Stretch your imagination to see what the Holy City of Jerusalem is going to look like in just a very few years!
God has always been headquarters minded. The temporal headquarters of His Work on Earth points people toward Him, and His dwelling place in the third heaven. It projects our minds forward to the time when God the Father Himself will descend to Earth and govern the universe from here! In truth, God Himself is headquarters!
What an extraordinary vision is wrapped up in headquarters, the place where God dwells. God always wants His headquarters to be a bright beacon of light to the world! He wants people’s minds tied in to where the Head is.
In the days of King David, the headquarters of God’s chosen nation was in Jerusalem. David wanted to build God a house there that would be “exceeding magnifical”—so magnificent that its splendor would actually bring people to God.
He instructed his son Solomon in that stirring headquarters vision, and Solomon built the temple. When the queen of Sheba visited, she was so impressed that she uttered, “Blessed be the Lord thy God”! (1 Kings 10:9). God’s earthly headquarters pointed this queen to God, just as King David and God intended. She was moved to contribute wealth to this glorious project (verse 10). She left God’s earthly headquarters inspired and filled with vision!
This same scene played out over and over. People came from all over to witness the magnificence of God’s headquarters with their own eyes. Kings gave of their treasure, adding to the treasure the Israelites gave. Verse 14 shows that, in a single year, well over half a billion dollars’ worth of gold (in today’s value) came in!
Physically, what we have at God’s headquarters today isn’t nearly so impressive. But spiritually, there is something far more impressive happening here. Visiting the headquarters of God’s Church in Edmond, Oklahoma, is a special experience. You can sense God’s Spirit here. It is a place of peace and joy. To God’s people, it feels like home. And God ties us all in with it directly since we fund it through our offerings and contributions. This campus combines the collective energies of those who work here and our worldwide family of co-workers. We all have our role to play in making this the finest headquarters it can be. That’s why it is so moving to God’s people when they visit Edmond. We can get a sense of what stirred the queen of Sheba and others.
That feeling of awe, respect, joy and peace we experience in Edmond is exactly the feeling that people the world over will have about God’s headquarters on Earth in the World Tomorrow! And, once again, that headquarters will be Jerusalem.
Let’s use our imaginations to visit Jerusalem—the headquarters of the Millennium.
Repentance in Jerusalem
When He returns, Jesus Christ will rule the world from David’s throne where it belongs: Jerusalem. Before He can establish His government, however, He must issue some harsh correction. He will have a sharp two-edged sword and a rod of iron. All people who came against Jerusalem to conquer it must answer to Christ! (Zechariah 12:3, 9).
Once their rebellion is put down and their blinders are removed, people will recognize just whom they have been fighting! “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon” (verses 10-11).
What a beautiful prophecy! Imagine eyes being opened. Imagine people coming to recognize God—and repenting for having had any part of fighting against and killing His very Son! They will blush for shame over what they have done to God the Father. They will see that even though they hated Him, He only loves them!
”The whole world will look upon the crucified Christ and mourn as if they had lost a firstborn son!” editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in Jerusalem in Prophecy. “God will correct all of humanity by getting them focused on God and Jerusalem!”
Once people have been humbled, we will begin to build in them a habit of focusing on God—and on God’s headquarters. “God will reach into the lives of every repentant person on Earth—from Jerusalem” (ibid).
Lifted Up!
The whole world will smolder in desolation after the Tribulation. Reconstruction will begin in Jerusalem.
Psalm 48:2 calls Jerusalem “the city of the great King.” Christ Himself called it that (Matthew 5:35). He will be right there, surely personally directing the reconstruction and rebuilding of the capital city.
“All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place …. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (Zechariah 14:10-11). The earth in that whole area will be raised! “The whole land is to be leveled to a plain in order that Jerusalem may be elevated, and then the holy city is to be restored to its former grandeur,” Lange’s Commentary explains. “The capital seated on her hills shines conspicuous as the only elevation in a very wide region.”
Jerusalem is geographically at the center of the map. It is about to be the most prominent real estate on Earth.
