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Jonah 1:17 (NASB) - ...... "and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights."

Does this Bible verse remind you of someone else who was dead for three days and three nights? We're going to explore that connection by reading the Bible more carefully. But first a detour to Charles Dickens' beloved story "A Christmas Carol," about the old miser Ebenezer Scrooge. It begins as follows: “Marley was dead; to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that ... as dead as a door-nail.”

Dickens begins his story this way because the audience needs to understand up-front that Marley is dead. Otherwise it will be of no significance when Marley returns as a ghost to haunt Scrooge. Similarly, the reader of Jonah needs to understand up-front that Jonah is dead in the belly of the big fish. Most English translations and certainly the original Hebrew are consistent on this point. But the majority of Christians miss it because the only version of Jonah they know is from the "Precious Moments" Children's Bible.

Jonah 2:1-2 (NASB) - Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I called for help from the depth of Sheol."

Note that Jonah is praying to God from Sheol. Sheol (Hebrew) is the abode of the dead. (In Greek it is called Hades.) Sheol is not the same as the grave, though it is sometimes loosely translated that way. The grave is the resting place of the body from which the spirit has departed, while Sheol is the abode of departed spirits.

In case you missed it, Jonah 2:5-6 graphically describe how Jonah drowned. He sank to the bottom of the sea ("to the roots of the mountains") and seaweed wrapped around his head. That's what happens to people who drown in the ocean. You won't find this gruesome scene in the Precious Moments Children's Bible!

Q: If Jonah is dead, how can he be praying to God?
A: That's a real problem for people who believe in "soul sleep.
But "soul sleep" is unBiblical. The Bible says that only our body stops at death; our spirit and soul continue uninterrupted. You will be wide awake and aware after you die. And so was Jonah. Now fast forward approximately 800 years as Jesus confronts the unbelieving Pharisees.

Matt 12:39-40 (AMP) - He (Jesus) answered "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Jesus tells them that He is going to be dead for three days and three nights ... just like Jonah. In conclusion, Marley was dead; to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that ... as dead as a door-nail. And so was Jonah. Jesus was resurrected. And so was Jonah.