God Save Jerusalem!

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Jerusalem has known precious little peace in its long history. People call it the holy city, but does God view it that way now? What does He say about the future of this disputed capital and religious center?

Few in number and surrounded by tens of millions of Arabs, the Israelis are truly the underdog. Americans love the underdog. They love Israel because of the great odds set against it and because it has fought valiantly against great odds and has won, decisively. Israelis are a gutsy people. But that's not the only reason Americans love Israel.

There's a hidden reason Americans love Israel, and both countries appear not to know this: They are brothers. Sounds strange, I know. But extensive, careful research of biblical promises, prophecies and history shows that Israel, Britain and America must be brothers, emerging from the ancient 12 tribes of Israel (Genesis 49). Our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy can illuminate this for you.

Israel's 60th anniversary

The small but mighty nation of Israel will celebrate its 60th anniversary (1948-2008) this May, rising from the ashes of persecution, relentlessly threatened by terrorists and constantly plagued by wars and threats of war. Most Christians and Jews believe that God restored the Jews to their homeland.

Jerusalem is not like other notable cities of the world. It sits on a hill surrounded by other hills. No river runs near Jerusalem nor a major highway, and there is no port to access the shipping lanes. Jerusalem pipes in water from the Sea of Galilee.

Yet Jerusalem (population 732,000) is considered by many to be the most important city on earth. Many view Jerusalem as the holy city. But does God view modern Jerusalem that way today?

The Old Testament is filled with prophecies directly related to ancient and modern Israel. When God speaks of His chosen nation Israel, He corrects them for not remaining faithful to Him (Jeremiah 11:1-8 [1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
[2] Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
[3] And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
[4] Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
[5] That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
[6] Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
[7] For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
[8] Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but they did them not.

See All...; Hebrews 8:7-9 [7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
[8] For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
[9] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

See All...). None of the 12 tribes (now modern nations) has remained faithful to the one true God. And God even compares unfaithful Jerusalem to Sodom and Egypt (Revelation 11:8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
See All...).

Jerusalem, the apple of God's eye

In spite of its spiritual condition, God still views Jerusalem as the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
See All...), calling those things that are not, as though they were (Romans 4:17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
See All...). God will one day save Jerusalem, but before that happens, Jerusalem will experience terrible tragedies (Zechariah 14:2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
See All...; Lamentations 1).

Today, Jerusalem has little peace—though it wants, needs and is promised it. Ironically, three major religions lay claim to the holy city: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Not one can bring peace to this troubled city. Both the Israelis and the Palestinian National Authority call Jerusalem their capital. It has been Israel's capital since the 1967 Six-Day War. But it won't always remain under man's rule; it belongs to God.

A time is coming when God will punish all who set their hand against Judah and Jerusalem: "I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed" (Zechariah 12:2-3 [2] Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
[3] And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

See All..., New Living Translation).

The book of Revelation, chapters 14 and 19, speak clearly and emphatically about this time, as does Zechariah 14. No man dare touch the holy city of Jerusalem, the apple of God's eye (Zechariah 2:8For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
See All...), meaning that which is most dear to Him. Those who lay siege to Jerusalem and Judah will pay dearly, because God owns Jerusalem and Judah. Threaten Jerusalem and you take on Almighty God.

Jerusalem's name has great meaning

Paradoxically, the name Jerusalem contains the word for peace. It is directly tied to the God of the Old and New Testaments, Christ Jesus, who is also the Messiah and the Prince of Peace (Hebrews 1:2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
See All...; John 1:41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
See All...; Hebrews 7; Isaiah 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See All...; Revelation 21).

There is both a biblical and linguistic connection between the King of Salem and the city of Jerusalem. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the King of Salem or peace (Genesis 14). The book of Hebrews shows that this same Melchizedek is the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7).

Former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Dore Gold, suggests that Jerusalem goes back as far as Noah's son Shem. "But Jerusalem, according to the Midrash, already had the name Shalem, which it was given by Shem, the son of Noah. Thus Jerusalem is not only relevant to the tradition of Abraham, the Midrash concludes, but rather to all the sons of Noah—in other words, to the rest of mankind. Therefore, it suggests that God chose the name Jerusalem ( Yerushalayim ) as a combination of Yir'eh [meaning, 'the place which the Lord will show'] and Shalem [peace]" ( The Fight for Jerusalem, Dore Gold, 2007, p. 45).

Jerusalem was conquered by Joshua, King David, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, Roman emperors, the Ottoman Turks, the Crusaders, the British and, finally, the modern Israelis. Jerusalem has known precious little peace, but it is promised permanent peace by God Almighty (Isaiah 11:1-9 [1] And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
[2] And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
[3] And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
[4] But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
[5] And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
[6] The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
[7] And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
[8] And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
[9] They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

See All...).

God save Jerusalem!

Almighty God alone can and will save Jerusalem. The holy city belongs to Him. Even its name embodies His gift of peace to all humankind. The prophet Zechariah, under Almighty God's inspiration, wrote that God would make Jerusalem like a cup of drunkenness and a very heavy stone for all that lay siege against it. This He will do through Judah (Zechariah 14:14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
See All...).

"And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.' In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem...

"In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:5-6 [5] And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
[6] In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

See All..., 8-9).

Those who seek to exterminate the Jews will one day serve them, when the Jews are converted along with the rest of the tribes of Israel. The prophet Isaiah wrote that all nations who afflict Jerusalem "shall come bowing to you, and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 60:14The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
See All...). God owns Jerusalem.

God will make Jerusalem "an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations" (Isaiah 60:15Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
See All...). For Jerusalem's future glory, God will provide gold for bronze and silver for iron, bronze for wood and iron for stones. "I will also make your officers peace, and your magistrates righteousness" (verse 17; compare "peace" and "righteousness" in Hebrews 7:2To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
See All...).

Jerusalem belongs to God, not to man. It appears to have begun with man but it ends with God (Revelation 21). God's goal for Jerusalem is to fulfill its name, the place which the Lord will show His peace. This helps us to understand why God will save Jerusalem. His city will represent godly peace throughout the earth (Ezekiel 36:35-38 [35] And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
[36] Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
[37] Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
[38] As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

See All...).

No man will ever bring peace to Jerusalem; he cannot. Jesus said only His peace will prevail, beginning at Jerusalem. Before His crucifixion, Jesus said this about His peace: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
See All...).

Permanent, everlasting peace begins and ends with God, is given to humankind and returns to God.

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11 [10] For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
[11] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

See All...).

God will save Jerusalem as His city from where global peace shall flow throughout the earth.

For a better understanding of Jerusalem's future, request our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy . WNP