set time is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity upon her dust. So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, and all the kings of the earth thy glory: For Jehovah hath built up Zion; he hath appeared in his glory.” “His foundation is in the holy mountains. Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.” “Why look ye askance, ye high mountains, at the mountain which God hath desired for his abode? Yea, Jehovah will dwell in it for ever.” “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of Jehovah of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever.” “Jehovah . . . is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing.” (Pss. 102:13-16; 87:1-3; 68:16; 48:2, 8; Zeph. 3:15-17, AS) The capital city of the universe is Zion, the joy and delight of the whole earth, for his beloved Son is its foundation and everyone in it speaks Jehovah’s praise.

Laying the Stone in Completion

1. Show how the Scriptures mark the time for the building of Zion.

THE Stone is placed in its proper position for eternity when the Lord appears in his glory. This is at the second appearing of Christ Jesus, for it is then he comes with glory. The Scriptures are very explicit on this matter. “The glory of his strength, at the time he comes to be glorified in connection with his holy ones and to be regarded in that day with wonder in connection with all those who exercised faith.” (2 Thess. 1:9, 10, NW) “For the Son of man is destined to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will recompense each one according to his behavior.” (Matt. 16:27, NW) “And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will go to wailing and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet-sound and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.” (Matt. 24:30, 31, NW) He is the Royal Majesty from the heavens, a Ruler in his own right. The will of his Father shall then be done and the Father’s name, Jehovah, be praised everywhere. “You must pray, then, this way: ‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will come to pass, as in heaven, also upon earth.’”—Matt. 6:9, 10, NW.

2. Why was not Zion built up following the ascension of Christ Jesus to heaven?

² From the time Jesus Christ ascended on high to the time when he exercises the kingly authority it has been a waiting period in so far as the actual rulership over the earth is concerned; otherwise he has not been inactive. Christ had to await God’s due time. “From then on awaiting until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet.” (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 10:13, NW) This waiting time terminates when the lease of power in the hands of the nations of earth runs out, the end of the Gentile times, in 1914. During this long waiting period Jehovah’s purposes have been working out. (Luke 21:24; Heb. 2:5-13, NW) Then, when the “times of the Gentiles” end, the day of Jehovah commences. Now He acts toward the Kingdom and the greatest of all events takes place. The King, Christ Jesus, the ‘cornerstone of Zion’, is authorized to start operations. “Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”—Ps. 110:2, 4, AS.

3. After 1914 what had to be accomplished in heaven before the stone was laid?

³ Following 1914 the great battle of heaven raged between Jehovah’s anointed King and the satanic and demonic powers. First, it is necessary to remove from heaven the iniquitous organization that has been a defiling influence and obnoxious to the extreme. Heaven is to be cleansed, for it is impossible to contemplate the rulership of the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven as the king of the capital of the universe and at the same time and place tolerating filthiness and wickedness. One has to go, and it is Satan and the demons who have to quit. And quit they do, for they are pitched out of heaven, “hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.”—Rev. 12:7-12, NW.

4. How is Christ Jesus a ‘tried’ and ‘tested’ cornerstone at the time of Kingdom power rule?

⁴ Jehovah’s anointed King wins the battle after approximately three and a half years. Just as at the first advent Christ appeared at Jordan and was anointed, and three and a half years later presented himself as king, so in the completion. In 1914 he begins activity as priest and king, and three and a half years later offers himself as king. Again he is the ‘tried’ and ‘tested’ cornerstone. For three and a half years he battles evil, and conquers. Jehovah says: “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” (Ps. 2:6, AS) The stone of Zion is laid in completion in 1918. The King not only is now present but has proved himself the victorious one of God’s choice by ousting from heaven Satan and all his demon forces.

5. How do we differentiate between ‘laying the stone in Zion’ and the bringing of it forth?

⁵ Zion is God’s capital organization erected in heaven, made up of Christ Jesus and the anointed spiritual children of Jehovah, whereas the new world is organized to embrace that which is for the benefit of man, earth’s new society, those who will be subjects under the supervision of God’s royal house, which is the governing agency in heaven. However, it is important to note that the foundation of the new world was brought forth at the time of the dedication of Jesus at the Jordan river, after which time he began to preach “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”; and three and a half years later the laying of the “stone” in miniature took place. So it is also in the major fulfillment. In 1914 Christ commenced to exercise his power as earth’s rightful ruler by moving against Satan, and three and a half years later (1918) offered himself as king to his professing people. In the three and a half years the King broke the power of the ruler of this present system of things.