CROSSING THE JORDAN RIVER
| WHAT IS
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CROSSING THE
JORDAN RIVER? HOW DOES
IT APPLY FOR US TODAY? WHY HAVE
WE NOT LEARNT ABOUT THIS CROSSING? WHAT IS
THE SPIRITUAL PARALLEL OF THE PHYSICAL
CROSSING? FOR THE
AMAZING NEW KNOWLEDGE ON THIS SUBJECT
READ ON. As we have seen before,
the exodus from Egypt is a type of
our spiritual calling and coming out of the world.
Crossing of the Red Sea is a
type of our baptism. Once the Israelites had
crossed the Red Sea, the Promised
Land was available, this is a type of receiving the
Holy Spirit of power, and
eternal life is available. The Spirit of promise
or earnest of the spirit will enable
us to understand God’s word, grow in grace and
knowledge, overcome, believe
God, and obey, have faith and love. Just as God gave
the Israelites all they
needed physically to journey to the shores of the
Jordan, so when God gives the
Holy Spirit of promise, we are given all we need
spiritually to journey to the
shores of the Jordan. The wandering through
the wilderness for 40 years is a
type of our lives as we have the day to day trials and
tests. God tests us as
long as He chooses to see if our heart is right and if
we believe Him and are
prepared to obey Him. Deu 8:2
And you shall remember that the LORD your God
led you all the way these
forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and
test you, to know what was in
your heart, whether you would keep His commandments
or not. We see quite plainly by
the above scripture why God had
the Israelites wander for 40 years. Now we must apply
that to us, once we are
baptised we are to wander for a period known only to
God, for what purpose? To
humble us, to prove us, to know what is in our heart,
whether we would keep His
commandments or not. This could take many many years,
this is up to God. During
this time of wandering, God fed the Israelites on
manna, this is a soft food
and is a type of receiving the milk of the word. The
people were not ready for
strong meat. So it is with us, we have only had the
milk until now. The food of
the Promised Land {eternal life} is available once we
accept the knowledge of
eternal life and cross the Jordan River. Jos 5:12
Then the manna ceased on the day after they
had eaten the produce of the
land; and the children of Israel no longer had
manna, but they ate the food of
the land of Canaan that year. The manna was food from
God just as the teachings, until
this time, have been from Mr. Armstrong, which have
been inspired by God. Once we show God that
we want the Promised Land, that we
want the Holy Spirit and God is as sure as He can be,
that we will believe and
obey Him, He brings us to the shores of the Jordan
River. An extremely important
factor at this point is that we
BELIEVE GOD, this is stated over and over again
through the scriptures, and it
is vitally important that we believe God, if we want
eternal life. Without
belief we cannot enter the Promised Land. Notice what happened
when the spies were sent into the
Promised Land to spy it out… Num 13:1
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Num 13:2
“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan,
which I am giving to the
children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers
you shall send a man,
every one a leader among them.” Num 13:3
So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of
Paran according to the command
of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the
children of Israel. Num 13:4
Now these were their names: from the tribe of
Reuben, Shammua the son of
Zaccur; Num 13:5
from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of
Hori; Num 13:6
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of
Jephunneh; Num 13:7
from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of
Joseph; Num 13:8
from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of
Nun; Num 13:9
from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of
Raphu; Num 13:10
from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of
Sodi; Num 13:11
from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the
tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the
son of Susi; Num 13:12
from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of
Gemalli; Num 13:13
from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of
Michael; Num 13:14
from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of
Vophsi; Num 13:15
from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of
Machi. Num 13:16
These are the names of the men whom Moses
sent to spy out the land. And
Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. Num 13:23
Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and
there cut down a branch with
one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two
of them on a pole. They also
brought some of the pomegranates and figs. Num 13:25
And they returned from spying out the land
after forty days. Num 13:26
Now they departed and came back to Moses and
Aaron and all the
congregation of the children of Israel in the
Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh;
they brought back word to them and to all the
congregation, and showed them the
fruit of the land. Num 13:27
Then they told him, and said: “We went to the
land where you sent us. It
truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its
fruit. Num 13:28
Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land
are strong; the cities are
fortified and very large; moreover we saw the
descendants of Anak there. Num 13:29
The Amalekites dwell in the land of the
South; the Hittites, the
Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains;
and the Canaanites dwell by
the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” Num 13:31
But the men who had gone up with him said,
“We are not able to go up
against the people, for they are stronger than we.” Num 13:32
And they gave the children of Israel a bad
report of the land which they
had spied out, saying, “The land through which we
have gone as spies is a land
that devours its inhabitants, and all the people
whom we saw in it are men of
great stature. Num 13:33
There we saw the giants (the descendants of
Anak came from the giants);
and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and
so we were in their sight.” The spies brought back
a bad report of the Promised Land,
they did not want it. We must be like Joshua and
Caleb, and bring back a good
report of the Promised Land, they wanted to enter the
Promised Land, do we?
