Worship in Zion

By Apostle John Eckhardt

Confessions to Release the Power of the Lord To order visit: www.johneckhardtministries.com

1 Kings 12:28-30
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

Bethel and Dan were substitute places of worship set up by king Jeroboam. The king established them to prevent the northern tribes from going to Jerusalem, the true place of worship. The Psalms continually emphasized that Jerusalem (Zion) was the prescribed place of worship. This was in contrast to the false places of worship which promoted idolatry.

Psalm 132:13
For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

Psalm 102:21
To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;

Psalm 135:21
Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 99:9
Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Jerusalem was the place of Gods habitation. Zion was Gods dwelling place. Jesus confirmed this in his statement to the Samaritan woman.

John 4:19-24
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Mount Zion was the proper place of worship, not mount Gerizim, the mountain sacred to the Samaritans. Jesus then tells her that the time had come for a total change. Worship would no longer be centered in earthly Jerusalem. True worship would only be in spirit and truth. Jerusalem is no longer the center of worship, and NEVER WILL BE AGAIN. The arrival of the kingdom and the new covenant meant that worship would be global. Worship is now available to all people. Every believer has access to Gods presence. Gods presence is no longer behind a veil in an earthly temple, but now WE ARE THE TEMPLE.

Worship is now in the church, heavenly Jerusalem.

Hebrews 12:22-24
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, 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 speaketh better things than that of Abel.

The earthly was a type of the heavenly. Earthly Jerusalem was a picture of what was to come. Now that the heavenly has arrived, there is no need to go back to the earthly. Why settle for the picture when you can have the reality? The present day emphasis on earthly Jerusalem has absolutely nothing to do with the Kingdom or Worship.