Understanding Zionism: Who gets the land?

In 1948, Israel became a nation after 2,000 years of the Jewish people living in exile from the land. In 1967, Israel celebrated the reunification of Jerusalem. In July 1980, the Israeli Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, declaring a unified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and formalizing its annexation.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling”. These are the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 23, as He laments over the city’s repeated rejection of God’s messengers throughout the centuries.

What is Zion?

Zechariah 8:3: “Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst 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.’

In the Bible, the word Zion is often used interchangeably with Jerusalem, yet it carries a deeper theological meaning. Originally, Zion referred to the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David, which became part of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:7), the CITY OF DAVID.

In the Psalms, Zion is frequently celebrated as the dwelling place of God. In Psalm 132:13-14, it is written, “For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home: ‘This is My resting place forever and ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired this home.'”

Certainly, the fact that God Almighty has chosen Zion to be His dwelling place on the earth is very significant. It seems likely that this is the reason present day Jerusalem is a cup of trembling for all the nations (Zechariah 12:2). Even atheists notice that the entire world is laser focused on this tiny plot of land.

What is “Zionism” and why does the word carry a negative connotation for many people?

Zionism means the pursuit of an independent Jewish state in their ancient homeland. Political Zionism was led by Theodor Herzl and Max Nordau in Russia in the late 1800’s. It stressed the importance of political action and the need to create a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel. 

Political Zionists see the return of the Jews to their homeland as a safe refuge from violent, global antisemitism.

Religious Zionists believe that the land of Israel was promised to the ancient Israelites by God for the purpose of being a light to the nations. They believe Jews around the world must make Aliyah to Israel, settle there, and defend the Torah.

Christian Zionists see the return of the Jewish people to the land as the fulfillment of end of days prophecy and the indication that the rapture of the Church and the return of Jesus Christ is near.

The word “Zionism” has a negative connotation for many around the world because websites like “Wikipedia” state that Zionism is a movement that “emerged in late 19th century Europe to establish and support a Jewish homeland through colonization of the region of Palestine.” They say that “Zionists justified their claim to Palestine by emphasizing historical ties to it, arguing that the Jewish claim outweighed that of the Palestinian Arab population.“

People who oppose Zionism (anti-Zionists) believe that the Jews have no claim to the land. They see Zionism as a relatively recent political movement that is bent on forcefully taking the land from the Palestinians who, in their eyes, are the rightful inhabitants. They also see Zionists as cruel and ruthless people who have little regard for the welfare of the Arab inhabitants of the land.

God never allowed the Israelites to mistreat the foreigner who lived among them, not in the OLD or the NEW TESTAMENT. Intentional cruelty or even indifference from any human being towards another is a very serious matter in the eyes of God. Jesus tells us that the two most important commandments are to LOVE THE LORD GOD with all your heart, mind soul, and strength, and the “other is like it” to LOVE your NEIGHBOR as yourself. Jesus was very clear, our neighbor can be anybody in the world, not necessarily someone who looks like us or believes what we believe. In-fact, Jesus even tells HIS FOLLOWERS to LOVE OUR ENEMIES.

Exodus 22:21: “You shall not oppress a stranger nor torment him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 19:33: ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴ The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

Although the majority of anti-Zionists do not believe themselves to be antisemitic, we continue to witness increasing levels of violence and harassment of Jewish people in Europe and the US. This would indicate that these two movements OVERLAP.

“ADL’s audit aligns with larger trends showing Jewish Americans face increasing threats and attacks, regardless of whether they support Israel.“

Antisemitic assaults reach record levels, audit says. What data shows

‘Wave of antisemitism’ in EU influenced by Israel-Gaza war – survey

The irony here is that by making life in the West inhospitable for Jewish people, anti-Zionists are indirectly supporting Zionism. Because of their harassment and violence, more and more Jewish people are making what they call “Aliyah” back to the state of Israel.

The Jewish people have a very strong claim, HISTORICAL claim to the land of “Palestine” (Israel). Archeological evidence has proven this. However, their strongest claim to the land is Biblical.

The Jews Biblical claim to the land

Joshua 21:43: So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and lived in it.

