CHAPTER #16
The Land of Israel & Judah,
The Kingdom of God, The City of Jerusalem, & Mount Zion
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Section #1: The Old Testament – how it was Section #2: The Consummation – how it will be Section #3: The New Testament – how it is |
In the Consummation – how it will be
The Land of Israel & Judah
Israel and Judah were divided since the days of Jeroboam until, thereafter, they were scattered worldwide in two different captivities by Assyria and Babylon – even these two nations will be united once again, according to prophecy, thence to abide forevermore! Hosea foretold the mysterious event, saying,
“Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves One Head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.” – Hosea 1:11
How shall it once be? Hosea did not immediately expound any further details, but where Hosea left off Jeremiah continued. Jeremiah boldly declared the impossible, saying,
“At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of ALL THE FAMILIES of Israel, and they shall be My people.” – Jer. 31:1
Look closely at the flow of events which are described from verse 1 to verse 14, my reader. Jeremiah 31:1-14 describes in detail the Regathering and blessing of the two scattered nations and peoples, this is clear. The act of Regathering is not apparently miraculous to the naked eye, so to speak. It involves the preservation of the people, language, and culture throughout the centuries, and then the mass-movement of the multitudes back into The Holy Land. All of this can be accomplished physically speaking; I mean, with no apparent miracle displayed before the world, but their national union under One King with the subsequent result (“their soul shall be as a watered garden and they shall not sorrow any more at all” – Jer. 31:12) is an act which involves the invasion of Deity upon humanity! This act is known in prophecy to be accomplished at the 2nd Advent of Christ, exclusively. Also, let it be noted, the salvation of literal physical Israel is in view here. Therefore as further confirmation, God said, “I will build” (31:4), “and gather” (31:8), unto the location called “the height of Zion” (31:12). Apparently, this is the time when by Regathering and regeneration, God said, “they shall not sorrow ANY MORE AT ALL” (Jer. 31:12), an experience which is impossible until the 2nd Advent of Christ (see Rev. 21:3-5)! Ezekiel’s prophesying confirms this, saying,
“And I will set up One Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My Servant David; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and My Servant David a Prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” – Ezekiel 34:23-24
“…Son of man, these bones are THE WHOLE house of Israel” – Ezek. 37:11, see also 39:25
“…One King shall be King to them all: and they shall be no more two Nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms ANY MORE at all” – Ezek. 37:22
“Neither shall they defile themselves ANY MORE with their idols…I will save them…” – Ezek. 37:23
Upon review of these various chapters of Ezekiel, my reader, the conclusion is apparent. This event describes Divine-acts which are unaccomplished by the 1st Advent of Christ (even though inferior expressions could be manifested based upon these prophetic words). Furthermore, no potential application for the Gentile Church Age has been specified or cited by the inspired writers of the New Testament. This event is describing (with superiority and entirety) the 2nd Advent of Christ when divided Israel becomes one Nation and people again without division or transgression “ANY MORE” (Ezek. 37:22-23), and this is accomplished by a single act: David taking the Throne thereto and forevermore (Ezek. 37:25-28). This Throne is not what Peter declared in Acts 2:32-36. That was, very specifically, Christ’s Throne in Heaven. This Throne and Kingdom which Ezekiel describes is not in Heaven alone – abiding behind a veil of clouds – this Throne and Kingdom is in the geographic location of Israel and Judah ON EARTH in real time! Jesus Christ, descending from Heaven, will pierce the skyline with an army fit for the KING of Kings following behind Him (Rev. 19:14), and He – with eyes “as a flame of fire” and arrayed in the royalty of “many crowns” (Rev. 19:12), with “KING of KINGS” written on His thigh and a kingly sash girdled around His paps (Rev. 19:16) – will suddenly appear in Jerusalem to regenerate, restore, and rule over the remnant of physical literal Israel and Judah thenceforth and forevermore! In the unfolding events of this time the saying shall be fulfilled,
“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Matthew 19:28
As you can see, the 12 tribes of Israel will be united and ruled over by One King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His sons and daughters as coheirs of the unfathomable Kingdom! There are distinct and glorious fulfillments of prophecy and promise in the 1st Resurrection and the 2nd Resurrection, so we must be careful here. In fulfillment of Ezekiel 20:37-42, for example, the 1st Resurrection shall transpire wherein the physical, literal, and earthly Land and Country of Israel will be inhabited by an ALL-holy and ALL-regenerate population of Church Members resurrected from all ages, but at the 2nd Resurrection the same population (with any additional converts?) shall inherit a heavenly Land, Country, and City of Israel and Jerusalem existing via an extraterrestrial physiology, The New Jerusalem of the New Heaven and Earth!
