Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel!

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel!</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Joseph Herrin (6-9-2004)</div> <bR> <bR> <div> The Spirit is testifying that an hour is now at hand for a work to be completed that began nearly two thousand years ago. This work is the completing of a habitation and a dwelling place for Yahweh God almighty. Two thousand years ago a foundation for this temple <I><B>of living stones </B></I>was laid, but Satan, working furiously, was able to bring an interruption to the building. For nearly two thousand years progress was halted and the building of a suitable habitation for Yahweh was laid aside as the church sought to build their own paneled houses in which they could comfortably dwell while conducting their religious activities.</div> <bR> <div> By intimidation, deception, and much confusion Satan was able to discourage the workers who were laboring upon the temple of God. The foundation alone had been laid when the work was abandoned. These workers then gave themselves to the labor of their own houses, neglecting to finish the house of Yahweh that they had been charged to build. Though I am speaking of the apostles and prophets laying the foundation of the church, this event was foreshadowed nearly 500 years prior to the coming of Christ by a group of people whom God called forth from Babylon to rebuild the temple. Of this group we read:</div> <bR> <div> Haggai 1:3-5</div> <div> Then the word of Yahweh came by Haggai the prophet saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” Now therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Consider your ways!”</div> <bR> <div> For nearly two thousand years the saints have been building their paneled houses of confusion and mixture. They have been constructing Babylonian edifices while work on Yahweh’s house has languished. But the Scriptures do testify in many places through types and shadows, as well as direct speech, that the work which was begun must be brought to completion in these last days in which we live. The message I am to bring you here is awesome in its importance, for we live in the days in which we will see the top stone of God’s tabernacle brought forth with the words “Grace, Grace” shouted to it. We will see a fleshly church that is marked by the labor and initiative of man replaced with a spiritual body that is both led and empowered by the Spirit of God. The industry of man will be replaced with the anointing of the Spirit, and signs, wonders and miracles will once more be seen in abundance. It is an hour for the “greater works” to be performed, and the glory of this latter day house of God will be greater than the former house.</div> <bR> <div> If this does not excite you then you need to read of those things done in the early days of the church when the foundation was being laid by the apostles and prophets. Days of power are returning to a remnant portion of the church. Many have wondered why they have been enduring such difficulties, trials, reproaches, and persecutions. Many have questioned the great purging and refining work that God has been doing in their lives as they have wandered in wilderness places while the promises of God have seemed to tarry. The reason is that God must have purified vessels to display His power and glory through.</div> <bR> <div> In the days ahead many will be partakers of the power of the age to come. This power and authority can only be entrusted to humble and purified vessels who will employ it to build as wise master builders according to the blueprint of the Holy Spirit. These servants of God must be broken vessels who no longer live for the own initiative, purposes and desires, but who live to see the will of the Father accomplished. As Christ their Head, they too must declare, “I never do anything of My own initiative. I only do the will of the Father”, and “My meat is to do the Father’s will.”</div> <bR> <div> Some years back as I watched the movie “The Prince of Egypt” in the theater with my family I experienced an intense yearning to see God manifest His awesome power to the world once more as He did in the days of Moses when He struck Egypt with wondrous plagues. I was praying silently as I watched this movie that Yahweh might reveal Himself in strength and power once more that all the world might know of His presence and His might. As I prayed the Spirit spoke to me in a very profound manner saying, “I am soon to reveal Myself in power to the world once more. Signs and wonders will be seen, and it will once more be as it was in the days of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.”</div> <bR> <div> The witness of the Spirit was so strong, and I was so moved by these words, that I began to weep. As I left the theater I could not even speak, and even when my family spoke to me I could not answer them. It took the drive home to bring me to a place of emotional composure where I could share with my family what the Spirit had spoken to me. Days of power are just ahead and Yahweh’s name will be magnified in the earth once more.</div> <bR> <div> This writing was precipitated by an e-mail I received from a sister in Christ whose name is Pat. God has used her to speak life and truth by His Spirit to me before. I had not heard from her in many months, and I sensed the urging of the Spirit to consider her words at this time. She wrote:</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Joseph,</div> <bR> <div> i wanted to share with you what i have heard of late. Last week right when i was waking up the LORD spoke to me, "Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel." i have spent some time looking over things about him. The first thing GOD showed me was Haggai 2: 6&7. i truly believe GOD is sending a clear sound of alarm.</div> <bR> <div> The 2nd thing is you need to study out the # 13. My husband was given that number by The LORD some years back. Paul was consider the 13th apostle, and Ephraim was the 13th tribe of Israel. They were given land that the other tribes could not take because the giants were too big in the land. So thirteen not only stands for rebellion it also stands for overcomers.