The Psalmist sang of Jerusalem in glowing words:
"Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion,
on the sides of the north, the city of the great King."
(Psalm 48:1-2)
For long centuries past, Jerusalem has been a city of desolation and sadness.
Today it is being restored to its ancient glory and gladness. Probably no other
city in the world has passed through so many vicissitudes, from the depths
of sorrow to the heights of joy, as has this city set on top of Mount Zion.
History records that Jerusalem has been besieged 46 times and completely
razed to the ground 17 times. It has been a city of glory and beauty, and a
place of ruins and desolation. It has been a city of righteousness and justice,
and one of hypocrisy and wickedness. It is the most famous city in the
world, for in and around it have taken place the greatest events in the
history of mankind. Jerusalem was captured by the Israelites
not long after they entered the promised land.
The Jebusites regained possession of it, and the city had to be reconquered by
King David some 400 years later. Under King Solomon, the city reached the
zenith of its ancient glory. We are told that, "Solomon exceeded all the kings
of the earth for riches" and "made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones."
Later, in spite of the warnings of the prophets, the iniquity of the city
became greater and greater until it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar,
the king of Babylon. In the days of the Lord's earthly ministry,
Jerusalem had once more become great and flourishing.
The temple built by King Herod was one of the wonders of the world.
In A.D. 70 the city and the temple were destroyed by the Romans exactly
as foretold by our Lord. Since that time, the history of Jerusalem has been
one long series of conflicts and repeated desolation. These continued until
the middle of the last century. Then began a gradual growth.
But the development was very slow under Turkish dominion*. Scarcely
any modern improvements were introduced under the Turkish regime.
In 1917, came the astonishing capture of Jerusalem by General Allenby
without the firing of a single shot. It was nothing less than a divine
providence that the city should have been taken from the Turks without
its being besieged and partly or largely destroyed as been the case
so frequently during its long and checkered career.
This wresting of the city, and later the land from the Turks paved the
way for the new era which began when Palestine became " a national
home for the Jews" under the British mandate. Since that time, the
restoration and rebuilding of the city has proceeded so rapidly that
today-after less than a score of years-Jerusalem is once more
becoming "a city of glory and beauty".
During our stay in Jerusalem it was my privilege to get a vivid word-picture
of the city from one who saw it while it was still in desolation, before it
began its upward march to restoration and prosperity.
The narrative was given me by Canon J.E. Hanauer, who resided in Jerusalem
for more than eight years. He is the oldest Anglican clergyman in the
Jerusalem diocese. He is an earnest student of prophecy. He knows
Jerusalem thoroughly and has written a book entitled,
"Walks About Jerusalem".
Canon Hanauer told me how he came to Jerusalem as a child with his parents.
He said, "I was born in Palestine. My father was a missionary in Jaffa. In 1853,
when I was about three years old, the family moved to Jerusalem. It took us
the greater part of two days to reach the city ( a trip that is now made by
motor car in less than two hours.) There was no road-only mule tracks
through the mountains. With the exception of the group of buildings
outside the Zion Gate, there was not a single house outside the city wall.
The gates were closed each day from sunset to sunrise. No one could leave
the city or get into it without a special permit from the Turkish government.
Within the walls, the city was simply a mass of ruins. With the exception
of the great convents, there was not a house that was in good repair.
Large areas of ground within the walls were unoccupied by buildings
and were used for agricultural purposes.
Europeans who wished to live in the city might find a house but they would
have to have it repaired at their own expense. The rooms of the lower floors
were filled to the ceilings with the rubbish of centuries, and the doors were
blocked up with masonry. In order to make the houses habitable, it was
necessary to remove the masonry which blocked up the doors and to
clear out the rooms with pick and shovel.
Then the walls had to be whitewashed and plastered before the house
could be used as a dwelling. In front of buildings in course of erection,
it was usual to see the skull of an animal hung up to ward off "the evil eye".
A change for the better came at the close of the Crimean War in 1856.
People then began to have sufficient courage to build outside the city walls.
However, the gates of the city were always kept closed from sunset
to sunrise until the year 1885. In conclusion, Canon Hanauer said,
"I have seen the city in its lowest depths of degradation, and I
thank God that I lived to see it restored to prosperity."
More than 2500 years ago the prophet Jeremiah looked down the long
corridors of time and foretold the boundaries of Jerusalem as they are today.
In Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 38 to 40, we read:
"Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord
from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring
line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass
about to Goath. And the whole valley of dead bodies, and of the ashes,
and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse
gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be
plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever."