The restoration prophesied and promised here is, namely, the fulfillment of salvation according to “the bond of the Covenant”, an Israel without rebels and without idolatry, an Israel where ALL of the population in the Land does serve the LORD - this is the fulfillment of what God swore to perform when He lifted up His hand in oath to the Exodus Generation, an oath which generates this last and most glorious work wherein, “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom.11:26)… “And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against Me: I will bring them forth out of the Country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the Land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye My Holy Name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. For in Mine Holy Mountain, in the Mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall ALL the House of Israel, ALL of them in the Land, serve Me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers.” – Ezekiel 20:37-42
The glorious fulfillments of Covenant, prophecy, and promise existing in the 1st Resurrection will bloom into a greater glory after the Millennial Reign of Christ is climactically finished in the final and end-all World War against the Satan-inspired remnant of humanity (Rev. 20:1-9). The last standoff will be in “The Beloved City” of Jerusalem in the Land of Judah (Rev. 20:9). Then, at the 2nd Resurrection, when, shockingly, The New Jerusalem comes out of Heaven from God as a Bride adorned for her Husband (Rev. 21:1-2), the rule and reign of Christ will continue onward into the realms of eternity via a New Heaven and a New Earth! Amen. Come Lord Jesus.
Therefore, in summation, let us identify the people of the Church in the Consummation! According to scripture, the regathered people of Israel and Judah will become one family by regeneration (Jer. 31:1-14, Hos. 1:11, Ezek. 34:23-24, 37:11) and, thus, by conduct, they will meet the special criteria due to the title: “My people” (Jer. 31:1). Not only will the people, via regeneration, no longer “sorrow ANY MORE AT ALL” (Jer. 31:12, Rev. 21:3-5), but, also, they will never again defile themselves by idols or backslide from salvation (Ezek. 37:23). Likewise, as a consequence, the unified families of Israel will not be divided into two Kingdoms “ANY MORE at all” (Ezek. 37:22). According to the Gospel of Matthew, all of this is made possible by “the regeneration” (Matt. 19:28) – not the regeneration of the soul, only, but the body and the rest of creation will be liberated, also, by a consummating regeneration that has never happened before (Rom. 8:18-23)! – and, because of this, there will be NO MORE rebels, transgressors, or idolaters in all the Land of Israel & Judah (which shall be one Land once again and forevermore!), and, notably, everyone in the Land will be servants of the LORD in Spirit and in Truth (Ezek. 20:37-42)! Hallelujah! Come Lord Jesus.
The Kingdom of God
“the LORD of hosts shall REIGN in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem,
and before His ancients gloriously.” – Isa. 24:23
Kings are arrayed in glory to rule dominions. Kings reign, and they do so upon thrones. Here, in the above scripture, the LORD of armies reigns in Mount Zion and Jerusalem! God forbids the ages of time to continue as they were by usurping the rule and dominion of His enemies. At the 2nd Advent of Christ – The KING – the Lord descends upon the fallen angels which have exercised rule in the earth and air for millenniums, both they and the earthly kings under their bewitchment. These fallen angels are those who the apostle Paul called, “principalities”, “powers”, “the rulers of the darkness of this world”, and “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). In prophecy, the Lord foretold this day through the prophet Isaiah, and the Lord confirmed it again with even more clarity through the apostle John. It was written and confirmed,
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall PUNISH the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall REIGN in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously.” – Isaiah 24:21-23
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw THRONES, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the First Resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN with him a thousand years.” – Revelation 20:1-6
This consummating Kingdom will be one “which shall never be destroyed”, namely, in that it “shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan. 2:44). This is the time that, “the saints possessed the Kingdom” alongside the Lord Jesus as “joint-heirs” (Dan. 7:22, Rom. 8:17). It is written again, “the saints of the Most High shall take the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever…And the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 7:18, 27). Hallelujah! “And the LORD shall be KING over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His Name one” (Zech. 14:9)!
