- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
This morning I read an interesting news item in the daily Israel National News
Unprecedented: Firebombs on Temple Mount
"Jewish Temple groups demand inquiry as videos show policeman's uniform alight after he was struck by a fire bomb. Jewish Temple organizations demanded Sunday that the Prime Minister immediately establish an official commission of inquiry into Friday's events on the Temple Mount and the way the Temple Mount police handled them. Friday's events were worse even than those that took place during the Great Terror War that began in 2000, the groups said. For the first time ever, they said, fire bombs were thrown at police on the Mount, and one policeman caught fire and miraculously suffered only slight wounds."
Jerusalem has been set apart by our Holy God as his land and His city since the beginning. (Psalm 132:13). It was where Melchizedek, both a priest and a king of "God Most High," ruled from about 4 millennia ago. (Then called Salem, Genesis 14). It is the place where we read of Abraham binding Isaac for the sacrifice of the son which God commanded. (Genesis 22) it is where the Presence of God dwelt in the Temple. God chose to place His name there (2 Chronicles 6:6).
It is a holy patch of ground. That is the point.
The site has nothing to commend it in human terms. Jerusalem does not lie on any of the ancient important trade routes. There is no natural reason why this city should be one of the most important places in the world for more than four thousand years. A low range of hills are a barrier to winter rains from the Mediterranean Sea just 30 miles to the west. Just to the East, annual rainfall drops nearly to zero in the Judean Wilderness. The elevation to the East drops too- the Dead Sea is 15 miles away and is 1290 feet below sea level.
And yet it is hotly contested.
So the Muslims built a mosque on the patch and claim it is theirs and that the Jews never owned it or have claim to it. It is a contested piece of ground, and the only reason is that it is God's and satan does not want God to have it.
The city is called the city of Peace, the root of Jerusalem, meaning Shalom. It has never known peace. Things are going to get much darker for Jerusalem before they get better. But it will. It will get better.
"And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ (Haggai 2:7-9)
"It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and)all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:2-4)
No more firebombs on God's holy ground. That will be a glorious day. And get this:
"They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9)
What a glory and a delight when all the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord!
Unprecedented: Firebombs on Temple Mount
"Jewish Temple groups demand inquiry as videos show policeman's uniform alight after he was struck by a fire bomb. Jewish Temple organizations demanded Sunday that the Prime Minister immediately establish an official commission of inquiry into Friday's events on the Temple Mount and the way the Temple Mount police handled them. Friday's events were worse even than those that took place during the Great Terror War that began in 2000, the groups said. For the first time ever, they said, fire bombs were thrown at police on the Mount, and one policeman caught fire and miraculously suffered only slight wounds."
Jerusalem has been set apart by our Holy God as his land and His city since the beginning. (Psalm 132:13). It was where Melchizedek, both a priest and a king of "God Most High," ruled from about 4 millennia ago. (Then called Salem, Genesis 14). It is the place where we read of Abraham binding Isaac for the sacrifice of the son which God commanded. (Genesis 22) it is where the Presence of God dwelt in the Temple. God chose to place His name there (2 Chronicles 6:6).
It is a holy patch of ground. That is the point.
The site has nothing to commend it in human terms. Jerusalem does not lie on any of the ancient important trade routes. There is no natural reason why this city should be one of the most important places in the world for more than four thousand years. A low range of hills are a barrier to winter rains from the Mediterranean Sea just 30 miles to the west. Just to the East, annual rainfall drops nearly to zero in the Judean Wilderness. The elevation to the East drops too- the Dead Sea is 15 miles away and is 1290 feet below sea level.
And yet it is hotly contested.
So the Muslims built a mosque on the patch and claim it is theirs and that the Jews never owned it or have claim to it. It is a contested piece of ground, and the only reason is that it is God's and satan does not want God to have it.
The city is called the city of Peace, the root of Jerusalem, meaning Shalom. It has never known peace. Things are going to get much darker for Jerusalem before they get better. But it will. It will get better.
"And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ (Haggai 2:7-9)
"It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and)all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:2-4)
No more firebombs on God's holy ground. That will be a glorious day. And get this:
"They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9)
What a glory and a delight when all the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord!
Comments
Two things:
ReplyDeleteJesus said to the woman at the well in John 4, "Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
In light of this, I submit that neither the temple mount nor Jerusulam are sacred ground?
