The amazing history of Jerusalem
LAST December 6, 2017, US President Donald Trump made a highly controversial announcement that no other US president had dared to do. He reaffirmed and formally declared that US recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and instructed the US State Department to start the multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem was a campaign pledge that US President Trump promised in the last 2016 elections.
This bold announcement of the US president will certainly stoke tensions in the Middle East as the Palestinians, Arabs, and others will disagree with US President Trump’s pronouncement. They will claim that this pronouncement will stall the on-going peace talks between the Israelites and the opposing parties led by the Palestinians and the Arabs. Also, while Israel considers the entire city of Jerusalem as its capital, the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. It will be recalled that after the conclusion of the Six-Day War in 1967, all of Jerusalem was united under Israel control for the first time in over 2,000 years.
*** One may ask: Will there be a change in American law after US President Trump made the December 6 announcement to the world? No. Making the City of Jerusalem the capital is a political right of Israel. In 1950, the Israeli Knesset passed the Jerusalem law and declared Jerusalem to be the eternal undivided capital of Israel. It will be recalled that in 1995, Democrat President Bill Clinton designed a law saying that “Since 1950, the City of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel.”
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Also, last June 5, 2017, the US Senate by a vote of 90-0 passed a resolution marking the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. This resolution also reaffirmed that Jerusalem is Israel’s undivided capital. This resolution was passed by the US Senate less than a week after US President Donald Trump signed a presidential waiver preventing the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, giving as a reason the waiver of the national security interest. This is the same reason advanced by all the US presidents (before D. Trump) for the past 22 years. The US Senate Resolution is a reaffirmation of the senators’ support of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 which mandates the State Department to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the capital.
*** Pastor Jentezen Franklin summarizes the importance of Jerusalem to the Christians worldwide, as follows:
• “Christianity begins in Jerusalem serving as the context for Jesus’ life and earthly ministry.
• “The city where Jesus was crucified on a cross.
• “The city where He was laid in a tomb.
• The city where He rose from the grave.
• “The city where He showed Himself to many others over a fortyday period.
• “The city where many believe Abraham brought Isaac up Mt. Moriah and passed God’s test of faith.
• “The city where King Solomon built the magnificent Temple, declaring it a house of prayer for all nations.
• “The city Isaiah envisioned as the world’s center where the nations would beat their swords into plowshares, and learn war no more.
• “The city declared by King David, the greatest ruler of Israel, to be the capital at the First Kingdom of Israel more than 3,000 years ago. After the 1948 War of Independence when the State of Israel was created, Jerusalem once again became the capital of Israel.
• “The city where Jesus wept.” *** The word Jerusalem is mentioned 811 times in the Holy Bible. Jerusalem was called U-ru-sa-lim meaning “City of Peace.” Ironically however, Jerusalem today has experienced strife and not peace. John Hagee, the Christian author and preacher, said: “Jerusalem means ‘city of peace’ but it has known more war, more bloodshed, more fears, and more terror than any other city on earth. It has been conquered and reconquered thirty-eight times by Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Yet it stands today as a testimony to the faithfulness and intent of God.” (Reference book: The Battle for Jerusalem, page 24, 2001 by John Hagee)
It is strange that in all the invasions by the enemies of Israel, the astounding fact remains that none of the nations conquering Israel ever made Jerusalem as their capital.
*** Indeed, Jerusalem, a little city in the Middle East is the city to watch. Never a week goes by that Israel or Jerusalem did not get the world’s headlines – despite the fact that Jerusalem has been built and destroyed and rebuilt more than any other city. Compared to the other great and beautiful cities of the world which are famous for some landmark historic sites or for being the headquarters of some world government or banking institution, Jerusalem is not a magnificent city for its infrastructures – and yet it remains at the center of world attention.
And finally… Jerusalem, the Holy City is prophesied to be the center of world events in the end time.
*** This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 5233 LRV Building, Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred.