Jerusalem:

Where Empires Die

Jerusalem:

Where Empires Die

by

LESTER SUMRALL

THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS

Nashville • Camden • New York

Copyright ® 1984 by Lester Sumrall Evangelistic Association, Inc.

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or

reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and distributed in Canada by

Lawson Falle, Ltd., Cambridge, Ontario.

Printed in the United States of America.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations in this book are from The New King James

Version. Copyright ® 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Scripture quotations noted KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Sumrall, Lester Frank, 1913-

Jerusalem, where empires die.

1. Bible—Prophecies—Jerusalem. 2. Jerusalem in the Bible. 3. Jerusalem—History. I. Title.

BS649. J38S85 1984 231.7’45 84-4908

ISBN 0-8407-5865-0

Contents

Introduction. ................................................................................7

1 Jerusalem: The Mystic City. ...................................................11

2 Jerusalem: Where Empires Die. .............................................19

3 Jerusalem and Jesus. ...............................................................39

4 Jerusalem and the Church. ......................................................51

5 The Wanderers Return. ..........................................................61

6 The Exalted City. ...................................................................73

7 The City Gates. .......................................................................79

8 Jerusalem’s Most Precious Places. .........................................87

9 Russia’s Last Stand at Jerusalem. ...........................................95

10 Antichrist Rises over the Holy City. ...................................101

11 Will America Die at Jerusalem?. ........................................109

Jerusalem: A Chronology of Events. .......................................113

Introduction

“Will America die at Jerusalem?” In this book I am going to

reveal a lesson of immense importance, a crucial fact of history

that God would have us understand, because it will play a

decisive role in the future of the United States.

As we look over the pages of history, we see a remarkable

thing. Every empire that has won control over the known world

of its time has been drawn irresistibly and mysteriously to

Jerusalem. The leaders of these empires have felt a compulsion

to go to Jerusalem and conquer it, enslaving its people. Those

leaders probably did not realize the forces at work behind their

decisions to go to Jerusalem; but God did, Satan did, and God

wants us to be aware as well.

The fact is that Jerusalem has been a spiritual battleground

down through the ages. Jerusalem is a city loved by God and

chosen by Him to be His earthly dwelling place, as well as the

capital of His chosen people, Israel. Because God loves the city

and its citizens so much, Satan hates it passionately and has

inspired those world emperors to march against it.

God has not loved and chosen Jerusalem only to neglect its

welfare. And this is the lesson God would have us learn: The

decision to move against Jerusalem has been the beginning of

the end for every one of those world empires. From that point in

time, those nations have been judged by God and doomed to

destruction.

As we look at Jerusalem with that key theme in mind, we

will want to look at the story of the conquests of Jerusalem by

those pagan empires, and we will see how such world powers

came to their ends. To fully appreciate the city and everything

God would have us know about it, we will also look at such

things as the city’s part in the life of Christ and how it came to

be the capital of the modern state of Israel. We will then look at

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

the city in the light of biblical prophecy to see how, in the end

times, it will play a crucial role in the downfall of the last two

empires that will oppose God.

We will conclude this book by applying what we have

learned to the United States today. Please read that chapter very

carefully and prayerfully.

God loves Jerusalem very much, and so do I. My love for

the city has been strengthened by the more than fifty trips I have

made to it, alone and at the head of tour groups. Each time I go,

as I walk the streets and meditate and pray, my love and

appreciation for the city grows.

I love Jerusalem so much that on one occasion I moved my

family to the city and lived there for almost seven months. We

went there to try to better understand its people. And during the

course of our stay, the Sinai War of 1956 took place. I was also

in the city, leading a group of tourists, for the entirety of the

Yom Kippur War in 1973. I have seen the city in both good

times and bad.

This book is written to clarify a crucial fact of history, and

to warn America of the need to be very careful in relations with

Israel. But it is also written out of my great love for Jerusalem;

and it is my prayer for you as you read that you will not only

learn and be warned, but also will grow to know and love the

city as I have, and thereby understand and love more than ever

before the One who owns Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem:

Where Empires Die

1

Jerusalem: The Mystic City

1

Jerusalem is a city unlike any other in the world, of special,

unique importance to God. The things He has said about her,

indicating how He regards her, He has said about no other city.

Jerusalem has already played a larger role in the unfolding of

God’s plan for the ages than any other metropolis, and she will

continue to do so. All this reflects and is a part of the special

regard God has for the city.

In this chapter we want to look at what the Bible tells us

about the unique relationship God has with Jerusalem. It is

mentioned more often in the Bible than any other city—indeed,

many of the historical events recorded in the Bible took place

there. That is no accident or coincidence; it was not just David

who chose Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and the site of

God’s temple. God Himself set apart the city for His purposes.

Let’s look at some of the aspects of God’s unique relationship

with the city.

The Beloved City

The Bible tells us first that God loves the city of Jerusalem

in a special way. We may believe with certainty that God loves

the people in every city, but His regard for Jerusalem is unique.

No other city is lauded in the Bible in the way that Jerusalem is.

Psalm 87:2 tells us, “The Lord loves the gates of Zion More

than all the dwellings of Jacob.” Zion is literally one of the hills

on which Jerusalem is built, but the name is used more generally

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

as a synonym for Jerusalem. So this verse says that of all the

places in God’s Holy Land, Jerusalem, the land He gave to

Abraham and his descendants—His chosen people—is the one

He loves most.

Similarly, Psalm 78:68 says that God “chose the tribe of

Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.” Here again, of all the cities

of Israel, Jerusalem is singled out as the object of God’s special

affection. She is precious to Him, more precious than any other

city.

For further evidence of God’s love for Jerusalem, consider

Jesus’ lamentation over the city in Luke 13:34. Jesus was on His

way to Jerusalem and had just been warned that it would be

dangerous for Him to go there, because King Herod wanted to

kill Him. How did He react? Did He become angry or take

offense? No. He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who

kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How

often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen

gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!”

Here He was speaking as the incarnate God, expressing His

great love for the city, saying He longed to draw her people to

Himself in arms of love. Only the rebelliousness of the people

kept them from enjoying that tender, protective love of God.

Why does God love Jerusalem so much, especially when her

people have been so rebellious against Him? We cannot know

for sure. Why does He love the Jewish people in a special way?

Why does He love you and me? Jerusalem is a beautiful city, the

capital city of the land He set aside for His chosen people. Those

facts tell us a little of why He should love her in a special way,

but they do not really explain why He should necessarily love

her above all other cities. As with the question of why He loves

us, we must conclude that it is a matter of God’s sovereign will,

and simply thank Him and praise Him for it.

The Chosen City

In accord with God’s unique love for Jerusalem, the Bible

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Jerusalem: The Mystic City

describes Jerusalem as God’s chosen city. Psalm 132:13 says,

“For the Lord has chosen Zion.” Zechariah 3:2 speaks of “the

Lord who has chosen Jerusalem.” In 2 Chronicles 6:6 God tells

us, “I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there.” And

Isaiah 14:32 puts the same thought in slightly different form

when it says, “the Lord has founded Zion.”

Here again we see God’s unique regard for the city. She is

His chosen city, set apart for Him. The Bible says nothing like

this of Damascus, Tyre, Babylon, Athens, Rome, or any other

city. Of all the world’s cities, Jerusalem is the one God has

specially chosen.

God’s Dwelling Place

For what purpose has God chosen Jerusalem for Himself?

There are several scriptural passages that give us an idea. For

example, Psalm 132:13-14 reads, “For the Lord has chosen

Zion; He has desired it for His habitation: ‘This is My resting

place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.’” We get a

similar picture from Psalm 76:2: “In Salem [Jerusalem] also is

His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion.”

We see from these passages that God chose to dwell on

earth in Jerusalem—specifically, in the Temple. You will

remember that when Israel completed the tabernacle in the

wilderness and dedicated it, a cloud covered it and the glory of

the Lord filled it (see Ex. 40:34-35). God also gave Israel, by

command, the Ark of the Covenant to be placed in the

tabernacle’s Holy of Holies, and there He promised to meet with

them and reveal His will to them (see Ex. 25:22).

When Jerusalem became established as Israel’s capital and

God allowed Solomon to build a permanent temple, the Ark was

moved there, and with it came the glorious cloud signifying

God’s presence in the Shekinah glory.

And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy

place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the

priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud;

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kin.

8:10-11).

Then Jerusalem was the dwelling place of God on earth.

You will also recall, however, that because of Israel’s

unfaithfulness in continual rebellion and idolatry, the glory of

God—His abiding presence—departed from the Temple, as

recorded in Ezekiel’s vision (see Ezek. 10:18-19). Today, of

course, the Jewish Temple does not stand, and God does not

dwell there in the same sense in which He did in the times of

Moses and David.

But we also know from Scripture that the day will come

when the glory of the Lord will be restored to Jerusalem. Psalm

48:8 tells us, “God will establish it forever.” Ezekiel also

foresaw in a vision that God would return there to dwell forever

(see Ezek. 43:4-9). And in the New Jerusalem seen by John in

his vision, there won’t even be a need for a temple, for the Lord

God Almighty and the Lamb will be its temple (see Rev. 21:22).

So we see that God has chosen Jerusalem to be His earthly

abode. Israel forfeited the privilege of His continual presence in

the Temple many years ago, but there is coming a time when His

glorious presence will return. And one day, those of us who are

God’s children through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ

will dwell with Him in a New Jerusalem whose builder and

maker is God, and whose light is His glory.

The Blessed City

We have seen that God loves Jerusalem and chose her to be

His dwelling place. Realizing that, it is not surprising that God

has promised to bless and protect her. In Psalm 46:5, the

psalmist declared of Jerusalem, “God is in the midst of her, she

shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of

dawn.”

This love for and desire to help and protect Jerusalem is like

the love of a father for his children, constant and strong, even

when circumstances might tend to cast doubt on that love. As we

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Jerusalem: The Mystic City

will see in the next chapter, Jerusalem has suffered through

numerous calamitous events. Seeing such things, we may be

tempted to ask, “If God loves and wants to protect Jerusalem,

why did He allow that?” But just as a father disciplines the

children he loves, and just as he sometimes allows them to suffer

the painful consequences of their rebellious decisions, knowing

that is the only way they will ever learn, so we may assume God

has been dealing with Jerusalem down through history.

As a father, I know it is not easy to keep silent and watch a

child go down a path that is certain to lead to pain of some kind.

Surely God the Father’s heart has been broken many times as He

watched the people of His chosen city turn their backs on Him to

pursue sinful lifestyles. I, like all fathers, know in some small

measure how He has felt. And even though you try to watch over

them and be there afterward to comfort them in their hurt, you

have to let them learn from their mistakes. Thus God has dealt

with the willful rebelliousness of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

This willingness of God to discipline Jerusalem and let her

reap the consequences of her sinful sowing has been interpreted

by many people to mean He no longer cares about Jerusalem,

and people are, therefore, free to do what they will to her.

Nothing is further from the truth, and we may be sure God is

watching over Jerusalem and keeping accounts.

We see a beautiful illustration of this concern of God for

Jerusalem and reckoning against her persecutors in the first

chapter of Zechariah. When Zechariah wrote the prophecy God

gave him, most of the people of Jerusalem had been taken

captive to Babylon. Some, however, had been allowed by the

Persian king Cyrus and his successor, Darius, to return to

Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

In his vision in chapter 1, Zechariah sees a conversation

between the Lord and an angel. He hears the angel ask God in

verse 12, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy

on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You

were angry these seventy years?” After God answered the angel

(which Zechariah either didn’t hear or didn’t record), the angel

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

said to Zechariah on God’s behalf:

Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Jerusalem

And for Zion with a great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with

the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped

—but with evil intent.’ (vv. 14-15)

There we see the passion of God for Jerusalem, and clear

evidence that God does indeed watch over the city and note what

is done to her. He said, in effect, “This city is very precious to

Me. I am zealous for her. Those who hurt her, hurt Me. And

although I allowed the Babylonians to capture Jerusalem as a

way of disciplining her, they went too far by trying to annihilate

her. This affront to My beloved city is an affront to Me, and I

will not overlook it.”

So it has ever been, and so it will always be. Those who

harm Jerusalem will not escape the notice of God. And what will

befall those who persecute God’s city? We get a hint in Psalm

129:5: “Let all those who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned

back.” This imprecation from the psalmist suggests that in some

way there will be dire consequences for those who hate and

harm Jerusalem.

In contrast to that curse upon those who hate Jerusalem, the

psalmist David offered this blessing to those who love her:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love

you’” (Ps. 122:6). This is the reverse side of the issue, the good

promised to those who love the city God loves.

The Exalted City

Corresponding to the special place Jerusalem has in the

heart of God, the Bible gives her many exalted names that

identify her and express God’s regard for her. These are further

evidence for the city’s unique relationship with the Lord.

In Psalm 46:4, for example, Jerusalem is called “the city of

God.” It is “the city of our God” in several places (Ps. 48:1, 8).

Psalm 87:3 adds, “Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of

God!”

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Jerusalem: The Mystic City

In a similar vein, the city is elsewhere identified as “the city

of the great King” (Ps. 48:2). Jesus also gave it this name in

Matthew 5:35. Jerusalem is “the city of the Lord of hosts” (Ps.

48:8). We are given a beautiful image of God’s love for the city

in Psalm 48:1, where it is described as “In His holy mountain.”

The Bible also gives us warm descriptive phrases that show

how both God and men admire and love the city. The psalmist

Asaph, for example, called Jerusalem “the perfection of beauty”

(Ps. 50:2). Another psalmist expressed the same sentiment in

saying the city is “beautiful in elevation” (Ps. 48:2), an

altogether lovely city. In the same verse he described Jerusalem

as “the joy of the whole earth.”

I feel certain that these exalting names given to Jerusalem by

the psalmists come straight from the heart of God, by His

inspiration. They reflect His overwhelming love for the city, a

love unique to Jerusalem. At the same time, they no doubt reveal

as well the love of the human writers who penned them.

If God loves Jerusalem above all other cities, chose her for

His earthly dwelling place in the Shekinah glory, and keeps a

close watch over her, as we have seen in these passages of

Scripture, it should not surprise us in the least that Satan

despises the city passionately and has tried throughout history to

reduce it to rubble permanently. As we look at the story of the

city from ancient times forward, and as we see how the world’s

great empires have been drawn irresistibly to her in an attempt to

subjugate her, we should keep in mind the verses we have just

studied. They explain why the abuse of Jerusalem has been the

beginning of the end for those empires, why empires die at

Jerusalem.

17

2

Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

2

We have seen the biblical witness to God’s special regard

for and promise to protect Jerusalem. A former mayor of the

city, the last Arab mayor, acknowledged God’s watching over it

when he said as he fled in front of the oncoming Israeli army,

“Jerusalem is a golden bowl full of vipers. They that put their

hand in the bowl, die.” That truly is the lesson of history, as we

will see in this chapter as we look at the story of the city, with a

special emphasis on major world empires of the past and their

deaths at Jerusalem.

In the Beginning

We do not know for certain when a city was first built on the

site of Jerusalem. Its origin is lost in antiquity. The Bible’s first

mention of the city states its reality simply, without explanation.

That initial biblical reference to Jerusalem comes in Genesis

14:18, where we are also introduced to the mysterious

Melchizedek, its king, who was also a priest of God. At that time

the city was known as Salem. We are not told anything more

about the city at that point.

The city was next known as Jebus, so named after the people

who inhabited it, the Jebusites. When Israel first entered Canaan

under Joshua’s leadership at the end of the Exodus, the city was

assigned to the tribe of Benjamin (see Josh. 18:28).

That assignment only meant, however, that Jebus was in the

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

territory allotted to Benjamin. It remained for the Israelites to

capture the city and inhabit it. But they were unable to do so

initially, as we read in Judges 1:21: “But the children of

Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited

Jerusalem to this day [i.e., the day when Judges 1 was

written].”

The city of Jebus was obviously not easy to capture, as it

was built on a hill and fortified, making it relatively simple to

defend. As far as we know, the Jebusites kept control of the city

for approximately four hundred years before the Israelites were

finally able to capture it.

The Israelite City

Israel’s King David finally conquered the city. And even

when he went to take it, it was still a formidable stronghold. In

fact, the Jebusites were so confident David could not defeat

them that they said, “‘You shall not come in here; but the blind

and the lame will repel you’” (2 Sam. 5:6). In other words, they

thought their fortifications were so strong that the blind and the

lame could easily defend the city against David and his men.

David, however, found a way into the city through its water

shaft (“gutter” in KJV, see 2 Sam. 5:8) and captured it. He took

up residence in the city, called it the City of David, and began to

build it up (see 2 Sam. 5:9). It became his, and Israel’s, capital

city.

Any person at all familiar with the psalms knows that David

was a devout follower and ardent lover of God. It is not

surprising, therefore, that one day—undoubtedly after giving the

matter a great deal of thought—David said to Nathan the

prophet as he sat in his house, “‘See now, I dwell in a house of

cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent

curtains’” (1 Chr. 17:1).

Then Nathan replied to David, “‘Do all that is in your

heart, for God is with you’” (1 Chr. 17:2). David was thinking it

wasn’t right for him to have a fine, permanent house while

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

God’s dwelling was still the tent of a nomadic people. And

Nathan told David to go ahead with his desire to build a temple.

Nathan spoke too soon, however, as God did not want David

to build His temple (see 1 Chr. 17:3-4). David explained God’s

reasoning to his son Solomon:

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed

much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a

house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the

earth in My sight.’ (1 Chr. 22:8)

David was a great warrior, a man of violence, and God did

not want such a man to be the one to build His earthly house,

despite David’s devotion.

God did honor David’s desire to build a temple, however, as

He explained to David:

‘Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man

of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all

around... 1 will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days.

He shall build a house for My name.’ (1 Chr. 22:9-10)

That son of David was Solomon, of course, and the last few

verses I have quoted come from David’s charge to Solomon to

build the Temple.

Even though David could not build the Temple, he did bring

the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (see 2 Sam. 6:12-17),

and he made many of the preparations for the construction of the

Temple (see 1 Chr. 22:1-5, 14-19). He had stones hewn for its

foundation, and he collected brass, cedar wood, gold, silver, iron

for nails, and skillful men to work with all these materials.

Solomon did build God’s Temple, and under Solomon the

kingdom of Israel enjoyed its greatest power and prosperity. The

reason for that success, in my opinion, was the understanding of,

and humility before, God that Solomon revealed as he was

dedicating the newly completed Temple. In his prayer to the

Lord on that occasion, he said, “‘But will God indeed dwell on

the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

contain thee; how much less this house which I have built?’” (1

Kin. 8:27 KJV).

