Johan Malan, University of the North, South Africa
Abstract: Jerusalem is the city chosen by God to put His name there forever. The important revelations to mankind through events in Jerusalem will be resumed at the second coming of Jesus.
The divine history of Jerusalem started 4000 years ago when a man of God, Melchizedek, was the king of Salem:
Melchizedek was a type of Jesus, or, according to some commentators, an Old Testament appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. He was the priest-king of righteousness and peace. These are titles of the Lord Jesus as He is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He is also King of the Jews, and of the whole world, with His earthly throne in Jerusalem. Furthermore, He is our righteousness and peace.
Abraham went to Salem (where the later Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion and the Temple Mount, Moriah) to offer a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek. In like manner Israel would, during subsequent centuries, go up to the “house” of the Lord to offer their tithes to God.
Abraham later returned to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God. The command of God to him was: “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Gen. 22:2).
On this mountain, where the temple of God would be built a thousand years later and where many animals would be sacrificed as a prelude to the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God just outside Jerusalem, Abraham had to sacrifice his only son to God. Isaac was a type of the Lord Jesus as he was made an innocent sacrifice after having carried the wood for the burnt offering on his own shoulders. At the last moment Isaac was raised from the altar and substituted with an animal, as he was only a type of the Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world in the fullness of time.
This place, where Melchizedek was a priest of God and where Abraham had to sacrifice his son to God, was very special as it was chosen by God to put His name there. Five hundred years after Abraham, Moses said to the people of Israel that after entering the land and having driven out all their enemies, they should worship God on the specific place that will be chosen by Him:
After another five hundred years, that is about a thousand years before Christ, king David conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites, moved to the new city from Hebron and declared it the capital of Israel. Three names were used for the city, i.e. ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Zion’ and ‘the City of David’. ‘Jerusalem’ means ‘Founded Peacefully’. David wanted to build a house for the Lord’s name in Jerusalem, but God said that David’s son would do that (2 Sam. 7:12-13). After having built the temple, God said to Solomon: “I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put My name there for ever” (1 Kings 9:3; emphasis added). God said that Jerusalem is “the city which I have chosen Me to put My name there” (1 Kings 11:36). God’s Name is forever linked to Jerusalem. It is “the city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2).
Solomon built the first temple there and the glory of the Lord entered into it. God was worshipped in the temple and He revealed Himself to Israel through the service of the priests and prophets. As long as the people served the Lord and obeyed His commandments Jerusalem would be a safe fortress. However, times of spiritual decline set in, leading to the neglect of the temple service in Jerusalem. God-fearing kings restored the temple service during their reign, after which decline again set in. Due to the persistent apostasy of the nation and their leaders, the glory of the Lord eventually departed from the temple and He surrendered them to their enemies. During the Babylonian siege in the 6th century BC, the city and the temple were plundered and destroyed and many of the Jews taken captive to Babylonia.
These events did not terminate God’s eternal commitment to Jerusalem. After seventy years of captivity Israel were restored to their land, they rebuilt the temple and re-instituted the temple service. Again, obstinacy and apostasy set in, leading to the departure of the glory of the Lord. After Malachi, there was a four hundred year long ‘prophetic silence’ in Israel as the Lord sent no prophets during this time. Relying only on their own strength, Israel could not prevail against their enemies. The temple became completely dilapidated and fell into ruins while spiritual darkness prevailed in Israel.
Since about 40 BC, Herod the Great ruled as king over Judea. To win the favour of the Jews, while also intending to suppress their messianic expectation, Herod built a new temple in Jerusalem. This temple was known as the second temple, or the temple of Herod. The temple service was again instituted.
By far the most significant revelation of God to Israel and the whole world was the birth of His Son, Jesus, from Jewish parents. The angel said to Joseph: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:20-21). Jesus was the Dayspring from on high to a people who walked in spiritual darkness. But He was more than that – He was the light of the whole world. In a messianic prophecy, God said about Jesus: “It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth” (Is. 49:6). John the Baptist pointed at Him and said: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29).
