Israel's camp was at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho (Joshua 5:10). Immediately after the observance of the Passover Joshua, a good military strategist, began to reconnoiter in the neighborhood and to survey the situation confronting him. In keeping with His promise to sustain him, the Lord appeared to him. This was during his wakeful hours, for the record says that he lifted up his eyes and "behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" (Joshua 5:13). The stranger's reply was, "Nay, but as prince of the host of Jehovah am I now come" (Joshua 5:14). Joshua, whose spiritual perception was very keen, immediately recognized his visitor and fell upon his face in worship, asking the question, "What saith my Lord unto his servant?" The answer given to him was, "Put off thy shoe from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy." He was obedient.

In view of all the facts that are presented here, it is absolutely certain that this one who stood before Joshua was none other than the one who forty years previously appeared to Moses at the burning bush. A glance at Exodus 3 shows that this one was called, "the angel of Jehovah." In Exodus 3:4 we read the statement, "God called unto him out of the midst of the bush." The instructions given were, "draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (vss. 5,6). This one who is called the Angel of Jehovah also says of himself that He is God, even the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. His presence at this place made the ground holy; hence Moses was to remove his shoes from his feet. The situation with which Joshua was confronted was exactly the same; therefore we must conclude that this one who stood with drawn sword was none other than the one who appeared to Moses, and whose presence made the ground holy. He was, as I have proved beyond a doubt in the volume Messiah: His Nature and Person, none other than one of the Divine Personalities constituting the Holy Trinity.

His appearance to Joshua on this occasion was to confirm in person the message which He had formerly given to him, and which is found in Joshua 1:1-9. At this point in his career it was essential for him to understand thoroughly that the conquest of Canaan involved more than simply men and implements of warfare. This fact doubtless was not altogether clear in his mind. In all probability it will be a revelation to many of the readers of this book. This great truth has been largely overlooked in modern times. Like Jeremiah, I would say, "stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Jer. 6:16).

The heavenly visitor affirmed that He appeared as "prince of the host of Jehovah." This statement reveals the fact that there is a host of invisible beings, and that this one is the Leader, the Generalissimo, if you please, of the Lord's host. A clear vision of the armies of heaven may be seen in I Kings 22:13-23. Another view of them might be observed in Job 1. Reference is made to these hosts in Psalm 89:5-7.

Originally all the hosts or armies of heaven were obedient to the Almighty. Finally, one of these superior created beings, being puffed up with pride, instituted a revolt in the armies against the Almighty and endeavored to match swords with Him. It is needless to say that he and his cohorts went down in utter defeat. Reference to this great conflict is seen in Isa.14:12-14. This description refers to the original revolt and blends with the yet future assault against the Almighty, which Satan will yet stage in the time of Jacob's trouble. Another reference is found in Ezekiel 28 and still another in Job 25. Another one also appears in Psalm 74:12-17. This latter passage is couched in the popular phraseology of the days of David and Asaph. In order for one to appreciate and understand it, he must know the force of the terminology of that day and time. Another allusion to the host of evil ones is found in Daniel 10 in the expressions, "prince of the king of Persia" and "prince of the king of Greece." One other reference is made to them in the prediction which describes the final defeat of these rebellious spirits and which will occur at the end of the time of Jacob's trouble (Isa. 24:21). At that time all the hosts of the high ones on high, together with their leader, will be cast into the pit of the abyss and will be incarcerated "for many days." Finally, they will be expelled into outer darkness for ever and ever.

The facts that are set forth in the passages given in the last paragraph are necessary to a clear understanding of the fall of Jericho and the conquest of the land of Canaan. The appearance of this "angel of Jehovah" was a reminder to Joshua that, whereas there would be actual combat between his forces and those of the Canaanites, the counterpart to these battles would be between the forces of the Lord, on the one hand, and the armies of the evil one, on the other. These invisible combats, as suggested by Isa. 24:21, would be carried on in the air.