Solomon was very much aware at that point in his life of the

greatness and majesty of God, and he knew the Temple could

not really hold God; He dwelt there in the Shekinah glory only

as an expression of His special concern for Israel.

Solomon built more than just the Temple. Although he put

seven years into building the Temple, he spent thirteen years

building a magnificent palace for himself in Jerusalem. And in

his palace he put a great throne of ivory overlaid with the best

gold (see 1 Kin. 10:18-20). He also built cities for storage and to

house his chariots and horsemen (see 1 Kin. 9:17-19), and he

built a navy to carry on trade by sea with other nations (see 1

Kin. 9:26-28).

At the height of Solomon’s reign, he had made Jerusalem

into a city without peer in the world of his day—strongly

fortified, secure, boasting the most beautiful architecture, and

filled with all the finest of the nation’s goods, including horses

and other animals, wood, clothing, spices, armor, and chariots.

He was the earth’s richest and greatest king, and Jerusalem was

its richest and greatest city (see 1 Kin. 10:21-29).

Unfortunately, later in Solomon’s life he lost the proper

perspective concerning God and married many heathen wives.

When he did that, he also built places of worship for their pagan

gods. The result was a severe spiritual decline in Israel, and after

Solomon’s death the kingdom was split (approximately 925

B.C.). Many of the kings of Judah and all the kings of Israel

thereafter were far more wicked than Solomon.

Jerusalem continued to be a capital city, but only of the

smaller kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem had been capital of a

united Israel for only approximately eighty years.

Jerusalem’s Troubles Begin

The division of Solomon’s realm into the separate kingdoms

of Israel and Judah was more than merely political. The split

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

began in animosity, and the antagonism between the two

continued down through the years, with a virtual state of war

permanently in effect.

This constant state of tension between the northern kingdom

of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, which was loyal to

the descendants of David, reached a climax in approximately

800 B.C. At that point, the armies of the two kingdoms met in

battle at Beth Shemesh in the land of Judah, about fifteen miles

west of Jerusalem. Judah under King Amaziah was defeated by

Israel under King Jehoash. Having won the battle, Jehoash went

to Jerusalem, broke down part of the city wall, sacked the

Temple, took hostages, and returned to his capital of Samaria

(see 2 Kin. 14:11-14).

Israel at Jerusalem

King Jehoash should have known better than to abuse God’s

Holy City. After all, he had access to the testimonies of David

concerning God’s love for Jerusalem, as well as those of the

prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Obadiah. By ignoring God’s

devotion to the city, however, Jehoash set his nation on a course

to disaster.

Israel’s downfall provides us with our first example of how

God has used one world power to punish another that had

tangled with Jerusalem. Just seventy-five years after Jehoash’s

desecration of Jerusalem (a relatively brief time in the context of

history), the mighty Assyrian Empire came up against Israel.

The Assyrians besieged Samaria for three years, finally

conquering it and sending its people into exile (see 2 Kin. 17:5-

6). Thus did the people of Israel suffer for their idolatrous

rejection of God and their defiling of His city.

Assyria Dies at Jerusalem

Having defeated Israel, Assyria determined to conquer

Judah as well. Inspired by Satan, King Sennacherib moved

against the southern kingdom in approximately 700 B.C. The

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

Assyrians first captured the “fortified cities” of Judah (2 Kin.

18:13), and then they marched on Jerusalem. Sennacherib sent

men to within shouting distance of Jerusalem’s walls to try to

discourage the people with the message that their defeat was

inevitable and their God would be of no help to them.

We can all take a lesson in how to respond to adverse

circumstances from Judah’s King Hezekiah. When he heard how

the Assyrians and their henchmen were blaspheming God—they

even sent him a letter saying he shouldn’t trust the Lord—he

went to the Lord in prayer and asked Him to save the city. God

heard Hezekiah’s prayer, and through the prophet Isaiah He sent

this message:

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of

Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow

there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound

against it.... For I will defend this city, to save it For My own

sake, and for My servant David’s sake.’ (2 Kin. 19:32, 34)

God then did a miracle in defense of Jerusalem.

And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of

the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one

hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose

early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. So

Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away,

returned home and remained at Nineveh. (2 Kin. 19:35-36)

End of siege! Now that’s an answer to prayer!

The destruction of Assyria’s army was not the end of God’s

judgment against Sennacherib and his nation, however. For after

the king’s return to his capital, “as he was worshiping in the

temple of Nisroch his god,... his sons Adrammelech and

Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into

the land of Ararat” (2 Kin. 19:37).

The downfall of the mighty Assyrian Empire came just

seventy-five years after its ill-fated assault on Jerusalem.

Sennacherib’s arrogance in the face of God’s avowed love for

the city was inexcusable. Having taken captive the northern

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

kingdom of Israel, he had the testimony of devout Israelites

living in his land, but he chose to ignore it. God had been

faithful to provide a witness, to give Assyria a clear choice

between right and wrong, and it had deliberately chosen to

challenge God.

The instrument of God’s judgment against Assyria was the

next world empire, Babylon. The might of Assyria was crushed

in 625 B.C. by the Babylonians under Nabopolassar, with help

from the Medes.

Babylon Dies at Jerusalem

Once again, a world empire set its sights on the conquest of

Jerusalem, then ruled by Jehoiakim. Not long after defeating

Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated Egypt at

the Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. and then turned toward

Jerusalem. He besieged and captured the city, spilling much

blood in the process, and took some of the precious vessels from

the Temple. He also took a number of captives, including the

young Daniel (see 2 Kin. 24:1; Dan. 1:1-6).

Jehoiakim died and was replaced by his son Jehoiachin.

Shortly after Jehoiachin assumed the throne, Nebuchadnezzar

again came and besieged the city, and Jehoiachin surrendered to

him (see 2 Kin. 24:10-12). Once again the Temple and palace

were plundered of all valuables, and more people were taken

into exile in Babylon (see 2 Kin. 24:13-16).

Nebuchadnezzar then installed Zedekiah as king of Judah in

place of Jehoiachin, whom he had taken into exile. Just a few

years later, in 588 B.C., Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon. So

once again, Nebuchadnezzar brought his army and besieged

Jerusalem. The siege lasted eighteen months, and the people of

Jerusalem, cut off from the world outside, ran out of food. Then

finally the Babylonians broke into the city and captured it.

King Zedekiah and his army fled, but they were overtaken

and captured on the plains of Jericho, east of the city. Zedekiah

was led before Nebuchadnezzar, who judged him for his

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

rebellion. As his punishment, Zedekiah was forced to watch the

slaughter of his sons, and then his eyes were put out and he was

taken to Babylon in fetters.

Having done that, Nebuchadnezzar sent the captain of his

guard to Jerusalem to burn down the city, tear down its walls,

and take all but the poorest people captive into Babylon. The

city, including the Temple, was in ruins, and most of its

inhabitants who had not been killed were in exile (see 2 Kin.

24:17-25:12). (Another group of people had fled to Egypt, taking

with them, despite his protests, the prophet Jeremiah.) The proud

city of David and Solomon was a nearly deserted pile of rubble,

and the peace those great kings had brought was a distant

memory.

After that last, utter destruction of Jerusalem, God’s

judgment against Babylon was not long in coming. A short

forty-nine years later, on a fateful night in 539 B.C., God called

Babylon to account for its mistreatment of Jerusalem.

On that night the Babylonian king Belshazzar made a great

feast for a thousand of his nobles, and everyone at the feast was

drinking wine (we can safely infer they were probably drinking

to the point of drunkenness). Then, in a decision born of

arrogance and complete lack of respect for the God of Israel,

Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels his

predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple in

Jerusalem be brought in so he and his guests could drink from

them (see Dan. 5:1-2). The vessels were brought and used in

idolatrous revelry: “The king and his lords, his wives, and his

concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the

gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone” (Dan.

5:3-4).

To use the Temple vessels, which had been consecrated for

the worship of God, in such a way was a direct affront to Him.

We read next:

In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared

and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of

the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his

thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were

loosened and his knees knocked against each other (Dan. 5:5-

6).

Picture the scene in your mind if you can. The king was so

scared that his knees were literally knocking together.

Belshazzar called in all his astrologers and soothsayers to

tell him what the writing said, but none of them could decipher

it. The queen then reminded the king of the wisdom and

interpretive ability of the prophet Daniel. Daniel was called in,

and he told Belshazzar that because he had not been humble but

instead had exalted himself against the Lord of heaven, God had

judged Babylon and found it guilty. Therefore, the kingdom of

Babylon was to be given to the Persians (see Dan. 5:7-28).

That very night, the Persians diverted the Euphrates River

that normally flowed through Babylon, allowing them to enter

the city by the riverbed. They found the king and the people in

their drunken festival, and “that very night Belshazzar, king of

the Chaldeans, was slain” (Dan. 5:30). The Babylonian Empire

was no more.

We should note again that Babylon was fully guilty before

God in its abuse of Jerusalem. God had been faithful to provide

a witness to His laws, this time in the very highest circles of

government, in the person of Daniel. So Babylon was without

excuse when it attacked the city, and without defense when God

condemned it.

Persia and Greece

The conqueror of Babylon was Cyrus the Great, the founder

of the Persian Empire. Compared to previous rulers, the Persians

were relatively lenient toward Jerusalem and the Jews. The year

after defeating Babylon, Cyrus the Great issued an edict

emancipating the Jews, and a year later 42,360 Jews with 7,337

servants returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Their

leader was Zerubbabel, a prince of the house of David (see Ezra

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

2:64-65; 3:8).

The city was still lying in ruins as a result of the Babylonian

wars, and the emigrants despaired of their rebuilding task. We

can sympathize when we remember it took Solomon, with his

great wealth and supply of manpower, seven years to build it in

the first place. As so often happens when a job looks impossible,

the people assigned to it became apathetic. They were

encouraged in their work, however, by the prophets Haggai and

Zechariah, and you can read of their roles in the Old Testament

books bearing their names.

The reconstruction continued, and the second Temple was

completed in 516 B.C., a work of approximately twenty years. In

Jewish tradition, that date is regarded as the true end of the

seventy-year-long Babylonian exile. The Temple was

reconsecrated in 515 B.C.

When we look at the fate of the Temple over the course of

the years, keep in mind its significance to the Jews. I cannot

stress this enough. It was the one Temple, the only place where

sacrifices could be made to the Lord, the only dwelling place of

God on earth. When the Jews were forced to leave their land—

and they never left it voluntarily—they developed the synagogue

system of worship still in use today; but always the dream was to

rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, for there could be no substitute

for it.

After the Temple had been rebuilt under the leadership of

Zerubbabel, the task of rebuilding the rest of the city continued,

but slowly. In 445 B.C., Nehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian king

Artaxerxes, heard that the walls of the city were still in a

shambles and received permission from the king to go to

Jerusalem and reconstruct them. Nehemiah proved to be an

eminently capable leader, as you will see when you read his

book in the Bible, and the city’s walls were completed in just

fifty-two days under his direction. He was aided by the spiritual

leadership of the prophet Ezra.

As time went on, more and more Jews returned to Judah and

Jerusalem and worked at rebuilding other parts of the city.

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

In 330 B.C., Greece defeated Persia under the leadership of

its legendary ruler, Alexander the Great. Jerusalem was once

again under a new master. The reign of Greece was brief,

however, because when Alexander died seven years later at age

thirty-three, his kingdom was divided; and Judea was given to

Ptolemy of Egypt. A succession of Egyptian kings (known as

Ptolemies) continued in authority over Jerusalem for many

years, until 198 B.C., when yet another power fought for and

won control of Judea.

Abomination and Revolt

In that year, the Seleucid Empire (Syria) under its king,

Antiochus III (“the Great”), took Judea from Egypt. Meanwhile,

during the years of the Greek, Egyptian, and then Syrian rule,

the influence of Greek culture, religion, and philosophy

continued to grow, a process known as Hellenization. (Its

influence was still strong in New Testament times, as witnessed

by the fact that the New Testament was originally written in

Greek, the universal language of the known world.)

The Jewish upper classes were becoming Hellenized, but the

promoters of the movement were important, so they tried to

force a cultural revolution on the people with the support of the

next Seleucid king, Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes). He

took that goal to the extreme, outlawing the Jewish religion,

forbidding circumcision and observance of the Sabbath, burning

holy Scriptures, and desecrating the Temple in 167 B.C. by

sacrificing a pig on its altar. He then made the Temple into a

shrine to Zeus. The idea was to replace Judaism with Hellenism

in all its aspects, including the worship of Greek gods.

As has been noted before by many commentators, Antiochus

IV was truly a predecessor of the Antichrist who will appear in

the last days. Antiochus’s desire to promote Hellenism was only

a small part of the reason for his persecution of the Jews. He was

a violent, evil man who hated God, His people, and His beloved

city.

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

The abominations of Antiochus IV sparked a God-inspired

revolt on the part of the Jewish people against their Syrian ruler.

It was led by Mattathias—a priest—and his sons Jonathan and

Simon—the brothers of Judas Maccabaeus. After a bitter

military struggle with bloodshed, the Maccabees prevailed over

Syria and captured Jerusalem in 165 B.C. The Temple was

reconsecrated in 164 B.C., allowing Jewish worship there to

begin again.

Simon of the Maccabees then established the Maccabaean,

otherwise known as the Hasmonaean, dynasty in Jerusalem, and

the Jews had their own king for one hundred years.

During that time, the Sadducees and the Pharisees came into

being as political parties. They differed in religious doctrine as

well as in political theory (e. g., see Acts 23:6- 8), and we see

much of them in the life of Jesus Christ as they opposed Him

and His work.

In those years the Hasmonaeans also established the

Sanhedrin, a council of state composed of seventy-one Jewish

leaders and sages, which was the supreme authority for civil and

religious legal decisions in the capital city of Jerusalem. It was

to this council that Jesus was first taken for trial after His arrest

(see Matt. 26:57, where the council is identified as “the scribes

and the elders”).

The Hasmonaean dynasty was also the period of the

beginning of monastic, communal brotherhoods such as the

Essenes, who believed that the worship carried on in the Temple

had become corrupt and that they were the true worshipers of

God. It was at the site of one of these communities, at Qumran,

that the valuable Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.

Our discussion has now come to the period of history just

before the birth of Christ. As we have seen, Jerusalem had

already been the golden bowl of some empires. And there is

more to come as we continue the amazing story.

The one hundred years of the Hasmonaean dynasty was one

of the relatively brief periods of glory for the Jews in Jerusalem

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

after the death of Solomon. During that time they ruled

themselves and worshiped God in freedom. Unfortunately, that

period also saw the rise of yet another world empire that would

turn its evil attention toward Jerusalem.

Rome Dies at Jerusalem

In 63 B.C., a Roman army under Pompey the Great captured

Jerusalem and made Judea part of the great, then-invincible

Roman Empire. The city would remain essentially under Roman

rule for more than six hundred years. Here was yet another of

the world’s dominant empires that was drawn to Jerusalem,

would eventually destroy the city, and would therefore come

under God’s judgment.

Pompey’s conquest of Jerusalem, however, did no great

physical harm to the city. And under Rome’s authority a new

dynasty of kings with some local control was established. The

first of these kings to be directly subject to Rome was Antipater.

His son, who became king in 37 B.C., was Herod the Great,

known to us today primarily as the king who tried to kill the

baby Jesus because he thought the Christ-child to be a rival for

his throne.

Herod the Great also did some good, however, for the city of

Jerusalem. Not long after becoming king, he ordered and carried

out a complete, magnificent, and lavish reconstruction of the

Temple, a job requiring vast sums of money. The work was so

extensive and complex that it was still not completed in the time

of Jesus. Herod also built the Xystus, an open place surrounded

by a gallery, a magnificent palace for himself, a hippodrome, a

theater, and a large reservoir. Thus, despite his wickedness—

which was truly extreme and extended far beyond his slaughter

of Bethlehem’s baby boys—Herod the Great actually did much

of great value for the physical structure of Jerusalem.

During the first century A.D. religious conflicts led to

bloody battles in Jerusalem and Judea. In addition, the Roman

governors of Judea tended to be despotic and showed little

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respect for the Jewish religion. Their policies caused a violent

insurrection against Rome starting in A.D. 66. It was led by the

Zealots, a fanatical Jewish sect. Once again there was bloodshed

in the land. (We read in the Bible that many people in Jesus’

time, including many, if not all, of His disciples, thought and

hoped He would lead such an armed revolt against Rome.)

Nero, the Roman emperor at that time, sent an army under

his general Vespasian to stop the revolt. Before he finished the

job, however, Vespasian returned to Rome to become emperor

himself. He left the job of defeating the Zealots to his son, the

general Titus, who also was to become an emperor of Rome.

Titus did his job very well, systematically crushing the

revolt. In A.D. 70 he put Jerusalem under siege. He urged the

city to surrender, even sending the Jewish historian Josephus to

try to convince the city’s leaders of the wisdom to surrender. But

the city refused to surrender, so in August Titus finally entered

the city in a terrible battle. He captured and devastated it,

destroying the Temple, leveling its buildings, and throwing

down its walls. The streets of the city literally ran with blood.

Jerusalem was left in absolute ruin, once again a pile of rubble,

and so it would remain for many years.

The final fortress of the Zealots, Masada, fell to the Roman

legions in A.D. 73. The story of that place and time is a

monument to man’s yearning for freedom, and it provides a

rallying point for the Jews to this day. Those who are not

already familiar with the story should look it up in a history

book; it is truly inspiring.

The Roman emperor Hadrian visited the city, still largely in

ruins, in about A.D. 130 and began its reconstruction. From 132-

35, however, the Jews once again rebelled violently against

Roman rule. This time the insurrection was led by a man named

Simon Bar-Cocheba. The Jews fought desperately and were

successful for a time. Eventually, however, the revolt was put

down, and Judea was once again at the mercy of Rome.

Hadrian was not merciful, and although he continued the

rebuilding of Jerusalem after the rebellion, he changed the name

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

of Judea to Syria Palaestina and the name of Jerusalem to Aelia

Capitolina. Further, he made Jerusalem a pagan city and forbade

Jews to enter it upon pain of death. Persecution of Jews became

common throughout the empire.

The fall of Judea also widened the division between the

Jews and the followers of the new Christian religion.

