Today we will take a virtual journey to Jerusalem, the Holy City. We will find out why Jerusalem has such a complicated history and why three major religions claim it as their own holy city.
We begin our ascent to Jerusalem from just west of the Jordan River with a beautiful view of Mt. Nebo to the east, were Moses led the children of Israel before they entered into the Promised Land. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to enter the Land himself. But now, over 3,000 years later, we have the privilege of actually making our way to Jerusalem, the city that would become the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Not much has changed in those 3,000 years as far as the landscape approaching Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, Mark Twain wrote a description about it when he traveled to Palestine in 1867. He wrote:
An illustration of Jerusalem from Mark Twain’s book, Innocents Abroad.
“ …[a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse….A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action….We never saw a human being on the whole route….There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” (The Innocents Abroad. London: 1881)
We will make our way about 30 km up to Jerusalem. I say “up” because we will travel from about 400 meters below sea level to about 800 meters above sea level. We will be ascending up through the beautiful soft chalk mountains of the Judean Desert, past the place commemorated to the story of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, past Bedouin tents, past modern Jewish and Arab towns (all located in what is referred to as the West Bank), to renowned Jerusalem.
As we make our approach, still traveling through the desert, we will drive through a tunnel that is like taking us in a time machine to another place…the beautiful city of Jerusalem, with its 3,800 years of history. We hear the song Jerusalem of Gold, playing in the background. The music comes to a crescendo as we get our first glimpse:
“Jerusalem all of gold
Jerusalem, bronze and light
Within my heart I shall treasure
Your song and sight.”
Tears of joy stream own our cheeks, as we behold our first glimpse of Jerusalem. What was once the small City of David and what has become the City in the Center of the Universe. We travel along the Mt. of Olives ridge to an overview of the entire city; past, present and future.
Before our eyes, we see the ancient Temple Mount, built by King Herod over 2,000 years ago. And underneath the huge platform of the Temple Mount, lays the peak of Mount Moriah, where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. (Genesis 22)
David became king over Israel and built his palace and made his capital in what is known as The City of David. It sits just west of Mount Moriah. (2 Sam 5)
King David bought a threshing floor on Mt. Moriah to make an altar to the LORD (2 Sam 24). He wanted to give honor to his ancestor Abraham, who was a faithful servant of God. Mt. Moriah is one of three pieces of land that the Bible records as having been “purchased.” Jews today still feel they have a rightful claim to these parcels.
Artists rendering of the First Temple that King Solomon built. Israeltoday.co.il
David’s son, King Solomon, built the First Holy Temple to the LORD around 955 BCE on top of the threshing floor on top of Mount Moriah. The Israelite period (1200 BCE to 586 BCE) was the first time of Jewish autonomy in the land of Israel.
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BCE. The Jews were exiled to Babylon. The Persian King, Cyrus, allowed the Jews to return to rebuild their Temple in 538 BCE. This Temple is referred to as the 2nd Temple; ergo beginning the 2nd Temple period.
The Seleucid King during the Hellenistic (Greek) period, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, defiled the Temple. The Jews started a rebellion against the Greeks, led by Judah Maccabee. They reclaimed the Temple in 135 BCE; starting 100 years of autonomy for the Jews, the 2nd time in Jewish history. This time is referred to as the Hasmonean Kingdom and is related to the story of Hannukah.
The Romans, led by Pompey, took over the region in 63 BCE. And it was just after this time (around 20 BCE) that the Roman King, Herod the Great, remodeled the 2nd Temple, doubling the size of the platform the temple stood on (we call this the Temple Mount) and making it the most beautiful of all of his building projects combined.
This is the same Temple complex that Jesus of Nazareth came and turned over the tables of the money changers and made his Passover sacrifice before he was crucified by the Romans around 30 CE. And it was here, on the Mt of Olives where we are standing, that he ascended into heaven after the resurrection. (Acts 1)
Then in 66 CE, the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, called The Great Revolt, ended in the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 CE and, once again, the Jews were exiled from the city. The Roman Emperor Hadrian, in around 130 CE, built a small temple to the god Jupiter on the Temple Mount, renamed the city to Aelia Capitolina, and renamed the entire region Palestina; after the greatest nemesis of the Jewish people; the Philistines (from back in the day of David and Saul). The renaming of these places was an attempt by Hadrian to wipe out any Jewish history or claim to the region. Unfortunately, his actions 2000 years ago have continued to influence the world’s view of Israel & Jerusalem, even until today.
After Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, became a Christian, her influence led to the proclamation that the Roman Empire would become a Christian Empire, known as the Byzantine period. This time period lasted from about 330 until the Muslim invasion of the Land in 638 CE.
Dome of the Rock, built in 691. (opentheword.org)
The Temple Mount had been left in rubble for more than 600 years until the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock in the year 691, commemorating Mohammed’s Night Journey to the heavens. This is the same domed building that we see in front of us today. The Early Muslim conquest of the Holy Land in 638 CE, led to the destruction of all the synagogues and almost all the churches in and around Jerusalem (and actually the whole country).
The Crusaders came in 1099 to take back the Holy City from the Muslims. This was undoubtedly one of the bloodiest times in history, but it resulted in 100 years of Christian rule in Jerusalem and another 100 years along the coast of Israel.
A powerful army throughout the Islamic Empire, known as the Mamelukes, invaded the Holy Land, defeated the Crusaders and ruled from 1266-1517. They ruled until the Ottoman Turks conquered the region and took over for the next 400 years.
When the British defeated the Turks in 1917, during WWI, the British named the region British Mandate Palestine. And for the next 41 years, Jews and Arabs were called Palestinians, under British occupation. In 1947, the UN divided the region into an Arab State and a Jewish State. The Jews were happy and the Arabs declined and started a civil war that lasted until May 14, 1948. Israel, then, declared independence and the British left the region for good. This would be the third time in history the Jews had autonomy in the land of Israel.
IDF Paratroopers relax after liberating the Western Wall during the Six Day War (Jpost.com)
The following day, five Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, & Iraq) attacked Israel and the newly formed Israel entered into a war of survival. The war resulted in the Jews maintaining their Jewish State, but losing the Old City and the east side of Jerusalem to the Jordanians. Nineteen years later, in the Six Day War of 1967, the Jews once again returned in victory to reclaim the entire city of Jerusalem; opening the doors for freedom of religion to all faiths, including Jews, Christians and Muslims!
The tangled web of a very complicated history has made Jerusalem the focal point of peace talks with Princes, Presidents, and Prime Ministers for generations. Each and every one of them would consider it a major success if peace came to this region during their tenure. Unfortunately, it has not come… yet.
Hoping you enjoyed your Journey to Jerusalem. Next week, we will explore Jerusalem in the present and in the future. Until then, we continue to hope and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