As stated before, this one who appeared to Joshua was none other than the Angel of Jehovah, one of the Holy Trinity. He is the Generalissimo of the armies of heaven. At the same time there is a created being whose name is Michael, and who is "the great prince who standeth for the children of thy (Daniel's) people" (Dan. 12:1). The success and fortune of the children of Israel are especially bound up in the aid and protection which they receive from these armies of heaven. The deciding factors of all conflicts in which men are engaged are these invisible forces. Throughout Israel's entire history this fact has been demonstrated. Whenever she was in fellowship with her God, the hosts of Jehovah have always fought in her behalf. Under these conditions she has always been victorious. On the other hand, whenever she departed from the ways of the Lord, and then became involved in warfare, she has always gone down in defeat. Such catastrophes were due to the fact that the armies of the Lord were withdrawn from the battlefield, and she by the arm of flesh alone had to combat nations drawn up against her in battle, as well as the invisible armies of evil wicked spirits, which have sworn eternal vengeance against her. In this connection may I emphasize the thought that, in the final conflict of the ages when the nations will be gathered against Israel to battle (as set forth by Zechariah in chapter 14), the victory will be won not by the armies of Israel, but by the supporting heavenly armies of loyal angels, who will at that time be led by this same Prince of the host of Jehovah? The Hebrew people will have to make their peace with Him and invite Him to cooperate with them and to bring deliverance. Whenever they do, their troubles will be over, once and forever. My dear Hebrew friends, read Zechariah 14, after having prayed earnestly that God may open your eyes to behold the wonderful truth contained in this mighty passage.

Joshua received the instructions as to what he and Israel should do in order to capture Jericho, which was indeed a formidable fortress guarding the entrance to the tableland of Judaea. In 1937 I walked over the Tell of ancient Jericho, which covers about seven acres. Some modern scholars have scoffed at the Biblical account, since it occupied such a small plot of land, but is represented as a great city. They forget, however, that it was largely a fortress, the chief city of the towns in the adjoining territory. The bulk of the people lived in these small villages, but resorted to the fortification only in times of war. This fact puts a different aspect upon the entire situation.

The Israelites were to march around the city once a day for six days, being led by the priests. On the seventh day they were to encompass it seven times. At the conclusion of the last round they were to blow the ram's horn and raise a shout. In obedience to these simple instructions, Joshua led the procession. Doubtless the men of Jericho watched in astonishment and amazement this unusual procedure. To them it certainly must have been very strange, since they had heard of the mighty conquest of Trans Jordan by the same army; therefore there can be little doubt that the natives were mystified at the maneuvers of the Israelites.

The seventh circuit having been made, the shout of victory was raised. This paean of praise was an expression of faith that God would do what He had promised. The free gifts of God are obtainable only by faith. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing to God. Men must believe the Almighty implicitly. They must not doubt for a moment, but must express their faith in obedience to His commands without modification, addition, or subtraction. At the same time let us remember that it is by faith that His gifts are obtainable.

When, therefore, Israel by faith sent up a shout of victory and conquest, the Lord went into action. Probably by a mighty earthquake He shook the territory, and the walls of Jericho fell as described in the Biblical account. Thanks to Professor Garstang and Sir Charles Marston who have prosecuted a marvelous work at Jericho and have laid bare the facts that are recorded in the sacred narrative. The double walls of Jericho fell down. With my own eyes I saw the sun-dried bricks of this ancient fortress. I walked all over the mount and saw what actually transpired. There can be no doubt concerning the fact that the walls were thrown down and fell outward, especially on the west side. Sir Charles calls our attention to the fact that the wall at the northwest corner remained upright. There are the ruins of a house on the walls, which, in all probability, was that of Rahab the harlot.*

As already stated, Psalm 114 indicates that there was an earthquake at the time of Israel's crossing the Jordan, for the writer addressing the Jordan and the mountains, asked what ailed them, saying, "Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams; ye little hills, like lambs?" This verse is a graphic description of the shaking of the mountains in the community by an earthquake. Usually when there is a quake of any size, it is followed by lighter tremors. Israel crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month of the year 2553 A.H. They observed the Passover on the fourteenth day.

