The Journey to Zion

Well, I have about three sermons here that I've rolled into one, so just hang on.

We're titling this, The Journey to Zion, or The Journey to Victory. The 50-day period between the offering of the wave-sheaf offering and the Day of Pentecost is one of the most interesting times recorded in the Bible, and we have entered that period of time between the days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. The 50 days are counted inclusively. Remember, back in the 60s, I remember attending Pentecost on a Monday. Because we didn't do inclusive reckoning, we did exclusive. We didn't count the Sunday, which started with Monday. The 50 days are counted inclusively after the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread. So yesterday, the people of God began another 50-day journey to Pentecost in 2024. How will you do on the 50-day journey? And what will you have to deal with during that time? What should the Feast of Unleavened Bread prepare you to do? The Feast of Unleavened Bread should have prepared you to gain the total victory, the total victory in the days that lie ahead. Historically, this period of time has been a time of contrast, in which some gained the victory and some stumbled and failed. So let's notice, first of all, in Exodus 14, and we'll start in verse 4. Exodus 14, Israel, through God's grace and mercy, gained the victory over the forces of Egypt, as we will read here in Exodus 14, and we'll highlight a few verses here of what they did. So in Exodus 14, verse 1. And the Lord spoken to Moses, saying, speaking to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pahoroth, between Migdol and the sea over against Beelzebun, before it shall you encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say to the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land, the wilderness has shut them in, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them, and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord that does this. Time after time, we'll read in the scriptures that God does what he does, so people will come to understand that he is the Lord, he is the eternal, he is the one who is in control. And we can rest assured that today that God is in control of everything that is going on in this world. He is in control. He knows about it. He's aware of you. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground, unless he's aware of it, and the hairs on your head are numbered. So God is aware of you here today. So now let's pick it up in verse 10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid. And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord, and they said unto Moses, Because there was no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore have you dealt this way with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

It is not this, the word that we did tell you in Egypt, saying, let us alone. Oh, they were in slavery, and they want to be left alone. I don't think so. That we may serve the Egyptians, for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation, or the deliverance, of the Lord, which he will show you today, for the Egyptians, whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more, forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. Now in verse 19, And the angel of the Lord, which went before the camp of Israel, that angel of the Lord that went before the camp of Israel, it was the angel of God's presence that led them into the promised land, the one who became Jesus Christ, and the angel of the Lord, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to those so that no one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And then we see in verses 13-31 that God delivered Israel. Thus the Lord saved Israel, that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore, and Israel saw the great work that the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. So one of the greatest miracles ever performed was parting of the Red Sea, and what a testimony it is referred to several times throughout the Old Testament.

Now what are they to do? Just as God has, as we shall see, you have made that final journey. You have journeyed from sin and death into the promises of God, the promises that you will inherit the kingdom, and you are on a march to Zion, the beautiful city of God. Verse 1 of chapter 15 verse 1, then saying, Moses and the children of Israel, this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, he is triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider, hath he thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and song, he has become my salvation, he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation. See, that period of time between the last day of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, see at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down, and according to Jewish legend, Jewish history, that Israel crossed the Red Sea on the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And according to Jewish history, they received the Ten Commandments on Pentecost.

Then, of course, the day of Pentecost came in 31 A.D., and they received the Holy Spirit.

Pharaoh's cherish and his host, he is cast in the sea, his chosen captains also are drowned in the sea. So one of their missions was to build God a dwelling place, a habitation.

So they built a tabernacle and erected it, and God filled it with glory.

The tabernacle spoken of in Exodus 25 in verse 8 will quickly highlight that.

Let us build a sanctuary. They took up an offering, Exodus 25.8, and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.

And then, in chapter 40, the last chapter of Exodus, we see that they were able in a year, and it's amazing with regard to all the detail that was involved in the tabernacle, that they were able to build that in one year. So in Exodus 40 in verse 17, it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month that the tabernacle was raised up. So after one year, then we go to verse 34.

