Jerusalem Is the Physical and Spiritual Center of the World

Jerusalem Is the Physical and Spiritual Center of the World - By Kit R. Olsen - http://raptureready.com/featured/olsen/k19.html

 

Select excerpts taken from Israel's Guaranteed Glory. (First printing June 3, 2016, September 2016 distribution, World Bible Society)

 

Jerusalem (God's Heart)

 

Scripture tells us that God's Name, His eyes and His heart are forever tied to Jerusalem-His chosen city. "Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her" (Ezekiel 5:5).

 

"Yet I [God] have chosen Jerusalem, that My name might be there...For now I have chosen and sanctified this house [the Temple], that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually...In this house of God and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever" (2 Chronicles 6:6, 7:16, 33:7b). Scripture sequencing (partially) taken from: A Cup of Trembling: Jerusalem and Bible Prophecy by the late Dave Hunt.

 

"The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel, thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 'Behold I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and the siege is against Jerusalem, it will be against Judah. And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it'" (Zechariah 12:1-3).

 

The previous passages explicitly state that Jerusalem is God's beloved favored, Holy City.

 

Jerusalem is the pivotal point in these last days. Anyone who comes against Jerusalem or tries to take it from the Jewish people is guaranteed to experience the Lord's fury. Jerusalem belongs to the God of the Bible-to Israel. Attempts to internationalize this sacred city will result in total mayhem: The final battle (campaign) of Armageddon.

 

Tremendous history revolves around God's City, the "City of the great King" as cited in Matthew 5:35. Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Christ) has a special love for Jerusalem and spent much time there when he was here on earth.

 

"When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it" (Luke 2:43).

 

"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did" (John 2:23).

 

"From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Matthew 16:21).

 

Jesus Wept for Jerusalem

 

"When He [Jesus] approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it" (Luke 19:41).

 

Jesus placed His eternal mark in Jerusalem. It was in very close proximity to this blessed city where He suffered on the Cross for all mankind-so we could be redeemed and reconciled unto Him. It is just outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem that the Lord Jesus paved the way to eternal glory through His blood sacrifice at Golgotha-where He was brutally beaten, crucified, buried, resurrected and then ascended into heaven.

 

The Christian church was established in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4; 12; 2:1-40). We wait for Him to return and take His rightful place on the throne of King David. According to Scripture, God started the creation of His universe in Jerusalem (the Foundation Stone as cited in Isaiah).

 

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste" (Isaiah 28:16).

 

Jerusalem is the most recorded name of a city in the Bible. The Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) refers to Moriah as the location of the binding of Isaac, and 2 Chronicles 3:1 connects this to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

 

"Jerusalem is surrounded by mountains as God surrounds his people forever" (Psalm 125:3).

 

"The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcast of Israel he will gather in...Praise God O Jerusalem, laud your God O Zion" (Psalm 147:2-12).

 

As recorded in the New Testament, Jerusalem is the city to which Jesus was brought as a child to be presented at the Temple (Luke 2:22) and to attend festivals (Luke 2:41).

 

According to the Canonical gospels (the first four books of the New Testament), Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple Courts.

 

Jerusalem historian, Dan Mazar reported in a series of articles in the Jerusalem Christian Review on the archaeological discoveries made at this location by his grandfather, Professor Benjamin Mazar, which included the 1st century stairs of ascent, where Jesus and his disciples preached, as well as the "mikvaot" (or baptismals) used by both Jewish and Christian pilgrims.

 

The events of Pentecost, which are recorded in the New Testament in the book of Acts, also took place at this location. There is also an account of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple at the Temple Court, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts.

 

"And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve" (Mark 11:11).

 

"So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves" (Mark 11:15).

 

God's heart calls to humanity to be reconciled unto Him. It is in Jerusalem that the last war on earth will be fought. It is in Jerusalem where the Lord Jesus will once and for all destroy His enemies. Jerusalem is where Satan's reign of terror upon humanity will come to an abrupt end.

 

When Jerusalem is on the brink of total annihilation at the end of the seven-year Tribulation, Jesus the Messiah's majestic descent from heaven followed by His heavenly armies will shock the godless survivors. The roaring Lion of Judah will smite the nations and all those who fight against Him, first in Bozrah (Isaiah 63:1) and then on to Jerusalem.

 

The rejuvenated millennial Jerusalem is where the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords will make his headquarters during His literal one-thousand-year millennial reign, and from where His glory will emanate to all the nations.

 

Jerusalem is where the millennial nations will seek to travel and "pray before the Lord," fulfilling Zechariah's prophecy-even taking hold of the garment of a Jew, expressing great reverence.

 

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts:

 

I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.

 

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; in those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." (Zechariah 8:20-23).

 

Jerusalem is God's eternal City. The enemies of God should be frightened, indeed. But instead we see arrogant and deceitful posturing by these representatives of Satan; one diabolical scheme after another all designed to destroy the City of God. As the old saying goes, "A fool is born every minute."