</div> <bR> <div> These two things, Zerubbabel and the number thirteen are linked together. As noted, Ephraim, the second born son of Joseph, is considered the thirteenth tribe of Israel. Ephraim is also a type of the church as David Eells points out in his book “Sovereign God - For Us and Through Us”.</div> <bR> <div> Ephraim was the second son of Joseph, who was the clearest type of Jesus in the Bible. Ephraim received the double portion inheritance that should have been given to firstborn Manasseh (Gen.48:17-19). Ephraim was called a <I><B>“multitude </B></I>(Hebrew: fullness) <I><B>of nations,” </B></I>because he represented the church of all nations. The church is the Father’s second born (born again) son who received the double portion that Israel, the firstborn, should have received but rejected.</div> <bR> <div> In Zerubbabel we also are given types and shadows of God’s working in this hour relating directly to the church of Christ.  Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David. He was chosen to lead the first group of Babylonian exiles to return to Jerusalem with a commission from King Cyrus to rebuild the Temple. Nearly fifty thousand Jews returned with Zerubbabel, and under his leadership the Temple was rebuilt.</div> <bR> <div> According to Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew words, the name Zerubbabel means “descended of Babylon, i.e. born there.” There are multitudes of Christians in this current generation that were born in Babylon, which is a type, or shadow, of a corrupt religious system that is marked by confusion and mixture. It has been the will of Yahweh that His children should be exiled to Babylon for a season, but in recent years He has been calling many to come out of Babylon.</div> <bR> <div> Revelation 18:4</div> <div> I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues....”</div> <bR> <div> The name Zerubbabel could be applied to a great many saints in this hour, for many have been born in a land of mixture and confusion who are now being called to leave Babylon behind. Many are being called out that they might not participate in the sins, and partake of the plagues, that are the portion of those who choose the passing pleasures of sin above the reproaches of Christ. A remnant have chosen to endure ill treatment with the people of God rather than to pursue the treasures of this world. </div> <bR> <div> It was a difficult choice for many Israelites, who heard the call of God, to leave Babylon. Babylon was a land of great prosperity. Babylon had comfort and ease and riches. Many Jews had made a good life for themselves there, and they had forgotten the land of their forefathers and the city of their God. Jerusalem, in contrast, had become a devastation. Her walls were broken down. Her Temple was destroyed. Her grand houses had been burned with fire. Refuse filled the streets, and her surrounding lands were largely uncultivated and the people were impoverished. Few were willing to leave the ease of Babylon to endure the rigors, sacrifices, and hardship of rebuilding Jerusalem. In a similar way there are few who are willing to leave the Babylonian church system that dominates Christianity today for there are rigors, sacrifices and hardships that await those who will answer the call of Christ to rebuild Jerusalem (the church).</div> <bR> <div> There was a remnant, however, whose hearts were still passionate for Jerusalem. They knew that this city had once stood as a beautiful jewel among the nations, and the peoples of the earth had sought her out. Silver had once been as common as stones in Jerusalem. God had blessed the people with wise rulers, and justice and righteousness were found in her streets. The church also once had wise rulers and was blessed with many spiritual blessings, but an examination of her current state reveals that something quite different is her experience in this hour.</div> <bR> <div> Because of idolatry and sin God had brought such judgments upon Jerusalem that men wagged their heads when they heard of her. The once proud and beautiful city had become a derision and a byword, an object of hissing and reproach. Such is the state of the church today. Daily the newspapers serve up tales of abominations committed by those who name the name of Christ. Children are sexually abused by priests and ministers. Congregations are defrauded by shepherds whose hearts are filled with covetousness. Righteousness and a zeal for God have been traded for a pursuit of the world, its pleasures and entertainment. Yet there is a remnant who sigh and groan over the abominations committed in her midst.</div> <bR> <div> Ezekiel 9:4-6</div> <div> Yahweh said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." But to the others He said in my hearing, "Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary." So they started with the elders who were before the temple. </div> <bR> <div> There is a remnant who have been hearing a call to come out of Babylon. There is a remnant whose hearts have wept over the corruption, defilement, idolatry, and coldness of heart that has led to the current state of ruin and devastation found in the church today. Though the church says she is rich, increased with goods, and in need of nothing, there are some who see that she is miserable, and wretched, and poor, and blind, and naked. There are a group who were born in Babylon whose hearts pine away for Jerusalem. There is a remnant who yearn to see a people raised up to be a praise unto Yahweh and unto His Christ.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Yahweh Stirred Up...