THE 144,000 ON MOUNT ZION
There is no part
of the Revelation that is more bountiful in rewards for those who pursue
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus than the opening scenes of
chapter fourteen. It is a garden of fruits
and nuts and flowers, a display case of wondrous jewelry. It
is a vast and imposing landscape, filled with beauty and grandeur, the
horizon of which is fringed with the bright dawning glories of God’s
kingdom Day. Here,
in a manner surpassing all others, we can see the real scope and
magnificence of the purpose of sonship to God. Here
we can trace God’s plans for His called and chosen elect to their
ultimate consummation, and learn the real majesty of our destiny as sons
of our Father. At every step
there is something to encourage and challenge us under the trials and
testings of our journey; something to confirm our faith and to fill us
with glorious anticipations!
The twelfth and
thirteenth chapters of the Revelation were designed to set before us the
three great adversaries of God’s apprehended ones. We
have been told of the dragon, the principle and root of all evil,
whether inward or outward — the carnal mind and the flesh nature — which
persistently dogs all of our steps. We
have been further
told of the first beast, rising out of the sea of humanity, that bestial
world system to whom the dragon has committed his authority and power. He
is the second adversary. Lastly,
we have been told of the second beast, rising out of the earth of the
soulical nature, that false spirit of religion which unites itself to
the world system, and which, even more cunningly opposed than the world
itself to the life of the spirit, brings multitudes of the Lord’s people
into an even greater bondage than they might otherwise have been. The
picture thus presented, were it to stand alone, would in a most powerful
way be discouraging and depressing! How
we praise God with joy unspeakable and full of glory that the Revelation
does not end with chapter thirteen!
We have only to
read carefully and prayerfully the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of
the Revelation to see the close and inspired connection between them. They
are constructed on the same lines. They
run parallel in their emphasis. Consider
some of the similarities and contrasts. “I
saw a beast coming up out of the sea.” “I
saw a Lamb standing on mount Zion.” The
worshippers of the beast celebrated his greatness in a hymn of praise:
“Who is like unto the beast? and who is able to make war with him?” And
over against this earthly song there is an heavenly: “And I heard a
voice from heaven as the voice of many waters…and I heard the voice of
harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new
song…and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four
thousand, which were redeemed from the earth” (Rev. 14:2-3). It
is clear that in the fourteenth chapter the Holy Spirit is drawing a
companion, yet contrasting, picture to the events of the thirteenth. He
sets the two companies — the followers of the beast and the followers of
the Lamb — in strong and vivid contrast.
The book of
Revelation is full of wonderful and striking contrasts which cannot but
excite the spirit of all who have ears to hear and eyes to see! The
Revelation deals with the mightiest contrast that ever existed — the
contrast between Christ and Adam,
between spirit and flesh, between truth and error, between spirituality
and carnality, between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness,
and between God and the devil. We
meet, furthermore, with the contrast between the company of the
overcomers and the carnal church systems of man, between the two
witnesses and the beast, between the manchild and the dragon, between
the Lamb and the beastly system, between God’s Christ and the kings of
the earth, between the saints and the world, and between Mystery Babylon
and the holy city, New Jerusalem. Again
and again this mighty contrast is painted for us in brilliant hues and
vivid scenes of divine revelation!
It was a dark day
that John painted for the church in chapter thirteen. But
follow him into the fourteenth chapter. With
true dramatic inspiration he quickly shifts the scene. The
shadows flee, the light of a new day rims the sky, and the glory of a
new order breaks
upon the horizon. Let
us note that in chapter fourteen we have a continuation of
the symbolism begun in chapter thirteen. The
fact that this has been generally overlooked has led to many dreadful
errors in the interpretation of the scenes of this portion. Void
of spiritual understanding the natural mind takes mount Zion in
the literal sense of the word and concludes that at the end of the age,
in the days of the supposed great “antichrist,” Jesus will appear on the
earthly mount Zion as
the defender of His people, the fleshly Israel,
and will gather
about Him 144,000 flaming
Jewish evangelists in
order to save Israel from the vengeance of the beast. Truly
there is an impassible
gulf between the carnal
mind and the spiritual mind, for the spiritual mind understands all
things which concern the things
of God and the things
that pertain to the world of the spirit, whereas the fleshly mind
understands only those things of the physical
realm and interprets all
things as pertaining to the outer, natural world. It
must be clear to us, therefore, that John is viewing heavenly, spiritual
realities and speaks of these as he sees them by the spirit — in highly
symbolical language.
After the dark
vision of the beast and his kingdom John now receives a bright vision of
the Lamb and those who are with Him in the splendor of His glory and
exaltation. And all is
symbolism! Christ
is denoted as the Lamb, which, however familiar, is nevertheless
symbolical language. No one
ever mistook the Lamb of God for a wooly, four-legged barnyard animal! Those
who stand with Him are described as 144,000, as those who are not
defiled with women; for they are virgins. And
a wonderful song is heard out of the heavens of the spirit, which they
alone can learn. The
contrast is very evident. In
chapter thirteen we have the picture of the beast lording it over all
the earth-dwellers. Here we
have the vision of the Lamb upon the dizzying heights ofmount Zion,
along with a great company who stand with Him in His majesty. There
we have the vision of the multitudes of carnal-minded church goers who
pay homage to the beast and his image; here we have the picture of the
144,000 who have gained the victory over the beast and who belong to the
Lamb alone. There we found
the followers of the beast and his worshippers receiving his sign on
their right hands or in their foreheads; here we find that also the Lamb
company has a sign — the name
of the Father written in
their foreheads! The Greek text
actually reads, “His
name and His Father’s name.” This
is the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to the overcomer back in
chapter three, verse twelve, “I
will write upon him the name of my God… and my new name.” The
name speaks of the nature and character, HIS NATURE AND CHARACTER raised
up within us; His love, holiness, wisdom,
truth — all of this is inscribed in the forehead, becoming the function
of our MIND. All that we
think, all that we desire, all that we manifest is the outraying of
Himself — for we bear His name. “I
will put my laws (will and purpose) in their MIND, and write them in
their HEARTS” (Heb.
8:10). That is the
contrast!
MOUNT ZION
“And I looked,
and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and
with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name
written in their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1).
The scene of
John’s vision is “the mount Zion,”
that Zion so
often spoken of in both the Old and the New Testament as God’s special
dwelling place and the seat of His authority and rule. It
is described as being beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole
earth. It is the Zion in
which God “dwells,” the
mount Zion which
He “chose,” and which He “loved,” and “out of which salvation comes and
the law of the Lord goes forth.” It
is that “holy hill of Zion” upon which God set the firstborn Son as King
when He said to Him, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee.” It
is that Zion,
too, to which “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with
singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.” Finally,
it is that dwelling place of which the inspired apostle, writing to the
Hebrews, says, “Ye are come unto mount Zion,
and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the
first-born, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling,
that speaketh better than that of Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24).
Mountain peaks
have often been used as a scaffold, lifting high many glorious
experiences between God and man. On mount Moriah God
met with Abraham in the greatest revelation of his life. On mount Sinai
God appeared and gave the law to Moses. Mount Carmel was
the scene of God’s power sending fire to consume Elijah’s sacrifice and
judging the prophets of Baal. On
the heights of mount Hermon
the firstborn Son of God was transfigured, and from mount Olivet He
ascended. In the Song of
Solomon the Shulamite was called by her Beloved to come away with him to mount Bether,
the mount of separation. There
are numbers of other mountain-top experiences. The
last to be mentioned in the scriptures is John’s vision of mount Zion. On
this ultimate elevation God paints the symbol of a lamb and one hundred
forty-four thousand companions, with the Father’s name in their
foreheads. There have been a
lot of “mountain-top experiences,” but there is no mountain that can
compare with THIS MOUNTAIN, for it is a STATE OF BEING,
a condition IN CHRIST. As
Peter discovered on mount Hermon, the Lord never intended for us to
build tabernacles and camp on any of these other mountains. We
are not to settle for anything less than HIS DIVINE PERFECTIONS and HIS
ULTIMATE PURPOSE. We are to
be conformed to the image of His Son, we are to share His glory and sit
with Him in His throne, and He brings us to that mountain. Truly
this is the highest and ultimate mountain-top experience!
There are some
conclusions which the Holy Spirit would mark indelibly
upon our minds. One of these
is the fact that the mount Zion of
John’s vision is not the
literal, physical, earthly mount Zion. Look
to the Middle East, to the mount Zion in
the earthly Jerusalem. Do
we see the glorified Lamb of God standing there? Has
He ever been seen standing there at any time during the past two
thousand years? Absolutely
not! Nor is the Lamb of God
going to stand visibly again in flesh on that earthly mount Zion. Why
should He? “For ye are
not come unto the mount that
might be touched…but ye are come untomount Zion…the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb.
12:18,22). Jesus Christ
Himself is the chief cornerstone in the spiritual house of God raised up
upon the heavenly mount Zion! “Wherefore
also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay
IN ZION a
chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall
not be confounded” (I
Pet. 2:6). And again, “Why
do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The
kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord, and against His Christ. For
of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both
Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel,
were gathered together. For
to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. He
that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision. Yet have I set
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I
declare the decree: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps.
2:1-7; Acts 4:25-28). To
this heavenly and spiritual mount Zion come
the 144,000 who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” Can
we not see by this that the mount Zion that
John saw in his vision was a “sign.” It
signified, symbolized, the invisible heavenly mount Zion;
and that is where the firstborn Son of God has been laid as the chief
cornerstone! And it is there
upon the heavenly, spiritual mount Zion that
the 144,000 overcomers follow the Lamb!
