage, you can get a totally different event of what happened by using other usages of language from the same text. I know I have.

I looked up Cetus and found quite a few references to an alternate name of Kraken

What about an ichthyosaur? I visited the Ichthyosaur State Park in central Nevada where 3 (if memory serves me correctly) of these fossil creatures are found?

Remember, it was MAN who designated a Whale as a mammal. Go said, Jonah was swallowed by A BIG FISH.

Not only the way the bible said it happened but the way our rabbi said it happened Matthew 22:40. Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a big fish.

If one starts at the viewpoint that the Bible is true and God's knowledge is beyond what we can even imagine, then we can rest in the idea that "the science" will eventually catch up with the things God set forth in His word as fact. Then we can enjoy those "mysterious" passages we don't understand.

*In the Book of Daniel* the 3 youths survived inside a FURNACE so what's there to explain about Jonah trapped - alive - in the belly of a fish??

Learned a lot from this video. Thanks for all the work you do ICR!

Jesus said Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days, as He would be in the earth for 3 days. (Mattew 12:40). In the OT Jonah was in the fish's belly for 3 days. (Jonah 1:17) Jesus compares Jonah and Himself as resurrected. Sea bass are known to be able to swallow another fish one third it's size. An 18 foot bass is possible, but with God, nothing is impossible.

For a long time now, I have wondered if Jonah was really swallowed by an icthyosaur or similar marine "dinosaur".

Considering that the search for extinct creatures is in fossil form from the sea and/or ancient seabeds and the percentage of those is approximately less than 5%, there could be any such creature that once lived, is a rarity at this time OR quite possibly has not been found yet. We still do not have a complete understanding of our oceans.

13:00 it was an ichthyosaur, not a plesiosaur

Would sea turtles be an animal with both front and back flippers similar to a plesiosaur maybe?

Why is it so important, what kind of fish or a whale swalled Jonah? How this affect once salvation? Maranatha.

Praise God in the Highest! Jesus Christ is Lord!!

Jonah was in the belly 3 days and nights, the first three words of the 2nd chapter is ,Then jonah prayed

Interesting! Never really thought of it being a large aquatic dinosaur. Makes one wonder 🤔

Strong's Number - G2785 Greek: κῆτος Transliteration: kētos Pronunciation: kay'-tos Definition: Probably from the base of G5490; a huge fish (as gaping for prey): - whale. KJV Usage: whale (1x). Occurs: 1 In verses: 1 Nothing here about a dog headed serpent Strong's Number - H1709 Hebrew: דּאג דּגo Transliteration: dâg dâ'g Pronunciation: {dawg} dawg Definition: From H1711; a fish (as prolific); or perhaps rather from H1672 (as timid); but still better from H1672 (in the sense of {squirming} that {is} moving by the vibratory action of the tail); a fish (often used collectively): - fish. KJV Usage: fish (20x). Occurs: 20 In verses: 18

Where is it written that Jonah actually lived inside the great fish? Why then does it say that Jonah cried out from sheol? What if he was dead, and after three days God made the fish vomit his corpse onto the seashore and at this moment God restored his life? I agree with you Dr. Thomas, I think that he was dead.

It is worth noting that Jonah was once called by my college professor “the Homer Simpson of biblical prophets.”

15:53 a sarcophagus is a coffin ⚰️

Did you read Ch 2 and it can be better understanding 🤔

1:05 It perhaps doesn't say Jonah lived. While praying, he could have been already dead. Or the prayer could have been well remembered last words before dying.

Jonah prophesied about the Assyrians, so he was afraid to go there. The Assyrians often skinned their victims alive. Jonah was referred to as being red. Perhaps his skin was burned by digestive juices in the dog-headed sea creature before it committed him.

Very interesting theory. I do think it should be mentioned that Dr Thomas said the New Testament was written in Greek, "The original language" I believe is the term he used. Whereas I believe the majority of the linguist of the world will say the New Testament was written in Hebrew, but that the Greek translation is the oldest we have. I say that because we know that (A) Most everyone in the New Testament were Hebrews, living in Israel, acting as Hebrews, living in a Hebrew culture. That would only make sense to believe that they would speak, and therefore write, in Hebrew, mixed in with some Aramaic. And (B) There are phrases in the NT that are Hebrew-isms or Hebrew idioms that a Greek writer would never use in Greek sentence formation. But yet we find these phrases sprinkled throughout. These language idioms are found in every language. An example of an American-ism is "dead as a doornail", all Americans have heard it and think nothing of it, but you would never find an Egyptian using this phrase in their writings. They would think it strange. So, to believe that the NT was originally written in Greek, by Israelites, living in Israel, in a "Jewish" dominated society, to quote Dr Thomas again, "That would be a really tall claim".

Don't turtles have front and back flippers?

12:00 sea turtles propel themselves with front and back limbs so plesiosaurs may have swum in a similar fashion

100% agree. Thank you so much for sharing. I heard Jonah preached at a church not long ago and pointed out to the speaker exactly this - Jonah appears to have died and was raised from the dead - just based on the Jonah passage alone if you read it carefully, and Jesus affirms this as the “sign of Jonah” in the New Testament. The speaker brushed it off…glad to see I’m not the only one with this understanding though.

Had to actually watch the commercial just to say. It was a great fish. Not a single verse was translated propper.

Im sure God has all these "scientists" to make sure He makes all His stuff according to their gargantuan understanding of every law of the universe

Most known whales don't have a throat large enough to swallow a man so the original text was correct a great fish was used.

There are fish around today (several varieties of Sunfish) that could easily swallow a human. If I found myself inside of a fish's stomach, I would try to get on my hands and knees and then try to get my head into any air pocket there so I could breathe. By deliberate and concentrated clawing, I could make a hole in the stomach and just beyond that is the air bladder. If jonah ever cleaned a fish, he would know about the air bladder. Jonah may have stuck his head into the air bladder as an accident in the course of his desperate struggles or as the result of deliberate conscious action. Surviving there for three days until the mortally wounded fish puked him up near shore completes the very plausible scenario.

You should have read chapter 2. Clearly Jonah was conscious in the belly of the creature up to the point GOD answered his prayer of repentance and spoke to the monster which spit him out. I do like the insight of the "ketos" tho. BTW Y@shua didn't preach in Greek but likely would have used the word for the serpent in Greek.

Whete are your visuals?

This was AWESOME 😊 Never knew the link when Jesus mentioned the event😮

In the Ferrar Fenton bible, Great Fish was a ship sent by GOD to rescue Jonah and the Greeks mistranslated it for whale.

Jonah was swallowed, died, and was resurrected after three days. The “sign” of Jonah represents Jesus.

God prepared a great fish, could mean that He created a fish for the purpose. The fish also had to swim all the way out of the Mediterranean sea then all the way around Africa, then up the river to Nineveh; think about how long that would take.