</B></div> <bR> <div> When we read about God calling a people forth from Babylon to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city, we find the statement repeated that Yahweh stirred up the hearts of those who were called to remove the reproach from Jerusalem and make her a praise once again. In the same way today God is stirring up the hearts of men and women and children who will be His chosen instruments in removing the reproach that is attached to those who name the name of Christ, and who will restore the church to righteousness. In Ezra we read:</div> <bR> <div> Ezra 1:1-4</div> <div> Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, <U>Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus </U>king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, "Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'"</div> <bR> <div> “Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus....” This was a remarkable thing. Cyrus released all those who had been taken captive from Judah and Jerusalem, and he gave them leave to return to rebuild the house of Yahweh. He further enjoined all men to support those who chose to return by giving them silver, gold, goods and cattle. Cyrus also entrusted the vessels of the Temple into the care of those returning that they might be used in the worship of Yahweh. A more magnanimous edict could hardly be imagined. But Yahweh’s stirring of the hearts of the people did not stop with Cyrus.</div> <bR> <div> Haggai 1:14</div> <div> So <U>Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel </U>the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, <U>and the spirit of Joshua </U>the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, <U>and the spirit of all the remnant of the people</U>; and they came and worked on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God....</div> <bR> <div> Not only did Yahweh stir up the heart of Cyrus, but He also stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the spirit of Joshua the high priest, and the spirit of a remnant of the people who were willing to return to Jerusalem. May Yahweh also stir up the spirit of a remnant of believers in this hour who long to see Jerusalem, the city of the living God, the church of the firstborn, made a praise in the earth.</div> <bR> <div> Isaiah 62:6-7</div> <div> On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. </div> <bR> <div> We live in an hour when the church has been sold into slavery to Babylon. Yet God is issuing an edict in this hour, even as He did in the days of Cyrus and Zerubbabel. God is proclaiming, “Come out of her, My people.” He is stirring up the heart of a remnant of believers, and through this remnant He will once more magnify His name and make it a praise in the earth.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Completion through Destruction</B></div> <bR> <div> Many prophetic words are going forth at this time saying that great calamity is coming to America, and a great shaking will be known throughout the world. The judgment upon America will be devastating until she will little resemble her former days of power, prosperity and ease. Many will not recognize what she has become. Yet the Spirit is testifying that what is coming is a good thing, and it will result in bringing about Yahweh’s desire in the earth. How can this be?</div> <bR> <div> If we had lived in the days of Judah and Jerusalem’s prosperity we might have asked the same question. How could this land of blessing and prosperity be benefitted by undergoing such judgments that her land would become a cause of men wagging their heads and an object of hissing? Jerusalem was so devastated that she was unrecognizable, and the signs of her former glory in the days of David and Solomon were not to be found. Her walls were broken down allowing any enemy to enter at will. Her grand houses were burned with fire. Her glorious temple had been laid waste until not a stone remained, and her priceless vessels and instruments had been taken into a foreign land. How could such a judgment result in good?</div> <bR> <div> We are about to once more see such a scenario played out before us, and even as God led a remnant out of Babylon and gave them all that was necessary to accomplish the goal of rebuilding the city and the temple of Yahweh, so too will God lead a remnant out of the Babylonian religious systems of this hour and He will give them every necessary thing to raise up a temple of living stones that will exist unto the praise of His glory. He will refine them as silver and cause their faith to come forth as gold. He will entrust to them all the vessels of service, giving them back true ministers and equipping them with the gifts of the Spirit and revealing Himself through signs and wonders with great power. The completion of this building of living stones will not be by man’s strength, or man’s might, “but by My Spirit” says the Lord. What was begun in the Spirit under the apostles and prophets will be completed by the Spirit with shouts of “Grace, grace” as the top stone is put in place.</div> <bR> <div> Recently a brother shared with me two dreams that his wife had. She has not been one to dream dreams, but the Spirit is doing a new thing in her life. Following is the first dream:</div> <bR> <div> I was gone and Anita was headed to church.  It had moved to another location.  She was driving a long distance through the dark.  When she got there, there was only a small group of people there.  She asked where is the rest of the church.  The reply was, “This is it.”</div> <bR> <div> The brother who sent me this dream asked for my interpretation and I responded as follows:</div> <bR> <div> There are a number of things that are very obvious in this dream, and which practically interpret themselves. The true church will no longer be found where people have looked for it in days past. The church will also be much smaller, for God will purge away the dross and bring forth a purified bride without spot or wrinkle. This smaller, but purer church, will come into being only after a long period of darkness. The dark days ahead will be the instrument of God's purging, and the Scripture will be fulfilled:</div> <bR> <div> Matthew 24:10-13</div> <div> "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."</div> <bR> <div> A long period of darkness is coming to America, and the world, but the end result will be that Yahweh will bring forth a pure remnant who will be a people for His praise. Today we see a huge mass of professing Christians, but it is impure and its testimony brings derision to the Father. In the words of Jane Leade who prophesied in the year 1679, "There is not at this day visible upon the earth such a [holy] church; all profession being found light when weighed in the balances. Therefore they are rejected by the Supreme Judge, which rejection will be for this cause, that out of them may come a new and glorious church."