How appropriate that our Lord Jesus should be standing on the heavenly,
spiritual mount Zion! Why
should this be? Because
his forefather, King David, captured the earthly mount Zion,
and the citadel upon it came to be called “the city of David”
(II Sam. 5:4-9). The earthly
is but the picture, the type, the shadow of the heavenly! His standing there indicates
that He has begun to reign, that the king has taken His power. And
now John beholds 144,000 following the Lamb to the summit of the
heavenly, spiritual mount Zion! Fail
not to observe that it is not simply “mount Zion,”
but rather “the mount Zion,”
signifying the spiritual, even the heavenly — the unique, abiding,
eternal mount of the Lord. The
literal, earthly mount Zion is
still in the earthly Jerusalem
in the land of Israel,
but it is merely a type. The mount Zion of
the Revelation is a spiritual
mountain! This Zion realm IS
NOT A CERTAIN GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION. But
it is in certain
geographical locations! A
place doesn’t make Zion — Zion makes
the place itself — ZION! The
“place” of Zion is
within a people, in the spirit. Man
doesn’t create Zion, Zion is
the Christ manifested in all His fullness! The
new creation man has come to mount Zion. Mount Zion represents
a spiritual reality and attainment that is available to us right now in
the realm of the spirit! It’s
a spiritual place, a spiritual identity, a spiritual administration, and
a spiritual state of being. Aren’t
you glad!
To correctly
unlock the great revelation and reality of this mount Zion we
need to go back and look at the shadow. Zion is
a special place with distinctive associations. It
was that part of Jerusalem which
was considered impregnable and was held anciently by the Jebusites. After
the death of Saul all the tribes of Israel came
to David at Hebron where
“King David made a covenant with them” (II Sam. 5:1-3). Following
this, David and his men went to Jerusalem where
“David captured the stronghold of Zion,
that is the city of David”
(II Sam. 5:7). It was with
the deepest satisfaction that David acquired
mount Zion,
for it was a most strategic fortress. Immediately
he built thereon a palace and many public buildings, his joy in Zion increasing
with the progress of the work. David
ordered that the ark of the covenant be brought to Zion from
the house of Obed-Edom; and with much ceremony the ark was brought up to mount Zion and
deposited in the beautiful silken tent which David had prepared for its
reception, and where it remained until the building of the temple. God’s
presence, God’s glory, God’s king, God’s governmental people were all
concentrated on mount Zion. The
Psalms of David are rich in expressions of joy and pleasure in Zion,
not only on David’s part, but more importantly on God’s part. “Great
is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the
mountain of His holiness. Beautiful
for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion,
on the sides of the north, the city
of the great King. God
is known in her palaces for a refuge…let mount Zion rejoice…walk
about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof…for this God
is our God for ever and ever” (Ps.
48). The magnificent vistas
presented on all sides; the beauty of Jerusalem on
the opposite hill across the valley, and beyond on the east side of Jerusalem the
mount of Olives. However, Zion was
more than a geographical locality, it was a combination of divinely
designed ingredients which made it not only the city of David,
but truly the “city of God”
(Ps. 87:3).
Israel was
God’s land, the whole nation of His people. In Israel there
was the city of Jerusalem,
the capital city, the seat of government comprising all the ruling
classes of various kinds and degrees. Yet
in Jerusalem there
was only one who, with his household, and closest associates, dwelt on mount Zion. He
was the king! Mount Zion is
the highest mount in Jerusalem,
and David the king established his throne there. His
was the highest pinnacle of glory attainable. Mount Zion was
the site where the power and authority of God was recognized,
experienced, and manifested. But
that Zion was
only a shadow of the true mount Zion to
which we are come in the Spirit. David
was king over natural Israel. Christ
is king over spiritual Israel. David
dwelt on the natural mount Zion. Therefore
Christ dwells on the spiritual mount Zion. And
this spiritual Zion is
composed of those who in union with Christ the Head have reached the
very highest pinnacle attainable in the heavenly Jerusalem,
those who have followed the Lord all the way to His throne. “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” (Rev.
3:21).
The company of
144,000 standing with their Lord upon the mount Zion can
represent nothing other than those who have followed the Lamb all the
way from death on mount Calvary to
the glory and exaltation of mount Zion. God
has but one throne, and those who are called to share that throne share
it in the heights of the spiritual mount Zion. “The
Lord shall reign over
them in Zion,
from henceforth even for ever” (Mic. 4:7; Isa. 24:23). “And
it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains (Zion),
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto
it…for out of Zion shall
go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And
He shall judge among the nations” (Isa. 2:23-4). Out
of Zion,
out of God’s Zion people,
shall go forth the principles and power of God’s kingdom! Not
a law of external rules and regulations as Moses’ law, but God’s holy,
righteous law, that is, His divine nature, His incorruptible law of
life, even the law of the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus! Oh,
the wonder of it!
Jerusalem is
built upon seven mountains and mount Zion is
the highest of them all. The
sun kisses the hill of Zion first every morning. Those
who dwell on mount Zion see
the light of God’s new day before
any others. When a new day
dawns in God’s kingdom those standing on mount Zion are
the first ones to greet it. I
declare to you today that a new day is now dawning! Is
it dawning in your understanding? Is
it dawning in your consciousness? Is
it dawning in your experience? Is
it dawning in your state of being? Or
is your awareness still beclouded and your vision obscured by the
darkness?
