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The Meaning of 2000

Crossing the Jordan

The Year 2000

January 1, 2000 (Day 1):  Since years are numbers and since the Lord Jesus Christ controls history the meaning of the year always matches the number. The number 2000 means: crossing the Jordan.  When Israel was ready to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, the people were commanded to follow the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant but to stay "about 2,000 cubits" away (Joshua 3:1-4).  The Hebrew is <y!P^l=a^K= (ke alepajim), the dual of a thousand with the preposition ke, which means about 2,000.  The cubit was 17.72 inches - the distance from the elbow to the end of the longest finger.  Thus, 2,000 cubits was a distance of 2,953 feet, or approximately half a mile.Levite City

The number 2,000 symbolizes the boundary of the Promised Land in Numbers 35:5, where the cities to be given to the Levites in the Promised Land were to be surrounded by pastures that extended outward 1,000 cubits from each side of the the city wall (Numbers 35:1-5).  In other words, the city would sit in the middle of a pasture that extended 1,000 cubits on each side of the city for a total of 2,000 cubits minimum on each side of the pasture.  The total length and width of the pasture depended upon the size of the city, but would be at least 2,000 cubits.  The 2,000 cubit wide pasture represented a miniature Promised Land - i.e. an icon of the Promised Land.  Therefore, the number 2,000 refers to crossing the Jordan, which was the boundary of the Promised Land.

Crossing the Jordan

Crossing the Jordan was the first step in the conquest of the Promised Land, which represented Spiritual Warfare and was a new paradigm.  The plan for crossing the Jordan was:  Follow the Ark.  The Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle represented the Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union.  When the Israelites followed the Ark, they were following the Lord.
Joshua 3:2-3
2 It came about at the end of three days that the officers went through the midst of the camp; 3 and they ordered the people, saying, "When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, your God, with the Levitical Priests carrying it, then you shall march out from your post and follow behind it.
The Levitical Priests, who were responsible for the ministry in the Tabernacle, would carry the Ark across the Jordan.  The Koathites carried the Ark during the journeys in the wilderness; but the Levitical Priests were always in charge, and they carried the Ark on ceremonial occasions.  The people were camped beside the Jordan, each family in its assigned camping space.  When they saw the Levitical Priests move out, they were to break camp and march behind it.  The Lord leads the way.

A New Paradigm

The explanation given for staying 2,000 cubits away was:
"However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits by measure.  Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before (literally, yesterday and the day before). (Joshua 3:4)
The people were commanded to stay back a half mile so they could see the Ark.  There were approximately two million Jews
counting women and children, and it would take perhaps half a day for them to all cross the Jordan with their flocks and
baggage.  Since they had never "passed this way before," they needed to follow the Ark.  The Ark was a symbol of the Lord
Jesus Christ, our all and in all.  Since they had never done this before, the Lord would point out what to do every step of the
way.  Like soldiers in combat, if they obeyed orders, they would make it.  Crossing the Jordan and conquering the Promised
Land was unprecedented.  No scripture had been written about it.  It was a new paradigm. A paradigm is a system of thinking - not just an advance on the previous cycle of thought.  The Jews would write this chapter in history, i.e. the book of Joshua, by obeying the commandments of the Lord.  The Lord Jesus Christ, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of Israel would lead them every step of the way, but since they had never "passed this way before," they must obey orders to succeed. The watchword was "follow the Ark."

Rebound

Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves (Rebound), for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5)
In preparation for crossing the Jordan, Joshua commanded the people first to sanctify themselves, which meant to Rebound.  It also included putting on clean clothes, the symbol of sanctification, and refraining from conjugal intercourse (Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:5).  Whereas, Rebound before the Church Age did include acknowledging sins, it did not include the Filling of the Holy Spirit, which is unique to the Church Age.  Those who had survived the wilderness wanderings had learned to use Rebound; so they understood this command.  Those who did not use Rebound had already died the sin unto death in the wilderness. This command is very similar to the command that Moses received on Mount Sinai when Israel was called a "Holy Nation" (Exodus 19:3-6).  The words, holy and sanctify, are the same Hebrew root.

The next day, the Lord would "do wonders" just as He had done to free Israel from Egypt (Exodus 3:20; 15:11).  The word for wonders is the Hebrew pala', which means supernatural, extraordinary acts, or wonders.1 The Lord would open up the River Jordan just as He had opened up the Red Sea.