</div> <bR> <div> This new and glorious church will not be massive in size, for the true saints have always been Christ's "little flock." In the days of darkness ahead, which are now at hand, and will soon be seen, the hearts of many who have made a light profession of Christ will give way to fear and unbelief. Most people's love will grow cold. Yet among a choice portion, even a holy remnant, the glory of God will arise upon them and they will be fitted together according to the wisdom and divine pattern of the Holy Spirit. Those who are proclaiming that a great revival is impending, and massive numbers will be swept into a church that differs little from its current form, will be proven false. God is testifying by His Spirit that the church will not be found where it has been formerly looked for, and when it is finally found, many will be amazed as they see how many have turned away and realize that the church is now much smaller than most men and women had expected it to be.</div> <div> [End Interpretation]</div> <bR> <div> Before the Babylonian captivity there was a much larger religious system in Judah and Jerusalem. Yet this religious system was corrupt and brought great reproach to the Yahweh. It was necessary for Him to bring judgment to this polluted house that He might bring something forth that was pure and whose reproach had been removed. God used Zerubbabel, one who was descended of Babylon, but called out, along with a remnant of the people, to rebuild the temple. He will use a similar group to perform the work that lies ahead.</div> <bR> <div> Some old men who had seen the former temple that Solomon had built were grieved when they saw its replacement, for it did not seem nearly as impressive to the eyes of man as did the former building. In the same way, what God will bring forth in coming days will be much smaller than the former polluted religious system. It will not seem as impressive to many men who observe it, for it will not have its focus upon buildings and programs. Yet in God’s eyes it will be esteemed.</div> <bR> <div> <B>By My Spirit</B></div> <bR> <div> There are some things that come out in the story of the rebuilding of the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel that are very important to understand in this hour. Perhaps the most important is that this will be a work of the Spirit and not of man’s own initiative and strength.</div> <bR> <div> Zechariah 4:6</div> <div> Then he said to me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts.”</div> <bR> <div> In the book “The Road from Babylon to Zion” I wrote of the critical distinction between that which is Babylonish in nature and that which pertains to Zion.</div> <bR> <div> Babylon and Zion have actually existed side by side throughout the entire history of the Scriptures. We see Babylon and Zion in the two brothers Cain and Abel. Both men brought an offering to Yahweh. Cain brought of the fruit of the earth, while Abel brought forth of the firstlings of his flock with their fat portions. We are told that God had regard for Abel’s offering, but not for Cain’s.</div> <bR> <div> What was the difference between Cain’s offering and Abel’s that God would regard one and not the other? I have heard many vain things preached regarding this story, many saying that Cain did not bring the best of the fruit of the ground while Abel brought the best of the flock. But the scriptures do not say that Cain brought less than the best of what he had grown. I believe that he did indeed bring the very best of his produce from the ground. Why then did God despise Cain’s offering?</div> <bR> <div> The reason has to do with what the offerings represent. We can easily see that Abel’s offering of the firstlings of his flock was in keeping with the offerings that Yahweh ordained should be brought before Him. The firstlings of the flock represent the Lamb who would be slain for the sins of the world, and we are told that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin" (Hebrews 9:22). Abel’s offering found acceptance with God because it looked forward in faith to that spotless Lamb that would one day cleanse the world from all guilt and condemnation. The scriptures reveal that it was because of this faith that Abel’s offering was acceptable in God’s sight.</div> <bR> <div> Hebrews 11:4</div> <div> By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous...</div> <bR> <div> Cain, however, made an offering based upon his own works that did not look to the future atonement of Yahshua. After Adam sinned, the ground was cursed and produce came forth by the sweat of man’s brow. It was the fruit of his own sweat and labor that Cain presented to God as an offering and God was not impressed. Babylon always seeks to ascend to God through its own works and to thereby find acceptance and approval. Cain made an offering of the best that he had, and I am certain he was proud of the quality and quantity of the fruit. He thought, "Certainly God will have regard for my offering", but God did not. By works of the flesh no man will be justified before God. Justification is only by faith in Yahshua and HIS FINISHED WORK.</div> <bR> <div> This is actually the key distinction between Babylon and Zion. Babylon initiates great works and then asks God to bless them. Babylon has the appearance of great industriousness and her progress seems evident to all. But Babylon’s works are the works of man. Babylon may be doing the same kind of works that Yahshua performed, but she is doing them as she sees fit, not by command of God. Babylon is not Spirit directed, she is soul directed.</div> <bR> <div> The soul of man devises many plans that seem noble and right and which find the approval of others. As we saw earlier, some of these activities include prophesying, casting out demons, and performing miracles. These activities also include feeding the hungry, proclaiming the gospel, building ministries with noble sounding purposes, and the list could go on and on.