Common Figure of Speech/Colloquial Language?

Hi rstrats.

At first, one would think that "heart of the earth" refers to the tomb, and it does; however, Ron Wyatt claims to have found the Ark of the Covenant directly below the crucifixion site. He claims that the Savior's blood went through a crack (caused by the earthquake) down onto the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. That it was there to which the Savior was referring when he made the statement "heart of the earth." That the Savior did in fact descend into that cave below the crucifixion site; to where the Ark of the Covenant was, and the Ark of the Covenant is still there. I believe Ron Wyatt's claim to have seen the Ark of the Covenant in that cave and the Savior's blood on the Mercy Seat. You can find this on the internet.

In ancient times the days were counted from evening to morning. Thus, the evening and through the night was the first nighttime, and the morning and through the day was the first daytime (Gen. 1:5). As a result, the counting of the nighttime and then the daytime continued through the time of Christ until about 325 AD when the Jews and Catholics reworked their calendars. So when Lord Jesus said three days and nights he was meaning three night times and three day times. So counting from the Lord's Sabbath, the third day time was Saturday (lets say 6 AM to 6 PM), and the third night time was Friday (lets say 6 PM) to Saturday (lets say 6 Am). However, they counted from sundown, not 6 AM and 6 PM. So the count was as follows:

Sundown to Sunup was the first night and Sunup to Sundown was the first day
Sundown to Sunup was the second night and Sunup to Sundown was the second day
Sundown to Sunup was the third night and Sunup to Sundown was the third day
Sundown on Saturday began the first night of the new week. Thus, Lord Jesus came out of the tomb in the dark of the night and before sunup. It was in the dark of the night that Mary found him, in the nighttime of the first day of the week.

So counting backwards:
Saturday sundown to Saturday sunup was the third day time, and Saturday sunup to Friday sundown was the third night time.
Friday sundown to Friday sunup was the second day time, and Friday sunup to Thursday sundown was the second night time.
Thursday sundown to Thursday sunup was the first day time, and Thursday sunup to Wednesday sundown was the first night time.
Thus, Wednesday before sundown Lord Jesus went into the tomb and previously during that day time he was tried by Pilot.
Thus, Tuesday after sundown Lord Jesus went to the Garden and he was tried by the Jews and condemned to death.

So counting forwards:
Tuesday after sundown Lord Jesus went to the Garden. It was night time, thus, the 4th day of the week had begun. He was captured and condemned to death by the Jews.
Wednesday during the daytime of the 4th day of the week, Lord Jesus was condemned to death by Pilot and was put in the tomb before sundown.
Wednesday sundown to Thursday sundown was the first night and day. This was the high day Passover; the 5th day of the week.
Thursday sundown to Friday sundown was the second night and day. This was the 6th day of the week.
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown was the third night and day. This was the Lord's Sabbath; the 7th day of the week. 
Saturday after sundown Lord Jesus arose from the tomb.

Since Passover is the 15th day of the first month, then the calendar count is:
10 Nisan (The Lord's Sabbath), Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, Lord Jesus rode upon the ass (John 12:12-15), and this was Saturday daytime.
11-13 Nisan (1st day of the week Sunday, 2nd day of the week Monday, and 3rd day of the week Tuesday), Lord Jesus was examined for flaws
14 Nisan, (4th day of the week, Wednesday), Lord Jesus was accepted as the sacrificial lamb and killed
15-17 Nisan, (5th day of the week Thursday (Passover), the 6th day of the week Friday, and the Lord's Sabbath Saturday), Lord Jesus was in the tomb and cave in the heart of the earth
18 Nisan, (1st day of the week, Sunday) Lord Jesus ascended from the cave and arose from the tomb

Keep in mind that we are working with two different time schedules for days. The Gregorian that we are used to is from midnight to midnight (12AM to 12AM), and the ancient count for days is sundown to sundown. So there is a little overlapping that often confuses the count when they are combined as I have done above. Technically, 14 Nisan in 3 BC was sundown on Tuesday to sundown on Wednesday and it was here that Lord Jesus was killed. However, Wednesday in the Gregorian calendar extends to 12 AM, so although it was technically 15 Nisan 3 BC, it was also  a pre-Gregorian Wednesday. Consequently, some scholars have Lord Jesus being killed as well as the Passover on 14 Nisan and that is not correct. It is, Lord Jesus was killed on 14 Nisan and then Passover is on 15 Nisan and both of these events were on a pre-Gregorian Wednesday. Its a little tricky. The Jews counted the days of the week 1,2,3,4,5,6, and Shabbat, the Lord's Sabbath.

Thus, that Wednesday was:
12AM to approx. 6PM Lord Jesus was tried, put on the cross and killed, and put in the tomb. This is 14 Nisan.
At approx. 6PM when the sun goes down it is 15 Nisan (Passover). However, it is still Wednesday until 12AM.


