Are You a Zionist?

Are you a Zionist? Maybe a disparaged word today is not a politically correct term.

What does the word Zionist mean? You hear it, you have heard it, and what is the etymology of the word Zionist? The etymology. First, I better tell you what etymology is. Those who don't use that word all the time. It is the origin of a word, an historical development of its meaning, the study of the history of words. That's what etymology is. So we're going to talk about the word Zionist today. Because a Zionist is one who believes in the establishment and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine. Let me say that again. A Zionist is one who believes in the establishment and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine. After the destruction of the temple in 6970 AD by the Romans, the Jews were scattered to the four winds. For almost, for the next 1800 years or so, Palestine was more or less in the hands of Arabs. Until it came to about 1897. And this man, Theodore Herzl, he was an Austrian journalist who convened the very first Zionist Congress in Switzerland. As he was working to try to make a place for the Jews to come back to Palestine. This Congress was to form a Jewish state as soon as possible.

By 1901, though, the Ottoman Empire, who ruled the Middle East at the time, refused it since they controlled that territory. But in 1903, the British government stepped up and they offered this place, a place for the Jews to go. 6,000 square miles of uninhabited land in Uganda. Did you know that? All right. But the Zionists held out for Palestine. In the few years that followed, some Russian Jews slipped or left out of Russia and moved to Palestine. So by 1914, about 90,000 Jews lived in Palestine. 13,000 settlers lived in 43 Jewish agricultural settlements set up by, financed by, supported by a multimillionaire by the name of Bauen. Edmund D. Rothschild. You might have heard of the Rothschilds, who were very wealthy at that time in France. And Mr. Rothschild wanted to see it blossom. So he took $50 million over the next decade and put it into Palestine. He set up farming communities there. He financed it. $50 million in the early 1900s would be almost like a half a billion dollars today. He, of course, they're known for their wines. Rothschild. Don't know that I've ever been able to afford a Rothschild wine. Maybe the Demers have, but I don't think that I have ever been able to afford one. I see it mentioned on movies occasionally. But he started vineyards in Israel. And then he started a bottle factory there so they could bottle the wine. He spent a lot of money trying to get a nation established. By 1933, a year before his death, the Jewish population was about 238,000 Jews in Palestine. After World War II, we all know, 1948, Israel was officially granted statehood. It was, at that time, considered a nation. So where did the word Zion come from? The Bible came from the Bible. It's mentioned in the Bible, and the word Zion actually means highest point. Now, we may think about that here because in Jerusalem, Mount Zion was considered the highest point. Now, Olive is higher by a few hundred feet, but it's a good three miles outside of the city of Jerusalem. Now, Mount Zion was 2,510 feet high, and it was the highest place in all of Jerusalem.

Do you know the highest place here in Florida? Britten Hill. Britten Hill, near the Georgia line, is the highest spot in all of Florida. It's 345 feet.

It happens to be the lowest high point in the entire nation. There is not a state that has the highest point as low as Florida. In case you want to know, the highest point here in South Florida, in 3, is called Mount Trashmore.