2 Samuel 5: ⁶ The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” ⁷ Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

⁹ David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. ¹⁰ And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

The Promised Land of Canaan, encompassing the territory of Israel that includes Jerusalem, was initially promised to Abraham, subsequently to Isaac, and finally to Jacob, who was later known as Israel. Israel is the father of Judah, or the Jewish people. God’s Covenant Promise to the sons of Israel is Irrevocable (Romans 11:29). While unbelievers cannot grasp this reality, believers understand that God is sovereign over the entire the earth. Should He choose to allocate a portion of it to a specific people-group, it remains within His divine authority to do so.

In Genesis 15, God confirmed His Covenant with Abraham promising him a multitude of descendants and the land of Canaan,

Genesis 15: ¹⁷ Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

¹⁹ the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, ²⁰ the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”

God confirmed His Covenant with Isaac, and then with Jacob (who was later given the name “Israel” by God)

Genesis 28:¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you (tfj: Jacob (aka Israel)) and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 

¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

God PROMISED ISRAEL the land of Canaan as part of a Covenant Promise first given to ABRAHAM and confirmed through Abraham’s grandson Jacob (aka Israel).

There were Canaanites already living in the PROMISED LAND at the time God established HIS COVENANT with ABRAHAM.

God gave Abraham a brief timeline of events…..

“Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there”  And then, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:16).

During the 430 years that Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God was waiting for the sin of the Amorites to reach its full measure. Once that occurred, God would lead ISRAEL OUT of Egypt and use them to JUDGE the CANAANITES.

Who were the ancient Canaanites inhabiting the land?

Many Scholars believe that God’s SEVERE JUDGEMENT of the SEVEN UNHOLY NATIONS living in the land of Canaan was because some of them had mixed their seed with the Nephilim (the offspring of the illicit union between fallen angels and human women) (Genesis 6:1-5), Numbers 13:33). The Bible indicates that King Og and Sihon of the Amorites were GIANTS and leaders of the REPHAIM.

Amo 2:9-10 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

Deuteronomy 3:11: (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed (tfj: sarcophagus) was a bed of iron; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by the usual cubit.) (tfj: 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) long and 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide)

Redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ is exclusively for the sons of Adam (human beings), not for angelic beings or hybrid beings.

The Bible indicates that the Rephaim were literal giants in the land who were worshipped as “gods”. They were completely evil and depraved. Their deeds included murder, child sacrifice, violence, cannibalism, witchcraft, and massive amounts of sexual depravity that included temple prostitution.

Deuteronomy 9:5: It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The seed of darkness is not to mingle with the seed of light.

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14

The Two Exiles of Israel

God EXPELLED the Canaanites from the land and gave it to the Israelites for the purpose of following HIM and having NO OTHER GODS (ABRAHAMIC COVENANT). In the book of Deuteronomy Moses WARNED the Israelites that if they SINNED and followed after the gods of the land, they TOO would be EXILED. History tells us that Israel DID SIN. They experienced two different exiles,

• the first EXILE was between 597 and 586BC, when the Jews were exiled to BABYLON. They returned after seventy years to rebuild the Temple and remained in the land UNTIL 70AD. However, even after they returned to the land of Canaan, they did have various “landlords” that included ancient Persia, Greece, and later Rome.

• The second EXILE was in 70AD, when the Jews were exiled to the four corners of the earth by ROME. They were exiled because they REJECTED THEIR MESSIAH – YESHUA HAMASHIACH, JESUS CHRIST.

After the Jewish exile in 70AD, the land of Canaan changed hands multiple times. Rome, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, the Christian Crusades all fought over this tiny strip of land. Many wars were fought, many lives lost. During this time the Jews were shuffled from nation to nation, living in tight knit communities and continuing to face numerous expulsions and forced migrations. The amazing thing is that for the most part they never lost their unique identity and never fully assimilated into the nations in which they sojourned.

Due to God’s ABRAHAMIC COVENANT with the descendants of Israel, it was guaranteed that the Jews would ultimately be restored to their homeland.

Jeremiah 30:3: For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”

Isaiah 11:11: Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover with His hand the second time The remnant of His people who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea.

The Jewish people began returning to the land of Canaan (aka “Palestine”) in the late 1800’s. This continued through the two world wars, particularly with the rise of Naziism.  By the time the United Nations agreed to split Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, a very well ordered and lively Jewish society had been created there.

The UN Partition Plan of 1947 proposed dividing Mandatory Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international administration, but it was rejected by Arab leaders and led to conflict.

The plan was never implemented. Following its adoption, civil war erupted between Jewish and Arab communities, escalating into the 1948 Arab-Israeli War after Israel declared independence. The conflict resulted in the expulsion and flight of approximately 85% of Palestinians from areas that became Israel. Despite its failure, the plan’s proposed borders have influenced subsequent negotiations and territorial discussions.

Clearly there is something special about this land, especially Jerusalem (Zion), the place where God placed HIS NAME.

Who gets the land?

The Palestinians claim to be descendants of the ancient Canaanites, who were “first” in the land. Even if this were true, Scripture tells us that God instructed Israel to drive the Canaanites out of the land. The Israelites FAILED in this task and did NOT drive out the Canaanites completely. In-fact, Israel rebelled against God and made Covenants with some of them, and they even intermarried. Interestingly, this is confirmed through DNA evidence that indicates both Jews and Palestinians have at least half of their ancestry as Canaanite, proving that they did indeed intermarry.

Jews and Arabs Descended from Canaanites – Biblical Archaeology Society

Jerusalem is truly a cup of trembling among the nations because God has placed HIS NAME upon it.

2 Chronicles 6:6: but I have chosen Jerusalem so that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

God’s Covenants with His people

God’s physical Covenant with the JEWISH PEOPLE (Abrahamic Covenant) through their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have physical promises, and physical fulfilments. God gave Israel THE LAND, and DESCENDANTS as numerous as the stars of Heaven, and the PROMISED SEED, the MESSIAH JESUS CHRIST who is SAVIOR of all the world. To make this Covenant tangible, God instituted circumcision as a physical mark of Covenant membership.

• A physical sign (circumcision)
• A physical inheritance (the land of Canaan)
• A tangible, visible marker of God’s people

The Abrahamic Covenant was an “unconditional Covenant” meaning that ALL of the responsibility for “keeping it” fell on God Himself and not on Israel. This is quite different from the Mosaic Covenant that Israel entered into on Mt. Sinai about 645 years later. The Mosaic Covenant was conditional in that Israel was required to keep the law perfectly or they would be vomited from the land. Of course, we know that Israel was TWICE exiled from the land, fulfilling the Word of the Lord.

But….that is not the end of the story.

Because of the ETERNAL NATURE of the Abrahamic Covenant along with the incredible LOVINGKINDNESS and MERCY of God, the promise of land was not nullified because of Israel’s disobedience. God PROMISED to return them to the land and fully RESTORE them.

The Jewish people are back in their land, but the SPIRITUAL RESTORATION has not yet happened. Israel, like the rest of the world, CAN ONLY BE RESTORED through the NEW COVENANT, a much better Covenant in which GOD promised to write HIS LAWS on OUR HEARTS. The Mosaic Covenant (THE LAW) will NOT, NOR CAN IT restore the Jewish people.

God’s SPIRITUAL Covenant, the NEW COVENANT, has SPIRITUAL promises which are BETTER PROMISES.

Hebrews 8:6: But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

God’s spiritual Covenant (the New Covenant) came through Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. In a sense, this Covenant was birthed from the Abrahamic Covenant, the birth of the Promised Seed who would ultimately RESTORE God’s creation to its intended state. This would be accomplished through the death, burial, and RESURRECTION of the Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. ✝️

The New covenant has better promises. The Abrahamic Covenant includes Israel being RESTORED to the land of Canaan. The New Covenant includes SPIRITUAL ISRAEL being RESTORED to the GARDEN OF EDEN, or actually BETTER than the Garden of Eden – THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

