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What in the World is Happening
- July 2007
A series of articles by Brian Papworth,
our PWMI Representative in New Zealand.
"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand
forget its skill? May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not
consider Jerusalem my highest joy"? [Psalm 137: 5-6]. What is it
about Jerusalem? We can understand the Jewish people loving it and feeling
its home. But what about the rest of the world, why the conflict, why the
problems?
Jerusalem has a long history. The city's first mention in
Scripture is as Salem [Gen 14: 18] when Melchizedek was king. First called
Jerusalem in the Bible when Adonizedek was its king [Jos 10: 1], and then
captured by Joshua and his army shortly afterwards by a wonderful miracle.
God caused the Sun to stand still until Israel had the victory [Jos 10:
11-13] whilst God rained large hailstones on the defeated Amorite army.
The city was set on fire by the Israeli army but the Jebusites were not
totally driven out. Not until David's day were the Jebusites defeated, and
David took the city as his capital. Called Zion or the "City of
David". Jerusalem became the capital city of Israel.
There is not room to go through the full history of
Jerusalem, but to summarize. The city is built on two mountains one of
which is called Zion, which gave the Jews their rallying call in the 19th
century, for a land of their own once again, and Moriah where Abraham
nearly sacrificed his son Isaac [Gen 22:1-19], and where David bought the
land to build the first Temple.[2 Sam 24:18-25][2 Ch 3:1-2]. This was
built by his son Solomon after David's death about 1010BC. Solomon also
strengthened and enlarged the city. After the death of Solomon, Jerusalem
went through a series of political difficulties as Israel was split
between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
In about 588BC Jerusalem was burnt to the ground and the Temple destroyed
by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Those Jews who did not escape to Egypt
were taken captivity into Babylon and by 582BC the city was left without
inhabitant [Jer 52:3].
Jerusalem was once again rebuilt, in troublous times [Dan
9: 16-25]. This rebuild began in 536BC, and is recorded in the books of
Ezra and Nehemiah. Rebuilt by the permission of the Persian King
Artaxerxes whose empire now incorporated both Babylon and Israel. The city
then stayed under Persian rule until 331BC when Alexander captured the
city. Ruled over by the Greeks until 167BC after which the Jews ruled
themselves under their own people by what were known as the Hasmonean
princes. After this period King Herod ruled over them under the authority
of the Roman Empire. Rome ruled until a Jewish revolution instigated the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman General Titus in AD70. This was
prophesied by Jesus [Matt 24: 1]. He wept over the people of Jerusalem as
He knew this was to happen. [Luke 13: 34-35]. In 135AD the Jews were
finally driven out of the remains of Jerusalem by Rome when there was a
great slaughter, and they fled to the surrounding lands and thence over
the years to the entire world. The Romans rebuilt the city and called it
Aelia Capitolina. When Constantine became a Christian, laws regarding the
Jews were relaxed and a few returned to the city. In 614 AD Jerusalem was
taken again by the Persians, until 637AD when it was occupied by the
Arabians. It remained under various Moslem rulers until 1917 when it was
taken by General Allenby and the British Army. From then on, by mandate of
the League of Nations, Palestine, which included Jerusalem, was put under
the mandate of Britain until World War 2, after which the United Nations
passed a resolution for the Jewish people to have their own homeland once
again. Although this came into being in 1948, only parts of Jerusalem came
under Jewish rule
It was not until the "seven day war" in 1967
that Jerusalem once again came under the jurisdiction of the Government of
Israel. The Muslims still hold sway over the Temple Mount and the mosques.
The Palestinians want their own state with Jerusalem as its capital, as do
the Jews and much of the conflict in the area arises from this situation.
The Jews also wish to rebuild the Temple but only in one place, the Temple
Mount, which is a main bone of contention. Eventually the Temple will be
rebuilt but during or just before the Tribulation. We are told the Beast
will set up a statue in the Temple that will be an abomination; he will
stipulate worship for himself and will try to replace God in his rule of
the world. [Dan 9:27] [2 Thess 2:4] [Matt 24: 15]. The Antichrist will be
removed and bound during the arrival of the true Messiah, our Lord Jesus
Christ, at the time of the battle of Armageddon [Rev 19: 19-21] and Christ
will enter the Temple through the newly opened eastern gate of Jerusalem
to take up His role as King and this event will usher in the millennial
kingdom [Eze 43: 1-5]. Christ will rule as He takes His rightful place as
world ruler.
So we re-visit the question, why all the strife over
Jerusalem? We are told that "we wrestle not against flesh and
blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
darkness of this world" [Eph 6:12]. The world in the future will
be ruled from Jerusalem and Satan and our Lord are in a spiritual battle
to make that city their own. Christ will win, but in the build up to that
final battle the strife continues. Islam only in recent times has made its
claim on the city, bringing in the teaching that Mohammed rose from it
after his death to go to Heaven. The battle for Jerusalem is not
political, not even religious; it is a spiritual battle between God the
creator of the world, and the usurper Satan.
One day there will be a new Heaven, a new Earth and a New
Jerusalem which will all be more wonderful than we can ever imagine. 1500
miles wide by 1500 miles long and 1500 miles high. The streets will be of
pure gold and the 12 gates made each of a single pearl. [Rev 21: 10 - 27].
Will you be there?
Yours in His Service
Brian D Papworth
Secretary for Prophetic Witness Movement International for New Zealand,
Australia and South Pacific.
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