Dear reader, do you want to be included in what the Lord gave to the apostles, saying, “I appoint unto you a Kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me: That ye may eat and drink at My Table in My Kingdom…” (Lk. 22:29-30)? The resurrected, ascended, and glorified Christ said, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne” (Rev. 3:21). This is a glorious privilege, indeed, to them that overcome! And overcome we must! For, it was written, “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:10). The inheritance of the Kingdom of God is the consummation of salvation, my reader. Not just anyone could come in the Gates and “sit down in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29), be sure of that! Clarifying this, the Anointed One answered the question: “Are there few that be saved?” Here’s the answer:
“Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And He said unto them, STRIVE to enter in at the strait Gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the Master of the House is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” – Luke 13:23-30
This is the privileged inheritance that the apostles spoke of as a future event, as the following scriptures prove. Therefore, just as Christ forewarned how only a few men will finally possess the Kingdom of God and thereby be saved, the apostles detailed the narrow criterion, saying,
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God.” – 1 Cor. 6:9-10
“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” – Eph. 5:3-7
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” – Gal. 5:19-21
“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Rev. 21:7-8
Oh! Can you imagine the Day when that company, few in number, will hear the long-awaited declaration of the King granting them entrance into the Kingdom of God! Speaking of this, it was written, “THEN shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34)! And, according to apostolic doctrine in the aforementioned scriptures, we know who these people are! In summation, they will be few in number like Christ said (Lk. 13:23-30), because, they aren’t workers of iniquity (Lk. 13:27). This means that they were “saints” (holy ones) inwardly and outwardly (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27, Rom. 8:17), according to apostolic doctrine. This holiness or separateness means that they were overcomers of the World (Rev. 3:21) by the power of the Cross (Gal. 6:14). Through the Cross – the power of salvific mortification (Rom. 8:1, 13, Gal. 5:24) – this company of saints lived up to the name, “holy one”, hence they will inherit the Kingdom of God (because they exhibited behavior that “becometh saints” – Eph. 5:3). Undoubtedly, therefore, all unrighteous people will be excluded from the Kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9)! Naming names, this means that all such men are strictly excluded from the Kingdom: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, the effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous people, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners (1 Cor. 6:9-10), unclean people, filthy people, foolish talking people, jesting people, whoremongers, and the children of disobedience (Eph. 5:3-7), lascivious people, witchcraft users, hateful people, variant people, emulating people, wrathful people, argumentative people (those who practice strife and seditions), heretical people, envious people, murderers, partiers (those who practice revellings), and such like people (Gal. 5:19-21), the non-overcomers, the fearful, the unbelieving, the abominable, the sorcerers, and all liars (Rev. 21:7-8). Glory to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World! “For whatsoever is born of God ovecometh the World: and this is the victory that overcometh the World, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
The City of Jerusalem
“At that time they shall call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD; and all the Nations shall be gathered unto it, to the Name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk ANY MORE after the imagination of their evil heart.” – Jeremiah 3:17
The people of Israel were commanded to pursue God’s promises with perfect hearts, expecting the performance of them in their generational lifetimes. This is why it was commanded, “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your Gates” (Zech. 8:16). The City of the LORD was meant to be a city of truth, judgment, and peace. The prophets cry was loud and long, sounding like a trumpet in the ears of the people from generation to generation, declaring, “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24)! The hour will come when, finally, what the prophets pursued and God promised… the LORD will accomplish! Speaking of the 1st Resurrection, it was written, “the name of the City from that day shall be, The Lord is There” (Ezek. 48:35)! And in another place, it was written, “thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy Gates Praise” (Isa. 60:18-19)! What does this mean exactly? It was written, furthermore,
“In that day there shall be A Fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall NO MORE be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the Land.” – Zech. 13:1-2 [see Zech. 14:8]
“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S House shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of Hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of the LORD of hosts.” – Zech. 14:20-21
