How Was Jesus Three Days and Three Nights in "The Heart of the Earth"?

Have you ever wondered about the calculus of Jesus' "sign of Jonah" statement? Jesus said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40 WEB). This is usually understood as referring to Jesus' time in the tomb, but this interpretation runs into some obvious difficulties. The gospels leave a very plain record that Jesus was buried Friday evening soon before the Sabbath and that he was resurrected early Sunday morning. That's a span of about 36 hours, which is only half of "three days and three nights," which is 72 hours. So, the suggestion that the "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" refers to Jesus' time in the grave, simply doesn't match the facts of Jesus' burial and resurrection. In our study today, we look at an article by J.N. Andrews from "The Present Truth," December 1849, in which he comments on the phrase "the heart of the earth," gives reason why the common interpretation isn't correct, and then explains what it really means.   For more study, see: "The Sign of Jonah, " by Victor Houteff, https://www.bdsda.com/the-sign-of-jonah/   2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 11, "Taken and Tried"   A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.  www.bdsda.com  Email us [email protected] for comments and study requests.