A shimmering Zion is coming!

A shimmering Zion is coming!
A Bible study

Answers to the questions: Is there coming (soon) a golden age for the city of Jerusalem? If so, why do we believe this to be so?

For Dr Rice Hall

August 13, 2007

Will there be a golden age for Jerusalem? This question is warranted for several reasons one of which is the following. Scriptural references about a glorious day coming for the earthly Jerusalem can mistakenly be classed with those referring to the “New Jerusalem” which shall come from above. These references in scripture are about the “New Jerusalem”, a heavenly city not made by human hands that will come down from heaven at a later point in The Lord’s prophetic program (Rev. 21:10-23). There is no doubt that such a city will one day manifest and she or it will be a glorious place.

However, when we enquire whether a golden age will come for the city of Jerusalem, we are talking about the historic city that has been perpetually ransacked and embattled through centuries. We are referring to that old city of David, the place where Solomon’s Temple was situated and the geographical area, which is currently the capital of the nation of Israel. Those of us who believe in a millennial view of eschatology (the end times) believe that Messiah king will return and reign here on earth for a thousand years out of this formerly tattered, many times besieged and ever embattled city. He will of course have the church alongside of him as he establishes this glorious earthly political kingdom. Is this view supported well from scripture? Well, lets us see.

Jerusalem in the center of the storm

Assuming the thousand-year reign of Christ mentioned in revelation as being imminent, it’s inconceivable that after his coming, Jesus would rule from any other place on earth other than Jerusalem. This is plausible if only for the reason that He has had strong connections with her not only at his first coming but also long before that. We will however try to prove this conjecture by looking at what scripture says on the matter. One might wonder if Jesus cannot rule from New York, for instance or Paris or Hamburg? Of course at his second coming, a lot of cities would have been indisposed as the events of the tribulation start to unfold and even Jerusalem would have suffered an earthquake (Rev 16:19).

There is no doubt that towards the end of the church age, the final theatrics of this unfolding drama will take place in and around the city of Jerusalem. Mount Olivet from where Jesus ascended and where He will touch ground on his return is one of many landmarks found near the city of Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-12). The valley of Megiddo is also close by. There, the great final battle will be fought and the enemies of God will be vanquished (Revelations 16:16). At Megiddo, the Lord will visibly appear in the clouds for all eyes to see along with his many hosts as He descends, confronts and does away with his enemies (Revelations 19; 19-21). The temple mount will be one of the locations that will figure in prominently in those end time events. The two witnesses will also have been preaching in the streets of this once forsaken yet always hallowed city (Revelation 12:3-11). Can there be any doubt that the king will rule from another place other than Jerusalem?

Israel: a prophetic time clock

In the middle of his discourse on the end times Jesus spoke of the parable of the fig tree.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:32-35 (KJV)

Like all the parables Jesus spoke had a key, this one must also have a key. Some like Hal Lindsay believe that the fig tree Jesus uses, as a prophetic time clock to indicate the very last days, is a reference to the nation of Israel (Matthew 24:32). This yields the formula,

(fig tree = Israel = an end time prophetic time clock).

Consequently, events having to do with Israel, become indicators of how close we might be time-wise to the midnight hour when the master will return. If this is the correct key to the parable then we could see all of the events forecast to happen begin to unfold right before our very eyes. Jesus’ words, “when his branch is tender, and putteth forth leaves” could be a reference to the coming into being of the nation of Israel, which happened in 1948 after almost two millennia. This can be seen as a partial fulfillment of prophesy for Israel’s Jews to return a second time to their homeland (Jeremiah 30:1-12, Isaiah 11:11). It is described by Jeremiah as a time of Jacob’s trouble followed by deliverance, while Isaiah speaks of its glorious aftermath.

Let’s look at another reference of the fig tree in the gospels. Earlier, Jesus had cursed a fig tree “not to bear fruit forever” for the reason that He didn’t find fruit on it; he had rather only found leaves (Matthew 21:19). Is Israel then cursed forever or will she rise again as a saved nation under God? The fig tree in Matthew 21 was turned into an object lesson about faith so it most probably has nothing to do with Israel. However, its also true that Jesus was very unhappy with that generation which may be characterized as one that was lacking fruit. This could (wrongly) be interpreted to mean that Israel is finished and has been replaced by the church as a living, spiritual and saved organism. We will later consider this question of whether the church has replaced Israel and if Israel will have a unique identity in the messianic kingdom.

