Zion's King and His Co-Heirs: No. 3

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If the apostle James bore testimony that the tabernacle of David now thrown down would be set up again, scripture abounds with proofs of Israel's coming blessing, with the temple set up on Mount Zion, under Christ the true Prophet, Priest, and King. Yea, the Lord Himself when here, as He wept over His people refusing then to be gathered, foretold their coming sorrows and His ultimate return in blessing. “Behold your house (David's tabernacle) is left unto you desolate, for I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 23:38-3938Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:38‑39)). These words were uttered in view of the destruction of the Temple and its ritual which came to pass some forty years afterward. And however the disciples might be occupied with the temple and its adornment, they were told “there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Nevertheless, in the very next chapter, after giving a prophetic sketch of Israel's future, and of this present interval of grace, the Lord goes on to the further declaration that “the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him,” adding “then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” He, who will then sit upon His own throne in connection with Israel and the nations, is now meanwhile seated on the Father's throne awaiting the completion of the heavenly family, as co-heirs with Him. Afterward will follow the establishment of His earthly throne in Jerusalem. And “there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” To this the prophets witness, when, at the close of the present gospel dispensation, judgment will overtake the general profession of Christendom, “that great city Babylon.” The now privileged Gentiles, not having continued in God's goodness, will be cut off by judgment, to make way for Israel again to be grafted into their own Olive tree (Rom. 11). Then, as brought under the new covenant, after the fullness of the Gentiles is completed, all “Israel shall be saved.” Before Jerusalem, the future city of the Great King, can be called “The city of righteousness, the faithful city,” vengeance must be executed upon the enemies, as stated in Isa. 2, when “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.” Then shall those left in Zion be called holy, when the Lord shall have washed away their filth, and blessing and glory are now established.
But finally, the apostle James, following up Peter's declaration of God's visiting the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name, quotes from Amos 9:11, 1211In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. (Amos 9:11‑12) the setting up of the tabernacle of David, which however will not be without previous judgment upon “the sinful kingdom” of Israel, a remnant being reserved. For, says the prophet, “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah,” yet, “all the sinners of my people shall die by the sword.” It is in connection with this period that we have the words above quoted, “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen"... “And I will build it as in the days of old.” And following this, their now barren land will teem with fruitfulness and the nation shall be established therein. “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God” —a prophecy which plainly has never yet been fulfilled, and therefore awaits a future day.
Again, the prophet Joel declares (3:17-21) that in that day “Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation” when Zion shall no more be desolate with Jehovah absent, for “Jehovah dwelleth in Zion.” “So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” The dwelling in Zion, Jehovah's holy mountain, is seen to be when Israel is again in the land nevermore to lose it, and is associated with the time when Jehovah sets His Anointed there, the fallen tabernacle of David again built and the throne established for the rule and glory of Him “whose right it is"; not only as “King of the Jews,” so born and crucified, but as “King of Israel” (Isa. 44:66Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6); Zeph. 3:1515The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. (Zephaniah 3:15); John 1:49; 12:1349Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. (John 1:49)
13Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. (John 12:13)). The temple, and the throne, are not less clearly foretold in the remnant days of Zechariah; for he not only predicts that “Jerusalem shall be inhabited [as] towns without walls,” and Jehovah “be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her,” but the Messiah also— “the man whose name [is] The BRANCH,” is prophetically introduced. “Even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne: and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zech. 6:12, 1312And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: 13Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:12‑13)). Such language clearly surpasses what could be said of the return from Babylon of the few Jews, and the rebuilding of the temple in the time of the Persian kings: but does not exaggerate what will assuredly be in the day of Jehovah when there shall be, for this long stricken earth, “the counsel of peace between them both.”
The cross which brought out the enmity of man's heart and the guilt of the favored nation to whom Christ came, is that by which has been made peace, not only for Jew but for Gentile; and by Him who hung there are all things to be reconciled, whether things on earth or things in heaven. “Having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things to himself... whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens. And you... yet now hath he reconciled” (Col. 1:20, 2120And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (Colossians 1:20‑21)). Israel and the earth are yet to know it in the value of the precious blood of the One they pierced. Then, and not till then, will peace on earth be known and enjoyed, under the rights of the throne of the King of kings: who will reign in the city of David, and shall come forth as the true and royal Priest after the order of Melchisedec, in manifested power and glory after the slaughter of His enemies. Then shall Psa. 72 be fulfilled to the letter. “His name shall endure forever.... And [men] shall be blessed in him.” No longer will there be the cry and restless craving for “a king to judge us like all the nations” through Israel's carnal, selfish desire, but the government will be with God's Son, David's Lord as also David's Son. He will not only return from heaven, and His once pierced feet stand upon the Mount of Olives, but He will enter the Temple as His house, and there be owned as King and worshipped. “Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Jehovah, and his name one” (Zech. 14:99And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9)). In the hope of these coming glories and as having the mind of Christ, may we not anticipate the cry of repentant Israel and say with, them “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son,” whose dominion will be “from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth” (Psa. 72)? Not only will the poor and needy be fully cared for, under His rule, but the oppressor shall cease and the righteous flourish with abundance of peace and plenty. No more then the envy and ambition of nations to excel and rival each other; for “All kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him.” Yea, “All nations shall call him blessed,” exclaiming “Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed [be] his glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled [with] his glory. Amen and Amen.” Such is the glorious future and blessedness in store for this now groaning creation, and for Israel. Then peace will issue from Mount Zion the city of the great King, the joy of the whole earth. Meanwhile may we that are Christ's, as His co-heirs, be found with girded loins and with lights burning, waiting the return of our Lord to take us to Himself on high who saith “Surely I come quickly.” Amen; come, Lord Jesus. G. G.
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