All who are
dwelling in the high and holy realm of Zion,
are hearing the voice of the Son of God! Good
tidings of great things, of full salvation, of perfection of holiness
and power, the reign of Christ, and the peace of the kingdom of God,
are now being declared in Zion. “For
the Lord hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it
for His habitation. This is
my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Ps.
132:13-14). Ray Prinzing
commented on this passage, “The word ‘chosen’ literally means TO CHOOSE
AFTER TESTING. No wonder He
caused us to be plowed so deeply, He would lay bare every secret within
us, to test and try us, to prove us — and then, having been duly brought
up to His specifications, qualified to meet His approval, He chooses
us to be His own. All
through our dark night HE HAS BEEN THERE, participating in the
processings, and using it all to do a whole
work on Zion, until
He could bring us to the border of light, even to this mountain. Full
well He knows all of our down-sitting and our up-rising, our going out
and coming in. His choosing
is based upon a full knowledge of His people, and the work which He has
wrought in them. ‘Therefore
thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in
Zion for
a foundation a stone, A TRIED STONE, a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation’ (Isa.
28:16).
“‘When the Lord shall build
up Zion, He
shall appear in His glory’ (Ps.
102:16). The Lord is
FOUNDING ZION, BUILDING UP Zion,
and therefore ‘Zion shall
be redeemed with judgment…’ (Isa. 1:27). Redeemed
— here the Hebrew word is padah meaning
TO FREE, redeem. Freedom
from all the bondage of vanity comes with judgment. These
very correctional processings of God are the means of loosing us,
freeing us from this gross materialism into the freedom of spirit. ‘When
the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion,
we were like them that dream’ (Ps.
126:1). Almost too good to
be true, it’s like a dream. Ah,
now it does seem that this travail is the reality, and the glory is a
dream, but then shall the glory become the everlasting reality, and our
present travail will seem as but a dream in the night when it passeth
away. He will wipe away the
many tears from our hearts, fill our mouth with laughter and our tongue
with singing, and our joy no man shall take away. This
is the vision of those who are being processed for Zion!
“‘What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That
the Lord hath founded Zion’ (Isa.
14:32). What is the word for
this hour? What can we tell
a groaning creation that stumbles on in the black of night? What
is the hope for this sin-cursed earth? TELL
THEM THAT THE LORD IS FOUNDING ZION! He
is preparing a people through whom His salvation shall flow to the ends
of the earth. His glory
shall come, it shall return to earth again, for there shall be a people
in whom He shall fully dwell. ‘Awake,
awake; put on thy strength, O Zion…how beautiful upon the mountains are
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that
bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth’ (Isa,
52:1,7). Here is the message
to declare! Not that
darkness reigns, not that the enemy seems to have gained control, not
that we are doomed. DECLARE THAT THY GOD REIGNETH! He
works all things after the counsel of His own will, His victory is
secure!” — end quote.
“As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the
Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Let mount Zion rejoice…walk
about Zion,
and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark
ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, for this God is our God for
ever” (Ps. 48:11-14). A
prepared people with a holy purpose in God is a very spiritual people. God
is raising up just such a people in the earth in this hour and they are
the Lord’s chosen remnant today. They
are spiritually motivated and are seen in the spirit marching around Zion,
the highest calling in the heavens of God’s Spirit. These are exploring Zion’s
intricacies, measuring Zion’s
bulwarks, counting Zion’s
towers, inspecting Zion’s
palaces, including all the spiritual experiences and dealings, and the
abundance of truths and divine inworkings in all who are called to Zion. As
they walk about Zion,
they are challenged by her many glorious truths and experiences, causing
them to cry out to God mightily that He may finish His work. They
are ever learning, growing, and changing into the likeness of Christ the
king. They
walk about Zion with
humility, trust, and earnest expectation. They
are inquisitive, pliable, and teachable in the preparatory
school of God,
striving to learn and grow spiritually, conformed to the full stature of
Christ. These elect, who are maturing
sons of God, are destined of their Father to embody within themselves
all the spirit, nature, glory, and power of the mount Zion realm,
to become fully manifest sons of God, radiating the life and glory of
Christ. They are weaned from
all the old ways of the dead, desolate, obsolete church order of the
past, and are walking in the light of this new Day!
When that work becomes life to us by the Spirit, the Lord then fills us
with the joy, peace, holiness, and power of mount Zion. Then
those qualities shall flow out of us to fill, first, the city of God,
then the whole land of God’s
own people, and finally the whole earth and all nations. Zechariah
prophesied, saying, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion…behold,
THY KING COMETH unto thee…and He shall speak peace unto the heathen, and
His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even unto
the ends of the earth” (Zech. 9:9-10). Christ
our King reigns from the top down, from the height of His throne in the
heavenlies down to the lowest valley and unto the deepest hell. That
is why the prophet pointed out that the dominion of Christ is from the rivereven unto the
ends of the earth. The
dominion of mount Zion is
a flowing dominion,
flowing like a river, flowing
from its source in the highlands of Zion,
and flowing out, bringing life to all the peoples and nations of the
world. Our King comes first
to mount Zion,
the sons of God, the 144,000 who accompany the Lamb; then to Jerusalem,
the true church, the bride of Christ; next to the land of Israel,
that is, all the rest of the people of God on whatever spiritual level
they may be; and finally to the whole race of mankind even unto the ends
of the earth. What
a mighty flowing!
These are the four elements or components in the scope and economy of
the kingdom of God: mount Zion, Jerusalem,
the land, and the world. Mount
Zion was
in Jerusalem, Jerusalem was
in the land, and the land was in the world. All
things in every realm are gathered
up in those four areas, as typified by the natural Israel of
old in the midst of the earth. In
Christ’s coming to Zion to
be perfectly and fully formed in the sons of God, the reign of Christ is
then evident in the lives of His elect. When
He fully rules and reigns in our lives, the reign of Christ then
progresses to spiritual Jerusalem,
which is the realm of the daughters
of Zion, the
true church which is the bride of Christ. The
bride then “makes herself ready.” This
takes in all who truly love the Lord, are baptized in the Holy Spirit,
and are led by His Spirit in the measure they know, though they are not
fully overcoming sons of God. From
there the kingdom progresses to the whole land which is all nominal
Christians who name the name of the Lord, acknowledging Him as Saviour,
be they Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, or any other
denomination in Christianity. All
of these people of God are presently formed on various spiritual levels
and stages of development all the way from little children to the fully
matured sons of God. They
may be classified as mount Zion (sons), Jerusalem (bride),
and the land (children). From
the land the reign of Christ finally spreads to the rest of mankind, to
every tongue, and people, and kindred, and nation, and culture, and
religion — until He fully reigns over all!
A strange and wonderful work is reserved for mount Zion —
the mount Zion company. “For saviours shall
come upon mount Zion to
judge the mount of Esau (flesh): and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (Obadiah
21). The ramifications of
this passage of scripture are numerous. Years
ago a precious brother wrote the following: “Becoming Saviours doesn’t
require that we memorize more scripture verses, and make many more trips
cross-country and overseas, in retreats, workshops, meetings, and
ministry. Quoting from the
Bible, and telling others what the Bible says about Jesus, will save
some; but it will not bring
to fruition God’s ultimate intentions for creation. In
fact, telling everyone who we are, and what our destiny is in God, will
not manifest us as Saviours. If
I go up on top of a house, or hang from the branch of a tree and knock
my stomach, saying, ‘Me Tarzan, me Tarzan,’ that doesn’t make me
Tarzan. I can walk around
telling everyone I meet that I am God, I am a son of God, or any other
religious dignitary of my fancy, and it would not singe a strand of hair
on anybody’s head. The
bottom line is simply this: Becoming a Saviour, as Obadiah
21 declares, means a lot more than announcing my identity, or acting
more religious or spiritual. Becoming
a Saviour is not in what I say, but in my manifestation. ‘What
I do’ is not in order to become a
Saviour. ‘What I do’ must be
the fruit of the fact that I am a
Saviour!
“These Saviours will
be coming up on mount Zion. So
let us see what Zion is. ‘For
the Lord hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it for His
habitation(where He lives and acts). This
is my rest for ever: here
will I dwell; for I have
desired it’ (Ps.
132:13-14). The word ‘Zion’
means ‘a monumental or guiding pillar, sign, title, or waymark. To
glitter from afar, splendor. A
goal, or the bright object at a distance traveled towards.’ Now
hear this! ‘Out of
Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
hath shined’ (Ps.
50:2). Zion is
God’s desired place in us, and
our place in Him, producing
a state of being. It is the
brightness of God’s glory which we behold, toward which we are
journeying, and into which we are entering, transforming us into shining
ones. Can we begin to
comprehend with all saints what God is saying to us in these days of the
unveiling? We can only be
Saviours as we enter and abide in the realm of
Zion where
every one is filled with light, and where the face of God is seen. It
is there, upon mount Zion,
that the mount of Esau, the kingdom of the
flesh, is judged, dealt with, consumed by the fiery glory of the Lord. As
this judgment is wrought in us and through us, it is then that the kingdom
becomes the Lord’s!” —
end quote.
Recently I read
this experience of a brother regarding mountain climbing. “In
my younger years, I was a mountain climber and scaled some of the
best-known mountains in the world: the Matterhorn, Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Ranier,
and others. I can tell you
from those experiences that nothing is more demanding or exhausting than
to keep climbing when everything within you cries out for relief and
rest. I can also tell you
that nothing is more devastating to the human spirit than getting all
primed to go to the top of a magnificent and lofty peak, only to get
stranded halfway up the mountain. Friend, God is calling us to the very peak of His
holy mountain. What’s more,
He is calling us to become kings and priests of His holy mountain and
the city perched on its pinnacle.”
Ah, yes, all of
those who stand with the Lamb upon mount Zion HAVE
CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN! There
is no cable car nor any helicopter rides to the heights of Zion. Nor
are we “raptured” away to that high and holy realm. The
challenge of “following the Lamb” up the slopes of Zion is
illustrated by an experience Ann Baker once related in a letter to us. She
wrote, “Something you said in your paper reminded me of a precious
experience. Many years ago
Barry and I, with some others, climbed McBain mountain which is on an Indian
Reservation in northern Ontario. An
old Indian
who knew the mountain guided us up the trails. We
climbed, and climbed, and climbed some more. I
would think surely we were at the top, but each time we reached what
seemed to be the summit there was yet another trail leading ever
upward.
