100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 48: The History of the Holy Land of the Three Religions

Chapter 58 The Ups and Downs of the Holy Land of the Three Religions—Knowing how to cherish the common things
There are some things that we have in common, and we should cherish the things we have in common, instead of destroying them by competing with each other.

If you ask a Jew, where is his holy city?The answer must be Jerusalem.If you ask the same question to Muslims or Christians, you will definitely get Jerusalem as the answer.In the history of the world, there is probably no other city that has been surrounded by a strong and mysterious religious color like Jerusalem.

Why did Jerusalem become the holy city common to the three religions?The problem has deep historical roots.Located on the top of the Judean Mountains, Jerusalem is a small mountain city in central Palestine and has always been an important trade center connecting the East and the West.It is said that an ancient Canaanite tribe, Jebus, moved here from the Arabian Peninsula. The king of this tribe, Melchizedek, designed and built the city and called it "Jerusalem", which means "City of Peace".In the long years to come, Jews, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs entered Jerusalem successively, so different nations and religions left their imprints here.

First, in 1000 BC, King David of Judea conquered and assimilated the Jebusites and established the Hebrew Kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem.The kingdom was at its height during the reigns of David and his son Solomon.These two kings built Solomon's Temple on Mount Zion, which contained "the covenant between Jehovah and the Jews", which is often called the "Ten Commandments". Later, this temple gradually became the spiritual center and center of the entire Jewish nation The first Jewish temple.

But unfortunately, the brave Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 586 BC. They set fire to Solomon's Temple. The fire burned for three days and three nights, leaving only a huge stone wall on the west side of the courtyard.The Jews call it the "Wailing Wall".It is said that after the Romans invaded Jerusalem, the deported Jews often gathered in front of this wall to mourn and mourn. Later, Jews scattered all over the world also often came here to mourn for their homeland. From this.

In the middle of the first century AD, Jerusalem became the place where Jesus, the founder of Christianity, preached, was martyred and resurrected.So far, on a boulder on the top of the Mount of Olives in the east of the city, two deep footprints, which are said to be left by Jesus when he ascended to heaven, can still be seen.At the place where Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb, there is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with the longest history, which attracts hundreds of thousands of Christians to pilgrimage every year.In 1 AD, the Queen Mother Helena, the mother of Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine I, built this Christian church in Jerusalem when she was on a tour.

Disaster befell Jerusalem again in the 7th century AD, when it was captured by Arab armies. The "Koran" records that when Muhammad was 52 years old, one night, an angel sent by Allah sent him here from Mecca to receive the "revelation", and sent him back to Mecca before dawn.Therefore, Jerusalem has become the third holy city of Islam, and the other two holy cities of Islam are Mecca and Medina.Now, the holy stone that Muhammad stepped on during his "night journey to the sky" is still preserved in the Sahra Mosque, which is also called the "Dome of the Rock Mosque".

It seems that the "City of Peace" Jerusalem is not peaceful.The history of the holy city is closely related to the three religions, and everyone wants to own it.It has suffered from war trauma since its establishment, and it has been destroyed and rebuilt 18 times.

Now, it is still in the vortex of war, and the continuous conflict between Palestine and Israel is largely due to the issue of its ownership.I don't know when this "City of Peace" will truly achieve peace.

Wisdom Interpretation:

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all monotheistic religions, which reject any god other than a single god. Therefore, in history, these three uncompromising religions have engaged in many destructive competitions in Jerusalem.

Facing this world, we need to purify our hearts. Whether it is a city, a piece of water, or a flower, as long as they are shared, we should cherish them together.

(End of this chapter)