To all the dear Doves,
   On a clear day, wherever you are in Israel, look up, and you will see beautiful snow-covered Mount Hermon dominating the northern horizon. It is always there, like a jewel in the sunlight. From deepest winter to sweltering summer, its snows are ever seen, ever present, and never failing.
   As the warmth of the sun caresses the tender snow, it melts and gently seeps into the rocky mountain top, slowly finding its way deep into the foundations of the mountain, eventually bubbling up in three beautiful and refreshing fountains: the Hasbani, the Banias, and the Leddan.
   These are the springs whose cold, clear, sparkling water becomes the Jordan river -- the river whose history is intricately interwoven into the pages of the Bible.
   From the northernmost fountain, the Hasbani, the river descends 111 miles before it silently disappears into the salt-laden waters of the Dead Sea -- the lowest place on the surface of our planet.
   Mt. Hermon, from whence this short but magnificent river flows, sometimes in the prophecy of the Bible, is connected in concept to Mt. Zion which is at Jerusalem. A straight line drawn between the peaks of these two mountains will be 111 miles in length. In fact, Mt. Hermon is sometimes called Mt. Sion.
   These two distances are each 111 miles in length, but if we converted miles to furlongs (a measure used in the Bible), it would be 888 furlongs. We all know that the Gematria value of the name "Jesus" is 888. So, what does this little muddy river have to do with Jesus?
   The three fountains, which are the source of the Jordan, come together and flow into Lake Huleh, which is at sea level with the Mediterranean. However, the water that flows south from Lake Huleh plunges down over the escarpment and down into its "below sea-level" condition, until it reaches the Dead Sea which is about 1,300 feet below sea level. As it leaves the three beautiful fountains, it pictures Adam in the beauty of his perfection, and lovely Lake Huleh is a wonderful illustration of Adam's life in the Garden of Eden -- pure and perfect. However, as the waters leave this sparkling lake, it plunges below sea level and forms a muddy, rocky stream that rushes southward. It illustrates the fall of Adam from his perfection and sonship with God.
   But the Bible tells us of a second Adam, who takes the place of the first one, and dies a sacrificial death as payment for original sin. This one was, of course, Jesus, whose number is 888. Jesus not only gave life to man in the beginning, which is represented in the pure water of life that is the dazzling white snow of Mt. Hermon (Sion), He also restores life to man by means of His great sacrifice -- the shedding of His blood. By this offering of Himself, he brought to man the opportunity of restoration to all that had been lost by the sin of Adam.
  Thus, stated briefly, the Jordan River pictures Adamic death and the means by which mankind is brought back up out of that death sentence, and given life anew.
   We hear much about "crossing Jordan" and by that we are thinking of the crossing over into a future life. That future life is defined in many and varying ways. This concept of "crossing Jordan" comes from the many experiences involving such a "crossing," but primarily from the great event of Joshua leading the Israelites across that muddy river and into the land God had promised them for an inheritance. And this very place on the river where they crossed, is beautifully illustrated many places in the Bible by many events which happened there.
   At the beginning of crossing the Jordan, Israel's leader, Joshua, was instructed to have the priests carry the Ark of the Covenant into the middle of the river. The place where the priests stood, later became known as Bethabara -- meaning "The House of Crossing Over." We are told, in the story of Joshua, when the priests stood in the middle of the river, that the water receded all the way back to the city of Adam. This is a straight-line distance of 18 miles. Convert those 18 miles into yards, and we have 31,680 yards. What a magnificent number! The name Lord Jesus Christ as it appears in the Greek text of the New Testament, has a number equivalent of 3168. It is telling us something magnificent. The muddy river represents Adamic death, but the Ark of the Covenant represented the place of atonement for the sin of Adam. It was held in the middle of the river at Bethabara, and the waters of death rolled all the way back to the city of Adam -- meaning that the price of atonement will roll back death all the way back to and including Adam. And the means by which this will happen is this beautiful number, 3168, which is the number of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is either a magnificent coincidence, or it was fore-ordained in the Plan of God.
   When Jesus became 30 years old, he entered the Jordan from its east bank and came to John in the middle of the river -- the place called Bethabara. He was baptized there, in the same spot where the priests had held the Ark of the Covenant. He was fulfilling the picture. The Ark of the Covenant had pictured the place of atonement, and Jesus was now to become that actual atonement for the sin of Adam. After his baptism, he came up out of the river on its west bank. He had crossed over the Jordan.
   This distance, between Bethabara and the city of Adam, which bears the number 31,680 yards is telling us something of colossial importance. It is telling us that the Lord Jesus Christ, whose number is 3168, has paid the price of atonement, and therefore all those who had been under the penalty of death could be released. This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
   This is why Jesus came to earth. He was born in Bethlehem, which is at 31.68 degrees north latitude. He died on the cross just six miles from the place of his birth. Six miles is a distance of 31,680 feet.
   The Jordan, pouring its muddy waters into the Dead Sea, pictures Adamic death -- and the Dead Sea pictures the great reservoir of death into which all mankind has been cast. But the prophet Ezekiel saw in vision a pure river of life flowing from the throne of God, and going down to the Dead Sea and healing its waters, making it a "live" sea. Although this was a vision, there actually is a wadi that runs from the Temple Mount to the Dead Sea. It empties into the Dead Sea at the latitude of 31.68 degrees north. Ezekiel described it as a river of life, whose banks were lined by trees which were for the healing of the nations. In fact, if we were to draw a straight line between the Temple Mount and the place where this wadi empties into the Dead Sea, we would find it to be 15 miles. Convert it to feet, and we have a distance of 79,200 feet. It is no coincidence that the name Lord Jesus Christ, when spelled in Hebrew, has a number equivalent of 792.
   This brief letter only skims the surface of a few amazing facts from a story that is replete with the magnificent numbers of the Holy Land and its amazing little river, the Jordan. The "rest of the story" can be found in the book JORDAN: the Promise Fulfilled. This book will stretch your mind out beyond anything you have ever known. Yet, it is not fiction. It is real! The numbers are a language by which God has communicated to his human family, revealing His marvelous plan for the restoration of all mankind. It will delight you, inspire you, amaze you, and take you to your knees in awe and reverence for God.
   You can obtain a copy by contacting me at  bgaunt@centurytel.net
 
Bonnie Gaunt