When the Lord Shall Build up Zion

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Conclusion

Personal Notes

Scripture quotations are from KING JAMES VERSION

The name of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua (in Hebrew) is also used in this book.

This book is dedicated to those who are burdened for the Church to reach her full potential in Christ. Take heart and work, for the glory of the Lord shall be revealed in the midst of His people, in these last days, such as the world has never seen before.

Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Isaiah 54: 2-3

Preface

Zion was originally the name of the fortress that King David captured from the Jebusites when he moved from Hebron to Jerusalem to be king over all Israel. David dwelt in the fort and built around it and called it the city of David (2 Samuel 5: 7). The name Zion later was also used to call the following:

1. The hill on which the city of David stood (Mount Zion).

2. The temple and the temple area.

Psalms 48: 1-2:

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 side of the north, the city of the great King.

Psalms 132: 13-14:

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.

God’s presence dwelt in the midst of His people on the mercy seat between two cherubim in the Holy of Holies in the temple.

3. The city of Jerusalem and the land of Judah (Isaiah 40: 9).

4. The people of Israel as a whole (Zechariah 9: 13); (Isaiah 60: 14).

5. The heavenly Jerusalem; (Hebrews 12: 22; and Revelation 14: 1)

In this book we are looking at Zion as God’s temple (His dwelling place), also known by the following names:

‒ God’s spiritual house;

‒ The body of Christ;

‒ The bride of Christ;

‒ The church of Jesus Christ.

Zion means outstanding. Therefore, God’s people are to stand out for the whole world to see. The Lord Jesus teaches us that we are the light of the world. Just as a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify God (Matthew 5: 14-16).

The Church is a spiritual house being built for a dwelling place for God, of live stones purchased by the blood of Jesus (I Peter 2: 5).

It is important to understand that God blesses and crowns with glory only that which is done according to His word. If we are not submitted to God, whatever we build will be in vain, for without the Holy Ghost, there is no church.

EXCEPT the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. (Psalms 127: 1)

We mustn’t take comfort in mercy drops, but fervently seek the Lord for showers of blessings. It is evident that much of the Church today is lacking in almost every way, compared to the early church. About 120 of them, filled and baptised in the Holy Ghost, had so much impact! In Acts chapter 17, it is recorded that they had turned the world upside down. Today millions are claiming to be filled and baptised in the Holy Ghost, but hardly have any impact. Instead, it is the world that has turned much of the Church upside down! Is this not a cause for us to cry to God that we may reach our full potential in Christ? Ought we not to take drastic steps to amend the ways of our doings that the Lord may heal us and restore His glory in our midst? It all begins with repentance and submission to God.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4: 7-10)

It takes humility and prayer with much weeping, mourning and fasting to turn back to the way that the Lord has ordained us to walk. Therefore, let us consider our ways and repent where we have not been following the heavenly pattern for the Church.

Chapter 1

When the Lord shall build up Zion

When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. (Psalms 102: 16)

We give God thanks because it is when, not if, the Lord shall build Zion. This means it is only a matter of time. The Lord is building Zion, and soon the world will see His glory and know that He is in the midst of His people—for He is raising for Himself a people, in these last days, that will yield to His Spirit to build them into His house. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former.

The sanctuaries in the Old Testament—the tabernacle of Moses, Solomon’s temple and the second temple—were all built strictly according to the patterns which God revealed to His servants. Going back to the building of these three sanctuaries will give us insight into how God is building the Church. From the patterns, the specifications of materials used and the builders of the Old Testament sanctuaries, we learn what is required for the building of the Church. God met part of the requirements for building the sanctuaries Himself.

‒ He gave the pattern for the building of the sanctuaries.

‒ He gave the specification of all the materials used in the construction of the sanctuaries.

‒ He gave them builders whom He filled with wisdom, understanding and knowledge (Exodus 35: 30-35, II Chronicles 2: 13-14, Ezra 6: 14).

The children of Israel, on their part, brought all the materials required for the building of the sanctuaries.

THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES

The tabernacle that God commanded Moses to build in the wilderness was for His dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel. God’s presence was enthroned between two cherubim on the mercy seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies.

Materials

The materials used for building the tabernacle were brought by the children of Israel as offerings for the work. At the command of the Lord, Moses told the people to willingly bring the offerings; and they came, both men and women, whose hearts were stirred up to be willing to give for the work of the sanctuary.

The men

Men that had fine linen cloth coloured blue, purple or scarlet; goats’ hair; red skins of ram; badgers’ skin; shittim wood; gold, silver and brass—brought them over for the work of the sanctuary.

The women

Women that were wise and skilled spun with their hands fine linen coloured blue, purple or scarlet and they also brought goats’ hair and jewellery.

The rulers

The rulers were the elders of the tribes of Israel. They brought onyx stones, stones to set for the ephod and the breast plate, spices, oil for lighting, oil for anointing and sweet incense (Exodus 35: 22-27). Every one of them willingly brought such as they had, and such as they could make for the work of the sanctuary.