Shortly after that they began the investment of Jericho according to the instructions given by the Lord. For six days they encircled the city, and on the seventh day the walls were shaken down. There were at least eleven days, therefore, between the crossing of the river and the fall of Jericho. There may have been more, but not very many more. It is, therefore, probable that Jericho fell by a second earthquake.

The fact that God uses natural means to accomplish His purposes in no wise detracts from the miraculous interposition on behalf of His people. The fact that the earthquake came at the psychological moment for these two events stamps both of them with the impress of divine intervention. Only omniscience could have ordered the movements of Israel and her armies so that at the psychological moment the earthquake would bring the results desired.

Had the Lord chosen to break through the natural order and with His mighty hand accomplish the results in a way different from this, He could have done it. In either instance it would be His omnipotent interference.

In discussing the date of the Exodus, I had occasion to refer to the excavations at Jericho by Professor Garstang and Sir Charles Marston. In that connection I gave some long quotations from Sir Charles' New Bible Evidences. The testimony which he produced was conclusive--incontrovertible, for all who are of a scientific mind, and who desire truth rather than fiction.

When the date of the fall of Jericho is established, automatically the time of the Exodus is fixed, because it occurred forty years prior to the former event. To show that the conclusions to which Sir Charles came are correct and have stood the acid test of adverse criticism, I wish to quote a statement from The Bible Comes Alive by Sir Charles Marston:

"Intimations have already been given that the date of Joshua's destruction of Jericho has proved the basis for a surprisingly satisfactory Bible chronology from Abraham to Rehoboam. It is therefore of interest to refer to the evidence which established the approximate date of 1400 B.C. for the fall of the city. In the earlier part of this book an outline is given of the pottery system of dating. We know now, that quite a few earlier cities once stood on the same site as Joshua's Jericho. Their pottery strata give ample testimony as to their respective dates. But in consequence of the curse Joshua laid upon the spot, there has never been any complete occupation since his day. The Roman city of Jericho, mentioned in the New Testament, is on an entirely different site. The various layers of pottery have enabled Professor Garstang to distinguish one occupation from another. The stratum, or what may be described as the Great Burning, is associated with quantities and quantities of pottery fragments which belong to the middle of the late Bronze Age (1400 B.C.). Professor Garstang was so successful as to find the necropolis, outside the city, in which the inhabitants had buried their dead. The tombs contained numbers of unbroken pots, and among some of them Egyptian scarabs were found. The unbroken pots, and the scarabs, verified the dates of the quantities of fragments on the site; indeed, the scarabs carried matters rather further. They terminated with three of the reign of Amenhotep III (1413-1377 B.C.) in what appear to be the royal or official interments, and the tombs of the period come to an end at the same time. Professor Garstang was former Director of the Department of Antiquities for the Palestine Government, and his authority as an expert in the dating of pottery, as well as in excavations, is unrivalled. Nevertheless, since the date of the destruction of Jericho was a key date for that of the Exodus, controversy was aroused among those who believed the Exodus must have occurred more than two centuries later. In order to finally settle the question, the author asked Professor Garstang to again verify his conclusions in the season of 1936.

"Mr. Alan Rowe, who supervised the excavations in these levels at Beisan, was called in as another expert to join with the Professor in the work. And in due course the report was published in The Times of 21st April 1936, and the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund for July, 1936. It will be found on page 278 of the Appendix. It confirmed the date of 1400 B.C. with a possible alternative of any date not later than 1377 B.C. For reasons, discussed on page 280, there seem insuperable objections to 1377 B.C., which, however, decrease in proportion as the date is advanced to 1400 B.C., when they disappear. The discovery of this chronology revives the importance of another archaeological find, and enhances the significance of the information gleaned from it."

I herewith give the statement of Mr. Rowe and Professor Garstang: