The Prophet Jonah, as depicted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. [Image from the Wikipedia 'Jonah' page, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.]
Recall our previous discussion of Jonah, and references to the number three in the movie. We will here quote briefly from City of God, to get Augustine's view on what was being prophesied by Jonah's experience. From book 18, chapter 30:
The prophet Jonah, not so much by speech as by his own painful experience, prophesied Christ's death and resurrection much more clearly than if he had proclaimed them with his voice. For why was he taken into the whale's belly and restored on the third day, but that he might be a sign that Christ should return from the depths of hell on the third day?
As stated in part 52 of the analysis, where a list of references to the number three in the movie was given, they are all references to the three days Jonah spent in the belly of the whale.
City of God (Dods)
