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 promise, and eternal life is available.

The Spirit of promise will enable us to understand Gods 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.

DEUT 8 V 2

2And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

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 thee, prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, and whether thou 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.

JOSH 5 V 12

12And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit 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 V 1-16

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. 3And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 4And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 11Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 15Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

NUM 13 V 23

23And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

NUM 13 V 25-29

25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

NUM 13 V 31-33

31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, 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..

Notice the wonderful attitude that Caleb and Joshua had in the following verses.

NUM 13 V 30

0And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

NUM 14 V 7-9

7And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. 8If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. 9Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.

NUM 14 V 30

30Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

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..go back to the ways of the world.

NUM 14 V 4

And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

This rejection of the Promised Land has again happened to Gods 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.

JOSH 14 V 7-9 

7Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. 8Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. 9And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy childrens for ever, because thou hast 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 V 4-6

4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, 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 strength and courage.

We must make our calling and election sure

2 PETER 1 V 10

10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Note also

MATT 7 V 13-14

13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

JOSH 3 V 3-4

3And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

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 Gods word leading his people for example

PSALM 119 v 105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

They would be lost if they did not follow the Ark.
We will be lost if we dont follow God, where ever He leads.

Notice the following scripture carefully:

JOSH 3 V 4

4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

The Israelites had not entered the Promised Land before, so it is with Gods people, they have not been given access to the Promised Land, which is Eternal Life before, God must show us, we must be willing to follow God where He leads us.

The Priests were given the responsibility of carrying the Ark, just as today the Priests are entrusted with the words of God, and leading the people into truth.

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 truth of eternal life, then when the Father decides, He gives us the Holy Spirit of Power or Truth, which is eternal life inherant. 
Now look at the amazing scripture regarding the Father coming in the midst of the Israelites after they cross the Jordan......... hereby you shall know that the living God is among you...
Josh 3 v 10

JOSH 3 V 8-11

8And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. 9And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. 10And Joshua said, Hereby ye 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. 11Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into 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 Gods Holy Spirit and enter the promised land, and receive Eternal Life, we must hear and accept the knowledge of eternal life.

JOSH 3 V 13-16

13And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

14And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against 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 Gods called out ones and the promised land being available, but there comes a time when the Word of God will not be easily found.

AMOS 8 V 11

11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in 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.

JOSH 4 V 18

8And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before.

Just as the path to the promised land was cut off, so will Gods word be cut off in the near future.

ISA 55 V 6

6Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye 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 dont.

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.

EX 14 V 21

21And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

EX 14 V 27

27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

But the people crossed the Jordan River on the 10th Abib.

JOSH 4 V 19

19And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in 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.

EX 12 V 3

3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

They are to be without any faults or blemishes

EX 12 V 5-6

5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

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 V 5

5And in their mouth was found no guile: 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.

JOSH 5 V 2-8

2At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. 6For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not show them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 7And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. 8And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.

Today circumcision is of the heart.

ROM 2 V 29

29But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of 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.

JOSH 5 V 10-12

10And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit 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 V 10

0Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

This was not to be kept until the Israelites entered the promised land. This is a type of how Gods 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.

JOSH 5 V 11

11And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

The 1st Wave Sheaf that Joshua kept was a forerunner of the 1st Wave Sheaf that Gods end time people are going to keep when they enter the promised land 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 Gods church.

JOSH 5 V 12

12And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit 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 Gods people, we have only had milk until now, if we accept the knowledge of Eternal Life, we are ready for the food of Eternal Life.

HEB 5 V 14

14But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even 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 V 9

9Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and 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 inherant, 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 Gods chosen ones, 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 V 2

2And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

GEN 22 10-12

10And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine 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 V 27

27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

We must be refined in the fire and washed with fullers soap.

MAL 3 V 2

2But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers soap:

The bride must make herself ready

REV 19 V 7

7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And also notice that those  with Christ are Called and Chosen and Faithful

REV 17 V 14

14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Christ was the lamb of God

JOHN 1 V 29

29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 

We are Christs lambs

JOHN 21 V 15

5So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto 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 V 13-17

13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And 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 Gods 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 and Chosen and Faithful are with Christ at the time of the end.

REV 17 V 14

14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.