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For
centuries, the city of Jerusalem, and the Holy Land itself, have
been treasured in the hearts of Christians, and sacred in the
beliefs of many religions. To Jews Jerusalem is the place of
David’s ancient throne, and the indivisible capital of the modern
nation, whilst the land of Israel stands as the treasured homeland
of Jews who have come through the holocaust, returned from lands
of exile, or have been born under the Star of David. To Moslems
the city is a sacred place of worship, centred on the Dome of the
Rock at the eastern wall. To Christians, the city is significant
as the place of Christ’s crucifixion, and the pivot of Bible
history. But the Bible reveals that tremendous environmental and
spiritual changes are in store for both city and state. It claims
that the man who was crucified in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago will
soon return to become its great monarch; that the land today known
as Israel is to become the first State in all the world; that a
great temple-city will be established in Jerusalem, where all
mankind will find true direction, and from which will flow
careful, protective and equitable laws for the benefit of mankind.
In this
booklet we desire to set before the reader, a dramatic, yet
perfectly reasonable, vision of the kingdom that is about to be
established throughout the earth. We invite your careful
examination of our comments, and would be happy to answer any
questions, or to further assist in any way to a better
understanding of God’s wonderful purpose.
What
the World Really Needs
In an age of continual international dispute, of failing resources
and increasing bloodshed, hunger and crime, a solution to such
worldwide problems is much further removed than at the beginning
of the century. Where is the statesman with sufficient wisdom and
power to retrieve humanity from its lowest ebb?
Yet the
Bible has the only logical solution. It has been presented within
its pages for 4,000 years. It foretells that the day must come
when there shall be one supreme ruler over all mankind: a united
world worshipping the one true God and rejoicing in a strong, wise
and caring monarch over all mankind. Then all the armaments of the
world will no longer be needed. The inconsistent laws and
directions of governments shall be discarded. Dictators,
governors, prime ministers and presidents will transfer their
authority to the mighty king of heaven who takes to himself "his
great power and shall reign."
The Bible
declares that the king promised is identical with the one
crucified on a stake with the superscription: Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. But when Jesus Christ returns to the earth,
he will command the respect of all nations. This is evident from
the testimony of 1Corinthians 15:24-26 which teaches that Christ:
"shall put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must
reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy
to be destroyed is death."
In order to
accomplish this wonderful result, he will take control of all
governments, so that: "the kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and he shall reign for
ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
The Jews
anticipated their Messiah to appear as a mighty king. But when
Jesus Christ first appeared on earth, 2,000 years ago they
rejected his claim as king. They did not understand that the
Messiah would first come as the Lamb of God to open the way to
life eternal by providing a sacrifice for sin. And so they played
their part in the purpose of God by crucifying him.
The Lord
Jesus declared to his disciples regarding his impending death,
resurrection and ascension into heaven: "I will come again" (John
14:3). His teaching was endorsed by angels when he later ascended
to the right hand of Almighty God, for two such told the apostles
who assembled with him on the mount of Olives, just outside
Jerusalem: "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" (Acts 1:11). Notice the definite, terms of that statement.
It is not ambiguous, and teaches clearly that the Christ who
ascended will return in exactly the same manner: physically,
literally, visibly.
Jesus
Christ is coming to set up on earth, and to reign over a divine
kingdom which shall absorb all other powers. Under his universal
rule, humanity will enjoy that which it now vainly seeks: complete
freedom from fear, annihilation and starvation, providing
widespread peace and goodwill. Consider carefully the following
Bible teaching: "The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that
shall never be destroyed; the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44). "Times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He (God)
shall send Jesus Christ" (Acts 3:19-20).
Under
Christ’s rule, conditions on earth shall drastically change. War
will be outlawed; sin restrained; vice suppressed; and men will
acknowledge the majesty of the Creator, and the benefits of His
way of life. There shall be "glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace and goodwill towards men." Luke 1:32-33 declares of
his rule: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom THERE SHALL BE NO END (Luke 1:32-33).
Control
of the earth will never again be in the hands of corrupt men, nor
will people be subjected to the awful conditions of a global
distress; of a perishing environment; of a hopeless future for
young and old, unable to find security - as is the case in the
world today.
Jerusalem: The City of Salvation
The city in which Christ will reign, will be totally different
from the Jerusalem of today. It will no longer be noted for
superstition and violence as at present (Isaiah 60:18), but shall
become "the city of truth" (Zechariah 8:8), the "joy of the whole
earth" (Psalm 48:2). The decrees and laws of its immortal king
will penetrate into every corner of the the earth solving the
political, moral, social and religious problems of today. Mankind
will be united under an entirely new religious and social system
of things: an infallible theocracy established by the Lord Jesus
Christ, assisted by his immortal associates: his faithful
followers then transformed to immortality by the power of Almighty
God.
Jerusalem: Centre Of Universal Worship
Jerusalem shall not only become the political centre of Christ’s
reign on earth, but also his religious headquarters. It will
become a great temple city: a place where all mankind will be
united in a common acceptance of divine truth, by which they will
learn to view all things from the standpoint of God.
This
formed part of the teaching of the Lord at his first advent. On
one occasion, when visiting the temple in Jerusalem, he found the
outer court thronged with traders gathered together to make profit
from sales to the worshippers. Their commercial designs destroyed
the very principle of divine service. Full of indignation at such
desecration of so holy a place, the Lord scathingly rebuked the
guilty traders, and prophesied of the time of true worship to
come: "Jesus went into the temple and began to cast out them that
sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the
money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and would
not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the
temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, ’My
house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer.’ ’ hut
ye have made it a den of thieves" (Mark 11: 15-17).