</div> <bR> <div> The majority of the saints have been taught to judge things according to sight. If they observe a man casting out a demon they judge such a one to be righteous and holy and pleasing to God. If they see a person performing an authentic miracle they conclude that this person certainly bears the stamp of God’s approval. If they see a person operating a charity to care for the poor, they will also assume that it must certainly be of God. Yet Yahshua said that "many" would come to Him in the day of judgment and proclaim that they did such things in His name, but He will deny even knowing them.</div> <bR> <div> This is a large part of the trouble of coming out of Babylon: Babylon looks good on the outside. This is the same struggle that those who followed Messiah faced when He said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you can in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The Pharisees looked good. They prayed. They fasted. They tithed of all their substance. They meticulously kept the Law... Yet, they were relying on their own works to gain approval before a holy God.</div> <bR> <div> Yahshua told the story of the Pharisee who stood proudly in the Temple and looked with disdain at the tax collector who was on his face before God. The Pharisee pompously prayed, "I thank you God that I am not like this sinner." Yet Yahshua said the sinner went home JUSTIFIED while the Pharisee found no regard before God. The sinner threw himself on the mercy of God, offering no works, making no bargains, pledging no promises, trusting wholly to the character of God to deliver him. He simply asked for mercy and he believed God would be merciful.</div> <bR> <div> The paradox today is that it is often the most righteous looking people who are the chief citizens of Babylon for they are working hard to find approval before God. They are striving laboriously to appear righteous. Many a minister has spent his entire life working to find the approval of God and of men, and he has yoked the people who follow him to the same burden of works. They may accomplish many remarkable things, but before God it is all striving and dead works for they are not born out of faith in the completed work of Christ. As the Galatians who began in faith and then tried to continue in works, such ones have become severed from Christ and He has become altogether worthless to them.</div> <bR> <div> Looking at a church externally, how can you tell which ones are of Babylon and which are of Zion? They may both be performing the same activities, but one body is striving to be judged as righteous, while the other is resting in the knowledge that in Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, they are already righteous. One is seeking to overcome the flesh, the world and the Devil by imitating the works of Christ, the other realizes that Christ has already overcome all and they are in Christ and He is in them. One body is expending their very life to be approved before God, and the other proclaims that they have died and their life has been hidden with God in Christ Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah.</div> <bR> <div> These are things that are not easily quantified and observable, but Babylon is living life from a point of striving to be approved before God and man while Zion is resting in the life of the Son. Zion is a people of faith.</div> <bR> <div> Perhaps nowhere is this identity of Babylon seen more clearly than in the judgment that was brought upon Judah and Jerusalem when they were given over into the hands of ancient Babylon. The duration of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s captivity was prophesied to be seventy years. This time period was arrived at based on the number of years that they had failed to let the land know its sabbath rests.</div> <bR> <div> Every seven years Israel was commanded to not till the land, nor plant, nor harvest. They were to let the land enjoy a sabbath, an annual rest. They should have taken a lesson from Cain. "Give it a rest Cain. God doesn’t want your sweat and your labor. He wants your faith." Even so, the people of Israel were commanded to demonstrate the principle of rest and live by faith every seventh year. They were to trust God to provide everything they needed. But man has a problem with faith. Man wants to trust in his own works to carry him through.</div> <bR> <div> Judah and Jerusalem had not given the land a rest in 490 years. This means the land had missed seventy of its sabbaths. As a judgment against their lack of faith Yahweh had the people carried away into captivity and for seventy years the land knew rest. For seventy years there was no one to till and to plant and to harvest.</div> <bR> <div> II Chronicles 36:20-21</div> <div> Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.</div> <bR> <div> This is the difference between Babylon and Zion. Babylon is a land of works where man must accomplish every task and fulfill every mandate. Babylon knows nothing of rest and faith. Oh yes, Babylon speaks very much about faith, but it is a faith that is rooted in man’s ability. Babylon’s faith is founded upon man’s ability to envision some end and to see it through. Babylon is built with blueprints, and planning sessions, and organization, and fund drives, and pep rallies, and the sweat of untold men and women. This is why when all is said and done and some project has come to completion, the people of Babylon feel justified to stand and proclaim:</div> <bR> <div> Daniel 4:30</div> <div> "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built... by the might of my power...?"</div> <bR> <div> Zion, however, is not seeking to build anything of her own will and initiative. Zion is a people of faith. Zion knows that salvation is of the Lord, as is sanctification, and as is glorification. Zion does not labor to build a city, for she seeks a city not built with hands whose builder and maker is not man, but God. Zion does not seek to work for the approval of Yahweh, she works because she IS approved by Yahweh.