Personal UPDATE Article
A Challenge for Today:
Joshua and The Day the Sun Stood
Still
by Chuck Missler
Do you really believe that?
Chuck, you ve got to be kidding! That's often the
reaction by some to the idea that we take the Long Day of
Joshua seriously.
The days were just not long enough for some of Joshua's
battles. In the Battle of Beth-Horon, responding to Joshua's
request, the Bible says the sun stood still to extend the
day for Israel to defeat their enemies.1
Why Joshua?
- It is a manual for spiritual warfare;
- It is a prophetic anticipation of the Book of
Revelation;
- It deals with the background to Israel's claim to the
land, which is presently being contested by the current
Peace Process.
- It contains some of the most fascinating passages in
the Old Testament.
The Name of the Book
It may come as a surprise that the name Joshua, in
Hebrew, is essentially equivalent to our Lord's name in
Anglicized Greek: Jesus. That was designed to get our
attention.
Furthermore, as a military commander, Joshua's actions at
Jericho strangely parallel the events in the Book of
Revelation: he first sends in two witnesses, he defeats the
enemy with seven trumpets, and he seems to ignore the
numerous ordinances in the Torah.
The Levites were exempt from military duties yet they are
in the march against Jericho. The Ark of the Covenant is
also in the march. They are supposed to rest on the seventh
day yet on the seventh day they march seven times as
much!2
What is really going on?
And who really fought the battle of Jericho? Despite the
declarations of the popular song, it wasn't Joshua. It was a
mysterious personage who identifies Himself with the Burning
Bush of 40 years earlier: our Lord
Himself!3
The kings aligned themselves with a leader who called
himself "The Lord of Righteousness."4 (Does
he foreshadow the Antichrist?) The kings are subsequently
defeated with signs in the sun and moon and then hide in
caves.5
An Anticipatory Model?
As we examine the Book of Joshua carefully, we notice
that it seems to be a precursor to the book of Revelation:
another Yehoshua, as Commander-in- Chief, will dispossess
the Planet Earth of its usurpers first sending in two
witnesses, then with a series of judgments of sevens finally
defeats the kings with signs in the sun, moon, etc. The
kings hide in caves, etc.6
Rahab, Woman of Destiny
Where was the most dangerous spot in Jericho? On the
walls! Think about it. Where was the safest place in
Jericho? In Rahab's house. Where was Rahab's house? On the
wall.
It is Rahab, a Gentile of dubious reputation who becomes
the mother of Boaz, the hero in the Book of Ruth who links
Bethlehem with the House of David. (You cannot really
understand the Seven Sealed Book in Revelation unless you
have studied the Book of Ruth as a book of
prophecy!).7
Rahab subsequently emerges in the genealogy of the Son of
God8--which is a study in itself.
Two Memorials
When they cross the Jordan (in a manner conspicuously
parallel to the crossing of the Red Sea 40 years earlier),
12 stones are erected on the Gilgal side, after
crossing.9
Also, just prior to the Jordan returning to its regular
flow, Joshua sets up 12 stones in the middle of the Jordan,
which will then be covered with the
waters.10 Strange.
These are not only commemorative of their deliverance,
they are prophetic of ours: the baptism of His death, and
the deliverance by His resurrection.
It is interesting that, much later, John the Baptist, at
this very spot11 alludes to these stones
in his challenge to the Pharisees and
Sadducees.12
Practical Applications
Perhaps the most important aspects of this military book
are the practical insights for spiritual warfare. Its
parallelism with Ephesians is also instructive.
The first issue is, who has the initiative? Remember, it
was God who declared war on Satan.13 When
Christ first announced the church, He pointed out that the
gates of hell shall not prevail against
it.14 It is the church which has the
initiative! That's you and I, isn't it?
What does "Crossing the Jordan" signify spiritually?
Going to heaven? Hardly. There are enemies there. Warfare.
Setbacks. The ingredients of success and failure in their
adventures are detailed for our own instruction to gain
victory instead of defeat.
After they cross the Jordan, they get circumcised! For 40
years Israel was not circumcised! It is remarkable that
while they were miraculously provided for throughout their
wilderness wanderings, they were not rebuked for not
maintaining this sign of the covenant.
Is there an intentional parallel between this and the
Jewish diaspora, during which they "are not my
people"?15
They are in enemy territory. So are you and I. (But are
we adequately prepared? Ephesians warns us to "put on the
whole armor of God."16 You must do this
before not during the battle!)
If you are not under attack, perhaps it is because you
are not relevant, or perhaps you are already relegated to
where the enemy wants you.
We may not realize this as we should, but no conflict, no
crown. If we are truly Christians, then we will be in real
warfare.
The Prophetic Horizon
As the nations of the world line up to challenge Israel's
rights to the land that God covenanted to them, another
Yehoshua is getting ready to give them the surprise of their
lives! He, too, is preparing to dispossess the land in fact,
the entire Planet Earth of the Usurper and his followers!
The Book of Joshua also introduces the
Shofar17 and the cycle of the
Jubilee. After each seven sabbatical years (49 years), the
next year was to be a Jubilee Year: all debts were forgiven,
all slaves went free, and the land returned to its original
owners.18
Peter, referring to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
alludes to the time of restitution of all things, which is
regarded as an allusion to the Jubilee.19
Many suspect that the Jubilee, too, will prove to be
prophetically significant, and we are approaching the 70th
Jubilee!
As we sit back and watch the emergence of a European
Superstate, the rebuilding of Babylon, the positioning of
Magog and the Muslim allies to attack Israel, and the
Vatican positioning to lead a worldwide ecumenical movement
and to internationalize the Temple Mount in Jerusalem we
realize that the stage is being set for the big climax. It s
time to do our homework! It s time to diligently find out
what God has said about these things.
Your Opportunity
The Book of Joshua is excellent preparation both for
practical spiritual warfare and for a strategic prophetic
perspective. We will, of course, also explore some of the
scientific conjectures surrounding the mysterious Long Day,
including the implications of the references to Planet Mars
in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's
Travels.20
Notes:
- Joshua 10:12,13.
- They are to keep silent not shout
until the seventh time on the seventh day. Cf. Revelation
8:1.
- Joshua 5:13-15.
- Joshua 10:1ff.
- Joshua 10:16-27.
- Revelation 6:15-16.
- See our Briefing Package
The
Romance of Redemption, a study of the Book of Ruth.
- Matthew 1:5.
- Joshua 4:1-8.
- Joshua 4:9.
- At Bethabara, the House of Passage,
John 1:28.
- Matthew 3:9.
- Genesis 3:15.
- Matthew 16:18.
- Hosea 1:9,10; 2:23.
- Ephesians 6:10-18.
- The ram's horn, not the silver
trumpets of the Temple.
- Leviticus 25, 27.
- Acts 3:21.
- These are also explored in our
Briefing Package
Signs
in the Heavens.
This article was first published in the February 1996
edition of Personal Update
Copyright (C) 1996 by Koinonia House
Inc., P.O. Box D, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816-0347
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