Last post we looked at some of the connections
between the
ירדן
Descender/Yarden/Jordan
and
John the Baptizer
יוחנן המטביל
And we visited two locations that are mentioned
in the scriptures for immersion;
and we saw that the meaning of
Aenon/Aeiynon/Ain-Yon
עֵינָן. = spring, eye of a dove.
Aenon = “springs”
the name of a place “near to Salim”. John 1:37
Ainon- pronounced: ahee-nohn’ of Hebrew origin
(a derivative of 5869, place of springs).
In Greek: Αἰνών Ainṓn, ahee-nohn’; of Hebrew origin,
place of springs; Ænon.
According to the scriptures, here is the location that is more accurately describing the place where Yeshua/Jesus immersion occurred.
The place is called
Bethabara – בֵּית בָּרָה
John 1:28
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
And in other versions…
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.
This is clearly Not the same as the 2 previously mentioned places in verse 22. Bethany an AREA which was EAST of the Yarden/Jordan/Descender.
Bethabara beyond Jordan
the other side of the Jordan and
Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River.
Bethabara – בֵּית בָּרָה
means: house of the ford or crossing.
בֵּית בָּרָה Bêyth Bârâh,
Pronounced: bayth baw-raw’;
beth-ba’-ra (beth barah; Baithera):
Perhaps Beth-`abharu,
of Hebrew origin from H1004and H5679;
H1012 – bêṯ bārâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)
Strong’s Greek: 962 Βηθαβαρά
– Bethabara
In Jordan this place is called
Qasr al-Yahud –
Baptismal Site of Yeshua/Jesus:
Located across the river from Jericho, this is the believed to be the place where Yeshua/Jesus was immersed/baptized.
It’s also a popular place where many people go to be immersed/baptized today.
Bethabara is located about 2 miles (3.2 km.) east of Hwy. 90, across from Jericho. It re-opened in 2011 but the Jordan River there is muddy brown, the infrastructure isn’t as developed, and Qasr al-Yahud doesn’t have the marketing power of Yardenit, which sadly separates money from Christians with impressive business acumen.
It’s also known as:
Qaser al-Yahud/Kasser al-Yahud.
Close by there is also a
Cave of John the Baptist/John the Baptizer
יוחנן המטביל
Why the change of location?
Until the Six-Day War of 1967, Qasr al-Yahud, located a few miles north of where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, was considered the location of
Yeshua/Jesus’ baptism.
After the Six-Day War, the southern stretch of Jordan River became the mined, militarized border between Israel and the country of Jordan, making Qasr al-Yahud inaccessible.
To provide an alternative site that could be safely visited, in 1981 Israeli Ministry of Tourism funded Kibbutz Kinneret, a Jewish farming cooperative on a picturesque part of the Jordan River, there they built Yardenit.
However as we can see from the scriptures in
Verse 26. He that was with thee beyond the Jordan.
Amplified Bible
These things occurred in Bethany across the Jordan [at the Jordan River crossing], where John was baptizing.
So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, the One you testified about–He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.”
John 10:40
Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first been baptizing, and He stayed there.
John10:40 And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode.
Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
JOHN 1:25-28
In verse 28, John identifies the location where John the Baptist was baptizing as
Bethany beyond the Jordan.
(the NJKV follows an inferior textual variant, Bethabara distinguishing it from the Bethany that was near Jerusalem.
This verse also confirms the
other side of the Jordan:
Above Immersion areas at Qaser al-Yahud/Kasser al-Yahud/Bethabara. Jordan side on right in top left and both bottom pictures and Israel side on the left except top right which is Israel side/site.
The Syriac and Persic versions call it:
Ain, or In you,
the fountain of the dove;
and the Arabic version reads ,
the fountain of Nun:
and whether it was a town, or river,
it seems to have its name from a fountain near it,
or that itself was one, where there was
as the text shows
an abundance of water.
Above early excavations at Bethany beyond the Jordan site:
Qaser al-Yahud/Kasser al-Yahud/Bethabara.
Judaism had understood up to this point that the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit was only ever given in a measure: Usually only a Prophet, Priest or King.
The sent Word speaks the Word of the God; and John directs things to Messiah 1:26, I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. Then he waited until the next day to draw the contrast between his
baptizing/immersion in water and
Yeshua/Jesus’
baptizing/immersion in the Ruach Hakodesh/Holy Spirit
John 1:29, 31-33
It is the Word, Jesus/Yeshua, Who is given authority by the Father to pour out His Spirit without measure, something that had never happened before in Israel.
This is prophetic of the outpouring of His Spirit at
Shavuot (Pentecost)
50 days after the Resurrection of Yeshua/Jesus.
Isa.44:3; Joel 2:28; Acts 2.
John 3:35
The Father
Greek: Ho-pater, Hebrew:Ha-Av
loves = ohev in Hebrew
His Son = et-beno in Hebrew,
and the all, everything,
every individual – pas in Greek, ve’et-kol in Hebrew
has been given – didomi in Greek, natan in Hebrew
into His hand – be’yado in Hebrew.
Having revealed the promised outpouring of the Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness, Yochanan/John, spoke of the Father having given all creation into the hands of the Son. Here the 3-fold conceptual image is revealed in unity as all three are recorded as being manifested in one place at the same moment. Yeshua/Jesus has been given authority because it is through Him, (a man, Who is also God/YHVH/YaHoVeH), that humanity and creation are to be redeemed. Yeshua/Jesus in turn will submit both Himself and all of the renewed creation to the Father.
There’s a deeper spiritual meaning to the word Jordan/Yarden.
In the same way we must descend to access the Jordan/Yarden Rivers’ waters physically,
we must descend and humble ourselves
before we can ascend spiritually.
This concept is seen in many of the miracles that happened in and around its shores.
Descending as in
Jordan/Yarden
the Descender.
The place of the descending as a dove was here.
The Jordan/Yarden, is also frequently mentioned in connection with the ministry of John the Baptist,
John the Baptizer.
יוחנן המטביל
JOHN 1:28, 10:40.
Although The Jordan/Yarden is rather shallow and relatively easy to cross, at certain times of the year, the river was in flood stage and could be a formidable natural barrier for advancing armies.
Adam – This is the place where the waters of the Yarden/Jordan river backed up to when the Israelites crossed the river which was about 20 miles, 32/33 km. above the crossing place.
Bethabara – בֵּית בָּרָה
means: house of the ford or crossing.
No coincidence that the waters were in a heap at a place called Adam!!!!
Recall the scriptures tell us that the Israelites crossed the Jordan/Yarden River on dry ground as the waters were miraculously parted.
Joshua 3:14–17: So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam [20 miles, 32 km. north], the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Over the years, several earthquakes, where the African and Arabian tectonic plates collide, have altered the course of the river and it now runs further away from the site shown in the maps and photos.
This means that the place Messiah was immersed is now dry ground and interestingly, no one can be immersed on exactly same spot.
We have answered most of the question posed but
What about the miracle???
The miracle was MUCH MUCH bigger
than we may have realized because
we have not understood the geography of the area,
that this was a river valley and as
the river was at flood stage,
it was overflowing its banks yet…
when the priests feet touched the river..
the water stopped flowing!
As previously mentioned, the body of water that would have gathered would have been approx. 20 miles (32/33 km.) long, 2 miles (3.2 km.) wide, and around 120 ft. (37 m.) high.
This was a massive body and a high wall of water that the 3 million or more Israelites would have witnessed as they walked alongside it for about 2 miles (3.2 km.)!
The miracle was similar to the crossing of the Reed/Red Sea after the Israelite’s Exodus from Egypt. God repeated this miracle to reveal His glory and faithfulness.
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
opened the waters to provide the exit from bondage and then opened the waters to provide an entrance into the freedom of the promised land/Israel.
In the same WAY in our lives we can trust our Heavenly Father that as we leave a situation behind us, He opens the WAY before us. How we leave a place or set of circumstances is how we will enter the next.
Crossing into the Promised Land is also a picture of living in victory.
Our Heavenly Father shows us His WAYS in scripture by His patterns, entering and leaving is one of those and just as we will reap what we sow in life; consequences of our actions or lack of them, will determine the pattern we set for ourselves.
It is surely possible that the people in Jericho saw what happened as the flood waters parted, and this no doubt is what made them fear the Israelites.
There are so many things that occurred at this very strategic location when we recall scripture references and see that we have missed their importance since this place was re placed by the Yardenit Baptismal Site near Galilee.
Quick recap and some wonderful scriptural connections:
The meaning of the place across from where John was baptizing/Immersion…
Spring – eye – dove.
Dove = Jonah
The name Jonah,
in Hebrew, Yonah – יונה,
means: dove.
It is the name of a biblical prophet whose story is read on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement!
Yeshua/Jesus said in Matthew 12:39 An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
This was a reference to the mixed Goyim/Gentile nation at Nineveh being included in the Fathers plan of redemption if they repented. Also Messiah was indicating that He was about to initiate the same offer to the nations of the world; extending it outwards from just Abrahams seed and the children of Israel. Did it also refer prophetically by default, to the DOVE/Ruach HaKodesh Who was soon to come?
In speaking of the end of the age Yeshua/Jesus also said in
Matthew 24:37
But just as the days of Noah, so will the coming of The Son of Man be. When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived.
The Dove returned to Noah after he released it to see if the water level had dropped and if, again, all the species that he had saved could live on dry land; the dove quickly returned as there was nowhere for it to rest. Genesis 8:11.
Noah – נח – is believed to come from the Hebrew “Noach,” meaning “rest.”
Also possibly “long-lived”, “comforter”, or “wanderer. pronounced NOH-ach with a ch like Bach
We enter into the rest of Messiah by His Ruach/Spirit.
Noah waited 7 more days and sent out the dove again, the dove returned with an olive branch.
Noah waited 7 more days and sent out the dove again, who did NOT return. Interestingly the dove returned symbolically upon Messiah as He raised up out of the waters of immersion/baptism/cleansing to the new life/start that Noah also experienced and we do too.
The living waters of cleansing and renewal.
Elijah parted the waters of the Yarden/Jordan/Descender here…
2 Kings 2:6–8: Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground….
And he ascended to heaven here…
The area in the picture below is also associated with the ascension of the Prophet Elijah into heaven,
which is commemorated at a hill called
Tell Mar Elias
or
Jabal Mar-Elias (Elijah’s Hill).
John the Baptizer came in the spirit of Elijah.
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
Matthew 11:14
Elisha took Elijahs prayer shawl/mantle and parted the waters here twice in 2 Kings 2:8 and 2:14.
Naaman, the Leper,
was healed in the Jordan River
by the Prophet Elisha.
2 Kings 5:10–14: :
And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
The place of the
crossing of the Jordan River
by the Israelites is located close-by to the
Immersion/Baptismal Site of Yeshua/Jesus.
Recall that prophetically Joshua/Yehoshua
is a type and shadow of Jesus/Yeshua.
Joshua’s name is יְהוֹשׁוּעַ or,
transliterated into English,
Yehoshua, a form of Yeshua.
This is where we get the English name Joshua. But, when the Hebrew name is translated into Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament, it becomes Ἰησοῦς, which transliterates into Iēsous. This is where we get the English name Jesus. Thus, Yeshua and, correspondingly, Joshua and Jesus all mean “Yahweh Saves” or “The Lord Is Salvation.”
Jesus and Joshua are really the same name, although in different languages. The Greek form (in English) is Jesus. The Hebrew form (in English) is Joshua. The Greek form of the name “Joshua” (“Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation”) is “Jesus.” As Joshua led Israel to victory over her enemies and into possession of the Promised Land, and as he interceded for the nation after it had sinned and been defeated, so does Jesus/Yeshua.
Before entering the Promised Land, the Israelites camped on the east side of the Yarden/Jordan River, opposite Jericho.
Joshua 3:1: Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
The splitting of the Yarden/Jordan, the waters of the descender, is comparable to that of the Sea of Reeds, which was through the staff of Moses (Exodus 14:16) and ultimately to the second creation day, when the primordial waters were divided. (Genesis 1:6).
For them to make this crossing, the Lord held back the water of the Jordan by means of the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 3:16)
The waters parted at Jordan and the priests
went first with the ark YHVH/Gods presence in the earth
when their feet stepped into the water they parted.
Jesus/Yeshua descended into the
waters/immersion/baptism and as our
High Priest
and the presence of the Lord in the earth
went through the waters
to make the Way for us
to enter into our promised land
the kingdom of God/the heavens.
Yeshua/Jesus leading the WAY through the waters of immersion/baptism for repentance and into the new life He gives into the new land, the kingdom of the heavens.
The Jordan River represented life and vitality to the Israelites. They were desert people, and water was their life. Messiah used this concept to teach them that in the same way water was vital for their physical lives, He was vital for their spiritual lives as well.
As the start of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land, God ordered Joshua to set up a memorial after crossing the Jordan and they placed 12 stones in the middle of the river.
Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day. Joshua 4:9.
In order to facilitate this crossing, the Lord held back the water of the Jordan by means of the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 3:16)
Naaman, the Leper, was healed
in the Jordan River
by the Prophet Elisha.
2 Kings 5:10–14: : And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
All these miracles happened in the Jordan/Yarden River
Who was the ultimate (Yarden/Jorden) descender?
Yeshua, Messiah Jesus, He said Himself
No one has ascended into heaven except the One who
descended
from heaven–the Son of Man. John 3:13
Yeshua/Jesus THE descender from heaven
and when He ascended at Shavuot/Pentecost,
His Spirit of Holiness/RuachHaKodesh,
Who came before as a DOVE/Jonah was the DESCENDER as tongues/flames of fire on the waiting Talmidim/Disciples.
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Hallelujah!! He is with us always!