If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved (Rom 10:9).

We’ve all confessed (give assent to or acknowledge) with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and understand its importance to our salvation, but what about the “believe in your heart” portion of the verse?

In Romans 10:10 Paul goes on to say that it’s with our heart that we believe and are justified. The Greek word translated justify is fromdikaios which means to be innocent or holy. The King James translates this word “believe unto righteousness” meaning that our belief in the resurrection is what brings us our righteousness, allowing God to regard us as though we’re innocent of any sin and therefore holy.

The notion of a bodily resurrection is as old as the Bible itself. It’s contained in what is arguably the earliest written book of the Bible.

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

King David knew he would see his newly deceased infant son again (2 Sam 12:22-23) and both Isaiah 26:20-21 and Daniel 12:2 promise a bodily resurrection at the end of the age.

The Church in Corinth had difficulty understanding this so in 1 Cor. 15Paul devoted a whole chapter to their questions about resurrection going as far as to state, “If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile, you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:7). Yet today many who call themselves Christian still don’t believe it.  Liberal theology does not require belief in a bodily resurrection, and even among Evangelicals it’s sometimes spiritualized away. We know that if we believe the Bible we are required to believe in a bodily resurrection, but do we know why it’s required?

There’s More Here Than Meets the Eye

John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of world (John 1:29), not just the sins of the Jews or even of those Jews and Gentiles present at the time, but the sins of the world. Every violation of God’s law that ever had been or ever would be committed was to be dealt with. Of course this didn’t mean that the world would no longer be a sinful place, or that everyone would be saved, but that the penalty for the sins of the world would be borne by the Lamb of God for the benefit of all who chose to accept it.  Here’s how it happened.

In Roman crucifixions a sign was posted above the head of the one being executed listing the broken laws for which his life was being taken. It was meant as a deterrent for those watching the public executions. In Jesus’ case the sign said “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” indicating his crime against Rome was treason. In Col 2:13-14 we’re told that in the spiritual realm another sign was also posted. It listed all the sins that mankind ever had or ever would commit. It explained why His life was really being taken.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross(Col 2:13-14).

Notice it says He forgave us all our sins. Not just the ones we committed before we were saved, and not just the ones we commit by accident. He forgave all of our sins, even those we commit willfully and repeatedly.

Hebrews 10:12-14 says that Jesus offered for all time one sacrifice for sin and then sat down at the right hand of God, because by that one sacrifice He has made us perfect forever. His death took place on one specific day in time, but its effect applies across the span of time to all the days of every man. We only have to ask for God’s forgiveness to receive it.

But Jesus actually did much more than bear the punishment due us. 2 Cor 5:21 says that God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, while on the cross He became the physical embodiment of sin. God can not dwell in the presence of sin, nor even look upon it (Haba 1:13) and so He had to turn away, separating Himself from His Son. For 3 hours light was taken from the world and for the first time in eternity the 2 were not 1.

If the ultimate punishment for sin is complete separation from God, Jesus suffered it then. It was the only time in the entire ordeal that He complained, crying, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”(Matt 27:45-46) When He had died, His punishment over, He no longer personified sin and the light was restored.

What’s The Point?

After His resurrection, Jesus looked like other men to His disciples and the 500 eyewitnesses who saw Him (1 Cor. 15:6). He walked with His disciples, talked with them, ate with them and permitted them to touch Him to assure themselves He was not just a spirit, but a man with flesh and bone (Luke 24:36-43). His was a bodily resurrection. Later He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Now here’s the point. Remember, God cannot be in the presence of sin or even look upon it (Haba 1:13). Jesus had taken upon himself every sin of mankind, past, present, and future. If even one was left unpaid by His death, Jesus couldn’t be in God’s presence and would still be in the grave (Rom 6:23). His resurrection is proof of yours. If you cannot believe that God raised Jesus from the dead then you cannot believe that all your sins are forgiven and that He will raise you up.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For in Adam all die so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor. 15:20-22).

On that Sunday morning in April of 32AD, as the sun was rising, the priests in the Temple were preparing for the festival that always begins on the morning after the first Sabbath after Passover. It was First Fruits, signifying the beginning of the spring harvest for the Nation of Israel.

And Mary was going to the tomb with some other women to complete the burial process that had been interrupted by the holy days following the crucifixion. But the tomb was empty. The Son had risen, the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

That empty tomb was the clearest sign we have ever received that the Lord had accomplished His mission. The Lamb of God had indeed taken away the sin of the world, all of it.

The essential gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and that He was raised on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4).  Believing this is the only qualification for salvation.  We are sinners in need of a savior.  Jesus died for our sins, and to prove that His death was sufficient for us,  God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead is our assurance that He will raise us, too.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins (Isaiah 40:2).

With all our focus on the New Jerusalem, home of the Church, we sometimes forget there will still be an “old” Jerusalem here on Earth during the Millennium.

Paul was the first to make reference to both cities when he said the current Jerusalem is symbolic of the Old Covenant, but the Jerusalem that’s above symbolizes the New Covenant (Galatians 4:24-26).  I think it’s also the first mention of the New Jerusalem being above the Earth, not on it.

I’ve written about the New Jerusalem several times, how it will be the exclusive home of the redeemed Church.  At about 1400 miles tall, wide, and deep it will be much too big to fit on Earth.  In fact, it will be almost 2/3rds the size of the moon.   Put in a different perspective, if the entire world population, currently about 7,000,000,000 people, lived in one geographic location with the population density of New York City, it would be a city the size of the state of Texas. The way it’s described in Rev. 21:16 leads many people to believe the New Jerusalem is either a cube or pyramid shaped.  But if it was a sphere, like the moon, the New Jerusalem could easily  accommodate 22 cities this size on its surface area. That’s 22 times the total current population of Earth.  Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not big enough for the Church.

