There is a lot of information in the scriptures and much of it would seem to be fillers, words that provide context for the really important stuff. If we are not careful though in assigning importance, we will miss the really important stuff. In Genesis 14:18, we are introduced to a man called Melchizedek. Abraham’s nephew had been taken captive and Abraham and his fighting men had gone to get Lot back. On his way back, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, met Abraham, and Abraham paid tithes of the spoil of this conflict to Melchizedek.
Now the city of Jerusalem is founded on seven hills in what in ancient times was the land of Canaan, now the land of Israel. On the eastern edge of the city is a ridge running along the valley of the Kidron River. This ridge has a southern hill, a middle hill, and a northern hill. In the days of Abraham, the city of Salem, the city of Melchizedek, was built on the southern hill. Zion was a city built on the northern hill. Both cities were inhabited by Jebusites and were aligned each with the other. The Jebusites inhabited the area of modern Jerusalem.
The word, Salem, means, peace, safety, and wholeness, while the word, Zion, means, a permanent capitol, a monumental and guiding pillar. Around 1,000 BC, David entered into the northern city of Zion and captured it from the Jebusites. He made it the capital of Israel and renamed the city of Zion the City of David. In 589 BC, the Babylonians laid siege to the City of David and in 586 they conquered it and destroyed it. The hill was latter planted with olive trees and became the Mount of Olives.
In Zachariah 14:4, Zachariah prophesies Jesus will descend from heaven during that great day of the Lord and when His feet touch the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives will split in two, one half shifting north and the other half shifting south. So what is the significance? The northern hill is where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac, and it is the place where Jesus commissioned His Church and ascended to heaven.
These two cities, the city of peace and the permanent capital and guiding pillar city have a lot of history with God, going back to the very beginning of civilization on earth. According to Hebrews 11:10, Abraham was sent into Canaan to search out and find a city whose builder and maker was God. Was that city Salem, or Zion, or both? They both seem to be founded by God. And why would these two hills be divided by a great valley when Jesus’ feet touch the northern hill?
There is no doubt both Melchizedek and David were types of Christ. The promise of the old covenant was peace, safety, protection, wholeness and prosperity. This is the meaning of the word, Salem, and Salem is the name of the city Melchizedek ruled. From Isaiah 53:6, we know the Father God was the author of the old covenant, which was made with the Jews, but when Jesus fulfilled the old covenant, He became the author of peace, safety, protection, wholeness, and prosperity for all mankind. Jesus went on, however, to establish a new covenant.
This new covenant offers eternal, or, everlasting, life to all who keep it. The old covenant never offered everlasting life to those who kept it and it was designed, according to Galatians 3:24, to be a temporary schoolmaster to bring mankind to Christ. The meaning of Zion, the name of the city David conquered, is a permanent and everlasting capital, a guiding pillar. This is also the place Jesus comes to when He comes back to earth.
Now, in Matthew 11:11, Jesus responds to a question about John the Baptist, and He says, “Of those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John, howbeit, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.” In other words, John lived in a kingdom that predated the kingdom of heaven. John was as great as any man who ever lived in the kingdom John was born in; however, the least in the successor kingdom is greater than the greatest of the previous kingdom.
When the Father God came to earth to establish a covenant with the Children of Israel, that covenant established a kingdom, the kingdom of God. Jesus lived and died under the authority of the kingdom of God. When He fulfilled the old covenant by keeping its commandments and dying under the penalty of disobedience, it cancelled out the covenant and ended the kingdom of God. Jesus established the new covenant right after and the new covenant established a new kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The Father God ruled over the Children of Israel from the earthly tabernacle. Jesus rules the earth from the heavenly tabernacle, making His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, the greater of the two kingdoms.
