We now continue to examine the Biblical concept of ZION and what it represents. It should be noted that ZION is the Biblical mandate and promise declared by God Himself, in which He shall furnish for His saints a Kingdom which shall endure forever. Thus the biblical form of ‘Zionism’ must be wholly embraced by the child of God.
There are those that see the mystical, kabalistic form of Zionism, promoted by people like Rothschild and former Foreign Secretary of England, Arthur James Balfour as evil, and that it is; but they mistakenly associate all forms of Zionism with this occult-motivated brand.
For an explanation of Biblical Zionism, watch this first clip on Dr. Paul Wilkinson’s presentation.
PSALM 87:1-3
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
In ancient cities, walls were erected to protect the inhabitants from enemies that would attack them; among the gates, there was usually a main gate (sometimes two at opposite ends of the city) where chambers were built into the walls (walls were more often than not extremely thick; some like in Nineveh and Babylon were so wide that they could conduct chariot races on top of them!) where officials of state would conduct their business.
Thus when the LORD said that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against [His church]” (MT. 16:18) He was speaking of ‘the authorities of hell’, namely Satan and his kingdom of Darkness which would not prevail against the church (founded upon Himself, the Rock).
Thus the gates of Zion refer to the government of Zion, the head of which is that chief Corner stone, Jesus Christ (1 PET. 2:6). Note that it is referred to as the City of God and since this is the same location as the City of David (The south east quarter just outside of Jerusalem proper) they are virtually synonymous.
In Psalm 102 we read about the prayer of the needy Psalmist because of his own infirmities as well as protection from the persecution of his enemies; he extols the LORD for His power and majesty which is represented in His coming and visible rule in Zion.
PSALM 102:13-16, 21-22, 25-28
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. 14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. 15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
21 To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; 22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
The FIRM FOUNDATION of GOD’S KINGDOM And the FLAWED FOUNDATION of the FALLEN
So we see the building up of Zion, and the LORD’s appearance to declare the Name of the LORD in ZION and JERUSALEM where the people are gathered together and kingdoms will serve Him forever, even though the foundations of Earth and Heaven will ultimately perish, but the “foundation of God standeth sure” (2 TIM. 2:19).
This city of God is pictured in Scripture in opposition to the city of Babylon; they are anti-thetical in spirit, ideology and practice. Just as Zion is the city of God, Babylon is the city of Satan. Babylon symbolizes the empire of evil under the direct rule of Satan, whereas Zion symbolizes the kingdom of righteousness and holiness under the direct rule of the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ, Who is soon to come to this fallen world!
The duality of this theme runs through the course of Scripture:
PROVERBS 10:24-25, 27-31
24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. 25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
27 The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. 29 The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. 30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. 31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
There are those that see the mystical, kabalistic form of Zionism, promoted by people like Rothschild and former Foreign Secretary of England, Arthur James Balfour as evil, and that it is; but they mistakenly associate all forms of Zionism with this occult-motivated brand.
For an explanation of Biblical Zionism, watch this first clip on Dr. Paul Wilkinson’s presentation.
PSALM 87:1-3
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
In ancient cities, walls were erected to protect the inhabitants from enemies that would attack them; among the gates, there was usually a main gate (sometimes two at opposite ends of the city) where chambers were built into the walls (walls were more often than not extremely thick; some like in Nineveh and Babylon were so wide that they could conduct chariot races on top of them!) where officials of state would conduct their business.
Thus when the LORD said that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against [His church]” (MT. 16:18) He was speaking of ‘the authorities of hell’, namely Satan and his kingdom of Darkness which would not prevail against the church (founded upon Himself, the Rock).
Thus the gates of Zion refer to the government of Zion, the head of which is that chief Corner stone, Jesus Christ (1 PET. 2:6). Note that it is referred to as the City of God and since this is the same location as the City of David (The south east quarter just outside of Jerusalem proper) they are virtually synonymous.
In Psalm 102 we read about the prayer of the needy Psalmist because of his own infirmities as well as protection from the persecution of his enemies; he extols the LORD for His power and majesty which is represented in His coming and visible rule in Zion.
PSALM 102:13-16, 21-22, 25-28
13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. 14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. 15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16 When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
21 To declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; 22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.
25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. 28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
The FIRM FOUNDATION of GOD’S KINGDOM And the FLAWED FOUNDATION of the FALLEN
So we see the building up of Zion, and the LORD’s appearance to declare the Name of the LORD in ZION and JERUSALEM where the people are gathered together and kingdoms will serve Him forever, even though the foundations of Earth and Heaven will ultimately perish, but the “foundation of God standeth sure” (2 TIM. 2:19).
This city of God is pictured in Scripture in opposition to the city of Babylon; they are anti-thetical in spirit, ideology and practice. Just as Zion is the city of God, Babylon is the city of Satan. Babylon symbolizes the empire of evil under the direct rule of Satan, whereas Zion symbolizes the kingdom of righteousness and holiness under the direct rule of the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ, Who is soon to come to this fallen world!
