My Question to us today is simply this: Does this verse apply to you and to me today? And if our answer is “yes”….then what are we called to do about it? And if not… why not?
Obviously, in this blog, I can only hope to touch on some issues but it is my hope that this will provoke us to further prayer & exploration on this question, in light of God’s Word and current world events.
First, because this verse is from the Old Testament rather than the New, some might argue that that this verse – and the multitude of others like it about Jerusalem from the Old Testament - are not as relevant to our Christian lives today as the verses from the New Testament.
Yet Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” Paul wrote this verse in 66 or 67 AD, and since the New Testament was not even fully written or circulated until about 100 AD, I would submit that Paul – the former Jewish Pharisee - was definitely including in his definition of “Scripture”, what we call the Old Testament. In fact, it is helpful for us to remember that the entire early church was made up of Jews who followed the Jewish Rabbi Jesus, who believed in a Jewish Messiah, who attended a Jewish synagogue, who honored the Jewish festivals and Shabbat, and who accepted the Jewish Sacred writings. There was not one non-Jewish name that appeared in the leadership of the Jerusalem Church until after 135 AD.
Even Jesus said He had not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matt. 5: 17) and theological scholars like S.A. Cook warn us against arbitrarily severing the two Testaments. So for our purposes today, let’s proceed as though God just might be talking to us about something for our lives today.
Now In this verse, God says that He has placed Watchmen on the Walls of JERUSALEM.
1. Is there an actual city called Jerusalem? Not a metaphor but is there an actual piece of real estate called Jerusalem in this world today? If there is, then God just may be talking about THAT particular piece of land. And this is not some wild stretch of the imagination because in Scripture, God calls this city of Jerusalem the “City of God”, “The City of The Lord”, “The Mountain of the Lord of Hosts”, and “The City of the Great King”…Jesus.
Now as those “grafted into the Covenant of Abraham”, we can - when praying & reading Scripture - interpret “Jerusalem” to mean our own city here in America, but we should also remember that the secondary application of Scripture should never deny the primary one.
Three times in the book of Joel, and also in Leviticus 25: 23, we are told that the land belongs to God Himself and given the amount of Scripture where God talks about this land and His purposes for it, I think we can safely assume He really cares about what is happening there right now, and what will happen there in the future.
2. Does this city need watchmen today? YES – by all means! Today, we are seeing the actual fulfillment of prophecy from Zechariah which says that Jerusalem “is becoming a “cup of trembling” or as the NIV reads, “a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples [the 22 Arab nations around Israel] reeling”. Just read the headlines and listen to the world news and you will see - as exemplified by the actions of the United Nations and the European Union - how all the nations are beginning to turn against her, just as the Prophet Zechariah warned. (Zechariah 12: 1 – 4; Zechariah 14:12; Ezekiel 38:16)
It is not just a battle over land as political leaders say, it is not just a battle between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority, it is not just a battle between the Israel Defense Forces and the terrorist groups of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, nor is it a battle between the Democratic values of Israel and the Theocratic beliefs of the surrounding Arab nations; it is ultimately a battle over WHO will be worshipped on that Holy Hill….Jesus – the King of the Jews, the Savior of Christians, and the Messiah of both – or Allah, the false god of Islam.
Because Jerusalem is THE very place where Jesus will return one day, Jerusalem IS the center of this End Time Battle. He is not returning to New York City, nor Tokyo, or Colorado Springs. No, Zechariah 14:3 and Micah 4:1 & 2 tell us that when Jesus returns, His feet will stand on the Mt of Olives, a very literal place in the very real city of Jerusalem today.
