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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem
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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets,
and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered
thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her
wings, and ye would not!
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(Luke 13:34)
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All glory and honour to the Holy Spirit of God who enabled this writer
to compile this teaching at this time.
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The city of Jerusalem has always been linked to God and will never change.
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The word comes from the Hebrew or Aramaic and means "founded peaceful";
coming from two words, Jerw or Jerus meaning "founded", and Salem meaning
peaceful.
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In 2 Chronicles we read of Jeruel meaning "founded of God"
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In John 20:26 The resurrected Jesus said "Peace be unto you". He probably
spoke to His disciples in Hebrew and not in Greek and said "Shalom". A
word used by the Jews to this day.
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Jerusalem is an ancient city and in the days of Abram, we see he tithed
of his goods to the king of Salem whose name was Melchizedek, whose name
means "King of right(eousness)"
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And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was
the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed
be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And
blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy
hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
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(Genesis 14:18-20)
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So we see here that the king of the City of peace and priest of the most
high God, blessed Abra(ha)m for his righteous act. In giving tithes, Abram
acknowledged that it was by God's power that he was able to overcome those
kings.
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Also, as we shall observe later, this was a very significant deed for another
reason.
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This king was mentioned only once more in the Old Covenant, in a prophecy
of David:
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*A Psalm of David.* The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties
of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike
through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen,
he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the
heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore
shall he lift up the head.
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(Psalms 110:1-7)
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Jesus of Nazareth used part of this Psalm to explain who He was:
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While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying,
What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The
Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth
David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David
then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer
him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any
more questions.
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(Matthew 22:41-46)
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Furthermore, in the Psalm, in place of Jerusalem we see the word "Zion",
which means "mountain of Jerus" or "permanent capital". Also called the
City of Zion. So we can deduce that the City that was "founded peaceful"
is also the "permanent capital" of the most high God.
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For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To
whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation
King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King
of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God;
abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was,
unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And
verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the
priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to
the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins
of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes
of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction
the less is blessed of the better.
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(Hebrews 7:1-7)
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Also, in giving tithes, Abraham acknowledged who the King of Salem was.
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The Most High God, our heavenly Father, is Righteous and Holy, filled with
lovingkindness and mercy, yet on two occasions in the Old Covenant He gave
the City over to invading Babylonians because of rebellion of His chosen
people.
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The first, and greatest overthrow was recorded by Jeremiah:
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How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how
is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations,
and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks:
among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends
have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. Judah is
gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude:
she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors
overtook her between the straits. The ways of Zion do mourn, because none
come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh,
her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries
are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for
the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity
before the enemy. And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed:
her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they
are gone without strength before the pursuer. Jerusalem remembered in the
days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that
she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at
her sabbaths. Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed:
all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness:
yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. Her filthiness is in her
skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully:
she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath
magnified himself. The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all
her pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen entered
into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not
enter into thy congregation. All her people sigh, they seek bread; they
have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD,
and consider; for I am become vile. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow,
which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the
day of his fierce anger. From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and
it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned
me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. The yoke
of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and
come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered
me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst
of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the
Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.
For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water,
because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children
are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands,
and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning
Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem
is as a menstruous woman among them. The LORD is righteous; for I have
rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold
my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. I called
for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders
gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve
their souls. Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are
troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled:
abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death. They have
heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies
have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it:
thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be
like unto me. Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them,
as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are
many, and my heart is faint.
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(Lamentations 1:1-22)
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Ezekiel was a prophet of the first captivity and his prophecies occurred
from the Babylonian area:
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The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land
sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine
hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send
famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three
men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but
their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. If I cause
noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it
be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though
these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD,
they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered,
but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that
land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast
from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith
the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only
shall be delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that
land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and
beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live,
saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall
but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith
the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem,
the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to
cut off from it man and beast? Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant
that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they
shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings:
and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon
Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. And
they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye
shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,
saith the Lord GOD.
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(Ezekiel 14:12-23)
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Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem
to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem;
Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father
was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy
nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast
thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee,
to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field,
to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And when
I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto
thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when
thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the
bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art
come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine
hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed
by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of
love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea,
I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord
GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly
washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed
thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I
girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked
thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain
on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears,
and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked with gold
and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered
work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding
beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth
among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my
comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. But thou didst
trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown,
and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with
divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things
shall not come, neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken thy
fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest
to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, And tookest
thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil
and mine incense before them. My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour,
and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it
before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord
GOD. Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast
borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured.
Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain my
children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire
for them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not
remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and
wast polluted in thy blood. And it came to pass after all thy wickedness,
(woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) That thou hast also built
unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made
thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed
by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication
with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy
whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore I have stretched out
my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and
delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the
Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the whore
also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played
the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Thou hast moreover
multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet
thou wast not satisfied herewith. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord
GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious
whorish woman; In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of
every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been
as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire; But as a wife that committeth
adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give
gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest
them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. And
the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas
none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward,
and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. Wherefore,
O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy
filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms
with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the
blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore
I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all
them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated;
I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy
nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge
thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will
give thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their
hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down
thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take
thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up
a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust
thee through with their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire,
and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will
cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no
hire any more. So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy
shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
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(Ezekiel 16:1-42)
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Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man,
wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew
her all her abominations. Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city
sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols
against herself to defile herself. Thou art become guilty in thy blood
that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou
hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even
unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen,
and a mocking to all countries. Those that be near, and those
that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and
much vexed. Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their
power to shed blood. In thee have they set light by father and mother:
in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in
thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou hast despised mine
holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. In thee are men that carry
tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst
of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers'
nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another
hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled
his sister, his father's daughter. In thee have they taken gifts to shed
blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained
of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which
thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that
I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.
And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries,
and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. And thou shalt take thine
inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know
that I am the LORD. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are
brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are
even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because
ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst
of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead,
and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt
it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and
I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and
blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst
thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be
melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured
out my fury upon you. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son
of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor
rained upon in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of
her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey;
they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things;
they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated
my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference
between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference
between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths,
and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are
like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls,
to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered
morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus
saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the land
have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and
needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for
a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before
me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore
have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with
the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads,
saith the Lord GOD.
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(Ezekiel 22:1-31)
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We see here what transpired in the sinful Jerusalem (the City of peace)
and we know what God did to that City, and in a companion writing1,
to Sodom and Gomorrah.
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However, God raised up certain holy Jews such as Mordecai, Daniel, Hahaniah,
Mishael, Azariah, Ezekiel, Nehemiah Ezra, Zerubabbel, Zechariah, etc. who
stood up to be counted, and when God's servant, King Cyrus allowed the
house of God and the City of Jerusalem to be rebuilt they were ready. (Ezra
1:1-2)
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As we read in part one of a previous article2, on this web site3,
those returning to Jerusalem lived holy and righteous lives and were blessed
with peace to complete the task.
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Seventy years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the City
was destroyed once again by the Romans.
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In the middle ages it became the prize in the wars of the crusades as it
was now also a holy City of the of the followers of Mohammed.
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It remained a backwater, seemingly abandoned by God until 1948 when the
State of Israel came into being.
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Jerusalem has been and shall always be a holy City, but very rarely a peaceful
one up to now.
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Zechariah, a prophet of the time of the returned exiles from Babylon to
Jerusalem, exhorted the people once again, showing that God's ways are
just; that He seeks a righteous people, not mere ritual; and then prophesied
concerning the future of Jerusalem:
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Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the
midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;
and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished;
and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of
the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth,
and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is
before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the
midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be
a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north,
and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley
of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:
yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days
of Uzziah king of Judah: and
the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee4.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not
be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known
to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that
at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that
living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former
sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall
it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall
there be one LORD, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a
plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up,
and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the
first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel
unto the king's winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there
shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while
they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their
holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall
come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall
be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour,
and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah
also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round
about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great
abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the
camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents,
as this plague. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is
left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from
year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast
of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of
all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King,
the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of
Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall
be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not
up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt,
and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS
UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls
before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness
unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take
of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the
Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
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(Zechariah 14:1-21)
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Bearing all the foregoing in mind, it is no wonder that Jesus, who had
experienced it all, exclaimed:
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Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and
the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of
Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest
them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children
together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings,
and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye
shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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(Luke 13:33-35)
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And we see also that Jesus Christ, a priest forever after the order of
Melchisidec will not come to Jerusalem again until He is welcomed.
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In Revelation chapter twenty-one we understand that the new Jerusalem shall
come down from heaven onto a new earth and that Jerusalem shall be the
City of Peace, the Everlasting Capital. And of Righteousness and Holiness
because the Lamb of God shall be the Light thereof.