Also notice the chiasmus of the dates showing 14 Nisan as the center and emphasis of the schedule:

10 (Saturday) Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
    11-13 (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) Three days of inspection for flaws
        14 (Wednesday) the center and emphasis of the schedule. This is where Lord Jesus was sacrificed.
    15-17 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) Three days in the tomb
18 (Sunday) Triumphal Entry into the Resurrection

Yes, you are correct. Do you have some examples?

rstrats, that is funny. Where did you come across this topic? Following are your 6 points:


1. The Messiah said that He would be three days and three nights in the "heart of the earth"

2. There are those who think that the crucifixion took place on the 6th day of the week with the resurrection taking place on the 1st day of the week.

3. Of those, there are some who think that the "heart of the earth" is referring to the tomb or at the earliest to the time of His death when His spirit left His body.

4. A 6th day of the week crucifixion/1st day of the week resurrection allows for only 2 nights to be involved.

5. To account for the lack of a 3rd night, some of those mentioned above say that the Messiah was employing common figure of speech/colloquial language.

6. I wonder if anyone who falls in that group of believers could provide examples to support that belief; i.e., instances where a daytime or a night time was forecast or said to be involved with an event when no part of the daytime and/or no part of the night time could have occurred.



1) This is a statement.
2) Number two is a theory that does not work and it is similar to the theory that the Catholics teach and may in fact be what they teach. The Catholic theory is derived from the feast count in the Gospel of John.
3) You are referencing some of "those" from the theory in item number 2 that they believe the "heart of the earth" refers to 1) the tomb, or 2) when his spirit left his body
4) A 6th day of the week crucifixion would end at sundown on Friday. Thus, Friday night is the one night and Saturday daytime one day. Thus, it is one night and one day. The next night time (Saturday night), is the first day of the week. However, you are correct if Saturday night time is counted as a night. Thus, two nights (Gregorian).
5) I take it that you are looking for this colloquial language? Where do you see this type of claim by "those" holding the theory of number 2? Is it a Quaker claim or is there a site supporting this claim? Where have you heard this type of claim?
6) This is Catholic doctrine. They claim that there was a third Passover in the Gospel of John to show that the Savior had a 3.5 year ministry. As such, then the seven years of Daniel's prophecy would be fulfilled since there is also a 3.5 year ministry in the Acts of the apostles (they claim). That is, the last seven years of Daniel's prophecy is fulfilled according to that doctrine; thus, a new savior for the people can be chosen by God. This new Savior is the Pope (so they claim), and he speaks as God's representative upon the earth as a savior. Likewise, they have three days and three nights that can not physically fit into (according to the laws or science) the time-frame allotted. Thus, I would say look to the Catholics for this doctrine.

Hi rstrats,

Do you believe that the crucifixion took place on Saturday afternoon and then the resurrection Sunday morning?

When I was young, Good Friday was seen as the day of the Crucifixion. I never thought there was any reason to question that. However, as I got older and studied things for myself I found that it was not possible to have a Friday crucifixion and Sunday resurrection. I think a lot of people out there just go with what their church taught them. On everything. There is no studying the Bible themselves. It's why so many churches are off base on so many things (like the Prosperity Gospel). I do not know where the idea of Good Friday came about, but I am guessing it's roots are in the Catholic Church.

boraddict,
re: "What day do you see as the crucifixion day and how do you see the three night and three days fitting into that week

I think scripture best indicates that it occurred on the 5th day of the week. And actually 2 different weeks would have been involved - the 5th day, 6th day, and 7th day of one week and the 1st day of the next week.

BTW, you have a question directed to you in post #24.

Hi rstrats,

The answer to your question.

I had responded to your item number 4 as follows:
post 21) "4) A 6th day of the week crucifixion would end at sundown on Friday. Thus, Friday night is the one night and Saturday daytime one day. Thus, it is one night and one day. The next night time (Saturday night), is the first day of the week. However, you are correct if Saturday night time is counted as a night. Thus, two nights (Gregorian)."

To which you responded:
post 22) re: "... Friday night is the one night..."
"Friday night had been over some 9 hours by the time of the Messiah's death."

Then I considered your answer and concluded that if Friday night was over then you had counted 9 hours of Saturday daytime and that placed the crucifixion at approximately 3 PM on Saturday. So my response to you was:
Post 23) "Do you believe that the crucifixion took place on Saturday afternoon and then the resurrection Sunday morning?"

And you responded:
Post 24) "No. What causes you to ask such a question?"

Clearly I had misunderstood your answer in post 22 so I asked a follow up question:
Post 26) "I guess I should have asked what model you use for the Passion Week. What day do you see as the crucifixion day and how do you see the three night and three days fitting into that week?"

As you can see, the prompt for me to ask the question in post 23 was your response in post 22, that "Friday night had been over some 9 hours by the time of the Messiah's death."

Sorry about the misunderstanding.