Jerusalem

The most famous city on earth. Its name means “city of peace.” Jerusalem was the capital of Israel under David and Solomon. It was captured by David from the Jebusites. David later made this part his royal home when he became king. In this city, Solomon erected his beautiful temple to God. After Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms in 930 BC, Jerusalem continued to be the capital of Judah, the southern kingdom.

The city was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC when the southern kingdom was defeated and many of its people taken into exile in Babylon.

Around 538 BC, some Jews were able to return to Jerusalem and start to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the walls of the city, beginning about 445 BC. During the next five hundred years, Jerusalem was ruled by a number of countries including Greece, Persia, Egypt, Syria, and, finally, Rome. It was during the Roman rule that Jesus visited Jerusalem several times and once wept about how it wouldn’t listen to His message. He was finally crucified there. After He rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem and went back to heaven from a hill near the city.

The first Christian church was formed in Jerusalem after the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples during the Feast of Pentecost. The city was completely destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. After it was rebuilt beginning in AD 136, it came under the control of many rulers. The city became part of the modern nation of Israel in 1967. Today it is considered a sacred city by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The Muslim Dome of the Rock (where Abraham is said to have offered his son as a sacrifice to God) now stands on part of the area where the temple once stood.