Jonah

The 12 books of the Bible called the minor prophets are primarily for this end time. They are not just history!

In one of these books, God commands the Prophet Jonah to warn Nineveh, the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire, to repent of its wicked ways or be destroyed. The Assyrians were known for their savage brutality, and Jonah was afraid to warn them. He ran away, and God sent a great fish—perhaps a whale—to swallow him. This harrowing experience brought Jonah to repentance. He returned to Nineveh and delivered the warning.

In this end time, 95 percent of God’s own people have become lukewarm and turned away from Him. They have run from their responsibility to support God’s warning message to the world—just like Jonah.

Bible critics say the story of Jonah is a myth, but Jesus Christ Himself strongly disagrees! Jonah was a sign of the Messiah.

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he 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 Jonas: For as Jonas 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 12:38-40).

To prove that Christ was the Son of God, just check to see if He was in the grave for three days and three nights. That’s a pretty simple sign.

“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here” (verse 41). The people of Nineveh actually repented when Jonah warned them! Yet the Pharisees refused to repent when God in the flesh warned them.

Of course, the Jews alone are not to blame for the death of Christ. All mankind is guilty. Our sins required the life of our Creator.

“The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (verse 42). Christ tried to show the Pharisees that they were talking to a God far greater than King Solomon. He created Solomon! And Jonah and all of us, at the direction of the Father.

The vast majority of God’s own Church has rebelled against Him in this end time. They don’t want to deliver the warning message, so God spews them out of His mouth spiritually (Revelation 3:16). Only 50 percent of them will repent. The other 50 percent will die forever. It is extremely dangerous to run from the job God commands us to do! What a sobering warning to those of us who have been called by God out of this world to do His Work (John 6:44).

The book of Jonah ends with a question: “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11). The Assyrians lived under a tyrant who taught them how to do evil. They didn’t know how to discern right from wrong.

This world needs freedom and true education! God is the greatest Educator, and He loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins.

Back to the beginning of Jonah: “Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah 1:1-2). Their wickedness really bothered God. It was unusually bad.

This message came from God in the third heaven as a direct rebuke to the most powerful empire on Earth at the time. The historian Aurelius called it the greatest empire ever, anciently. Assyria was not only powerful but horribly evil, and God would have destroyed it if it didn’t heed the warning from Jonah and repent.

When God gives you a message to deliver, you had better deliver it! Not delivering the message carries a much worse punishment than any persecution that might come from delivering it. The message you are reading right now is for the whole world and for the nations of Israel in particular. (Request our free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy to prove the identity of the modern descendants of ancient Israel.)

Delivering God’s warning message changed Jonah’s life. It will change your life as well. What an awesome opportunity God gives to you! He puts us through some trials and tests so we may qualify to be blessed and protected by Him as He re-creates Himself in us. We must stand up for God and deliver the warning—not run away.

“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly,” (Jonah 2:1). Jonah had to face his monumental sin of running away. We all have to face our monumental sins at some point, whether today or in the resurrection. We cannot escape the truth, especially if we want to serve God today before the return of Jesus Christ so we can be Christ’s Bride for all eternity. God requires us to eliminate the cardinal sins that plague us.

Assyria is the only nation in world history to repent when warned by God. As a result, God totally changed His mind and allowed the Assyrians to live! And in the resurrection, they will have a chance to really know God for the first time.

Jonah is the only prophet of God ever to conceal God’s warning message. He covered up that message by running away. What a terrible, unprecedented sin.

“Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple” (verses 1-4).

On the brink of death, Jonah saw his sin. He had turned away from God’s physical temple of the time. God’s spiritual temple today is the people in His one true Church—those who have been begotten by God’s Holy Spirit and really use it in their everyday lives. God’s saints, His very elect, are the temple from which the lukewarm rebels have turned away.

God is warning the lukewarm Laodiceans to repent and face their responsibility. We all must repent for killing Christ. This is deadly serious.

Warning for God can be difficult at times, but oh, the wonderful blessings God gives you! What a wondrous life filled with miracles, joy and happiness!

“I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God” (verse 6). Jonah was entering the land of the dead! God wouldn’t tolerate that. He gave Jonah every opportunity to fulfill his calling.

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). God wants to save us! We must learn to love His truth to be physically and spiritually blessed.

Is God using another prophet today to warn the world? Modern Assyria, Germany, is rising. Watch Germany. It needs to be warned again.

“But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Those of us in God’s Church have made a vow to be loyal to God no matter what, even above physical family if necessary (Luke 14:26). God says we will be remembered for remaining loyal (Malachi 3:16).

“And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying” (Jonah 3:1). Given a second chance, Jonah went out and warned! Jonah was stunned when Assyria actually heeded him and repented. He had a hard time understanding God’s mercy for Assyria, so God had to continue teaching him.

Whether or not the world realizes it, its only hope is in the story of Jonah. Our nations have horrible problems, but they also have the same opportunity to repent that Assyria did. At the very least, God will save repentant individuals from the suffering that is coming. God always sends a warning before punishment.

Jonah repented and cried aloud to Nineveh. The Assyrians repented like no group of people ever has. This is the hope of the world!