“For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.”
Isaiah 62:1 NKJV

     Are you aware that there is only one city in the entire Bible that all people groups of all periods of time are commanded to pray for by name? There are many cities from the many different timelines of the writing of scriptures ‘til this day that are still in existence: Damascus, Rome, Cairo, Tyre, and other ancient cities. Psalm 122:6 states, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.’” Then let’s add in 2 Chronicles 6:6, where it states, “I have chosen Jerusalem to that My name might be there…” While God has given us the priestly privilege of interceding for our respective cities and nations, no city but Jerusalem is mentioned as one that every God-fearing believer must pray for. 

It is a city where East meets West—a city of great contrast, great conflicts, and a great destiny. She is indeed unique, both in the world and in the heart of God. Maps in ancient times displayed Jerusalem as the center of the earth. She is mentioned 881 times in Scripture. In my travels around the world, I have Jerusalem to be a city like no other. She gets under your skin. She slips into your heart. Jerusalem is indeed a city where the past, the present, and the future meet.

Her Many Names 

The meaning of a name given to a person, family, city, or nation often reveals a portion of its prophetic destiny. As we peek through the veil, we see glimpses into divine purposes when we correctly interpret and gain an understanding of names. The inspired authors of Scripture have given this unique city many different names over the centuries. Let’s consider some of her names as recorded throughout biblical history and look at her prophetic destiny. 

  • City of David (2 Samuel 6:10; I Kings 11:27; 2 Chronicles 8:11)
  • City of God (Psalm 46:4; Psalm 87:3)
  • City of Judah (2 Chronicles 25:28)
  • City of Joy (Jeremiah 49:25)
  • City of Peace (Hebrews 7:2)
  • City of Praise (Jeremiah 49:25)
  • City of Righteousness (Isaiah 1:26)
  • City of the great King (Psalm 48:2; Matthew 5:35)
  • City of the Lord (Isaiah 60:14)
  • City of Truth (Zechariah 8:3)
  • Gate of God’s People (Obadiah 1:13; Micah 1:9)
  • Holy City (Nehemiah 11:1, 18; Isaiah 48:2; 52:1; Matthew 4:5; 27:53; Revelation 11:2)
  • Throne of God (Jeremiah 3:17)
  • Zion (I Kings 8:1; Isaiah 60:14; Zechariah 9:13)

Wow! Jerusalem is called everything from “the city of God” to “the holy city.” It looks as if there must still be a lot of His Story (history) yet to come to pass in the destiny of Jerusalem. 

History Speaks 

History speaks, and we must listen to her wisdom. But often, to our chagrin, history speaks with a deafening silence. It can be argued that the United States has been Israel’s greatest ally in recent history. But other pages in her history have not been as glorious. On some of Israel’s bleakest hours, America and the nations of the world have closed their ears to the piercing cries of the Jewish people. We tend to forget what God remembers. 

I remember visiting the Dachau concentration camp with Michal Ann back in the 1970s. My father’s father is primarily of German descent, and I was stunned by the lingering evidence of what my people had done. How could such atrocities occur in modern civilization? It was as though I could still hear the cries of the Jewish people echoing in those vacant barracks. Even so, the defiant cry still rang out from inside the Nazi death camps: “Next year in Jerusalem.”

What was this echoing I could hear? Was it a reciting of a prophetic promise? Throughout the centuries, the destiny lingered but a remnant believed. These beleaguered people were looking for, longing for, and praying for their own homeland. Yes, through much suffering, God brought it about on May 14, 1948, when a nation was born in a day—just as the prophet Isaiah stated it would occur.

Nations and entire empires have risen and fallen depending on how they treated this unusual city and her inhabitants. Their treatment releases either a blessing or a curse; we must choose between the two. Ultimately, a day will come—the great and terrible day of the Lord when all nations of the earth will be caught in a divine vortex as they gather for or against Jerusalem.

Growing Praying Army

In our day, across the nations of the earth and in a remnant portion of the body of Christ, a global prayer army is arising. Things are changing, and I want to be a part of that change! The spirit of grace and supplication is and will be poured out upon the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, just as the prophet Zechariah declared. There will be a voice that cannot be held back, and it is the voice of God’s intercessors according to Isaiah 62:6-7, “Who will give themselves no rest and give God no rest until Jerusalem is established as a praise in the earth!” 

I live for the fulfillment of such a day! I pray for such a day! What are you living for? What are you praying for? Join me and others in this belief that God’s Word, Will, and Ways shall come to pass. Amen? Yes, Amen and Amen!

With a Consuming Fire,
James W. Goll