And the most prominent structure within Jerusalem will be the headquarters temple. The mountain of God’s house will be established as the highest of the mountains, and exalted above the hills (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1; Zechariah 8:3). The temple will dominate the landscape at the headquarters city, helping people look to where Christ is!
The Millennial Temple
The Prophet Ezekiel describes that temple in wonderful detail. It will be patterned after God’s heavenly temple, the seat of His throne today. It will have a footprint of half a million square feet, occupying about 13 acres. That is where God’s Philadelphians of today will live!
The outer precinct around the temple, described in the last nine chapters of Ezekiel, will occupy about one square mile of land. The headquarters city itself will only be about 7½ miles square. Considering that it will be the command center for the whole world’s system of governing, that is quite an efficient headquarters facility.
God’s law will begin flowing from that city to the wide world. Word will spread—person to person, family to family, town to town, nation to nation—about happenings in Jerusalem. News of its construction projects and activities, of classes being taught there, will supply headlines around the globe.
The living waters of God’s Spirit will flow from there (Zechariah 14:8).
“And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one” (verse 9). All peoples will have one supreme King—one world government—one religion. They will begin to see the benefits of righteous leadership. They’ll experience the joy of living under God’s government.
Jerusalem will become “the joy of the whole earth”! (Psalm 48:2). God’s earthly headquarters will set the standard for the world!
Where Will People Get Nourishment
What an exciting future we have to look forward to, living and working with our Husband in that headquarters facility. Being a priest at headquarters is a wonderful thing—even today. It is a great blessing to be stationed right in the middle of all the action. In that future headquarters, surely we will often shake our heads and say, What a privilege!
”Only these Philadelphians from the end-time firstfruits will rule from God’s headquarters temple forever!” Mr. Flurry wrote in Ezekiel—The End-Time Prophet. “Why won’t the Laodiceans be at headquarters in God’s Kingdom—even if they repent in the Great Tribulation? Because they are not qualified! They don’t have a headquarters mentalityTODAY! The people who will be at headquarters in God’s Kingdom are the people who have a strong headquarters focus now.” We are receiving specialized training, developing that headquarters focus with this parcel of land in Oklahoma. That is why God plans to place us in the Jerusalem temple and says we will go no more out (Revelation 3:12).
Those who remain loyal to God today will inhabit special rooms in the headquarters temple. Our offices will be near God’s office. We will have special access to Christ—the only ones who come near to God (Ezekiel 40:45-46; 44:15-16). As His helpmeet, we will serve Him—seeing to His needs, helping Him directly.
Over time, everyone will be rejoicing over Jerusalem. “Rejoice with Jerusalem … that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory” (Isaiah 66:10-11; Revised Standard Version). What beautiful imagery. Jerusalem is likened to the mother, from where people receive their nourishment. That is really talking about Christ’s helpmeet—the Lamb’s wife (Revelation 21:9).
“For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold … you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip, and dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem”’ (Isaiah 66:12-13, rsv). As the King’s helpmeet, we will care for His whole Family. That marriage is intended to “bring forth fruit unto God” (Romans 7:4)—sons into the Family!
“In this present evil world, there has been unparalleled suffering in that city. Shortly, the whole world will look to Jerusalem for comfort. What a change!” Mr. Flurry wrote (Jerusalem in Prophecy).
“And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb …” (Isaiah 66:14). How awesome life will be at that temple, filled with God beings! Imagine a place with thousands of Spirit-born, son-of-Zadok, Bride-of-Christ, God Family members! You can be sure it will hum with excitement and dynamic energy.
The Choicest Real Estate on Earth
Alongside this thriving God-being workforce in the temple will be a robust community of physical human beings, growing up, living and working in the foothills of the headquarters facility—the “suburbs” of Jerusalem.
What will life be like for them? “In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David …” (Zechariah 12:8). The weakest among the human beings in that area will be as strong as David! There will be widespread vibrant health, as well as spiritual courage and boldness! “The Lord will exalt his people to a degree of strength and glory far transcending anything in their past experience,” explains Lange’s. “[O]ne who can scarce hold himself up, much less attack a foe, shall become a hero like David”!
