Jerusalem Day in History and Prophecy
I remember one particular Jerusalem Day some years ago when I was leading a group of foreign tourists out of the Old City just as thousands of celebrants were marching into the city with joyous flag waving and patriotic zeal. We were like salmon swimming upstream, stopping occasionally at various shops to exchange our money for goods with happy shopkeepers.
Jerusalem Day, in Hebrew Yom Yerushalayim, is Israel’s newest holiday and commemorates the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish control at the end of the Six-Day War. In 2023 (5783 on the Jewish calendar) Jerusalem Day begins at sundown on Thursday, May 18, and ends at nightfall on Friday, May 19.
After Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, Jerusalem was a divided city with its eastern portion and all of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) ruled by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan – its boundary marked by a green line. Jewish people were expelled from the West Bank and from Jerusalem’s Old City, even from the Jewish Quarter, and were thus unable to hold regular prayer at the Western Wall.
Jordanian army snipers stationed on the Old City walls often shot at Jewish citizens outside and made life miserable for anyone nearby. Bullet holes from that time can still be observed on the stone walls near the windows of the mayor’s office in Jerusalem (bullet-hole-ridden Zion gate pictured above). Jewish cemeteries on the Mount of Olives were often vandalized with the tombstones removed to be used for paving stones.
However, on June 7, 1967 (Iyar 28, 5727) Jerusalem was liberated from Jordanian control, and three days later Jewish people were once again allowed to pray at the Western Wall for the first time in 19 years.
Moshe Dayan, the Israeli Defense Minister known for his famous black eyepatch, made a statement on the day of the city’s reunification that is often repeated on the annual celebration of Jerusalem Day:
This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have united Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our Holy Places, never to part from it again.
To our Arab neighbors we extend, also at this hour – and with added emphasis at this hour – our hand in peace. And to our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples’ Holy Places, and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety, and to live there together with others, in unity.[1]
Jerusalem Day specifically celebrates this reunification of Jerusalem, no longer a divided city after 19 years. But there is also the recognition that Jerusalem has finally come once again to be governed by Jewish sovereignty for the first time in nearly 2,000 years! For this reason, Israeli schools devote “the week preceding this day to enhancing the knowledge of the history and geography of the city, with a special emphasis on the unique role that it played in Jewish messianic aspirations since Biblical times.”[2]
Messianic aspirations? Yes, the Hebrew Scriptures predicted that Israel’s Messiah would rule on David’s throne in Jerusalem.[3] The prophet Daniel further explained that at a time which can be calculated to the first century during the life of Jesus the Messiah would be “cut off” and soon afterwards the city and its temple would be destroyed.[4]
But the Scriptures also predict a regathering of the Jewish people to the land and to Jerusalem.[5] And one day the Messiah will set His feet on the Mount of Olives, defend Jerusalem, and establish His rule with living waters flowing from the holy city.[6]
Ultimately, the Messianic hope of all of Scripture awaits the fulfillment of the prayer recited in synagogues worldwide: “And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and His name will be one” (Zechariah 14:9). Looking forward to the reign of the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), the psalmist instructs worshipers to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).
Talk about a reunification! Perhaps you will join us in prayer for the ultimate Jerusalem Day!
Written by Tim Sigler, Life in Messiah Board Member
Will you take a moment right now to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6)?
Perhaps you would like to come see Jerusalem for yourself and be involved firsthand in sharing God’s heart for the Jewish people through one of our upcoming travel opportunities.
This year Jerusalem Day will begin on Thursday, May 18, and ends the following evening on Friday, May 19. Anytime leading up to this could be an opportunity to wish your Jewish friends “Chag sameach!” (Happy Holiday!) and to ask them what they know about Jerusalem Day. Perhaps your heartfelt greeting will lead to a gospel conversation.
Endnotes:
[1] https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/General/11-statement-at-the-western-wall-by-defence-minister-dayan
[2] https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/yom-yerushalayim-jerusalem-day/
[3] Psalm 132:11; 89:3-4; 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:6-7; see Luke 1:31-32.
[4] Daniel 9:24-26.
[5] Isaiah 11:12; 43:5-7; 66:8; Jeremiah 16:14-15; Zechariah 8:4-8.
[6] Zechariah 14:1-8.