“There were
beautiful blue lakes that couldn’t be seen from the foot of the
mountain. And we saw two
eagles flying high in the sky. We
became very thirsty and our guide, John Owl, led us to a refreshing
spring of water that poured out of the rock that hot day. The
higher we went the more plentiful were the blueberries that grew in
abundance. We ‘ate and
drank’ while climbing that mountain. And
then, finally, we reached the top. I
shall never
forget that awesome scene. We
could see fifty miles across Georgian
Bay. The air up
there was excellent — so pure and fresh. I
looked around at my fellow climbers and everyone was standing with their
hands raised high over their heads praising God! The
top of that mountain was crowned with His presence. I
can never
describe the sense of exaltation and glory — as if we had reached the Most
Holy Place —
after the long, torturous climb through the great pine forests. I
remember the heat, the endless trails, the ever-upward climb — but oh,
the glory at the top!” — end
quote.
Ricky Evans, in
one of his writings, has given this confirmatory exhortation. “There
is a stirring going on in the midst of the church in this hour, but just
being stirred is not enough. Just
having a desire is not sufficient. We
must arise and go up! It
is possible to be stirred and have a desire and still sit in our present
position and never
come to the glory God has for us. We
can see the revelation and understand it, but if we don’t get up we will never
see the manifestation of such revelation. The
revelation excites us and should motivate us to rise up, but
unfortunately in some the excitement of the revelation has been enough. We
want the expected end without having to go
through the process of getting there. I
remember a time I was talking with a friend about playing the piano and
I made the statement, ‘I would love to learn to play the piano.’ No
sooner had the words departed out of my mouth than the Lord spoke in my
spirit and said, ‘You don’t want to learn to play the piano.’ I
replied back, ‘Lord, you know I would love to be able to play the
piano.’ He said, ‘No, you
don’t want to learn, you
just want to be able to play.’ It
hit me like a ton of bricks — I didn’t want to learn to
play the piano, I just wanted to be able to sit down and play the
piano. I wasn’t willing to
go through the practice it takes and the effort it requires to play, I
just wanted to sit at the piano one day and effortlessly start playing! God
can do that, but guess what? It
hasn’t happened! I have been
too lazy to sit down and learn. I
have all my excuses for why I haven’t, but the desire is still there. Slothfulness
will eventually kill desire. We
can desire greedily all day long, but our refusal to labor will kill
us.
“The righteous
man, on the other hand, gives it all he has. He
will pursue, he will press toward the revelation the Lord has given. He
will rid himself of all that stands in the way of reaching that
revelation. The glory of God
has apprehended him and he is now pressing to apprehend that for which
he has been apprehended (Phil. 3:12). The
righteous man realizes he has not come into the fullness of what God has
for him. Oh, yes, everyone
will say they know they are not perfect, but have you ever noticed they never
get too specific? Have you
ever noticed how they justify their sin by pointing to the fact that no
one else is perfect either? How
long will we justify our sin by pointing to someone else’s? I
believe that should show us we have a desire, but don’t really want to
deal with the problem that stands between us and the revelation we have
received. We want the glory
without the process to get there!
“There is an open
door in the heavens and a voice sounding out, ‘Come up here’ (Rev.
4:1). We have heard the word
to overcome and now the door is open to rise up out of our present
situations and overcome and enter into a new realm in God. This
is not a time to get offended by a word to overcome; it is time to take
that word and rise up and be set free from whatever it is that holds us
down. Some people get
offended by being told they aren’t in the most holy place with God
because of some habit they have or some attitude they hold on to. Don’t
get mad, take this word and realize you can
overcome — and overcome! You
say you have tried and tried and failed time and time again and now you
have just given up. There
you sit with your bondage or your attitude and now you change your
theology to accommodate your defeated condition and somehow that is
supposed to make you feel better about yourself. But it doesn’t. Get
up! Take up your bed of
self-pity and walk! Shake
off the dust of lies that the devil has told you and begin to climb the
mountain. Don’t you know
that the prodigal son must have felt the same way? Don’t
you know that he must have felt there was no way out of the hog pen
situation? Oh, but glorious
day when he came to himself! He
said, ‘I will arise’ (Lk. 15:17)” —
end quote.
Well did Paul
Mueller write, “Many years ago the Lord got my attention through visions
and other experiences with Him. One
vision, in particular, was an urgent
call to ascend the high places in God. In
that vision, I saw a large mountain. It
was the mount of the Lord’s presence. Many
people were climbing that mountain, higher and upward toward the
pinnacle of His presence. But
few were reaching the heights. In
that vision, the mount of His presence was like the literal mountains. The
higher one goes, the fewer trees there are. And
the higher we go in God, the fewer believers there are at that level. As
I watched the people climb that mountain, they appeared on the spiritual
level where they were when they died. Some
of the people climbing that mountain of the Lord’s presence were loved
ones and friends. One among
them was a man whom I considered a man of God, a man I had known quite
well. By the Spirit, I was taken up that mountain but close to the
people who were on various levels ascending that mountain. As
I passed by some friends and loved ones, they all cried out to me, ‘Go
higher! Don’t stop now, but
keep going higher and higher.’ That
vision made a profound impact on my life. I
shall never
forget it! By His grace and
His Spirit, I intend to keep climbing higher and higher in God!
