Jerusalem

 

   Jerusalem is not the largest city in the world, but it can claim to be the most important. Jerusalem taught the Western Hemisphere how to behave. China and India have had their ethical teachings, but they've been more diffuse. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all came out of Jerusalem. I'll qualify Islam's origins later.

  The name Jerusalem means "Foundation of Peace" in Hebrew. That's a great example of wishful thinking. Over the millennia, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. Having a great location is a mixed blessing. Both Israel and Palestine claim the city as their capital. 

   Most people think of the Old City with its thick walls built by a Muslim ruler in the 16th century when they hear the name Jerusalem, but less than thirty thousand of modern Jerusalem's million residents live in the Old City. Like the Vatican, the Old City is tiny, less than half a mile square. In the 19th century the Old City was divided into quadrants. 

   The Muslim Quarter, the largest, contains the Dome of the Rock and the Al'Aqsa Mosque where Mohammed had his encounter with God. The Christian Quarter has the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was crucified and buried. The Via Dolorosa follows the path Jesus walked to Calvary. The Western Wall is in the Jewish Quarter. The wall is the last remnant of the great Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. King David's tomb is also here. The Armenians have been in Jerusalem since 500 A.D. and were given a small quarter for their churches and restaurants. Some people talk about rebuilding the Temple, but the Muslim holy places are on the original Temple site, so the project is on hold.

   Jerusalem has been part of numerous empires- Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, with a few decades of independence here and there. After a revolt against Rome in 136 A.D., the Jews were expelled from the city. In 638 the city fell under Muslim rule. The Crusaders captured and held the city for 88 years in the twelfth century. Then the Muslims took over again, and the city eventually become part of the Ottoman Empire. 

   According to the Quran, Mohammed made a night flight on a mythical beast to the Al'Aksa mosque in Jerusalem. The Quran, Islam's holy book, contains stories from the Old Testament and Christian tradition. Muslims see the Quran as a completion and correction of the earlier messages. While at the mosque, Mohammed ascended to Heaven and met with and received instructions from Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and other prophets. He then ascended to the highest heaven and met God Himself.

   Christians lived in the Muslim empires as second class citizens. Pilgrims were seen as a source of income and were allowed to visit the Christian holy sites. Jews filtered back into the city over the centuries. They too were tolerated as long as they paid their taxes. Immigration increased in the late 1800s as Jews in Europe hoped to establish their own state in Palestine. Britain took over Palestine after WWI and backed the establishment of an independent nation for the Jews. The Palestinians considered the land theirs and tried to block immigration. Tensions grew until the end WWII when Britain established separate Jewish and Arab states on the disputed land.

   In 1948 the surrounding Arab countries told the Palestinians to move out while they crushed the new Israeli state. By some miracle the Israelis won the war. Almost three million Palestinians are still waiting in Jordan. Israel continued to win wars and to annex more land. Israel perceives its very existence to be in danger, but it will keep the upper hand as long as the US finds it in her own interest. Should America prove fickle, the Jews may be driven into the desert for awhile, but God will raise up a new champion for them. He always has.

If you go...