Joshua 4:16

Jos. 4:16. The Lake of Sodom, into which Jordan emptied itself, was a type of hell on many accounts. The fire by which Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities were destroyed is expressly called eternal fire. The river Jordan (that was a swift river), whose waters were constantly and swiftly flowing into that Lake, represents the continued flowing of multitudes (that are in Scripture often called 'waters') into hell. The Lake of Sodom was never full though these waters incessantly flowed into it. So hell is never satisfied. The waters must be supposed to have some subterraneous passage from that Lake, by which they were, as it were, sucked down into the lower parts of the earth, and, as it were, into hell, which makes the type more lively. These waters shall be in a great measure cut off when our Jesus or Joshua comes to bring His spiritual Israel into Canaan at the latter day, by that work which was an antitype of this work of Joshua that we have an account of in this Book. Then shall the great stream that constantly flowed down to hell fail. This shall be at the time of God's spiritual harvest, spoken of in Rev. 14. As Joshua's bringing the people through Jordan was at the time of harvest, just before the waters were thus cut off by Joshua, [when they] flowed in more than ordinary plenty, it being a time when Jordan overflowed all its banks. So just before Christ shall do this for His Church in the latter day, it will be a time of great wickedness and depravacy. Secondly, these sweet waters of Jordan represent the means of grace, which was one thing represented by Ezekiel's waters of life. So [also] the waters of Jordan represented [this] in healing Naaman's leprosy. And the Lake of Sodom in this case represents the same as those 'miry places and marshes' in Ezekiel's vision that were given to salt, never to be healed by the living waters, however constantly and plentifully flowing by them. Therefore the waters being cut off when Joshua comes, represents the awful judgment of God on reprobates who had long abused means of grace; when Christ shall come, these means which they have enjoyed shall be taken from them. They shall be miserably destroyed, and all streams of mercy shall be cut off from them. Lastly, This river flowing into the Lake of Sodom represents the supplies of the kingdom of Satan, and especially the Church of Rome, that is spiritually called Sodom, and so represents the same that the river Euphrates did in old Babylon. These shall be dried up when the spiritual Joshua shall come. Thus the sixth vial was poured out on the great river Euphrates, and the waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. As there the river Euphrates represents two things that the literal river Euphrates was to old Babylon - viz., its supply and defense - so here Jordan, to Sodom and the Land about, used formerly to be a supply when it was well watered everywhere, as the "garden of the Lord," and now was a supply to the Lake of Sodom; but to Jericho, another type of the kingdom of Satan, it was a defense. It is evident that the destruction of Jericho was a remarkable type of the destruction of Satan's kingdom by the spiritual coming of Christ in the latter days. The dividing Jordan therefore, to make way for the enemies of Jericho to come from the East and destroy, was eminently a type of the same thing that is accomplished by pouring out the sixth vial.