Zion

Scripture

Hebrews 12:18-27 (NLT)

18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 19 For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. 20 They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.” 22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. 25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.

Focus Statement

The eternal city of God, also known as the Kingdom of God, is real…and it is REALLY coming.

God has asked us, citizens of that Kingdom, to help make Heaven on Earth a reality.

Series Recap

So far, up to this point we have learned a number of things.

First, this series is based on The Matrix, a film that sparked a multi-million dollar franchise...

And as we have found out, is majorly influence by the imagery of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland, as well as philosophy and religion, particularly Christianity and Buddhism…but all religions are of interest to the Wachowskis.

They did not craft a Christian story, but they did craft a story utilizing Christian theology and imagery.

Thus in our main characters we have

Morpheus is a sort of John the Baptist, but can also be seen as the first person in the Christian Trinity…not perfectly…God the Father.

Neo is prophesied to be THE ONE…the savior of humanity and the builder of a new heaven on earth.

He is prophesied to be THE ONE who finally brings an end to the false and damning order of the machines.

Trinity is the Holy Spirit. She is the one who shows up on behalf of Morpheus and pushes people to leave the matrix as well as grow in their potential.

She, quite literally is the female face of God.

Again, these images do not fit or work perfectly, but the Wachowskis set their story up in this way.

Just like Neo, who has learned that the Matrix is a computer software that is plugged into our brains to make us believe we are living “normal lives”,

When in reality we are slaves in fake embryo sacks, dreaming up energy for machines run by artificial intelligence…like robots...

We too have been living in the matrix...

But for us that is not software run by artificial intellience...

But the world order that we have been taught to follow…mindlessly like slaves...

in order for us to be cogs in the wheel of society.

The only way out of this matrix is JESUS CHRIST...

Who is OUR Ultimate Reality…our savior…THE ONE to destroy the current world order and bring God’s Kingdom…ZION…to earth once again.

Jesus Christ is the ONLY reality that matters...

The current reality’s days are numbered.

Point of Relation

Last week, I told you the story of Neo, who’ s name literally means NEW, or a REVIVED form of something else,

And Neo, if you remember, was visiting a woman by known as “The Oracle.”

If you recall, Neo went to her to find out if he was, as Morpheus believed, The One...

The Savior who would defeat the agents (of whom we’ll discuss next week),

destroy the machines, and bring a place called Zion up fro the underground and back on earth...

Where humans can once again live as they were intended to...

FREE and in harmony with each other.

“So, what is Zion?” you might ask.

According to the Matrix, Zion is a community of freed humans, humans who have been extracted from their adult-sized embryo prisons and are now living in reality, as opposed to the Matrix.

As was said before,

This reality is a war-ravaged, blood soaked, arid land

Under the control of robots with artificial intelligence.

The earth is so ravaged, the freed folks have to live in the old sewer systems...

And there is one place where they are all seeking to amass...

A place they call ZIon.

But Zion is more than a “Place”. It is the hope of a better world, a world where humans live in harmony, where they work for the common good and where peace and justice reign.

And where there are NO MORE machines and agents to enslave people ever again.

But getting to this Zion is hard…and there are a lot of obstacles and enemies along the way seeking to spot and destroy anyone traveling through the sewers unauthorized.

Things to Consider

Like the folks in the Matrix,

We too have recently been extracted on the Matrix,

When you chose to take the red pill and see just how far this rabbit hole goes.

We have learned that, like Neo and company, we have been slaves to a system that is going down in the end...

And we have been given a way out of that endless loop of hell...

In order to help create and experience the world as it ought to be…

a world in which people are free…and freely choose to liven in harmony with each other and with God.

And, as I am sure it is not a surprise to you at this point, we call this place ZION too.

And it takes faith for us to move from where we are in order to reach the "land” or reality God is promising us.

What Scripture Says

Our Scripture today begins by Mt. Sinai, which is the “physical mountain”...

In verse Hebrews 12:18 it says, “You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.”

and in Verse 22, “No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.”

What we have here is a comparison and contrast of two mountains,

One physical, located in a certain location in the world that can be visited…but won’t last forever...

And one that is the City of God, eternal, and yet to come.

The first is a reference to Exodus 19, where God is revealed to the Israelites at the base of Mt. Sinai.

It says there, in verse 1, Exodus 19:1-2 “1 Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai.

After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.”

The second is a reference to the Kingdom of God, Heaven…to the CITY OF GOD…the NEW JERUSALEM...

Referenced in Revelation 14:1 “Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

and Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.”

As Christians who have been awoken to the reality of the Matrix...

to the reality that we live in a wicked world order that seeks to draw our worship away from God and to the things of this world.

This “mountain of worship” we find ourselves at is not that of God…but that of this world.

And we should count ourselves fortunate. The Sinai that our Spiritual ancestors visited was a physical one…one in which only Moses could approach God...

For fear of God’s holiness.

In ZION, however, God lives with us. There will be not more pain or suffering or death. God will wipe all of our tears from our eyes.

How do we know this? JESUS CHRIST, who is THE ONE.

God showed up as Jesus Christ and established that Kingdom through his death and resurrection...

And every time we bring another person to know THE ONE…to know and follow Jesus...

We are building up Zion…here on earth as it is in heave.

While right now ZION is operating “underground” through Christ and his church...

One day, Christ will come again in final victory and put an end to the current false world order...

And establish ZION on earth…God’s reign eternal and irreversible.

We learn in Revelation 21:25-27 (NLT)

25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The author of Hebrews reminds us that when Christ returns the very foundation of this current world order will be shaken to its core...

But it takes faith to see that…it takes faith to see that what currently is…IS NOT TO BE…that something else, something GREATER is coming...

It’s hard to see that when all we are used to seeing and believing is this current world order.

What This Means for You

This was true for Neo…to see who he was, his role, and his place in Zion...

He had to take a LEAP OF FAITH…several attempts really…in order to realize who HE was…and his place in Zion.

There’s this one scene I remember where Neo is on top of the roof with Morpheus...

This is one of the trainings that all people go through when pulled out of the Matrix.

[Explain the scene where he leaps from one building to the ....oops he fell.]

He didn’t believe yet…but when finally does...

When he finally realizes that the roofs, and the fall, are really not there...

He can hop them in a single bound.

The same is true for you...

If you want to be a Kingdom Builder…a disciple…as servant of the One, Jesus Christ, then you have to place your FAITH in him…and take that LEAP from where you are to where God is calling you to be.

It is through faith that we see the Ultimate Reality of Zion. of God’s heavenly Kingdom come to earth.

In order to be a kingdom-building disciple...

You have to maintain your daily and weekly disciplines such as prayer, worship, ready Scripture, and service.

And in doing so, you will find yourself taking that LEAP of faith...

Leaping from this current “reality” into Ultimate reality in God through Jesus Christ.

What This Means for Us

The church is supposed to be the model of Zion...

We are a community of Christians who believe in Jesus Christ and live according to his ways.

We are to model what it means to be a part of God’s divine family...

What a Christian in the world looks like...

And how to lead others into our fold under the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ.

In what ways are we currently modeling God’s heavenly city?

What are some missions and ministries that model God’s unconditional love that we have been engaged in?

Conversely, in what ways are we falling short, either individually, or as a larger community?

I want to challenge you to reflect on that and, if you come up with thoughts and ideas, send them our way.

Let us not be fooled by the world, and cling to Christ who has given us a home, not made with human hands, but eternal heaven which will one day come fully to earth.