Christianity grew increasingly influential in the succeeding

years, and in 313 the Roman emperor Constantine I accepted

Christianity for himself and made it the official religion of the

empire. Constantine made Jerusalem a Christian city and built

the Church of the Holy Sepulcher over the place believed to be

the site of the tomb where Christ had been buried.

After a visit to the city by the Byzantine empress Eudocia,

Jews were finally allowed back into Jerusalem in 438, following

a forced absence of three hundred years. Eudocia was also

responsible for the building of the Church of Saint Stephen north

of the city and the rebuilding of the city’s ancient southern wall.

During the reign of Justinian I (527-65), a revolt in Samaria

devastated the environs of Jerusalem; and a number of Christian

churches were destroyed, yet another episode in the city’s

violent history. Justinian was the builder of the great Church of

Saint Mary on the temple hill.

Just why God allowed Rome to continue in power to abuse

Jerusalem for so many years is not clear. As we will see in

chapter 5, there were certain aspects of the Roman occupation

that facilitated the spread of the early Christian church

throughout the world, and that may have partly accounted for

God’s patience. In any event, we know that the fate of Rome

was sealed when it first determined to subjugate and abuse

God’s chosen city.

We might pause at this point to reflect on how many times

Jerusalem had already been invaded and fought over by that time

in its history, its walls broken through, its people starved under

siege and then put to the sword, sold into slavery, or sent away

from their homes and land into exile. Many times Jerusalem’s

buildings had been burned to the ground, its Temple leveled and

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

looted. Americans, apart from our Civil War, have virtually no

experience with such things in our brief two hundred years as a

nation. While wars rage in much of the rest of the world, we live

in freedom and peace, for which we should thank the Lord. But

we cannot take our freedom for granted, as we will see in the

last chapter.

Even though Jerusalem suffered many invasions and much

violence and hardship, we should note that in each case, even

when the city lay in ruins for years at a time, God never let the

city die. He has always been faithful to preserve her, right up to

the present, and He always will be. Babylon and Persepolis, two

great capitals of world empires, among many others, are now

nothing more than deserted piles of debris, but Jerusalem always

rises from the rubble.

The Rise of Islam

In the early 600s, Muhammad founded the Islamic religion

in Mecca, a city in what is now Saudi Arabia, and Muslims soon

set out to conquer the world for Allah. In 637 an Arabic Muslim

army under the caliph (successor to the prophet Muhammad)

Omar I invaded Palestine and besieged and conquered

Jerusalem. Arabs controlled the city for most of the next five

hundred years.

From 687-91, the caliph Abd-al-Malik, one of a group of

successive caliphs known as the Umayyads, built a most

important building, the Dome of the Rock. This mosque is built

on the peak of Mount Moriah, the temple mount, the site of the

temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod. Specifically, it is

built over the rock believed to be the altar place of the Temple.

As noted earlier, it is also the place believed to be, by tradition,

the site of Abraham’s offering up his son Isaac. Muslims believe

Abraham went to that site to sacrifice his son Ishmael, the father

of the Arabic peoples. Muslims also believe Adam and Eve

offered sacrifices to God there.

Finally, and most important to the Muslims, they believe

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that Muhammad ascended into heaven on his winged horse, El

Baruck (“lightning”), from the summit of the mount, the rock in

the center of the Dome of the Rock. They say that when

Muhammad ascended, the rock began to go up with him. An

angel appeared, however, and held down the rock.

The fingerprints of the angel can still be seen on the side of

the rock, Muslims claim, as well as the footprints of

Muhammad. It is because of this belief about the ascension of

the prophet from the rock that Muslims hold the Dome of the

Rock, and Jerusalem generally, to be the third most holy place in

the world, following only Mecca and Medina.

During the next millennium, control of Jerusalem passed

from Egyptians to Syrians to Turks and back again, all of them

Muslim. Most of that time, Jerusalem was largely neglected and

allowed to decay.

Under the rule of the Seljuk Turks, however, beginning in

1071, Christians in Jerusalem were actively mistreated, and the

Church of the Holy Sepulcher was destroyed. Those events led

to the Crusades, which saw a Christian army, made up largely of

French and Belgian troops, journey to Palestine to liberate

Jerusalem from Muslim control.

The Crusaders succeeded in 1099, having laid siege to the

city. Once they captured it, they put to death many of its Muslim

and Jewish inhabitants. Other Jews and Muslims were taken

prisoner and sold into slavery. Whatever their qualities, the

Crusaders were not merciful, even to God’s chosen people.

But Jerusalem was once again a Christian-controlled city.

Streams of pilgrims came from Europe, and the population

increased considerably. The Dome of the Rock was made into a

Christian church. Jerusalem was made the capital of what was

called the Latin Kingdom.

Crusader control did not last all that long, however. In 1187,

Muslims retook the city from the Crusaders and removed all

signs of the Crusader occupation. That led to subsequent

Crusades, and Crusaders did capture the city and hold it briefly

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for one last time. Muslim forces drove them out for good in

1244.

To the Present

In 1517, Palestine was captured by Sultan Selim I of

Turkey’s Ottoman Empire. Except for a brief period, Turkey

then held the land until the end of World War I. The most

permanent accomplishment of the Turkish occupation was the

rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls by Suleiman I (“the

Magnificent”), son of Selim I, in approximately 1542. The

remains of those walls are the walls still standing around the Old

City of Jerusalem. The walls are two and a half miles long,

average forty feet in height, and contain thirty-four towers.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Turkey entered

the war on the side opposite England and France; and the British

and French consulates in Jerusalem were closed. England and

her allies were victorious; and the British, with their French and

Italian allies, entered Palestine under General Edmund Allenby.

The British and allied troops seized and entered Jerusalem on

December 9, 1917, ending almost seven hundred years of

Muslim control.

Allenby’s capture of Jerusalem was unusual and deserves

special attention. Early on the morning of December 9, Allenby

sent two reconnaissance planes over the city to scout the Turkish

defenses. It was the first time in history that planes had flown

over Jerusalem. Much to their surprise, the pilots discovered the

Turks had deserted the city, leaving it wide open. The British

were able to march in and take over the city without firing a

single shot.

General Allenby had spent the previous day in prayer in

anticipation of the expected battle for Jerusalem. His prayers,

coupled with the amazing discovery by the scout planes, bring to

mind the words of Isaiah 31:5: “Like birds flying about, So will

the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also

deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”

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Sadly, the awesome British Empire of which Allenby was a

part would also suffer a fatal blow while tampering with

Jerusalem. The story of Britain’s fall, which is especially

intriguing because the events unfolded before the eyes of many

of us who are still alive, will be discussed more fully in the last

chapter.

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3

Jerusalem and Jesus

3

A special facet of the history of Jerusalem for all Christians

is the part the city played in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ,

our Savior. He is the central focus, the essential part, of our

faith; for apart from Him there is no Christianity. Therefore, it is

only fitting that we concentrate for a short while on the

relationship of Jerusalem to Jesus, who will one day establish an

everlasting empire there.

We really need to begin this story even prior to Jesus’ birth.

For it was in Jerusalem that the birth of Jesus’ forerunner, the

one who would announce His coming and prepare the way for

Him, was made known. I am referring to the birth of John the

Baptist as it was prophesied by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:8-20.

The story is familiar. John’s parents, Zacharias and

Elisabeth, were getting old, and they had no children because

Elisabeth was barren. One day, however, as Zacharias, a priest,

was serving in the Temple, Gabriel appeared to him and told him

John would be born “‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the

children,” and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make

ready a people prepared for the Lord’” (Luke 1:17).

Zacharias doubted Gabriel, which from a human perspective

is understandable, considering the ages of Zacharias and

Elisabeth and her infertility.

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this?

For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who

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stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you

and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute

and not able to speak until the day these things take place,

because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled

in their own time.” (Luke 1:18-20)

John the Baptist was born and fulfilled the role for which

God created him. So, too, did Jesus Christ when He was born in

Bethlehem, a small town only about six miles south of

Jerusalem. He, Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity,

was born into the human race for many reasons, the most

important of which was to die in Jerusalem thirty-three years

later for our sins, taking upon His sinless self the righteous

judgment of God that we deserve.

After Jesus was born, His parents took Him to the Temple to

present Him to the Lord and purify Mary, as prescribed in the

Mosaic Law.

According to that law, the new mother of a male child was

considered unclean. On the boy’s eighth day he was

circumcised, but the mother remained unclean for another thirty-

three days, after which she presented a burnt offering and a sin

offering for her cleansing (see Lev. 12:4-6). The fact that Mary

and Joseph brought two turtledoves for Mary’s sacrifice shows

they were poor, for that was the least-expensive acceptable

sacrifice.

While the family was in the Temple, they encountered two

remarkable people who confirmed that Jesus was to be the

Savior. The first of these was Simeon. The Bible tells us only

that he was “just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of

Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been

revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death

before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25-26). He had

been led to the Temple by the Holy Spirit while Jesus and His

parents were there, and when he saw Jesus, he took Him in his

arms and blessed God and Jesus’ family (see Luke 2:27-35).

The second person was Anna, a prophetess who lived in the

Temple, fasting and praying continually. When she saw Jesus,

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Jerusalem and Jesus

she likewise thanked the Lord (see Luke 2:36-38). All this was

amazing to Mary and Joseph, even though they knew of the

miraculous nature of Jesus’ conception. The Bible tells us, “And

Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were

spoken of Him” (Luke 2:33).

When Mary and Joseph had done all the Mosaic Law

required, they took Jesus and returned to their home in Nazareth,

where Jesus grew up. Since they were devout Jews, they

returned to Jerusalem every year for the celebration of Passover.

When Jesus was twelve, He went with His parents for the festive

occasion.

At the age of thirteen, a Jewish boy became a “son of the

commandment” and a full member of the religious community,

an adult. Prior to that time, He would not be allowed to

participate completely in the worship ceremonies of the Temple.

However, boys were often allowed to go to the Temple a year or

two before the thirteenth birthday, and that was the case with

Jesus.

So far as we know, there was nothing out of the ordinary

about Jesus’ celebration of the Passover with His parents. When

the festivities were over, Mary and Joseph started back to

Nazareth with their relatives and friends who had gone to

Jerusalem with them. They did not have Jesus with them, but

they assumed He was with some of the other people in their

group. But at the end of the first day’s journey they could not

find Him anywhere. He had stayed in Jerusalem (see Luke 2:42-

44).

Being the father of three sons, I know exactly how Mary and

Joseph must have felt. To lose track of a boy in a crowded city

so far from home is a terrifying experience for a parent. As I

have prayed to the Lord for guidance in finding my sons in such

situations, I am sure Mary and Joseph asked God to watch over

Jesus and help them find Him.

They went back to Jerusalem to look for Him, and they had

to search for three long days before they found Him in the

Temple. Every parent knows exactly what they felt—a

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conflicting set of emotions. On one hand, because they loved

Him, they were tremendously relieved to have found Him and

glad to see Him again. Who knows what could have happened to

Him? On the other hand, they were upset with Him for staying

behind and not letting them know what He was doing. As a rule,

children ought not to do such things to their parents. Because we

know our Savior never sinned, however, it may be there was just

some misunderstanding between Him and His parents.

And His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this

to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” And

He said to them, “Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not

know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:48-

49).

Jesus had been listening to and asking questions of the

“doctors,” the scholars and teachers of the Jewish faith, and

everyone who heard Him was amazed at the depth of

understanding He displayed (see Luke 2:46-47). Here in

Jerusalem was the first public demonstration of His spiritual

wisdom recorded in the Bible. After that incident He returned to

Nazareth with His parents and was subject to them while He

grew into full manhood (see Luke 2:51-52).

Jesus’ Public Ministry

The next recorded visit of Jesus to Jerusalem took place

approximately nineteen years later, after He was a grown man

and had already begun His public ministry, when He again went

up to celebrate Passover. It may well be that He had visited

Jerusalem for Passover in the intervening years, but the Bible is

silent on the matter.

While in Jerusalem on this occasion, Jesus drove the money

changers out of the Temple with a scourge for the first time,

chasing away the animals that were for sale for sacrificial use

and overturning the sellers’ tables. The story is very familiar to

us, but we must not let familiarity cause us to lose sight of the

terrible thing that was going on.

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The Temple was meant to be a place for the worship of God,

and Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated it in one way, by

sacrificing a ceremonially unclean animal on the altar. But here,

with the approval of the priests, was desecration of another kind.

The Temple was being used as a place of business, a place to

make money off the Jewish pilgrims who came to the Temple

from distant places and so had not been able to bring sacrificial

animals with them. Jesus was understandably and rightly angry

with them, and He took bold action to cleanse God’s house.

Note that the Jews’ response was not thanks or repentance.

Rather, they asked Him, in effect, “Who do You think You are?

What authority do You have to do that?” (see John 2:13-18).

When we read this account in the Bible, we must keep in

mind that our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1

Cor. 6:19). And when He moves to cleanse our lives of those

things we have allowed to take root that hinder our worship of

Him, we should not respond like the Jews but should instead

thank Him and yield to His will, knowing it is for His glory and

our good.

While in Jerusalem, Jesus also performed some unspecified

miracles, and many people believed in Him (see John 2:23). It

was also during this visit that Jesus had His nighttime interview

with Nicodemus, a Pharisee (see John 3:1- 21). On that night He

explained what it means to be born again and made the

statement that has become probably the most famous verse in all

the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only

begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish

but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus then left Jerusalem to travel and minister in various

parts of Israel, and He did not return to the city until the next

Passover. During this visit He healed the lame man at the

Bethesda pool, the pool to which an angel came occasionally to

stir up the water. Whoever was then first into the water was

healed from whatever physical problem he had. This lame man

had no one to help him get into the pool, however, so he could

never get in first. Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made

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well?” (John 5:6). He then ordered the man to get up and walk,

“and immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and

walked” (John 5:9).

What was the reaction of the Jewish leaders? Did they

rejoice in the man’s healing or marvel at the amazing

demonstration of God’s compassion? Hardly. Instead, they told

the healed man, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to

carry your bed” (John 5:10). They looked right past the miracle

to that small violation of their religious law, and concentrated on

it. Unfortunately, we in the twentieth century still tend to do the

same thing, so we should not be too quick to judge. May God

teach us to focus on what He is doing rather than on our

traditions.

During that same visit to Jerusalem, Jesus claimed publicly

to be equal with God. For that reason, along with His doing

works of healing on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders sought to

kill Him (see John 5:17-18). They were unable to do so,

however, because it was not yet the time appointed for Him by

the Father.

After leaving Jerusalem, Jesus would return three more

times. But before we look at those events, let’s consider a couple

of things related to Jerusalem that took place away from the city.

First, the Scriptures tell us that the Pharisees were strongly

opposed to Jesus, because they were more concerned with their

traditions than they were with seeing God’s will done. Their

headquarters was Jerusalem, and they were so upset by Jesus’

popularity and disregard for their traditions that, on occasion,

groups of them would travel out from Jerusalem to where Jesus

was ministering so they could chide Him for His “failure” to

observe the religious law.

One of the confrontations between Jesus and Pharisees from

Jerusalem is recorded for us in Matthew 15:1-20 and Mark 7:1-

23. On that occasion, the Pharisees’ complaint was that Jesus’

disciples did not wash their hands properly before eating. The

Jews had an elaborate handwashing ritual before eating; it was

part of their religious observance. When the Pharisees saw the

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disciples eating without having first washed, they asked Jesus,

“Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of

the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” (Mark 7:5).

Jesus replied:

Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is

written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their

heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching

as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Mark 7:6-7)

He then went on to point out that while they insisted upon

proper observance of even the most minute parts of their

traditions, they used those same traditions to disobey the clear

teaching of God’s Word, as when they allowed a man to escape

his responsibility to provide for his parents by saying his profits

were dedicated to the Temple (“corban”; see Mark 7:9-13). He

added at the end of that condemnation, “And many such things

you do” (Mark 7:13).

Our Savior knew the hearts of those Pharisees, and He saw

that their hearts were far from God. Indeed, if they had been true

followers of God and true scholars of His Word, they would

have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. He pointed out on several

occasions that Moses, the revered lawgiver of ancient Israel, had

written of Him; and He added, “For if you believed Moses, you

would believe Me.... But if you do not believe his writings, how

will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47). Jesus had picked

the right word for them when He called them hypocrites.

The second thing we want to look at is that Jesus, being

fully God as well as fully man, knew well before His crucifixion

that He was to die for our sins in Jerusalem. Several different

times He had told this to His disciples, as in Matthew 16:21.

“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples how He

must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders

and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again

the third day.”

His disciples didn’t believe and didn’t really understand

until after His resurrection, but Jesus knew full well what lay

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ahead for Him in Jerusalem. He knew, and He was willing to go

and suffer in our place to satisfy the justice of God and reconcile

us to Him. Luke 9:51 tells us that when the time came for Jesus

to turn His full attention to His final and most important

mission, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.”

Nothing would deter Him from giving Himself in love.

Jesus’ next visit to Jerusalem was for the Feast of

Tabernacles, or Booths. During that time He was the central

character in a number of incidents that are very familiar to

Christians—for example, His forgiving of the woman caught in

adultery (see John 8:1-11). He described Himself as the Light of

the World, the Good Shepherd, and the Door (see John 8:12;

10:1-21).

One of the most interesting things about this visit to

Jerusalem concerned the Pharisees and chief priests and their

usual opposition to Him. On this occasion they sent officers to

arrest Him, but the officers returned empty-handed. When those

officers were asked why they had not brought Jesus, they

replied, “No man ever spoke like this Man” (John 7:46).

That made the Pharisees and chief priests even more

indignant. They responded, “But this crowd [believers in Jesus]

that does not know the law is accursed” (John 7:49).

Then, who should come to Jesus’ defense but Nicodemus,

himself a Pharisee, the same one who had come to Jesus at night

(see John 7:50-51). We do not know for certain if Nicodemus

had already committed his life to the Lord Jesus at that point.

But if he hadn’t done so by then, it was almost certain he had by

the time of Jesus’ death, approximately six months later. For

when Joseph of Arimathea took the dead body of Jesus to bury

it, Nicodemus came with a mixture of burial spices and helped

Joseph prepare and then entomb the body (see John 19:38-42).

Such a bold action on Nicodemus’s part undoubtedly put his

position as a Pharisee in danger, but his love for the Savior was

greater than his fear of the condemnation of his peers. May God

grant that our love for Jesus today would also be stronger than

our concern over the ridicule of people who are antagonistic to

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Him.

