The Sign

Dear Brethren,

When Jesus was here on earth, people asked Him for a sign - they wanted a miracle - to prove that He really was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God, and not just an ordinary human.  Jesus did not work a miracle for them at that time - He does not work that way.  Instead, He gave them the "Sign of Jonah."  That sign was a prophecy of the amount of time that Jesus would be "in the heart of the earth."  As clear as that sign was, the world has opted to disregard it for a period of time - only half as long.

The Friday to Sunday scenario for the duration of the burial declares that the "Jesus of this age" is not the True Messiah!  How so?  By denying the one sign that Jesus Christ gave - which proves that He is the Messiah.  That Messiah defining sign is the "sign of Jonah".  Some people will say that this subject is not that big of a deal.  Brethren, it is only the true Church of God, the very elect, who are able to distinguish between the true Jesus Christ and the "god of this age" who masquerades as Jesus - but is a counterfeit.  "The god of this world [age] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (2Corinthians 4:4)

"And when the people were gathered thick together, [Jesus ] began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation." (Luke 11:29-30)

What did Jesus mean by the "sign of Jonah?  "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." (Jonah 1:17)

The sign that Jesus gave proving His Messiahship was the three days and three nights He was in the tomb.  If Jesus was not in the Tomb for three days and three nights, a full 72 hours - He is not the prophesied Messiah.  Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is barely 36 hours, only 2 nights and 1 day.  Friday to Sunday does not fulfill the Scriptural "sign" that Jesus gave. This deceived world teaches that Jesus was in the tomb from Friday evening until Sunday morning sunrise  - one and a half days.  That is only half the amount of time required by the sign of Jonah!  Is it possible to prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was in the grave for exactly three days and three nights -  as He said he would be?

Yes.  The Scriptural record shows that Jesus was raised on the third day, at the completion of the three days, when the three days and three nights were fulfilled.  The record shows that Jesus was not in the grave less than three days and three nights.  It also shows that Jesus was not in the grave more than three days and three nights - but exactly three days and three nights.The Sign"From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matthew 16:21)

"For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day." (Mark 9:31)

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19)

"Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days [ are completed ] I will rise again." (Matthew 27:63)The Sign"And [Jesus] began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."  (Mark 8:31) The SignThe apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians explaining that Jesus did, in fact, fulfill the Scriptural prophecies concerning the sign of Jonah and Jesus Christ's resurrection.  "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1Corinthians 15:3-4)

Brethren, Let's read what Jesus Christ said about His time in the tomb - proving that, indeed, He is the Messiah.  "[Jesus] answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (Matthew 12:39-40)

We know that this world is deceived, but an even greater deception is beginning to thrive with a fervor.  We are warned that in the end-time this deception will attempt to invade the very Church of God, if it were possible, deceiving the very elect.  We need to awaken to what is happening all around us.  "Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." (Romans 13:11)

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Sermon:  "Your Crown"      


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