Although what we know definitely about the history of Jerusalem dates from about 1000 B.C., it is certain that the city existed in some form long before this. We know that the Jebusites had settled in the area of Jerusalem before the Hebrew conquest of Canaan and that they were not definitely defeated until David’s time. In Egyptian history, the city is mentioned under another name as far back as 1400 B.C. Going even farther back, the title of Melchizedek, who was contemporary with Abraham, is “king of Salem” (see Gen. 14:1818And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. (Genesis 14:18)). While the Word of God does not directly say so, Salem probably refers to Jerusalem. Thus it is quite likely that the city existed at least in 2000 B.C. This makes it one of the older cities of the world.
Perhaps no city in the world has been the subject of so much interest by various peoples and the object of so many attacks. It has been destroyed at least twice, attacked more than fifty times, and captured and recaptured forty-four times. It continues to be fought over to this day. It is not our intention to go over the history of the city in detail, but knowing the time-line of some of the principle events in its history might help us to understand how God has worked and continues to work in that city, which Scripture calls “the city of the Lord” (Isa. 60:1414The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 60:14)) and “the beloved city” (Rev. 20:99And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. (Revelation 20:9)).
From David to the Captivity
Even after Joshua’s defeat of most of the Canaanites, the Jebusites continued to occupy the site of Jerusalem, and it was only when David became king that they were eventually dislodged. Then David made Jerusalem the capital of the nation of Israel. Under Solomon the city reached its zenith, with the beautiful temple, Solomon’s house, and his “house of the forest of Lebanon,” which was probably an administrative building. But then Israel’s departure from the Lord resulted eventually in God’s disowning of them, and Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar about 605 B.C. This event ushered in the “times of the Gentiles,” and Jerusalem was to be more or less under Gentile control for more than 2500 years. When the puppet king Zedekiah reneged on the oath that he had sworn and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, the city was largely destroyed about 587 B.C. Later under the Persians, about 520-515 B.C., the temple was rebuilt, and then about 450 B.C. the walls were rebuilt. All this was done by Jews who had returned from their Babylonian captivity, but still under Gentile control.
From the Times of the Gentiles
After the Persians were conquered by Alexander the Great (332 B.C.), the city was under Grecian rule of one kind or other until the Maccabean revolt, which for a short time re-established Jerusalem as the capital of a Jewish kingdom. But it was not to last, for the Romans under Pompey conquered the area in 63 B.C. As we well know, the land of Israel was under Roman rule when our Lord came to this world and continued as such until the seventh century A.D., when the Muslims captured the city. Except for two brief periods (1099-1187 A.D. and 1229-1244 A.D.), when the crusaders captured Jerusalem, it was under Muslim rule until 1917, when the British took over the city during World War I.
Recent Years
When the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, the city was partitioned between Israel and Jordan, but then during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel recaptured the eastern part of the city and since then has had military control over the whole city.
Today Jews, Muslims and Christians all have a strong interest in Jerusalem, and the eyes of the whole world are constantly focused on it. Despite the fact that Israel now has military control over it, only an uneasy truce exists between the various warring factions. We know that not only Jerusalem, but ultimately the whole land of Israel, will again be overrun by the King of the North during the great tribulation, bringing terrible destruction. But the day is coming when it will again be the “city of peace,” as its name implies. Only when our Lord Jesus Christ has His rightful place will this happen. In that glorious millennial day it will indeed be “the joy of the whole earth” and “the city of the great King” (Psa. 48:22Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. (Psalm 48:2)).
W. J. Prost