Zechariah 12:8 continues: “and the house of David shall be as God ….” That is talking about the beings who will be sitting on the throne of David—Jesus Christ, and us! We are going to be as God!
Imagine a whole city buzzing with activity from these two coexisting populations: human beings that are as King David—and God beings! That is a city we’d all love to live in!
Zechariah gives us a wonderful, specific picture of life for human beings there: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof” (Zechariah 8:4-5). There, in the foothills of the temple, a blessed, active, social life will thrive. City streets will be closed to traffic, and people of all generations will enjoy themselves together there.
Surely many people will want to live close to headquarters. Jeremiah 32:43-44 show that there will be an active real-estate industry in the areas around Jerusalem—the buying and selling of property. It will be the choicest place to live on Earth.
An Awesome Security System
Note the physical and agricultural wealth in that area: “For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. … So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not” (Zechariah 8:12, 15). Joel 3:16-20 say that the mountains around Jerusalem will drop new wine, the hills will flow with milk, and the rivers will flow with waters. That whole area will be a paradise!
“Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein” (Zechariah 2:4). Today, that city is a maze of tiny, narrow streets, hemmed in by walls and surrounded by protective, defensive fortifications. Tomorrow, it will be spread out like open country—yet flourishing with a multitude of people and even animal husbandry! (See also Jeremiah 33:12-13.)
Why won’t Jerusalem need protective gates? “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (Zechariah 2:5). Jesus Christ will reside there in all His glory, protecting as a fiery wall from invaders from outside, and glowing with glory on the inside!
Crime and wrongdoing will not exist. The fiery God of the Old Testament will safeguard the whole city. As in ancient Israel, He will show His presence in a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night, defending the people, sheltering them from heat, and providing refuge from storm and rain. That cloud will appear over every dwelling, and everywhere people are assembling, across Mount Zion (Isaiah 4:5-6).
Global Reputation
As the reputation of God’s capital city spreads, it will attract international attention on a scale far greater than Solomon’s temple did. People will begin to flow to Jerusalem. Like the queen of Sheba anciently, many nations will come and say, Let’s go up to the mountain of God and see His house!
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also” (Zechariah 8:20-21). This is easy to identify with—because it already happens in God’s Church today! Many field members worldwide make the trip to Edmond when they can. “Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord” (verse 22). Countless prophecies show how people the world over will eagerly travel to Jerusalem to visit the temple and worship Christ.
Imagine a world where people are eager and excited to learn God’s truth. When they see someone associated with headquarters, they will clamor to go with him! (verse 23).
Perhaps films or broadcasts will circulate around the world showing the latest developments in the building project. Publications like our college envoys might display beautiful photos of the temple and surrounding structures, the colleges, the entertainment productions, the city life, the people in the streets who are heroes like David. All the emotion and enthusiasm we have for God’s headquarters today in Edmond will be multiplied by thousands and millions worldwide!
The people will call Jerusalem God’s throne (Jeremiah 3:17). Yes, the headquarters city will be synonymous with the throne of Christ and His Bride! People will be looking forward to when that city will replaced by the new Jerusalem, the throne of God!
All the nations will come and go, worshiping God at headquarters. We’ll instruct them on how to overcome their problems and live the abundant life, and they will relish our instruction.
A 24-Hour Day Project
As the years of the Millennium go by, the capital will become more and more spectacular. As the nations visit, they will do just as the queen of Sheba did: They will donate of their wealth in order to support headquarters!
Isaiah 60 is a phenomenal description of Jerusalem. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. … And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. … [A]ll they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side” (verses 1, 3-4).
Verse 5 says that “the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you [Jerusalem], the wealth of the nations shall come to you” (rsv). Not only will nations bring their wealth there, but the mineral wealth locked away in the seas will also be converted for use in the capital. “[T]he world’s gold and silver reserves are mostly under the seas,” Mr. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages. “Scientists know most of the earth’s raw materials lie in the strata beneath the depths of the seas. God says this vast wealth will become available for use during the reign of Jesus Christ on this Earth!