According to Hebrews 8:5, the tabernacle built by the Children of Israel on earth, was built by a pattern of one Moses was shown in heaven, so the foundation of the new covenant existed before the old covenant tabernacle was built; before the old covenant was established, which was before the kingdom of God came into being. It is said of Jesus that He was slain, as in sacrificed, before the foundation of the world, making Jesus the Lamb of God before there was a lamb. His kingdom is said to be an everlasting kingdom.
2Corinthians 5:17, 18 and 19, tells us, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Christ Jesus, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”
This is not the gospel preached today, however. Our modern churches preach a gospel that says old things are not passed away and all things are not new. We are told the old covenant has not been fulfilled and Jesus has not reconciled the world to Himself. We are told we must repent and be forgiven before we are reconciled to God. Even then old things have not passed away. We must continue to repent of transgressions against the old covenant law and it is the blood that Jesus shed on the cross that cleanses us of transgressions against the law, if we truly repent. This is not deliverance from the law; it is a modification. If fact, there is very little difference between this and what the Jews practiced.
Melchizedek is a fascinating fellow. He is the king of peace, a man without lineage, a man the patriarch of God paid tithes to. David also is a fascinating figure of the old covenant. Said to be a man after God’s own heart, it is said Jesus will sit on David’s throne. David’s throne, however, is not in the city of peace. David was a man of war. He had blood on his hands, and lots of it. So much so that when David wanted to build a temple to God, God forbade it for this reason. It was Solomon, David’s son that God chose to build His temple. Yet Jesus chooses the throne of David to make His own. As much as Melchizedek resembles Jesus, Jesus identifies with David.
When most Christians look at Jesus, what they see is a God of mercy and peace, a God of comfort and safety, the healer and giver of prosperity and well being, and Jesus is all those things, but, Jesus rules with a rod of iron. Notice Revelation 12:5: “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” This reference of a rod of iron, speaks of unbending and unyielding. Revelation 12:5 reminds me of John 15:10: “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love.” Here, Jesus indicates He will not yield to disobedience.
We have two schools of thought represented by the two cities. The city of Salem represents a concept of The Father’s love and compassion. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Salem represents a God who is loving and merciful, kind and generous. Zion is a much different city. It represents the authority and power of God. Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,” which means, if you do not keep Jesus’ commandments, you will not abide in His love. When Jesus returns to earth, He divides these two cities and fixes a great gulf between them. Why?
For nearly two thousand years mankind has been instructed not to keep the commandments Jesus issued just prior to His ascension back into heaven. If Jesus redeemed mankind from the old covenant by living its laws perfectly, then dying under the penalty of disobedience, then no one needs to keep those commandments. Jesus could not establish a new covenant until the old covenant was fulfilled. To do so would dishonor His Father.
In order for Jesus’ commandments to be kept and the new covenant entered, the commandments of Jesus must be prominently located and easily identifiable. Let me remind you, Jesus has instructed us, in order to abide in His love, we must keep His commandments. In order to keep His commandments, we must be able to identify them. Again, let me remind you, the old covenant law has been fulfilled; there is nothing to be gained by keeping it.
Again, according to Philippians 2, the Father gave to Jesus the name above every other name. It is Jesus who is Lord of Lord’s and King of Kings; it is Jesus that is above all principalities and powers and Jesus that has all power in heaven and earth. It is Jesus we must please and to do that, we must keep Jesus’ commandments. It is critical for us to be able to identify Jesus’ commandments. If we cannot identify the commandments of Jesus, we cannot abide in His love.
There is nothing in Acts 1 that says Christians should not keep Jesus’ commandments. All the Church has is the interpretation and tradition of men and it is men that Jesus is unhappy with. The church has rejected the word of God, to obey the word of man, for nearly two thousand years now. This has got to make Jesus incensed. So much so that when His feet touch the Mount of Olives, it is divided in half with a great valley fixed between the two halves. His anger over this injustice is palpable.