The other incident we want to highlight in this visit of Jesus

to Jerusalem was His very clear statement of His deity in John

8:12-59. Throughout this passage, as Jesus was jousting verbally

with the Pharisees, both He and they made repeated references

to Abraham. They were boasting of the fact that they were

descendants of Abraham. Jesus told them that if Abraham were

truly their (spiritual) forefather, they would believe Him rather

than want to kill Him.

This conversation came to a climax in the last four verses of

the passage. Jesus first said to the Pharisees, “Your father

Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad”

(John 8:56). In other words, He was indicating He had

personally seen Abraham several millennia before.

The Pharisees, not believing in Jesus’ eternal deity, then

logically asked, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You

seen Abraham?” (John 8:57).

Jesus’ answer is one of the simplest yet most profound

statements in all of Scripture: “Most assuredly, I say to you,

before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). My heart thrills every

time I read that verse. Jesus was saying, in effect, “Abraham

lived several thousand years ago, as you well know. But long

before he was born, even to eternity past, I, God in the flesh,

existed.”

The Pharisees, still not believing Him, nonetheless

understood exactly what He was saying, as evidenced by the fact

that they immediately picked up stones to throw at Him and

stone Him to death for blasphemy. It was not yet His time to die,

however, so He miraculously passed through their midst

untouched (see John 8:59). Shortly thereafter, He left Jerusalem

to minister in other parts of Israel.

When Jesus next went to Jerusalem, it was to be His last

visit before the time when He would go there to die. The specific

occasion for His going this time was the Feast of Dedication,

which to this day is celebrated in December, near the winter

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solstice. The feast is also known as the Feast of Lights, or

Hanukkah, and it was instituted in 164 B.C. by Judas

Maccabaeus to commemorate the cleansing and reopening of the

Temple after its desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C.

While in Jerusalem at that time Jesus again declared His

divinity, His oneness with God. The disbelieving Jewish leaders

once again accused Him of blasphemy and took up stones to kill

Him (see John 10:22-38). If Jesus had been a liar, as they

thought, they would have been right to stone Him for

blasphemy. But Jesus told the truth, and they should have known

it. And because it still was not His appointed time to die, He

once again escaped from them (see John 10:39).

The Last Visit

After teaching and healing outside Jerusalem for a while,

Jesus set His face toward the city for the last time. On His way

there, just before His final week, He stopped as He often had at

the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. Bethany is

less than two miles east of Jerusalem on the road to Jericho, on

the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Because Bethany is so

close to Jerusalem, it was Jesus’ home in Judea, and it was His

home for His last visit to the Holy City.

During that final week, Jesus had supper one night in

Bethany at the home of a man identified only as Simon the leper.

The Bible doesn’t tell us anything else about him, but it may be

that he was someone Jesus had healed. Regardless, Martha was

helping to serve the meal; and while Jesus ate, Mary came to

Him with a vial of a very expensive perfume called spikenard.

She used the ointment to anoint His head and feet, filling the

house with its smell, and then she wiped His feet with her hair

(see Matt. 26:6-7; John 12:1-3).

Jesus’ disciples, particularly Judas, were indignant at this

because they considered it wasteful. “To what purpose is this

waste?” they said. “For this fragrant oil might have been sold

for much and given to the poor” (Matt. 26:8-9). Judas’s concern

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was not for the poor, as John tells us in his gospel: “This he

said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief,

and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it”

(John 12:6). So the disciples had mixed motives in objecting to

Mary’s action, but they were certainly right about the perfume’s

great value. Mark’s gospel tells us it was worth three hundred

denarii, which was approximately a full year’s wages for a rural

worker (see Mark 14:5).

Jesus, however, did not share His disciples’ reaction to

Mary’s anointing. “Why do you trouble the woman?” He asked.

“For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor

with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring

this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial” (Matt.

26:10-12). In other words, it seems that Mary, unlike the twelve

disciples, believed Jesus when He said He was soon going to

die; and this was her way of expressing her love for the Savior

and saying she believed. We should also note that Jesus’

statement about the poor did not indicate callousness on His

part. Rather, He was saying there would always be opportunity

to help the poor, but shortly there would be no more chance to

minister to Him as Mary had done.

It was right after that anointing that Judas went to the chief

priests in Jerusalem and agreed to betray Jesus (see Matt. 26:14-

16).

The rest of Jesus’ last visit to Jerusalem is a familiar story

that could easily fill a book by itself, and we cannot take the

space here to discuss it in detail. We must not, however, let our

familiarity with the events of the week—His triumphal entry,

His teaching, His betrayal, His trial, His crucifixion, His

resurrection—cause us to become indifferent to them, for they

are the climax of His life and the means of our salvation. In

God’s precious eternal city, the holy God in human form bore

our sins on the cross and then rose from the grave, victorious

over death, three days later.

It is for this part of Jerusalem’s long history that the city is

the most wonderful place on earth to believers all over the world

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through all the generations of the church. And it is to this same

city that the glorified Jesus will one day return!

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Jerusalem and the Church

4

After the death of Jesus, the eleven apostles and His other

followers suddenly found themselves without a leader. They

were despondent and without hope. Then came the glorious

news that He had been seen alive, but they refused to believe it.

Sure enough, though, over the next forty days He revealed

Himself in His resurrected body to many of them, speaking to

them about the kingdom of God (see Acts 1:3).

Then He ascended into heaven, to intercede for us with the

Father. Before He went, however, He commanded the apostles

not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise that

He had given them (see Acts 1:4). He told them, “For John

truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the

Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). The disciples,

about 120 of them (see Acts 1:15), stayed together in Jerusalem

and waited. And while they waited, one of the things they did

was to choose someone to replace Judas among the twelve

apostles. The man chosen was Matthias, one of Jesus’ followers

from the very beginning (see Acts 1:21-26).

Finally the great day arrived, the day of Pentecost, the

official birthday, we might say, of the Church. The Holy Spirit

came and took up permanent residence in human beings for the

first time, and those so filled went out into the city speaking in

languages (tongues) they did not know, as the Spirit gave them

power, to the amazement of Jews from every nation who were in

Jerusalem and heard the gospel in their native tongues. It was

such an exciting and important day that we want to look at it

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closely.

The story of Pentecost begins in Acts 2:1, and the first thing

to notice there is that the day “had fully come.” I love that

phrase, because it tells me the birth of the Church was not an

accident or a sidelight to history, but a planned, prearranged

work of God.

In what sense had the day fully come? First, the Lord Jesus

had lived, died, been resurrected, and ascended into heaven. All

those things had to happen before the Holy Spirit could come

(see John 16:7). And we know, too, that Jesus had come in “the

fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4)—that is, at just the right time

chosen by God.

Second, the earth was physically ready for the growth of the

Church, for the gospel to spread to every corner of the known

world. The reason was the worldwide Roman Empire. As the

Romans conquered every part of their world, they built and

maintained roads to connect the various parts of the empire.

Those roads made travel and commerce much easier than they

had been before, and they also facilitated the movement of the

mighty Roman legions. Because those legions were so strong

and were able to maintain peace and safety in the empire, travel

by Christian missionaries like Peter and Paul was much safer

than it would have been a century before.

Third, the world of that day had a universal language, much

as English is today, and that also contributed greatly to the

effectiveness of traveling missionaries. Each land still had its

native tongue, but there would be many in every country and in

every large city who would be able to converse in the universal

language, Greek. The Greek-speaking people could hear the

gospel and pass it on to others; and they could also read the

apostles’ letters, written in Greek, to the local churches. Thus,

the story of Jesus and doctrinal truths of the faith were spread

rapidly to every corner of the world, regardless of the local

languages.

In Acts 2:1, after it says the day “had fully come,” it says

“they were all... in one place.” Who were those “all”? This

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phrase again speaks of the sovereignty of our God, because it

suggests that everyone God wanted there was there. None whom

He meant to be in that room was absent or even late. At the

appointed time and place, they were all present and accounted

for. None had slept late, and none had gone to the wrong

address.

Just so, God is today calling all those He wants and needs in

His service, and He is calling them to be in the place of His

choosing. Those of us who are His children by spiritual rebirth

must seek, find, and affirm the place He has picked for us. If we

are not in that place, His work in this world will be hindered by

our disobedience, and we will miss out on the fullness of the

blessing He has in store for those who are in His perfect will.

Acts 2:1 also tells us “they were all with one accord”

(emphasis added). This was important for the proper beginning

of the Church, but it was a dramatic difference from the earlier

experience of the disciples. Before, the mother of James and

John, the sons of Zebedee, had come to Jesus and asked if her

boys could have the places of greatest honor in His kingdom,

making the other ten disciples angry. “And when the ten heard

it, they were moved with indignation against the two brothers”

(Matt. 20:24).

On other occasions, the proud and self-centered disciples

had argued among themselves about which of them would be

greatest in the kingdom (e. g., see Luke 9:46). They even argued

about it during the Last Supper, just a few days before Jesus’

death (see Luke 22:24). Far from being united in purpose, each

disciple was seeking the best position for himself in Jesus’ chain

of command.

By the day of Pentecost, however, having witnessed the

resurrected Lord Jesus, they had put their petty, selfish, divisive

concerns behind them and were united in purpose. Again, the

lesson for us is clear. Believers today must come together in

purpose if our world is to be as fully blessed through the Church

as God intends.

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The Coming of the Holy Spirit

As Jesus’ followers were gathered in one place, “suddenly

there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty

wind” (Acts 2:2). We do not know exactly what that sound was

like, but perhaps those who have heard a tornado approaching,

or the full strength of a hurricane, can better appreciate it. The

sound must have been frightening and exhilarating at the same

time. Maybe they thought the place was going to be blown

down. On the other hand, they must have known, as the verse

says, that the sound was from heaven, that God was about to do

something, and that’s always exciting.

The verse goes on to say, “and it [the sound] filled the

whole house.” The church of Jesus Christ began in a house, not

a synagogue or any other official place of worship, and the

lesson is that believers can worship anywhere. A magnificent

cathedral might help to focus a person’s attention on God, but

such a building is no more holy or acceptable to God than the

humblest home or apartment. What is important is the genuine

desire to worship and glorify God.

Let us note finally in Acts 2:2 that the sound came and filled

the house “where they were sitting.” That suggests—and other

passages of Scripture confirm—there is no one correct position

for worship or prayer. One does not need to be face down on the

floor, kneeling, standing, or even sitting, as the disciples were

here. Some of the greatest spiritual experiences of my life have

come while I was lying on my back in bed. We should not let

anyone convince us we must adopt one particular pose. God is

not against our being comfortable! The important consideration

is where our minds and hearts are. If they are focused on Him,

all is well.

Next, a tongue of fire appeared over the head of each

disciple, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They

began to speak in tongues, as we noted earlier; and men of every

nation heard the gospel, “the wonderful works of God” (Acts

2:11). Some people marveled at this amazing thing, but others

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mocked and accused the disciples of being drunk (see Acts 2:12-

13).

Peter then stood up and explained that this speaking in

tongues was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and that

Jesus was in fact the promised Messiah of God (see Acts 2:14-

40). The Peter delivering this bold and powerful sermon was the

same Peter who not many days before had denied his Lord three

times because of fear and cowardice. Now he was filled with,

and speaking in the power of, the Holy Spirit. As a result of this

witness for Christ, about three thousand people were added to

the church that day, truly one of the most memorable days in all

of human history.

The bold preaching of Peter and others continued,

accompanied by miraculous healings (see Acts 3; 5:12-16). The

Spirit was working in a powerful way, and the church in

Jerusalem soon grew to about five thousand men, plus women

and children (see Acts 4:4).

Part of the witness to the world of that first church was the

way they lived together. They ate, prayed, learned, and praised

God together daily; and those who had possessions sold them to

help meet the physical needs of other believers (see Acts 2:42-

47; 4:32-37). All this was done gladly and willingly; no one was

compelled to give. As a result of this sacrificial love and warm

fellowship, the Church was “having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being

saved” (Acts 2:47).

It was dangerous, however, to play games with the Holy

Spirit in the matter of giving the proceeds of sale of one’s

possessions to the church, as illustrated by the well-known story

of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a piece of land and brought

part of the proceeds to the apostles, but they lied and said what

they were giving was everything they had received from the sale.

As punishment for their dishonesty and, I am sure, as a warning

to others, the Spirit struck them dead; and great fear

understandably came on the whole church because of it (see

Acts 5:1-11). We must realize here that they were not judged for

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holding back part of the proceeds of the sale; they were not

obliged to give any of that money. Rather, as Peter pointed out,

their sin was lying to the Holy Spirit.

Not surprisingly, the teaching of Jesus’ resurrection and the

growth of the church did not please the Jewish religious

authorities, especially since they were the ones who had

engineered His crucifixion. They brought in Peter and John and

demanded to know what authority they had (see Acts 4). A little

later, they had the apostles put in prison, from which an angel

released them to preach again in the Temple (see Acts 5:17-20).

So the authorities had them arrested again and said to them,

“Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this [Jesus’]

name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine”

(Acts 5:28).

Then the apostles gave the reply that ever since has served

as a model for Christians who have faced authorities trying to

silence their witness for Christ or otherwise hinder their

obedience to Him: “We ought to obey God rather than men”

(Acts 5:29). Peter and the other apostles went on to accuse the

Jewish leaders of Jesus’ death and to proclaim Him to be the

Savior.

At that point, the leaders would have had the apostles killed

(see Acts 5:33), but an interesting irony of history came into

play. The Pharisee whom God raised up to defend the apostles

and secure their release with only a beating and a warning was

Gamaliel, “a teacher of the law held in respect by all the

people” (Acts 5:34). The ironic part of this is that Gamaliel, the

respected teacher, had as one of his students the zealous young

Pharisee Saul (see Acts 22:3).

Much of what Saul, later the apostle Paul, knew about God’s

Word he learned from this man Gamaliel who defended the

apostles on this occasion. Part of his defense of them shows his

wisdom, for he said of their teaching: “If this plan or this work

is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot

overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (Acts

5:38-39). He was right. The apostles’ work was of God, and the

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Pharisees and the Sanhedrin could not overthrow it.

The Church Scatters

Opposition to the church did not end by any means,

however, and before long the church grieved over its first

martyr. Stephen was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”

(Acts 6:5), one of seven men in the church chosen to oversee the

meeting of believers’ physical needs so the apostles could

concentrate on prayer and teaching (see Acts 6:1-7). He did

great miracles and also preached, and some Jews who were

antagonistic to the gospel arranged for other men to falsely

accuse Stephen of blasphemy. Stephen was taken before the

Sanhedrin, where in his defense, he gave a long and stirring

sermon in which he recounted God’s dealings with Abraham and

his descendants. At the end, he also accused the council of

murdering Jesus. Their guilty consciences were pricked by his

words, but rather than repent they became murderously angry at

him and “stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and

they cast him out of the city and stoned him” (Acts 7:57-58; see

also 6:8- 7:60).

The murder of Stephen was the beginning of serious trouble

for the church. “At that time a great persecution arose against

the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered

throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the

apostles” (Acts 8:1).

As we go on in Acts 8, however, we see that even this

uprising against the church was part of God’s plan. We read in

verse 4, “Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching

the word.” We can safely assume that some of the foreign Jews

who heard the gospel in their native languages on the day of

Pentecost took it back to their lands with them, but this

scattering of the Jerusalem church was really the first missionary

campaign, unplanned—from a human perspective—as it was.

For these people had been trained under the apostles and so

could teach others in Judea and Samaria the truths of the faith.

Meanwhile, the apostles were still in Jerusalem to win and train

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others.

The apostles in Jerusalem, having walked with and been

taught by Jesus Himself, also served as a council to oversee the

growth of the church and resolve disputes. So Paul, after he was

converted, went to Jerusalem to join the apostles. They were

understandably suspicious of him at first, knowing the way he

had persecuted the church. “As for Saul, he made havoc of the

church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women,

committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). But later Paul won their

confidence with the help of Barnabas, and he joined them (see

Acts 9:26-29).

Likewise, after Peter had taken the gospel to the Gentiles

and baptized some of them (the family of a Roman officer, no

less) in obedience to God’s command, he had to explain his

actions to the church at Jerusalem and help them see that the

gospel was, indeed, for Gentiles as well as Jews (see Acts 11:1-

18).

One last example of this role of the apostles and the elders

of the Jerusalem church comes in the dispute that arose over

whether Gentiles who became Christians had to be circumcised

like Jews. Certain Jewish Christians said circumcision was

necessary, but Paul and Barnabas disagreed. Paul would write

later to the church in Rome, “For he is not a Jew who is one

outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the

flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is

that of the heart, in the Spirit” (Rom. 2:28- 29).

The dispute was taken to the apostles and elders in

Jerusalem, where both sides were argued strenuously. Then the

apostles and elders made their decision based on their

understanding of God’s will, and the answer was that

circumcision was not necessary. They drafted letters to that

effect to be distributed to the scattered churches (see Acts 15:1-

29). So the issue was resolved.

Even as Jerusalem remained the home of the mother

Christian church, it also was still the home of the Jewish faith,

and non-believing Jews continued to be hostile to the gospel,

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Jerusalem and the Church

just as many of them are yet today. Thus, it is not surprising that

James, the brother of John, one of the apostles, was murdered in

Jerusalem, or that Peter was arrested there again and would have

been killed if an angel had not miraculously released him (see

Acts 12:1-18). So also was Paul later arrested and tried in

Jerusalem, and from there he began his last journey, in chains, to

Rome (see Acts 21:15- 23:22).

Those were exciting times in Jerusalem when the church

was born, when the Holy Spirit came upon men and empowered

them to speak in tongues, heal the sick, preach the gospel with

great boldness, and begin to spread the good news through all

the earth. We may wish we could have been there to see it all

and participate in the thrill of those days. But the sovereign God

has called us to live and serve Him in this age, and it, too, is an

exciting time. For the Holy Spirit is still at work in and through

believers who are willing to be used to spread the gospel of

Jesus Christ to every part of the world.

May the Lord grant that we sense the challenge of this

moment and step forth boldly in the power of the Spirit to win

this age for His kingdom.

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5

The Wanderers Return

5

On Friday, May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, leader of the

unofficial Jewish government in Palestine, stood before a

microphone in a Tel Aviv museum and formally declared the

existence of the new state of Israel. It was a moment of high

drama, the climax of almost two thousand years of Jewish hopes

to once again live in their own sovereign nation in the land of

Abraham, Joshua, and David. It was also one of the most

significant fulfillments of biblical prophecy in this or any age.