Mount Trashmore is what it's called. It's over 200 feet high, 20 stories high. If you want to see it, you can come towards my place at Sample Road. Sample and power line is this Mount Trashmore. No real significance there other than you can't miss it. I wanted to relate that to you because I'd like us to go and look at the first time the word Zion is mentioned in Scripture. If you'll go with me to 2 Samuel 5. Let's do verse 4. David was 30 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 40 years. In Hebron, he reigned over Judah, 7 years and 6 months. In Jerusalem, he reigned 33 years over all Israel and Judah. The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites. The inhabitants of the land spoke to David, saying, when he said he was going to come in and conquer, you shall not come in here, but the blind and the lame will repel you. Talk about dissing. Talk about talking trash. You're telling the guy that everybody knew who was now king, who had slain giants that are old and are lame is going to keep you from coming in here. Can you imagine the thought of the soldiers? They had already cleaned up a big part of the area. How you had this little king on this little hill called Zion, who's saying, uh-uh, you're lame. You can't even beat our lame people. They're thinking, David cannot come in here. They actually thought. Verse 7, Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is the city of David. And you can see later that he even said, as he conquered it, yes, we did take it. And it wasn't that much of a problem. So Mount Zion was originally just an ancient Jebusite fortress in the city of Jerusalem. It's interesting that Zion is mentioned over 150 times in the Scriptures. And I find it amazing that 37 of those times happens in the book of Psalms. In the book of Psalms. Let's go over there. Let's go over to Psalm. Psalm 48, if you're turning there with me. Psalm 48. Here it's describing this. Psalm 48 and verse 1, I read from the New King James Version. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. In His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north. The city of the great king, God is in her palaces. He is known as her refuge. So here it says, the joy of the whole world at this time was Mount Zion. Go over with me too. Psalm 132. Psalm 132, verse 13, Song of the Ascent. It says, the Lord has chosen Zion. Pretty big words. This is not something that just David chose, but it says the Lord chose this area. The Lord chose this place. The Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired it for His habitation. This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

I will abundantly bless her provisions. I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shout. She'll shout aloud for joy. There I will make the horn, the government, of David Groh. I will prepare a lamp for my anointed, talking about the Messiah coming from there.

I will prepare a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame. He upon Himself, His crown shall flourish.

This is talking about Zion. It's an important place to God. In fact, we talk about it. It was there when David, because a lot of these songs were written, when David was king or when Solomon was king, whether it was Asaph, or the sons of Korah, whether it was Solomon himself, all the songs, but they were talking about this Zion. But it's interesting, if you go over to Isaiah, jump with me over to Isaiah, if you don't mind.

Isaiah 2. We always read this at the feast, don't we? I always read this at the feast, because it's futuristic, it's prophecy, saying what's going to happen when the kingdom of God is here on earth?

And these beautiful words come from there. Isaiah 2, verse 2, Now it should come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above all the hills. So that's going to tell us the world's going to change, because 2,500 feet is going to be it. That's what it says. I didn't make it up. That's what it says. We sang about this Zion today, haven't we? In two or three songs. What else there he's talking to? He's trying to interrupt me. I think I can talk him down, though. I've heard that voice before. It says, All the nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. It's a time we should really look forward to as we see that it is a place of God.

Is it home of God?

Do we desire it to be our home? Let's go over to one more in Isaiah. Isaiah 59. Isaiah 59. Verse 19. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. The Redeemer. Who is your Redeemer? I hope you know. There's only one Redeemer. It ain't Andy Redeemer. It's Jesus Christ the Redeemer. The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from the transgression in Jacob, says the Lord. I could go on and on, and we could see, all through the Scripture, about Zion.

But now you know where it is. Let me ask a question. Do you? Are you sure you know where it's at? Where it's been, where it is, and where it's going to be? It existed in Jerusalem in David's time. In David's time, it was Zion. After David, it existed in Solomon's time. It was Zion. The city of our God. That is why it was Zion. Because God took residence there. He lived among the people. He had lived in tents, his presence had, for hundreds of years, even had to live in Bethel.

Shiloh! Waiting for this house to be built for him. Mount Zion. We all know the story, the incredible story, of how David came and bought the land. Even the man wanted to give it to him. He wasn't like Dwight was talking about the cover of his people. He said, let me give you this land.

David wouldn't accept it. He had to buy it. He had to buy it. But if God was here, and God lived there, and that was Zion because he was there, when did he leave? Is he still there today? Is he still in Jerusalem? When did he leave? I think we need to go to the Bible, because the Bible tells us exactly when he left. And he left because the people didn't want him. They weren't going to follow him.

They didn't want him. Is that a good warning to us? Where does God reside today? In us? We better beware, because if we don't want him there, he's not going to stay. So go with me, and look at the Scriptures that tell us when God ceased to live in his temple. Go with me to Ezekiel. Go with me to Ezekiel. Ezekiel 10. Here we have a time where Ezekiel is picked up and carried the Spirit to see Jerusalem as he was one of the captives in Babylon.

But he was a street preacher. He was to tell the people what was going on. God was showing him. That's what the whole book of Ezekiel is about. He tells about that time, and then he projects him into the future. But here, he gave him a chance to see, because this temple that we just saw was about to be destroyed, and God was going to allow Babylon to completely wipe out the city of Jerusalem, Israel, as they knew it.

So go with me to Ezekiel 10. Ezekiel 10, verse 1. No, let's go to verse 5. I want to do 1. I need to pick up the pace today. Ezekiel 10, verse 3. Now the caribim were standing standing on the side of the temple when the man went in and the cloud filled the inner court. What was happening here was God, He was showing Ezekiel that the presence of God was there. Even most people couldn't see it, but He was letting Ezekiel see.

He didn't let Ezekiel see, so he could write it down for all of us. Verse 4. Then the glory of the Lord. Do you remember when the glory of the Lord showed up? And went into the temple with Solomon on the feast of what? Trumpets. And it ran all the priests out because this cloud just came in and filled up the entire temple. Fire came down. It was quite a show. Well, here, leaving's not quite the show, but it's still a show.

Let's look at it. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the carib and paused over the threshold of the temple. And the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. And the sound of the wings of the caribbon was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

Wouldn't that have been something to see and to hear? Wouldn't you know what was for Ezekiel? So all of a sudden, it is now above the temple. It paused over the threshold. Was God looking back? As He was about to make His exit. Let's go down to verse 18. Verse 18, Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the caribbon.

So here the cloud, the presence of God, was even over those angels that were over the temple. And they stood there for just a little bit. Dramatic effect for Ezekiel, I'm sure. Almost had his hand shake as he knew what was about to happen. The city, the nation, that God had made His, the presence of God through the 800 years He had been with Him, was now departing.

Verse 19, And the caribbon lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. He left. God was gone. God was gone!

So where is Zion today? We knew where it was. We knew its presence. We knew where it started. Because Zion is more than just a piece of land as we found. Zion is where God is.

And God does not leave us so we do not know where Zion is today.

So let's go to the New Testament as He tells us. Go with me to Hebrews.

An incredible story in Hebrews. It's incredible getting the teaching as with, if Paul was the author here, whatever it was they were trying to teach, they were trying to teach the Hebrews. As you can read all through the book of Hebrews, he's having to tell them for one thing that Jesus is the Messiah.

And they better get used to it. Because that's the way it's always going to be. And it isn't just about Moses.

Abraham! No. The New is about the Messiah, our Savior. So let's go there as He's teaching this in Hebrews 12, verse 18. For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire into the blackness and darkness and tempest. Verse 19, for 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.

Remember that? Remember when God said, Come on! I'm going to talk to you! They were scared to death. They said, No, no, no, Moses. You go up. You come and talk. We need a mediator. Verse 20, for they could not endure what was commanded. For it said, If so much as a beast touches a mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.

Even Moses was so intimidated because he was in the presence of God. Ever feel that way when you bow your knees? Maybe we should. But it says, But you, talking to the church, but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, a heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels. We see in Revelation 10,000 times, 10,000, and thousands of thousands. We're talking millions of angels, our surrounding God. And we've asked their presence here today. We have come to Mount Zion, they said, when we ask God's presence, when we bow our knees before God, when we talk to God, even when we're having to drive, and we need to pray.

These prayers are taken up to Mount Zion. To the General Assembly, our festival gathering, as my notes say, and the church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven. To God and the judge of all, to the spirits and of just men made perfect. We are registered in heaven! Shouldn't we recognize that? It's called the Book of Life.

And we come and they know who we are. How incredible is that? We don't just pray. We pray to Mount Zion, which is in heaven. Because that is where God is located today. Powerful Scripture. But Zion will come again to earth. Don't we see that all through Scripture? Because God comes to earth to set up His kingdom, and He will again dwell. Where? In Mount Zion. He will dwell on that 2,510-foot mountain. We'll read about it. Jeremiah tells us the future. And I'd like you to go to Jeremiah 31, if you will.

