Before we began our study of the works of the flesh and growing in the fruit of the Spirit, we were studying what it means to possess our Promised Land. I want to return to this with a brief reminder of what we covered there so we can begin again where we left off.
From Death to Life
We began by addressing how the recent earthquakes and tsunamis were taxing the whole world’s relief efforts, and how we could expect these kinds of disasters to not only continue, but increase. Of course, that was before Hurricane Katrina, and then the devastating earthquake in Pakistan and India. There will be more, and we can expect them to become increasingly severe. That is not a negative prophecy—it is a biblical prophecy.
As we have also addressed in our Message of the Month on CDs and DVDs, as well as our recent Prophetic Bulletin, we were expecting the Avian or “bird flu” to potentially become the most devastating plague in world history. I also warned that it would soon become an obsession on the news and that panic would be our worst enemy. Since we released those warnings, this has started to happen. Obviously, this study is very timely. All of this relates to what we spoke of as the prophetic significance of Joshua 3:3-4, 14-17.
We discussed how in Scripture the Jordan River often represents death. The Lord said that “...the harvest is the end of the age...” (Matthew 13:39), and we read in Joshua 3:15 that “...the Jordan River overflows all its banks all the days of harvest...” This speaks of how death will be overflowing all of its banks all of the days of the harvest, which is the end of the age. Because of this, we can expect such natural disasters and human disasters to increase during the coming times.
As all of the Lord Jesus’ own prophecies concerning these times make very clear, we are coming to the greatest times of trouble the world has ever known. However, the good news is, if we have built our lives on the kingdom which cannot be shaken, we will not only survive what is coming, but we will prevail and prosper. This is actually the time when the church is going to cross over and begin to possess its Promised Land. We are told in Acts 14:22, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Through what has been popularly referred to as “the great tribulation” at the end of this age, the whole world will enter into the kingdom of our Lord!
Our redemption is drawing near! We are headed for very difficult times, but they will not be for those who are living in the kingdom. As we are told in Daniel 11:32, “but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” The Lord called us to live in this time for a purpose, and we have a job to do. That is what this study is about. However, the basis of a godly character, which we have been studying for about six months, is critical if we are to prevail in these times.
Because death will be overflowing “all its banks” during the time of the harvest, we must prepare ourselves for increasingly great natural and manmade disasters as we get closer to the end of this age. We will need to learn to cope with death all around us and keep on functioning. Just as no general is likely to be successful if he is overly concerned about casualties, we, too, will have to learn to cope with death all around us, not being overly given to grieving or mourning the dead, in order to save the living from an even greater, eternal, disaster.
Again, let us fully grasp that the prophecies of these times are fearful for those who are not abiding in the Prince of Peace. We must understand that the problems are coming, and to avoid looking for them because they make us uncomfortable or fearful is to live in deception. Those who have built their lives on the kingdom have nothing to fear. Those who have not built their lives on the kingdom have a lot to fear, and it is better for them to fear than to go on in their delusions and be in the terrible jeopardy those delusions keep them in. Therefore, we want to see these things for what they are, and be prepared not to just survive, but to save many others.
Save the People
Israel’s inheritance was the land, and they dispossessed the people who were on it. Our inheritance, which is also the Lord’s, is the people. Even though the Jordan will be overflowing its banks, and death will be all around us, the power of His indestructible life will be flowing through us to reap the greatest harvest that the world has ever known. We must not sleep or be distracted while the treasure of the earth is ripe for reaping.
The Lord made it clear in His Word; if we are to partake of His life we must also partake of His death "that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him" (II Corinthians 5:15). Any other teaching is a false gospel and an enemy of the cross. A dead man does not fear anything, and if we have died to this world then nothing in this world should cause us to fear. Death separates the things that are natural from the things that are spiritual. Again, to have a resurrection, there must first be a death. If we want to walk in the resurrection life of Jesus, we must be willing to lay down our lives for Him.
We must keep in mind that death is the greatest liberation that we can ever know. The devil uses fear to bind just as the Lord uses faith in the truth to set people free. What does a dead man fear? If we are dead to this world, there is nothing that the world can do to us. It is impossible for a dead man to have fears of failure, fears of rejection, or even fear of the dark. To the degree that any fear still has its grip on us is only in relation to the degree that we have failed to go to the cross. The cross will set us free from all fear!
A dead man does not lust, covet, feel anger, want to get revenge, or even feel lonely. There is no greater freedom that we can ever have than that which comes from dying to this world so as to be alive to Christ. However, the cross does not just represent death, but the door to resurrection life. We die to this present world, this present age, so that we can begin to live now in the age to come.
The cross is the power of God, and those who want to walk in His power in their daily lives will learn to take up their crosses daily. Those who do will become free from all of the yokes of this present evil age and walk in a freedom and boldness greater than has been seen on the earth for nearly two thousand years.
Save the Nations
The Great Commission was to make disciples of all nations, not just individuals. We also see that when the Lord returns He is going to divide the nations into sheep and goats, not just individuals. It is being decided right now which nations will be “sheep” and which will be “goats.” This does not at all mean that we abandon the gospel of salvation, but this is in fact the way that nations will be changed by saving and teaching individuals the ways of the Lord. However, we must begin to develop national and international strategies that will impact nations with the gospel, not just a few individuals.