At the same time, it was only the beginning of the new Israel’s

desperate struggle to survive, for immediately the surrounding

Arab nations invaded Israel in an attempt to drive the

overwhelmingly outnumbered Jews into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Arab efforts were doomed, however, because God was

at work on the side of Israel. Just how the new nation came into

being, and how it not only survived but thrived despite

tremendous obstacles, are the subjects to be explored in this

chapter. We will also see how Israel regained complete control

of Jerusalem. It is truly one of the most exciting chapters in the

annals of history.

Before World War II

We saw in chapter 3 that the Jews had not enjoyed any kind

of self-rule in their homeland since the conquest of Jerusalem by

the Roman general Titus in A.D. 70. For the last four hundred

years prior to the British general Allenby’s capture of Jerusalem

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

in 1917, the city and all of Palestine had been under the control

of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Turks were in command

when the story of the new Israel began.

Over the course of the centuries, Jews had made their way

back to Palestine in small numbers from various parts of the

world. Zionism, the worldwide movement for an independent

Jewish state in Palestine, began to take hold in the nineteenth

century with the start of an organized Jewish settlement. The

first modern Jewish agricultural colony, Petah Tiqwa, was

founded about 1870, and others were established soon after that.

Zionism became a well-organized movement in the last

decade of the nineteenth century under the guidance of Theodor

Herzl, an Austrian writer. He made it an effective political force

in numerous countries, including the United States. The cause

was helped in the first decade of the twentieth century,

ironically, by pogroms (organized massacres of Jews) and other

acts of anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia and various parts of

Eastern Europe. Such actions led many Russian Jews to emigrate

to Palestine, and they caused Jews in other nations to see in

Zionism the only real solution to anti-Semitism.

Meanwhile, the early Jewish settlements in Palestine were

being attacked occasionally by Arabs, so a loosely organized

defensive group known as Hashomer (Hebrew for “Watchmen”)

was formed. This group became the forerunner of the Israeli

army. Arab opposition to the establishment of a new Israel

would prove to be one of the great obstacles to the creation of

the nation.

The other primary obstacle was Great Britain, which took

control in 1917. In that same year, Arthur James Balfour, British

foreign secretary at the time, said that Britain pledged to support

the establishment of a Jewish “national home” in Palestine.

That pledge was incorporated in the mandate the League of

Nations gave Britain in 1922 to occupy, govern, and “protect”

Palestine. England was to “facilitate” Jewish immigration and

settlement there. However, the mandatory government (the

British administrative government for Palestine) divided the area

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The Wanderers Return

into two parts, with the area east of the Jordan River designated

a separate legal entity called Transjordan. Jews were forbidden

to settle in or even enter Transjordan.

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Jews

began to experience new persecution in Europe, and increasing

numbers of them left for Palestine. Arabs in Palestine had

already begun to organize political opposition to Zionism, but

with the rise in Jewish immigration, they resorted to rioting in

1936. For the next three years, there were killings almost every

day.

In response, Palestinian Jews organized two clandestine

armed forces (the British made all armed forces but their own

illegal). The Haganah (Defense), an underground army, replaced

the Hashomer in 1936. It was dedicated solely to defending

Jewish people and property. In 1937, however, a second and

smaller group, the Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military

Organization), was formed, and it was far more aggressive. It

carried out offensive retaliatory attacks against Arabs, believing

the Arab riots were encouraged by the British and would not be

stopped by self-defense alone. One reason for British sympathy

toward the Arabs was that Britain did not want to upset the

Arabs surrounding the Suez, where it had control of some oil

fields. (Throughout modern Israel’s brief life, the support of her

allies, including the United States, has been tempered by those

allies’ desire not to alienate the oil-rich Arabs.)

In 1939, claiming it needed to find a way to restore peace in

Palestine, England issued a policy statement saying a Jewish

national home had already been established there, since there

was a large and flourishing Jewish community. That implied that

the promise it had made of a Jewish “national home” did not

mean a sovereign state but only a functioning community. And,

by that definition, Britain claimed it had already fulfilled that

part of its mandate.

Then, saying Britain had to respect the wishes of the “local

inhabitants,” the policy statement restricted further Jewish

immigration to seventy-five thousand over the next five years,

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

thus making certain Arabs would remain in the majority in

Palestine. The statement also strictly limited Jewish purchases of

Palestinian land.

Understandably, Arabs were pleased with the policy

statement, and Arab violence came to an almost complete stop.

The Jews, on the other hand, were understandably disturbed, and

the Irgun changed the target of its attacks from the Arabs to the

British.

From World War II to Independence

When World War II broke out, the Jewish armed forces

found themselves, ironically, allied with the British against the

Axis powers. Both the Haganah and the Irgun joined Britain in

the war effort, and about thirty thousand Palestinian Jews joined

the British Middle Eastern forces.

The Irgun was split in 1940 when a group that became

known as the “Stem Group” went off on its own. Though its

leader, Abraham Stem, believed that the immigration of Jews

from Europe was of greatest importance, the British forces

during the war all but stopped entirely such immigration. To try

to force the British to change their policies, the Stem Group

launched a campaign of assassinations against British officials.

After the war, when the extent of the Holocaust became

known, Zionism experienced a new drive, and Palestinian Jews

urged that the concentration camp survivors be allowed in.

Britain refused, however, and the would-be immigrants were

forced to jam into ships and try to run the English naval

blockade of Palestine. When the British warships spotted such

an illegal ship, they would follow it to port. Then, when the

relieved and tearful immigrants finally touched their feet to the

soil of Palestine, British soldiers would arrest them, jam them

back into transports, and ship them to detainment camps on the

island of Cyprus.

Sometimes the captured immigrants weren’t even fortunate

enough to be sent to Cyprus. In the most publicized case, the

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British sent passengers from the immigration ship Exodus back

to Germany.

The immigrants defying the British restrictions and blockade

believed, correctly, that they had a higher mandate than

England’s. In the “passports” issued them by Jewish authorities

was this passage from Ezekiel 37:25: “Then they shall dwell in

the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your

fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children,

and their children’s children, forever.”

With that sense of destiny, the Jewish immigrants continued

to try to run the British blockade, and they stole through by the

dozens and the hundreds. God was at work to bring His people

back to their land, and no power on earth—the British nor the

Arabs—could stop them. As the immigrants got in, they

multiplied and worked hard to make the dusty land productive.

As the illegal immigrants poured into Palestine, the British

became more harsh, and the Arabs grew more concerned. The

Jews were already resentful over Britain’s refusal to relax its

immigration restrictions, and that plus this new English

harshness led to more anti-British fighting. Both the Stem Group

and the larger and stronger Irgun asserted that because the

British administration had violated the immigration and land

settlement provisions of its mandate, it had become an unlawful

occupying power.

Thus, beginning in 1945, steadily mounting violence became

the order of the day. The Jews fought both the Arabs and the

British. Palestine became the last place on earth where British

soldiers were dying, and it was for a cause that the world

generally and even most Britons did not support. The Jewish

Agency, the official Zionist and unofficial governmental

organization of the Jews in Palestine, denounced what it called

the terrorism of the Irgun and the Stem Group; but it was also

helped by their activities. David Ben-Gurion, the leader of the

Jewish Agency, told the British he could not prevent Jewish

violence unless concessions were made.

As these things were going on in Palestine, Jews and their

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

supporters in America were giving more money for the support

of the Zionist cause and pressuring the United States

government to urge a change in English policy.

Tensions came to a head in early 1947 with the imminent

execution of a captured Irgun leader. In March, the British army

imposed martial law on Tel Aviv and the Jewish sections of

Jerusalem. When four captured Irgunists were hanged, the Irgun

retaliated by hanging two British soldiers.

That incident produced an uproar in England and a call for a

change in Palestinian policy. But the mandatory government

found itself in a quandary. It feared that more repressive

measures against the Jews would only bring about an alliance

between the moderate and militant groups. On the other hand, it

did not want to allow greater Jewish immigration for fear of

upsetting the Arabs. So the British government passed the ball in

April 1947 by asking the United Nations to solve the problem.

A special meeting of the United Nations General Assembly

resulted in the assigning of an eleven-nation commission to

study the problem. On August 31 the commission issued a report

recommending the termination of the British mandate and the

partitioning of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states,

with an international zone between that would include Jerusalem

and the immediate surrounding area. On November 29 the

General Assembly voted to implement such a plan and create the

two new states. The British said they would make their final,

complete withdrawal from Palestine on May 15, 1948.

The creation of a Jewish state was totally unacceptable to

the surrounding Arab nations. Everyone knew that as soon as the

British were gone, the Arabs would attack Israel in an effort to

destroy it. On the morning of November 30, 1947, the day after

the United Nations vote, the secretary-general of the Arab

League said, “This will be a war of extermination and a

momentous massacre.” The representative of the Palestinian

Arabs added that the border between the two new states would

be settled by “fire and blood.”

Fighting started again in Palestine immediately after the

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The Wanderers Return

United Nations vote. Groups of Arabs would attack Jewish

farms and settlements, and the Jews would retaliate. The men of

the Jewish military organizations met secretly to plan their

defense. Getting arms was not easy; the Jews still represented no

formal government at that point, plus the British had placed an

embargo on the importation of weapons into Palestine. To get

around that latter problem, those selling the arms broke down

many of the weapons into their component parts and shipped

them to Palestine in bits and pieces under official import permits

for such allowable items as textile machinery.

By the spring of 1948, Jewish troops had driven Arab forces

out of the coastal territory and seized a number of towns in

Galilee, the northern part of Palestine west of the Jordan.

They were also preparing to take over all of Jerusalem. They

had tapped into the British and Arab phone lines, so they knew

when they should move into each important defensive position

as the British pulled out on May 14. They had planned carefully,

even making sure there was a two-gallon daily supply of water

large enough to last 115 days for every Jew in Jerusalem.

The survival of the Jews in Palestine was still far from

certain, however. They were badly outmanned and outgunned by

the Arabs, and they estimated their chances of succeeding alone

to be only fifty-fifty. The hope was that the United States might

send troops to help defend them. The fear was that if the

National Council, the unofficial government, declared statehood

before the Arabs attacked in force, America would be less

willing to send help.

With those concerns in mind, David Ben-Gurion called a

last secret meeting of the Council to decide whether to proclaim

statehood immediately. By a majority of just one vote, the

Council decided to proceed, setting the ceremony for 4:00 p.m.

on Friday, May 14. That way, the new nation would be in formal

existence when the last British official left, and the new

government also would not have to do political business on

Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.

Invitations to the declaration ceremony went to two hundred

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

guests and members of the press, who were urged to keep the

time and location secret so both the British troops and Arab

snipers would stay away.

As the appointed time approached, the mood in the jammed

hall was festive but subdued. Almost two thousand years of

Jewish hopes were about to be fulfilled, but everyone knew a

difficult fight and many lost lives lay ahead.

As Ben-Gurion walked into the auditorium, the emotional

audience rose to sing the “Hatikvah,” a song that would become

the national anthem of the new Israel. The crowd was made up

of all types of Israelis, including the descendants of those pious

Jews who had never left the Holy Land, legal immigrants, illegal

immigrants, and Sabras, children who had been born in Palestine

to immigrant parents.

Ben-Gurion stood to speak under a portrait of Theodor

Herzl. He held in his hands a synthetic parchment with his typed

manuscript glued to it—there had been no time to get genuine

parchment and have it properly inscribed. He began his speech,

which was a defense of Israel’s right to exist, with an appeal to

history:

Eretz-Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here

their spiritual, religious, and political identity was shaped.

Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of

national and universal significance and gave to the world the

eternal Book of Books.

After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people

kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased

to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in

it of their political freedom.

Thirty-two minutes later, Ben-Gurion concluded, “The right

of the Jewish people to establish their state is irrevocable.” The

speech done, Ben-Gurion left the dais, feeling no joy. Instead, he

was aware of the massed Arab armies already moving toward

them. Later he would say, “I was thinking of only one thing:the

war we were going to have to fight.”

Indeed, just the day before, 148 Jews had died at the kibbutz

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of Kfar Etzion when it was overrun by Arabs after months of

siege. The settlers could have retreated in the face of imminent

defeat, but they had not. They had stood their ground while the

surrounding hills were covered with advancing Arabs. Ben-

Gurion had ordered them to stand—all the kibbutzim would

stand. The Arabs would have to fight for every inch they took,

and they would advance only over the bodies of dead Jews who

loved freedom more than life.

The Fight to Survive

Almost simultaneously with the formal announcement of the

new Israel, the regular armies of the surrounding Arab states

crossed the frontier between nations and attacked Jewish

settlements. Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Transjordan came from

the north and east, and Egypt from the south. Transjordan threw

its best troops into the fight for Jerusalem, which was waged

fiercely house-to-house. The Irgun and the Stern Group had kept

many of their men in Jerusalem to fight for its control, but they

were overwhelmed and forced to surrender fourteen days later.

The population of the ancient Jewish quarter of the Old City had

to leave and did not return for nineteen years.

The state of Israel began its official existence at midnight on

May 15. Eleven minutes later, United States President Harry

Truman extended formal diplomatic recognition. But there

would be no American troops.

The initial fighting went badly for the Israelis. Their supply

of arms was inadequate, and they suffered heavy casualties. A

United Nations-arranged cease-fire in June and early July

allowed them to regain strength, however, and when it ended

they went on the attack, where they remained until the hostile

Arab states conceded defeat and signed armistice agreements in

the spring of 1949. The agreement with Jordan (its name was

changed in 1949) left control of New Jerusalem in Israeli hands

and the Old City in Jordanian hands. The fighting had driven

nearly one million Arabs, who are now the Palestinian refugees,

from their homes.

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

In December 1949 the U. N. General Assembly repeated its

1947 decision to put all of Jerusalem under international control.

Both Jordan and Israel, which joined the United Nations in May

1949, opposed the decision; and Israel said it intended to keep

New Jerusalem in defiance of the United Nations. On January

23, 1950, Jerusalem became the capital of Israel.

Within minutes of declaring its independence in May 1948,

Israel had passed its first law, which opened the way for Jews to

immigrate. Immediately a flood of immigrants, previously kept

out by the British, poured into Israel. During the first four

months, 50,000 European Jews arrived, and many more

followed. By the end of 1951, the new state had taken in

687,000 people, more than doubling the population.

The vast ingathering strained the nation’s resources almost

to the breaking point. At first, new arrivals were kept in deserted

Arab villages or tent cities. Within a year, however, the care of

the immigrants had become a well-organized operation; and new

immigrants were being actively recruited, brought to Israel, and

established there. Much of the money used for these efforts was

raised in the United States.

In the first three years of statehood, the Israeli government

built 78,000 new dwellings and started 345 new villages and

farm communities, doubling the number of the country’s

settlements. For all that effort, however, the newcomers still had

to work hard to make a living, adjust to the hot climate and arid

land, and learn Hebrew, the national language. But they had

come home to the land of their forefathers, and they were

willing to work.

There is much that could be said about the history of the

new Israel from 1951 to the present, but that is not our purpose

here, and we will confine our discussion to a brief look at how

Israel took control of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967.

The conquest of Jerusalem was part of the lightning-quick,

astounding Six-Day War of June 1967. Determined to destroy

the Israelis, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan amassed tanks, troops,

and planes in the Sinai desert next to the Israeli border.

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President Nasser of Egypt demanded that the U.N. Emergency

Force leave the area at once. Without consulting the Security

Council or anyone else, U.N. Secretary-general U Thant

immediately withdrew the forces. The Arab leaders bombarded

their people with rhetoric and worked them into a frenzy of war

hysteria.

“The West seemed to be either paralyzed or indifferent,

while the Russians were backing the Arabs to the hilt, ”1 Golda

Meir wrote in her autobiography. The Western world wrung its

hands and did nothing.

Meanwhile, the people of Israel made grim preparations.

The women and children turned their basements into air-raid

shelters. Parks in every city were consecrated for possible use as

mass cemeteries.

Golda Meir recalled: “Not one Jew left Israel during those

awful weeks of waiting. Not one of the mothers in the

settlements below the Golan Heights or in the Negev took her

children and ran.... Hundreds upon hundreds of Israelis who had

gone abroad returned, although no one had called them back. ”2

On the morning of June 5, a series of perfectly planned and

executed Israeli air strikes on key airfields in Egypt, Syria, and

Jordan virtually wiped out the Arab air forces, leaving the Arab

ground forces, stationed in open desert, exposed and vulnerable

to air attack. In those six short days, the Israelis took all the

Sinai peninsula from Egypt, the west bank of the Jordan river,

including the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan

Heights in the north from Syria.

For the first time since the nation’s founding in 1948, Jews

were able to worship at the Wailing Wall and move back into

the Old City. It was a stunning victory, and it established Israel

as the major power in the Middle East. (Since then, Israel has

given most of the Sinai back to Egypt, but it still holds the other

two large parcels of land.) It also made Jerusalem a unified city

under Jewish control for the first time in more than two

1 Golda Meir, My Life (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1975), 357.

2 Ibid., 360.

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thousand years.

There are many biblical prophecies that predicted God

would again draw His people Israel to His Holy Land in the last

days, and the creation of the new Israel thirty-five years ago in

fulfillment of those promises is one of the most convincing

arguments that we are, indeed, in the end times. We have already

seen the prophecy from Ezekiel 37 that was quoted in unofficial

Israeli passports prior to 1948; and Ezekiel 33-48, which speaks

of the restoration of Israel, is one of the most exciting prophetic

passages in the Bible.

The lesson for us here is that everything in the history of

peoples and nations is working out according to God’s plan.

Nothing surprises Him, and nothing and no one can thwart His

intentions. When His appointed time came for the restoration of

Israel in Palestine, the success of Zionism was inevitable. And

as we shall focus on in later chapters, He has chosen to reveal

much of what He has ordained for Israel and Jerusalem in the

future to us in the Bible. Already, by His power, the city of God

has been restored to Israel. The state is set for that time when, in

God’s perfect scheme, the last two world empires will march

against Jerusalem.

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6

The Exalted City

6

The nicknames given to cities tell us what images come to

people’s minds when they think of those places. For example,

New York is known as “the Big Apple,” which signifies that in

many ways it is the most important city in America and even the

world. San Francisco is “the City by the Bay”—beautiful San

Francisco Bay with its famous seafood restaurants and

magnificent Golden Gate Bridge. Detroit is “Motor City”

because it is home to the nation’s largest automobile makers.