Let us see if there is any support to the claim that Jesus’ reference to the fig tree is a secret (parable) reference to Israel. There is no doubt that a lot of the end time events will revolve around the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. When the time comes such events like, Daniel’s “Abomination that causes desolation” will unfold in the holy city of Jerusalem. Such facts favor the view that Israel is the fig tree and events having to do with her are a gauge of where we are in God’s prophetic time clock. We are also coming to a full generation’s time after the formation of the nation of Israel. It can then follow from Matthew 24:34 that those of us living today belong to that generation that will witness the extraordinary events that will transpire during last hour before midnight when Christ will come.

The intensity of current world events also supports the claim that we are already way past the eleventh hour. The contemporary Christian band ‘Jars of Clay’ has an album titled, “the eleventh hour” that has songs about the end. They were present at Billy Graham’s last crusade in Flushing Meadows, Queens on Saturday June 25, 2005, very near to the place where the UN had convened in 1947 to determine Israel’s fate. What was Billy’s message that last Sunday night? It was about the end of the world! Since 9/11 one does not get much arguments anymore if one claims that the end of the world is near. There is an unmistakable feeling that something is about to break loose! The signs of the times are not just abundant they are overflowing the brim; the starkest example of which is that lawlessness seems to be increasing and getting more and more blatant.

Erroneous Interpretations and predictions

Interpretations as forwarded by people like Hal Lindsay and his book, The Late Great Planet Earth can of course fail and are not unchallengeable. Its merit is that it makes us aware of how close we might be to the tribulation period and how we need to ready ourselves to receive the bridegroom. We should also leave room in our thinking that our configurations can turn out to be erroneous.

Some bible teachers like Harold Camping of family radio have predicted a specific year for Christ’s return and have shown up themselves to be wrong for the whole world to see. Such claims have also jaded their listeners allowing much skepticism and ridicule to ensue. Yet Christ’s return could be at the very door. Being a prophecy teacher though fun is not a simple task and one should be careful not to make blunders or mislead others! It requires one to be a ‘person of understanding’ well capable of putting prophesied events together in order to relate them rightly to current events so as to forewarn people about what may be coming right around the corner.

Worship unfettered by location

We will try to find some definitive answers by exploring some of the things Jesus had said concerning Jerusalem at the time of his first coming.

20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:20-24 (KJV)

Worship was no more to take place at this great historic mountain, the mountain of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob nor was it to be at Jerusalem, the ‘beloved city’. Jesus tells this to a humble Samaritan women and by doing so he also speaks to the rest of us. Jerusalem as a consigned place where worshipers of Yahweh would come to pay homage would no more have that distinction, at least for a while. Worship would now happen anywhere and everywhere among those believers who must worship God in spirit and in truth, for his spirit is always and everywhere present. Such worshippers, Jesus tells us, Yahweh seeks and even desires. Even though the worship now in the new covenant would transcend a specific place like Jerusalem or any other physical or geographical location, the lord still has use for this ancient city, his city. He had once spoken by the prophet “I will yet again choose Jerusalem.”(Zechariah 1:17, 2:12)

This statement of Jesus concerning universal worship taking place with no relevance ascribed to any hallowed places along with his prophecy about the destruction of the temple, temporarily relegated Jerusalem from her previous eminence as place where special spiritual activities sponsored by Yahweh God would take place. Her subsequent history proved these prophecies correct. She had perhaps served her most important purpose of bringing forth messiah from among her peoples (Revelation 12). Had her usefulness ended or did Yahweh have other future plans for her? Would she play another prominent role in the closing ceremonies as she had at the opening, in hosting and giving messiah to the world? The latter idea, that a glorious future is coming for Jerusalem, will be argued and supported from scripture in this short essay (This will be my Thesis.)

A Besieged City

2That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Neh. 1:1-3 (KJV)

The clock for Jerusalem to be trampled underfoot by gentiles had already been ticking for some time when Jesus was born. A nation who had miserably failed the purposes intended for her and had become idolatrous is forsaken and divorced by Yahweh (Jeremiah 11:1-17) It had started around 586 BC when the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem and the subsequent Diaspora of Jewish people had taken place. Attempts had been done to bring back Jerusalem to some semblance of her former importance by Jewish people like Zerubabel and Nehemiah who were stirred and destined to the task by Yahweh along with the sponsorship of gentile rulers like the great kings Cyrus and Artaxerxes, who must have providentially been allowed to help revive her (Isaiah 44:82). However, after rejecting messiah, she would go further into oblivion and obscurity with respect to the attendance she had enjoyed from her husband Yahweh to whom she once was a “beloved” and “chosen” city. (Psalm 87, Psalm 76).