Whence and how shall these things be? In the aforementioned scriptures we see: uncleanness cleansed, idols cut off and expelled from the Land, unclean spirits passing away, and, furthermore, household pots in Jerusalem are holiness unto the LORD of Hosts! We can be sure that, as the pots are here declared, much more the people shall be! This is because – Glory to God! – The intruding force of Adamic-rebellion, “The Canaanite”, shall no more invade The Holy Land or The House of the LORD of Hosts! Hallelujah! The Holy Land, holy people, and whole earth will then be changed from what it is now… it is the 1st Resurrection! Speaking of what shall be manifest at the 1st Resurrection, it was written, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in Heaven, saying, The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and HE shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15)! It was written again, “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou only art HOLY: for all Nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev. 15:4)! Shockingly, at this time,
“He [Jesus Christ] shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all Kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.” – Psalm 72:8-11
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” – Zech. 8:20-23
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the KING, the LORD of hosts, and to keep The Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the KING, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep The Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep The Feast of Tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16-19
“For the Nation and Kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those Nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the Place of My Sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The City of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of Kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall NO MORE be heard in thy Land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.” – Isaiah 60:12-18
Furthermore, in yet another glory of grace and redemption which shall begin after the Millennial Reign is completed, at the dawn of the 2nd Resurrection – when the New Jerusalem shall come out of Heaven from God to reside in the New Heaven and the New Earth forevermore (Rev. 21:1-2) – The promise of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be fulfilled in full reward: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in The Temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the Name of My God, and the Name of the City of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of Heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new Name” (Rev. 3:12). This is mysteriously fulfilled somehow in ways we cannot fathom. I say this because, the apostle John testified, “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high Mountain, and shewed me that Great City, The Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Rev. 21:9-11). Yes! And John did further testify,
“And I saw no Temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it. And the City had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the Kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And The Gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall be in no wise enter into it ANY THING THAT DEFILETH, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” – Revelation 21:22-22:5
Once the exclusivity of this City is fully revealed to the reader, the angel turned to the apostle John, and said, “Seal not the saying of the prophecy of this Book: for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10). The angel was signifying how those of the Last Days need to know what is ready to descend upon us in this glorious work of redemption; that, in knowing what shall soon be we might be compelled to prepare for it! Oh, this heavenly scene which shall finally be manifest! Perhaps now, at last, my reader might be compelled to echo the age-old question which exasperated the prophets: “WHO shall ascend into the Hill of the LORD?” “WHO shall dwell in Thy Holy Hill (Ps. 24:3, 15:1)? Indeed, WHO!? The angel did further testify, saying,
“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the Gates into the City. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” – Revelation 22:11-15
Will it be you, my reader? Will you enter in through the Gates of this Holy City? Follow holiness, my reader, “without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). To enter the Gates of this City will mean only one thing, my reader --- Salvation! Can you imagine yourself standing upon the earth in the latter day when, finally, in very deed, you pass through the Gates of this City once and for all!? When, God said, “Violence shall no more be heard in Thy Land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy Gates Praise” (Isa. 60:18)! What a glorious feeling that will be! “In that day shall this song be sung in the Land of Judah; We have a strong City; Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the Gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in” (Isaiah 26:1-2)!
Therefore, in summation, let us understand the Church of the Consummation! At this time, not one single man will be able enter the City of Jerusalem unless he or she is saved! Explicitly, it was written, the walls of the City will be called salvation and the Gates praise (Isa. 60:18-19, 26:1-2)! This mean that within this City and Land, there will be no more sin, uncleanness, idolatry, false prophets, or unclean spirits (Zech. 13:1-2); no more unholiness of any kind and no more Canaanites (Zech. 14:20-21); no more “any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie”, but only those persons whose names “are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev. 21:22-22:5); only those persons who were, are, and will be the servants of the LORD (Rev. 22:3), or, “they that do His commandments”, will enter into the City of Jerusalem, because “without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Rev. 22:11-15); only those persons who make-up a “righteous nation which keepeth the truth” will enter into the City of Jerusalem (Isa. 26:1-2)!