This prophecy of Jeremiah regarding the future boundary lines of the
city of Jerusalem is one of the most remarkable forecasts of material things
ever made in the history of mankind. Here is an Israelitish prophet daring
to predict with the precision of a surveyor the exact building development
of a great city thousands of years after his words were penned. No other
writer outside the Bible has ever attempted such a thing.
It is a striking proof of the supernatural inspiration of the Bible, for all men may
see for themselves with what wonderful precision the prophecy has been fulfilled.
Let us briefly trace the gradual fulfillment of Jeremiah's prediction. Little by little,
for centuries past, one after another of the clauses of the forecast have been
accomplished until now at last the entire prediction has almost or quite
been consummated. Notice that the first part of the prophecy reads:
"The city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate
at the corner." That building line from the tower of Hananeel to the gate of the
corner, or the Jaffa Gate, is within the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem,
and was fulfilled centuries ago.
Next, the prophet says: "The measuring line shall yet go forth
over against it upon the hill of Gareb." This second boundary of the
hill Gareb is outside the walls of old Jerusalem looking westward.
It was about fifty years ago that buildings reached that spot.
The line then proceeds still farther westward beyond the wall of the city:
"And shall compass about to Goath."
There is still some difference of opinion about the exact location of Goath,
but personally, I am convinced that the contention of Mr. Ernest Beaumont,
and others in Jerusalem, that Goath is at a point some distance west
of the hill Gareb is correct. It is very striking that it is only during
the past two years that the city hast extended right up to Goath.
The fourth clause of the prophecy gives another measurement which circles
round from Goath to a point northwest of the city:
"And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes."
The city reached the place of the ashes- a great pile of ashes -doubtless from
the temple sacrifices some 30 to 40 years ago, and it is only just now touching
"the valley of the dead bodies."
The final measurement made the northeast boundary of the city extend to
"all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate
toward the east." One morning we hired a car and went to see with our own
eyes the marvelous manner in which the city of Jerusalem is spreading
out, little by little, like some sturdy plant, until it has now practically
touched these farthest points of the boundary lines foretold by Jeremiah
with such amazing accuracy, so many centuries ago.
Thus the boundary lines foretold by Jeremiah go westward from the
Jaffa Gate, then northward and eastward. They form a complete semicircle
from the western to the eastern side of the city. It is quite significant that the
prophet does not limit the growth of the city southward towards Bethlehem,
and it is in this direction that Jerusalem is now extending and will probably
continue to expand rapidly during coming years.
Who can doubt the supernatural inspiration of the Bible after such a
scientific demonstration as the foregoing? Almost overnight, Jerusalem
is becoming a really modern city. In the downtown district, stately stone
buildings are being rapidly erected. Most of them are being built of
gray, or pink and gray sandstone, which can scarcely be excelled for
beauty in any part of the world. The new post office building, now
under construction, will be up-to-the-minute in its appointments.
Large office buildings are springing up like mushrooms.
In residential sections, beautiful homes and apartments are multiplying
in an unprecedented manner. Until the year 1929, Jerusalem was lighted
only be candles and oil lamps. Today there are 43 miles of electric mains
supplying 3,200,000 units to 6000 consumers.
When I was in Jerusalem four years ago I stayed in a home some distance
from the heart of the city. When I wanted to go downtown it was necessary to
make the journey on foot or call a taxicab. Today, there are buses everywhere.
The different routes carry passengers quickly, comfortably, and cheaply to
various parts of the city. Even the shop windows are becoming transformed.
Formerly, they were cluttered up with a medley of goods like an eastern bazaar.
Today, many of them are so artistically arranged that they are fast becoming as
fascinating as those on Fifth Avenue in New York or on Oxford Street in London.
It is not an infrequent sight to witness a company of 40 or 50 young people
marching through the streets of Jerusalem singing. Their hearts are filled
with joy that at last their beloved city is being restored to its ancient glory.
With almost feverish haste the city is being beautified and adorned
and made ready for the return of the King.. Ere long Jerusalem
will again become in very truth, "the city of the great King"
the Lord Jesus Christ, and "the joy of the whole earth."
"Restoring Glory To Jerusalem"
Excerpts from the book,
"Rebuilding Palestine According To Prophecy"
By George T.B. Davis
(C. 1935)
The Million Testaments Campaigns
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Printed in the United States of America
*The Ottoman Turks ruled over Jerusalem from 1517-1917
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