Today if we want to enter the Promised Land we must
accept the new knowledge
which is being restored to the end time church, this
is the knowledge of
eternal life. We must accept it, love it, believe it,
obey it, if we want to
have eternal life. Notice the wonderful
attitude that Caleb and Joshua had in
the following verses. Num 13:30
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses,
and said, “Let us go up at
once and take possession, for we are well able to
overcome it.” Num 14:7
and they spoke to all the congregation of the
children of Israel,
saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an
exceedingly good land. Num 14:8
If the LORD delights in us, then He will
bring us into this land and
give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and
honey.’ Num 14:9
Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear
the people of the land, for
they are our bread; their protection has departed
from them, and the LORD is
with us. Do not fear them.” Num 14:30
Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and
Joshua the son of Nun, you
shall by no means enter the land which I swore I
would make you dwell in. Now notice the
rebellious and stiffnecked attitude of the
Israelites, when confronted with the truth, they
couldn’t handle it so they
wanted to return to Egypt. They wanted to go back to
the ways of the world. Num 14:4
So they said to one another, “Let us select a
leader and return to
Egypt.” This rejection of the
Promised Land has again happened to
God’s Church, as we have seen recently so many that
once believed and followed
God, turned back and returned to Egypt, like a dog
going back to its vomit. Are we going to have a
bad report about the Promised Land
and return to Egypt or are we going to be like Joshua
and Caleb, and be full of
courage and strength and march on into the Promised
Land. As mentioned above, for
us today it is the acceptance of
the knowledge of the truth which represents the
Promised Land, it is the
knowledge of eternal life, we must accept it or be
like the Israelites and
reject the wonderful opportunity God is giving us. Jos 14:7
I was forty years old when Moses the servant
of the LORD sent me from
Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought
back word to him as it was in
my heart. Jos 14:8
Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me
made the heart of the
people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God. Jos 14:9
So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely
the land where your foot has
trodden shall be your inheritance and your
children’s forever, because you have
wholly followed the LORD my God.’ God is extremely
careful when He gives the Holy Spirit of
power {or truth} because once we have it, there are
severe penalties if we fall
away from the truth. Heb 6:4
For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have
tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers
of the Holy Spirit, Heb 6:5
and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come, Heb 6:6
if they fall away, to renew them again to
repentance, since they crucify
again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to
an open shame. This scripture tells us
it is impossible to renew us again
unto repentance seeing we crucify to ourselves the Son
of God afresh, and put
Him to open shame. In Joshua Chapter 1 we
read that Joshua was told three
times by God to be strong and courageous. This is then
repeated again only this
time the Israelites told Joshua to be strong and
courageous in verse 18. To
continue our journey into the Promised Land requires
those attributes. We must make our
calling and election sure. 2Pe 1:10
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to
make your call and
election sure, for if you do these things you will
never stumble; Note also: Mat 7:13
“Enter by the narrow
gate; for wide is the gate
and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and there are many who go in by
it. Mat 7:14
Because narrow is the
gate and difficult is the
way which leads to life, and there are few who
find it. Jos 3:3
and they commanded the people, saying, “When
you see the ark of the
covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the
Levites, bearing it, then
you shall set out from your place and go after it. Jos 3:4
Yet there shall be a space between you and
it, about two thousand cubits
by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know
the way by which you must
go, for you have not passed this way before.” The Israelites were
told to follow the Ark of the Covenant
{which was carried by the Priests} because they did
not know the way to go.
