The Holy Mountain And the Footstool of Jesus Christ
The Tabernacle
The Promise Land From Father Abraham to Moses, to all of the prophets, God promised to give to his chosen people a special place, a land that he had prepared for them from the beginning. This land was the land of Canaan and became the land of Israel after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. We know what happened years later. Now, that land is possessed by strangers and we, the true children of Israel are scattered around the world.
The Lost tribes of Israel We are the children of Israel. We are the Lost Tribes. We are the people mentioned in Isaiah 18:7, “In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of Hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.�
The Remnant God promised that he would save a remnant of the children of Israel after the great destruction. He promised that he would return his children from afar, from the four corners of the earth. Jeremiah 30:3, “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it.�
The Land of Israel today You may wonder, (I did) why God chose this land as the promised land. It is one of the smallest countries. It is bound in by warring nations. There is a lot of drought there and not enough fresh water. The nations that occupied it before were so wicked that the land literally vomited them out. Sodom and Gomorrah were there. The land is saturated with blood.
Modern day desert in Israel
The Gate of Heaven God chooses certain things and certain places to put his name upon. This land was chosen before the earth was created as the gate or entry way to heaven. It is also the place where God chose to place his name and to place his feet. Before the wicked nations came in to pollute the land, before the children of Israel came, when all was still good, this was the entryway to heaven, the place where God set his garden. 2:Genesis 8-10, II Esdras 7:11-13, Genesis 28:16-19, Isaiah 60:13.
Land of milk and honey The land of Israel was supposed to be a sanctified land from the beginning, blessed by the presence and name of God. It was supposed to be the land of milk and honey, the glory of all lands.
Deuteronomy 11:11-12, “But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.�
Photograph of mt olives today
A Desolate Land As you can see, the land of Israel is nothing like the land of milk and honey. God cursed the land because of Israel’s sin. It is considered barren and desolate, even though it is occupied by many nations. The word of God is life and prosperity. It is peace. He is called the rock from whence living waters flow. The word of God and the truth is not in that land. This land devours its nations. Remember how the lions came out and devoured the Assyrians when they came into the land? The land will continue to shed blood, and be a place of war and hatred as long as it remains inhabited by strangers. The land is like the people. Aliens inhabit the land, and sin inhabits the people. When God changes the people he promised to also change the land. Ezekiel 34:22-29, Ezekiel 36:24,33-38.
The Last Days Brothers and sisters we are living in the last days. We do not know the day of Christ’s second coming, but all of the signs of this wicked time, we can see with our own eyes. We also know that it is during this time that Christ will begin to call his children. We are evidence of that, even though we are few in number. Our words are evidence that the truth is known and taught. Our obedience and sacrifice is evidence of our faith and righteousness. There are others like us even if we do not know where they are. We can do nothing to make the time go faster, but we can do nothing also to slow it down. Time marches on. God’s promise is true. He is faithful and cannot lie. Believe in his promise and obey his word, so that you can be worthy to enter into his promise, and walk upon the same land that our fathers walked upon.
Events prior to that day Before Christ comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, he will arise within his children. Even today God has called candidates for his first fruit. We are all proof of that. Our church is evidence that he has begun to prepare places in this wilderness to receive his children. Some of us were given a charge to dig up the truth that lay buried for centuries. To establish the doctrine of the church based on the foundation. To order our services according to the perfect will of God. To protect and maintain the truth from being polluted or watered down by false doctrine. To declare the real truth about Jesus Christ. To shine a light in this dark world. And to provide a place, albeit a small place for the coming of God’s children. There are few of us that attend church regularly. Our little church can accommodate up to 100 people, the beginning of the new growth.
The beginning of sorrows • Besides the growth of our church there will be an enlightenment seen in others, as God begins to open the eyes of the blind. • There will be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit • The Everlasting Gospel will be preached • Evils will multiply upon the earth, II Esdras 16:18 • Daniel chapter nine says that the streets and wall of Jerusalem, (the leaders and the people established in the truth) will be built in troublous times. • Matthew 23:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.” • II Esdras 13:29-33, Luke 21:25-26
The Place where Christ will Return • But we need not fear the troubles that are coming to the earth, because God has always had a plan of salvation and Christ is coming again to deliver us. • The bible tells us exactly where Christ will come when he returns to this earth. Mt Olives! • When Christ returned to heaven after his first coming he ascended up from Mt Olives. • His apostles beheld him as he was received into a cloud and two angels appeared before them and told them that Jesus would “so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. • Zechariah chapter 14 gives details of this wonderful event!
