The River of Life. Knowing what to hold on to, and what to let go. Being washed from the things that detain us away from our Heavenly calling and our inheritance of Eternal life and all that entails in the here and now. A huge price was paid at the cross for us to have some things.
The name Mt Hermon comes from the complicated verb חרם (haram), meaning to designate someone to one the two possible ways the afterlife can be experienced. (Presumably life or death).
https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hermon.html
Let’s look at how God embedded His gospel message to us into the landscape of the land of Israel using Mt Hermon, the River Jordan, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, for the Hebrews of those who have “crossed over” (that’s what that name means) to the other side, being one of the those two choices.
The river Jordan flows from Mount Hermon delivering the waters with two choices that make up the Jordan River.
The name; Jordan comes from the Hebrew ירדן Yarden, meaning “to go down”, relating to the Jordan River flowing from the snow melted waters of Mt Hermon, that goes through the land of Israel and side skirts Jerusalem. The Jordan river is the water source for The Sea of Galilee and has its final destination in the Dead Sea, which is ironically the lowest elevation on planet Earth.
We see here embedded in the Land and the Hebrew language, the preservation of the progression and the purpose of the gospel. To offer to humanity one of two choices, life or death.
Only the Creator could do this in such a way, and have all the coinciding terms embedded into the landscape. This is amazing!
You can see the Jordan River flows from Mount Hermon down into the Dead Sea as one the two, and last options, the one with least resistance, and is the default conclusion for those who did not respond to the other option of life.
For the preferred option other than the Dead Sea, one must go down into the river Jordan (for to go down is what Jordan means) to be washed and come out clean from the debris of life, the head waters, and all the obstacles (sins) picked up along the way. The common term for that is baptism (a ceremony to be washed). This is a picture of baptism, as the other choice, other than the Dead Sea.
It was the Hebrews (a name meaning; those who have crossed over), who chose to cross through the waters, to be washed from the certain death and all its entanglements that destine them for the Dead Sea, or Sea of Dead.
“Crossover” is synonymous with the word; “baptism”. Baptism simply means to be washed from death to walk in newness of life as taught by Paul in the book of Romans and elsewhere.
It was with Moses (whose name means, drawn out of water), whose successor, was Joshua, (a name that means; the saving one who saves, savior, and a deliverer), as one who leads us into the promise land, after our being washed from the certain death.
The name Joshua is from the Hebrew name Yeshua translated into the New Testament name Jesus. So Jesus means Joshua, from Yeshua, meaning; one who saves and delivers, and Joshua is the one who brought the Hebrews out of death, symbolized by them crossing the river Jordan.
They were baptised through the Jordan River to be cleansed from the old ways that lead to death, to be washed from that death, to cross over to Eternal life, to be free to go on into their inheritance in the promise land like understood historically with Joshua, into the land where the promises of God have their fufillment.
So that we don’t get the idea that we need to move to Israel to have this new life.
The writer of the book of Hebrews, put it like this “8 For if [b]Joshua had given them rest (in the promised land after dividing it among them), then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
Showing us that these are all just pictures of invisible realities in the spirit, made physical and walked out in a carnal way for our learning and a deeper understanding of the invisible things that are contained in the gospel.
It is these pictures that previous generations had to pass on the gospel message. However today we have Gods Holy writ called the gospel and scripture to convey these invisible realities, to add dimensions to our understanding.
So the main point here today is;
The gospel message promises eternal living to those who have their old nature with all its baggage, to trade it in by unloading it into the Jordan river, through the process called Baptism, to come up to walk in newness of life. To then move forward in Christ to recieve and actualize the promises given to us by the Heavenly Father
This pictures the resurrection whereby Jesus Christ crossed over death first for us on the cross, being our crossover from death to life, so that now being washed clean, we can walk in a new life of the spirit.
This is the resurrection of faith to those who can receive it.
This is why we profess at our baptism and our crossover into the one true Holy Land, to bury our old self, and receive our new self that’s guided now not by fear or guilt, but by the gift of Gods Holy Spirit that is in us. In this way we are in Christ and in Gods Holy Spirit, the place where all of these concepts have their fulfillment in.