In the same way, names given to Jerusalem indicate what

people and God think about the city. Many descriptive names for

Jerusalem are in previous chapters. It has been called “the city

of God” (Ps. 46:4), “the perfection of beauty” (Ps. 50:2), and

“the joy of the whole earth” (Ps. 48:2). These names clearly

show Jerusalem to be a special, even unique, city. In this chapter

we will look at a few more of the historical and biblical names

for Jerusalem and see what they tell us about this city where

empires die.

Jerusalem has been called by different names by different

peoples down through history. The first reference to the city that

has been found is in a nineteenth-century B.C. text. There the

city is called Ruschalimum. An Egyptian name from roughly the

same period is Urushamem.

As time went on, the names used for the city began to

resemble more closely the moderm name. In fourteenth-century

B.C. hieroglyphs, for example, Egyptian pharaohs called it

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

Urusalim, which means “foundation of Salem.” Salem, which

has also come to mean “peace” (from the Hebrew word for

peace, shalom), was at that time a reference to the Canaanite god

of dusk.

The early references of Jewish rabbis to the city call it

Yerushalayim, a name also used in the Bible. This particular

name has survived to the present, and it is still the official

Hebrew name of the city.

Greek-speaking Jews were the first to call the city

Jerusalem. Another name of Greek origin is Hierosolyma, which

comes from the root word hieros, meaning “holy.” Both these

names are used in the New Testament.

By the time of Jesus, the understanding of Jerusalem as the

“city of peace” was commonly accepted (e. g., see Luke 19:41-

42). It is today easily the most popular interpretation of the

name, because it reflects the hopes for the city of people

everywhere who love her.

Looking at other biblical names for the city, we see first and

unsurprisingly that Jerusalem was and is the chief and most

important city in Israel. Chapter 2 showed that Jerusalem

became the capital city under King David. We also see its

significance, however, in a passage like 2 Chronicles 25:28,

where it is simply identified as “the City of Judah.”

In the period of history being covered in that part of the

Scriptures, the nation of Israel had already been divided into two

kingdoms, Israel and Judah, following the death of Solomon;

and Jerusalem had remained the capital of Judah. And in the

immediately preceding verse, Judah’s King Amaziah had just

been killed. Now, he was buried in “the City of Judah.” Nothing

more needed to be said—everyone would know that phrase

referred to Jerusalem. No other city could possibly claim to

deserve that title more than Jerusalem—it was the City of Judah.

Likewise, in Isaiah 33:20, Jerusalem is called “the city of

our appointed feasts.” Again, to what other city could such a

designation possibly refer? Jerusalem was the center of Jewish

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The Exalted City

worship, the home of the Temple and the priesthood. So such a

phrase was all anyone needed to make clear reference to

Jerusalem, the spiritual as well as political capital of Israel.

The city is also known in the Bible, and is still known today,

as “the Holy City” (Neh. 11:1, 18; Matt. 4:5). It is called that for

several reasons. First, God has set His affection on Jerusalem in

a special way. Second, it is the capital of His chosen people, the

Jews. Third, and most important, it was and will be again the

dwelling place of God on earth. For all these reasons, Jerusalem

truly is the Holy City.

An interesting name given to Jerusalem in only one short

biblical passage is “Ariel,” which means “lion of God” (Is. 29:1-

2, 7). A lion is strong and courageous, an animal feared by all. It

is appropriate that in that passage Jerusalem is also called “the

city where David dwelt” (v. l), because David was Israel’s

greatest king and also a great warrior. Thus, his reign in

Jerusalem was the time when “lion of God” would have been

most fitting as a description for the city.

As we look at these names that have been used to exalt

Jerusalem in the Bible, we should keep in mind that they reflect

the love of God and His people much more than they reflect any

deserved praise. The citizens of Jerusalem down through the

centuries have rebelled against God and chosen the worship of

idols over the worship of Him far more often than not.

Jesus one time sent His disciples out to preach repentance;

and He told them that if any city would not receive their

message, “It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and

Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” (Matt.

10:15). Sodom and Gomorrah were the wicked, sexually

depraved cities that God destroyed with fire and brimstone in the

time of Abraham (see Gen. 19). Yet here Jesus said those cities

would fare better in the day of final judgment than a city that

rejected His gospel.

By that standard, Jerusalem’s inhabitants over the years

have had much more reason to expect God’s condemnation than

they have had to expect His praise. The abundance of His praise

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and love, therefore, is a stirring testament to the depth of His

mercy and grace and patience.

The example of God’s grace and patience toward Jerusalem

should be a great comfort to us, for even we who call on the

name of the Lord Jesus often rebel against Him and give our

love and devotion to things and people other than Him. How

many times we turn our backs, only to find His arms of love are

still wrapped around us! His love for us reflects the richness of

His love, not our merits. His mercy and patience toward sinners

truly are deserving of praise, and His name merits exaltation

above all others.

Future Glory

Even as we consider the frequent rejection of God the Father

and Son by Jerusalem, we should also look ahead to that time

when Jesus will return and Jerusalem will finally become

everything God wants her to be. Those events are predicted in

the Bible, and we are also given names by which the city will

then be known. The difference between the past and the future in

terms of those names is that when Christ reigns in Jerusalem, it

will fully deserve its exalted names.

One of the names to be applied to Jerusalem in that future

glory is “the city of righteousness” (Is. 1:26). Only through

God’s eyes of mercy would Jerusalem have been deserving of

that title in the past, but it will one day be literally accurate.

Likewise, the city will be known as “the faithful city” (Is. 1:21,

26), and it will finally be just that. It will also become the “City

of Truth” (Zech. 8:3), the “New Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2), and

“The Throne of the Lord” (Jer. 3:17).

A beautiful name for the glorious Jerusalem will be “The

Lord Our Righteousness” (Jer. 33:16). It is such an appropriate

name, because the emphasis is not on the city at all, but rather on

God, whose glory will fill and illuminate it. To go to Jerusalem

in that time will indeed be to go to God Himself.

Similarly, Jerusalem will be given the most wonderful name

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any city could be given: “The Lord Is There” (Ezek. 48:35).

What could be better or more exciting for a city than to have

God in it? How could a city be more appealingly known than as

the place where God is?

The lesson for us is that if we have believed in Jesus Christ

as our Lord and Savior, He is already resident within us in the

Person of the Holy Spirit. The crucial question is then whether

others recognize that fact by the way we live. Do they see His

love and mercy when they look in our eyes? Do they see His

compassion and devotion to the Father when they examine our

lives? There is a popular Christian song in which the singer

expresses the hope that when others look at her, they will say,

“She’s got her Father’s eyes.” That should be the fervent prayer

of us all.

The deservedly exalted names of the future Jerusalem also

tell us that as imperfect as the city has been in the past, as

unfaithful as her people have been to God, and as often as she

has succumbed to evil, both self-inflicted and imposed by

conquerors, God is still not done with her. In spite of all that, He

has glorious plans for her that He will execute according to His

perfect, sovereign timetable. He can and will make her the most

magnificent city ever seen, despite her often inglorious past.

Likewise, even though we have been far from perfect, even

though we have often proved unfaithful to our loving God, and

even though we may be covered with scars both self-inflicted

and caused by others, God has wonderful plans for us who are

His children by adoption, plans that He will work out in His

perfect time. And one day, our Father will bring us to glory, all

through His marvelous grace. In that day, “God will wipe every

tear from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, nor

sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain” (Rev.

21:4).

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7

The City Gates

7

For most of its history, Jerusalem has been a walled city, a

fortress built over several hills, as was common for important

ancient cities. Thus, whenever the city was put under siege, the

people of Jerusalem locked themselves inside the city, and the

attackers had to try to find a way in. The other option for

attacking armies was to surround the city so no one and nothing

could get in or out, then wait for the people inside to run out of

food.

Although no city walls were impregnable, they did offer a

formidable defense that was not easily or quickly overcome. As

we saw in chapter 3, the present walls around the Old City, built

in approximately 1542 by Suleiman I, average forty feet in

height and contain thirty-four towers.

A city’s walls naturally had gates to allow people and

animals to move in and out. The gates served other functions as

well in the ancient Middle East; at night they would be closed

and guarded to protect the inhabitants. The gates usually

consisted of double doors that were plated with metal. The

plating was important, because plain wooden doors could be set

on fire easily by an attacker.

One of the functions of city gates, including those of

Jerusalem, was to serve as a place of business. There were often

shops just inside a city’s gates, and on market days the

commerce would spill outside. Further, certain kinds of markets

would be held outside specified gates on regular days, and a

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city’s gates often became known for the markets usually held

near them. In Nehemiah’s day, for example, Jerusalem had gates

known as the “Sheep Gate,” the “Fish Gate,” and the “Horse

Gate” (Neh. 3:1, 3, 28).

The city gates were also a place for the elders to conduct

legal business. In God’s giving of the Law to Israel through

Moses in Deuteronomy 16:18, God said, “You shall appoint

judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God

gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the

people with just judgment.” So when Boaz went to redeem Ruth

from her closer kinsman, for example, he discussed the matter

with his kinsman and the elders at the city gate (see Ruth 4:1-

12).

Finally, a city’s gates were a place where people went to

hear news, gossip, important announcements, and, in the case of

Israel, to hear the reading of the Law on at least one occasion

(see Neh. 8:1-3). In the time of Judah’s king Hezekiah, when

Hezekiah learned that the Assyrian king Sennacherib was going

to attack Jerusalem, Hezekiah “set military captains over the

people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the

city gate” (2 Chr. 32:6). There at the gate, he encouraged them

with the assurance that God was on their side (see vv. 7-8).

A city’s gates, particularly those of Jerusalem, can also be

used figuratively in the Bible to refer to the city’s glory, or lack

thereof. In Jeremiah 14:2, for example, we read, “Judah

mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And

the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.” As we saw earlier in Psalm

87:2, the gates can also refer to the city itself: “The Lord loves

the gates of Zion.”

Elsewhere in the Bible, gates are used to represent satanic

power (see Matt. 16:18), death (see Is. 38:10), righteousness

(see Ps. 118:19-20), and salvation (see Matt. 7:13). So we see

that gates are an interesting and important part of the biblical

story.

The Gates of the Old City

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The City Gates

In the Old Testament times, the Jerusalem gates had many

different names, both formal and informal. The names of some

were old gate, prison gate, Gate of Ephraim, Gate of Benjamin,

Gate of Joshua, corner gate, valley gate, gate of the fountain,

water gate, king’s gate, and high gate. It may very well be that

those were not all different gates; some or all of them have been

known by more than one name.

The walls and gates of Jerusalem have been destroyed and

rebuilt many times in the city’s past. The existing walls have

eight gates in them allowing movement into and out of the Old

City, though one of them is closed off. (The New City is the

modern part of Jerusalem built up around the Old City by the

Jews since they started immigrating in substantial numbers

during the mid-1800s.) Each of those gates is an interesting story

in itself, and we want to consider them all in turn.

The first gate we want to look at is the Dung Gate. It is on

the south side of the city, facing Bethlehem. Its name comes

from the fact that in the past, the people of Jerusalem would

dump their garbage and refuse out of the city at that gate. It also

has an Arabic name that translates “Gate of the Moors.”

For many years, the Old City has been divided into Jewish,

Armenian, Muslim, and Christian sections. The Dung Gate

opens into the Jewish quarter of the Old City. Not far inside it is

the Wailing Wall, the only remaining part of the Jewish Temple

and the most revered site in modern Jewish life. The Dung Gate

is the gate by which people go to and leave that sacred wall, so it

is a very busy gate. Many taxis line up just outside to transport

the numerous visitors.

The second gate is the Zion Gate, also on the south wall but

west of the Dung Gate. It gives access to the Armenian quarter

of the Old City, and it faces outward to Mount Zion. Just outside

this narrow gate is a tomb believed to be King David’s, the

second most sacred shrine of modern Jews. It is also a revered

place for Christians and Muslims. In fact, the Muslim name of

the gate translates “Gate of David the Prophet.”

The Zion Gate is one of several that had been closed for

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some time prior to the Israeli capture of the Old City in 1967. It

had been kept shut by Jordan, which wanted to limit Jewish

access to the Holy City.

The third gate as we go around the city is the Jaffa Gate,

which is in the western wall and faces toward the city of Jaffa on

the Mediterranean coast, some thirty-five miles away. The road

to Jaffa starts at this gate, and that road holds two distinctions.

In 1870 it became the first street built outside the old city walls;

and it is the main road through New Jerusalem, where it is today

commonly called the Yafo Road.

Just inside the Jaffa Gate in ancient times stood three of the

more important structures in Jerusalem, Herod’s palace and

citadel and David’s tower. The citadel has always been a key

point in the many battles for Jerusalem. In the Arab-Israeli

struggle for control of the city in 1948, for example, it was the

scene of fierce, bloody fighting. The present citadel was built on

Crusader foundations by Suleiman the magnificent in 1540.

The Jaffa Gate is the widest of all the gates, one of only a

couple that can accommodate both automotive and pedestrian

traffic. It is also the gate through which General Allenby entered

Jerusalem in 1917. Like the Zion Gate, it was closed by the

Jordanians in 1948 and reopened by Israel in 1967.

The Arabs also have a name for this gate that translates

“Gate of the Friend.” The name relates to the Arabic inscription

over the entrance to the gate. The inscription says, “There is no

God but Allah and Abraham is his friend.”

The fourth gate, in the northwest corner of the Old City, is

the New Gate. It is in fact relatively new, having been opened in

1889 by the Turkish sultan Abdul-Hamid. Because of its origin,

it has an Arabic name that translates “Gate of the Sultan.” It

opens into the Christian section of the Old City.

The New Gate is yet another that was closed during the

Jordanian occupation of the Old City. With the exception of the

Dung Gate, which gives access to the Wailing Wall, the gates

the Jordanians closed off were on the western side of the Old

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City. That is where most of Israeli New Jerusalem lies, and that

is the reason they were closed.

Our fifth gate is the Damascus Gate, on the north side of the

city and east of the New Gate. Not surprisingly, it faces toward

Damascus, and it gives access to the Muslim section of the Old

City. It also faces toward the nearer Jewish towns of Nablus and

Shechem, and Israelis often refer to it by one of those two

names.

The Damascus Gate is one of the busiest and one of the few

that accommodates automotive traffic. It is also picturesque and

ornate, and many people think it is the most beautiful gate of

them all. It is considered the main gate into the Old City, the

proper entrance for visiting crowned heads of state. The

swinging metal gates here have many bullet marks in them,

constant reminders of the city’s violent past and the numerous

times it has been fought over.

Built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1537, the Damascus

Gate has two Arabic names that translate “Gate of Victory” and

“Gate of the Pillar.” That latter name comes from a large pillar

that used to stand just outside the gate and can still be seen on

some ancient maps of the city. There are many shops that begin

just inside the gate, as well as a flight of steps that leads to the

top of the city walls.

The sixth gate as we continue clockwise around the city is

Herod’s Gate. Like the Damascus Gate one-half mile to the

west, it faces north, opens into the Muslim section of the Old

City, and provides access for cars as well as pedestrians. It was

sealed shut for many years but reopened by the British in 1917.

The Arabic name for this gate translates “Gate of Flowers.”

It was at one time called the Sheep Gate, because for many years

the weekly sheep market was held just outside it. This name

came from the time of Nehemiah. The current name is thought to

have been given to the gate by medieval pilgrims who thought

the house of Herod Antipas, where Jesus was sent by Pilate, was

nearby.

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The seventh gate is Saint Stephen’s Gate. Stephen, the first

martyr of the Christian church, was dragged through this gate

and stoned just outside for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus

Christ. This gate faces east toward the Jordan, and it is only

about one-half block north of the Temple area. It also opens into

the Muslim section of the city. Through this gate the Israeli army

first penetrated the Old City on June 6, 1967, en route to

capturing the city and bringing all of it under Israeli control.

The translated Arabic name of this gate is “Saint Mary’s

Gate.” It has also been known as the Lion’s Gate because of the

reliefs of lions engraved on its facade by the Turks.

The road that continues on into the Old City as you pass

through this gate is the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, the

traditional route Jesus took from His trial before Pilate to His

crucifixion and burial. The traditional site of Pilate’s judgment

hall, which is also believed to be the site of Herod’s great

fortress, the Antonia (named after Mark Antony), is on this road

but now occupied by a Muslim boys’ school.

Finally, the eighth gate, on the east side of the city, is the

Golden Gate. It is also known as the Eastern Gate, the Beautiful

Gate, or, to the Muslims, as the Gate of Mercy. It is the only gate

leading from outside the city directly into the Temple area, and

it is just a little south of Saint Stephen’s Gate. It is also the only

one of the eight gates that is still blocked up and not in use

today.

The reason the gate is sealed off has to do with one of the

many legends about the city’s gates, and this gate in particular.

The legend in this case is that on the world’s final day of

judgment, the trumpet of God will sound and the dead will be

raised at this gate. Believing that legend and hoping to postpone

the day of judgment and the end of the world, the Turkish

governor of Jerusalem had the gate blocked off in 1530; and so

it remains today, more than 450 years later. Jewish tradition says

the Messiah will one day enter Jerusalem through this gate. In a

similar vein, many Christians believe Jesus, who was and is the

promised Messiah, will indeed unblock the gate and enter

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Jerusalem through it at His second coming (see Ezek. 44:1-3).

Another legend says that one of the city’s gates leads to hell, and

the Golden Gate is the entrance to Paradise. At this time, there is

a Muslim cemetery just outside the gate.

The Golden Gate has other significance for Christians as

well. For example, it is believed that Christ made His triumphal

entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of His last week through

the gate then at this site. Similarly, it is assumed He used it to go

out of the city to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is east of the

city, on the night when He was betrayed. And it was just inside

this gate that Peter and John performed the first miracle of the

new church, healing the lame man (see Acts 3:1-10).

We have seen the importance of a city’s gates in the ancient

Middle East, and certainly the gates of Jerusalem have a most

fascinating history. They have witnessed more fighting, in all

likelihood, than the gates of any other city on earth. They have

seen the comings and goings of proud conquerors and common

people through the long centuries. And in silent but clear

testament to the power and love of God, they still stand today for

all to see. Empires have come and gone, doomed by their abuse

of this city, under the judgment of God even as they exulted in

their conquests. But the city remains.

