"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to
all the surrounding peoples...I will make Jerusalem a very heavy
stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be
cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against
it"
by Darris McNeely
The Bible characterizes the ancient capital city of Jerusalem as a
holy city as well as a type of Sodom and Egypt, two ancient cities
that typified sin. This is quite a contrast for a city that three
major religions revere.
Talks that seemed to promise peace suddenly broke down in 2000,
leading to weeks of bloody violence in the last months of the year.
The central contentious issue was Israeli and Palestinian
disagreement on who should control Jerusalem.
An article in The New York Times during negotiations summarizes the
problem: "Jerusalem is rarely publicly discussed by Israeli or
Palestinian leaders in anything but black-and-white terms. It is
the 'eternal, undivided capital' of Israel, on the one hand, and
the future capital of the Palestinian state on the other: seemingly
irreconcilable concepts that have led many intelligent politicians
to recommend that the issue be left unresolved in the current,
supposedly final, peace talks" (May 21, 2000).
The most hotly contested part of the city is the area called the
Temple Mount, the site of two Islamic mosques as well as the
Western Wall of the temple precincts destroyed by the Romans almost
2,000 years ago, which is important to the Jews. The Palestinians
hope to claim permanent sovereignty over the site and gain a
significant victory in the long-standing struggle between Arab and
Jew.
Indeed, Jerusalem's status remains unresolved and a huge stumbling
block in any effort to reach a meaningful accord.
The prophet Zechariah predicted the politically central position
and troublesome nature of the city in the end time: "Behold, I will
make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples
... I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all
who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all
nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah
12:2-3).