In Jerusalem, that wonderful city where God chose to reveal Himself, Jesus proclaimed the message of eternal life. He also taught in the temple. But He and His message were rejected by the majority of the leaders and inhabitants of the city. In doing so, they brought great sorrows and peril over themselves. During the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, He was moved to tears because of the dire consequences of Israel’s spiritual blindness:
God revealed Himself to Jerusalem and its inhabitants, but in spite of clear messianic prophecies they did not recognise the Messiah and, as a nation, rejected Him. In a planned betrayal of Jesus He was falsely accused, arrested, tried and convicted innocently in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders insisted upon His crucifixion so strongly that the Roman governor, Pilate, conceded to their request for the sake of popularity among the Jews.
The Lord Jesus was crucified just outside Jerusalem in the stone-quarry of Solomon. Here, He made atonement for our sins by paying the price for the transgressions of a lost humanity to God. Calvary will forever stand out as the expression of God’s condescending love and forgivingness, and as the only door to eternal life. There is no other name under the heaven given to us whereby we must be saved – only Jesus Christ an Him crucified.
Jesus was buried outside the gates of Jerusalem but rose from the dead three days later. On the Sunday of His resurrection He preached in Jerusalem in what can be describes as the first service of the dispensation of the Christian church. A week later the second sermon was delivered (Jn. 20:19-29). Forty days after His resurrection Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. Just prior to His ascension He gave the Great Commission to His disciples. That ministry would only commence after something very important happened in Jerusalem. Jesus said to them:
That was the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out over the disciples, the process of world evangelism began. On that day, three thousand souls were saved and became members of the church of Christ in Jerusalem. From that day onwards, the gospel of salvation would be preached in Jerusalem and beyond, even to the uttermost ends of the earth.
Many people argue that the divine purpose of Jerusalem expired with the moving out of the disciples to preach the gospel in the rest of the world. What about God’s decision that His name would forever dwell in Jerusalem? Was that decision rescinded when Israel rejected Jesus and crucified Him? Not at all! The long-term future of Jerusalem was always, and still is, securely fixed in the divine counsel and purposes of God.
To clarify this issue, we only need to study the Olivet discourse of Jesus. In it, He discusses the first and last generations of the present dispensation between His first and second coming. Both these generations are identified in terms of events that have occurred (or will in future occur) in and around Jerusalem.
|
The first generation started when the inhabitants of Jerusalem rejected Jesus as their Messiah-King. It ended with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. After that, Israel were dispersed among the nations (the Diaspora). |
During the times of the Gentiles (of unspecified duration) Jerusalem is trodden down by the Gentiles while the gospel message is preached to all the nations on earth. |
The last generation started with the restoration of Jerusalem when Israel captured the Old City from Jordan. It will end when the Messiah-King of Israel comes back to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and is heartily accepted by the remnant of Israel. |
In connection with His rejection by the spiritually blinded Jewish leaders during the first generation of this dispensation, Jesus said the following them:
The generation referred to by Jesus includes the people who were alive when He made this pronouncement. Within the life-span of most of them, the prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled. Luke describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Israel as follows:
The first generation, therefore, began with the rejection and crucifixion of Israel’s Messiah-King in Jerusalem, and that generation was terminated by the destruction of Jerusalem. That was followed by the long Diaspora of Israel, during which time Jerusalem was trodden down by the Gentiles. Please note that Jerusalem was not to be trodden down indefinitely, but until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. At the end of the time of world evangelism, when the non-Jewish people had the opportunity to enter the kingdom of heaven, Israel, their land and their city will again be restored. Paul says:
Israel will be saved as a nation after the fullness of the Gentiles have come in. The end of the treading of Jerusalem has already been witnessed. Biblical Jerusalem (the Old City, or the City of David) was captured by Israel from Jordan during the Six Day war in June 1967. Israel has [partially] been physically restored to their land and the city of Jerusalem – not yet spiritually. But the time is approaching when they will say to Jesus, on the day of His second coming: “Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord” (Mt. 23:39).
Before their national spiritual revival will occur a time of severe testing and affliction awaits the restored Israel in their land, and particularly also in the city of Jerusalem:
The time of Jacob’s trouble, which is aimed at the spiritual revival of a remnant in Israel, form part of the events of the last generation of the present dispensation, at the end of which the Messiah will come back.