Jeremiah 31. Inspiring set of verses. Jeremiah 31. Verses 1-14. Talking about a future time. So let us read this and realize that this is coming. This is not talking about something that's already been. Jeremiah 31, verse 1.

At the same time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus says the Lord, the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness. Israel, when I went to give Him rest, the Lord has appeared of old to me, or from afar, as my reference says.

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness I have drawn you. Again, I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel. You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and you shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoiced. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria.

The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food, 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 of our God. It's coming. It's not there. It didn't happen when the children of Israel returned from captivity, from Babylon.

It didn't happen in 1948 when they set up. It didn't happen in the last. It's yet to be. Verse 7, For thus says the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations, Proclaim, give praise, and say, O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth. This hadn't happened yet. Among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and the one who labors with child, together, a great thong throng will return, and they shall come with weeping, and with supplication I will lead them.

I will cause them to walk by the rivers of water, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off. Do people on the islands hear that? It's going to happen. He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than him. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord, for the wheat, and the new wine, and the oil, for the young of the flock, and the herd, their souls shall be a well-watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

That has not happened. It's a time and a future. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together. Sounds like Isaiah, doesn't he? About what it's going to be like in that kingdom. For I will turn their morning to joy, I will comfort them, and make them rejoice, rather than sorrow.

I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says the Lord. Incredible time up ahead. Incredible time for all of us. The prophets had to remind us. The prophets had to tell us. Because we need to have that zeal, right?

We need to have a zeal for Zion, because it's not here yet. So if you first the kingdom of God, we need that kingdom. This world needs that kingdom. This world needs Mount Zion. This world needs God. This country needs God. This state needs God. Your street needs God. We are the ones to pray for it, to look. What did Zachariah say? After 1 verse 14, I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with what? Great zeal. What is he telling? Zion is back. We want it back. And when it's here, we're going to be able to rejoice.

He proclaims, My cities shall again spread out through prosperity. The Lord will again comfort Zion and will again choose Jerusalem. This is a wonderful time. I know we sometimes think about this at the Feast of Tabernacles as we go into the fall. And we look forward to Christ coming, and it pictures that. And what a wonderful opportunity that we have every year to have that vision, get that small glimpse of Zion, the city of our Lord.

Zion is the future home of Christ. Charles Dickens wrote a book in 1859, a series of stories that became a book, called The Tale of Two Cities. Anybody ever read that? That was required reading for me. I didn't like it until I had to read it. Then I began to enjoy the Old English writing. As he talked about two cities, an incredible story between Paris and London at the time.

Well, today my sermon has been about the tale of three cities. The tale of three cities is Zion. The one that it was, the one that was, the one that is, and the one that will be. That is Zion. I gave this sermon because I looked at some old notes that I had. Someone had asked me the question that's been many years ago, those notes when I was going through something. Someone asked me, I don't understand this Zion. Is it here now? That was a question. I never got around to it as an old note. I don't know if you've ever had any questions about Mount Zion. But I thought it was good for me to go back and research and look at this history. Because not only was it an incredible journey learning about the word, learning about the city, learning how it got here, but how inspiring it was to see that it's our future. That everything we desire, everything we need, everything this world needs will come from Mount Zion. And it is the place of our God. Zion is the future home of Christ. It's not there yet. It's not in Jerusalem. Of course, we have two separate peoples now claiming it is their home of their God. The Jewish people and the Islamic people.

And there's this incredible mosque sitting there. And on that land, they both claim that it is holy ground. Well, guess what, brother? It ain't holy. It ain't holy till God says it's holy. And then it will be holy. And it is something we. Hopefully, hopefully it's something that we long for. But, brethren, a piece of Zion needs to be here. A piece of Zion needs to be in our hearts. We need to be longing for that city on a hill.

We need to be longing for the time when all will be made right. And it will be made right when Zion is here, our future home. So, brethren, you must ask yourself the question and hopefully you can answer it in the affirmative. Are you a Zionist?