Just a few days ago, Israel celebrated a significant day known as Yom Yerushalyim, or Jerusalem Day. This year, it fell on May 14th at sundown and ended Friday evening, 24 hours later. Another name for this celebration is the “Dance of Flags” (ריקוד הדגלים, Rikud HaDegalim). On this day, people of all ages fill the streets of Jerusalem, carrying Israeli flags, singing, dancing, and rejoicing together. The march itself begins in the city’s center in West Jerusalem and ends at the Western Wall, where prayers such as the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) are sung. The celebrations continue late into the day.
This day commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem on June 7, 1967, during the Six-Day War, when Israel regained East Jerusalem and took control of the Temple Mount. It marked a deeply significant moment in Israel’s history after nearly 2,000 years of the Diaspora.
Jerusalem itself has an extraordinary story to tell. About 3,000 years ago, it became Israel’s capital when King David conquered the city. Since then, Jerusalem has been captured and recaptured 44 times. It has been attacked about 52 times and has been completely destroyed twice.
It is this city, Jerusalem, that holds such an important place in the Scriptures. It is mentioned 671 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 142 times in the New Testament, for a total of 813 times. And this is still not the end of its story, for even in eternity we will remember its name, because heaven itself is called the New Jerusalem.
As for its global importance, the Lord considers it the Center of the World. When we look at a map, it may not appear to be the center, but in God’s eyes, it is. In this prophecy, Ezekiel specifically addresses the return of the Jewish people to their homeland in 1948, and God says, “The people who are gathered from the nations… who live at the center of the world” (Ezekiel 38:12). This refers to Israel. The Hebrew word for “center” is tabur, which can also mean the highest point or the navel of the earth. Truly, Jerusalem is central to God’s plan, for it is there that Jesus will return, and from there He will reign as King over all the earth. This is why so many conflicts surround this city.
For many in Israel today, Jerusalem Day awakens this deep Messianic hope more than ever. But this year, something is unfolding in Jerusalem, particularly on the Temple Mount. Although Israel regained control of East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in 1967, the administration of the Mount itself remained in Muslim hands because of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Since then, Jews have been officially prohibited from praying on the Temple Mount.
However, today some openly challenge that restriction by praying there. Last Thursday, Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, waved an Israeli flag on the Temple Mount and spoke of what he called a “revolution.” He boldly called for the removal of the mosques and the construction of a Third Temple. He also said, “Jews no longer walk around the Mount like thieves and no longer need to hide. It is moving every single time to see many Jews praying and prostrating on the Temple Mount, the holiest site for the Jewish people.” Things are moving rapidly on the Temple Mount, and since a Third Temple is necessary for many end-times prophecies to unfold, we can see that its future construction is very close.
The prophet Daniel, the apostle Paul, and John all spoke of a Temple that would be present and functioning during the Tribulation. Add to this Yeshua’s own statements about its existence and function in the end times. In this way, Jerusalem Day should stir the hearts of every believer in the Scriptures, reminding us that His Second Coming is drawing near.
This day also brings to mind an important prophecy from Yeshua in Matthew 24, where He said, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.” For nearly 2,000 years, Jerusalem remained under the control of many different nations, empires, and dynasties. But when Israel, the fig tree, regained Jerusalem, and today it seems to be heading toward regaining the Temple Mount as well, all of this marks the beginning of the fulfillment of this great prophecy. The return of Israel to her land reminds us that “summer is near”; that is, the Messianic Age is drawing closer. We are living in it today.
Yet notice that, in this prophecy, the fig tree first produces branches and leaves, while the fruit, the spiritual renewal, is still to come. And when that fullness finally comes, Paul writes in Romans 11:12, “Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!” If, through Israel’s stumbling, persecution, and dispersion, so many blessings came to the world, especially the bringing of the Word of God to the nations, imagine what blessings will come when Israel is fully restored.
And though it may not seem so today, as antisemitism rises and much of the media turns against Israel, the day is coming when the best of Israel will be revealed, when Yeshua returns to fulfill all His promises to His people and His city.
Click here for the Video: Israel and the Nations – Jerusalem, the Center of the World