Two Pillars of Stone

When the Israelites came to the Jordan River it was at flood stage, overflowing its banks. When the feet of the priests who were carrying the ark touched the water's edge the water from upstream stopped flowing. The water flowing downstream soon vanished and the riverbed appeared.

The priests with the ark took their stand on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan.

All the Israelites, with the exception of the families of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, who remained in the plains of Moab, marched across the riverbed.

Then the Lord directed that one man from each of the twelve tribes take a stone from the middle of the riverbed and set up a memorial pillar where Israel camped for the night, on the west side of the Jordan.

In addition, a pillar of twelve stones was set up in the middle of the Jordan where the priests had stood.

The two pillars, one set up on the west bank and one in the middle of the Jordan, are symbolic of our death and resurrection in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our adamic nature is represented by the pillar left on the riverbed of the Jordan, to be covered over once the water began flowing again.

Our new resurrection life with the Lord Jesus Christ is portrayed by the pillar of twelve stones erected on the west bank where the army camped for the night.

Canaan represents our inheritance. Our inheritance consists of God and Christ Themselves, eternal life in Their Presence, the new Jerusalem, the nations and farthest reaches of the earth, exceedingly great fruitfulness, and exceedingly great dominion. All these are ours through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In order to fully enter our inheritance we have to go through three deaths and three resurrections.

The first death is death to the world. We must leave the world to follow the Lord Jesus. The first resurrection is our membership in the family of God—all those who are called by the name of the Father. This is the Red Sea.

The second death is death to sin. Through the Holy Spirit we are to put to death the passions and appetites of our body. The second resurrection is spiritual freedom and eternal life. This is Mount Sinai.

The third death is death to self. We remain faithfully in the prison in which we are placed, even to the point of death. The third resurrection is the possession of fruitfulness and dominion. This is the River Jordan.

To be fully dead to Adam and alive unto Jesus Christ we must experience all three deaths and resurrections.

Canaan is resurrection ground. It is eternal life in the Presence of God. The gaining of eternal life is the main theme of the New Testament, for it is eternal life that was lost in the beginning.

The churches of Christ understand quite well the first death and resurrection. They understand we must repent and be baptized in water if we are to be accepted of Christ.

To a lesser extent the churches understand whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. God wants a holy people who through Christ are gaining the victory over the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. The overemphasis on grace, as it is preached today, has done much to undermine serious attempts on the part of the believers to gain victory over sin.

The last death and resurrection, death to self and resurrection to fruitfulness and dominion, is hardly known to the Christian churches. Yet the remnant who are being called out today must submit to this operation.

The first sin was self-will, beginning with the rebellion of Satan and continuing in Adam and Eve. All other sin proceeds from self-will. The New Agers and similar groups emphasize that man must govern himself. This is pure Satanism.

We cannot cross over Jordan until we are willing to surrender our right to be ourselves and yield the throne of our personality to the Lord Jesus Christ. Until we do this we cannot possess the Kingdom of God to any significant extent.

Basic salvation and Pentecost have sufficed in time past. Today the drums of Hell are beating to the attack. All that is not proceeding from the Lord Jesus Christ will be shaken and collapse.

We simply must turn over our life to Jesus. It is not enough to be born again and speak in tongues. God is requiring infinitely more than this. He demands our entire personality with no reservations.

What did Paul say? "I am crucified with Christ. I am not living any longer. Christ is living in me." Paul stands in relation to Christ as Christ stands in relation to the Father.

Every individual who follows the Lord Jesus Christ in the attack of Armageddon is a dead-living person.

Your Adam and my Adam must be left in the middle of Jordan. Otherwise we cannot cross over to the land of promise. The pillar of twelve stones erected at Gilgal, on the west side of the Jordan, represent our new resurrection life in Jesus Christ. It is this new life that is the Kingdom of God. It is the new life that inherits all the promises of God.

Until you leave Adam in the Jordan you cannot move past Pentecost in your spiritual experience.

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