This is a type of God’s word leading His people. Psa
119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to
my path. They would be lost if
they did not follow the Ark. We will
be lost if we don’t follow God, where ever He leads. Notice the following
scripture carefully: Jos 3:4
Yet there shall be a space between you and
it, about two thousand cubits
by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know
the way by which you must
go, for you have not passed this way before.” The Israelites had not
entered the Promised Land before,
so it is with God’s people today, they have not been
given access to the
knowledge of eternal life before. God must show us, we
must be willing to
follow God where He leads us. Once Joshua reached the
shores of the Jordan River an
amazing event occurred. Notice the amazing knowledge
regarding the Father. As we have seen in our
other articles, the Father led the
Israelites out of Egypt. Then after the golden calf
incident He said He would
no longer be in their midst and He sent Christ to go
with them. Exod. 33 v 3.
Christ then led them through the wilderness. When the
Israelites crossed the
Jordan, they entered the Promised Land, this is a type
of eternal life, once we
accept and believe the knowledge of eternal life, then
God the Father comes
into our midst again. When we have the Holy Spirit of
power, we then belong to
the Father and Christ. When we are baptised we
receive the earnest of the spirit,
but when we believe and accept the knowledge of
eternal life, then when the
Father decides, He gives us the Holy Spirit of power
or truth, which is eternal
life inherent. Now look at the amazing scripture
regarding the Father coming in
the midst of the Israelites after they cross the
Jordan……… you shall know that
the living God is among you… Jos 3:8
You shall command the priests who bear the
ark of the covenant, saying,
‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the
Jordan, you shall stand in
the Jordan.’ ” Jos 3:9
So Joshua said to the children of Israel,
“Come here, and hear the words
of the LORD your God.” Jos 3:10
And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that
the living God is among
you, and that He will without fail drive out from
before you the Canaanites and
the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and
the Girgashites and the
Amorites and the Jebusites: Jos 3:11
Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord
of all the earth is crossing
over before you into the Jordan. These verses say that
the Priests and the Israelites could
not cross the Jordan till they heard the words of God
described in Josh 4 v 10.
The Priests and the Israelites had to hear what the
Lord had commanded Joshua
to speak to the people, according to all that Moses
had commanded Joshua. If we
want to receive God’s Holy Spirit and enter the
Promised Land, and receive
eternal life, we must hear and accept the knowledge of
eternal life. Jos 3:13
And it shall come to pass, as soon as the
soles of the feet of the
priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of
all the earth, shall rest in
the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the
Jordan shall be cut off, the
waters that come down from upstream, and they shall
stand as a heap.” Jos 3:14
So it was, when the people set out from their
camp to cross over the
Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the
covenant before the people, Jos 3:15
and as those who bore the ark came to the
Jordan, and the feet of the
priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the
water (for the Jordan
overflows all its banks during the whole time of
harvest), Jos 3:16
that the waters which came down from upstream
stood still, and rose in a
heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside
Zaretan. So the waters that
went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,
failed, and were cut off;
and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. When the Priests, who
carried the ark of the covenant
stood in the water of the Jordan, the water was cut
off and the priests stood
on dry land while the Israelites crossed over. This is
a type of the word of
God going to God’s called out ones and the Promised
Land being available, but
there comes a time when the Word of God will not be
easily found. Amo 8:11
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord
GOD, “That I will send a
famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a
thirst for water, But of
hearing the words of the LORD. There will be a famine
of hearing the Word of God, this is
represented by the waters closing after all the people
had crossed the Jordan. Jos 4:18
And it came to pass, when the priests who
bore the ark of the covenant
of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan,
and the soles of the
priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters
of the Jordan returned to
their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Just as the path to the
Promised Land was cut off, so will
God’s word be cut off in the near future. Isa 55:6
Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call
upon Him while He is near. God will not wait
forever, while we procrastinate, while
we allow the cares of this world to come before our
Bible study, prayer and
meditation. Either we serve God or we don’t. Once the people crossed
over the Jordan they entered the
Promised Land. This is a type of us receiving the Holy
Spirit of power and
receiving eternal life. As was stated
previously, in another article, the Crossing
of the Red Sea occurred on the end of the 17th
Abib, start of the 18th
Abib, and the sea parted all that night until dawn on
the morning of the 18th. But the people crossed
the Jordan River on the 10th
Abib. Jos 4:19
Now the people came up from the Jordan on the
tenth day of the first
month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border
of Jericho. This is a type of the
selection of the lambs for the
Passover sacrifice. These lambs were chosen from the
flocks on the 10th
Abib. Exo 12:3
Speak to all the congregation of Israel,
saying: ‘On the tenth of this
month every man shall take for himself a lamb,
according to the house of his
father, a lamb for a household. They are to be without
any faults or blemishes. Exo 12:5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of
the first year. You may
take it from the sheep or from the goats. Exo 12:6
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth
day of the same month. Then
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel
shall kill it at twilight. The lambs are to be
kept till the 14th of Abib.
