By Liaf
I’m
part of a prayer chain in our church. People pass on to me (and I
to the next person) prayer requests of importance. What do people
usually pray for? Before I answer that, let’s look up
“pray for” in the search engine of my Bible program.
Typical results say, “he shall pray for thee; pray for you;
pray for me”, etc. Obviously people in the Bible prayed for
each other. What did they pray for concerning each other?
Sometimes it was for forgiveness. Sometimes it was to live and/or
avoid God’s judgment. Oftentimes it was for healing. Indeed,
healing is the number one request on our prayer chain --- and
it’s very Biblical to pray for that. There’s nothing
wrong with that, especially since God is a healing God. However,
I continued the search and came across one verse (which I already
knew about but I just like to dramatize a little) that seemed
to stand out alone. Yet, it was very, very important if one
understands the context that it is set in. The verse is from
Psalms 122:6. It says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
they shall prosper that love thee.” Oops! Have we
done this today? Probably not, and it is certainly not a request
in our prayer chain that I am aware of (although in all fairness
our Pastor and other leaders often make a general request that we
pray for world peace especially in the tumultuous Middle East).
I made a
comment many messages and moons ago that true gospel preachers
include the story about the woman with the alabaster box (Matthew
26:13). The subject is about giving wholly to the Lord for
his purpose and just because He has a right to our dedicated
portion for Him (not to be confused with altruistic giving
which has its place). Well, I’m going to stick my neck out
on this one too. I would wager to say that true
“pray-ers” (I will use this “word” to denote
the person who prays, not the words prayed) always include this
in their prayers:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Why is
this important? Jerusalem, which means possession of peace or
foundation of peace, is the center of everything the Holy Land
was and is supposed to represent. It is the center, or capital,
of God’s government. From there flows forth righteousness,
justice and peace in the coming kingdom. If one has a web site or
ministry as we do, then it is impossible not to make
Jerusalem a focal point of the messages (even if indirectly
stated or implied) since the very focus is about the coming Kingdom
of God. Therefore, true gospel preachers will not only teach
about the woman with the alabaster box, but when the subject of
prayer comes up, the mandate “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem” will naturally follow.
This is
not a message about the history or geographical topography of
Jerusalem. This is a message about Jerusalem in the context of
the coming kingdom. We may need some background information, but
one can get the details with conventional study aides. In
our end time series, we looked at the world environment that will
be created for the millennium. It will be as Eden again. Now, in
the same spirit, I want to focus that in a little to include
Jerusalem. And indeed, if we pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
rest assured it will come. Unfortunately, the
“pseudo-peace” era will commence with the introduction
of Antichrist. So many people will be deceived into thinking he
will be the answer, indeed if not the Christ, to the world’s
problems. We know that will end in only tragedy. However, the
peace we are praying for (or should be praying for) will only be
fulfilled by the Second Coming of Christ. I hope, in other
words, that any “pray-ers” out there are not seeking a
human fulfillment to this prayer request. Thus, to pray for the
peace of Jerusalem in the truest sense is like praying “Thy
Kingdom Come”.
What
future roles does Jerusalem play in the coming kingdom of God? I
looked up some more common themes that we could all understand
and relate to. The rest are just the details. First of all,
Jerusalem is the location of the future King. Look at Psalms 2:6.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. This is
a coronation Psalm with Messianic implications (and by extension
applies to the believer who will one day rule and reign with
Christ as stated in Revelation 2:27). By the way, Zion is
oftentimes synonymous with Jerusalem since that is a hill in the
city. When David captured the city from the Zebusites, that hill,
Zion, was called the city of David. The name Jerusalem has a dual
nature to it in reference to the two hills, Zion and the temple
mount Moriah. The city was built on both hills. Psalm 76 also
attests to the dwelling place of the Lord when it says, “ his
dwelling place in Zion”. Jeremiah 3:17 says 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.”
So we can safely say this is the dwelling place of the
King
,
and by extension his government.
The
Bible also teaches that salvation would come out of Zion. In
Psalm 14 it pleads, “Oh that the salvation of Israel were
come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity
of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be
glad.” And again it says in Isaiah 46:13, “I
bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my
salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for
Israel my glory.” Indeed, this already
occurred in part during this gospel age when the message came
“to the Jew first” and then to the rest of the world.
As we teach on this site, the lost house of Israel would receive
and accept the gospel. They would again become prosperous and
powerful, and the “lost-tribed” nations of Israel would
rejoice while they spread the gospel as a light to the entire
world. After all, as Jesus said, “Salvation is of the
Jews”--- that means it originated there but it would go to
Israel, his glory. There will be even a greater fulfillment
(Jeremiah 31:31-32) when Judah, the Jews, will also have a new
heart. Again, I keep reemphasizing Ezekiel 37, but this has the
same “new-heart” salvation theme in the time of the end
when God puts His Spirit in them.
