Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

On the History of Jonah

Methodius of Olympus

Section 2

About this work

Author: Methodius of Olympus

II. As, then, Jonah spent three days and as

many

nights

in

the

whale’s

belly

,

and

was

delivered

up

sound

again

,

so

shall

we

all

,

who

have

passed

through

the

three

stages

of

our

present

life

on

earth

—

I

mean

the

beginning

,

the

middle

,

and

the

end

,

of

which

all

this

present

time

consists

—

rise

again

.

For

there

are

altogether

three

intervals

of

time

,

the

past

,

the

future

,

and

the

present

.

And

for

this

reason

the

Lord

spent

so

many

days

in

the

earth

symbolically

,

thereby

teaching

clearly

that

when

the

forementioned

intervals

of

time

have

been

fulfilled

,

then

shall

come

our

resurrection

,

which

is

the

beginning

of

the

future

age

,

and

the

end

of

this

.

For

in

that

age

there

is

neither

past

nor

future

,

but

only

the

present

.

Moreover

,

Jonah

having

spent

three

days

and

three

nights

in

the

belly

of

the

whale

,

was

not

destroyed

by

his

flesh

being

dissolved

,

as

is

the

case

with

that

natural

decomposition

which

takes

place

in

the

belly

,

in

the

case

of

those

meats

which

enter

into

it

,

on

account

of

the

greater

heat

in

the

liquids

,

that

it

might

be

shown

that

these

bodies

of

ours

may

remain

undestroyed

.

For

consider

that

God

had

images

of

Himself

made

as

of

gold

,

that

is

of

a

purer

spiritual

substance

,

as

the

angels

;

and

others

of

clay

or

brass

,

as

ourselves

.

He

united

the

soul

which

was

made

in

the

image

of

God

to

that

which

was

earthy

.

As

,

then

,

we

must

here

honour

all

the

images

of

a

king

,

on

account

of

the

form

which

is

in

them

,

so

also

it

is

incredible

that

we

who

are

the

images

of

God

should

be

altogether

destroyed

as

being

without

honour

.

Whence

also

the

Word

descended

into

our

world

,

and

was

incarnate

of

our

body

,

in

order

that

,

having

fashioned

it

to

a

more

divine

image

,

He

might

raise

it

incorrupt

,

although

it

had

been

dissolved

by

time

.

And

,

indeed

,

when

we

trace

out

the

dispensation

which

was

figuratively

set

forth

by

the

prophet

,

we

shall

find

the

whole

discourse

visibly

extending

to

this

.

Notes

4
Or, dispensation.