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory, the glory of God has to do with his presence. Of course, God's glory, his presence, his Holy Spirit is in us, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abode thereupon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

And so the cloud, when the cloud was taken up, they went forward on the journey, but if the cloud was not taken up, they didn't journey forward. And then verse 38, for the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

So God delivered them. They built a tabernacle for God to dwell in. That was their final demarcation. From that point on, they were to trust God to have faith in God because he had performed such mighty miracles, and they had built a place for him to dwell in. They had raised it up. The glory of God, his presence, filled it, and they were on their way. Of course, they murmured along the way. But let's notice further now in the New Testament this event, Paul's account of it in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 1, see that final demarcation between sin and death and Egypt, that was their baptism.

We have been baptized in water and crucified. It symbolizes crucifying the old man. We have people and even ministers that seem to indicate that in baptism you receive the Holy Spirit. You do not receive the Holy Spirit at baptism. If you'll recall in Acts 8, Philip, a deacon, after the sieving was stoned, they fled up north into Antioch, and Philip preached the gospel. Many were converted, and he baptized them.

But he did not lay hands on them. He sent down to Jerusalem for the apostles to come up and lay hands on them, so for them to receive the Holy Spirit. So baptism symbolizes death to the old man. You're raised to newness of life, and you are prepared because at that point you are viewed as sinless because you have been baptized. You've exercised faith in the sacrifice of Christ, but now you receive the laying on of hands and receive the Holy Spirit. So we have 1 Corinthians 10, verse 1, I hope, More, brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant that all our fathers under the cloud had all passed through the sea.

They were under the cloud, passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. Verse 2 again, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, in the sea.

So that was their baptism. The whole nation baptized when they crossed the Red Sea, making that final demarcation. We do the same thing. We are buried in the watery grave, and we're raised to newness of life, and from that point on we say that we are going to serve God in the Spirit and in our full diligence, surrender, submit, and serve Him.

And according to Joshua 5 and 6, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and a great miracle was performed when Israel passed over the Jordan. See, Israel came up through the wilderness, down through Petrin, up to the Jordan River, and I've been there at Allen Beach Bridge, where reportedly they crossed the river.

It looks about like Big Sandy Creek does, rather disappointed at it, but in the flood stage, it floods, and it's much wider, much deeper in all of that during flood stage. And so, it was the spring rain time, but they could not cross it. And so, God even stopped the Jordan River, and they passed from the east side over to the west side, and marched up toward, and marched, continued their journey up to Jericho, and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down at, on the seventh day, or the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, after they had marched around the city seven times. So, we look at the world today. Let's try to draw somewhat of a parallel between where the world is today, and where we are, and where they were then. The world is in great turmoil at this juncture in human history, and will the walls of Jericho come tumbling down in your life at this critical time in human history?

Will you and I be able to overcome the spiritual apathy that does so easily beset us?

I would say the number one problem in the Church of God is spiritual apathy, and it's sort of a deceptive kind of thing. In some cases, we're not really even aware of it. It is imperceptivism, a probably better word in apathy, in a sense, if you're not aware of it.

We need to stir up the Spirit, as Paul wrote to Timothy, and said, stir up the Spirit that was put in you by the laying on of my hands. And that is what we need to do today. It's one of the most critical things in the Church. We cannot go to sleep at this present time. So will the walls of Jericho come tumbling down in your life so that you have newness to life and renewed zeal and energy? Will you and I be able to overcome the spiritual apathy? I wonder at times do we remotely understand what we've been called to. We have been called to understand the mystery of the ages, which the great and near great have sought to understand since the dawn of creation. Let's go to Colossians forward there from 1 Corinthians 2, Colossians chapter 1. In Colossians chapter 1, the Colossians were what you would call caught up with purifying the body through suffering in the flesh.