Which is the day these lambs are sacrificed for the
Passover. As the lambs are
to be without fault and blemish so are the firstfruits
of God to be without
fault. Rev 14:5
And in their mouth was found no deceit, for
they are without fault
before the throne of God. In Joshua 5 v 2-8 we
see that the Israelites were
circumcised, this physical act is a type of a
spiritual condition which we must
have. Jos 5:2
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make
flint knives for yourself,
and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second
time.” Jos 5:3
So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and
circumcised the sons of
Israel at the hill of the foreskins. Jos 5:4
And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised
them: All the people who
came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of
war, had died in the
wilderness on the way, after they had come out of
Egypt. Jos 5:5
For all the people who came out had been
circumcised, but all the people
born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out
of Egypt, had not been
circumcised. Jos 5:6
For the children of Israel walked forty years
in the wilderness, till
all the people who were men of war, who came out of
Egypt, were consumed,
because they did not obey the voice of the LORD to
whom the LORD swore that He
would not show them the land which the LORD had
sworn to their fathers that He
would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Jos 5:7
Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He
raised up in their place; for
they were uncircumcised, because they had not been
circumcised on the way. Jos 5:8
So it was, when they had finished
circumcising all the people, that they
stayed in their places in the camp till they were
healed. Today circumcision is
of the heart. Rom 2:29
but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the
heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose
praise is not from men but from
God. We need to have a heart
led by the Spirit of God then our
praises won’t come from man but God. The following scripture
shows some very amazing events. Jos 5:10
Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal,
and kept the Passover on
the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the
plains of Jericho. Jos 5:11
And they ate of the produce of the land on
the day after the Passover,
unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same
day. Jos 5:12
Then the manna ceased on the day after they
had eaten the produce of the
land; and the children of Israel no longer had
manna, but they ate the food of
the land of Canaan that year. Firstly we see the
Israelites keep the Passover, followed
by the first celebration of the Wave Sheaf. Verse 11
this was spoken of in Lev: Lev 23:10
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to
them: ‘When you come into
the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest,
then you shall bring a
sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the
priest. Lev 23:11
He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to
be accepted on your behalf;
on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave
it. This was not to be kept
until the Israelites entered the
Promised Land. This is a type of how God’s people will
keep the Wave Sheaf when
they accept the knowledge of eternal life, receive the
Holy Spirit of power and
eternal life. Now notice this carefully, look at this
astounding truth. It is
no coincidence that the Wave Sheaf in the year 2001 is
on the exact same day as
the 1st one that Joshua kept after going
into the Promised Land. Jos 5:11
And they ate of the produce of the land on
the day after the Passover,
unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same
day. The 1st Wave
Sheaf that Joshua kept was a
forerunner of the 1st Wave Sheaf that God’s
end time people are
going to keep when they accept the knowledge of
eternal life for the 1st
time. This event has happened
because God has restored the truth
of eternal life to His church, and those who accept
this knowledge will hear
and obey. The gates of hell will not prevail against
God’s church. Jos 5:12
Then the manna ceased on the day after they
had eaten the produce of the
land; and the children of Israel no longer had
manna, but they ate the food of
the land of Canaan that year. Once the children
entered the Promised Land we see that
the manna ceased, this is because up until then they
had been fed on milk, but
now they were ready for food of eternal life, solid
food, meat in due season. This is a type of God’s
people, we have only had milk
until now, if we accept the knowledge of eternal life,
we are ready for the
meat of the word which is the knowledge of eternal
life. Heb 5:14
But solid food belongs to those who are of
full age, that is, those who
by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil. Solid food is for the
mature. Now notice this astounding
scripture. Isa 28:9
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will
he make to understand the
message? Those weaned from milk? Those drawn from
the breasts? That is so clear, if we
are mature, if we are ready for
meat, God will reveal it to us. But we must want it.