“Those who have
lived and died in Christ are now in a realm where they can see and understand more
clearly. The true reality is
in the realm of Spirit, and they know it well now. They
know what it means to walk with God toward perfection, and they
appreciate it more now than when they were in this earthly realm. If
the Lord would give us ears to hear the cries of those who have gone on
before us, we would hear them crying unceasingly for us to ascend the
very heights of the mount of the Lord. I
heard them briefly. And the
tone of their voices persuaded me to believe that our spiritual growth
will also mean something significant and wonderful for them. Their
call to keep going higher was almost a cry of desperation, but was one
of hope as well. Without us
they cannot be made perfect (Heb. 11:40). Therefore,
the remnant of this hour must ascend in the Spirit to the heights of the
mount of the Lord, where we shall be changed. And
we shall also release many who died in
Christ from their limited, static positions where they rest on the mount
of the Lord.
“As we ascend the
heights of the mount of the Lord, we will find that it is a lonely
walk. To take a step higher
in God may mean forsaking old friends and loved ones. When
Moses made his seventh and last ascent up mount Sinai, the Lord said to
him, ‘And be ready in the
morning, and come up in the morning to mount Sinai,
and present thyself there to me IN
THE TOP OF THE MOUNT. And
no man shall come up with thee…’ (Ex.
34:2-3). Like Moses, some
are invited of the Lord to ascend the mount of His presence and
meet Him there. Half way up
the mount will
not do! Those who shall
partake of His life and the fullness of His kingdom must go all the way
up. The top of the mountain
was Moses’ goal, and it is
ours as well. And it is
impossible for us to take anyone else with us. We
must go alone! Spiritual
progress is not based on fellowship with people, but on fellowship with
God! A few others will also
go alone to meet the Lord in the top of the mount, so that a remnant —
all the remnant — shall ascend the mount to present themselves to Him in
the top of the mount. No one
member of that remnant company shall be missing, for the Lord will lead
them all there by His Spirit” —
end quote.
I am quoting from
a number of different brethren and writers and I do so because they each
have something significant and vital to impart unto the Lord’s elect in
this hour who are following the Lamb to the heights of mount Zion. I
would be remiss if I did not share also this precious word from the pen
of Ray Prinzing. “There has
been a glorious procession making its way to Zion —
we have come with weepings, with deep travail and rendings of heart. We
have passed through the fire and its purifications. We
have gone through the deep, while all its waves and billows went over
our heads. There have been
times, as it were, we inched along on hands and knees, pressing upward
over the rocks, often to fall and be broken — the descriptions and types
abound, personally applied as only the Holy Spirit can inwork His
purposes into us. Mount Zion —
here is a mountain that can be climbed, embraced, and its victory,
authority, and power be possessed! This
is a mountain where we can draw
nigh unto God even
while He draws nigh unto us.”
“They that
trust in the Lord are as mount Zion,
which cannot be removed, but
abideth for ever” (Ps.
125:1). These
words are far too potent and full of meaning to be read over carelessly
or laid aside to be forgotten. These
precious words reveal to us the great truth that Zion represents stability. In
the natural, mountains and hills give us the impression that they cannot
be moved. Nations may
change, governments change, laws change, customs change, people change,
places of position and habitation change, but when one gazes upward
towards the mountains they give the impression of having always been
there and of their being there ever afterwards. Their
stability and immovability formed the basis for Jesus’ teaching about
the omnipotent power of faith — faith that can do the impossible — faith
that moves mountains! Humanly
speaking, mountains just do not move. And
in such stability and steadfastness there is strength. Is
that not the reason that mountains are used in the
scriptures to signify kingdoms, government, governmental authority and
power. Hence the person who
trusts in the Lord is like mount Zion —
he receives a kingdom that cannot be moved and he, like the mount of
God, is immovable, steadfast, and stable. To
reign with Christ in the kingdom one must be stable, otherwise he will
be tossed about by every wind that blows and every wave that
billows. His reign would not be that of an IMMOVABLE KINGDOM!
