The city of Jerusalem is perhaps the most famous place on earth.
Jerusalem is important as a cultural, historical and scriptural symbol of modern man. The name literally means “The City of Peace" or "Abode of Peace".
To some, this is the City of the King. It is where King David reclaimed the capital of the Nation of Israel, and where his son, Solomon, built the 1st Temple.
Psalm 137, is a prophetic lament of King David as he spoke of its coming destruction.
To Christians, it’s the place where Yeshua foretold of the coming destruction of the 2nd Temple, while standing outside its walls. That’s the Western Wall.
The most amazing aspect of this city, in my opinion, is the history that is buried under our feet as we walk around the Old City.
Just this week, there was another historical discovery of new tunnels, located next to the Western Wall, the perimeter wall of the 2nd Temple. This is astonishing, but in no way, unprecedented.
Some fascinating facts about the city of Jerusalem:
Since 2000 BC, the city was destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked another 52 times, recaptured 44 times, been the scene of 20 revolts, many riots, and endured half a dozen separate periods of violent terrorist attacks during the past century.
Alexander the Great took control of Jerusalem in 332 B.C. Over the next several hundred years, the city was conquered and ruled by different groups, including the Romans, Persians, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians, Mamelukes and Islamists.
Today, the Old City is divided into four quarters: The Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Armenian Quarter and the Jewish Quarter.
We will continue with more about Jerusalem in my next post.
John Q.
Comments