Abrahamic Covenant	New Covenant
Offered to Abraham, confirmed through Isaac and Jacob (Israel)	Offered to all mankind through the sacrifice of God’s Son Jesus Christ ✝️
Covenant cut and CONFIRMED through the blood of an animal (animal sacrifice) when God passed between the pieces.	Covenant cut and CONFIRMED through the BLOOD of the SON OF GOD – JESUS CHRIST.
INHERITANCE: Land – The Land of Canaan given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) as a Covenant promise. Although Israel would be exiled twice for breaking the MOSAIC COVENANT, they would be RESTORED to the land.	INHERITANCE: Kingdom of God given to the adopted children of God, those who belong to Jesus Christ. This represents a restoration of the GARDEN OF EDEN.
Descendants – as many as the stars of Heaven – The sons of Israel	And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:29).
A particular descendant through whom all the world would be blessed (both Jew and Gentile). – Jesus Christ	Jesus Christ IS the PROMISED SEED; He is the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. Through Jesus all the nations of the world are blessed.
Physical Circumcision – physical mark of belonging to the Abrahamic Covenant	Circumcision of the Heart – The SPIRITUAL circumcision of the heart is the spiritual mark of belonging to the New Covenant. God promised to write His Laws on our hearts💖, giving us the DESIRE to live for God.
Physical Jerusalem – the place where God placed His Name. It is the CAPITAL of physical Israel. Jesus will set His Feet on the Mt. of Olives when He returns.	Spiritual Jerusalem – The place where GOD dwells forever. The New Jerusalem (Spiritual Jerusalem) is the ETERNAL CAPITAL of SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.
The Temple – God’s Presence LEFT the Temple in Ezekiel Chapter 10 and was never there seen again. The visible manifestation of God’s Presence never dwelt in the rebuilt Temple. No glory Cloud ever settled there.	The Human Temple – God’s Presence literally dwells within the believer through the Permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Wars over ownership of the Promised Land of Canaan	Spiritual warfare over the ownership of the Spiritual Promised Land – a restored humanity. Satan continually DECEIVES MANKIND with the intention of killing, stealing and destroying God’s plan for redemption and restoration.
God’s Presence currently in Jerusalem? The only time God’s Presence was seen in the Second Temple was when Jesus walked into it. God’s Presence is not in present day Jerusalem and will not be there until Jesus returns.	God’s Presence through HIS HOLY SPIRIT lives INSIDE BELIEVERS NOW and will remain in the New Jerusalem FOREVER.💖
Promises to Israel to fully restore the nation – first PHYSICALLY bringing them back into the land and then later SPIRITUALLY – through the NEW COVENANT.	God has promised the believer FULL RESTORATION that includes a completely restored connection to God, a permanent residence in God’s Kingdom, and total healing and peace that includes immortal bodies. – NO DEATH.

How do you enter into the NEW COVENANT?

• Both Jew and Gentile enter into the New Covenant by admitting you are a sinner in need of a Savior.
• by RECEIVING the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST FOUND IN 1 CORINTHIANS 15:

1 Corinthians 15:3: For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is ONLY WAY in which a person can be SAVED!! The Law of Moses cannot save a person. The “Noahide laws” are a DECEPTION and cannot save ANYONE! No “religion” can save a person. Only Jesus Christ can save! Jesus IS the NEW COVENANT.

How to be saved – Life in a Dying World

All of this fighting over the Present Day Jerusalem was prophesied to happen. In-fact, it will intensify culminating in the war of Armageddon.

Zechariah 12:2: “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.³ It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely.¹And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

The Bible portrays Present-day Jerusalem in unfavorable terms…😮

Present day Jerusalem is “like a slave”.

Galatians 4:21:  Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the Law? 

²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman (tfj: Hagar) and one by the free woman (tfj: Sarah). 

²³ But the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh (tfj: The Mosaic Covenant at Sinai), and the son by the free woman through the promise (tfj: the Promised Seed of the Abrahamic covenant, JESUS CHRIST✝️)

²⁴ This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. (tfj: Speaking of the Mosaic Covenant of THE LAW) ²⁵ Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. 

