Inside the city of Jerusalem at dawn.
Although the sky looks cloudy it hardly ever rains at this time of the year.
It burned off in a very short time and was sunny all day.

Inside the city of Jerusalem at sunset.
This was taken from our hotel room.

Frank with panoramic view of the city behind him.
This was taken outside the city.

Same view as above without Frank.

Sorry, this is a little blurry - it was taken from a moving tour bus.
This is one of the walls surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem.

The city of Jerusalem taken from the Mount of Olives.
You can plainly see the eastern wall of the city.
Slightly to the right you can see the eastern or "Golden Gate".
It is sealed and it can only be broken by the Messiah when he comes.

JERUSALEM [jeh ROO sah lem] (city of peace) - sacred city and well-known capital of Palestine during Bible times. The earliest known name of Jerusalem was Urushalem. Salem, of which Melchizedek was king (Gen. 14:18), was a natural abbreviation for Jerusalem. Thus, Jerusalem apears in the Bible as early as the time of Abraham, although the city had probably been inhabited for centuries before that time.

The city of Jerusalem is mentioned directly in the Bible for the first time during the struggle of Joshua and the Israelites to take the land of Canaan (Josh. 10:1-4). Their efforts to take the city were unsuccessful, although the areas surrounding it were taken and the land was given to the tribe of Judah. Still remaining in the fortress of the city itself were the Jebusites. Thus, the city was called Jebus.

Jerusalem Under David. After the death of Saul, the first king of the United Kingdom of the Hebrew people, David was named the new king of Israel. One of his first efforts was to unite the tribes of the north and south by capturing Jerusalem from the Jebusites, making the city the political and religious capital of the Kingdom (1 Chr. 11:4-9). Because it was captured during his reign, Jerusalem also came to be known as the "City of David." The city is often referred to by this title in the Bible.

David built a palace in the section of Jerusalem that served previously as the Jebusite stronghold. This section, situated in the highest part of the city, frequently is referred to as Mount Zion. The location was probably selected because it was easily defended from invaders.

Jerusalem has little to recommend it as a capital city, when compared to other major cities of the ancient world. It was an inland city not situated near a seaport. Moreover, it was not near the major trade routes used during that time. Why, then did David select Jerusalem as the capital of his nation? The reasons are twofold.

First, Jerusalem was centrally located between the northern and southern tribes. Thus, it was geographically convient for the nation. The central location of the city tended to unite the people into one kingdom.

Second, the topography of the city made it easy to defend. Jerusalem was situated on a hill. The eastern and western sides of the city consisted of valleys that made invasion by opposing forces difficult. The southern portion consisted of ravines that made an attack from this position unwise. The best point from which to attack Jerusalem was the north, which had the highest elevation of any portion of the city. It was from this position that attacks on the city were made in the centuries following the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital.

David also made Jerusalem the religious capital of the nation. He moved the Ark of the Covenant, which had been kept at Kirjath-jearim (Josh. 15:9) to Jerusalem. One of his desires was to build a temple in the capital city, but he was prevented from completing this task. The prophet Nathan instructed him that God did not want him to built the temple because his hands had been involved in so much bloodshed (1 Chronicles 17). David did make preparation for the building of the temple, however, leaving the actual building task to Solomon, his son and successor.

During the reign of David, Jerusalem was firmly established politically and religiously as the capital city of the Israelite nation. The selection of this site resulted in the unification of the nation as David had hoped.

But the selection of Jerusalem as the capital was more than a choice by a human king. Devine providence was also involved. Jerusalem was referred to as "the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there" (Deut. 12:5, 11, 14, 18, 21).

Jerusalem Under Solomon. The glory of Jerusalem, begun under David, reached its greatest heights under Solomon. Solomon proceeded to construct the Temple about which David dreamed (2 Chronicles 3; 4). He also extended the borders of the city to new limits. Because surrounding nations were engaged in internal strife, Jerusalem was spared from invasions from opposing forces during Solomon's administration.

After completing the temple, Solomon built the palace complex, a series of five structures.

These other buildings were the "house of the Forest of Lebanon," an assembly hall and a storage place for arms; an anteroom for the throne, where distinguished guests were received; the throne room, an ornately carved enclosure that contained the throne, which was made of carved ivory inlaid with gold; the king's palace, which was very large so as to hold the king's family; and the residence for Solomon's Egyptian wives, which adjoined the king's palace.

Solomon also planted vineyards, orchards, and gardens that contained all types of trees and shrubs. These were watered by streams and pools that flowed through the complex. Unfortunately, this splendor came to an end with the death of Solomon about 931 B.C. The division of the kingdom into two separate nations after Solomon's reign resulted in the relapse of Jerusalem to the status of a minor city.

Jerusalem Under Seige. After the death of Solomon, the division that occurred in the kingdom resulted in the ten northern tribes establishing their own capital, first at Shechem and later at Samaria. The southern tribes, consisted of Judah and Benjamin, retained Jerusalem as the capital. Although separated politically from Jerusalem, the northern tribes continued their allegiance to the "holy city" by occasionally coming there for worship.

In 722 B.C., the northern tribes were conquered by the Assyrians. Many of the citizens of the northern kingdom of Israel were deported to the Assyrian nation, never to return to the "promised land." But the Southern Kingdom, with Jerusalem as its capital, continued to exist as an independent nation. Although occasionally threatened and plundered by surrounding nations, Jerusalem remained intact until 586 B.C. At that time, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, ravaged the city and carried away the inhabitants into captivity. During the seige of the city, Jerusalem's beautiful Temple was destroyed and the walls around the city were torn down. While a few inhabitants remained in the city, the glory of Jerusalem was gone.