This will, to a large degree, be a major shift in our missionary thinking and strategies, which has actually been happening in some groups over the last two decades or more. There are also some differences in where the church is now and where it was in the first century that we need to understand. There are many foundational things that will never change and will always be a basic part of the church’s vision and purpose, but there are also some differences at the end of the age. Just as Joshua instructed Israel in Joshua 3:4:
Those who follow the Ark, which represents the Lord, by “about 2,000" years, will be going a different way than the church has gone before. Many are the same, but many are not, and we need to understand the differences.
The Gospel of the Kingdom
Before the end of this age can come, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached. This has not yet been done. Until now we have basically preached the gospel of salvation, which is basically to get out of Egypt. This is essential, and it will continue to be the banner of the cross that we march under, always preaching the gospel of individual salvation, but we will also begin to preach the gospel of the kingdom—the kingdom of God is at hand! The King is coming, and He is coming to take over. He is sending us before Him to prepare His way.
As we covered before, in the baptism represented by the Red Sea crossing, the Israelites did not go willingly, but basically the Lord had to trick them into it and give them no other alternative because of the enemy that pursued them. However, the baptism represented by the crossing of the Jordan was a voluntary one, and would begin their pursuit of their enemies to drive them from their land. This was not just because the circumstances had changed, but the people had also changed during their long sojourn in the wilderness.
The church has likewise seemingly wandered in the wilderness for nearly two thousand years. Like with Israel’s trek through their wilderness, this time was not wasted. A great transformation has been taking place in the people. It was one thing to get the people out of Egypt, but it took a lot longer to get the Egypt out of them. There is likewise a people who have seemingly just been drifting through life rather aimlessly, but God has been doing a deep work in their hearts, and this time has not been wasted. There is a people prepared for the great challenges ahead that will prepare the way for the coming of the kingdom of God.
From Defense to Offense
Now the change comes from a life that was seemingly composed of being chased and harassed by the devil, and deep dealings of God in our own hearts, to the mentality of a conqueror. This does not mean that we are now perfect, and the conquest ahead will help to continue the work on our character, but there will be a great difference in the conflict—instead of battling the enemies within, who have kept us in bondage, we will begin battling the ones without who are keeping others in bondage.
We must never forget that our conquest is not the greedy pursuit of personal gain and advancement, but our treasure is the liberation of souls that are now in the bondage of darkness. Our purpose is to see the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ set the captives free. We are called as true freedom fighters. Our success in this life will be counted by the release of the captives that the devil has had in bondage to do his will.
Therefore, we can now expect a big change to begin taking place in the church from just seeking to be set free ourselves, to setting the nations free. On the other side of the Jordan, Israel may not have looked very different from the group who had left Egypt, but on the inside they were very different. They were no longer just recently released slaves—they were conquerors! Right now, by appearances the church may not look very different than it has for many centuries—but it is! We are no longer just recently released slaves—we are warriors with the greatest cause, preparing for the greatest battle!
It is true that some of the greatest revivals and spiritual advances in the history of the church have been taking place over the last two decades. In the case of some of these, whole regions are being transformed, and whole nations are being impacted. Even though these are all a part of a historic beginning, many of these have been more sporadic than systematic. They have accomplished much and given great encouragement to the body of Christ, but these are just the forerunners of what is to come. In modern military terms, these have been like the Special Forces that have been dropped behind the enemy’s lines before the main assault is to begin. It is now time for the main assault.
As I wrote in 1987, a spiritual advance was going to come that would be so great that many would consider it the harvest that is the end of the age. However, it was not the final harvest, but simply the reaping and the preparing of those who would be the laborers for the harvest that truly would be the end of this age. A great wave has come, but another one, even much greater than this is going to follow. It has not yet broken upon the world, but the signs point to it being very near.
The Battle Begins
When Israel crossed the Jordan River, the first thing they faced was possibly the most powerful, most fortified, stronghold of all. Jericho seemed impregnable to the entire known world. How would this band of drifters ever conquer Jericho? In every way it was impossible for Israel, but everything since their departure from Egypt had been impossible, too. They were now used to doing the impossible. They knew that they were dependent on God for the victory, that they had to have a miracle, and so do we. What is coming is far beyond human ingenuity to accomplish.
Even with the great multitude that the church has now become, what we are facing is still much bigger, much stronger, and much more strongly entrenched than what we can overcome with either our numbers or our wisdom. We are facing supernatural strongholds that have had millenniums to sink their roots deeper and deeper into the hearts of men. This is a spiritual battle that is going to take a remarkable unity and obedience of God’s people just as it did when Israel faced Jericho. It is going to take the supernatural power of God to prevail. It will therefore take great faith in Him to proceed. That is the point.
The crossing of the Jordan River when it was overflowing “all its banks” was meant to begin unifying the tribes of Israel in a much greater way than they had ever known before. Their advance began with a great supernatural demonstration from God. They could not have even made it into the land without the Lord. However, He required that they step into the water before He performed the miracle. Our part is to, at His directive, step forward into the impossible circumstances.