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8

Jerusalem’s Most Precious Places

8

So much history of great importance to Christians has been

made in Jerusalem that it is not surprising that many places

precious to our faith are located there. Most of those places have

been mentioned in passing as we have looked at Jerusalem in

relationship to ancient Israel, Jesus, and the early church. Now

we want to look at them a little closer and also see just where

they are in the Holy City.

Jerusalem is today a thriving metropolis of about three

hundred thousand people, most of whom live in the New City

with its broad avenues, modern apartments and office buildings,

government chambers, and garden suburbs. Because it has come

into being only since the mid-1800s, however, the New City,

located south and west of the Old City, is unrelated to biblical

history for the most part. Thus, almost all the sites we want to

consider are in or just outside the Old City with its narrow,

twisting streets and alleys and poor, cramped dwellings.

Places Related to Jesus’ Death

It is impossible to list the city’s precious places in order of

importance, but one site does stand out above all the others. That

is Calvary, the place where Jesus paid the price for our sins by

being nailed to a cross and hung up to die.

Some scholars feel uncertain of the exact location of

Calvary. The Bible only tells us Jesus was taken “to a place

called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull” (Matt. 27:33;

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only Luke’s gospel calls the place Calvary, which is a Latin

form of the Hebrew Golgotha, both meaning “skull”). During

past centuries Christians generally believed the site to be that of

the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian section of the

Old City.

In 1885, however, the famous British general Charles

George Gordon, hero of the battle for Khartoum in the Sudan,

was walking along the top of the north wall of Jerusalem when

he saw a hill just outside the city that looked very much like a

human skull. Upon investigation, he came to the conclusion that

this was in fact Golgotha. Today, most Protestants accept this

site, also known as Gordon’s Calvary, as the most likely location

of the Lord’s crucifixion. A Muslim cemetery now occupies the

area, and it is located about a block east of the Damascus Gate.

Most Catholics, on the other hand, still believe the Church

of the Holy Sepulcher to be the place where Jesus died.

Originally built by the Roman emperor Constantine, this church

has several interesting aspects. When Saladin defeated the

Crusaders in 1187, he allowed the resident Christians to use the

shrine only if the key to the building remained in Muslim hands.

The Christians complied, and to this day the key is held by

Muslims. Since 1330, it has been held by members of the

Nuseibeh family. Also, although since 1958 a “total restoration”

of the church has been going on, the building is still in poor

repair because the six religious groups who administer it jointly

cannot agree on what reconstruction should be done.

Closely associated with Calvary is the tomb of Joseph of

Arimathea, in which Jesus was buried. The traditional site, still

adhered to by Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Coptics, and others, is

also contained within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

However, as part of his examination of the hill he believed to be

Calvary, General Gordon found a Jewish tomb cut out of rock

that is immediately west of the crucifixion site, and that is the

tomb he and most Protestants have accepted as the burial place

of Jesus. When I lead tour groups to Jerusalem, we like to hold a

communion service there at the tomb, and it is always one of the

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spiritual highlights of each trip.

Another precious place just east of the Old City across the

Kidron Valley is the Garden of Gethsemane. There, on the night

when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, His human nature

struggled with the suffering and separation from the Father that

were before Him. Being the obedient Son, however, and loving

us immeasurably, He accepted the Father’s will and bore our

deserved punishment for sin.

The present Garden of Gethsemane is maintained by an

order of Catholic priests, the Franciscans. It contains eight olive

trees that botanists say may be three thousand years old. The

historian Josephus says Titus cut down all the trees in and

around Jerusalem when he destroyed the city in A.D. 70, so

whether these trees somehow escaped the ax or grew later from

the roots of leveled trees is not known.

There are two sites in the Garden of Gethsemane that are

supposedly the place where Jesus knelt to pray in His night of

betrayal. One of these, the Church of All Nations (also known as

the Basilica of the Agony), is built over the Rock of Agony,

which is the supposed prayer site. The other alleged site of

Jesus’ prayer is the Grotto of Gethsemane (also known as the

Cavern of Agony), which has been kept in its primitive form by

the Franciscans since 1392.

The Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Sorrow” or “Way of the

Cross,” begins in the Muslim quarter of the Old City and ends in

the Christian section. As pilgrims walk this route, they

commemorate Jesus’ condemnation, mocking, crowning with

thorns, scourging, being given His cross to bear to the place of

execution, and the execution and burial themselves. It is a

solemn journey indeed to walk along and contemplate those

things, but thank the Lord it ends with the joyous realization of

Jesus’ resurrection!

Other Precious Places

The Wailing Wall, mentioned several times previously, is

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the most sacred part of the city to Jews because it is all that is

left of Solomon’s Temple. The lower blocks in the wall are from

Herod’s reconstruction of the Temple, and the higher blocks

come from even more recent time periods. Since the actual

Temple mount is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock, the

Wailing Wall is as close as Jews can get to the former site of the

ancient Holy of Holies in the Temple.

The wall’s name comes from a variety of sources. Dew

covers the wall early in the morning and late at night, and one

legend says the dew drops are tears the wall sheds because of

Israel’s long exile. Another legend says that in the night a white

dove, representing the presence of God, appears and coos sadly

with the Jews. Yet another reason for the name is that the Jews

themselves go to the wall to mourn the loss of the Temple. They

also go to present their petitions to God on slips of paper they

place in the cracks of the wall. Since Jerusalem came into

Jewish hands again in 1967, however, the wall is more often a

place of joy rather than sorrow, so the name preferred by Jews

today is the Western Wall.

I first visited Jerusalem when it was still under Jordanian

control, and in those days houses were built very close to the

Western Wall, leaving only a narrow alley between them and the

wall. Residents of those houses would throw their garbage out

against the wall. After the Israelis captured the city in the Six-

Day War, they brought in bulldozers and cleared out those

buildings. Today there is a large courtyard in front of the wall

that will hold thousands of worshipers at one time. This is also

the place to which new soldiers in the Israeli army are brought to

take their oath of duty.

The Dome of the Rock and why it is a sacred place to Jew,

Muslim, and Christian alike has already been discussed. I would

just add here that as the former site of the Temple, this place

was visited many times by Jesus. The exact location of many of

the other precious places is not clear, as we have seen, so

whether Jesus actually visited the places pilgrims go to today is

not certain. But there is no doubt whatsoever about the location

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of the Temple mount and the fact that to walk there is to walk

where Jesus walked many times during His earthly life.

Another sacred place just outside the Zion Gate and the

south wall of the Old City is the Upper Room, where Jesus held

His Last Supper with the disciples and instituted the

Communion service. The site pilgrims visit today is again a

traditional one, the exact house not known and perhaps no

longer even existing.

The church also began in that Upper Room when the Holy

Spirit came upon the people gathered there. Thus, it has double

significance for Christians.

Interestingly, the Upper Room is in the same building as

King David’s tomb, which is on the first floor. The site has been

marked as David’s burial place since about 1173, and the present

building was constructed by the Franciscans in 1335. The tomb

itself is made of stone and has silver crowns on top of it.

There are two places that can still be visited that go back to

the time of Solomon. The first of these is Solomon’s stone

quarries, also known as the Cave of Zedekiah. These quarries

are entered through a small iron gate in the mountain on which

the Old City is built, the gate being just north of the Damascus

Gate on the north side of the city. From this cave, which extends

back into the mountain and under the buildings of the Old City,

the stones were cut for the building of Solomon’s Temple. The

alternate name for these quarries comes from the legend that

says Judah’s king Zedekiah hid in them during Babylonian King

Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of the city in 588-78 B.C.

The other site, Solomon’s stables, is under the southeast

corner of the Temple area. It consists of pillars and arches

supporting that part of the Temple platform, and holes in the

pillars have been used as stalls for horses in the times of Herod,

the Romans, and the Crusaders. Whether they were actually used

by Solomon or were ever there in his time is not clear, but

doubtful. Up above on this same corner of the Temple area is the

“pinnacle” of the Temple, from which Satan tempted Jesus to

throw Himself down (see Matt. 4:5-6).

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Above the Garden of Gethsemane, east of and across the

Kidron Valley from the Old City, is the Mount of Olives, a most

precious place. It is the only place outside the city walls from

which you can look down into the Old City. As Jesus taught

there on several occasions, I’m sure He could see not only the

buildings of the city but also the people as they walked and

talked, worshiped and did business.

The Mount of Olives is also the place from which the

resurrected Lord Jesus ascended into heaven (see Acts 1:9—12).

The Church of the Ascension was built some time before A.D.

387 over the site believed to be the place from which He was

taken up. In 1187, however, the church was converted to a

Muslim mosque, which has remained to this day. The reason for

the Muslim interest is that they regard Jesus as a prophet and

believe also in His resurrection and ascension, and they believe

that on the resurrection day Jesus will raise Muhammad from the

dead.

In the last days, when Jesus returns to the earth to fight

Antichrist, He will go to the Mount of Olives (many believe He

will actually go there first when He comes from heaven), and the

mountain will split in half when His feet touch it (see Zech.

14:4).

We could go on and on looking at places of interest and

endearment to Christians in Jerusalem, for the city and its

immediate environs are full of them. But there is just one last

place that I must mention as we close this chapter. When I was

living in Jerusalem, and was out walking the streets early one

morning as I often did, I found the Old Scotch Church almost by

accident. In the yard in front of the church was a large boulder

that overlooked the Hinnom Valley, Gehenna, at the foot of

Mount Zion on the south side of the city.

I sat down on that boulder and looked at Zion and the valley,

then turned and looked at the Temple area and the Mount of

Olives to the east. As I was looking around, God spoke to me

and gave me the vision that has sparked my ministry ever since.

It was there that He told me that if I would obey Him, He would

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use me to lead one million souls to the Savior. That was truly

one of the most precious—and challenging—experiences of my

life.

My reason for mentioning the experience here is to say that

wherever God speaks to us and meets with us is a precious

place. It is wonderful to go to Jerusalem and absorb the history

and atmosphere of the place, and it is easy to tune your heart and

mind to God there. But God is willing to meet with us anywhere

if we will seek His face, so it is not necessary to travel to Israel

to be blessed by God. He can speak to us just as clearly in our

own living rooms as He spoke to me on that boulder in

Jerusalem. May we always seek His face wherever we may be,

and then may we obey His calling.

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9

Russia’s Last Stand at Jerusalem

9

Russia is a vast land, stretching from the Pacific Ocean and

the Orient on one side to the eastern half of Europe on the other

side—a land mass almost two-and-a-half times the size of the

United States. It is also the most formidable military power in

the history of the world, especially when its forces are combined

with those of its Soviet bloc allies. We have seen much of what

the Bible has to say about Jerusalem, concentrating on the past.

Now we want to turn our attention to the future of Jerusalem and

Israel, and in that story Russia plays a very large part. (We

should also note that Jerusalem often represents symbolically the

entire nation of Israel in the Bible.)

Simply put, the Bible says that one day—and I believe it’s

not too far in the future—Russia will decide to invade Israel, and

God will crush its army. Interestingly, leaders in neither country

seem to believe that. I have spoken personally to high-level

officials in the Israeli government, and none of them will say

Russia is going to invade. The Russian leaders, even if they are

right now planning the invasion, do not believe the biblical

prophecy of their destruction. Regardless, this great empire will

surely die at Jerusalem.

The text for these prophecies is Ezekiel 38-39, and it is

worth noting that Ezekiel prophesied roughly twenty-five

hundred years ago of things that are still in the future. This is

further evidence of the divine nature of Scripture. At the same

time, Ezekiel’s prophecies come with the assurance that

everything he foretold will come to pass, because God’s Word

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never fails.

The Ingathering

Our examination of the prophecy of Russia’s invasion of

Israel begins with the fact that it will take place in “the latter

years” (Ezek. 38:8). I believe we are in that time now, the end

times, though exactly when things will happen no one can say.

Ezekiel prophesied that after being scattered throughout the

earth for centuries, the Jews would be regathered in Israel.

Ezekiel 38:8 says, speaking of Russia (“Gog, of the land of

Magog,” Ezek. 38:2), “In the latter years you will come into the

land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from

many people.” I believe that has already happened.

Looking at the phrase “brought back from the sword,” we

must remember where the Jews who populated Palestine over

the last century came from. They fled massacres, torture, and

other forms of persecution in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Arab

lands. They came from Germany and other parts of Europe after

surviving the horrors and mass murders of Hitler’s Holocaust.

And once they got to Palestine, the Arabs around them killed as

many of them as they could. Since independence in 1948, Israel

has never stopped fighting for its life. Truly the regathered

nation has been “brought back from the sword.”

Turning to the phrase “gathered from many people,” we

note that the Jews who built the new Israel came from more than

one hundred nations in all parts of the world. Out of these many

cultures and languages, however, has come one strong nation

with its own language, modern Hebrew.

A parallel passage regarding this ingathering of Israel is

Jeremiah 31:7-9. Verses 8-9 say, “I will bring... the blind and

the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with

child, together; A great throng shall return there. They shall

come with weeping.” I have met many of the immigrants, and so

many of them were pitiful, broken-down people. They had

suffered so much that they were still terribly upset and not

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capable of regular work. Similarly, I have seen them arrive by

the boatload at the docks, and often they have been clothed only

in tattered rags. They wept—how they wept! —in remembrance

of their suffering, but also in joy because they were finally in the

Jewish homeland.

Thus we see how the regathering of Israel was in accordance

with these prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, who were

contemporaries. And this regathering had to take place before

the Russian invasion in the latter days.

Another of the prerequisite fulfillments of prophecy in

Ezekiel 38 seems to have taken place, which suggests the

invasion could be immediately at hand. Going back to verse 8, it

reads, in reference to the new Israel, “all of them dwell safely.”

A little farther down it says, speaking for Russia, “I will go up

against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful

people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and

having neither bars nor gates” (v. 11).

Those passages suggest an Israel that feels secure, very

much like the towns and cities of today. Israel feels very secure

right now; her farms, villages, and cities “having neither bars

nor gates.” It is true the towns and kibbutzim of Israel do not

have walls like the Old City of Jerusalem. They do have defense,

especially near Israel’s borders, and they are alert to attack.

The Destruction

The destruction of Russia’s invading army will take place in

Israel. Scripture such as Revelation 16:16 leads us to believe it

will be in the large, fertile, beautiful Plain of Jezreel, some fifty

miles northwest of Jerusalem.

The plain is a triangle of about fifteen by fifteen by twenty

miles. It is also known as the Plain of Esdraelon, the Plain of

Megiddo, or the Valley of Armageddon, and it stretches roughly

from Mount Tabor on the north to Mount Gilboa in the south to

Mount Carmel in the west.

The Plain of Jezreel is also the world’s most famous

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battleground. Napoleon, great warrior that he was, looked at it

and declared it to be the most beautiful battlefield he had ever

seen. Egyptians, Hittites, Israelites, Philistines, Assyrians,

Syrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Turks, British,

and more have marched and fought and died on this plain.

For example, Thutmose III, king of Egypt, won a great battle

here in 1478 B.C. It was the scene of the victory of Deborah and

Barak over Sisera and the Canaanites (see Judg. 4-5). Here

Gideon and his three hundred men defeated the Midianites (see

Judg. 7). King Josiah of Judah was mortally wounded in combat

here (see 2 Chr. 35:20- 24), and King Saul and his son Jonathan

died near here at Mount Gilboa in a battle with the Philistines

(see 1 Sam. 31). And in 1918, the British under General Allenby

broke the back of Turkish power in Palestine in a great battle at

Megiddo. (For the rest of his life, after being promoted for his

conquest of Palestine, Allenby was known as Field Marshall

Lord Allenby of Megiddo.)

When the time of Russia’s invasion of Israel comes, Ezekiel

38:10 says Russia “‘will make an evil plan.’” Perhaps the

Russians will be after the great mineral wealth, including the oil,

of the Middle East. Or maybe their goal will be to control Israel

as the vital land bridge between three continents. Whatever their

reasoning, behind it will be the counsel and prompting of Satan,

who has always hated and sought to destroy God’s chosen

people, Israel, and has hated Jerusalem, the city God loves.

The Bible describes the invasion this way:

Then you will come from your place out of the far north,

you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses,

a great company and a mighty army. You will come up

against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will

be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land.

(Ezek. 38:15-16)

So Russia will come in great numbers against a land at rest,

and God says, “‘My fury will show in My face. For in My

jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in

that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel’”

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(Ezek. 38:18-19). Russia’s arrogance in attacking God’s land

and people will arouse the wrath of God, who will come to

Israel’s defense.

In verse 21 God tells us, “‘I will call for a sword against

Gog [Russia] throughout all My mountains.... Every man’s

sword will be against his brother.’” Just what that means we

can’t know for sure, but it may be that God will cause great

confusion on the battlefield, with the Russians killing each

other.

Ezekiel added:

‘The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places

shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground....’ And I

will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I

will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples

who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and

brimstone. (vv. 20, 22)

There will be a great flood that will bog down all Russian

movement on the plain. Such a thing is not hard to imagine

happening there, because the plain was actually a swamp until

the early 1920s, when it was drained in a land reclamation

project. This time, however, the water will come from a

torrential downpour from the hand of God.

There will also be a pestilence of some kind that causes

bleeding—very possibly dysentery. And there will be fire and

brimstone such as God used to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in

the time of Abraham.

What will be the result of this supernatural attack against the

Russian invaders?

‘I [God] will turn you [Russia] around and lead you on...

and bring you against the mountains of Israel,... I will give

you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field

to be devoured.’ (Ezek. 39:2, 4)

What destruction! The birds and other animals will eat the

flesh off the dead bodies of the enemy. The passage goes on to

say that the people of Israel will continue burning the invaders’

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weapons in place of firewood for seven years (see 39:9-10), and

they will need seven months to bury all the bodies (see 39:12).

We should note also that this defense of Israel will all be an

act of God. The Jews will not lift a finger on this occasion until

the conflict is over; and thus all the glory will go to God, as He

says in Ezekiel:

Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will

be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know

that I am the Lord.... So I will make My holy name known in

the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane

My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am

the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. (38:23; 39:7)

Russia’s leaders would do well to heed these verses and look

more favorably upon Jerusalem and Israel, and upon their own

nearly three million Jews, many of whom would like to go to

Israel. Perhaps that way they might even cause the Lord to delay

that terrible battle on the plains of northern Israel. But whether

they listen or not, the day and the events will come, in God’s

perfect timing, as He has predicted in Ezekiel.

That battle will be the end of Russia as a threat to Israel and

as a world conqueror. However, Russia’s defeat will not be the

end of Jerusalem’s troubles, for after Russia will rise the great

Antichrist government and last Gentile world power.