G.E.P.C. We will get there one of these days. In Colossians chapter 1, and we'll begin verse 23, If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, and which we have preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister, who now rejoicing my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake.

Wherefore I made a minister according to dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Now look at this verse. This is a key verse. Even the mystery, the mystery, the people in old times before this didn't really understand the purpose, plan, and providence of God, and nothing like you do. They did not understand it. Even the mystery, which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. Even the Jews and the Israelites and even a lot of the prophets didn't really understand all that you understand at the present time. But now, through Paul's writings and his ministry, the gospel has been enlightened to a large and great degree. Verse 27, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, the nations which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Not only like with Israel, they built a tabernacle and they pitched it, and God's presence filled the tabernacle. But now God's presence filled you. His Holy Spirit is within you. Verse 28, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, whereon too I also labor striving according to his working, which works in me mightily. And now we go to 1 Peter chapter 1, and we see once again do we realize what we've been called to right there. Paul says, you understand this mystery that has been hidden from ages, Christ in you, the hope of glory. And the greatest mystery of all comes to pass when the resurrection takes place and you are born again as a glorious radiant spirit being.

So now we go to 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 6, wherein you greatly rejoice though now for a season, if need be you are in heaviness through manifold temptations. You know James writes, let it count it all joy when you fall into different trials. That's one of the most difficult things I've ever had to face in my life to count it all joy when you fall into different trials. That the trying of your faith being much more precious than that of gold that perishes though it be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love and whom though you now you see him not, yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Have you ever had joy unspeakable and full of glory?

Receiving the end, Greek word, telos, t-e-l-o-s, result outcome. Receiving the outcome of your faith, even the deliberate salvation of your souls, of which salvation, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. See, they prophesied through the Holy Spirit, but they didn't really understand all of the times and what was going to take place as you do when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. But now you understand that, and you know what you're what you are called to, and you know where you are going, hopefully, and what you are to become.

The world seems oblivious to the goals of Satan the devil.

Having been deceived and blinded by Satan, the leaders of this present evil age have left God out of their feeble efforts to solve the world's problems. The leaders of the West, that's basically from Ukraine on to the West and the US and Australia, Canada, and so on, the leaders of the West seem to assume that the leaders of the East think the way they do.

So they seem oblivious to the goals of Satan the devil. Having been deceived and blinded by Satan, the leaders of this present evil age have left God out of their feeble efforts to solve the world's problems. And the US, along with other nations, they also seek hegemony. Hegemony is a word I hate. It means rule, dominance over the nations. Hegemony, which is rulership over the world, our leaders think they can accomplish their goals through pseudo diplomacy and military might.

You might hear President Biden say at times, in a sense, taking God's name in vain, he says, for God's sake, we are the United States of America. We can do anything we want to do. No, you can't. You can't do anything you want to do. I think even the current situation tells you loud and clear, you can't do anything you want to do. After signing the 93 billion dollar million military aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan last Thursday, President Biden stated that this is a day of peace. How ironic, oxymoronic can you get?

True peace is not achieved through military might. Providing weapons of war seems to me to be the opposite of achieving peace.

Our leaders don't seem to understand that the deep-seated beliefs and emotions of people cannot be changed through warfare or diplomacy. And we, as we shall see, the real warfare is not physical, it is spiritual. And those who have a glimmer of understanding, those who really believe in God to some degree, the near the new speaker of the House, Paul Johnson from Louisiana, does speak of God occasionally. Of course, even the conservatives are after him because he also went along with his $93 billion dollar military aid bill to Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan.

But by and large, even those who believe in God don't talk about God. Hey, they don't dare because they would jump on them like white on rice, or they would jump on them like a dog on a bra bone. The peoples who are blinded to Satan's deception are devoted to ideologies that conflict with Western leaders. Diplomacy is prepared over warfare, but both parties attempt to convince the other by faulty premises. The U.S. doesn't understand the East, the East doesn't understand the U.S., the U.S. says, be good boys and we'll send you a lot of money.

