Page 85 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

Before anyone lived in the area, Jewish tradition says this is also the location where Abraham nearly
sacrificed Isaac. According to Genesis 22:2, God instructed Abraham to take Isaac to “the region of
Moriah” and sacrifice him there. No other geographic description of the area is given, though the
Temple Mount today is often referred to as “Mt. Moriah.” When God mercifully ended a deadly plague
that was killing thousands of people in Jerusalem, David purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:15-25) and dedicated the area for the first Temple. David also brought the Ark of the
Covenant to Jerusalem and made the city the capital of the United Kingdom.

The honor of building the Temple fell to David’s son Solomon. Solomon also built his own palace,
constructed pools and gardens, enhanced fortifications and made the city the most beautiful in the
world. At that height of Solomon’s reign, the presence of God filled the Temple to such an extent that
even the priests could not perform their duties (2 Chronicles 7:1-2). At the low point, many years later,
Solomon built multiple temples to pagan gods on the Mount of Olives (1 Kings 11:7-8) to please his
foreign wives.

It is an irony that a city named for “shalom” has seen so little peace in its long history. From the time of
the Judges to 100 AD., the city was besieged at least 17 times. Jerusalem was destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC and again by Rome in AD 70.

In 1948, the United Nations declared Jerusalem to be an “international city,” open to all people even as
the organization partitioned what was then called “Palestine” into Jewish and Arab sections. In the war
that immediately followed, Jewish forces lost their hold on the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and were
barred from returning until they recaptured Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel has held
control of the city since that time.

Jesus visited Jerusalem many times. He was dedicated at the Temple as an infant. He drew the attention
of spiritual leaders and teachers at the Temple when he was only 12. According to Luke 2:41, Jesus was
taken to Jerusalem for Passover each year by Mary and Joseph. In his ministry, Jesus seemed to be in a
constant debate with the ruling Pharisees and Sadducees. He also performed many miracles in the city.

Jesus was crucified just outside the city walls, in sight of the Temple where so many lambs had been
sacrificed on behalf of God’s people. He was laid in a borrowed tomb and raised again to life on the third
day following his execution. Today the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands
over the traditional location of both the
crucifixion and resurrection. In the First
Century, the church would have been
outside the city walls. The ancient-
looking city walls we see today are only
500 years old.

Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days
later from the Mount of Olives, also
called “Olivet.”

Aerial view of the Mount of Olives today

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