If you remember, it was when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, that the Heavenly Father said for the first time since Adam sinned “this is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. And because we associated with Christ’s cross as our crossover to newness of life, when we go to the Father He says, this is My Beloved in whom I am well pleased. Because we associated with Christ’s death for a new life, we get the Father too. To be “in Christ” is the washing and regeneration of Gods Holy Spirit called Eternal Life. Our Heavenly Father now only sees His Son in us. That’s what it means to be “in Christ”, to be in the land.
Now let’s look at walking in the promise land.
The true Israel of God according to scripture is Gods only Begotten Son as defined here in Exodus 4.22. where God says “Israel is My Firstborn Son” meaning Jesus Christ. So that those who have crossed over into newness of life, are on Christ and in the promise land or land of promises, the place where they are given and implimented. Have you received this?
That Christ after the cross is the true Israel and promise land of God, and not the twelve tribes or a piece of land on earth. They too, like all the pictures you are seeing here today and throughout all of scripture, are just pictures of Gods nee reality for us of life in the spirit, just underneath carnal perceptions, and we use these to understand God and the Eternal giftings better. Can you see this? Do you remember when Jesus said to those “who have eyes to see and ears to hear”? He was talking about this. This is what a revelation is about. All revelations are understanding invisible realities. All
Yeshua or Jesus as commonly known today, is that promised land we are to participate in now. As the new covenant concurres that “all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ” the true promised land associated with “The Kingdom of God at hand” and not some silly pilgrimage on planet Earth. These pictures described here work just fine.
To be “in Christ” is to be “in the promise land” of spirit and truth. The land and the things shown here only symbolize and demonstrate in picture form, of the invisible realities and promises of God in the Spirit, for those who are born of the spirit to thereby grow in understanding. This is spiritual food.
(Please read John chapter 3 for better understanding of this)
Just as a side note: the names Joshua and Jesus originate from the same Hebrew name “Yeshua”. The Hebrew language does not have a “J” sound. The old testament Joshua and Yeshua were just a picture of Gods Son who leads us into the land. That’s why they have the same name.
For this reason Joshua had to baptize the generation after Moses who had not been baptized through the Red Sea.
For us, the river Jordan represents a timeline for the gospel that goes through earthen Israel first. Like Paul said “to the Jew first, then also to the gentiles. Not that the Jews are regarded as better, but showing us the wrong way to do it. It is not a physical matter, but a spiritual one that requires faith. The old way couldn’t produce that. Hence “the new and living way” brought to us “in Christ”.
And as Paul said to the Jews of his time saying “since you have judged yourself unworthy for the gospel, we are taking it to the Gentiles”, as the next place in the progression of the gospel. Like the Jordan River goes to the sea of Galilee, symbolizing the gentiles, and all nations.
Galilee means nations and is synonymous with the gentiles and is really quite fitting given that the original promise to Abraham was that “in you all the nations (means nations, gentiles and Galilee) of the earth shall be blessed. And that is where the Jordan River flows, into Galilee and not to Jerusalem. It only side skirts Jerusalem.
People were leaving Jerusalem to be baptized by John the Baptist through they Jordan. Scripture says of these who departed Jerusalem because they doubted their legitimacy”And they will hear it”.
For this testimony we can confirm in the book of The Revelation where “every tribe, nation and tongue were present worshiping the Lamb. That the Jews or no other nation was regarded over another or they would have been lifted up in that account, but they weren’t.
This is why John the Baptist at the river Jordan, spoke to the Jews and said “who hath warned you to flee from the coming wrath of God?” Showing us that some knew it was time to disassociate from that Jerusalem the Jews and their places and practices. This is also why the first believers were called “the people of the way”. Ya, on there way out for they were instructed to “go ye therefore into all the earth teaching all things. All these types seen here are from the “All Things”.
That is why the River Jordan side skirts Israel, even to this day. They have to be saved in the same fashion as anyone else as just another Nation. Even as Paul taught in Galatians “26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ (the land of promises when you come up out of the water) have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one (co-equal, joint heirs) “in Christ Jesus.”
That’s the Gospel, a word that means “good news”.
Amen