The East says, okay, we're tired of it. Depending on you, we want to be our own rulers, so we want a new world order.

Satan's quest for from his rebellion, from his rebellion to the present day, is to be worshipped. World leaders are also seeking world domination, and Satan is influencing them. And we'll see that very clearly from Scripture. You don't think Satan is influencing what's going on? Well, you're wrong if you think that. Satan is influencing what is going on. You don't perform the acts that are being performed on innocent people unless Satan is behind it.

How stubborn and belligerent can people get? We get a glimpse of that, of how stubborn and rebellious people can be in Revelation chapter 9, of how deeply and completely Satan can influence people, even though God is pleading with them. Pleading with them. Won't you come to understand?

So let's look forward there a few pages to Revelation chapter 9, and we will start there. Verse 17, Revelation 9, it is the fifth trumpet. It is the sixth trumpet plague. It is the second woe that is being poured out in Revelation chapter 9 and verse 17.

And thus I saw the horses and the vision and them that set on them having breastplates of fire and jaceth, brimstone, and the heads of the horses, whereas the heads of lions and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. I wonder what these are. Are these human beings?

We seem to have talked that in the past. By these three were the third part.

By these three were the third part. A third of humankind is killed by the second woe. A third of humankind. We've got eight billion on the earth today, so that'd be like, what, 2.7 billion people killed. Can you imagine that?

A third was killed by the smoke and by the brimstone that issued out of their mouths.

For their powers in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails were like unto serpents in their heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repent and not of the works of their hands that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone, and a wood which neither can see nor hear nor walk, neither repented they of their murders nor their sorceries nor of their fornications nor of their thefts. They didn't repent. They're the mankind killed.

You see, there are some people, and there's a spirit that is a work.

Satan is a prince of the power of the air, and there's a spirit that works among the children of disobedience. Ephesians 2 said at one time we all walked according to that spirit and the children of disobedience, but now you've been delivered from that spirit of disobedience. I've seen that at work in recent times with young children in which you can spank, you can do whatever you want to do, but they're not going to change at that moment.

But this is far beyond that, and for a short time, as we know from Revelation 13, 8, that Satan's insatiable quest to be worshiped will be realized. I don't think we remotely comprehend, much less really understand, the deception that is coming upon the peoples of the world. The coming deception is going to be so powerful and extensive that those who do not love the truth will be pawns in the hands of Satan the devil. We go to Matthew 24, 24 in the Olivet Prophecy, Matthew 24 and verse 24, and we want to make a key point out of this, for there shall arise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, miracles calling fire down from heaven. It is much that if it were possible, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So the coming deception is going to be that extensive and powerful that only the very elect will not be deceived. Not only will Satan be carrying out his deceptive activities, but the Scripture tells us that God and Christ are going to send delusion, grand delusion, to those who do not love the truth. We go back now forward to Revelation, and not Revelation, but 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7. The 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 7. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 7.

For the mystery of iniquity does already work, only he who now lets will let until he be taken out of the way. And people have wondered, well, what is that? And some Protestants will say, well, it is the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, God is the one. God is Spirit. He is of the Holy Spirit. If it's taken away by God, and probably it is taken away by God, and he lets people do what they want to do and follow whom they want to follow. And then shall that wicked be reveal whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. In other words, he's going to speak and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan. This is the beast's power, with all power and signs and lying wonders, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth.

The love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. Who sends it? God sends it. Because they love not the truth, God sends them strong delusion. It is good at times to say, well, do I recall such and such in the Bible? I mean, to review what you have learned, what you know, to look at it so that you know and know that you know. God shall send them strong delusion because they did not love the truth. Verse 11, and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. And there is no indefinite article in Greek, and it means the lie. I believe the lie is the one believing that the one who sits in the temple of God in verses 3 and 4, believing that he is Christ. That they might be damned, who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. This past week, after the local news goes off, stay there a few minutes and listen a little bit to the monologue of Jimmy Kimmel or one of the others. And boy, I'm telling you, it's all about progressive liberal thought, anything from smoking dope to drugs to whatever it is that is unlawful. The audience applauds, and they just go wild because that's what they love to wallow in.

