The compendium of network news analysis is that Jerusalem is simply the center of a common dispute over a geographical capital. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is much deeper spiritually. Both entities claim a moral right to this ancient city. However, the dispute is not based solely on a historic geographic location, but rather more on an ethereal need for justified identity.
A Brief History
Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its origins can be traced back to the Jebusites. A reference to the city can be found on Egyptian tablets from the dawn of recorded history. It has been destroyed, rebuilt, besieged, attacked, and captured many times.
Over the centuries, from the Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, and through the Crusades, Jerusalem was the center of religious and political imperatives. It is the only city in the world claimed by more than one religion as its spiritual capital and claimed by more than one people as their political capital. Physical control of this city has been the objective. There are numerous fortified cities in many countries throughout the world. Most today are museums. History has moved on. Whether located at a mountain pass or on a critical navigable river, walled cities are obsolete. Their gates are symbolic remnants of controlled passage and protected fiefdoms. Jerusalem remains as the only city of antiquity whose walls and gates still stand today, not as remnants of cultural purity, but as visions of faiths defined.
The city of Jerusalem is most holy to the three great religions of the world -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham is the father of all three religions. It was on Mount Moriah in the old city of Jerusalem that Abraham obediently met his test of faith by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The Temple Mount in the old city is the location of Abraham’s obedience and given covenant with God. God the Father declared to Abraham that He would make him the father of many nations and of many descendants and give the whole land of Canaan to his descendants.
The Three Claims of Spiritual Identity
King David claimed the city of Jerusalem for Israel in 1010 BC. In the Old Testament, God gave the Promised Land to the Israelites across the Jordan River. This land is Israel today. David established the city as the capital of a united Kingdom of Israel. The city of David became the symbol of Judaism by unifying the kingdoms of Judea and Israel. David’s son, King Solomon, oversaw the building of the first temple. The foundational building blocks of the original temple and the Western Wall are still evident today. There can be no denial of Israel’s standing declaring a governmental administrative presence in Jerusalem.
Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, entered the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as prophesied in the Old Testament. He preached at the Temple. According to the Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected in Jerusalem. The term Holy City emerged in the times of Jesus.
In the 7th century AD, Muhammad established the religion of Islam. He claimed to be a direct descendent of Abraham. While praying at the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, Muslims believe he was transported by the angel Gabriel in an incredible night journey of over 600 miles to ascend into heaven from Mount Moriah. This miracle confirms to Muslims that Muhammad was the descendent heir to Canaan.
Jerusalem is more than a geographical location at the center of a sovereign cultural. It is the heartbeat of spiritual purpose and identity for these three great faiths.
The Authority Over the Rock
The physical presence of a symbol of a religion and authority over its governance are critical to the faiths of Judaism and Islam. Christianity believes that Jerusalem is a sacred city, both physically and spiritually. Judeo-Christian faith believes that Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophesies of the Old Testament.
Israel cannot give up governing authority over the Temple Mount and remain faithful to God’s covenant with Abraham. Islam believes they are given authority over all the earth in this system of things. In their quest for dominion, the faith must have control over the sacred site of Abraham’s covenant to affirm this purpose. Jerusalem must then be under their authority as the spiritual capital signifying the identity of their faith.
Government control of the ancient city of Jerusalem, in this system of things, is critical to the claim and or obedience of who are the anointed descendent heirs of Abraham.
The bloodlines of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David are the heirship of Jesus. Christianity believes in the Old Testament. The City of David is the spiritual capital of the Judeo-Christian faith.
Muhammad is of the bloodline of Ishmael, a son of Abraham. The hereditary lines of Islam are completely outside the lines of Jewish patriarchs. This is why Muhammad’s ascendance to heaven was believed to have been from Mount Moriah, not Mecca.
The Peace Negotiations
Jerusalem has been a city under the struggle of competing spiritual interests for over 3,000 years. It is incredible to ponder the fact that no other city in the history of the world has been so emotionally crucial to humanity for three millennia.
Today’s conflicts are anchored to post-World War II history. In 1948 during the Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was captured and annexed by Israel. In the 1967 Six Day War, Israel annexed East Jerusalem. In 1980, Israel declared Jerusalem as the country’s undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government, including the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), are located in Jerusalem.
Palestinians claim the same territory and the same capital for a Palestinian state. Even though the conflict today appears to be political in that two sovereign cultures claim the exact same land for their national authority, it is the primeval passion of connectivity to Abraham, and therefore, God’s direct covenant, that underlies the emotion of the conflict.
By moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Donald Trump has recognized Israel’s historical claim to Jerusalem as evidenced by history. In this act, he did not identify the ultimate boundaries of Jerusalem. A two-state solution is still possible.
Hamas must first agree that Israel has a right to exist. The peace process cannot move forward until all parties recognize the dignity of the identity of their adversaries. By establishing the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, the United States has declared that Israel has existed, does exist, and has a right to exist as a nation-state. To that extent, the peace process template has been moved forward positively. The recognition of reality, and the evidence of historical confirmation, is productive.
The word dénouement means the unraveling of a complicated plot to its logical conclusion. The unraveling of complicated situations need not be difficult if truth is respected.
May the dénouement of Jerusalem unite the souls and spirits of all humanity, blending not only all hope of all peoples, but the legacy of all generations.
David’s Song of Ascents
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7 May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.
Psalm 122
What do you believe?