We just got done reading in Revelation Chapter 20, that Satan will be bound for a thousand years and Jesus will rule with the saints over the earth for that thousand year period. The earthly capital during Jesus' thousand year reign will be the earthly Jerusalem. The heavenly capital, where Jesus will rule from with His saints, will be the heavenly Jerusalem, Mount Zion. The Old Testament has many references pertaining to this heavenly city. The New Testament has some mentions of this city and in Revelation, as we near the end of the book, we will see how John described the city. We have covered this before, but I will repeat it again to set up what we will see in the Old Testament about the heavenly city. Jesus told His disciples this in the gospel of John in the 14th Chapter, verses1-3;
(1)"Let not you heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.(2) In My
Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you;
for I go and prepare a place for you.(3) and if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
Jesus told the disciples in John Chapter 13, verses 33 and 36;
(33)".........'Where I am going, you cannot come.'(36).........Where I go, you cannot
follow Me now, but you shall follow later.
The apostle Paul wrote this in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians in the 4th Chapter, verses 16-18;
(16)"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
(17) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and those we shall always be with the Lord.
(18) Therefore comfort one another with these words."
When Jesus was brought before Pilate, He told Pilate this, as recorded in the gospel of John, in his 18th Chapter, verse 36:
"My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom was of this world, then my
servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as
it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
To look at where this kingdom will be located during Jesus' thousand year reign, we can find some insight from the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah wrote this in his 2nd Chapter, verses 2-4;
(2)" Now it will come about in the last days, the mountain of the house of the
Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and it will be raised above
the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.(3) And many peoples will come and
say,
'Come let us go up to the mountains of the Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob; that He might teach us concerning His ways, and
that we may walk in His paths.'
For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
(4)And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many
peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will
they learn war."
What we see here, is that the house of the Lord, the heavenly kingdom, will be raised above the hills. People of the nations will come to the earthly Jerusalem to see the heavenly kingdom above Israel.
Jesus will rule over the nations, making judgments an decisions between and for many people. They will come to learn from Him. It will be a rule of peace and no war. That is one of the reasons why He is called the Prince of Peace. He is also the Prince of internal peace of the soul.
Isaiah wrote this in Chapter 4, verses 3-6:
(3)"And it will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem
will be called holy-everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem.(4) when the
Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed
of Jerusalem from her mist, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,
(5) then the Lord will create the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies
a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flame of fire by night; for
over all the glory will be a canopy.(6) And there will be a shelter to give shade
from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain."
The ones who have been recorded for life in Jerusalem are the remnant who Jesus will bring back right before He returns. The heavenly kingdom will be a canopy over the area of Israel. It will provide its light and shade and protection from the elements.
Isaiah wrote this in his 10th Chapter, verse 12;
"So it will be that when the Lord has completed His work on Mount Zion and on
Jerusalem, He will say, 'I will punish the fruit of the king of Assyria and the
pomp of his haughtiness.'"
What this shows is what we have already covered. Right after Jesus calls his believers to be with Him in the Heavenly kingdom, Mount Zion, and gathers His remnant back to Jerusalem, then Jesus will remove the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria is the one who come against Israel with the power of Satan. When Isaiah wrote this, the city of Tyre was part of the Assyrian Empire. This is the king of Tyre.
The prophet Amos revealed this in his 9th Chapter, verse 6, when he wrote this;
"The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and founded His
vaulted dome over the earth,..."
The prophet Micah echoed the prophet Isaiah when he wrote this in his 4th Chapter, verses 1-3;
(1)"And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the Lord will
be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills,
and the peoples will stream to it.(2) And many nations will come and say,
'Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the
house of the God of Jacob, that He might teach us His ways
and that we may walk in His paths.'
For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
(3) And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty,
distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation. and never
again will they train for war."
The prophet Zechariah wrote this in his 2nd Chapter, verses 10-13;
(10)"'Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and
will dwell in your mist', declares the Lord.(11) And many nations will join
themselves to the Lord in that day and will become my people. Then I will dwell
in your mist, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
(12) And the Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will
again choose Jerusalem. (13) Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He is
aroused from His holy habitation."
The prophet Zechariah wrote this in his 8th Chapter, verse3;
"Thus says the Lord, 'I will return to Zion and will dwell in the mist of Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord
of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain."
Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth because Jesus will be in the mist of Jerusalem. The mountain of the Lord of hosts is called the Holy Mountain because it is the heavenly kingdom in which Jesus dwells with His hosts, the New Creations, who will reign with Him.
May Jesus' peace and understanding be with you.
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