That's their thing. Now let's review. We see this deception that might be coming. Let's review some things on the world stage, and then we'll bring it back to Zion. So let's, some of the trigger points, the Straits of Hormuz. Do you know what the Straits of Hormuz is? The Straits of Hormuz is a little narrow passageway from the Persian Gulf into the Arabian Sea and eventually into the Indian Ocean.

It's about 20 miles wide, but the shipping lane, the place where ships can actually pass, is only two to four miles wide. So it is a very narrow strip, and oil from Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar, or Qatar, as George Bush says, as well as most of the United Arab Emirates are transported through the Straits of Hormuz. The Straits of Hormuz, as we said, separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. To some degree, the world is held hostage by Iran due to their control of the Straits of Hormuz, in which 22 to 24 percent of the world's petroleum passes through. Couple this with Iran's threat of a nuclear bomb has kept the nations at bay. The Obama administration reportedly gave Iran $150 billion to sign a nuclear deal which President Trump withdrew from, and now President Biden is trying to renew. I don't know if he still has that, but before October the 7th, then Hamas's attack on Israel, that was what he was trying to do, was renew the Iran nuclear deal.

However, if you paid attention to the news in the Middle East in recent days, you should note that since Israel carried out strikes against Iran, the threats of retaliation by Iran have died down.

Western leaders tend to ignore the role of demonic forces. Israel could have taken out their nuclear facility, but didn't. See, their aircraft got through. They hit the targets that they targeted, and it wouldn't have been the main nuclear facility. It was only about 180 miles or so north of Ash-Wan, where they did hit. Iran notices what has happened there. Let's take a glance back. You talk about the demons. Well, show me about the demons. Let's go to Daniel chapter 10.

Daniel chapter 10, and we'll see very clearly here how the demons affected Iran in times past. And it's not only Iran, but we have in the Bible this example.

So in Daniel chapter 10 verse 1, in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a thing was revealed unto Daniel. His name was called Beldesheiser.

And the thing was true, but the time appointed was long. He understood the thing and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. He was praying and fasting. I ate no pleasant bread. Neither came flesh or wine in my mouth. Neither did I, nor myself at all, until three whole weeks were finished. And in the 24th day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river of which is Hadechoe, then I lifted up my eyes and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with fine gold of Eufas.

His body was also like the barrel in his face as the appearance of lightning, in his eyes as the lamps of fire, and his arms and feet as the color of polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision for the men that were with me, saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide.

So now we pick it up again in verse 10, and behold a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees.

So Daniel, as a result of seeing that, was in a great quandary of what was going on.

And he said unto me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak unto you, and stand upright, for unto you am I now sent. And when he had spoken the word unto me, I stood trembling. Then he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before the Lord your words were heard, and I am come for your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me, and for twenty-one days, but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. So this prince of the SAR, S-A-R, of Persia, S-A-R is the Hebrew word, or Chaldean word, I think it's Hebrew word for prince. It was this demon that withstood him. So the nations have a chief demon over them, and God can hold them at bay.

He who lets now will let until he be taken out of the way. The United States has been basically protected from this demon activity. But some of the things that are taking place, you have to wonder what on earth what is going on. So Michael came and helped him to be delivered from this. You can read the whole chapter there. Now we'll pick it up again in 20. Ben said, He know you wherefore I come unto you, and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia.

See, this is what Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6, 10 through 12. We battle not against flesh and blood, but against wickedness in high places. So he said, When I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grisha shall come. Of course, you could view that two ways. Alexander the Great was the physical prince, but the demon over Greece.