Zechariah chapter fourteen
Zechariah chapter 14:1-2 begins with the destruction of Jerusalem, just as Christ told his apostles in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Recall that he jumps from the destruction of Jerusalem to his second coming not referring at all to the time period that came between, the time of the gentiles, that lasted 2000 years. Starting with verse 3 it speaks about him going forth to fight with the nations, Zech 14:3, reference this with II Esdras 13:29-34 Next we go to Zechariah 14:4, this will be the greatest earthquake that has ever happened. Consider the effect this will have on the earth. Reference- II Esdras 13:6-7 and II Esdras 13:35-36 Zechariah 14:5, let us read. What is the valley of the mountains? Is there anywhere else in the bible that it talks about this valley? Yes! Let’s read! It is also called the valley of Achor, Isaiah 65:10, Hosea 2:14,15,18,19. It is called the valley of Achor because in the book of Joshua it was the place that the Lord turned away his anger against the children of Israel and was the entry point into the promised land.
It is also called the valley of Jehosophat because Christ will destroy the nations that come up to fight him that have afflicted his children. Remember how the nations fought against each other when king Jehosophat and the children of Israel began to sing. Christ is going to destroy them with his words. Joel 3:2,9-12 It is also called the valley of Shittim Joel 3:18, Shittim was the place that Israel camped in the wilderness just prior to crossing Jordan, the gateway to the promised land. It was here that Moses gave to them again the law of God. Let us reference this to Ezekiel 34:25-27, Micah 7:1415.
That glorious day Zechariah 14:6-7, tells us what the day will be like. It will not be day and night like it has always been since creation, but in the evening it will be light. Verse 8 speaks about the living waters, let’s read that and also read Joel 3:18, Verse 9-11 speaks about how God will be king over all the earth, and how the land will be turned into a plain and Jerusalem safely inhabited. This occurs here physically but spiritually also in Isaiah chapter 40 it talks about the mountains being made low and the valleys exalted in verse 3-4. In fact, all of those things that we learned about in the prophets that has a spiritual meaning, will be fulfilled physically in things, places and experiences at this time. The temple of God will no longer only be within you, but will be a place you can see. The city of God will no longer exist only as who ever is the child of God, but will be a place you can walk in and live in. The wilderness will no longer be a period of time as we come to know God, but the valley of the mountains, the campground and gathering place of God’s children. Some beautiful reference scriptures are Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 4:5-6, Isaiah 33:20-21, Amos 9:11-15 ,Ezekiel 34:222, Jeremiah 31:1-6. Verses 12-15 speaks about the plague that will happen to those who come up to fight Christ, reference this with II Esdras 13:3-11 And finally, verse 16-21 speaks about how the Lord will require all of the nations to come up to worship the Lord on the feast of Tabernacles or he will plague them.
Description of the land Isaiah 51:3 “For the Lord shall comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste laces; 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.” Ezekiel 36:35 “And they shall say, this land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden.” Isaiah 60:13 “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” Ezekiel 33:20-21, “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down….But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass by.” Isaiah 35:1 “the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose”.
Dimensions of the land • Mt Zion is called the joy of the whole earth. And so it will be. It is the house of God, and the city of God. We do not know exactly how big the tabernacle is going to be. The places in the book of Zechariah used to identify it are unknown now. What we do know is that the area is bordered on the east and the west by the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. We also know that the tabernacle or Mt Zion was graven by the hands of God and brought down to this earth from heaven. We know it will be beautiful and glorious and that it will be garnished with precious stones. • The entire land of Israel will be changed. And many if not all of the surrounding countries will be taken over by the children of Israel. • There will be no enemy nations on the borders of Israel.
Today Israel is tiny and surrounded by enemy nations
The final harvest When Christ comes down on Mt Olives he will destroy much of the armies of the wicked. Then nation will not lift up sword against nation. But these are wicked people. They will hate Christ for tearing up their cities and all of their monuments, their wealth gone and their governments in disarray. They’re not going to stand for that. They will make themselves a head, a leader that will bring peace and order to chaos by an iron clad control, and by deceit. The Man of Sin will be given power to kill the saints for 3 ½ years. During this time the two witnesses will fight against his kingdom and are able to call down plagues. The angels with the seven trumpets will also be sounding, continuing to destroy the kingdom of the beast in precise measure. At the end of this time the last trump will be blown and Christ will come in the clouds of heaven. It is the time of the first resurrection and the deliverance of all of God’s children. Christ will take us all up to heaven and we will rejoice at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The man of sin will be destroyed at the brightness of his coming.
A wonderful hope We have a wonderful hope. Therefore how should we live our lives? Seek ye the Lord. Today, while it is still today, while the doors of mercy are opened. What a wonderful thing it will be to see all of these great things happen. To no longer be the tail, but the head. To walk upon the land that Abraham walked upon. To see the terrible acts of Christ when he comes in great power and glory. We want to be told, well done, good and faithful servant. We don’t want to be told that God has somewhat against us. We don’t want to be told that we must suffer through the great tribulation that is coming upon the earth. Let us remember the promises made to our fathers and to us. Let us strive to enter into those promises. Obey God and keep his commandments. The kingdom of heaven is at hand.