The Rock in Zion
(week 37/07)
Olubi Johnson
In our last two articles we saw that the rock of revelation can either be a rock of building or a rock of stumbling: depending on our heart attitude. An attitude of humility and submission to revelation knowledge will make it a rock of building; while an attitude of rebellion and offence will make it a rock of stumbling.
1 Peter 2:6,8(NKJV): 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”— “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”
Now what is the rock in Zion?
The rock in Zion is revelation knowledge concerning the perfection and fullness of Christ that can only be found in the Most Holy place: hidden manna.
Zion symbolically represents the perfect church:
Psalms 50:2 (NKJV): Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.
There are three levels of operation in the church and symbolically they can be described as:
1. Zion—Most holy place: operating in perfection. The revelation knowledge here is called ‘hidden manna’ (Revelation 2.17). This is also equivalent to 100-fold operation (Mark 4.20).
2. Jerusalem—Holy Place: operating in revelation knowledge of the written Word. The revelation knowledge is called ‘hidden wisdom’ (1 Corinthians 2.7). This is also equivalent to 60-fold operation (Mark 4.20).
3. Israel—Outer Court: operating only in natural understanding of the Word of God. This is equivalent to 30fold operation (Mark 4.20).
Now it is instructive to understand that the Christian operating in the outer court cannot see the revelation in the Holy Place. He sees the Word only the in the light of natural human understanding represented symbolically by water in the brazen laver in the outer court. He lives basically only by moral law and is ignorant of spiritual law. Consequently he stumbles over revelation in the Holy Place and sometimes calls it heresy!
The only way to overcome it is to humble one’s self and accept the rock in ‘Jerusalem’ by faith and start acting on it. As one does this God begins to enlighten his understanding and he begins to make the transition from the outer court to the Holy Place.
Similarly the Christian operating in the Holy Place cannot see the revelation of hidden manna in the Most Holy Place because of the veil of the sin nature darkening (1 Corinthians 13.12, Ephesians 4.18) the mind or the understanding.
He must overcome this veil by humbling himself, submitting to the written Word by faith even though he does not feel like it and it does not seem to make sense to him. As he begins to pray deeper (Psalms 42.7) in the spirit with travail (Galatians 4.19, Is 66.8) or groaning (Romans 8.26, Hebrews 5.7), using an abundant (John 10.10) measure of the life of God (John. 5.26, 4.10,14), the veil of darkness of the sin nature in the mind, will be ‘torn’ (Hebrews 10.20) and removed and he will begin to ‘see’ into the Most Holy place: the rock in Zion.
So the rock in Zion will no longer be a stumbling block to him but a stepping and building stone into the experience of the perfection and fullness of Christ!