3. Do we know when this will happen? NO…but we do know some prerequisites that must take place before it does:
Jesus said in Matt. 23:39 that He would not return UNLESS and UNTIL the very people that had once rejected Him would welcome Him back as King Messiah saying “Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai” – Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
For them to welcome Him back, the Jewish people have to be in the God’s Land where Jesus lived and ministered. The Bible repeatedly tells us that although the Jewish people were scattered by God throughout the nations, that “there would be a day” when He would re-gather them into the land of their ancestors never to be uprooted again. This spiritually historic event happened in 1948 when God brought beauty out of the ashes of the Holocaust and Israel not only became a nation, but miraculously survived the immediate attack of 5 powerful Arab countries.
Jerusalem too would have to be restored as the capital of the Jewish people, just as Zechariah prophesied, rather than be controlled by Islamic invaders. This incredibly significant event has also already happened - in 1967 - when Israel miraculously won Jerusalem back in a defensive battle against the Muslim nations, making it the first time since 606BC that Jerusalem was the capital of an independent Israel.
God still has other plans for this land and its people… many of which are being fulfilled right before our very eyes while others have yet to happen. For example - Paul tells us in Romans 11 that God plans a national salvation of the Jews; he calls it “their fullness” in verse 12. But in order for this to happen, a significant revelation will have to take place in the minds & the hearts of Jewish people because the sad fact is that Christian nations have historically been the source of persecution for Jewish people for the last 2000 years: The Crusades by Pope Urban, the Pogroms in Christian Russia & Poland, the Inquisition in Catholic Spain, The Holocaust in Lutheran Germany, and the mounting anti-Semitism throughout Europe & the West today. Many atrocities were done to Jewish people in the name of Jesus that did NOT reflect the Spirit of Jesus. You and I have the opportunity here on earth to live out the life of the real Jesus – The One Who “ever intercedes”- revealing the true nature of The One we worship and serve.
God is looking for His Watchmen today - those who hear His voice, know His Word, and know His heart - for His Holy City and for “the apple of His eye.”
Well - WHO are the watchmen that God is addressing in this verse? Is it simply for the Jewish people to pray? Is it simply for the Messianic Church to pray? Is prayer to be done only by those intercessors who have a burden for the Jewish people, or for Israel, or for Jerusalem?
The verse says that God is speaking to “YOU WHO CALL UPON THE LORD…” Have you called upon the Lord for salvation? Have you ever called upon Him for the healing of a loved one, or for the healing of a broken marriage, or for the return of a prodigal child? If you or I have “called upon the Lord”, then God is talking to YOU and to ME.
Other translations say “You who make mention,” which is even today a Hebrew business term describing the duty of a secretary to remind her boss of what he has scheduled to do for the day. Have you ever reminded God of His Promises to you, for your family, for The Church? Well if you or I have, then it means us as well.
God has only attached His Name to two groups of people – two groups who share in the Covenant; one group is The Church and the other group is the Jewish people (Deut.28: 10 and Numbers 6:27). One group is called “The Root” according to Paul in Romans 11, and the other is called “the branches” that were grafted in through Jesus.
Think about this. There is no nation in history that was twice destroyed. Jerusalem - Israel’s capital and religious center - was twice destroyed. The people en masse were twice taken off the land. The last captivity was for 1900 years and the language was all but extinct. So for this nation to be reborn and have the same capital, the same language, and the same religion, has to be seen as the supernatural & sovereign act of God!
God’s Hand is STILL intervening in the affairs of our world, on behalf of His Holy City.
And what does God tell us to do? God is telling us in His Word to pray …to pray day and night, to pray without ceasing, and to pray without earthly sides. He wants us to pray from His perspective, not from politics, and for His plans, not the worlds’. There are many good things for which we should pray, but when we take what is special to God and make it special to us, He takes what is special to us, and makes it special to Him.
We are called to stand in the gap and to pray for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done, here on earth – in His Holy City, in this spiritual center of the world – upon which hinges the future Kingdom of God and the redemption of all mankind.