“God says the wealth of the world will be centered in Jerusalem, and that the vast rebuilding programs, rehabilitation processes and new-age pioneering that begin will be backed by that wealth.”
Verses 6-9 describe how the treasures of the nations will flow into headquarters on a massive scale. People from all over the world will want to glorify God and enrich His house! “Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee” (Psalm 68:29). This is the building program of the World Tomorrow. The importation of riches will continue 24 hours a day, so the gates can never be shut! (Isaiah 60:11). What an inspiring picture!
Still, it is not difficult to identify: We’ve been trained by God to exhibit that headquarters focus today! Just as our tithes, offerings, labor, building fund contributions and sacrifices enable the construction of the facilities in Edmond today, those offerings in the future are going to build Jerusalem!
Thus, God will tie all people, no matter how far away they live, into headquarters in a special way. They will all have their role to play in making Jerusalem the finest headquarters it can be.
What a brilliant beacon of light to the whole world! Imagine the light that will emerge from that place—even during the Millennium! (verses 19-20). What an effect seeing headquarters will have on these visitors! The blessings, the peace, the glory and majesty will be overwhelming.
Instilling Fear—Through Blessing
At the Feast of Tabernacles, we learn better to fear God. How does God teach us? By blessing us—giving us extra money to spend, an abundance of fellowship, and wonderful instruction (e.g. Deuteronomy 14:23).
The same principle will apply in millennial Jerusalem. God says nations will “fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity” God gives (Jeremiah 33:9). Witnessing the blessings God showers on His capital city, people will grow in godly fear! They will deeply realize just how wonderful God truly is! Like the queen of Sheba, they will say, “Blessed be the Eternal your God, which delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because the Eternal loved Israel for ever.” In effect, that statement was a prophecy of how God will use Jerusalem during the Millennium to convert the world!
“Thus saith the Lord; Again there shall be heard in this place … in the streets of Jerusalem … The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride …” (verses 10-11). People will hear the voice of Jesus Christ and His Bride!
“In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land” (verse 15). God the Father here draws attention to the fact that Christ came from the lineage of David because He wants to show people the connection with that man—to help them see that He is turning people into God beings!
People will see that Christ is sitting onDavid’s throne! They will say, David is king! He was a man and now he’s a God! What a wonderful plan God has! And look—here’s a whole city full of people who are as David! And a house of David made up of former people who are now as God!
In the verses that follow, God discusses His covenant to preserve David’s throne and His priesthood forever. The context is Jerusalem in the World Tomorrow! Christ is going to plant that throne at His earthly headquarters and keep it there! And His ministers—His sons of Zadok—will be right there with Him forever!
The Feast!
Anciently, whenever there was a temple in Jerusalem, the Israelites—and later the Jews—used it as the center of their worship. The Bible’s description of Jesus’s life, even from His childhood, shows how the Jews were in the habit of traveling there for the holy days, three times a year: Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. Acts 2 also describes Jews from abroad worshiping in Jerusalem.
During these holy day periods, “a constant stream of humanity ribboned the highways leading into first-century Jerusalem. Devout Jews poured in from distant corners of the world to worship [God] in the mountain of His holiness. … Weeks before the [festival], the trickles began—from Asia Minor, from Egypt, from Africa, from Italy, from Greece, from Mesopotamia—and soon the stream became a river. The current of this river flowed upward. Whether the first part of the journey was by boat or by land, no one ever went down to Jerusalem. The holy city sat like a crown 2,610 feet above sea level, and the temple was its brightest, most prominent jewel. In order to reach this destination, all travelers first had to go through the surrounding valleys. The contrasting loftiness of that final ascent built a sense of holiness and awe within the pilgrims as they climbed ever upward” (Ceil and Moishe Rosen, Christ in the Passover).
This is describing history, but it is remarkable in light of the Bible’s prophecies!