For two thousand years mankind has failed to enjoy the benefits of the new covenant. Christians suffer and die every day from sickness and disease, sickness and disease Jesus redeemed us from. If we do not keep Jesus’ commandments, we cannot hope to live in the love of Jesus, who again, is the blessed only Potentate and only wise God. If mankind is to receive any grace, any mercy, from God, it must keep the Lord’s commandments. It is the only way to abide in His love.
The book of Revelation is about Jesus pouring out God’s wrath on mankind for disobedience of His commandments. The thing about it is; it has not entered into the heart of man to keep the Lord’s commandments. Mankind is clueless and will remain so through much of the seven year tribulation period. It does not even enter into the heart of man to obey Jesus’ commandments. The only commandments mankind recognizes are the Ten Commandments of the old covenant.
The problem is; God never required the whole world to obey the Ten Commandments and will not judge the world for disobedience. The Jew’s were judged for their disobedience and lost their inheritance for a time, but the Father is merciful and gave the Jews back their inheritance. The book of Revelation is about Jesus pouring out God’s wrath on all mankind and all mankind is guilty, but guilty of what? If mankind is not guilty of disobedience of the Ten Commandments because God is not holding mankind responsible for keeping the Ten Commandments, what is mankind being judged for?
When Jesus died on the cross to redeem the Jewish nation from the old covenant, God graciously gave that redemption to the whole human race. The redemption from the law made the Jewish nation righteous before God and because of God’s grace; the whole human race was made righteous. 1John 2:2 tells us Jesus propitiated our sins, the sins of the Jews, but not ours alone, He propitiated the sins of the entire world. In other words, the whole world was made right with God.
This being the case, why is the whole world being judged? And for what sin? Again, if we go back to John 15:10: Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in my Father’s love.” He did this for us and in our stead, but He continued, “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love.” All mankind wears the righteousness of Jesus and therefore is held accountable to Jesus’ commandments. Disobedience of these commandments is sin, and sin mankind will answer for.
This is why John wrote the book of 1st John. In it, he says, “If we sin,” because though we are redeemed from the old covenant law and no longer commit sin by transgression of it, we still can commit sin, if we fail to recognize and honor Jesus’ commandments. “If we sin, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness,” if we repent and practice obedience. If no one recognizes the commandments of Jesus, no one repents of disobedience, and the whole world enters into judgment. John goes on to stress obedience.
The problem we have today is the commandments of Jesus were interpreted as being non-applicable, so it doesn’t even enter into the heart of mankind to keep them. This failure can be laid right at the feet of the Church. It was leaders of the Church that decided the commandments were irrelevant and that’s why the Church is judged first.
Jesus will not personally descend to earth at the beginning of the tribulation period. He will descend far enough to call the dead in Christ back to life. The entire tribulation is orchestrated from heaven through angels. Jesus will not appear until the very end. Mankind doesn’t recognize the commandments of Jesus as having any authority and will not recognize judgment for disobedience as coming from God for disobedience of these three commandments. Most Christians likewise will never repent for disobedience as they do not recognize the commandments as valid.
In the Old Testament, Zion is overwhelmingly a poetic and prophetic designation and is infrequently used in ordinary prose. It usually has emotional and religious overtones, but it is not clear to most theologians why the name Zion rather than the name Salem should carry these overtones. The religious and emotional qualities of the name, Zion, arise from its importance as the royal city and the city of the Temple. Mount Zion is the place where Yahweh, the God of Israel, dwells (Isaiah 8:18; Psalm 74:2), the place where he is king (Isaiah 24:23) and where he has installed his king, David (Psalm 2:6). It is thus the seat of the action of Yahweh in history.
It is not the Father who sets on the throne of David; the Father’s throne was in Salem, but Salem was our school teacher to bring us to Christ. Christ gave us a new kingdom and covenant. We must keep its laws to live in fellowship. The Father gave all power, all authority to Jesus, and Jesus rules with a rod of iron. Though Salem was the city of peace, Zion is the everlasting city, the city of the great God. It’s high time we change our allegiance.