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We watched a program on kid's vacation-time television yesterday, and sometimes
we "watch the news" and occasionally read a "newspaper", and the similarity
between the world of today and the Jerusalem of the days of Ezekiel is
striking. We know what happened to that City of old and how it was restored
by Zerubabbel et al2.
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How long is God going to wait before restoring the world and giving Jerusalem
peace?
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Is there anything that we, reborn of the Holy Spirit of God can do about
hastening the coming of the Everlasting City?
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In the light of the words of Jesus, it would appear so.
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The following is from Derek Prince's book "Chords From David's Harp".
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Peace Through Prayer
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Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
they shall prosper that love thee.
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(Psalms 122:6)
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This call to prayer for Jerusalem
is addressed to all who accept the Bible as God's authoritative Word. God
requires all His people from every nation and every background to be concerned
about the peace of one particular city: Jerusalem.
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For this there is an important,
practical reason. God's purpose for this age will climax in the setting
up of His Kingdom. Each time we pray the familiar words Thy kingdom
come, we are aligning ourselves with this purpose. We must remember,
however, that the prayer continues, Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven. It is on earth that God's kingdom is to be established.
His kingdom is invisible as yet to human eyes, but it is not something
vague or amorphous. Ultimately it will have a tangible, earthly realisation.
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The capital and centre of God's
Kingdom on earth will be the city of Jerusalem. The administration of righteous
government will go forth from Jerusalem to all nations on earth. In response,
the gifts and worship of these nations will flow back to Jerusalem. Thus
the peace and prosperity of all nations depend upon that of Jerusalem.
Until Jerusalem enters into her peace, no nation on earth can know true
or lasting peace.
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To all who heed God's call to
love Jerusalem and pray for her peace, God gives a special, precious promise:
they shall prosper. The word translated prosper goes beyond the
material realm. It denotes a deep inner well-being, a freedom from care
and anxiety. As we align ourselves with God's plan for world peace by praying
for Jerusalem, we experience even now a foretaste of that peace.
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Is this a prophesy for the Israel of today?
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For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God,
of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the
Holy One of Israel.
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(Jeremiah 51:5)
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The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former
of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD
of hosts is his name. Thou art my battle axe and weapons
of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee
will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse
and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his
rider; With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee
will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces
the young man and the maid; I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd
and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and
his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all
their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
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(Jeremiah 51:19-24)
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He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with
ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering
mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath
them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to
my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that
we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
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(Lamentations 3:16-22)
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Here is some more concerning Jerusalem:
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There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of
God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is
in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and
that right early.
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(Psalms 46:4-5)
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Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the
midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. And
she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and
my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for
they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in
them. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than
the nations that are round about you, and have not walked
in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according
to the judgments of the nations that are round about you; Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and
will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will
not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
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(Ezekiel 5:5-9)
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And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the
fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders
of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.
Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance
of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the
appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the
form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted
me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of
God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the
north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh
to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there,
according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me,
Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted
up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate
of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore unto
me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations
that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from
my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations. And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked,
behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in
the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said
unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So
I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable
beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall
round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of
the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of
Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense
went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients
of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his
imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the
earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt
see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of
the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold,
there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen
this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see
greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court
of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD,
between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men,
with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward
the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto
me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the
house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here?
for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke
me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will
I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity:
and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not
hear them.
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(Ezekiel 8:1-18)
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To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem,
and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith
the Lord GOD.
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(Ezekiel 13:16)
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And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth
month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that
had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
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(Ezekiel 33:21)
- These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
- (Hebrews 11:13-16)
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But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and
to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And
to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling,
that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
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(Hebrews 12:22-24)
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Ancient of Days
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Blessing and honour, Glory and power
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Be unto the Ancient of Days.
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From every nation, all of creation
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Bow before the Ancient of Days.
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Every tongue in heaven and earth shall declare Your glory,
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Every knee shall bow at Your throne in worship,
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You will be exalted, O God and Your Kingdom shall not pass away,
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O Ancient of Days.
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Your Kingdom shall reign over all the earth,
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Sing unto the Ancient of Days:
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For none can compare to Your matchless worth,
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Sing unto the Ancient of Days.
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The City of Jerusalem is that place where God shall rule
from, forever.
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May it be your eternal Home!
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1 The Fall of Mankind
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2 If Ye Continue
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3 www.hosanna.org.za
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4 With All His Saints
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