Jerusalem Divided; Is it God’s Will and Will it Bring Peace?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently told the Jerusalem Post that dividing Israel with the Palestinians may be inevitable because of mounting international pressure. One such proponent for this division is the United States, who is one of Israel’s staunchest allies. As I write, President Bush is in Israel meeting with top officials of both Israel and the Palestinian authority, to try and move this peace process along.

The proposed division would, presumably, reset the borders of Jerusalem back to pre-1967 war borders, where East Jerusalem was under the rule of Jordan. During the 1967 war Israel took East Jerusalem by force and has occupied it even since.

When we look into the Word of God there are two important questions we need to ask in reference to this peace proposal. First; Is it God’s will to divide Jerusalem? And Second; Will it bring a long sort after peace to the region? In order to answer these questions we must look at what Scripture tells us.

In reference to the first question, ”Is it God’s will to divide Jerusalem?” no one can deny the importance of Jerusalem to Almighty God. The Bible’s first reference to Jerusalem comes in Genesis 14:18, “Melchizedek king of Salem [later called Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High,” (Amplified Version).

At this point in time the area later known as Jerusalem, is called Salem. Since Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High, and he was the king of Salem, this ancient city must have already been important to God, and set the tone for what was in store for Jerusalem.

The meaning of the name Jerusalem (in Hebrew, Yerushalayim) , is not quite clear, but many have come to the agreement that it may mean “legacy of peace.” How they determine that is by breaking down the word into its two parts. Yerusha, means legacy, and Shalom means peace. In Genesis 14:18, Jerusalem was called Salem (in Hebrew, Shalem), meaning harmony.

In Psalm 76:1-3, we get more confirmation that Salem was always important to God, because it mentions in verse 2, that Salem is God’s tabernacle and dwelling place. In Psalm 110:4, God Himself, gives Melchizedek high esteem, because in this prophecy he references Melchizedek when He speaks of Jesus, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Throughout Scripture we can detect no doubt that Jerusalem was always important to God, but we also see that Jerusalem would one day need to be restored to God’s chosen people. Throughout the book of Zechariah, God speaks of a future Jerusalem which He will once again choose as “the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of Hosts” (Zechariah 8:3).

Why would God have to reclaim it when the Jewish people have already been restored to Israel? Because the government of Israel is about to further divide God’s Holy City to a people that God prophesies will one day not inhabit the land. We read in Zechariah 14:21, “Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts” (bold mine).

I highlighted the name Canaanite, because it is very interesting that God mentions them here. Although Canaan was a grandson of Noah, it is also a reference to a region where most likely Canaan may have settled with His descendants; that region is known today as the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian people now have control of this territory, since Israel, as recently as 2005, had turned over authority of this land to them, which was a part of historical Israel.

Canaan was also the territory that God wanted Moses to send spies into, so they could see the land that God was giving them; we read this in Numbers 13:1, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.’” This land, as well as Jerusalem was consecrated by God to the Israelites. God never intended for Israel to give it away, even if it was in the name of a future peace.

In the book of Zechariah, God has a lot to say, through the prophet, in reference to His future plans for Jerusalem. One very interesting verse, which I believe, ties right in to what’s happening today with this division of Israel and Jerusalem, is found in Zechariah 2:1-2, “Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, ‘Where are you going?’ And he said to me, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.’”

Why would Zechariah have a vision of a man measuring Jerusalem? Because the Israeli government has already handed over the land of Canaan to the Palestinian people in 2005, as we saw in Numbers 13:1. If they continue to let international pressure push them toward dividing Jerusalem in an attempt to bring peace to the Middle East region, it is going to usher in the prophetic events of the end time destruction when God will reclaim and restore Jerusalem once again, but this time it will be the final time. In order to restore Jerusalem, its borders will need to be redrawn, hence the man measuring Jerusalem.

In Obadiah 1:11, we read, “On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.” Could this be referring to the proposals for peace that we’ve been hearing so much about? Could the United States be leading the way in casting lots for Jerusalem by pushing Israel into dividing up its God given borders?

The word “aloof” here, may refer to Israel’s distance from God’s Word, after all they did not accept God’s Messiah to them, Jesus Christ; and the distance from God in understanding the magnitude of what they are about to do. Strangers carrying off wealth, could be referring to the fact that Israel is giving up invaluable land that is precious to God, and all to a people that God prophesied will not inhabit the land when God reclaims it, as we read back in Zechariah 14:21.

Which brings me to my second point, will this division bring the long sort after peace? Scripture gives us the answer to that, as well.

The book of Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of only twenty-one verses, but has a prophetic message that details past, present, and future prophetic events. I’ve already highlighted verse eleven of the only chapter of Obadiah.

Keep in mind that these same people that Israel has already relinquished the area known as Canaan to (West Bank and Gaza Strip), are the same people who have caused terror and for centuries threatened to annihilate Israel from the face of the earth. To this day, even after Israel gave up the land of Canaan, which God ordained to Israel, the Palestinians have continued to launch rockets into innocent residential communities in Israel.

What would lead us to believe if parts of Jerusalem were given to them, that anything would change? The one thing it will do is give Israel’s enemies greater access to bomb the interior cities of Israel, which is what I believe will happen if this land is given to them.

In Obadiah verse 15, we read, “The day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” Anyone who turns against Israel will have consequences to pay. In March 2005, Israel, with encouragement from the United States, began to hand the West Bank and Gaza Strip over to the Palestinian authority. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast of the United States.

Are these two incidents related? Of course, only God knows that. I am a proponent that God’s anger against mankind will be held back until the end times, when Scripture says God will unleash His wrath on the world and mankind. But it is an intriguing thought, and wonder if God may have unleashed a little bit of His wrath on America for getting involved with dividing His land.

As we continue with the book of Obadiah, verse 18, is an ominous message for the Palestinian people, it reads, “’The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau.’ The LORD has spoken.” The Palestinian people were descended from Esau. The house of Jacob, and the house of Joseph belong to Israel.

Why does God say this will happen, because the Palestinian people as well as neighboring nations will eventually turn against Israel after a time of false peace that Israel will believe is sincere, but their enemies will never intend to fulfill. The Ultimate goal of the Muslim people in the Middle East, is to annihilate Israel.

The remainder of Obadiah goes on to tell of a future Israel where Hebrew people will possess what are Palestinian and Arab areas today, because God will wipe them out. The final verse of Obadiah reads, “Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD's.”

For Israel and those Christians who support them, they will finally have that long sort after peace, but it will not be brought about by mans peace process that has been ongoing for decades now. It will not occur until Jesus Christ returns to reign for a thousand years in a world freed from sin, sickness, disease, and any other form of pain and suffering that we experience now.

As for President Bush, my prayer is that God will open his eyes to this truth within the Bible that even he proclaims his faith to, but doesn’t grasp this truth within its pages. But, what this peace process will do, if it is culminated, will begin a sequences of events that will bring us to the prophesied end time events that are foretold in the Bible’s pages.

Jesus told us to watch the signs of the times to know when these end time events are taking place, so you will be ready when your Lord and Savior comes to take you to the prophesied place of safety that is reserve for the believers in Messiah, Jesus. If not, you will be left behind to suffer through what the Bible describes as the most cataclysmic event in the history of mankind.

So in answer to our two questions, ”Is it God’s will for the division of Jerusalem?” and “Will it bring a long sort after peace?” The answer to both questions are, no! But, everything is falling into place just as the Bible says it will, setting up the return of Jesus Christ, the Jewish Yeshua, to usher in these cataclysmic events of God’s wrath. Will you be ready?

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