IS JERUSALEM THE HARLOT TODAY?
No.
When Ezekiel 16 pronounced that Jerusalem was a harlot, this text was speaking
of the times she fornicated with surrounding nations and their false religions.
And it also foretold the words Jesus Christ noted in the latter part
of Matthew 23. Jesus said that Jerusalem slew and beat prophets sent
to her, and was guilty of all the righteous blood shed since the time when
Cain slew Abel. He said that Jerusalem had filled the cup in His day,
and she was therefore cursed to destruction. Her house would be made
desolate.
Matthew 23:29-39 Woe unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, (30) And say, If we
had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with
them in the blood of the prophets. (31) Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
(32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (33)
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell? (34) Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some
of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city
to city: (35) That upon you may come all the righteous blood
shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
(36) Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation. (37) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings, and ye would not! (38) Behold, your house is
left unto you desolate. (39) For I say unto you, Ye shall not
see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name
of the Lord.
This destruction was considered a final one to settle the longtime issue
of her whoredoms. By the very fact that He said she "filled the cup"
and her house would be left "desolate" gives the sense of absolute finality
in her destruction, and revoking of her status as the Bride of Christ. She
was God's bride!
This brings up the issue of Jerusalem's status today.
Jerusalem of today is not the Jerusalem of Jesus' day. It is therefore
not in any sense of the word "the harlot" today. Do not confuse
Jesus' words to the Jerusalem of His day with the Jerusalem in our world
today. Since God judged her as a wife who committed whoredoms in
a final judgment, having declared that all her sins have finally been
heaped up to the brim of the cup, and dealt with, any thoughts regarding
Jersualem since the 70 AD destruction must be considered in light of the
fact that God views his dealings with her in that long ago time as finished.
Since He considers her not His bride any longer, He does not consider
her a whore any longer. In fact, He considers the whore as having been
destroyed and dealt with in 70 AD.
Jesus' words spoken to Jerusalem of His day are repeated in the Book of
revelation regarding the Harlot. Most of Revelation was fullfilled long
ago in 70 AD. Revelation mirrors Jesus' words about the great issue
concerning His crucifixion at the hands of Jerusalem in His day, and the
monumental ramifications it had to declare a NEW JERUSALEM and a NEW TEMPLE
instead -- the Church of the Living God!
JESUS:
Luke 23:28-30 But Jesus turning unto them
said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves,
and for your children. (29) For, behold, the days are coming,
in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that
never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. (30) Then
shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover
us.
REVELATION:
Revelation 6:15-17 And the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and
the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in
the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; (16) And said
to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17)
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
JESUS:
Matthew 23:31-35 Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
(32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (33)
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell? (34) Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise
men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of
them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to
city: (35) That upon you may come all the righteous
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the
blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and
the altar.
REVELATION:
Revelation 17:1-6 And there came one of the
seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters: (2) With whom the kings of the
earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been
made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (3) So he
carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon
a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and
ten horns. (4) And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet
colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden
cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
(5) And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (6) And I saw
the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of
the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Revelation 18:24 And in her was found the
blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon
the earth.
God's only concerns over Jerusalem were concerns of her in her relationship
to Him as His bride. Ezekiel 16 must be understood in order to understand
this entire issue.
Ezekiel 16:1-63 Again the word of
the LORD came unto me, saying, (2) Son of man, cause Jerusalem
to know her abominations, (3) And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD
unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy
father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. (4) And as
for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither
wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor
swaddled at all. (5) None eye pitied thee, to do any of these
unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open
field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
(6) And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood,
I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee
when thou wast in thy blood, Live. (7) I have caused thee to
multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great,
and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and
thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. (8) Now
when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time
of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea,
I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord
GOD, and thou becamest mine. (9) Then washed I thee with
water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee
with oil. (10) I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod
thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered
thee with silk. (11) I decked thee also with ornaments, and I
put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. (12) And
I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful
crown upon thine head. (13) Thus wast thou decked with gold and
silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work;
thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful,
and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. (14) And thy renown went
forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness,
which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. (15) But thou
didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy
renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by;
his it was. (16) And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst
thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon:
the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so. (17)
Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I
had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit
whoredom with them, (18) And tookest thy broidered garments,
and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
(19) My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey,
wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour:
and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD. (20) Moreover thou hast
taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these
hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms
a small matter, (21) That thou hast slain my children, and delivered
them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? (22) And
in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered
the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in
thy blood. (23) And it came to pass after all thy wickedness,
(woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) (24) That thou hast
also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in
every street. (25) Thou hast built thy high place at every head
of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy
feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
(26) Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians
thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke
me to anger. (27) Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand
over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto
the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which
are ashamed of thy lewd way. (28) Thou hast played the whore
also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast
played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. (29)
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto
Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. (30) How
weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things,
the work of an imperious whorish woman; (31) In that
thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine
high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou
scornest hire; (32) But as a wife that committeth adultery,
which taketh strangers instead of her husband! (33) They
give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and
hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
(34) And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms,
whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest
a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
(35) Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:
(36) Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out,
and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with
all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which
thou didst give unto them; (37) Behold, therefore I will gather
all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou
hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round
about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they
may see all thy nakedness. (38) And I will judge thee, as women
that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood
in fury and jealousy. (39) And I will also give thee into
their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break
down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall
take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. (40) They
shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with
stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. (41) And they
shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the
sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot,
and thou also shalt give no hire any more. (42) So will I make
my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and
I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. (43) Because thou
hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these
things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head,
saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine
abominations. (44) Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall
use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
(45) Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and
her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their
husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father
an Amorite. (46) And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her
daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth
at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. (47) Yet hast
thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but,
as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in
all thy ways. (48) As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister
hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
(49) Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness
of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither
did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. (50) And
they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took
them away as I saw good. (51) Neither hath Samaria committed
half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than
they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which
thou hast done. (52) Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters,
bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable
than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also,
and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. (53)
When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her
daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring
again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them: (54)
That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that
thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. (55) When
thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate,
and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou
and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. (56) For
thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
(57) Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach
of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters
of the Philistines, which despise thee round about. (58) Thou
hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD. (59)
For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done,
which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant. (60) Nevertheless
I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will
establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. (61) Then thou shalt
remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine
elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not
by thy covenant. (62) And I will establish my covenant with thee;
and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: (63) That thou mayest
remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of
thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith
the Lord GOD.
