Weekly Update: How long will the nations trample on Jerusalem?

Every year around this time, the UN General Assembly adopts a series of resolutions criticizing Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians.

One of these resolutions is often about Jerusalem, repeating the international community’s objection to Israel’s “reunification” of the city (bringing it under Israeli jurisdiction) in 1967. This resolution inevitably refers specifically to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – perhaps the most controversial, contested site in the world, sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

The resolution adopted this year on Jerusalem refers to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, solely by its Muslim name, “Haram al-Sharif” – thus implying that this is an exclusively Islamic site. The omission of reference to the fact that the mount was the site of the second Temple was of course a deliberate attempt to erase Jewish history. This was described by the U.S. as “morally, historically and politically wrong.”

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 129 to 11, with 31 abstentions – marking an increase in the 14 countries that abstained when it was last voted on in 2018. This time, a number of European states changed their votes. Czech Republic and Hungary moved from previous support to voting against the resolution, joining “No” countries like Israel, the U.S., Canada and Australia.

This shows that the overwhelming majority of UN Member States still has no objection to this distortion of history. But it also shows there is an increasing number of States who realize that it is unacceptable to erase Jewish connection with the Temple Mount.

In Biblical terms, the UN represents, as it were, the Gentile world. These kinds of resolutions reflect the thinking and mindset of the Gentiles towards the Jewish people, and towards the land of Israel and Jerusalem in particular. Most Gentile nations object deeply to the Jewish people having sovereignty over Jerusalem. Some (a very small minority) accept Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, and some of these have expressed this by placing their embassies in Jerusalem.

We are reminded that Jesus predicted that “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24). For the last two thousand years, the Gentile world has “trampled on”  Jerusalem: in 135AD the Romans destroyed the city and annihilated the Jews, scattering the remnant over the earth, and since then the nations have always tried to keep control of Jerusalem, and have prevented the Jews from having control of the city. Today, it is the United Nations that objects to Jewish (Israeli) sovereignty over the city, and the Islamic world that demands exclusive control of the Temple Mount.

The Bible predicts that Jerusalem (Zion) will be the centre of conflict in the days preceding the coming of Messiah. That will be a conflict between the “nations” and the Jewish people, who are restored to the land (see eg. Zechariah 12 and 14 and Joel 3). This may be the same time that the “times of the Gentiles” will be “fulfilled”, and the Gentiles will no longer “trample on” Jerusalem, but the city will come fully under the control of the King of Israel.

The growing tension around the city of Jerusalem (especially the Temple Mount) suggests we may be very close to that time.

UN again denies Jewish connection to the Temple Mount

Israel Today reports: “The fact that the resolution only uses the Muslim name “Haram al-Sharif” for the Temple Mount speaks volumes. The UN is being used as a platform by the Palestinian Authority and some Arab states in their blatant efforts to convert Judaism’s holiest site into an exclusively Islamic shrine.”
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UN Condemns Israel in 3 Resolutions, Erases Jewish Connection to Judaism’s Holiest Site

Un Watch reports: “Yesterday the UN General Assembly adopted three one-sided resolutions targeting Israel, as part of a total of 14 resolutions being adopted over the next month that target the Jewish state, with only five on the rest of the world combined.

‘It’s absurd that in the year 2021, out of some 20 UN General Assembly resolutions that criticize countries, 70 percent are focused on one single country— Israel. What drives these lopsided condemnations is a powerful political agenda to demonize the Jewish state,’ said Hillel Neuer.”
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2021-2022 UNGA Resolutions on Israel vs. Rest of the World

UN Watch reports: “In the current 76th session of the UN General Assembly (2021-2022), EU member states are likely to vote for one resolution each on the human rights situations in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, and Crimea. See second table at bottom, showing resolution texts and votes. By contrast, EU states will likely vote in favor of nearly all 14 resolutions singling out Israel.

These same EU states have failed to introduce a single UNGA resolution this year on the human rights situation in China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Turkey, Pakistan, Vietnam, Algeria, or on 175 other countries.”
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Christ is the end of the Law| Romans 9-11 with Johannes Gerloff #23

“Christ (Messiah) is the end of the law” (Romans 10:4) is certainly one of the most controversial statements in the New Testament – and maybe one that has been most abused throughout the history of Christian theology. What shall we make of it?