The pattern of the sanctuary

The Lord gave the pattern of the sanctuary and a description of all of its furnishings and the priests’ clothing, including what they should be made of to Moses when he was with Him on the Mount. God instructed him to make the tabernacle, its furnishings, and the priest’s clothing all strictly according to the pattern shown him on the Mount (Exodus 25: 40, 26: 30, and 27: 8; Hebrews 8: 5).

The builder

The Lord called Bez-a-leel, the son of Uri, son of Hur of the tribe of Judah, to build the sanctuary. God filled him with His Spirit, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. He did the work together with A-ho-li-ab, the son of A-his-a-mach of the tribe of Dan. The whole work of the sanctuary was done under the inspiration of the Spirit of God (Exodus 35: 30-35).

When the work was finished and Moses reared up the tabernacle, he said to the people at the time of the dedication:

. . . This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear unto you. (Leviticus 9: 6)

After the dedication of the tabernacle, Moses and Aaron went into the sanctuary and then came out and blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them all. A cloud covered the tent of the congregation and filled it, and Moses could not enter because of the glory. The Lord approved of this sanctuary by appearing in His glory.

SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

It was in King David’s heart to build a temple for the Ark of the Testimony in Jerusalem, but God did not allow him because he had shed much blood before Him in the many battles he fought with the enemies of Israel. The Lord, instead, ordained David’s son Solomon to build the temple.

Materials

King David prepared and gave for the building of the temple; three thousand talents of gold, seven thousand talents of refined silver, as well as brass, iron, wood, onyx stones, glistering stones, marble stones and an abundance of precious stones of diverse colours.

The elders of Israel and the princes

The king appealed to the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds and those that were overseers over the king’s work, and they all gave willingly.

The children of Israel

The children of Israel provided such materials as they could.

The king of Tyre

Hiram, king of Tyre, sent wood and hewn stones for the work of the temple (I Chronicles 29 and II Chronicles 2).

The pattern of the temple

Solomon built the temple according to the pattern that was revealed to King David, his father, by the hand of God upon him (I Chronicles 28: 11-13 and 19). David gave Solomon the pattern of the temple, the treasuries and the clothing for the service of the priests and the Levites.

The builder

The Lord gave Solomon a man called Hiram through Hiram, king of Tyre. He was the son of an Israeli woman, but his father was from Tyre. He was filled with wisdom and understanding and was made capable of all types of work with brass. He came to King Solomon and wrought all his work (I Kings 7: 13-14).

When the work of building the temple was finished and Solomon performed the dedication, the glory of the Lord filled the house and the priests could not stand to minister (II Chronicles 5: 14). This temple was thus approved by the Lord.

THE SECOND TEMPLE

(Ezra 6: 14)

The second temple was built in the place of the temple of Solomon that was destroyed by the Babylonians. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and charged him to build His house in Jerusalem. At Cyrus’ command and decree, the children of Israel went back from their captivity to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord (Ezra chapter 1). The elders of Israel finished building the temple in the sixth year of the reign of Darius.

Materials

The Lord moved the hearts of the kings of Assyria to give for the building of the temple.

Cyrus

King Cyrus provided for the building of the sanctuary out of the king’s house. He also restored the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had removed when he destroyed the first temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 6: 3-5).

Darius

King Darius decreed that provision was to be made for the building of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem from the king’s goods (Ezra 6: 8-12).

The children of Israel

The children of captivity that returned to Jerusalem went up the mountains, brought wood, and built the house of God (Haggai 1: 8). Those that did not return to Jerusalem gave what they could for the building of the temple at the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1: 14).

The pattern of the temple

The temple was built and furnished according to the commandment of God through His prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and according to the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia (Ezra 6: 14).

The builders

The elders of Israel built the temple according to the commandment of God, as was prophesied by Haggai and Zachariah (Ezra 6: 14). The Lord guided them also through the commandments of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, whose hearts He had turned to strengthen the hands of the children of Israel in the work of the temple.

The same principles used for building the sanctuaries in the Old Testament apply to the building of the Church. She too must be built strictly according to the pattern in the word of God. The Lord has given the pattern, specified the materials, and given us the Holy Ghost to build the Church. We, on our part, are to willingly bring the offerings required to supply the materials for this building.

We have to realise that the glory of the Lord should be seen in His house at all stages of its growth. If the glory of God is absent from any assembly, it means something is wrong. Pray the Lord haste the day when we shall be built to completion, that His glory may cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Amen.

Chapter 2

Materials for building Zion

Zion, in this context the Church, is being built of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb continue on a journey to be totally restored from the consequences of sin. Peter described those that come to the Lord as living stones for the building of God’s habitation.

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (I Peter 2: 5)

We, who were dead in our transgressions, have been quickened and are now like living stones being built into this spiritual house. Each of the stones used in the building of the Church are costly and precious because they have been purchased by the blood of Jesus (Yeshua). Right from the foundation of the world, God had planned to save mankind. This we know because the Bible teaches that the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world. Throughout the Old Testament God worked through His servants to bring about the fulfilment of the salvation of mankind through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Materially, Zion (the Church) and the sanctuaries built in the Old Testament differ in mainly two ways.