Furthermore, God tells us that we are to pray UNTIL HE ESTABLISHES Jerusalem as “A PRAISE” in all the earth…
And when will Jerusalem be “a praise” in all the earth? It will be when we see ALL that that God has planned and purposed for His Land, for His people – Jewish and Christian, as well as for the ALL the nations – come to pass through “the city of the great King” - Jerusalem. It is THEN that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the GLORY of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
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Christians Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
JERUSALEM, Israel -- Millions of Christians around the world joined the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem on Sunday.
Hundreds of Christians in Jerusalem joined participants from 175 nations and more than 300,000 churches for this year's event.
"This is the Day for Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem," Rev. Dr. Robert Stearns, with Eagles' Wings, told the crowd that gathered on the Haas Promenade overlooking Jerusalem.
The inspiration comes from Psalm 122:6, which says to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper who love you."
Organizers say the event is the largest Jerusalem-focused prayer initiative in the world.
Stearns told CBN News that prayer is especially important now because of growing tension between Israel and its neighbors and enemies. "Right now I believe it's vital for Christians to pray for truth to come to the forefront. The amount of lies that so surround these issues with Israel and the Middle East -- incredible amounts of media distortion, are all over the place," Stearns said.
"We've got to pray to for truth and discernment, and that's why I encourage people to become educated on these issues," he said.
Knesset Member Gila Gamliel, deputy chair for the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, said she came to bless the Christians.
"This support brings us -- as the leaders of Israel -- to feel we are not alone. We have a lot of support from all over the world," Gamliel said.
"I want to thank all of them about all their support and prayer, and this is why we are very strong here in Israel to stand very strong about keeping Jerusalem united forever," Gamliel told CBN News.
Columnist Michael Freund, director of Shavei Israel, said it's very moving to see such strong solidarity with Christians around the world.
"We know that Jewish-Christian relations over the past 2,000 years have had some very rough spots. So to be standing here now and to see Christians praying fo
By Nicole Jansezian for www.Travelujah.com
Special to ASSIST News Service
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (ANS) -- At a time when Israel faces caustic criticism and a rising tide of anti-Semitism from nations around the world, Christians gathered in Jerusalem -- and thousands more tuned into a live broadcast -- to pray during the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem on Sunday.
This year's attendees included an array of Christians including Palestinians taking part in the Jerusalem event. Around the world, 300,000 churches had signed up to host their own gatherings to pray while the event was broadcast live on God TV, a Christian satellite channel.
"It is incredibly moving to see so many Christians who have come together for the purpose of praying for the peace of Jerusalem," columnist Michael Freund, director of Shavei Israel, told Travelujah. "These people sincerely love Israel and they believe it is part of their obligation to bless Israel. We gladly welcome them."
Christian leaders from Jerusalem and around the world called for prayer including Rebecca Brimmer, director of Bridges for Peace, who noted that the supplication was originating from and were prayed for the city where God chose to put his name.
This was the first time that a Catholic priest joined the line up in the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. A pastor from Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, also prayed for Israel.
Robert Stearns leads worship at the prayer event.
(Photo courtesy Travelujah).
"The need has never been greater," he told Travelujah. "The whole world is taking sides regarding Jerusalem."
Stearns also noted that in his 10 years organizing this event that cooperation between believers has never been stronger.
Palestinian Christians prayed for the peace of the city alongside Jews and international Christians. Prayer was also lifted up for persecuted Christians around the world and for Israel's neighbors, including the Palestinians.
"We are not praying because we have all the answers," Stearns said. "We are praying because we need God's wisdom."
Gidon Ariel, an Orthodox Jew who runs Root Source, which promotes understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians, said that Israel gets to know who her friends her during the tough times.
"This (event) speaks to Israel that you have friends and you are not alone," he told Travelujah. "These Christians are taking up what they believe to be their responsibility as believers in the God of Israel as he wrote in his Bible to (pray for the peace of Jerusalem)."
Knesset Member Gila Gamliel, deputy chair for the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, and Naomi Tsur, deputy mayor of Jerusalem, were some of the Israeli dignitaries who addressed the event.