It won’t require the light of the Sun or the Moon because its light will come from the Glory of Lord.  It will never be night there, but will provide light for the Earth during the Millennium (Rev. 21:23-25).

But the purpose of this article is to describe the Jerusalem on Earth at the End of the Age.  In Zechariah 12:3 the Lord warned that He will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations.  All who try to move it will injure themselves. Listen to what follows.

“On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place” (Zechariah 12:6).  On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9).

Because Jerusalem isn’t threatened in these verses, and since Israel will consume the surrounding peoples, I think these verses will find their fulfillment in the Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38 battles. If they turn out the way we think, Israel will regain all it’s Biblical lands and will think they have no more border issues to deal with. The land on which Ezekiel’s battle will be fought is called the mountains of Israel in Ezekiel 38:8.  Today we know this land as the Golan Heights, currently contested by Syria and Lebanon/Hezbollah, and central Israel which is where the boundary of the so-called West Bank meets Israel proper. To me this gives us a hint that Ezekiel 38may in part be an attempt by the Islamic attackers to regain territory their brothers in arms will have lost in Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17.

Also, the burial ground mentioned in Ezekiel 39:11 and called the Valley of Hamon Gog in Ezekiel 39:15  is just outside of Jericho, the current Palestinian headquarters.  Ezekiel 39:11 says it will be part of Israel at the time of this battle, giving us another hint that the Palestinian issue will be resolved in Israel’s favor before Ezekiel 38begins.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zechariah 12:10).

According to Ezekiel 39:22 Israel will return to the Lord after the battle of Ezekiel 38 for the last seven years of the Old Covenant, which was interrupted some 2,000 years ago by the Church Age. This period is also called Daniel’s 70th Week.

Toward the end of the Great Tribulation, which is the last half of the 70th Week, the Lord will finally open Jewish eyes that since the first Palm Sunday have been blinded to the fact that Jesus has been their Messiah all along (Luke 19:41-45).

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity”(Zechariah 13:1).

I think this will happen just before the Battle of Armageddon when the remnant will be sequestered in Petra, which is its Greek name. It’s called Bozrah in Isaiah 63:1-6.

Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?

“I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing.

For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk
and poured their blood on the ground.”

Having defeated the armies who will attack His people in Petra, the Lord will turn toward Jerusalem for the final showdown.  Let’s go back to the prophecy of  Zechariah to see how that unfolds.

A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city (Zech 14:1-2).

As the battle for Planet Earth begins, the armies of the anti-Christ will attack and this time will control the Holy City for a little while.  It will be a terrible time for those who didn’t heed the Lord’s earlier warning to flee into the desert (Matt. 24:15-18). Their belongings will be taken from them and distributed to their enemies right before their eyes and half the city’s population will flee from the invaders.

Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zech 14:3-5)

When it looks as if all is lost, the Lord will descend to the Mount of Olives, to the very place He departed from nearly 2000 years ago just as Acts 1:10-11foretold. As He does, an earthquake will cause the Mount of Olives to split in half forming a deep valley that extends to the Mediterranean in the west and to the Dead Sea in the east.  It will run straight through the current Temple Mount, which is due west of the Mt. Of Olives.  The Temple Mount along with the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque will disappear into a pile of rubble at the bottom of this valley.

The Lord’s return will cause the immediate defeat of His enemies, after which He’ll make His triumphal entry into the city followed by His legions of Holy Warriors.

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.(Zech, 14:6-9)

From Matt. 24:29 we know that immediately after the Great Tribulation the Sun and Moon will go dark.  Normally, temperatures would begin dropping immediately and the world would soon become unbearably cold. But in the passage above we see that although it will be totally dark, there will be no  such temperature drop during the time when the world awaits the Lord’s return because He’ll maintain the Earth’s temperature.  At the end of the day of His return, there will be light, probably because of the New Jerusalem descending down out of Heaven to take its place in the vicinity of Earth (Rev. 21:2). Remember,   during the Millennium Earth’s light will come from the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24 ).

By connecting Ezekiel 47-48 to Zechariah 14:6-9, a growing number of scholars have come to believe that the next Temple will be built just north of Jerusalem in Shiloh, and not on the current Temple Mount.  In his vision, Ezekiel saw a great river flowing from beneath the south side of the Temple and Zechariah shows it doing so on the day of the Lord’s return, meaning the Temple will already be in place.  Since the earthquake will have destroyed the current Temple Mount earlier in the same day, we can see why this Northern location makes sense. When the cascading water reaches the newly created valley, half will flow east into the Dead Sea and half will flow west into the Mediterranean, drowning the rubble from the current Temple mount beneath its crystal depths.

This will also be the day of fulfillment for Philippians 2:9-11; Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But that’s not all. Psalms 2 and 110 will also be fulfilled along with a host of other prophecies, as the Messiah-King takes possession of that which He’s paid for, Planet Earth. In the process the topography of the land surrounding Jerusalem will be forever changed.

The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(Zech. 14:10-11)

The Arabah contains the Jordan River valley and the Dead Sea and continues to the Red Sea. It’s the lowest place on Earth, over 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. The area south of Jerusalem will be lowered to match it, while the city itself will be elevated.  And finally, for the first time in thousands of years, it will be secure, a City of Peace at last.  Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. (Joel 3:20)

But Wait, There’s More
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.  You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. (Isaiah 62:1-3)

About 150 years after Isaiah wrote these words, the Lord revealed Jerusalem’s new name to Ezekiel.  Ezekiel 48 describes how the Promised Land will be divided among the tribes in the Millennium and includes the allocation for the Temple and the Holy City.  In the very last sentence of the last verse in the book, the Lord had Ezekiel write;

And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE  (Ezekiel 48:35)