So we see this demon activity there. There's ample evidence of the influence of demons in world affairs, and here we have it plainly in the Bible. This was written, Paul wrote, some 460 or so years later and tells us that the ultimate battle is against spirit wickedness in high places. Also in Iran, they're looking for the 12th Eman to appear and lead the world into conversion and submission to Allah, resulting in world peace. Some of the Iranians call these people the 12ers. He'll be the 12th Eman. They want to hasten the rule of the 12th Eman by creating chaos and confusion on the world scene. One of the greatest enemies of faith is human reasoning. Human reasoning apart from the word of God. How dumb can you get? Create chaos and confusion so your deliverer can come quicker.

Iran's dominant 12er, Set, believes this Mahdi will be Mohammed ibn Hassan, regarded as the 12th Eman or righteous descendant of the prophet, Mohammed. He is said to have gone into seclusion in the ninth century at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war, and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.

In contrast to Western leaders who may give lip service to religion, Islamic leaders are filled with messianic zeal and ready to go to the wall to fulfill their beliefs.

So during the next 48 days, the nations of the world would continue on their course as they come near and near to destruction as they march inexorably toward their judgment and destruction as the hands of Almighty God and the heavenly host. In contrast, we're on a march to Zion.

We have seen here the deception is coming. We've seen a little bit about the world scene. We've seen a little bit from the Bible about demonology and what the demons are doing. And make no mistake about it, they are active. But in contrast to all of that, we are on a march to Zion. At the present time, physical Zion and Jerusalem are surrounded by hostile forces as prophesied by the prophet Zachariah. So let's look at Zachariah and be forward from Daniel just a bit. In Zachariah chapter 12, verse 1, The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel saith the Lord, which stretched forth the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, whom they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the peoples of the earth be gathered together against it. And it goes on in this chapter to describe what God is going to do when he cuts them into pieces. The nations are marching toward Zion for a different reason than you are. Yes, the nations are marching toward Zion.

Satan knows that Zion is the spiritual capital of the world.

Jerusalem, Zion, spiritual capital of the world. They want to control it. Satan desperately wants to control it. And for a brief period of time, he will. But we're on and hopefully it is an inexorable march to Zion ourselves. In the place of Satan, God, Christ, and the saints will make their abode and rule the universe from Zion and Jerusalem in the new Jerusalem.

The deceived and gullible leaders of this present evil age are led by Satan. Satan, the devil, on this insatiable quest to be worshiped. As noted earlier, Satan knows the prophecies that are given concerning the future of Jerusalem and Zion. And as we have noted, Satan, through grand deception, will be able to fulfill his quest for a short period of time and become the object of worship, with the exception of those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. That's Revelation 13.8. You should have that verse memorized for sure.

Many of you are familiar with the Old Hymn. We're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God. Well, we want to strike out upward because we're not marching upward. We can erase upward because our eternal home will be in beautiful, beautiful Zion, the city of God, and we shall reign on earth. The New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven. Let's note what John, the apostle, was inspired to write about you and I in Revelation 5 and verse 9. Revelation 5 and verse 9. Revelation 5 and verse 9. They sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for you were slain, and have redeemed us the God by his blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. So you see the God of the Jews only? No, he's the God of all nations, and has made us unto our God, kings, and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders, and the number of them were ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.

I can't count that high today, saying with a loud voice, Worship, and worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, under the earth, which are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, beyond to him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.

And the four beasts said, Amen. And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped him that lives forever and ever. Yes, we're marching toward beautiful, beautiful Zion. Let's note some of the key prophecies concerning Zion. The word Zion, and I encourage you to read every verse in the Bible that has Zion in it. It occurs 153 times. I don't have my watch. I think it's five after twelve.

