DOMINION FROM JERUSALEM

Daniel wrote: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, were given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:27). All nations shall serve and obey the Most High for He will be physically manifested in His human vessel, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Global Potentate of His promised earthly kingdom.

The dominion of Christ in the kingdom will be twofold: political and religious. This is discernible from the testimony of the prophet Zechariah: “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth [political dominion]: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one... And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the king [religious dominion], the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah 14:9,16).

As the Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of Heaven, the Lord will wield political power over all nations of the earth. And as the High Priest of the Royal Priesthood, He will be pre-eminent in the religious affairs of the kingdom.  This will be the ultimate realization of what has been called “Church and State.” And as I bore out in Kings and Priests, the mandate of the Royal Priesthood that He oversees will far transcend the sphere of human activity that is commonly associated with religion, reaching into every field of human endeavour. I said more about this in The Next Wave, Dream Jobs and The Zion Mission, and added another dimension to it in When Secret Societies Testify.  

This great agenda of the Almighty to rule and heal the world from Jerusalem is the reason why the city is the most contested and most sought after piece of real estate on earth today. The adversary is aware of this great purpose and is doing everything possible to frustrate it. So critical is the city that its name has almost become synonymous with the world’s quest for peace. Indeed, Salem, from which the city derives its name, is a form of the Hebrew word for peace (see Hebrews 7:2). As the Most High has promised, “In this place [the millennial Temple in Jerusalem] will I give peace” (Haggai 2:9).

In Sharpening Shadows, I identified the millennial Temple with the corporate body of the Royal Priesthood that will oversee and dominate the affairs of the kingdom. I, however, qualified that view of it as the “true” Temple. In other words, while the Lord and His saints constitute the fleshy Tabernacle made “without hands” in which the Spirit of God dwells and expresses Itself, there will also be a literal Temple in Jerusalem that will be the focus of His literal worship, the worship of God in Christ by all nations. This Temple will be the source, or divergent point, of the God-given peace that will flow through the instrumentality of the Royal Priesthood – also known as the Zion missionaries – to the “uttermost part of the earth.”

Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has the heart of man conceived the beauty and splendour that will characterise the millennial Temple! Solomon’s original creation typed it. Herod’s rebuilt version aspired to it. But the real thing would have to be seen! Since Christ is the true Ark of God’s Covenant with man, He will be the occupier of the “Holy of Holies,” the Throne and Power Room of the Temple. It is written: “Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zechariah 6:12-13).

When we consider that the Temple will be a place of religious rites, a Basilica of worship and adoration, we realise that it will be only so big. It is the courts that will constitute the larger part of the hallowed grounds, just as it was with Solomon’s Temple – and with a couple of excellent present day types! It is in these courts that most of the pilgrims that go up annually to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles will gather to worship – or better put, to pay homage to – the King.

Furthermore, just as King Solomon, the great type of the coming King, had his famed personal house in "the forest of Lebanon” (read about it I Kings 7), so would Christ the Global Potentate of the coming kingdom also have a worthy palace. Despite the stupendous beauty of Solomon’s Temple, which took seven years for the most skillful hands available to finish, we are told that his home palace was in building thirteen years. And it was only a shadow of great things to come! So, if you ever thought that Bill Gates’ “Ode to Monstrosity” in Seattle is something to talk about, or that Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles would have been a magnificent sight to behold, or that Randolph Hearst was ambitious with his San Simeon “Pleasure Dome” – you would have to see the Mount Zion abode of the King of kings, the One who is greater than Solomon – yes, than Bill Gates! Needless to say that a similar awesomeness would pervade the entire city of Jerusalem in that day.

Talking abut the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem by the mortal subjects of the kingdom, you would agree that only so many people would be able to converge on the city at any one time. It is therefore not a suggestion of the emptying of the outer world into the city year after year, but only a representative delegation from each nation of the kingdom will go in a particular year. It is, however, my opinion that it would be required of every faithful subject to make the pilgrimage to pay homage to the King, at least once in a lifetime. Sounds familiar?

All these contemporary types, shadows and witnesses are a testimony to how all the human aspirations of the ages will find their divine fulfilment in the millennial reign of Christ, “the desire of all nations,” even though many would not subscribe to the idea now. The Feast of Tabernacles that the annual pilgrimage is associated with was, under the Mosaic Covenant, in commemoration of how God transformed the children of Israel from the lowliness of their Exodus from Egyptian bondage to the bounties of “milk and honey” in the Promised Land of Canaan. Its application to the kingdom is therefore obvious and will be relevant to not only the saints but the whole world that will be delivered from the “bondage of corruption” (see Romans 8:19:21).

I am also of the opinion that there will be a more fundamental distinction between Mount Zion and Jerusalem in the kingdom. Jerusalem as a whole will be the capital of Israel, a peculiar nation among the 6,000 language nations admitted into the kingdom. While Mount Zion will be a “sovereign territory” within Jerusalem – to adopt an expression used for a remarkable contemporary type – that more precisely oversees the entire kingdom, “the commonwealth of Israel.” Mount Zion will be the control centre of the Zion Mission that takes the global restoration programme of the King to the ends of the earth. Yes, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of the Lord, 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 (Psalm 48:1,2).

The earnest expectation of all this is the reason why the disciples asked the Lord just before His Ascension: “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6.) As the Lord implicitly affirmed in His reply, that time will definitely come. It might indeed be nearer than we think. So keep the faith, and remain posted.

The Lord bless you always.

In the King’s Service,     

David Olagoke Olawoyin.

NB: My coming book THE COMING GLORY presents a more detailed and chronological examination of this awesome kingdom agenda of the Almighty that we have been peeping into on this site. The manuscript has been completed and a publisher or sponsor is being sort for. Join me in prayer for this purpose.