Saturday, 18 September 2021
INHABITANTS OF THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined (Psalm 50:2).
Paul, in his letter to the Galatian Christians, referenced the allegory of Sarah and Hagar (Galatians 4). Through the two women, Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Sarah and Hagar represented two covenants. Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, and is a figure of the present city of Jerusalem in the middle East, which the Bible says is in slavery with all its people (Galatians 4:25).
Then, there’s the Jerusalem that is above: “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26). How beautiful! Read the 30th to 31st verses: “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
The Jerusalem that is above is the mother of us all; that’s the one to which we belong; we’re there now! Hebrews 12:22 tells us, “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem...” In Isaiah 60:14 (MSG), Zion refers figuratively to Israel as the people of God: “The descendants of your oppressor will come bowing and scraping to you. All who looked down at you in contempt will lick your boots. They’ll confer a title on you: City of GOD, Zion of The Holy of Israel.”
But today, in the New Testament, Zion refers to God’s spiritual Kingdom, which we’re a part of. Hebrews 12:18, 22-23 (MSG) says, “Unlike your ancestors, you didn’t come to Mount Sinai — all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble — No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just.” So, in the mind of God, we live in Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, NOW, in the same way that the natural born Jews live in Jerusalem that’s in the Middle East. Hallelujah!
CONFESSION: I’m not of this world; I’m born from heaven and live the life of heaven now in the earth! I’m conscious of my heavenly blessings, rights and privileges, and I walk in them to the full. Hallelujah!
FURTHER STUDY:
Psalm 48:11 AMPC; Psalm 50:2; Psalm 69:34-36
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Galatians 3:15-25 & Songs of Solomon 6-8
2 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Luke 23:26-33 & 2 Samuel 9-10