According to that clock, the word of Zion appears at least 153 times in Scripture, and it occurs eight times when spelled with an S, S-I-O-N. And in one place in the Old Testament, Mount Hermon is also referred to as Zion, S-I-O-N. First of all, to really understand end-time prophecy, we need to know and know that we know, and I think we do as many times as we'll turn there, but we want to turn there again to Hebrews 12 and verse 19. We're not going to read 19. I'm just going to say that Paul compares and contrasts elements of the Old Covenant with elements of the New Covenant in Hebrews, and in chapter 12 he's comparing Mount Sinai with Mount Zion. But we've come to Mount Zion. This is one of the places in the New Testament where Zion is often spelled with an S instead of a Z. But you are come unto Mount Zion, under the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the first begotten be born at the resurrection, which are written in heaven and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better for things than that of Abel. See, Abel offered animal sacrifices and was accepted. But now the better, more perfect sacrifice is Christ once and for all. So we know and know that we know that Zion is symbolic of the church. Look at Isaiah 51 and verse 16. Isaiah 51 and verse 16. Isaiah 51 verse 16. And I put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow, and I have covered you in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth and say unto Zion, You are my people. You are my people. And we are familiar with the verses which states that we are resurrected to spirit life in Zion.

We look at Psalm 50. Psalm 50. We're going to look at two places. We're going to look at more. We're just going to look at two places. Psalm 50 and verse 1.

Psalm 50 verse 1. The mighty God, even the Lord, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined, and God shall come and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

So gather my saints together, I'm come to judge the saints. Now Psalm 87 is the place, and of course this psalm has been set to music, but I don't think people really grasp what it's talking about. It's talking about the church. It's talking about being born again in Zion. In Psalm 87, God's foundation is in the holy mountains, and those holy mountains are Zion and Jerusalem.

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God. I will make mention of Rahab Babylon to them that know me. Behold, Philistea, Tyre, with Ethiopia, this man was born there. Where? Zion. And of Zion it shall be said, this and that man was born in her, and the highest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count when he writes up the people that this man was born there. Where? In Zion. Of course, the graves are scattered all over the earth, from Alaska to the frozen tundra to Australia to any place you want to name on the place on the earth, Trivongolia, to any other place where a saint has died and been buried.

The Lord shall count when he writes up the people that this man was born there, as well as the singers of the players on the instruments shall be there. All my springs are in you. Zion is the dwelling place of God, the dwelling place of God and Christ, both physically and spiritually. Now we go to Psalm 2.6. Psalm 2 verse 6. In Psalm 2 verse 6, you know, there's probably more prophecy when all is said and done in Psalms and in the other book. Psalm 2.6, yet have I sent my king upon my holy hill of Zion. What makes things holy? Well, God's presence makes things holy. Now let's look at Psalm 48 and verse 1. Psalm 48 and verse 1.

In Psalm 48 and verse 1, 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. Yes, we are marching to Zion.

The nations are also marching to Zion, but we are the ones who are going to live there forever and ever. We could turn to other scriptures, but you, I think, see it very clearly. 2. The resurrected saints are going to dwell in Zion forever. God through Jesus Christ is a key that enables us to make it into the eternal city of God. Let's look at Isaiah 28 and verse 16, one of the greatest prophecies in the whole Bible.

This is a memory verse because it's also quoted by the Apostle Peter and has great significance for the New Testament Church. Isaiah 28 and verse 16, Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone of a stone, a tried stone, a precious stone, a sheer foundation.

He that believes shall not make haste. Now we go to 1 Peter chapter 2, and we'll see Peter quoting that scripture that we just read from Psalm 2 and verse from Isaiah 28 and verse 16. So we want to go to 1 Peter in chapter 2. 2. Verse 4, To whom coming as unto a living stone that living stone is Christ. He's been resurrected. I heard someone preach recently that because Christ lives, we live. To whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. You also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

So it is through God and Christ that we're able to go to Zion and make it our eternal abode. 3. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture. Now Peter quotes what we read from Isaiah 28 16. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect precious, and he that believes on him shall not be confounded unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed. The same has become the head of the corner. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. He says it several times in Ephesians and other places. He's also the chief cornerstone. He is the foundation of the prophets and the apostles.