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Antichrist Rises over the Holy

10

City

The crushing defeat of Russia and its removal from the

world scene as a military power sets the stage for the rise of

Antichrist, the one who will wage war with the Lord Jesus

Christ in the world’s climactic Battle of Armageddon. Just

where he will come from is not entirely clear, though the Old

Testament prophets seem to indicate he will arise out of a

revived Roman Empire. Many have speculated he will be the

head of the European Common Market, the organization of

economic cooperation already in existence there, and that seems

to be the most likely explanation.

The early timetable of this figure’s career is also not clear,

but it seems apparent he will already possess great power at the

time of Russia’s humiliation. Promising peace and prosperity,

many nations will have handed him rule over them very

willingly. What is perfectly clear is that he, described as “the

beast” in the Revelation, will belong heart and soul to Satan,

“the dragon” of the Revelation. We read: “And the dragon gave

him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). It

seems as though the world will also be in awe of the Antichrist

because of some sort of miraculous healing he will experience

(see Rev. 13:3).

The attack by Russia will give Antichrist the opportunity to

occupy Israel under the guise of protecting her from any further

attacks, and he will move his headquarters to Jerusalem. Why

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will he seek out Jerusalem? Like so many before him who have

been in the clutches of Satan, he will be drawn to the city with

the hope of eventually destroying it and all the Jews. There he

will make a pact of peace with the Jews that is supposed to last

seven years.

When Antichrist moves into Jerusalem, he will not yet be in

total control of the world, and strong forces will move against

him from various parts of the earth. We read in Daniel 11:40,

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him;

and the king of the North shall come against him like a

whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships.” The

result of this conflict will be that Antichrist “shall also enter the

Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown” (v.

41). In other words, he will put down those powers and increase

his dominion.

He will not stop there, however, for Daniel goes on to say:

He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and

the land of Egypt shall not escape.... But news from the east

and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with

great fury to destroy and annihilate many. (vv. 42, 44)

At that point, he will have become a world dictator. He will

have made a reality of the dream of the Caesars, Napoleon,

Hitler, and so many others. And he will break his pact with

Israel in the middle of the seven years. By that act, this last

world emperor will seal his doom.

Economic and Spiritual Oppression

Along with subjugating the world militarily, Antichrist will

impose himself upon the world economically and spiritually. He

will exert control on even the most routine business transactions,

as we read in Revelation 13:16- 17:

And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor,

free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on

their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one

who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of

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his name.

Those who refuse to receive the mark of the beast will be

unable to buy or sell, period—no food, no clothing, nothing.

Antichrist will also reveal his true nature of total opposition

to God and demand the worship of the world. Paul described

him as “the man of sin... the son of perdition, who opposes and

exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped;

so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that

he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4).

Apparently the Jewish Temple will have been built in

Jerusalem by then, and the vast majority of the world’s people

will give him and his master the worship they so desire.

Revelation 13:4, 8 reads:

So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the

beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the

beast? Who is able to make war with him?”... And all who

dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not

been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the

foundation of the world.

There will also be a religious miracle-worker who will come

on the scene to promote worship of the Antichrist.

He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his

presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to

worship the first beast.... He performs great signs... And he

deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he

was granted to do in the sight of the beast (Rev. 13:12-14).

That passage should serve as a warning to us: don’t be

caught up in miracles. Look for righteousness and holiness in a

man’s character. When a man is publicized for doing miracles, I

want to know the quality of his relationship with his wife and

children. I want to know if he pays his bills. True godliness, or

lack thereof, shows up in a person’s daily living; and there is

where we should examine a miracle worker or anyone else who

claims to speak or act for God.

Our caution is needed, because as we move into the latter

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days, demonic spiritual forces are at work as never before. Our

Lord Jesus warned us,

Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come

in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive

many.... For false christs and false prophets will arise and

show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible,

even the elect. (Matt. 24:4-5, 24)

Antichrist will take this worship of himself very seriously,

and those of the elect who are not deceived will pay a terrible

price for their loyalty to God. We are told in Revelation 13,

“And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to

overcome them” (v. 7). Further, the second beast who promotes

worship of Antichrist “was granted power to... cause as many

as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (v.

15).

Prelude to Armageddon

The hatred of God and His people on the part of Satan and

his henchman, Antichrist, will move the world inexorably

toward Armageddon. And two further events will frustrate

Antichrist and add to his animosity toward God.

First, God will protect 144,000 Jews during this time of the

Tribulation to serve some purpose for Him and remain loyal to

Him. Many scholars and Bible teachers have surmised that they

will be tremendously effective evangelists, for the next verse in

Revelation 7 after the discussion of the 144,000 says,

I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one

could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,

standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with

white robes.... “These are the ones who come out of the great

tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in

the blood of the Lamb.” (vv. 9, 14)

It seems that in spite of intense persecution and mass

martyrdom of the saints, a great many people will put their faith

in Jesus Christ and have their sins washed away by His atoning

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blood. It is no wonder, then, that this Antichrist who craves

worship will be enraged to see believers in Christ flourishing in

spite of his order and persecutions.

Second, Revelation 11 tells us that two supernatural

witnesses will rise up for God to denounce Antichrist and

proclaim the soon coming of Christ’s kingdom on earth.

And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from

their mouth and devours their enemies.... These have power to

shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their

prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to

blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they

desire. (vv. 5-6)

There has been much speculation about the identity of those

witnesses, with most of the guesses centering on Moses, Elijah,

and Enoch (who, like Elijah, never died but was taken alive into

heaven, or “translated”). But regardless of who they will be, the

attention they will draw through their miracles and the gospel

message they will proclaim will further infuriate Antichrist.

They will be miraculously protected by God until they have

finished their task, and then “the beast that ascends out of the

bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and

kill them” (Rev. 11:7). After three and one-half days, however,

they will be resurrected by God and will ascend into heaven

before their enemies, who will watch in great, and

understandable, fear (see Rev. 11:11-12).

The Final Battle

The testimony of the 144,000 Jews and the two witnesses,

together with Antichrist’s satanic, intense hatred of God and His

people, will finally lead him to bring all his forces—the kings of

the earth and their armies—to the Middle East to do battle with

Christ at Armageddon, the same Plain of Jezreel on which

Russia will have been crushed just a few years before (see Rev.

16:16). This decision will show the height of human—and

satanic—folly and arrogance.

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The apostle John explained what will happen next:

I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He

who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in

righteousness He judges and makes war.... And the armies in

heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him

on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword,

that with it he should strike the nations.... And He has on His

robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND

LORD OF LORDS.... And I saw the beast, and the kings of the

earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war

against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (Rev.

19:11, 14-16, 19)

As we would expect and hope, this opposition of Antichrist

to God is useless. We read:

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false

prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he

deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those

who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the

lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed

with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who

sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

(Rev. 19:20-21)

It will be a tremendous battle, a gory fight, a clash far

beyond anything man has ever seen before—but it will also be a

very one-sided contest. It isn’t a pretty picture the Bible

provides, but it allows us to say simply about God’s Word and

the Tribulation period, “I know how it all ends, and God wins!”

After that great, bloody battle, the Lord Jesus will set up His

millennial kingdom on earth, a thousand years of true peace.

Then will come the final day of judgment for everyone, and

Satan and his followers will be banished to the pit of hell

forever.

There is a great deal of controversy in the church today over

the question of whether believers will go through the Tribulation

period. My answer, after much study and prayer, is that we will

not go through it. Jesus said of that time:

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“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of

the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they

were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,

until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until

the flood came and took them all away, so also will the

coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matt. 24:37-39)

Conditions of that time were very much like what we

experience today. And Noah, the one believer in God at that

point in history, was shut up safely in the ark by God. Similarly,

our world today is every bit as wicked and debauched as were

Sodom and Gomorrah; and Lot, the one believer in God in those

cities, was spared from the Lord’s destruction of them. In like

manner, I believe, the Lord will spare us who believe in Jesus

Christ from the great Tribulation at the end of this age. But we

must first be certain our lives are bound up with Christ’s life and

our sins have been washed away in His sinless blood.

If we have that certainty, we need never fear the end times

and the tremendous destruction that will be wrought on the earth

when the last two great empires to oppose God—Russia and

Antichrist—will be crushed after they move against Jerusalem

and its people.

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11

Will America Die at Jerusalem?

11

We have seen what will happen in the end times to Russia

and Antichrist because of their opposition to God and their

determination to conquer Jerusalem and all of Israel. But did you

notice as we were looking at the biblical passages describing

those events that there was no reference to any nation or power

we could identify as the United States? Isn’t that strange, given

that we are entering the end times and America is one of the

world’s two superpowers? Isn’t the United States the most

powerful and loyal ally of Israel?

The events of the end times as described in the Bible are

ordained by God, and there can be no doubt but that things will

occur as He has foretold. The absence of any mention of a nation

we could say is the United States, therefore, is a cause for great

distress among those of us who live in and love this nation.

Where will America be at that time?

The conclusion we must draw is very sad and sobering, and

it should serve as a loud warning to our beloved United States.

Simply put, the United States will no longer be a world power in

the end times. It will not be a significant enough nation to play a

major role in the events of those days—that is the most obvious

answer.

What would lead to the waning of our power? I am afraid

the process is already far advanced, because we are no longer a

nation under God. We are moving steadily away from Him and

His purposes and blessing. Materialism, sexual sin, pride, deceit,

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hypocrisy, and a host of other sins are all rampant in America

today; and unless we begin again to seek the Lord, I see us

racing rapidly toward moral dissolution.

Another danger for America, and more to the point for this

study, is that I am afraid our national support for Israel is

weakening, and that would be disastrous. We have looked at

how Jerusalem is a golden bowl full of vipers, how it has served

as a center for the great spiritual conflict going on in our world.

Those who hate God hate Jerusalem and its people, and those

who love Him love the city and its inhabitants.

The Babylonian Empire died on the night that its king

stooped to the grossest mockery of God. Similarly, I believe the

real collapse of the British Empire began in this century with its

mistreatment of the Jews and its mishandling of Palestine

starting at the end of World War I. When I began my ministry

and shortly thereafter toured the world with Howard Carter,

Great Britain was still a major global empire. That was in the

1930s and Britannia still ruled the waves. It controlled nations

all over the earth. But its decline began about that same time,

when it was favoring the Arabs over Israel. By 1948, when

British forces left Palestine, England’s empire was waning. And

the same fate of fading to a second-rate power could await

America if our support of Israel does not remain strong.

We would do well to look again at a few verses from the

Bible first quoted in chapter 1. Psalm 46:5 says of Jerusalem,

“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall

help her, just at the break of dawn.” In Zechariah 1:14 God said,

“I am zealous for Jerusalem And for Zion with great zeal.” In

Psalm 129:5 we read, “Let all those who hate Zion Be put to

shame and turned back.” In contrast to that, the inspired writer

of Psalm 122:6 said of Jerusalem, “May they prosper who love

you.”

The message is clear: Despite the many failings of the Israeli

people in their city of Jerusalem, God has chosen them and

determined to bless them. Accordingly, He will also bless those

who bless Israel, but He will bring low those who would harm

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the Jews.

In the past, America’s support of Israel had been strong and

sure. Beginning in 1956, however, that changed. In the Sinai

War of that year, when my family and I were living in

Jerusalem, France and England had an agreement with Israel.

They would take the Suez Canal from Egypt, and Israel would

fight across the Sinai desert to meet them.

President Eisenhower of the United States, however, was

determined that would not happen. He forced France and

England to withdraw from the conflict, threatening to fight on

the side of Egypt; and he also cut off all American supplies to

Israel—food, medicine, oil, and everything else. If France had

not provided those essentials, my family and the rest of the

people in Israel would have been in dire straits. Believe me, we

were very grateful to France for standing by Israel.

What has become of the United States since 1956? Note

carefully. We have lost the last two wars we have fought, in

Korea and Vietnam. Our society has begun to fall apart rapidly.

Violent rebellion broke out on our college campuses. The drug

problem, sexual sin, and divorce have exploded. Our economy

has become far less stable and far more vulnerable to foreign

competition.

All these things may seem unrelated on the surface, but that

is not the case. It is not a coincidence that these problems

erupted after our desertion of Israel in 1956. And this turning

away, however gradual, has continued in recent years as we have

sought to please Arab oil sheikhs. Thus, like Babylon, Persia,

Rome, and all the others, America has put its hand into the

golden bowl of Jerusalem and is in imminent danger of being

put on the shelf by God, so to speak, as a world power.

It is not too late for the United States to once again become

a Christian nation, and for us to renew our commitment to Israel.

I believe the Lord would honor such a commitment and continue

to bless us with strength and prosperity.

Conversely, if there is no such revival and renewed

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commitment to Israel, I can see the moral degradation of our day

growing ever more widespread and severe, and the United States

decaying from within, as did Rome and many other great

empires of the past. Perhaps then Russia could force us to our

knees.

Therefore, it is essential that those of us who love the Lord

and this wonderful democracy pray fervently and also make our

voices heard. I have sent telegrams to all of our presidents and

other elected officials, to remind them of the importance of our

support for Israel. I am not personally responsible for the

decisions of our leaders, but I am responsible for giving them the

truth of God’s Word and supporting them in prayer.

Everyone who can should visit Jerusalem at least once. It is

an incomparable city chosen by God, and to walk its streets is to

partake of a richer history than that of any other city on earth. I

can’t help feeling especially close to God every time I go there.

Above all else, however, we should seek the Lord wherever

we are, and we should pray and work for the safety of God’s

chosen city and people.

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Jerusalem: A Chronology of

Events

c. 996 B.C. David conquers the Jebusite city.

c. 880 B.C. King Jehoash of Israel defeats the army of Judah and sacks the

city.

c. 700 B.C. Assyria under King Sennacherib attacks the city but is driven

away by God.

c. 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captures the city.

586 B.C.

Babylon destroys the city because of the revolt of Zedekiah.

539 B.C.

Persia under Cyrus the Great takes control of the city after

overthrowing Babylon.

516 B.C.

Temple reconstruction completed under Zerubbabel.

445 B.C.

The entire city is rebuilt by Nehemiah, cupbearer to Persia’s King

Artaxerxes.

330 B.C.

Control of the city passes to Greece, as Alexander the Great brings

an end to the Persian Empire.

323 B.C.

Egypt takes control when Alexander’s empire is divided after his

death.

198 B.C.

The Seleucid (Syrian) Empire takes the city from Egypt.

165 B.C.

In revolt against the abominations of Antiochus Epiphanes, the

Maccabees defeat Syria and capture the city.

63 B.C.

The Roman Empire extends its reach to Judea when its general,

Pompey the Great, takes the city from the Hasmonaeans.

A.D. 70

The Roman general Titus destroys the city as part of Rome’s

campaign to crush the revolt of the Zealots.

135

In response to another Jewish revolt, Roman emperor Hadrian

makes the city pagan and forbids Jews to enter it on pain of death.

313

The Roman emperor Constantine I makes Christianity the official

religion of the empire and Jerusalem a Christian city.

438

Jews finally allowed back into the city by Rome.

637

An Arabic Muslim army invades Palestine and conquers the city

under the caliph Omar I.

687-91

The Muslim Dome of the Rock is built over the site of the Jewish

Temple.

1099

The European Crusaders capture the city, defeating its Turkish

Muslim masters.

1186

Muslims retake the city and remove all signs of the Crusader

occupation.

1517

All of Palestine is won by Sultan Selim I of Turkey’s Ottoman

Empire.

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Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

1917

British and allied troops take the city without firing a shot at the

end of World War I under General Allenby.

1922

The League of Nations puts Palestine under a British protectorate.

1948

Having been approved by the United Nations, the existence of the

modern state of Israel is formally declared in a speech by David

Ben-Gurion, but Jerusalem remains under international control.

1950

Jerusalem is made the capital of Israel, although Jordan continues

to control the Old City.

June 1967 Israel recaptures the Old City in the Six-Day War, making

Jerusalem a unified city under Jewish control for the first time in

more than two thousand years.

114

Document Outline

- Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

- Contents

- Introduction

- 1 Jerusalem: The Mystic City

- The Beloved City

- The Chosen City

- God’s Dwelling Place

- The Blessed City

- The Exalted City

- 2 Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

- In the Beginning

- The Israelite City

- Jerusalem’s Troubles Begin

- Israel at Jerusalem

- Assyria Dies at Jerusalem

- Babylon Dies at Jerusalem

- Persia and Greece

- Abomination and Revolt

- Rome Dies at Jerusalem

- The Rise of Islam

- To the Present

- 3 Jerusalem and Jesus

- Jesus’ Public Ministry

- The Last Visit

- 4 Jerusalem and the Church

- The Coming of the Holy Spirit

- The Church Scatters

- 5 The Wanderers Return

- Before World War II

- From World War II to Independence

- The Fight to Survive

- 6 The Exalted City

- Future Glory

- 7 The City Gates

- The Gates of the Old City

- 8 Jerusalem’s Most Precious Places

- Places Related to Jesus’ Death

- Other Precious Places

- 9 Russia’s Last Stand at Jerusalem

- The Ingathering

- The Destruction

- 10 Antichrist Rises over the Holy City

- Economic and Spiritual Oppression

- Prelude to Armageddon

- The Final Battle

- 11 Will America Die at Jerusalem?

- Jerusalem: A Chronology of Events

Table of Contents

Introduction.

1 Jerusalem: The Mystic City.

2 Jerusalem: Where Empires Die.

3 Jerusalem and Jesus.

4 Jerusalem and the Church.

5 The Wanderers Return.

6 The Exalted City.

7 The City Gates.

8 Jerusalem’s Most Precious Places.

9 Russia’s Last Stand at Jerusalem.

Antichrist Rises over the Holy City.

Will America Die at Jerusalem?.

Jerusalem: A Chronology of Events.

”1

Jerusalem: Where Empires Die

Contents

The Chosen City

God’s Dwelling Place

The Blessed City

The Exalted City

The Israelite City

Jerusalem’s Troubles Begin

Israel at Jerusalem

Babylon Dies at Jerusalem

Persia and Greece

Abomination and Revolt

Rome Dies at Jerusalem

The Rise of Islam

To the Present

Jesus’ Public Ministry

The Last Visit

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

The Church Scatters

From World War II to Independence

The Fight to Survive

Future Glory

The Gates of the Old City

Other Precious Places

The Ingathering

The Destruction

Economic and Spiritual Oppression

Prelude to Armageddon

The Final Battle