The incident
may be well-known to many, but the real significance of the Lord’s
words is usually overlooked. Notice that the record states: "He
TAUGHT, saying unto them... My house SHALL BE CALLED OF ALL
NATlONS the house of prayer." The Lord Jesus thus identified the
temple in Jerusalem as "his Father’s house," and taught that the
time will come when "all nations" shall recognise it as such.
That time
is now imminent, for world events, according to Bible prophecy,
indicate the return of Christ is at hand.
On
another occasion, Christ predicted that the temple of his day
would be completely destroyed (Luke 21:6), and that Jerusalem
would be "trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled" (v. 24).
This
prediction required that:
[a] The temple in the city of Jerusalem at the time would be
destroyed.
[b] Jerusalem overthrown.
[c] The Jewish people taken into captivity.
[d] The Jewish nation ultimately restored.
[e] Jerusalem delivered from foreign domination.
[f] The temple rebuilt to become the centre of universal worship.
Points
[a], [b] and [c] were fulfilled in AD70 when the Romans destroyed
the Jewish state.
Point [d] was partially fulfilled in 1948 when the Jewish State
was reformed.
Point [e] had part fulfilment in 1967 when, as the result of the
Six Days’ War, the city of Jerusalem was again occupied and
controlled by the Jewish people.
Point [f] has never yet been fulfilled, and awaits Christ’s
return.
Both
Jews and Gentiles in Jerusalem
In Christ’s day, the temple in Jerusalem was exclusively for
Jewish worship; but in the future it will constitute a "house of
prayer for all nations" (see Isaiah 56:6-7). Both Jews and
Gentiles shall worship there; the former because they shall then
recognise the Lord Jesus as their Messiah; the latter because they
acknowledge him as king of the Jews.
The veil
of darkness at present over the eyes of both Jews and Gentiles
(Isaiah 25:7; 2Corinthians 3:15) shall be removed and all nations
will accept the truth in Christ Jesus: "Gentiles shall come unto
thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers
have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no
profit" (Jeremiah 16: l9). At the same time "the deliverer shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26).
How will
that be accomplished? By the divine worship to be set up in
Jerusalem at Christ’s coming (Micah 4:1-4).
A
Changed World Under Christ
When the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth, there will be a
resurrection of the dead: "Many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt"
(Daniel 12:2).
Concerning those who attain unto life eternal, it is said: "They
shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a
thousand years"
(Revelation 20:6; see also ch. 5:9-10).
Obviously
the immortal redeemed will not reign with Christ in heaven as some
claim. Clearly the Bible shows it shall be on earth. Christ will
occupy "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32), and that
throne was in Jerusalem. In that city Christ shall establish the
nucleus of his earthly rule and Zechariah declares that he shall
be "king over all the earth" (ch. 14:9).
Notice
the clear evidence of the Bible:
(1)
The Lord is to return personally and visibly to the earth:
"This same Jesus, which is taken up from you (apostles) into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into
heaven" (Acts 1: I 1 ).
"Every eye shall see him" (Revelation 1:7).
(2) He
will raise from the dead and bestow immortality on those who have
lived according to his precepts:
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits;
afterwards they that are Christ’s at his coming" (CORINTHIANS
1S:21-23).
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality" (v. 53).
(3) He
will destroy the military might of the nations:
"He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar
off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Micah
4:3).
"The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish;
yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted" (Isaiah 60: 12).
(4) He will
redeem the land of Israel from violence: "Violence shall no more
he
heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders" (a
vast change from the troubled Middle East of today. See Isaiah
60:18).
"Men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter
destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited" (Zechariah
14:11).
(5) He
will set up his power in Jerusalem:
"The Lord shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before
his ancients gloriously" (Isaiah 24:23).
(6) He
will proclaim his law from Jerusalem requiring the obedience of
all nations:
"Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3).
"A law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My judgment to rest
for a light of the people" (Isaiah 51:4).
"He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment
in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law" (Isaiah 42:4).
(7) He
will completely restore scattered Israel, and regenerate the
nation as the nucleus of his world power:
"Behold, I will save My people from the east country and from the
west country; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be
their God, in truth and righteousness" (Zechariah 8:7).
(8) He
will supervise the building of a glorious Temple in Jerusalem as a
centre of universal worship:
"Behold, the man whose name is the Branch (a title of Christ); and
he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple
of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he
shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and
he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace
shall be between them both" (Zechariah 6:12-13).
"Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people"
(Isaiah S6:7).
(9)
Representatives of the nations will make constant pilgrimage to
Jerusalem for worship:
"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" (Zechariah 8:20-22).
"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" (Zechariah 14:16).
"All flesh shall come to worship before Me, saith the Lord"
(Isaiah 66:23).
(10)
This will result in one thousand years of peace on earth with
humanity delivered from the problems and frustrations of today:
"They (the immortalised Redeemed) shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him (i.e. over the mortal populations
of the earth) a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6).
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward
men" (Luke 2:14).
"Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven"
(Matthew 6:10).
"In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace
so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea
to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth... He shall
deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath
no helper... He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence;
and precious shall their blood be in his sight" (Psalm 72:7-14).
All the
Bible passages quoted above, emphasise that the earth is the arena
of God’s future purpose with humanity, and that His plan envisages
a time when present conditions will be replaced by a divine order,
the kingdom of God on earth. Christ is to return to set up his
power and reign from Jerusalem. |