We must want the Promised
Land like Joshua and Caleb. We must seek it like a
pearl of great price. Once we receive the
Holy Spirit of power, we have eternal
life inherent, but we must endure till the end and
continue to grow and
overcome as before. The period of
examination for faults and blemishes of the
lambs, as was mentioned above, is a type of a final
testing and proving, of the
lambs. It is the same for God’s chosen ones, we have
to be tested to determine
if we will continue to believe God and obey Him and
remain faithful under
extreme testing. This could be in a form
of persecution and rejection from
our own families, friends and fellow brethren. {Matt
24 v 9-13} {Acts 26 v 10}.
This will be the most severe testing that anyone has
ever been through, it will
make our previous trials and tests seem like a picnic.
This will be extremely
hard. Consider Abraham, he had to have the knife
raised in the air to slay his
very own son, before God said now I know that you fear
Me. Gen 22:2
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only
son Isaac, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as
a burnt offering on one of
the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Gen 22:10
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took
the knife to slay his son. Gen 22:11
But the Angel of the LORD called to him from
heaven and said, “Abraham,
Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” Gen 22:12
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the
lad, or do anything to him;
for now I know that you fear God, since you have not
withheld your son, your
only son, from Me.” Almost all the apostles
were persecuted and put to death
for their beliefs {Acts 7 v 52-60} 2 Cor 11 v 23. This
is not going to be easy,
what lies ahead, in this final examination for
blemishes and faults of the
lambs. Consider the following
scriptures: Eph 5:27
that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish. We must be refined in
the fire and washed with fuller’s
soap. Mal 3:2
“But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He
appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like
launderers’ soap. Mal 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of
silver; He will purify the
sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the
LORD An offering in righteousness. The bride must make
herself ready. Rev 19:7
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him
glory, for the marriage of the
Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And also notice that
those with Christ are called, chosen
{elect} and faithful. Rev 17:14
These will make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb will overcome them, for
He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who
are with Him are called,
chosen, and faithful.” Christ was the Lamb of
God. Joh 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward
him, and said, “Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! We are Christ’s lambs. Joh 21:15
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said
to Simon Peter, “Simon, son
of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love
You.” He said to him, “Feed
My lambs.” Notice in Joshua 4 v 13
that there were 40,000 men
equipped for war, who crossed the Jordan River. This
is a type of how it will
be a difficult battle for us, once we have eternal
life. As stated above this
is the period of final testing. We must put on the
armour of God and prepare
for battle. Eph 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. Eph 6:14
Stand therefore, having girded your waist
with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, Eph 6:15
and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:16
above all, taking the shield of faith with
which you will be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. Eph 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God; As we have seen most
plainly at this point, if we accept
the precious truth God has made known in these last
days, we are called. If we
are baptised and wish to accept the knowledge of
eternal life, once we have
God’s Holy Spirit of power, we are chosen. What
remains to be decided is will
we endure until the end and prove faithful. Remember
the called chosen and
faithful are with Christ at the time of the end. Rev 17:14
These will make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb will overcome them, for
He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who
are with Him are called,
chosen, and faithful.” |