“The number of permanent residents in the Jerusalem that Jesus knew was about 600,000. A conservative estimate of the vast multitude of [festival] pilgrims is about 2 million, who swelled the city’s population to almost four times its normal size” (ibid).
Even today, Edmond becomes a very exciting place during the Feast as the population on God’s land swells with visitors. For many, this is the only opportunity to visit headquarters, and many visit for the first time, and they are filled with excitement. In the Millennium, these emotions will saturate people from all over the Earth—many times over!
“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” (Zechariah 14:16). Imagine the celebration! In the city of the great King, Christ will be sitting on the throne of David with His wife in the beautiful headquarters temple.
Clearly, we are going to need a travel industry in the World Tomorrow! We’ll need some forms of rapid transportation to get people from distant continents to Jerusalem.
What will it be like for those people traveling into Jerusalem for the Feast? The whole city will be swarming with people from all over the world—and governed in a loving, efficient way by a cloud of spirit beings. They’ll surely be bursting with emotion to stand within the gates of that headquarters city! (Psalm 122:1-2). They will sense God’s Spirit there. They’ll see a place of peace and joy. And we’re going to do everything we can to make them feel welcome and special—truly, like family! We will help them feel like they are home.
“Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together” (verse 3). This may well be referring to the impressive buildings in the capital city. Think of it: We will need a lot of accommodations to house all those people!
Jerusalem will be a city unlike any other in the world. Surely, seeing a Jerusalem headquarters Feast operate smoothly under the close watch of God’s Spirit-born temple staff will be a thing of extraordinary beauty! The potential for chaos and confusion will be great, with millions or billions of people all pressing into the capital city. But everything will be highly organized, peaceful and efficient.
And why? “For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David” (verse 5). That is talking about our thrones! This is a city with multiple kings—and, over them all, a King of kings! (See also Jeremiah 17:25-26.) Scripture continually reinforces this extraordinary link between Christ, the throne of David, and the headquarters of the Millennium.
Jerusalem After the Millennium
We have just taken a whirlwind tour of that capital city. That is about to become our home for the next 1,000 years!
But as great and awesome and impressive as that is, it is only going to get better after that.
“The Jerusalem of the Millennium will be taken down in the final fire just before Christ delivers the Kingdom of God to the Father …. The whole surface of the Earth will be burned up, including the beautiful headquarters city” (Gerald Flurry, Jerusalem in Prophecy).
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1). “… I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17). It’s hard to imagine forgetting all that glory we have just imagined, but what comes after it is so awesome, it will completely surpass it.
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2-3). God the Father will move from the third heaven and establish His new eternal universal headquarters and throne room right there in Jerusalem!
Amid all this majesty, note the position of honor we will have. In this vision, when an angel tells John that he will “shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (verse 9), the angel takes him straight to this glorious New Jerusalem! (verse 10). That is where God’s Philadelphians will be! A city of pure gold like clear glass, radiant with God’s glory! A headquarters built on 12 foundations of precious stones, surrounded by a great wall with 12 gates of pearl.
The millennial headquarters temple will take up only 13 acres; that’s all we’ll need for governing the nations of the Earth. But the city that will serve as a headquarters facility for the universe will be 1,500 miles across, 1,500 miles deep, and 1,500 miles high! Airplanes only fly about 6 or 7 miles above the Earth’s surface! What a city!
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (verses 22-23). This city will be a beacon for the entire universe! Light will emanate more brightly from there than anywhere in the cosmos, because God the Father dwells there, and Jesus Christ dwells there—and the Bride dwells there. Nations will travel to bring glory and honor to it continually (verses 24-26).
Yes, we are preparing for headquarters positions forever! Why would God give us such an honor? Because of what we are doing right now! Because we are learning how to be tied in and focused on where the Head is.
God has always been headquarters minded. The temporal headquarters of His Work on Earth points people toward Him. It projects our minds forward to the time when the Father will descend to Earth and govern the universe from here! God always wants His headquarters to be a bright beacon of light to the world. He wants people’s minds tied in to where the Head is.
What an extraordinary vision is wrapped up in headquarters—the place where God dwells!