Jerusalem was first settled by the Canaanites (not Palestinians) in 4000 BC, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. David conquered it around 1000 BC but Jerusalem was then known as Jebus (1 Chronicles 11:4) and the inhabitants were called Jebusites. There has never been a city like Jerusalem that has been conquered the most. It has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice; first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans and will be captured again before the second coming of Jesus! Jerusalem is important because God chose Mount Moriah, now known as the temple Mount, for Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac (Genesis 22:2). Later David chose that place to build an altar unto God after the plague (2 Samuel 24:18) and Solomon chose that place to build the temple ( 2 Chronicles 3:1) and finally God chose that place for his Son Jesus to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Every place that God claims has been counter-claimed by the devil and that explains the present day crisis. The battle for Jerusalem has raged through the ages and it has been a saga of a constant struggle of good versus evil.
Jerusalem means the “City of Peace” but ironically, the city has witnessed so much of violence and shedding of innocent blood, ‘for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem’ – (Luke 13:33) “Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.” – (Matthew 23:35-36) Even now persecution against Christians by the ultra-orthodox Jews are on the rise in modern day Israel. Moreover, Jerusalem is supposed to be the ‘City of Righteousness’ but she “has become a harlot”. – (Isaiah 1:21) A ‘spirit of impurity’ seems to have taken over the nation as secular Jews are increasingly becoming gay! Tel Aviv is one of gayest city in the world where approximately 25% of population identifies as gay, which considering the city’s population of about 400,000 means that approximately 100,000 people in the city identify themselves as part of the LGBTQ community! They even held a pride march in Jerusalem for first time in 2023 despite opposition from the ultra-orthodox Jews and the far right wing government. Infact, the Israeli defence force is one of the world’s most LGBTQ friendly armies and their Knesset has the record number of openly Gay Lawmakers ! No wonder Jerusalem is ‘figuratively called Sodom … where also the Lord was crucified.’ – (Revelation 10:8). However, the day is coming when God will ‘pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on him, the one they have pierced and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son … On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.’ – (Zechariah 12:10-13:2) ‘Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.’ – (Isaiah 1:26)
‘The present city of Jerusalem is in slavery with her children but the Jerusalem that is above (ie., the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:2) is free.’ – (Galatians 4:25-26) God would have given the Jerusalem below, freedom from her enemies, had she listened to his messengers but she wouldn’t ! “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look you house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” – (Luke 13:34-35) Jesus wept over the city because he knew that her struggles were far from over! ‘As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, only knew on this day what would bring you peace – but now it’s hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground and you and your children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.” – ( Luke 19:41-44) This was fulfilled in 70 CE when the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Judea. Following a five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple. But the Christians remembered the words of Jesus and fled for their lives! “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.” – (Luke 21:20-22)
After over 1800 years of exile, her children began to return and their dream of a Jewish homeland became a reality when David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel, as soon as the British mandate ended on May 14th 1948 in keeping with UN Resolution 181 (also known as the Partition Resolution) that called for the division of the land into Jewish and Arab states but denied the Jews from having control over the old city of Jerusalem! However, they seized control of the old city of Jerusalem back from the Jordanians following the six day war in 1967. Ever since the formation of the modern state of Israel, their enemies have been trying to annihilate the Jewish state but have failed, not because the Jews were strong but because the person of the Holy Spirit who is now on earth, has stood in the way, so have the Church! But Jerusalem will be captured once the Holy Spirit is ‘taken out of the way’ – ( 2 Thessalonians 2:7) and the Church is ‘caught up in the clouds’ – (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Without the person of the Holy Spirit standing in the way, the power of the tribulation saints and that of Israel will be broken. ‘As I watched, this horn (Antichrist) was waging war against the saints and defeating them …’ – (Daniel 7:21) [ ‘He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.’ – Revelation 13:7] ‘… until the ancient of days came and pronounced judgement in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.’ – (Daniel 7:22) Jerusalem will be surrounded by the armies of the nations, probably by an UN resolution to recapture the city. Their allies will betray them but God will make Jerusalem an immovable stone that will hurt those who try to wrest control of the city from Israel. “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem as immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.” – (Zechariah 12:2-3) ‘The city will be captured, the houses ransacked and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem … This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet.’ – (Zechariah 14:3-12) “Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place … It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.” – (Vs10-11) Hallelujah! Amen.
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