In Zechariah 2, we see a beautiful picture of the city of God in which live a great multitude of diverse peoples.
This is an incredible vision of multiculturalism in the future, but it is also an incredible insight into the heart of God.
Let’s start with Zechariah 2:4, which begins, “Jerusalem shall be…” In this verse, Jerusalem will one day be so big that it won’t have walls because of the vast amounts of people in it! The city will consist of Jews and Gentiles, of Jews and non-Jews. Continuing in verses 5-11, we see that God longs for this day! He longs for the day in which Gentiles are brought into covenant with God along with Jews. For on that day, God will say to everyone who believes in him, “You are mine. You belong to Me.” This is amazing! What a glorious vision of diversity united by faith in God alone. This is true multiculturalism, is it not?
Now technically, in Zechariah 2 there are three phases, three stages to this vision’s fulfillment.
They are as follows: 1) The first phase refers to Zechariah’s time period; 2) The second phase refers to the Messianic Age (by that, I mean the days of Jesus and of His church); and 3) The third phase refers to the New Creation (this is when Jesus will return to make all things new).
With these stages in mind, let us connect the dots. With regards to the first stage, to a degree Jerusalem gets filled with people.
Many Jewish exiles return to the city. We see that in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. However, what is certainly lacking are the many nations of verse 11. During Zechariah’s day and beyond, the nations did not come to Jerusalem and worship Yahweh. We don’t see that happening until the next phase.
Fast forward several hundred years when Jesus enters human history, we see more of this vision become complete.
You see, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, many Jews and Gentiles enter into a new covenant with God. Many Jews and Gentiles trust Jesus as their Messiah and King. Even after Jesus returns to the Father, the apostles preach the gospel and many Jews and Gentiles enter into a new relationship with God. That is the book of Acts. If you recall in Acts 2 on Pentecost, thousands of Jews from around the world come to Jerusalem, and there they hear the message of Christ crucified and risen, and they repent and they enter into a new relationship with God. From there, the gospel of Christ spread. Gentiles from Syria, Turkey, Asia, North Africa, Greece, Italy, and Spain call Jesus their King and call the heavenly Father their God. Many nations joined themselves to God…and this includes us today! So, you see, during this Messianic Age, more and more Jews and Gentiles are returning to the living God.
But the whole project of Jerusalem is not complete yet.
For that, we have to turn to the third and final phase. When Jesus returns, and He will come back, He will gather His people into Jerusalem. But this time, Jerusalem will be made new (see Revelation 21:1-2). Jesus will gather His people into the New Jerusalem and on that day this vision of a diverse multitude of peoples living in the city of God will come true.
To see that, look at Revelation 7:9-10. Yes, indeed, the city of God will encompass a diverse multitude of people. What a day that will be! We will lock arms with Christians that we have never met before singing praises to God. We will sing, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.” It is in this way that we can say that God loves multiculturalism. He desires for all peoples to believe in him and to fellowship with him for all eternity. Amen?
