THE REBUILDING OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM
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Jerusalem as it
is today
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"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more then all the dwellings of Jacob, glorious things are spoken of thee O city of God". Psalm 87v2and
" Beautiful for situation the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides of the north. The city of the great King". Psalm 48v2Thus Jerusalem is to be the joy of the whole earth, not just of Israel. Jesus Christ is of course that great King who will reign from Jerusalem 'unto the ends of the earth'. Great, glorious and mighty will be his reign. The City that saw his humiliation, suffering and death, is destined to be the seat of his throne. But much restoration work will need to be done, indeed a complete rebuilding of the city will take place to turn it into a fit habitation for the King and the Temple of God. The intense bombardment of Jerusalem by Israel's Gentile enemies immediately prior to the appearance of Jesus Christ upon the Mount of Olives will have reduced most of the buildings to ruins, and the great earthquake, which occurs as the Lord and his hosts arrive upon the scene, will effectively destroy what remains:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God that my fury shall come up into my nostrils. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall he a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep upon the earth and all men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall and every wall shall fall to the ground. (Ezek 38.18-20).Just when Israel's enemies think they have gained the upper hand and can accomplish their aim of destroying the state of Israel forever, the Lord shall intervene:
"Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (When Israel first took the land under Joshua -- a type of Christ). And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel. Yea, ye shall flee, Like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee." (Zech 14.3-5).Thus will the Lord clear Jerusalem of its multiplicity of churches, chapels, shrines and holy places. The earthquake will completely change the topography of the whole area, raising it to a higher altitude and preparing the site for the construction of an entirely new and glorious city. A city that will be a worthy capital for its Great King the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion on the sides of the north the city of the great King"... .. . "As we have heard so have we seen in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever" ..... "Let mount Zion be glad let the daughter of Judah rejoice, because of thy judgements. Walk about Zion and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death." (Psalm 48.1-2,8,11-14).The Kingdom of Israel under Solomon was immensely wealthy and powerful. Solomon ruled wisely with the wisdom given to him by God. He became so rich that silver was considered a common thing and all was made of Gold. Solomon traded with the nations about him and they sought audience with him to hear his wisdom. During his time the Kingdom of Israel stretched to it's furthest limits and was the most powerful nation and exerted it's influence upon the surrounding nations. Solomon built the Temple of God and during his reign the whole nation was at peace. Indeed Jerusalem is the city of peace. There is no peace now for that city but the time of Solomon was a type of what was and is to come. Such will be the renown of Jerusalem under the wise rule of the 'Prince of Peace' we read:
"And strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee"... "The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together: to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious. And the sons 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" ... "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 desolation nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory." (Isaiah 60.10-19).Jerusalem will indeed be a holy city, the Temple will be rebuilt to be a 'house of prayer for all nations'. God will accomplish through Jesus Christ all that he has promised:
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. And the nations 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." (Isaiah 62.1-2).So many religions now in the world so many false God's and false idea's. Man has always sought his own way to salvation and neglected God's way. Jeremiah records that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and that it is not in the way of man to guide his own footsteps. Man was created for a purpose to serve and honour his Creator, this he has singularly failed to do. But in the Kingdom age with Jesus as a righteous King God's will and law will indeed again be done on the earth:
"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 stubbornness of their evil heart" (Jeremiah 3.17).