And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. But you, that's you sitting here today, you are a chosen generation, a purchased people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in times past were not a people. You were loa me, but now you are the people of God, which have not obtained mercy. You were loa ruhama, as it says in Hosea chapter one. But now you have obtained mercy, ruhama.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Having your conduct honest among the nations that wherewith they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation. And so we had projects all around the world. We had projects in Thailand, we had projects in Jordan, we had projects in Sri Lanka, formerly Solon. We had projects in Israel. And people saw the example. We had a mini-ambassador of college in Thailand, not Thailand, but in Sri Lanka.

And the minister of the interior, the one that Mr. Armstrong was interfacing with, said, we really don't need your money, though it's good to have. We need your example. We need your know-how.

And I don't know what religious brand there were some sect of Indian religion, but in their day of visitation. And they carried on that school even after ambassador closed down. I don't know if it's still going or not. But it's so important, the example that we said, that we said, that God and Christ will help us on our journey. Israel murmured and complained as God dragged them.

God practically dragged Israel. He dragged him to Sinai. He dragged them to the Jordan River. He dragged them across. And he practically dragged them all the way until they just completely rebelled and went into captivity. He's not going to drag us to Zion. We're going to have to put forth the effort ourselves. So will God drag you into the eternal city of God? I don't think so.

You can stir up the spirit that beget you with the laying on of hands. And God will try you. He will chasten you. He will test you. He will plead with you.

But you have to seek. You have to knock. And he will open the door. We look at Revelation 3.21.

Revelation 3.21 in the messages to the churches. It's 20 instead of 21.

Revelation 3.20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will set with him and he with me.

We see a summary to a large degree of what God is going to do and is doing. And we go back to Joel. We go back to the minor prophets. So in the meantime, what are we to do?

One time back, I think this was the year 1982, emerging into 1983. Yep, that's when it was.

But Mr. Armstrong sent out this co-worker letter. And he started the quote with Joel, Hosea Joel. He started his quote with Joel 2 in verse 1. Blow the trumpet in Zion.

Now we know Zion is a literal physical place, and we know the symbolism.

Blow you the trumpet in Zion, sound and alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. For the day of the Lord comes, for it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness, gloominess, day of clouds of thick darkness. As the morning spread upon the mountains, a great people, a strong. There shall not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. Of course, it's talking about the end times.

And God is going to deliver us. In the meantime, we want to sound the trumpet. The trumpet is our voice, our voice in which we declare and we preach the gospel to all nations, to all races, to kindred tongues, ethnic groups. God is the God of all peoples.

Now we notice verse 16 of chapter 3 of Joel. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

So shall you know I am the Lord your God, dwelling where in Zion my holy mountain.

Then shall Jerusalem be holy. See, holy things, you have to have God's presence.

And there shall no stranger pass through her any more. What a wonderful time that's going to be. Now we go back to Zachariah toward the end of the minor prophets. The minor prophets really deal with captivity, restoration, the millennium, and what it's going to be like. I taught minor prophets for years at Ambassador Pasadena and Big Sandy. In Zachariah chapter 2, verse 10, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you.

And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.

Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord, for he raises up out of his holy habitation.

We get one more glimpse, and I think this is our last scripture, in Zachariah chapter 8, and we'll close with a question for all of us.

In Zachariah chapter 8. Now, Zachariah chapter 8 basically describes what life will be like in Jerusalem, Zion, and the millennium.

So in Zachariah chapter 8, and we'll start in 20 and read to the end, Best says the Lord of hosts, that shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people in the inhabitants of many cities, and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts I will also go.

Yes, many people in strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, in those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all the languages of the nations, even take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. And a Jew, according to the Apostle Paul, a Jew is not one who is one outwardly, but one who is one inwardly. That's Romans chapter 2, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you, and we ask ourselves, Will anyone grab hold of my skirt?