Zion: the God-Inhabited City
Updated: Mar 4, 2020
The Lord was trying to help me understand how miracles come about. He said to me, “The power isn’t coming from the manifestations but from a Person. The presence is indicative that a Person is there.” Signs and wonders is the result of a person being present. It was from that thought that He led me to read about the city of God.
In the Old Testament, they would say, Jehovah-Shammah, which means the Lord is There.
""All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE."" - Ezekiel 48:35 NKJV
In Genesis, there were a group of people who tried to build a city for themselves; a tower that would reach the heavens—but without God.
"And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."" - Genesis 11:4 NKJV
They didn’t know that unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build. Unless the Lord watches the city they labor in vain who watch it (Psalm 127:1).
He will Show Himself To Be Present Throughout the City
Jeremiah was taken up by the Spirit of God and He saw a river flowing out of the temple. The Lord showed him how the land, the inheritance would be divided among the tribes. Then He ends the conversation with Jeremiah by telling him that the ark of the covenant would not be rebuilt or remembered by the people when they entered into their inheritance. Instead of the ark, God would show Himself to be present.
“And it shall be that when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the Lord, they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of the Lord. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they [seriously] remember it, nor shall they miss or visit it, nor shall it be repaired or made again [for instead of the ark, which represented God’s presence, He will show Himself to be present throughout the city].” Jeremiah 3:16 AMP
What city was the Lord referring to? 650 years later, Jesus comes on the scene and says you are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14).
""You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14 NKJV
Therefore, my understanding is that I don’t need to pray for God to come here because He is here. How do I know? Because I’m here.
I don’t worship for the presence to come, I worship because He is worthy and I love Him.
God is here because I’m here—Zion, the God-inhabited city.
There are so many bible verses and promises about Zion:
Psalm 132:13-16
"For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:" - Psalm 132:13 NKJV
""This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it." - Psalm 132:14 NKJV
"I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread." - Psalm 132:15 NKJV
"I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy." - Psalm 132:16 NKJV
Isaiah 12:6
"Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"" - Isaiah 12:6 NKJV
Psalm 102:13-16
"You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come. For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, And show favor to her dust. So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth Your glory. For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory." - Psalm 102:13-16 NKJV
Psalm 84:5-7 MSG
“And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!” Psalm 84:5-7 MSG
Abraham searched for the city which has foundations…
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." - Hebrews 11:8 NKJV
"By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;" - Hebrews 11:9 NKJV
"for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." - Hebrews 11:10 NKJV
No looking back
I’m not trying to go back to what Abraham had. Abraham was in search of a city. I’m going to maturity which is perfection.
Abraham searched for a city, now I am a city.
"And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return." - Hebrews 11:15 NKJV
Behold I lay a stone in Zion, a Chief Cornerstone
"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious," - 1 Peter 2:4 NKJV
"you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter 2:5 NKJV
"Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."" - 1 Peter 2:6 NKJV
We have come to Mt. Zion
"For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest," - Hebrews 12:18 NKJV
"and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore." - Hebrews 12:19 NKJV
"(For they could not endure what was commanded: "And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow."" - Hebrews 12:20 NKJV
"And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.")" - Hebrews 12:21 NKJV
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels," - Hebrews 12:22 NKJV
"to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect," - Hebrews 12:23 NKJV
"to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel." - Hebrews 12:24 NKJV
Ephesians 2:19-22 Dwelling place of God
"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God," - Ephesians 2:19 NKJV
"having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone," - Ephesians 2:20 NKJV
"in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord," - Ephesians 2:21 NKJV
"in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." - Ephesians 2:22 NKJV
We’re not going to a city. We are the city. Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, the apostles and prophets the foundation and we the spiritual building (Ephesians 2).
Let me show you the Lamb’s wife: it’s a city! Revelation 21.
In Closing,
The Lamb’s wife is a city...Revelation 21:9-27
"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." - Revelation 21:9-27 NKJV
More verses on Zion:
"Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people." - Psalm 9:11 NKJV
"The LORD is great in Zion, And He is high above all the peoples." - Psalm 99:2 NKJV
"A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever." - Psalm 125:1-2 NKJV
"It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing--Life forevermore." - Psalm 133:3 NKJV
"And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, "We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; Only let us be called by your name, To take away our reproach." ... When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering." - Isaiah 4:1, 4-5 NKJV
"Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion." - Isaiah 8:18 NKJV
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily." - Isaiah 28:16 NKJV
"How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" - Isaiah 52:7 NKJV
"Also the sons of those who afflicted you Shall come bowing to you, And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; And they shall call you The City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 60:14 NKJV
"Listen! The voice, The cry of the daughter of my people From a far country: "Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?" "Why have they provoked Me to anger With their carved images--With foreign idols?"" - Jeremiah 8:19 NKJV
"For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.' "" - Jeremiah 31:6 NKJV
""So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again."" - Joel 3:17 NKJV
"For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the LORD dwells in Zion."" - Joel 3:21 NKJV
"But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved." - Psalm 78:68 NKJV
"The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob." - Psalm 87:2 NKJV
"And of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her."" - Psalm 87:5 NKJV