The last seven years of the last generation are described as the 70th year-week of Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27). That will be the tribulation period under the reign of the false messiah (Antichrist). Shortly after his revelation he will authorise the building of the third temple in Jerusalem. In the middle of the seven year period he will declare himself to be God in the rebuilt temple, defile the sanctuary by having an image of himself placed there, and command all people to worship the image (Dan. 9:27; 2 Thes. 2:4; Rev. 13:14-15). Israel will be severely shocked and disillusioned when they realise that they accepted and worshipped a false messiah. They will break their covenant with him and flee to the wilderness. The ensuing 3½ years are described as the great tribulation (Mt. 14:15-22).
This will be the time of Israel’s testing. Jeremiah says: “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it” (Jer. 30:7). God says: “…in their affliction they will seek Me early” (Hos. 5:15).
The Antichrist will be aware of the fact that the true Messiah will return to Jerusalem at the end of the tribulation period of seven years, and for that reason he will deploy a multi-national military force in Israel to fight against Him. The Antichrist and his forces will be utterly defeated and destroyed on that day (Rev. 19:19-21). The remnant of Israel will also know from biblical prophecies that the Messiah will come to Jerusalem to save them. During the siege of Jerusalem they will go the Mount of Olives at the risk of their lives to await the arrival of Messiah:
There will be a moving reunion between Israel and their Messiah-King when they say to Him: “Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord.” That will only happen after the Holy Spirit has been poured out over the people of Israel who humbled themselves before the Lord:
After Israel has been reconciled with the Lord Jesus, He will also restore the throne of David in Jerusalem. Then, the promise will be fulfilled which the angel made to Mary before the birth of Jesus: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David” (Lk. 1:32). Jesus never ruled from the throne of David, but after His second coming this promise will be fulfilled:
Jerusalem will be made capital of the whole world. The Lord Jesus will be the King of kings and lasting peace will prevail everywhere:
Satan will be bound during the millennial reign of Christ and consequently be unable to deceive the nations into hating and fighting one another (Rev. 20:2-3). They will seek the favour of the Lord in Jerusalem and also honour His people, Israel:
In the coming dispensation, Jerusalem will be a city of brilliance and glory. Every child of God should earnestly look forward to this time of divine harmony and peace on earth when Jerusalem will rise from the ashes of shame and deprivation:
Because Jerusalem will be a blessing to the whole world after the second coming of Christ and the setting up of His millennial reign, we should join Isaiah in exclaiming: “For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth” (Is. 62:1).
In these dark days of hostility and attacks against the City of the Great King we should constantly remind the Lord of His promises to bless Jerusalem. He commanded us to intercede for Jerusalem:
We should never forget Jerusalem as a place of divine revelation – not its past, neither its wonderful future. David said: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Ps. 122:6). The struggle for the control of Jerusalem is a struggle between light and darkness. The Lord Jesus will return to Jerusalem and rule the world from this city. That is why the kingdom of darkness does everything in its power to conquer Jerusalem or to estrange it from Israel with a view to converting it into a heathen city.
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem in the words and in the deep longing of the Jewish captives at the rivers of Babylon: “If I for get thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy” (Ps. 137:5-6).
The Holy One of Israel explicitly said that His name shall dwell in Jerusalem forever, and for that reason alone this city has a secured and eternal future. The occasions when He withdrew His glory from Jerusalem and its sanctuaries was because of the prolonged apostasy of the leaders and people of Israel. But that situation was never meant to be permanent. There was always promises of a glorious restoration and spiritual revival. Daniel says there will come a time for the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Dan. 9:24). That time is fast approaching and will dawn at the end of the 70th year-week. Then the whole remnant of Israel will be reconciled with the Messiah and all of them will serve Him wholeheartedly:
With inhabitants such as these during the coming millennium, ruled by the Messiah Himself, Jerusalem will indeed be a blessing to the whole world.
In the future creation of God there will be a new Jerusalem in which all the saved ones will dwell. The apostle John said:
Be sure that you are born again and by virtue of that a member of the bride of Jesus Christ and a future resident of the new Jerusalem. You will then share in the eternal glory and joys of the kingdom of God. The great deeds of God’s salvation that were done and revealed in earthly Jerusalem should be proclaimed in the whole world as that is the only doorway to heavenly Jerusalem.