The duality of this theme runs through the course of Scripture:
BABYLON: GEN. 11th Chapter; 2 KINGS 20th and 25th Chapter; IS. 13th and 14th Chapter; JER. 50th and 51st and the entire book which perfectly depicts the contrasting cities of Babylon and Jerusalem (in her future state of glory); the entire book of DANIEL; MATT Chapter 1; as well as the book of REVELATION, particularly chapters 17 and 18.Note the contrast between the righteous and the wicked in this passage:
JERUSALEM: GEN. 14:18; PS. 76:2; HEB. 7:1-2 where “Salem” is mentioned; JOSH. 10:1, 3, 5, 23; 2 SAM. 5:5; 1 KINGS 2:11; 2 CHRON. 6:6; the entire post-exilic books like EZRA and NEHEMIAH deal with Jerusalem; PS. 51; 102; 122; and so many of the Psalms.
In as much as ISAIAH is the Messianic prophet, Isaiah has much to say about the city of the Messiah; IS. 30:19; 33:20; 40:2, etc.; and ultimately in REV. 21:2, 10); from Genesis to Revelation these two foundations are the only two we humans are granted to choose from.
We see this same dichotomy in 1 Corinthians, the 10th Chapter; particularly 1 COR. 10:1-14 where the contrast is made between the ROCK which is Christ, and the idolatry that Israel committed in the wilderness. Paul’s admonition is that we must beware if we think we stand, lest we fall (if we are not grounded on the Rock).
PROVERBS 10:24-25, 27-31
24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. 25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
27 The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. 29 The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. 30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. 31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
Here we can easily perceive the choices made by the wise and the foolish; and why the decisions of both are as they are, simply judging by the results of those choices.
WHOM WILL YOU SERVE, The WORD or the WORLD?
Everything that is a part of this world-system (whose ruler is its god according to 2 COR. 4:4) is built upon the foundation of the kingdom of darkness; whether you talk about governments, economics, religion, society at large, etc. even if the people in this system are ignorant of this truth. If you were to tell any of these, that they are children of the devil, you no doubt would find them shocked, even offended.
In regards to our salvation from the kingdom of darkness, whose foul foundation would ensure the destruction of our lives which were built upon it prior to our coming to Christ, we know that since there are only two foundations to choose from, the only legitimate foundation that can ensure our salvation is Christ Himself (1 COR. 3:11).
We may sometimes wonder why the world is in such turmoil, strife, contention and war; the simple answer is that spiritually there are these two opposing forces: the kingdom of Light and Darkness, and in as much as the people of this world are in allegiance with one or the other, there will inevitably be such unrest and violence as we see on a daily basis.
A sub-set of this contention can be found even within the kingdom of Darkness, because of pride – the very root of sin – each power within this terrible realm vying and striving for supremacy. The domain of evil, as opposed to that of the holy, is a domain of chaos and enslaved order whereas the kingdom of God has its subjects willingly devoted, unrestricted in their love and yielded hearts to our Beloved LORD. No subject of Satan’s can make this boast!
So we begin to get the picture, the overall view of the spiritual domains that are in contention, and understand the necessity to be sure of our foundation; what parts of our lives are built upon either of these. Do we have divided hearts and loyalties and attempt in vain to compartmentalize our allegiances?
Do we find ourselves in allegiance with the Kingdom of Light on Sundays and Wednesday evenings when at church, or in a Saturday night prayer meeting, only to jump to the other foundation on Mondays through Fridays where one must ‘fight to get ahead, and step on others while climbing the ladder of successful living', gaining monetary wealth and prestige that embellishes our sense of pride and self-achievement?
I have often used the analogy of ‘the Wheel and the Matchbox Car Case’ in describing how we Christians prioritize our lives in all of its parameters (spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, socially, etc.).
If you look at an old wagon wheel, you see the rim is connected by all the spokes that lead from the central hub. Without that hub in the center, the entire wheel would lack a foundation and would obviously collapse.
~ This is the way biblical Christianity works, where Christ is the hub (EPH. 1:3; 4:15; PHIL. 1:21; 3:8; GAL. 2:19-20; COL. 3:16), the spokes are all the facets of our lives: our home life with all its relationships between spouses and children, parents and siblings as well as our employment and social relationships and of course the relationship that we have with the church; our fellow saints (1 COR. 10:31). The rim is that outward expression of Christ in us that reflects to the entire world from these various spokes (MATT. 5:16). Christ is the foundation and center of our lives and without Him, this ‘wheel’ that is Christianity, could not possibly work.
~ The other sort of Christian is a religious or philosophical Christian who gives (perhaps) mental assent to the truth of the Bible, and holds a kind of belief in Jesus, perhaps as a great teacher, moral guide, and religious founder and they keep Christianity in one compartment isolated from the other compartments of their lives, much like storing matchbox cars in one of those carrying cases. No one compartment depends on any other, and if you remove one or several cars, the others are not at all affected.
Thus, our allegiance is to Christ alone, who is our life; not merely an aspect to our life! His Light and Life must shine and be lived out in every ‘spoke’ of our lives!
Here we shall end this, the second part of this three part series on FOUNDATIONS: Holy or Profane. Here is PART 3 of 3, the concluding article on this subject.
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