Nwsltr-06-20-10-For Zion’s Sake

By the Watchman
Dana G Smith
Keywords: Lord, ransomed, remnant, watchmen, Zion, King, heavenly Jerusalem, holy city, new Jerusalem, Alpha Omega, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Massiach

Above, Modern Day Jerusalem, with its fences and trouble, just one part of it is pictured above, taken by Jerry Golden, Jerusalem

“For Zion’s Sake,
She shall not be empty,
But I shall Fill her,
Yea, with the redeemed of the L-RD,
I the L-RD, mighty to Save,
Full of mercy to those
Who seek me in truth”

Zion in the time of David, the prophets, and in Christian times, was known as Jerusalem, the City of David. In 2 Samuel scripture says in verse seven “David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.” Zion is Jerusalem, to many today who look for it to be a city of righteousness in the earth. There is ‘Secular Zionism’ which seeks a secular institution of which the same name is derived. These Secular Zionists push to reign in governmental form in the earth and established their own idea of Zion and not the Lords.

However, when we speak of Zion, we speak of Jerusalem, and in particular that time when our Lord will come and take up the ‘Throne of David’ and rule until all enemies are put down. In Revelation, John brings out that those who overcome will be ‘granted to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne’. Today the Lord
as scripture states in Hebrews is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. But one day he shall be seated in his own throne! Which scripture states “unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

Revelation 3:21
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 1:8
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom

Then when we look at Zion, it is that place where God has set up the throne of David, which is being ruled by the ‘Son of David’, Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha Massiach. It is Jerusalem, where Christ shall rule and reign with those who take part in the first resurrection. It is this one where those who ‘sleep’ in Christ and those who are ‘alive’ at his coming will be united with their Lord. It is this which will begin the Thousand year literal reign of Christ on Earth.

Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Zion, though is a concept, a promise, and one that the Lord promised to fulfill. Isaiah in chapter 62 speaks of this fulfillment saying that “for Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalems sake I will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. This was to be a light for the nations all along, but only certain times and era’s like the reign of David and Solomon, did it shine forth in power and glory to the nations. From this place and at those times, the nations knew of the God of Israel and his strength. Today, though, many religions and peoples all claim Jerusalem. But Jerusalem was established by the LORD God for His people and none other. Many Messianic and Christian believers know the Lord has chosen Jerusalem. He will be there, and in its midst will be his Throne. The nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts. Isaiah speaks of the Gentiles beholding the glory and righteousness of this city, called Zion.

Zechariah 14:16
And 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, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Isaiah 62:1
¶For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

Isaiah 62:2
And the Gentiles 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.

The Lord God has always sought to bring Zion to its glory. The former ways and paths will be forgotten, there will be a remnant, and the Lord God and the Lamb will be in its midst. For those who have hoped in the Lord, sought him, and trusted in the ‘Passover’ Lamb, this will be the ‘time of the millennial kingdom on earth’. This will be a new time, new era, and the Lord will dwell among his people. The once forgotten city, crushed city, oppressed city, sieged city, and one fought over for centuries will now be permanently and forever claimed by the LORD God. Those who are called the ‘people of God’, both Jew and Gentile, male and female, will be united in Christ Jesus the ‘Passover Lamb’. There will be no more enmity, hatred, and division. The culmination of Gods plan will bring those who ‘trusted in the Lords mercy’ to that point of victory in Him, through Christ.

The City is described as being a crown of Glory, finally, in the hand of the LORD. It shall be a royal diadem, and no more will it be forsaken or desolate because of its sins and bloodshed. God will rejoice over Zion and also over those who are the redeemed, the remnant of the LORD. It is this that the Watchman, even today, ‘cry aloud’ about! Watchman are never to keep silent until the Lord God establishes and in fact makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. A joy, a glory, a city full of the ‘light and glory of God’ in the earth. In it will be plenty, rest, and abundance of peace in our God!

Isaiah 62:3
Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

Isaiah 62:4
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

Isaiah 62:6
¶I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

Isaiah 62:7
And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Isaiah 62:8
The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:

Isaiah 62:9
But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

Isaiah 62:10
¶Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
Isaiah 62:11
Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Isaiah 62:12
And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

It is here that the ‘ransomed of the LORD’ shall finally, again I say finally! They shall finally, fully, and completely have their reward. The faith and patience of the saints shall be ransomed by the LORD himself as the ‘Passover Lamb’ and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” This is mentioned twice in Isaiah 35:10 and 51:11, two paramount promises for the remnant believer today. It is the fulfillment of those who have mourned, as in sackcloth and ashes, those oppressed, those downtrodden, all those who have lost their lives for the faith and testimony of Jesus Christ. It is for all those who had hoped in the Messiah, both Jew and Gentile alike. God shall wrap around you joy, as a garment of praise holds you in him. The despair, loneliness, heaviness, and all things that this life threw at you, will be gone. In its place hope and eternal salvation with the Joy of the LORD as your garment! In this the LORD will be glorified.

These scriptures in this article are just a few of the many on the millennial kingdom, heaven, the New Jerusalem, Zion, and our promise given to us that we shall come into the fulfillment of what God promised us if we do not give up!

Isaiah 35:10
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 51:11
Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away

Isaiah 61:3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Isaiah 52:8
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

Isaiah 60:14
The sons also 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.

It is here that we must take a look that one of the paramount prophecies with Zion in it is one that pertains to our Lord. He fulfilled this scripture when he came into Jerusalem sitting upon as ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. It was this entrance that the people cried saying “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” Here we see the city of Zion directly connected to the Messiah and the fact that Zion’s King cometh. It is this King, our Messiah, in whom we hope! It is in this King that all will be united in faith, belief, hope, and obedience.

Isaiah 62:11
Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

Matthew 21:4
All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

The city of Zion and the children of promise is brought to us by the Lord who died for us. Joel says “whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.” Further saying “as the LORD hath said and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” Today we are come unto mount Zion [Sion], and unto the city of the living God, to an innumerable company of angels.  Here we get another picture in prophecy of the ‘New Jerusalem’. In this we have a ‘physical city called Jersualem’, and also called Zion. Then we have the ‘New Jerusalem’ where it is a heavenly city that shall come down out of heaven. This is pictured in Revelation and described by John. It will have a permanent place on the earth. This will be after the ‘new heaven and new earth are created.  This will be the start of Eternity, the millennial kingdom will be over. By this time the Devil will have been cast into the ‘lake of fire’. The Great White Throne judgment would be over and those not ‘written in the Lambs book of life’ shall also be cast into the ‘lake of fire’. In this same lake, ‘death and hell’ are also cast.

Joel 2:32
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Galatians 4:26
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise..

Hebrews 12:22
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

Revelation 3:12
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11  ¶And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:1
nd I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

In conclusion, let me say, Christ is our Hope and redemption. But Zion is also that which forms a hope in us as well. God has a redeemed people and a place called Zion to dwell with them. Zion, the New Jerusalem is where we shall find the Lamb and eternity! Zion represents the ‘life’ which the LORD God promised. We will have that ‘life’ culminating with salvation in and through Jesus Christ. A life not only just to be saved, but to be saved and in the presence of our God and the Lamb of God forever.
Therefore, For Zion’s sake, the Lord will not relent nor stop until he brings in Zion. For all scripture must be fulfilled. No man, no nation, no people, and no devil can stop the LORD God from establishing Zion in the Earth! He will do it and when he does, the ‘redeemed of the LORD shall come into Zion.!” Let us be one of those ‘redeemed, coming with songs of Joy!’ Let Gods everlasting ‘peace’ be in us and let his ‘salvation’ be upon our heads.