For the fact is that this present world will be burned up 2 Peter 3:10
We are awaiting the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven. Revelation 21: Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God...
When the presence of God was at the temple it was holy ground.
DeleteAfter the veil was torn, not so much because the tearing of it meant we all could come before Jesus boldly, one on one and at any time.
However the city is still holy in the sense that He has His name on it, territorially if not spiritually.
And for the future, after the tribulation, Jesus will reign personally from the Mount on His throne (Zech 6:13) and once again it will be holy ground spiritually.
Joel 3:18
Isaiah 2:3
Isaiah 60:13
Daniel 9:24
Haggai 2:7,9
Anon: So when did Isaiah 2:2-4 take place? Also, at the time of John 4 and the Scriptures that you mentioned, Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman that the Jews are right(He was a Jew) and all other ways are wrong. They worshipped at the Temple but the Samaritans worshipped at Mt. Gerazim. But a time was coming(He was God so He knew) that the Temple was going to be destroyed and all that worshipped God would have to do it in spirit and truth. He knew that the Holy Spirit was going to come and inhabit believers when He left so there would be no place of worship. But that does not do away with the promises or prophecies of the Bible. 2Thess2:1-12 tells you of another time that is coming. Also, do a study of the prophets, Zech.12-14, Ezek.37-48, Daniel, and really all of them. You cannot spiritualize 2/3 of the Bible. The Lord came once and He is coming again to rule and reign for 1000 years and I might add with a rod of iron. That is not the eternal state but it will lead to it. It cannot be because people die during that period and we all know that people don't die in Heaven.
DeleteI know that you will say that Jesus has fulfilled everthing. Yes, He has made all that God has promised possible by his death and resurrection but that does not mean that that has done away with God's promises He made to Israel for the future redemption and restoration of His people. The Old Test. is full of these promises and, if God is not going to keep them ,then why do you think that He is going to keep His promises to you.
There is a glorious future for Israel, read Romans 9-11, especially where it says that WHEN the times of the Gentiles has ENDED what will happen Ro.11-25-32. The Church is NOT Israel. In the Mill. God will restore Israel to the place that she was to hold and that was to be the spiritual advisors to the nations.
I might suggest that you read "Future Israel" by Barry Horner or Dr. Michael Vlach's book. Barry Horner presents both sides of the issure.
Hope this helps.
Pam
Anon: Oh, yeah, one more thing. If you can believe the 2Peter passage, literally, then why do you have a problem believing Rev.20 and 21 literally???
DeleteYour hermeneutics are tainted by pre-supposition. Try reading the Bible without it. You are missing the reason why we know the Bible is true.
Pam
Great article Elizabeth. I agree with your assessment....
ReplyDeleteWhere God is, there is Holy. Let us not forget
ReplyDeleteExodus 3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
And I agree, Jerusalem is precious in God's sight. It will be magnificent one day. Satan is jealous.
Indeed, Jerusalem is precious to God - He departed from and will return to Jerusalem. It was established by God and has been and will continue to be protected by God.
ReplyDeletePerhaps as gentiles one does not see Jerusalem as holy, but to the Jew.....
OH, THE GENTILES SEE JERUSALEM AS HOLY!! WHY DO YOU THINK SO MANY GENTILES MAKE A PILGRAMAGE TO JERSALEM?
DeleteI, MYSELF HAVE BEEN TWICE AND HOPE TO AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, GOD WILLING. I LOVE JERUSALEM AND THE JEWS AND PRAY FOR BOTH.
On a side note: Congratulations Elizabeth on your article being added to the Prophecy Update Newsletter!! Is that your first contribution to the newsletter?
ReplyDeleteAmber, thanks for letting me know! What is the Prophecy newsletter?
DeleteIts a newsletter that takes headlines of the day that may or may not be prophetic and they have articles from various contributors.
ReplyDeletehttp://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=wa4yp5kab&v=001tP2d4sszXqosUCwJlrVbDoafsAutP32D4LcC8EbAnARNRqnPW-C2vaZsZQFs6j4RQ_S5azpeGqTZcZzCvO1FtrqiR1g_IaTO7hcXiV0z1cg%3D
thanks so much for letting me know :)
Delete