</div> <bR> <div> Zion is a city of rest. This does not mean that those who are of Zion are doing nothing, it means that they are doing nothing of their own initiative. They are doing those works that God prepared beforehand for them. They are not dreaming up their own works, nor are they stretching out their hands to labor in fields to which they have not been sent. Austin Sparks made this very enlightening comment:</div> <bR> <div> Thus it was that we were turned in that dark hour to Romans chapter six, and, almost as though He spoke in audible language, the Lord said: ‘When I died, you died. When I went to the Cross I not only took your sins, but I took you. When I took you, I not only took you as the sinner that you might regard yourself to be, but I took you as being all that you are by nature; your good (?) as your bad; your abilities as well as your disabilities; yes, every resource of yours. I took you as a "worker", a "preacher", an organizer! <U>My Cross means that not even for Me can you be or do anything out from yourself, but if there is to be anything at all it must be out from Me, and that means a life of absolute dependence and faith.’</U></div> <bR> <div> At this point, therefore, we awoke to the fundamental principle of our Lord's own life while here, and it became the law of everything for us from that time. That principle was: "nothing of (out from) Himself", but "all things of (out from) God".</div> <bR> <div> The Son can do nothing of (out from) Himself, but what He seeth the Father doing: for what things soever He doeth, then the Son also doeth in like manner' (John 5:19).</div> <bR> <div> "I can of Myself do nothing: as I hear I judge" (John 5:30).</div> <bR> <div> "My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me" (John 7:16).</div> <bR> <div> We saw that this explains so many strange and - naturally - perplexing things in His behavior: <U>acting and refusing to act; going and refusing to go; speaking and refusing to speak. </U>Later, we came to see that <U>this is the whole meaning of life in the Spirit</U>, and that <U>it is an altogether different life from the natural ways of men, even of Christian men.</U> At the time of this seeing, it was a matter of this law becoming basic, absolute, and ultimate, and it was something totally different from what had been in all our ideas and activities in Christian life and work.</div> <bR> <div> Yes, those who are of Zion are to be emptied of self, both that which they consider bad as well as that which they consider good. Zion is to live out the words of Paul:</div> <bR> <div> Galatians 2:20</div> <div> "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."</div> <bR> <div> Babylon seeks to perform godly works through human industry and effort. Babylon asks the question, "What Would Jesus Do?", and then it tries to perform that action in the power of sinful flesh. Zion, however, sees self as crucified with Christ and Christ now living in and through them. As one brother has stated, Zion says, "Watch What Jesus Does!"</div> <bR> <div> We have seen that Judah and Jerusalem were given over to Babylonian captivity until the land could receive its seventy sabbaths that it had been denied. The issue of rest is the most critical distinction between these two cities. By faith in the work of Messiah Zion enters into rest. Due to unbelief Babylon endures ceaseless striving and fails to enter into the sabbath rest of God. Babylon’s works are birthed in the mind, will, and emotions of man. Many of these works appear noble and some are even supernatural in nature. But due to the corrupted source from which they arise all such works are rejected by God. Many of the works of Babylon are in direct opposition to Zion and her citizens.</div> <bR> <div> Yahshua said the day would come when people would kill His disciples and think they were doing God a favor. Such is the end result of the polluted well that Babylon drinks from. In the name of God and His Christ millions of saints have been martyred in the past 2,000 years. This is the work of Babylon. What a shock is in store for these who will stand before Yahshua and say, "Did we not kill the infidels and heretics in Your name?" He will reply, "When you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it unto Me."</div> <bR> <div> Perhaps now you can see more clearly why Zion and Babylon cannot be identified merely by external measurements. Tares and wheat look much alike until they bear fruit. I know some would like to have a rule of thumb to be able to tell Babylon apart from Zion. Such rules are hard to come by, but one indicator I will give. Zion is a people of faith, while Babylon walks by sight and reason.</div> <div> [end excerpt]</div> <bR> <div> The coming work of completing the temple of living stones that is to be a dwelling place for God is a work that must of necessity be done at the leading, and through the empowerment, of the Spirit. The Spirit will not dwell in something that man has made, but only that which is initiated and performed in the power of the Spirit.</div> <bR> <div> <B>The Top Stone and the Corner Stone</B></div> <bR> <div> Another thing is observed as we look at the verse that follows the one we have just examined.</div> <bR> <div> Zechariah 4:7</div> <div> "What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'" </div> <bR> <div> What is this top stone that is spoken of here? We are told that Christ is the Head of the church.</div> <bR> <div> Ephesians 4:15</div> <div> We are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ...</div> <bR> <div> Christ is the stone that the builders rejected. He is both the top stone and the corner stone. There is only one type of building whose top stone is also a corner stone, and that is a pyramid. In the writing “A Whisper on the Wind” I shared some insights into the mystery of the Great Pyramid that is located on the plains of Giza.</div> <bR> <div> I am convinced, as have been many others throughout time, that this pyramid was built at the leading of God’s Spirit to stand as a sign and a testimony to mankind of the working of God and His plan in creation. There are many phenomenal details relating to this pyramid, and, of course these things are not broadcast widely, for much deception and falsehood is taught about the origin and purpose of the Great Pyramid. It is commonly proclaimed that it was built by Pharaoh Cheops, also known as Khufu, for a burial place. However, no Pharaoh’s have ever been found to be buried in ANY of the pyramids. All the Pharaoh’s that have been found to this date, such as Tutankhamen, have been found far away in the Valley of the Kings. They were not buried in Pyramids.