Q. 1. In Matthew 12:40, we read that,

"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth."

How could this prophecy be accurate when Jesus did not spend three days in the heart of the earth?

A. 1. This prophecy, like many others, is symbolic of a period of time in the earth.

Secondly, the "day and night" may have the Hebrew meaning of expressing "a day." In Hebrew, a part of a day is considered a whole day. Therefore Friday, Saturday and Sunday would signify "3 days."