25. PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

25. PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

       We often hear the phrase “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” quoting from Psalm 122:6. What and where is this Jerusalem today? It is the City of God, where God chooses to place His Name.

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 from God out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.

This verse clearly establishes the identity of "The City of God." It is not the earthly city, but the heavenly, not the center of “Judaism,” but rather the Christian Church, the Body of Christ.

WHERE GOD CHOOSES TO PLACE HIS NAME:

Throughout the history of ancient Israel, God selected a City and a Temple where He chose to place His name. It was the fact that His Name was placed there that made it the “City of God.” From the beginning it was God's desire to dwell among His people, and we see this manifested first in the Garden of Eden. Later He chose to dwell among the nation of Israel in the Tabernacle as they wandered in the wilderness. Then when they had come into Canaan they built the tabernacle at Shiloh. But the Lord forsook the Tabernacle at Shiloh because of idolatry, (Psalm 78:60). After they had become a nation, Solomon built the Temple at Jerusalem where God "chose to place His Name." For a time the “City of God” was that literal city, Jerusalem, and the Temple of God that was in it. However, that city and temple became defiled and were destroyed because of sin when the old Israel broke the covenant, 2Chronicles 7:19-21. Here we see that God, in spite of this, still has a chosen people and still chooses to place His Name in them. The Name is no longer resident in a geographical city or temple made of brick and mortar but rather is in the people of God.

These people, who worship the Lord Jesus Christ, are now the dwelling place of God Himself and in them He "chooses to place His Name.” Jesus chose to place His Name in the Church: Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:17; John 14:13, 26; Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9-10; Colossians 3:17. Later in Revelation 14:1 we again see the Name of God on the foreheads of His people.

THE FALL OF OLD JERUSALEM

            Just as God had forsaken Shiloh when it fell into idolatry and wickedness, so God forsook the geographical Jerusalem for the same reason, Psalm 78:60, as foretold by the prophets, Jeremiah 7:14; 26:6. Jesus saw the wickedness of the city of Jerusalem and foretold that it was about to be destroyed, Matthew 24:34-38. This came to pass literally in 70 AD.

            The Old Jerusalem became Sodom and Egypt when it crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, Revelation 11:8. It was no longer the City of God. It became Mystery Babylon when it killed Christ and persecuted His Body, the Church, Revelation 18:24: “And in her was found the blood of the prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”

            The Old Jerusalem became identified with the bondage of the law and is likened to Hagar, the bondwoman: Galatians 4:22-31. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”

            The New Jerusalem is the Body of Christ, His Bride: Ephesians 1:22-23: “And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”

            “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto His wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the Church, Ephesians 5:30-32.

            “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Revelation 21:9-10.

            “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City…. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely,” Revelation 22:14, 17.

            Let us “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” the Church, the Body of Christ. She is being persecuted, attacked and besieged, both literally and spiritually, throughout our modern world. But for those who discern the Body of Christ, we are safe and secure in Him. We have the power, the presence and the protection of the Name of God.

For further teaching on this subject see my book Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and online at Amazon.com and xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available online at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net