</div> <bR> <div> Isaiah records these words that many believe relate to the Great Pyramid.</div> <bR> <div> Isaiah 19:19, 20</div> <div> In that day there shall be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a monument beside its boundary to Yahweh. And it comes to be for a sign for the eon, and for a testimony to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt.</div> <div> [Concordant Literal Translation]</div> <bR> <div> The words, “it comes to be a sign for the eon (age)”, seem to be very appropriate for the Great Pyramid, for no other structure of such grand scale has survived the ages to remain with us as a sign and a testimony unto this day. It was Sir Isaac Newton that first determined that the Pyramids had been built with a measure called the Pyramid Inch, which is slightly larger than the English Inch. Five times five of these inches comprised a Pyramid Cubit, and it was later determined that these were the same divine measurements that the Hebrews used, and which are spoken of throughout the scriptures.</div> <bR> <div> I could not relate all the phenomenal things about the Great Pyramid that have been observed to this date, but I will mention just a few. The height of the pyramid is the exact height of the average height of the earth above sea level if you were to average all the land mass upon the earth. The pyramid is situated at the center of the greatest amount of land mass of any place in the world. That is, if you were to measure north and south anywhere on earth, you would find more land and less water both north and south where it is located than anywhere else on earth. The same is true if you were to measure east and west. So this sign that God has placed in the middle of Egypt (Egypt being a symbol of the world) is literally situated in the middle of the world.</div> <bR> <div> The Great Pyramid is not hollow as some imagine, but solid, with just a few chambers and passageways inside of it. It is estimated that over two million stones were used in it’s construction, and it is so heavy that there are only a few spots in the world that could support it’s massive weight. The pyramid is so massive that it’s interior temperature remains a constant 68.8 degrees Fahrenheit, similar to what one would find in a deep cave in the earth. The pyramid is also aligned perfectly with the directions of the compass, and only in recent years has “modern” man been able to measure to the accuracy with which this pyramid was laid out.</div> <bR> <div> Inside the Great Pyramid are two main chambers. One is called the Queen’s chamber because it has a vaulted ceiling, and it was thought that the ancient Egyptians used to bury women in rooms with vaulted ceilings. However, no tomb, sarcophagus, or other items relating to a burial have been found in it.</div> <bR> <div> At exactly twice the height within the Pyramid as the Queen’s chamber, is another chamber known as the King’s Chamber. The walls of this chamber are lined with red granite, and the best known source for this type of red granite is Mount Sinai where Moses received the ten commandments. It is thought that the ten commandments were also carved into tablets made of this same red granite.</div> <bR> <div> There is only one thing in the King’s chamber, and this is an empty coffer that was hewn out of a single piece of granite. It is believed that the coffer was drilled out to make it hollow, and the tools it would have taken to do such a job are unknown. The coffer is too large to fit through any of the passageways inside the pyramid, so it would have had to have been placed there before the pyramid was finished, and before this room was sealed off from above. The empty coffer in the King’s chamber is the same dimensions as those given for the Ark of the Covenant. There is much symbolism here, of course: an empty tomb in a room of red granite, the coffer being the same size as the Ark where the presence of God was manifested in glory.</div> <bR> <div> There is a single passageway leading to the King’s Chamber, and for six sevenths of it’s length it is very constricted so that a man has to walk down it bent over. At exactly the six sevenths point the passageway opens up and a man can stand upright. This is symbolic of man’s condition for six thousand years as he has walked with the burden of sin, but on the seventh day, the millennial kingdom age, there will be a group of firstfruits overcomers who will at last know the freedom of being loosed from the burden man has carried for so long.</div> <bR> <div> I have not even scratched the surface of all the mysteries hidden within this pyramid, but one thing I want to mention that I have understood recently, and which I believe holds significance for the hour we live in. The Great Pyramid today is missing it’s outer covering. It was once covered with smooth cladding stones made of white granite. As it sat on the Giza Plateau and the sun shone on this massive structure covered entirely with polished white granite, it must have appeared as a beacon that was blinding in it’s brilliance. It has been estimated that it’s reflection was so great that it could be seen from the mountains of Israel and it would have even appeared as a bright pinpoint of light if viewed from the moon.</div> <bR> <div> I was astonished when I read that the number of cladding stones that had been carved to cover the surface of the Great Pyramid numbered 144,000. The significance immediately struck me in that the 144,000 in Revelation represent those who have been single in their pursuit of Christ, and they are among the first to bear His glory. These 144,000 will reflect the light of the Son. Of the 144,000 it is said, “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1). The Lamb is in the midst of the 144,000 even as the King’s Chamber with the empty tomb is in the midst of the pyramid that was covered with 144,000 cladding stones.</div> <bR> <div> It is appropriate that the cladding stones have been missing from the Pyramid for centuries, for the glory of the Lord has been little seen among men, but a time is coming soon when it will be revealed again. The following passage speaks of a glorified Zion:</div> <bR> <div> Isaiah 60:1-3</div> <div> "Arise, shine; for your light has come, </div> <div> And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. </div> <div> For behold, darkness will cover the earth </div> <div> And deep darkness the peoples; </div> <div> But Yahweh will rise upon you </div> <div> And His glory will appear upon you. </div> <div> Nations will come to your light, </div> <div> And kings to the brightness of your rising.”