– DVD video chapter – Jerusalem

– Location –

Many definitions and descriptions of the city of Jerusalem have been offered over the years, but none seem to quite capture the magic and mystery of the place.  One thing is for certain--Jerusalem is like no other city on the face of the earth. 

– Scripture –

·         Psalm 122:6 - “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:  They who love thee shall prosper."

·         Psalm 125:1-2 - "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, who cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore."

·         Micah 4:2-3 - "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.  The law will go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.  They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.  Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

·         Zechariah 8:3 - "This is what the Lord says: I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.  Then Jerusalem will be called The City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called The Holy Mountain."

·         Mark 10:33-34 - "We are going up to Jerusalem, Jesus said, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Three days later he will rise."

·         Matthew 23:37-39 - "Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

·         Revelation 21:1-2 - "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." 

– Questions –

1.  Why did God choose Jerusalem to be what is called the “navel of the universe.”  Look at the a map of the ancient world and see why Jerusalem is so very significant It is a small land bridge about                     miles wide between 3 continent: Africa, Asia & Europe.  For thousands of years Armies have marched and fought for this crucial bridge.

2.      Is this why Jerusalem is so significant to more than half of the religious world, Christian, Jewish and Muslim?

 – Map (from www.anova.org) – http://www.anova.org/sev/atlas/htm/056.htm