1. The Church is being built of living materials (believers in Christ), while the sanctuaries in the Old Testament were built of non-living materials: stones, wood, skins, fabric, gold, silver, bronze, iron and precious stones.

2. The sanctuaries in the Old Testament were literal, while the Church is a spiritual building.

Just as the children of Israel willingly brought offerings for building the sanctuaries in the Old Testament, the living stones are to offer willingly a spiritual sacrifice for building the Church. This they do by subduing their souls to conform to the will of God.

From this we understand that the Holy Spirit is building Zion (the Church), but we, on our part, are to do all that is required to mould us into suitable materials for this house. The working of the salvation of our souls sums up the sacrifice required of us for building the Church. We see clearly how we are being restored to the perfect man God wants us to be, in the three aspects of our salvation.

THE ASPECTS OF OUR SALVATION

In order to understand the sacrifice required of us for the building of God’s habitation, we have to understand the aspects of our salvation. It has past, present and future aspects. Man is a spirit made in the image of God and he lives in a body. The soul is the result of the spirit of man coming into the body.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground [the body], and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life [put the spirit of man into the body]; and man became a living soul [the soul part of man]. (Genesis 2: 7)

Adam and Eve were made perfect and enjoyed sweet fellowship with the Lord in the Garden of Eden. They were made to live forever, but lost the gift of immortality due to the fall. They also lost fellowship with God and were driven out of the Garden of Eden to keep them away from the tree of life that they eat not of it and remain forever in their fallen state. From then onwards man needs to be redeemed, spirit, soul and body from death that resulted from this fall. The redemption came through the sacrifice of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ on the cross on Golgotha.

The Spirit

The spirit of man was made perfect in the image of God. It is this part of man that is aware of God and communicates with Him. Will to do right is present in everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus because the conscience in the spirit is subject to the scripture. The spirit is energized by the knowledge of God and His presence. The more we are filled with the word, the stronger our spirits are. It is from this part of our being that God receives our worship, for God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4: 24).

At the fall, the spirit part of man became inactive or dead. Only a little bit of awareness of God remained in the conscience because it is subject to the scripture. That’s why even the unbelieving know right from wrong even if they have no Bible, except, of course, if their consciences are seared. When we get born again, the spirit gets reborn or restored to the perfect state in which it was made, after which, we are able communicate with God and worship Him.

The soul

This is the part of man where the thoughts, the emotions and the will are. It is in here that we think, feel emotions and decide. The soul part of man lives on knowledge; hence it is never idle, but constantly gathers knowledge by whatever means it can. It is therefore, not good for us to leave our souls without the knowledge of God. In Proverbs 19: 2, we read:

Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good . . .

It is of uttermost importance that we feed on the word of God, for when we are full of the word and the Spirit, we are able to overcome the soul’s desire for worldly knowledge. A soul that is full of the word and the Spirit of God is in harmony with the will of God.

The perfection that was in the soul in the beginning was corrupted at the fall, setting it against the will of God. There is, therefore, need to restore it to the state it was in before it was corrupted. The corruptions from which the soul is to be healed are self-centredness, self-consciousness, independence and the law of sin and death.

Self-centredness

As a result of the fall, it was embedded in man to always look first to his well-being before those of others. This is what we have to work to change in our lives because our Lord requires that we look to the well-being of others rather than our own.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Philippians 2: 4)

God made Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden to tend it. He was given the earth and dominion over everything in it (Genesis 1: 28).

The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. (Psalms 115: 16)

Because Adam became self-centred as a result of the fall, he abandoned his domain. If you abandon your property and there be a thief about, he can steal it. The devil became the prince of this world not because it was given him, but stole it from Adam. It was selfish of Adam and Eve to look only to their own condition when the whole of creation was subjected to vanity because of the fall and is even now awaiting the liberation of the sons of God (Romans 8: 19-21).

Self-consciousness

The soul became conscious of the self at the fall. That was why Adam and Eve became aware that they were naked. Initially God made man to be naked before Him without being conscious of it. That is why He did not clothe Adam and Eve in the first place. We see a little bit of the freedom Adam and Eve had before God prior to the fall in the way little kids are before their parents.

Need for clothing arose because of the corruption of the soul. Since then man needs a covering for his nakedness because of the lusts of the flesh. Covering is needed for man not only in the natural, but also the spiritual because all temptations are due to the lusts of the flesh.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (James 1: 13-15)

Clearly, we are tempted when we are drawn by the lusts of our own flesh.

Independence

Before the fall, Adam and Eve were dependent on God for everything. We see the first attempt of man to solve his own problem in the efforts of Adam and Eve in trying to cover their nakedness with aprons that they made of fig leaves. The problem was, the fig leaves could not cover them and therefore, they hid from the presence of God.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3: 7-10)

Adam and Eve could not, by themselves, cover their nakedness because sin was the cause. Hebrews 9: 22 teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. To cover their nakedness, God had to shed blood of animals to atone for their sins so that they could be