</div> <bR> <div> Can you envision the 144,000, the cladding stones that reflect the light of the Son, being set in the midst of the earth for all to behold? The day is fast approaching. God is building a tabernacle of living stones, and He will unveil a firstfruits company that will bring glory to the temple that has fallen into reproach. The glory of God will arise upon those who have followed the Lamb wherever He led.</div> <div> [End Excerpt]</div> <bR> <div> Yes, God is soon to complete the building of this temple of living stones, and He is to pour forth His glory upon the overcomers who are referred to as the 144,000. Even as these were set on the outside of the Great Pyramid, so too will the elect of God be placed where all the world can see them.</div> <bR> <div> There is another great sign revealed through the pyramid spoken of here. Not only are the cladding stones missing, but it has no top stone. Below is a picture of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Note that both of these things are not present.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="88d819e0.jpg" border=0 width="385" height="414" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>                                         </div> <div> There is a platform approximately thirty feet square on the top of the Great Pyramid. Archaeologists have concluded that the top stone was probably never set in place. Even as the church awaits the top stone of the temple being set in place with shouts of “Grace, grace” unto it, so does this magnificent structure await not only the restoration of its 144,000 cladding stones to once more reflect the glory of the Sun, but it also awaits the placing of its top stone.</div> <bR> <div> Is it not amazing that only in a pyramid is the corner stone the top stone? Even more amazing the corner stone is a perfect representation of the rest of the building, for the top stone is itself the shape of a pyramid. God has determined that as living stones we are to be built up into the image of Christ, our cornerstone. Would it not make sense that the building should also be a perfect image of the corner stone? Strabo, describing the Great Pyramid before the casing stones were removed by Arabs some 600 years ago, wrote, “It seemed like a building let down from heaven, untouched by human hands.” What an awesome description of the temple that God desires to build in this hour. Something that appears “let down from heaven”<B> </B>and “untouched by human hands.” Such a description could not be given of the church in this hour.</div> <bR> <div> But what do the Scriptures mean when they say that the top stone will be brought forth with shouts of “Grace, grace” unto it. We know that this top stone is Christ, for we are told:</div> <bR> <div> John 1:17</div> <div> For the Law was given through Moses; <U>grace</U> and truth were <U>realized through Jesus Christ</U>.</div> <bR> <div> Grace was realized through Christ. What is grace? In one sense it is unmerited favor and mercy. Yet in another sense it is the power of God to accomplish His will. Moses brought the Law to Israel and the Law revealed the righteousness of God. The Law, however, did not provide the power to keep its statutes and regulations. Man’s heart remained sinful and unable to attain to the righteousness of the Law. The Law did not provide the power to do the will of God. Yet in Christ the power has now been given.</div> <bR> <div> The temple of living stones cannot be built with the power of man, for “it is not by might, nor by power”, says the Lord. It must be built by the power of the Spirit of Christ. This is why we read in Zechariah that the top stone will be put in place with shouts of “Grace, grace.” It is God’s power, and not the industry of man, that will accomplish this.</div> <bR> <div> The Babylonian church system of this day is building many things, and involved in many works that appear righteous, but they are largely all wood, hay and stubble, for only that which is initiated and empowered by the Spirit is acceptable unto God. Only that which comes through broken vessels that have known the crucifixion of the flesh is pleasing to the Father. The temple God would build must be absent of man’s initiative and the works of the flesh.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Conclusion</B></div> <bR> <div> The Spirit is speaking of Zerubbabel in this hour. A remnant are being called forth from Babylon, and they will be given the task of completing that which was begun 2,000 years ago. Yet this work will not be done according to the whim of man. It will do no good for men to gather together in their strategic planning sessions and map out how the church must change in coming days. It is the Spirit that will accomplish this work. All that is required by the remnant who are called to this grand work is that they abide in the Spirit and move by the empowerment of the Spirit. Of the 144,000 it is spoken:</div> <bR> <div> Revelation 14:4</div> <div> These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. </div> <bR> <div> It is not for us to plan how we will accomplish the will of God. It is not for us to focus all of our natural abilities to seeing this great work accomplished. It is given to us to simply hear and obey. The Spirit will guide us in the labor at hand. He will tell us when to act and when not to act. He will tell us when to go, and when not to go. He will tell us when to speak and when not to speak. As we obey we will find that the temple is being completed and the glory of God will once more be seen in the earth.</div> <bR> <div> Yes, dark days lie ahead. These days are necessary, however, to bring forth a purified people and a holy dwelling place for God.</div> <bR> <div> Luke 21:28</div> <div> And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.</div> <bR> <div> Selah!</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>