Jesus’ lament for Jerusalem and predicts her demise

Like Jeremiah had done centuries before, Jesus laments Jerusalem in a famous final farewell that spells her demise and coming into obscurity until some future time as she is ready to accept her king, which presumably will be at his second coming.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matthew 23:37-39 (KJV)

The fact that a universal worship is instituted apart form regard to a special place like Jerusalem does not necessarily mean that Jerusalem will not come into her-own someday. If that were so, Jesus would not have left her future fate open-ended as he did in the above lament. He would have put a moratorium on her the way the scriptures speak concerning Sodom in the past or Babylon in the future as cities that will never be inhabited. The Lord rather speaks of her revival during a time when an atmosphere of ‘welcome’ will exist with a future generation as opposed to a time that was one of rejection and opposition characteristic with the generation present at his first coming (Matthew 12:34, 38-42,45). Therefore, in the above lament, Jesus not only prophesied Jerusalem’s demise but also leaves open the possibility of her future revival.

I will make her (Jerusalem) a praise in the earth!

That such a future revival of Jerusalem will happen is in sync with the many Old Testament prophecies concerning Jerusalem. One such prominent example of such a prophecy is found in Isaiah 62. Isaiah says this several hundred years after Solomon when Jerusalem must have experienced her best days. A simple survey of Jerusalem’s history such as was done in class proves that, such a glorious time as describe by Isaiah, where she enjoys such great blessings as to be called “a married land” have yet to happen.

62:1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. 2And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. 3Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 4Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
5For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 6I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, 7And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isaiah 62:1-7 (KJV)

The several references to ‘land’ in the scripture above, rule out any doubt as to whether the prophecy might be referring to the heavenly Jerusalem. “Yahweh will make Jerusalem to be praise in the earth.” It’s pretty obvious to any unbiased student of Bible History that this has not yet happened. Its one of those wonderful things slotted to happen in God’s prophetic time table, for which we can most certainly look forward to happen some day and perhaps even soon.
Her previously known glory days were during Solomon’s time, soon after which things went downhill for her and her people. Jerusalem was besieged and sacked numerous times after that, going back and forth as the prized possession of the powers that overrun her and her people. Starting from the Assyrians and the Babylonians and continuing on with the Greeks, the Romans, Moslems, crusaders and the Turks all the way up to the time the British relinquished the land to Zionists she remained ransacked and embattled having lost a significant portion of her former identity. In what might prove to be the dawn of her deliverance, resurrection and a future luminance, the nation of Israel miraculously came once more into existence in 1948. Before and since this date, Jerusalem has been fought for and embattled even unto this day. Therefore, scriptures like the one from Isaiah quoted above can only be talking about a yet to come future age when Jerusalem will once more come to prominence as the city of the king. This golden age could be right around the corner. This should be exiting to us Christians, as we would be right smack in the middle of her revival along with the inauguration of our sweet messiah Jesus as king eternal (Revelation 19).

Israel will be saved!

Perhaps the strongest reason yet that Israel will come back to her spiritual and natural glory with messiah at the helm is Paul’s prediction that all Israel shall be saved, in his epistle to the Roman Christians. Incidentally, this is one of those few conundrums found in the bible. Solving it could be like finding and putting in the most important piece of a jigsaw puzzle allowing one to clearly see the panorama of the prophetic landscape stretched out over the centuries. Paul calls it a mystery as he does with the marriage between Christ and the church or the mystery of lawlessness at work during the last days (Eph 5:22, 2Thess 2:7). Addressing gentiles and wanting them to understand this mystery, Paul wrote the following,

23And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 24For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? 25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 11:23-29 (KJV)

Paul’s statements should not be understood to mean that all Jewish people will get a free pass to an eternity with God regardless of how they have lived. This would be contrary to what Paul is saying in the above-mentioned chapter and in the overall sum of his theology. Salvation will always be through faith in messiah Jesus, theirs as well as all others (Acts 4:12, Romans 1:16). Having first confirmed and affirmed this very important truth, we can then move to find what other conclusions can be drawn from what was said by the apostle. A proper exposition of the above quoted portion and of the whole chapter yields several very important truths. Perhaps the most important of these truths is that, Yahweh God is not done with his dealings with the “natural branches” the Israelites and has a plan to save them, even if they have been temporarily hardened.

Will Israel have a unique or a shared identity with the church?