God’s
Glory will be there in Jerusalem. Psalm 24 speaks just of that
when it says, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD
of hosts, he is the King of glory.” In the millennium,
we read of God’s glory filling the temple as Christ will
enter the gate: “Afterward he brought me to the gate,
even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the
glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his
voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with
his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision
which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came
to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I
saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory
of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose
prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and
brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the
LORD filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of
the house; and the man stood by me. And 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
43:1-7)
We see
here that the glory of the Lord will also fill the temple in
Jerusalem. Indeed, He will be an integral part of it. Earlier, I
did a message where I commented that the “desire of all
nations” in Haggai 2:7 was a reference to the temple and not
Christ alone. However, if we keep reading, we see from those
verses that the glory of the Lord will fill the temple. I
stand by what I said, but what I failed to impress upon you was
that the temple would have that added dimension of God’s
glory to it. For sure, the subject is the temple, but this
will not be just a building! And before I continue on, you
remember that I did a message about the stars. In Psalms it says
that the heavens declare the glory of God. In the book of John,
Christ was equated with God’s glory. Therefore, the heavens
declare Christ. I think you know where I am going here.
The glory of the Lord has everything to do with Christ! They are
all related.
Besides
God’s glory, there will be justice and righteousness as
Isaiah 33:5 says, “The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth
on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.”
No more “crooked politicians” in the
millennium! Think of it!
Needless
to say, since the kingdom of God will be here on Earth, Jerusalem
will be safely inhabited and “lifted up. You think
them thar hills in Jerusalem are high now, wait until the Lord
does some topographical modifications. Zechariah 14:10-11 says,
“All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to
Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and
inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of
the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of
Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell
in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem
shall be safely inhabited.” You may be asking me,
“What does all this mean? How does the topography
change?” I don’t know. It did not happen yet. What I do
know is that the Earth will undergo transformations. We will not
have the same valleys and mountains as we have now. We dealt a
little with this in our end time series. No wonder the Bible
refers to it as the “mountain of the Lord” (Isaiah
2:2). A mountain is symbolic of a kingdom or empire, but I also
believe this is literal for all to see.
One side
note here. I often compare the millennium to the Garden of Eden.
Why is that? That’s because the goal of the kingdom is to
create the environment that Adam lost due to his sin. It will be
a time of God’s glory, instruction and righteousness
uninfluenced by Satan until he is released again from the abyss.
Isaiah 51:3 says, “For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he
will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her
wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the
voice of melody.” Now before I go on, the primary
application of this prophecy deals with the “lost
tribe” days where exiled Israel was reminded to look to
Abraham their father (the Jews do not need to be reminded to look
to Abraham). Hence, the passage goes on to say that “the
isles shall wait upon me” signifying the gospel age.
However, with all prophecy, this has dual applications. After the
time of Jacob’s trouble resulting in untold trials, all
Israel will again be reunited and joined to her land to enjoy the
millennial blessings--- this will be an Eden. This is in
agreement with Ezekiel 36 that says, “Thus saith the Lord
GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your
iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the
wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled,
whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And
they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the
garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are
become fenced, and are inhabited.” As with the
first exiles of Israel and Judah resulting in destruction, this
will happen again in the Tribulation--- history repeats itself.
With Eden in mind, this is why in Isaiah 11 it says, “And
the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down
together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” Do
you realize that before Noah’s time man was a vegetarian?
And before the fall of man, the vegetation was used as food, not
other animals eating of themselves? If we are going to have Eden
here again, that’s why the lion will eat straw like
the ox--- it goes without saying.
Lastly
(in this message), Jerusalem will be the place for instruction
and knowledge of the Lord. “And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah
2:3). Likewise, “And many nations shall come, and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the
house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and
we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:2).
This sounds almost verbatim to Isaiah. And if you are a regular
reader of this site, you know what I think of
“nations”. That word conjures up the image of Israel in
its multitudinous state. They will realize at the end of time
that they must go to Jerusalem as they are re-gathered in the end
times. This is in agreement with the ten tribes (men) grabbing a
hold of a Jew’s skirt (poor guy) asking to go with him, for
they heard God is with him (this Jew by the way also is symbolic
of Christ, but I believe in the dual application where this will
really happen in the end times). “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.” (Zechariah 8:22-23).
As a matter of fact, you should read all of Zechariah 8--- this
states various neat things in the millennium concerning Jerusalem
that we talked about in this message. However, by extension, all
the nations of the Earth will be required to go to Jerusalem as
mandated by the prophecy of Zechariah. The Bible teaches the Lord
will be King over the entire Earth in the millennium. However,
the nations of Israel will be awakened first and lead the way in
this endeavor--- indeed they will be reunited in their land under
the glorious rulership of Christ and the other nations must first
be judged in order for this to happen.
This
message is in no way an exhaustive list regarding the future of
Jerusalem, but it gives you a general idea of the power and glory
regarding this capital of God’s government. You can do
your own research to find other details about Jerusalem in the
coming kingdom. However, I think I gave you enough of a mental
picture of the importance, beauty, and glory of this wonderful
city in the coming kingdom of God. And if you understand this,
you will also be saying to others, “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem”.
Shalom!
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