Walls

And The Walls Come a'Tumblin' Down!

"Joshua fit de battle of Jericho..." resounds the old spiritual. How about, "Yeshua fit de battle of Jerusalem"? You are probably aware that "Jesus" is the Greek transliteration of Christ's Hebrew name, which is rendered in English as Joshua. At Jericho, Joshua conferred with "the captain of the Lord of Hosts". This Christophany is a powerful type in the conquest of Canaan.

You will read it again and again on this site, the Mosaic Covenant experience was a type or shadow that prefigured the Messianic age to come. The old was carnal, natural, earthly, temporal, seen, etc. The new is spiritual, heavenly, eternal, unseen, etc. We must understand this or interpreting Messianic prophecy is fraught with problems.

While we should not force every aspect of the old system to be a type of something in the new, there are many references that clearly foreshadow the coming kingdom in that generation.

Among those is the fall of Jericho which stood at the entrance to the promised land. It was a fortified city that represented a serious challenge to Israel's claim to the land. It's fall telegraphed a message to all the world that God was the Lord of this people. According to Rahab's conversation with the spies in Joshua 2, they had already heard about the events in Egypt and the whole land was terrified. She cut her deal with the spies and you know the rest of the story.

But, what happened with the Hebrews before they arrived at Jericho? Right, they spent forty years in the wilderness. Because of the unbelief of the majority of the first spies, the people had to be prepared to take possession of what was promised. A few of the unbelieving generation were still alive forty years later when the Jordan parted (at flood stage) and the walls of Jericho fell giving them a foothold in the promised land.

Fast forward now to Christ's ministry. At the cross, He delivered believers from bondage. Prior to His ascension, He promised to come again in that generation (the next forty years) to receive them in His kingdom. But, there was work yet to be done.

In spite of Christ's delivering work, their redemption was still future (Luke 21:28; Romans 13:11; Hebrews 9:28). Old Covenant Judaism was still a major problem for those early believers (it still is for futurist believers today!). Nothing represented the old system better than the temple. Here was where the presence of God dwelt. His presence assured them they were His people.

But forty years after the cross, His presence left. Josephus records that those present heard a voice from the Most Holy Place say, "Let us depart this place." Prior to the fall in A.D. 70, believers fled the city of Jerusalem as the walls fell and the city was burned and plowed under.

Similar to the collapse of the walls in Jericho, the fall of Jerusalem's walls symbolized the the entrance of the redeemed remnant into Christ's everlasting kingdom. The believers were vindicated and revealed as "the sons of God" while judgment fell on the Jewish system which had rejected God as king and usurped His authority for so long.

Believers now reside in the New Jerusalem. Although its gates never close, unbelievers may not enter for it is a Holy City (Revelation 22:14ff). We dwell there by faith today and at death our eyes are opened to that reality of the new dimension where we dwell eternally.

Revelation also tells us that the City is a blessing to the nations. As kingdom citizens, we should live victoriously in this world and rule as faithful ambassadors.

Updated 08/04/03