The memory of Jerusalem among the Jewish people, however, would not die. They continued to grieve and to remember the City of David with affection. Psalm 137 is a good example of their expression of grief.

The Restoration. For more than half a century the Jews remained captives in Babylonia, and their beloved Jerusalem lay in ruins. But this changed when Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians. He allowed the Jewish captives to return to Jerusalem to restore the city. Zerrubbabel was the leader of a group that left Babylon in 538 B.C. to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. After a period of over 20 years, the temple was restored, although it was not as lavish as Solomon's original Temple had been.

Under the leadership of Nehemiah, a second group of Jewish exiles returned to the holy city to restore the wall around the city. Through a masterful strategy of organization and determination, "the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days" (Neh. 6:15).

During the succeeding years of domination by the Persian Empire, Jerusalem apparently enjoyed peace and prosperity. Whwn Alexander the Great conquered Persia, the Jews were reluctant to pledge loyalty to the Greek ruler, perferring instead to remain under Persian rule. Only by tactful concessions of religious privileges was Alexander able to win the loyalty of the Jews.

Jerusalem During the Period Between the Testaments. The years that followed the death of Alexander brought many contending armies into conflict in the territory that surrounded Jerusalem. But the greatest threat to the Jews was the onslaught of Greek or Hellenistic culture, which threatened to erode the Jewish way of life. When the Jews resisted Greek cultural influences, the Greek leader Antiochus IV Epiphanes attacked the city and destroyed the temple. Many of the inhabitants fled the city, taking refuge in the surrounding hills.

Led by Judas Maccabeus, these inhabitants later recaptured Jerusalem and restored the temple. The successors to Judas Maccabeus were able to gain independence and to set up Jerusalem as the capital of a newly independent Judea - a position the city had not enjoyed since its defeat by the Babylonians four centuries before. This situation prevailed until the Roman Empire comquered Judea and reduced Jerusalem to a city-state under Roman domination. This was the situation that prevailed during New Testament times.

Jerusalem in the New Testament. The wise men who sought Jesus after His birth came to Jerusalem because this was considered the city of the king (Matt. 2:1-2). Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Jerusalem played a significant role in His life and ministry. It was to Jerusalem that He went when He was 12 years old. Here He amazed the temple leaders with His knowledge and wisdom (Luke 2:47). In Jerusalem He cleansed the temple, chasing away the moneychangers who desecrated the holy place with their selfish practices. And, finally, it was outside Jerusalem where He was crucified, buried, and resurrected.

The record of the New Testament church indicates that Jerusalem continued to play a significant role in the spread of Christianity. After the martyrdom of Stephen, the early believers scattered from Jerusalem to various parts of the Mediterranean world (Acts 8:1). But Jerusalem always was the place to which they returned for significant events. For example, Acts 15 records that when the early church leaders sought to reconcile their differences about the acceptance of Gentile believers, they met in Jerusalem. Thus, the city became a holy city for Christians as well as Jews.

The Jerusalem of New Testament times contained a temple that had been built by Herod, the Roman leader. Although the main portion of the temple was completed in 18 months, other areas of this building were still under construction during Jesus' ministry. In fact, the temple was not completed until A.D. 67 - only three years before it was finally destroyed by the Roman leader, Titus, and the Roman army.

As Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 24, the city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed in A.D. 70. The temple was destroyed, and the high priesthood and the Sanhedrin were abolished. Eventually, a Roman city was erected on the site, and Jerusalem was regarded as forbidden ground for the Jews.

Modern Jerusalem. In 1919, under a ruling by British official in Palestine, Jerusalem regained its status as a capital city. During the following three decades, numerous Jews, whose ancestors had been barred from the city, settled in and around Jerusalem. A new city, whose population was predominately Jewish, was constructed west of the site of the old city. Following the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-49, the new city was allotted to the Jews, while the old city remained in Muslim hands. Less than two decades later, as a result of what has become known as the Six-Day War, the old city and the surrounding countryside were captured by Israel. It has remained occupied by the descendants of the biblical Israelites until the present day.

Topography. Unlike many other ancient cities, Jerusalem is neither a harbor city nor a city situated on trade routes. It sits about 2,500 feet above sea level in mountainous country about 37 miles from the Mediterranean Sea and 14 miles from the northern end of the Dead Sea. The site seems unattractive because it lacks an adequate supply of water, is surrounded by relatively infertile land, and is hemmed in by deep valleys and difficult roads.

But these disadvantages were probably the major factors that led to its establishment as a capital city. Its location made the city a fortress that could be easily defended against attack - a very important consideration in Old Testament times.

Topographically, Jerusalem was built on two triangle-shaped ridges that converge to the south. On the east lay the ravine known as the Kidron Vally. On the west lay the deep gorge known as the Valley of Hinnom. At the southern border of the city, the two valleys converged. Only on the northern border was the city vulnerable to attack.

The lack of a water supply was solved by using a natural spring that flowed from the Kidrom Valley. During the reign of Hezekiah in the Old Testament period, this spring was diverted underground so that it flowed into the city. Thus, the inhabitants of the city had water, while invading armies did not. Accoding to 2 Chronicles 32:30, "Hezekiah . . . stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the City of David." Hezekiah's new water supply helped save the city when it was attacked by the Assyrians a short time later (701 B.C.).

Jerusalem is considered a holy city not only by Jews and Christians but also by Muslims. The Book of Revelation speaks of a "new Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:2), a heavenly city fashioned by God Himself for those who are known as His people.