Mount Zion
The Almighty will sanctify the unsanctified Mountain of God - Mount Zion - through a heavy hand of apocalyptic judgments this world has never seen. He will do this leading up into and upon the 2nd Advent of Christ. Therefore at the 1st Resurrection, it was written,
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the Name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be DELIVERANCE, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” - Joel 2:30-32
“The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, My holy Mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.” – Joel 3:15-18
God has a holy and jealous prerogative which is supreme over all else, that the world of sinners would stand amazed to finally behold, at last, the people of Israel saved by the 2nd Advent of Christ… and thereby, God says of literal physical Israel, “So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion” (Joel 2:17, 21). The Almighty is saying that He will do staggering and fearful things so that, thereby, Judah and Jerusalem will dwell in peace “for ever” “from generation to generation”, “for the LORD dwelleth in Zion” (Joel 3:21). Alas, and, woe to us! For we do not know that “the LORD dwelleth in Zion” (Joel 3:21)! We do not see what we need to “know” (Joel 3:17)! You see, my reader, the “Holy Mountain” of God must become holy and stay holy. Holy persons dwell in a Holy Land, therefore, God said, “there shall no strangers pass through her ANY MORE” (Joel. 3:17). Every promise and prayer which, like the holiness and fortitude of the Israelite civilization, crumbled into desolation and oblivion throughout the centuries, they will, shockingly, and suddenly, be fulfilled by the strong hand of the Lord! Seemingly impossible promises and prayers like,
“Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them. Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood…Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood:” – Psalm 144:6-8, 11
Zion is the chosen location wherein salvation was promised to abide; the place where saved people dwell in communion with the Living God. Throughout the long durations of apostasy and wide-spread backsliding, God set watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem for the work of intercession. “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day or night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:6-7). What were they watching? What were they looking for? These beloved watchmen were ruined by the prophetic scene which God did open their eyes to behold – a Jerusalem beautified! – a scene which has faded from the memory of most of the Israelite populous who was taken in the devises of their own imaginations. Therefore, these watchmen, standing upon their God-appointed watch, would utter prayers such as: “Will the Lord cast off for ever? And will He be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? Doth His promise fail for evermore” (Ps. 77:7-8)? What God promised God will perform, though it tarries. The event is a fixed date on The Prophetic Calendar, but no man knows the day or the hour. Speaking on this wise, God said, “My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory” (Isa. 46:13). This event is, with entirety, the 2nd Advent of Christ. There is no controversy to this… but, my reader, will we recognize salvation when it comes, where it shall be, and how it will manifest in the fullest and most mature form redeemed humanity will ever see!? Oh, my reader! Do you see what God sees? When looking upon the eye of God we see in its apple, Zion. My reader, we must understand this! Can the Holy Scripture be any clearer than what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, saying,
“And in this Mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this Mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, THIS IS OUR GOD; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For in this Mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And He shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and He shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall He bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust. In that day shall this song be sung in the Land of Judah; We have a strong City; Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the Gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.” – Isaiah 25:6-26:2
At the location of “this Mountain” (6-7, 10), and, unto the population of people gathered thereupon - so glorious an experience of grace will commence that it will captivate the world with astonishment: namely, the taking away of the veil, by the which, at last, “the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth” (Isa. 26:8) thenceforth and forevermore! Utterly amazing! How exactly will this be accomplished, you wonder? The Lord Jesus Christ shall suddenly appear! Enough said. No other explanation is needed! This is the hour when the GOD-MAN appears! Speaking of the 1st Resurrection, it was written,
“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.” – Acts 1:11-12
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.” – Matthew 24:30
“And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east…” – Zech. 14:4
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” – Rev. 14:1-5
When the signs of Christ’s 2nd coming do multiply and hasten upon the world, will we be ready? My reader, do you meet the criteria? Have you kept virginity (2 Cor. 11:2-4) or have you committed adultery (James 4:4)? Have you followed the Lamb withersoever He goeth by the a present-continuous renewing of your mind that you might be transformed from this world and conformed to the Living Christ (Rom. 12:1-2)? Or have you, like others, wandered from this pathway of eternal life (John 14:6) because you are weary of the fight that present-continuous mortification requires (1 Tim. 6:12, Num. 21:5, Rom. 8:1, 13, Col. 3:5, Gal. 5:24)? Oh, dear saints, “ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36)! So that, at last, unlike others (Rev. 2:4, 14, 20, 3:2, 15-16), you might stand faultless before the presence of God’s glory (Rev. 14:5, Jude 1:24), and hear, “enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matt. 25:21, 23)! Are your hands clean? Is your heart pure (Ps. 24:4)? Again, I ask, “WHO”, “WHO”, “WHO”, “WHO” are you (Ps. 15:1, 24:3)? “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Even so, Amen.