The Miracle of Drying Up the Jordan

The Lord would solve the problem of crossing the Jordan because it was full and overflowing its banks that time of year.
You shall order the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of the River Jordan, at the Jordan you shall stand still. (Joshua 3:8)
At the Jordan the priests are were to stand still and watch the Lord perform a miracle.  When the soles of the feet of the priests, stepped into the Jordan River, then the Lord would dry it up with a dam upstream.
It shall come to pass that when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the Ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, shall settle down in the River Jordan, the River Jordan shall be cut off - that is, the waters which flow down from above shall stand still as one heap. (Joshua 3:13)
The water of the Jordan was outside its banks, but as soon as the Levitical Priests stepped into the water, then the Lord would dry up the Jordan by making a dam upstream.  As the water flowed down from upstream, the water head continued to rise higher like the water behind a dam.
Joshua 3:14-16
14 It came to pass when the people pulled out from their bivouac to cross over the Jordan with the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant in front of the people, 15 When those who carried the Ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the Ark dipped in the edge (brim) of the water (furthermore, the Jordan overflowed all its banks all the days of the harvest), 16 Then the waters which came down from above stood still:  they rose up in a heap very far off by the town of Adam which is by the side of Zarathan; and those (waters) which flowed down over to the Sea of the Plain, the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), were completely cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
The word translated, "cross over," is `abar, which is the same as the word for passover.  Just as Israel had passed over the Red Sea with Moses after the Passover, the next generation crossed over the Jordan with Joshua.  In both cases the Lord performed the miracle.  The explanation of the Jordan being full and overflowing in verse 15 is added to further attest to the miracle.  The Jordan opposite Jericho was 10-12 feet deep even at the fords during the harvest season (April and May), unlike summer.  Crossing the Jordan that time of year was regarded as a heroic feat (1 Chronicles 12:15).

When the feet of the priest got to the edge (literally brim) of the flood waters of the Jordan, then the Lord performed a miracle and dammed up the river upstream.  The location of the dam was in the region of Adam and Zarathan, which are believed to be about 15 miles upstream, although the exact locations are not known.

The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm upon dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan. (Joshua 3:17)
The priests stood in the middle of the river bed on dry ground with the Ark until all the nation of Israel had crossed over dry shod.  Moses left Egypt with a ruler's scepter (his staff), with which he requested the dividing of the Red Sea.  Joshua entered the Promised Land with the Ark, the symbol of the Lord, the ruler of the Client Nation.

Calendar Notes

The year 2000 is the last year of the 20th century - not the year 1999.  That is because the calendar we use started in year 1 AD and not zero.  Thus, the end of the first thousand years was 1000, and the end of the next thousand years is 2000.  The current millennium will not end until December 31, 2000.  The Spiritual meaning of the year 2000 is that it is a boundary before entering the new millennium in 2001.  Since the number 2000 means crossing the Jordan, the entire year will be devoted to crossing the Jordan Spiritually.  The new millennium will begin on January 1, 2001 and not 2000.
The calendar date in common use for the birth of Christ and the use of BC and AD, came from Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Little), a Scythian monk in 525 AD.  He lived in Rome and through his scholarly research set the birth of Christ as 1 BC and selected December 25 as the date.  The Christian Era then started six days later on January 1, 1 A.D.2
No one knows the day of the Second Advent and the beginning of the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Whenever, it begins, it won't be 2001 because there are 7 years left in the Jewish Age to be fulfilled before the Second Advent.

Summary

The year 2000 means crossing the Jordan.  Just as those who crossed the Red Sea all had Positional Sanctification, those who crossed the Jordan all had Experiential Sanctification.  Experiential Sanctification requires the use of Rebound.  It also requires knowledge of Bible Doctrine (John 17:17).  In 2000, believers with Bible Doctrine will cross the Jordan to conquer the Promised Land.  They will witness wonders of the fulfillment of the Plan of God as the Lord Jesus Christ leads them to a new strategic objective.  They will have to learn a new paradigm, which will be possible as they obey the Holy Spirit.  They have never been this way before.  The watchword will be "follow the Ark," which represents the Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union.

The wilderness wanderings were a time of punishment and opportunity for Spiritual growth through metabolization of Bible Doctrine.  Crossing the Jordan will be a new course with a new strategic plan, new leadership, and a new paradigm.  It will be a time of sanctification, strict obedience to the Protocol Plan of God, and learning the new strategy for the conquest of the Promised Land.  It will be a time of grace promotion for those with Bible Doctrine and a time of massive reorganization.  The old paradigm will vanish, and the new battlefield will lie ahead.  Those with Bible Doctrine and obedience will have one of the rare privileges of all history, reliving the crossing of the Jordan Spiritually in the Angelic Conflict.  They will use Ephesians rather than the book of Joshua to light their path.  They will use the standard of the fulness of blessing of Christ for their metrics rather than the dimensions of the Ark of acacia wood and gold which the priests carried across Jordan.

Now is the time.  Now is the opportunity to live the doctrine that believers in Client Nation USA have had the privilege of learning.  This opportunity will never exist again in all of history.  It is time to Rebound, and move out!

References

1.  Larry Wood.  "The Plagues of Egypt,"  December 9, 1999.
2.  Larry Wood.  "The Christmas Story," January 2, 1998.

Author:  Larry Wood