JERUSALEM is, in a sense, the capital city of the world. The Christian, the Jew and the Mohammedan regard it with extraordinary interest and veneration. Its name signifies The City of Peace," and yet no city has been so often pillaged and demolished, only to be rebuilt and repeopled. Twenty-seven times has this been its fate, but Jerusalem, revered, lifted up, rockbound and rock-undergirded, lives to-day. We have letters from an Egyptian governor of Jerusalem to Pharaoh written a century before Moses. It is mentioned in Genesis by the name of Salem. As a national center, it dates from the time of its capture by David,2 Sam 5:6-9,1040 B.C., and as a religious center five years later, when the Ark rested within its walls. For the next two thousand years Jerusalem suffered severely at the hands of Egyptian, Israelitish, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Roman kings and armies, terminating in the siege and taking of the city in 70 A.D. by Titus, at which time the temple was demolished and the daily sacrifice ceased. For two centuries and more Jerusalem was completely pagan. Shrines to Jupiter and Venus were erected on the site of the temple. The name Jerusalem was suppressed, and Jews forbidden to come within sight of the city under penalty of death. Jerusalem first became Christian about 330 A.D., and remained such for three centuries. In 614 A.D. Chosroes, the Persian, captured it, and thirty years later the Arabs gained possession, set up the standard of Mohammed and changed the name to ElKuds, "The Holy," by which it is still known in the East. For several hundred years the city was captured and recaptured by contending forces, and since 1244 has been a Moslem city. Calvary. Figure 11 "There they crucified him." Luke 23:33. "Nigh to the city." - John 19: 20. "Without the gate." Heb. 13: 12. This historic and sacred spot is outside the city wall, north of Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate. History and tradition lend themselves to the belief that it was a place of public execution 2,000 years ago. The hill is enclosed by a high wall, and bears the name "Gordon's Calvary," after the famous Christian general who identified the place. The "Garden Tomb " is near by. The City Wall on the East Side. Figures 12, 19 The distance from the northeast corner to the southeast corner of the wall is about three quarters of a mile. St. Stephen's Gate. Figure 13 It is probable that Christ was led through this gate on the way from Gethsemane to the high priest's house. It is named after Stephen, who was stoned near this spot. Acts 7:59. It is the only exit in the eastern wall. Figures 14, 18 These show the limits of the temple courts, which include about 1,000 square feet and were entered by several gates, most of which are now closed. The Golden Gate. Figure 15 Through this portal Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It has been "built up" for more than a thousand years. There are those who think this is in fulfillment of Ezek. 44: 1-3. There is a belief that some Christian king will enter through this gate and take Jerusalem from the Moslems. The Mosque of Omar. Figure 16 This imposing structure stands on the site of Solo mon's Temple, and is octagonal. It probably cover the spot where Abraham offered up Isaac,- Gen. 22,also the threshing floor of Araunah which Davi bought "and built there an altar unto the Lord." 2 Sam. 24: 24. The rock on which the altar burnt offerings stood is under the dome of this buil ing, which gives it its local name, "the dome of t rock." A hole through the rock probably carri away the offal of the sacrifices. It is now in 1 possession of the Mohammedans. The Mosque El-Aksa. Figure 17 This mosque was originally a Christian chu and is located on the south side of the temple a It is built over vaults of great antiquity. The Ko mentions this place. It is regarded by Moham dans as the holiest of places after Mecca. David's Tomb. Figure 1 b is situated on Mount Zion, at the souther of Jerusalem, outside the wall. A >vers the tomb. The room of the Last shown. "The patriarch David, that he is and buried, and his sepulchre is with us lay." - Acts 2: 29. See also Neh. 3: 16. ewish Synagogues. Figures 2, 3 ure the two principal synagogues in Jeruwhich there are about seventy. They the Sephardim and the Ashkenazim comor sects of Jews. David's Tower. Figure 4 >wer is near the Jaffa Gate and was origiebusite stronghold. It was taken by David, 1. 5:6-9,- and is now used as Turkish barMr. Sankey when in Jerusalem climbed er and sang "Hold the Fort." The German Church. Figure 5 nodern church inside the city is built on the the ancient monastery of the Knights of a. The German Emperor visited Palestine ; present at its dedication in September, 1898. Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Figure 6 This church is believed to contain the tomb of Christ, and the cave in which the Empress Helena found the cross in the third century. At Easter thousands of pilgrims crowd the church to witness the ceremony of the holy fire. The Catholic Cathedral. Figure 7 This cathedral is inside the city wall and near the new gate which was opened in 1889 in the northwest angle of the wall. It is dedicated to St. Peter and has a fine chime of bells. Monastery and Church of Notre Dame. Figure 8 This is one of the largest and finest buildings outside the walls of Jerusalem. Russian Buildings. Figure 9 These buildings are located on the high ground north of the city. They comprise a church, hospital and schools. Thousands of Russian pilgrims are housed here during their visit to Jerusalem. Abyssinian Church. Figure 10 In this church the Christian Ethiopian worships. The building is round, so as to exclude corners, in which they believe Satan might hide. Religious Facts Concerning Jerusalem By length of occupation the religion of Mohammed has the strongest claim upon possession of Jerusalem. It has been dominant there for about eleven and a half centuries, the Jewish religion for about ten, the Christian for four and the heathen religions of Syria and Rome for about three centuries. Each of these periods has been broken by intervals, the Jewish by the Exile and the Syrian conquest, the Christian by the first and second victories of the Saracens, the Mohammedan by nearly a century of Christian ownership during the Crusades. All these are subsequent to the taking of the city by David, behind which lies the long past of Jebusite, Egyptian and unknown ownership. Even in those early days Jerusalem seems to have been a religious center, for Abraham, returning from his successful pursuit of the Eastern invaders, stopped and gave tithes to its king, Melchizedek, "the Priest of the Most High God." In him Abraham recognized a brother of common faith. There have been six great buildings used as the central shrine of these religions, two of which, the Mosque of Omar and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, are still standing. The first was Solomon's temple, which stood for three centuries and a half, then Ezra's, which lasted for nearly five centuries, and was replaced by Herod's temple, which was not quite a century old when the Romans destroyed it. The third was Hadrian's Jupiter temple, which lasted over a century. The Christians deserted the actual temple site for the place of the Holy Sepulchre, and their church has lasted, with many changes, more than a millennium and a half. The Mosque of Omar has served nearly thirteen centuries for Moslem worship and nearly one as a Christian church. |