Jerusalem

As there is frequent reference in the New Testament to Jerusalem; as it was the place of the public worship of God; as it was the place where many important transactions in the life of the Savior occurred, and where He died ... it seems desirable to present, a brief description of this city.

Jerusalem was the capital of the kingdom of Judah, and was built on the line dividing that tribe from the tribe of Benjamin.  Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, and is one of the oldest cities in the world.

It was once called "Salem," and in the days of Abraham, it was the home of Melchizedek.  When the Israelites took possession of the promised land, they found this stronghold in the possession of the Jebusites, by whom it was called "Jebus" or "Jebusi."

The name "Jerusalem" was probably compounded of the two by changing a single letter, and calling it, for the sake of the sound, "Jerusalem" instead of "Jebusalem."  Ancient Salem was probably built on Mount Moriah or Acra - the eastern and western mountains on which Jerusalem was subsequently built.

When the Jebusites became masters of the place, they erected a fortress in the southern quarter of the city, which was subsequently called Mount Zion, but which they called "Jebus."  Although the Israelites took possession of the adjacent territory, the Jebusites still held this fortress or upper town until the time of David, who wrested it from them, and then removed his court from Hebron to Jerusalem, which was thenceforward known as the city of David.

Jerusalem was built on several hills ... Mount Zion on the south, Mount Moriah on the east, (upon which the temple was subsequently built), Mount Acra on the west, and Mount Bezetha on the north.

Mount Moriah and Mount Zion were separated by a valley, called by Josephus ... the Valley of Cheesemongers ... over which there was a bridge or raised way leading from the one to the other.  On the southeast of Mount Moriah, and between that and Mount Zion, there was a bluff or high rock capable of strong fortification, called Ophel.  By these the city therefore was encompassed by hills.

On the west there were hills which overlooked the city; on the south was the valley of Jehoshaphat, (the valley of Hinnom), separating it from what is called the Mount of Corruption.  On the east was the valley or the brook Kedron, dividing the city from the Mount of Olives.  On the north, the country was more level, though it was a broken or rolling country. 

On the southeast, the valleys of the Kedron and Jehoshaphat unit, and the waters flowed through the broken mountains in a southeasterly direction to the Dead Sea, some 15 miles distant.  Jerusalem is 34 miles southeasterly from Jaffa (the ancient Joppa which is its seaport), and 120 miles southwesterly from Damascus.

The best view of the city of Jerusalem is from Mount Olivet on the east, the mountains in the east being somewhat higher than those on the west.  The city was anciently enclosed within walls, a part of which are still standing.  The position of the walls has been at various times changed, as the city has been both larger and smaller, or as it has extended in different directions.  The wall on the south formerly included the whole of Mount Zion, though the modern wall runs over the summit, including about half of the mountain. 

In the time of the Savior, the northern wall enclosed only Mounts Acra and Moriah north; though after his death Agrippa extended the wall so as to include Mount Bezetha on the north.  About half of that is included in the present wall.  The limits of the city on the east and the west (being more determined by the nature of the place), have been more fixed and permanent.

The city was watered in part by the fountain of Siloam on the east, and in part by the fountain of Gihon on the west of the city, which flowed into the vale of Jehoshaphat; and in the time of Solomon by an aqueduct (part of which is still remaining), by which water was brought from the vicinity of Bethlehem.  The "pools of Solomon," three in number, one rising above another, and adapted to hold a large quantity of water, are still remaining in the vicinity of Bethlehem.  The fountain of Siloam still flows freely, though the fountain of Gihon is commonly dry.  A reservoir or tank, however, remains at Gihon.

Jerusalem had probably, its highest degree of splendor in the time of Solomon.  About 400 hundred years after, it was entirely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and lay utterly desolate during the 70 years of the Jewish captivity.  Then it was rebuilt, and restored to some degree of its former magnificence, and remained about 600 years, when it was utterly destroyed by Titus in 70 a.d.

In the reign of Adrian the city was partly rebuilt under the name of AElia.  The monuments of Pagan idolatry were erected in it, and it remained under Pagan jurisdiction until Helena, the mother of Constantine, overthrew the memorials of idolatry, and erected a magnificent church over the spot which was supposed to be the place of the Redeemer’s sufferings and burial.

Jerusalem continued in the power of the Eastern emperors until the reign of the Caliph Omar, the third in succession from Mohammed, who reduced it under his control about the year 640.  The Saracens continued masters of Jerusalem until the year 1099, when it was taken by the Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon.  They founded a new kingdom, of which Jerusalem was the capital, which continued eighty-eight years under nine kings.

At last this kingdom was utterly ruined by Saladin, and though the Christians once more obtained possession of the city, yet they were obliged again to relinquish it.  In 1217 the Saracens were expelled by the Turks.  Jerusalem has been taken and pillaged 17 times, and millions of people have been slaughtered within its walls.  The streets are narrow, and the houses are of stone, most of them low and irregular, with flat roofs or terraces, and with small windows only toward the street, usually protected by iron grates.

Today, 2015 ... Jerusalem is still a divided city.  It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions ... Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The above description has been obtained from a great variety of sources ...

As Christians, we are instructed to pray for the peace of Jerusalem ... which to my mind will only happen when Jesus returns to rule from His Holy mount with a rod of iron.

Watch and pray therefore ... for His return.