Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
Yeah.
Speaker 3
Alright. Our first question for the evening, Jayden, is asking how long can a human survive in a whale? That’s an interesting question.
Speaker 2
Smart to ask people about what the Bible says is because science would probably say something totally different.
Speaker 3
I would agree that science would probably say something very different today. Yeah.
Speaker 1
Do you want to jump into it today?
Speaker 2
Sure.
Speaker 1
I don’t mind sharing my phone scientific.
Speaker 2
Go ahead. I was going to say you probably did some research on this already.
Speaker 1
I did. So actually, it’s funny, this question was asked before a few years ago, and I remember when we got it in, I was like, can I take this question? Because I usually don’t answer all the Bible questions that come into Bible ask. But I was like, this one’s so interesting, I kind of wanted to do the research. So is it possible for a person to actually survive inside of a whale? Obviously, I’m pretty sure you’re referring to what happened to Jonah as he was swallowed by a great fish or a whale, and he was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, as it says in Jonah 117. Now, obviously, somebody logically you might think, well, is it even scientifically possible for that to happen? So the question is or the answer is kind of yes or no as far as being inside of a whale. Now, there have been incidences where some people have said that they were swallowed by a whale and survived three days and three nights. There was a man in Spain that said that that’s what happened to him. And he survived inside of that whale because he ate raw fish that was inside of it.
Speaker 1
Now, as far as how a whale stomach kind of works, there’s actually four Chambers to a whale’s stomach. It’s kind of interesting when you first go into a whale stomach now, every whale is different because some of their mouths are very narrow and some of their mouths are more wide, like a sperm whale, more wide. And so it would probably have to be some larger whale like that. And so what happens is that first stomach that it goes into that first compartment, it’s called the rooming rumen. And basically it’s this compartment. And there’s not a lot of stomach acid because my thought was like, well, as soon as you get into a stomach, there’s going to be all this acid, it’s going to melt you. And actually in stomach that first compartment doesn’t have that. It’s called a Rumin. And so basically it just has like micro bacteria that start digesting the food. And so usually there’s not much of an air bubble, unless of course, that the stomach was irritated, then there would be an air bubble, which would be the case in Jonas case. So technically, yeah, you could survive inside the first compartment of a whale stomach because there’s not like stomach acid that would eat you up and it’s big enough to fit a person.
Speaker 1
If the whale is big enough and if their semics irritated because something foreign, like a human is inside, it’s going to create an air bubble, just like when you’re bloated, it’s going to make the air bubble. And so you’d be able to have air oxygen to breathe. So in my scientific opinion of a person who does have a master’s degree, I would say you could make it scientifically.
Speaker 2
Looks like one of our friends joining us today, Maria, actually, I think was thinking of the same start. She said 2000 and 2016, a man survived in a whale. And she asked about the swim bladder. Was that the Oregon you’re talking about, where there might be a place where a person could survive?
Speaker 1
I’m not sure what that is. All I know is when I looked it up, it was called the room in, which is like a first compartment it into the stomachs because a cow has multiple stomachs. Like other animals, they have multiple stomachs. And so I’m not exactly sure if that’s a swim bladder, if that’s like another name for it, or if that’s something totally different. And I don’t know if it’s a different type of whale or a different type of fish everywhere.
Speaker 2
Marie says she thinks it is the Roman.
Speaker 1
Okay, cool. Thanks, Mary. You’re cool.
Speaker 2
Is it three days, the maximum you think a man or woman could ever survive in a whale?
Speaker 1
That’s a good question. Honestly, I don’t know. And I mean, I think it’s so interesting. Jesus said, just like Jonah was in the belly of the Earth for three days, three nights. So will the set of man be? And so I think it was more symbolic. I think you probably could survive longer, obviously. I think God also kind of prepared a special fish for Jonah or created the circumstances for it. And I’m sure if God wanted him in there longer, he could have survived. I think you could have survived longer. I know there’s been people who survived horrible conditions, like when the San Francisco earthquake happened. I think back in the 70s, people survived like they were crushed in their cars, but they survived for like a week or two. I’m sure you could have survived longer. But I think the whole thing with Jonah being in the belly of the well for three days was more symbolic to what Christ would go through in that he was in the grave for three days. So I think that’s more why it was a three day kind of a thing, because God was trying to teach him something spiritual.
Speaker 1
There was a spiritual lesson in what was going on with Jonah. And so I think it’s more not because it was the limits of his survival. It was more like, I’m trying to get your attention.
Speaker 2
And I think that’s a good point exactly. I think God went with the three and a half days to symbolically represent Jesus and I think first I’d like to bring up is Luke 137. Sure if we could put it up on the screen, but basically it says nothing is impossible with God and so if we try to just think in terms of science or what we know and understand, we’re really leaving out the innumerable possibilities that God can make happen. And so God can make someone live forever, just whatever we can think is a limit. God has a way of going beyond it. And one limit I like thinking of is Exodus 20 418 where it talks about how Moses was up in the cloud on Mount Sinai living with God for those 40 days and we’re not told of him getting any food or water and really God was supplying everything he needed exactly.
Speaker 1
Just like Jesus when he fasted for 40 days in the temptation. I think everything points back to Jesus and his miraculous life and Ministry.
Speaker 3
I appreciate the concept here that it’s God that can make anything possible. It’s not that they live 40 days without food, by their own strength, by their own self righteousness, anything like that. God enabled them to continue to function well and maybe even thrive for that time. That may not be what everybody is called to do or enabled to do.
Speaker 2
So we got a couple of comments coming in. Marie said she agreed that the three days was probably more about symbolism than it was probably science. But even though it’s amazing, here, the science backs it up. Faith is a great question. Thank you, Faye. You.
For full episode:
https://youtu.be/9k5polEFJDo
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