Jerusalem the Future World Capital and the Coming Third Temple

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Micah 4:2 above describes the establishment of Zion (Jerusalem) as the world capital. This must be an important promise because it is repeated by Isaiah:

saiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Psalm 2 carries a similar message. It describes Israel's future King appearing to subdue the world's nations that object to the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth:

Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 2:4 He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

Some of today's superpowers might profess a belief in God but others do not. It might be the case that all of these superpowers now think that with the nuclear arsenals and high-tech weapons, they are close to invincible. We see this flavour coming through in the verses above. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

When God sends Israel's King to apply the divine intervention (described in Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 14), this King will use God's invincible power to ensure subjection to God's will. The all-powerful God of Israel will ensure compliance to His plan. And again, we see this described in Psalm 2:

Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Israel's King will construct the Third Temple in Jerusalem. It will not be an unused show piece. It will be a well-used House of Worship. Zechariah 14 describes worship in Jerusalem. It will be used by all nations:

Zechariah 14:16 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, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

These verses from Zechariah show that the nations will need to visit Jerusalem each year to worship. And those who refuse to participate in annual worship will be punished. There may not be many who refuse to worship in Jerusalem because the eyes of the world will be opened. They will recognise the One True God, Israel's God. Israel will occupy a special place in the world when their King establishes this Third Temple:

Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Zechariah 8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

When this Kingdom of God on Earth is established with Jerusalem as its capital, this future nation of Israel will dwarf current Israel. It will extend from the Nile to the Euphrates:

Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Again, there is no need for Egypt or Turkey to fear current Israel when they read this verse above. It is not current Israel that will expand its borders as described above. This will not occur until Israel's future King establishes the future Israel, the Kingdom of God on earth. If any nation is feeling extremely lucky, they can keep their powder dry until then and try their luck but they are sure to fail if they attempt to test God's power. Read Isaiah 63. This Kingdom of God on Earth will be the era of peace that we are all praying for:

Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

When we pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, we are praying for world peace because the Peace of Jerusalem will extend around the globe. Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

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