After the Second Advent, will Israel have the same type of unique place she had before, as a special nation separated unto him, having been given His law and the temple ordinances? The situation has definably changed from the time Israel was born as many gentiles have now been brought up to speed in the knowledge of the Lord. On the other hand a significant number of Jews in Israel have a secular outlook partly as a result of the holocaust that had happened during the last century. Surprisingly enough, some spiritually reborn gentiles might even be encouraged by some of Paul’s statements to see themselves as the real Jews or the new Jews. Paul had written, “He is a Jew who is a Jew inwardly and has the circumcision of the heart and not just the circumcision after the flesh”(Romans 2:29) Jesus had also said of some professing Jews that they are really a synagogue of Satan (Revelations 2:9). This raises the important question as to who exactly is a Jew in God’s sight. Apparently being born one according to the flesh is not enough. Can one be a Jew spiritually without being one in the flesh? This idea that Jewish-ness is no more determined by lineage but by a relationship to the Jewish messiah leads to what is sometimes called as a replacement theology where the church has replaced Israel forever as the only beloved of Yahweh. As Paul pointed out in the previously quoted portion in Romans, it may be erroneous to think so. Israel is still beloved to the Lord even in their hardened state as we must have been while still in sin.

It might be wrong to completely fade out Israel into the church when drawing a portrait about the coming millennial kingdom of messiah Jesus. For example consider the 144 thousand messianic Jews of impeccable character that will most assuredly be part of a reconstituted Jewish nation during the millennium after the tribulation (Revelation 7:4). In the least this shows God’s desire to reconstitute a Jewish representation in the last days (Isaiah 11:11). Temple worship will only disappear in the New Jerusalem (Revelations 21:22). Until then it could be that it will need attendees for whose duties these Israelites would be the natural candidates. The presence of the temple where the Lord will have his throne while He dwells in the midst of his people will once more give Israel a unique identity as in the days of old. Ezekiel describes in great detail, a grand temple that will be built in the future when Christ will dwell in the midst of Israel.

4And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. 6And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. 7And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. Ezekiel 43:4-7 (KJV)



A conciliatory note:

Whether or not The Lord has forever replaced or displaced Israel with the heterogeneous church made up of both Jews and gentiles is a controversial issue. Similarly, during the coming earthly reign of messiah king, whether Jesus means to incorporate Jewish people into his church body, ‘The Bride’ or if they are going to be formed into a unique entity and have their own identity, may be something up for debate and speculation. For the sake of an amiable exchange and to protect the spirit’s unity, we should leave such questions open ended for now. There might be scriptural support to convincingly prove either of these positions. Perhaps a deeper understanding of God’s word will allow one to cast a verdict in a particular direction and perhaps not. Like many controversial issues in theology, one will get different answers for these queries depending on whom they talk to. It might very well be one of those questions where we will have to wait in order to know the answer. John had said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as He is”(1 John 3:2 KJV). While our present function is to know and love the Lord, only the Lord knows the specifics of our future as well as Israel’s. Therefore, we should refrain from speculating as to what will become of the church and the nation of Israel during the millennial reign of Christ. When the time comes God will show it to us.

Final Conclusion

It is however safe to generally say that all of those who will be saved are going to be incorporated into one whole kingdom under God even if they have specialized roles and functions. Its possible that during the millennial reign of Christ, a saved Israel might have a unique identity and a specialized function different from the church. However, we should all agree that in a not too far away future, there will come a time when there will be a saved Jewish population with their king in their midst ruling out of Jerusalem and with the church right near and alongside of them. Anticipating a time when Israel will come to a full spiritual awakening, Paul said the following,

12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? Romans 11:12 (KJV)

Imagine a day when king Jesus has descended and is ruling with power and majesty out of this holy city as described in the second Psalm saying, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill Zion”. He will have made a grand entrance to save Israel and quell the world’s situation that deteriorates under an evil and false messiah (2Thess. 2:8). He will bodily dwell and walk among men in majesty. He will no doubt have the gloriously adorned church and a host of angles alongside of him. Now imagine a Jewish nation who instantaneously recognizes their true God and king (whom they had pierced) because of his great entrance and messiah’s decisive demonstration of His delivering power during their tribulation (Zechariah 12:9-11). Those coming days will no doubt be golden days for Jerusalem and for our world. A hopeful and vivid vignette of what those times will be like is found in the book of Isaiah.

5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. Isaiah 11:1-11 (KJV)


Based on a preponderance of yet unfulfilled prophecies that relate a future messianic kingdom we conclude that a golden day is coming for Jerusalem!







Sources deserving credit:

Bibles

The King James Version of The Holy Bible

Books

Hal Lindsay, The Late Great Plane Earth. Zondervan, 1970

Celestial Sources

The Holy Spirit