Paul refers to present-day Jerusalem as a “BOND WOMAN,” signifying her state of bondage to THE LAW OF MOSES, which CANNOT save or transform the human heart. (Romans 7-8). This state of bondage will persist UNTIL “she” accepts her Messiah, Jesus Christ. In this allegorical context, present-day Jerusalem represents the Jewish people, encompassing the STATE OF ISRAEL and the global Jewish community. Despite their restoration to the land of Canaan, the Scriptures indicate they will remain in a state of BONDAGE until the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Present-day Jerusalem is like SODOM and EGYPT. 😲

Sodom was known for its RAMPANT sexual sin and violence, along with its TOTAL DISREGARD for the foreigner among them. Egypt was known for its witchcraft and idolatry.

Revelation 11:7: When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. ⁸ And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified

Ironic, isn’t it? Wars, desolations, battles all fought over Present Day Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that is spiritually like Sodom and Egypt, the Jerusalem that can never save. The Law, as good and holy as it is, cannot change the human heart. This is why there is so much bloodshed over this region. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit – Hate begets hate begets hate.

But the real battle is not over Physical Jerusalem. Physical Jerusalem, as significant as it is, is only a SHADOW of a greater spiritual reality – SPIRITUAL JERUSALEM. The NEW JERUSALEM is the TRUE ZION of the Bible, the place where GOD DWELLS FOREVER. 💖

Hebrews 12:22:  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, ²³ to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

The Bible portrays the New Jerusalem in glorious terms. 💖💖💖

Galatians 4:²⁶ But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

“Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
Than those of the one who has a husband.”

The Jerusalem above that is FREE, the one who is born according to the PROMISE is the NEW JERUSALEM, also known as the HEAVENLY JERUSALEM. 💖 “SHE” is the BRIDE OF CHRIST (THE CHURCH). ⛪

Galatians 4:28 And you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹ But as at that time the son who was born according to the flesh (tfj: Ishmael) persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit (tfj: Isaac), so it is even now. ³⁰ But what does the Scripture say?

“Drive out the slave woman and her son,
For the son of the slave woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”

³¹ So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.

While human-beings WAR over who gets control of the land of Canaan, God is quietly building HIS KINGDOM all over the world. God’s kingdom is not a particular physical landmass, but a remnant of people who have given their lives to Jesus Christ. God’s people consist of both Jew and Gentile, slave and free, men and women – all ONE in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28).

The Kingdom of God turns the world’s values on its head. These values can only be attained through the power of the Holy Spirit. 🕊️The best THE LAW can do is show us our sin and by so doing, stir up the SIN NATURE within all of us.

Holy Spirit leads us to adopt KINGDOM VALUES. The sin nature leads us to adopt WORLDLY VALUES.

KINGDOM VALUES🕊️ — WORLDLY VALUES😈:

• Love — hate.
• Forgiveness — vengeance.
• Sharing — stealing.
• Selflessness — selfishness
• Kindness — cruelty
• Empathy — indifference
• Blessing — cursing
• Humility — pride
• Holiness — profanity
• Obedience — rebellion
• Charitable — judgmental
• Gentle — harsh

Who wouldn’t want to live in a world that was filled with kingdom values? God’s Presence dwells in the NEW JERUSALEM and will REMAIN THERE FOREVER.

The return of Jesus Christ💖🕊️

Of course, present day Jerusalem is still significant because it is the LOCATION that God has chosen to RETURN to the earth at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus will set His Feet on the Mt. of Olives, and the entire place will split in half, forming a large valley. At that time, the people of Jerusalem will mourn as one mourns for the loss of an only Son. The Bible indicates that 1/3 of present-day Jerusalem (the Jewish people) will eventually be REDEEMED and RESTORED (Zechariah 13:8-9), and their hearts will change when they FINALLY recognize their MESSIAH – JESUS CHRIST. The Jewish people will eventually receive the circumcision of the heart. ✝️💖

Zechariah 14:4: On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley.

Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. ¹¹ On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

The New Jerusalem will come down to earth from HEAVEN like a bride adorned for her husband. The New Jerusalem is a picture of the Church also known as “The Bride of Christ”. It symbolizes the culmination of God’s redemptive plan and the eternal dwelling place of God’s people. This is the Heavenly Jerusalem, or Mt. Zion (Rev. 14:1).

Revelation 21:2:  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 

⁴ and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

⁵ And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.

Revelation 14:1: Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.