The Sign of Yona/Jonah as a Sign of the last days and of the Coming of Mashiach!
“Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and testing Him (Yeshua), asked that He would show them a Sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the Signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah/Yona.” And He left them and departed.” Mattityahu/Matthew 16:1-4
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man/ Ben HaAdam be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth/Adamah!” Matthew 12:40 We all know that right here and there he is for sure referring to His death, burial and Resurrection which duration would be three days and three nights! But He goes on to say: “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the “PREACHING of JONAH”; and indeed One greater than Jonah is here. The Queen (Sheba) of the South will rise up in the Judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Shlomo/Solomon; and indeed One greater than Shlomo/Solomon is here.” verses 41-42
I want to concentrate on the Preaching of Jonah! The Preaching that saved the men of Ninevah from judgment in their day was done by a reluctant prophet who resisted the calling and will of God and rebelled and went his own way only to meet a great big fish that swallowed him, by God’s grace for he should’ve died under those circumstances, no one can survive that but by God’s grace and mercy, he then gets spewed out of the fish’s mouth and he lands on the shore of none other than Nineveh, stinking like fish or a dead body and looking like God knows what! I want to point out a different sign that is normally preached or understood the Sign of Jonah to be! I would like to propose that in these days they are many Jonah’s amongst us who are reluctant to do God’s will and are resisting YHVH and His Statutes only to eventually find themselves in a big Fish, if God should choose to be gracious unto them! Whether Jewish or Christian, many Jonahs are resisting the call of God in their lives! I know some personally, some are more cute than others, nevertheless, JONAH’s they are!
I have had a young rabbi say to my face a couple of years ago, “Even if ‘Jesus’ is who He says He is, He is not welcome here at this Yeshiva!” YONAH! Your big FISH is coming for you are resisting the Holy One of Israel!
Then you have lots of ‘Christians’ resisting God’s TORAH and persecuting the Messengers of the Torah and teaching and keeping others from entering into Covenant with God with Torah written on their hearts and minds- JONAH repent for the Storm is at hand!
God may be calling some of you to leave your backslidden communities, a place of falsehood and deception or your idolatrous father’s household and to follow HIM in Spirit and in Truth but you are resisting HIM-Oh boy, get ready, the great big FISH is coming JONAH!
Some of you are being called to move to a land where He promises to show you but you are too comfortable where you are at to take that leap of faith and follow HIM- JONAH your FISH is on its way with mouth wide open to swallow you up!
God could be telling some of you to sell everything and give to the poor and follow HIM but you are like “NO! Not my wealth and all that I’ve worked so hard for!” Not to worry! The BIG FISH is coming, Jonah, and will swallow up all you own until you end up where God wanted you in the first place, bankrupt in yourself but rich in His glorious riches in Mashiach! Then you’ll realize how silly it was of you to have ever doubted and for resisting HIM!
May YHVH richly bless you Jonah and may you, one way or another, preach the message, the Gospel of the KINGDOM to a dying generation so that the men of Nineveh will not rise up at the Judgment and condemn you nor I! God help us All to do His will! Let’s not resist the Hand of God any longer! JEW and Christian! And everybody else! Fear God alone and Glorify HIM!
SHALOM ALEYCHEM!