Multitudes of
believers are not very stable in their spiritual life. One
moment they are so zealous, enthusiastic, confident, and victorious; at
the next moment they are like a disaster area, confused, frustrated,
questioning, discouraged, offended, torn asunder, defeated, inoperative,
and void of power. They have
met the Lord, but have not matured — stability is not in them. And
how is it that mount Zion is
singled out here as the symbol of stability? Jerusalem
is built on a total of seven hills with mount Zion constituting
but one of them. It is
because on Zion is
to be found David’s palace. Zion is
the place where royalty dwells. Zion is
the site where the throne of David is set. Mount Zion thus
symbolizes the kingdom
authority of God! Ah, my
beloved, if you confide yourself unreservedly and wholly to the Lord, to
follow the Lamb whithersoever He leads, to endure
and persevere every step of the way up the ascents of the mount of God,
you shall be infused with a divine stability, a strength which comes
from knowing the Lord in HIS KINGSHIP, as the sole and complete
authority of your life. The
Lord comes and dwells in you in the full measure that Zion represents,
and you become as mount Zion. The
throne of God is established in your mind and heart. The
authority of God is recognized, honored, and expressed in all things. And
whenever the authority of God is established as the law of life in
anyone’s heart, he becomes as stable as the mount of God — nothing
can shake, rattle, discourage, frustrate, upset, confuse, concern, depress,
defeat, or move him! There
descends upon that person a regal air, a special nobility, because the
throne of God is in Zion.
At the dawn of
this new kingdom Day the reign of Christ has now come to Zion,
to confirm and seal His reign in the lives of His elect, preparing them
for power, dominion, authority, and rulership as kings and priests unto
God after the order of Melchizedek, thus setting the stage for the
coming of His kingdom to the other companies of His people and to all
the ends of the earth. In
due time the Lord shall manifest His kingdom in Jerusalem,
to reign in and over all who love Him and love His appearing. What
a day it will be when all the Pentecostal and Charismatic believers in
the whole world are cleansed from all their religious and denominational
idols, from all the error and false doctrines that have clung to them
like a death shroud, from all their carnality and fleshly methods of
meetings, programs, and evangelism, and are filled with the fullness of
the righteousness, peace, and joy of the kingdom, matured in Christ
Jesus, submitted to His Lordship, and put on the wisdom, knowledge,
understanding, love, faith, and glory of the wonderful mind of Christ! Oh,
yes! What a day! And that,
precious friend of mine, will be the next
stage in the progression
and unfolding of the kingdom of God on
earth.
When God’s
spiritual Jerusalem has
been brought fully under the sway of His kingdom dominion, it shall then
be brought to those who make up the “land,” all Christians who
acknowledge Jesus as Saviour. And
finally, the kingdom will come to all the kindreds and nations of the
whole world who now lie completely outside of
the territory of God’s
people. When the reign of
Christ has fully come to those who in this hour have received the call
to sonship, which is mount Zion,
and to all the other truly born-again believers that make up spiritual Jerusalem,
which is the bride of Christ, and to all the so-called Christians of the
world who dwell in some area of God’s land, then He shall simply “speak
peace to the heathen.” When
God speaks, His omnipotent and creative word brings forth that which did
not previously exist. God
proclaims by the power of His word, “Let there be!” and the light of
Christ shines to dispel all the darkness everywhere. God
speaks and the hatred, ignorance, vanity, violence, and sinfulness of
man is forever crushed by the emergence of a new nature of life and
transformation within. By
His breath
the beast in man is slain, even the dragon in the sea, and the former
tyrant masters of the flesh, the world, and the devil are replaced with
HIMSELF. When God speaks He
sends forth His delivering, quickening, regenerating spirit of power,
might, and holiness and changes everything. We
have experienced this on the personal level, but as God’s kingdom comes
to fill all the earth it shall happen on the national, international,
and universal scale. When
God speaks peace to the nations, through His kings and priests upon mount Zion,
all the peoples of the earth — the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Moslems,
the Jews, the Communists, and all others, from the least to the
greatest, shall receive a divine and supernatural revelation of the
Lord, and shall cry out mightily, and bow in humble and worshipful
obedience before God’s Christ. Isn’t it wonderful!
Everything I have just said was prophesied specifically and precisely by
the prophet Micah nearly three thousand years ago! “But
in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain (kingdom) of
the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains (Zion),
and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And
many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His
ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law of the Lord shall go
forth of Zion, and the word
of the Lord from Jerusalem. And
He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war anymore” (Mic.
4:1-3).
The terms Zion and Jerusalem as
well as the mountain of the
Lord and the
house of the God of Jacob speak
prophetically and spiritually of kingship and
priesthood. John
the Revelator beheld the 144,000 sons of God standing on mount Zion having
the Father’s name written in their foreheads. Mount Zion,
the highest hill in Jerusalem,
spiritually represents the highest pinnacle attainable in God’s
kingdom. Such are the ruling
class prefigured by King
David of old who dwelt on the natural mount Zion in
the earthly Jerusalem. From
there he reigned. This
company, standing upon the mount Zion,
following the Lamb of the throne, can represent nothing other than those
who have followed Jesus all the way, who have put on the mind of Christ
and the nature of the Father, and shall now reign with Him on His throne
forevermore. The house of
the Lord, on the other hand, bespeaks the temple on mount Moriah in
Jerusalem with
its order of sacrifices and priesthood. The
two together constitute God’s ROYAL
PRIESTHOOD, or God’s KINGLY PRIESTHOOD, the kings and priests after
the order of Melchizedek. Kingship
and priesthood, embodied together in the ministry of sonship, constitute
the new governmental order for the new age!