(Do not throw out chestnuts as they are not acorn shells traditionally preferred by pigs in Europe since it is still August 31, 2008!)Holy Enigmas on Jerusalem
Don't you feel Jerusalem any close if so intangibly?
Anyhow, you will understand why EEE Reporter living in the vicinity of Tokyo, Japan, must argue every holy thing ultimately associated with Jerusalem.
SECTION I: JERUSALEM
Why must it be Jerusalem - the sacred center of the world?
In other word, why is Jerusalem situated at the very location?
A Japanese journalist so wondered when he travelled the holy city decades ago.
Whenever I watch the world map, I cannot help but get marveled at how reasonable it is that the sacred center of mankind is situated at the junction of three continents: Africa, Europe, and Asia.
This alone can be a miracle that persuades any member of mankind to believe in the God Almighty who called to the place Abraham and his family of a certain tribe who seems to have belonged to the Sumerian Civilization, gave the direct commandments to Moses who hoped to reestablish the basement of Israelites on the city, and projected His Personality on a man named Jesus of Nazareth, if allowed to put this way.
Indeed, the God is fair to Africans, Europeans, and Asians.
Yet, you may love to see more discussions as to why it must be Jerusalem.
Actually I have confirmed my theory with the NASA picture:
(Click to enlarge.)http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView.pl?directory=ESC&ID=ISS013-E-15194
Jerusalem is at a location actually functioning as a gateway between Africa and Europe/Asia.
Any military troops advancing to Africa or Europe/Asia must pass the narrow area between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea in this region now called Palestine or Canaan. And on the most effective highland in this area was established Jerusalem even before the coming of Abraham who further travelled to Egypt.
Jerusalem was built at a critical and strategic point for defense, assaults, and other military operations between Egypt and the Mesopotamia or its derivative civilizations. It can be confirmed so when viewed in various scales of time and space.
SECTION II: ANCIENT EGYPT
Collaterally, you may notice one more enigma as to why ancient Egyptians could not occupy the whole Mediterranean region so as to be another Roman Empire. If Alexander the Great had failed in conquering Egypt or ancient Egyptians had conquered Greece and Macedonia before the era of Alexander the Great, the history must have been completely different, since there should not have been the Roman Empire and the Vatican.
In this context, the decisive war was the Battle of Kadesh fought by Egypt and Hittites in 1274 B.C.
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The Hittite king, Muwatalli II, continued to successfully campaign as far south as the Egyptian province of Upi (Apa), which he captured and placed under the control of his brother Hattusili, the future Hattusili III.[30] Egypt's sphere of influence in Asia was now restricted to Canaan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kadesh
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It should be also noted that around 1250 B.C Moses led his tribe out of Egypt.
The geographical conditions around Jerusalem had hindered Egypt’s invasion of Asia but also protected Egypt from Asia while preparing the stage for the future development of Israelites.
SECTION III: MONGOLIANS vs. EGYPTIANS
The Mongol Empire after occupying Baghdad decided to take on Egypt in the 13th century, and a decisive battle occurred between invading Mongolian troops and defending Egyptian troops in the Jezreel Valley in Galilee in 1260, which is called the Battle of Ain Jalut.
It was a very complex situation since the Christian Crusaders were also engaged in their own wars there then.
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This battle is considered by many historians to be of great macro-historical importance, as it marked the highwater of Mongol conquests, and the first time they had ever been decisively defeated. After previous defeats, the Mongols had always returned and avenged the loss, but after the Battle of Ain Jalut they were unable to do so. The Mongol Ilkhanate leader Hulagu Khan was not able to advance into Egypt, and the Khanate he established in Persia was only able to defeat the Mamluks once in subsequent expeditions, briefly reoccupying Syria and parts of Palestine for a few months in 1300.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut
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If the then Emperor of the Mongol Empire, Mongke Khan who was a grandson of the legendary founder of the Empire Genghis Khan, had not died suddenly before the war, the commander of the Mongolian troops being prepared to destroy Egyptians would not have left the front line so urgently to return to his homeland and his troops must have done their job so well as usual. It must have been so since the Mongolian commander was a brother of the deceased Emperor or Great Khan.
Then, with this momentum, Mongolian troops consisting of unmatched horse soldiers must have invaded Rome to destroy the symbolic city in the Middle Ages, making European Renaissance impossible eventually.
If Palestine was a vast plain, Mongolian troops must have overwhelmed Egyptians even without the strong commander.
Anyway, in historical reality, with this momentum, Muslims could succeed in expelling Crusaders once and for all decades later.
It should be also noted that a decade after the Battle of Ain Jalut the branch of the Mongol Empire in China, namely the Yuan dynasty, tried to invade Japan in vain.
It was so mainly because the samurai class had been already established in Japan and Kamikaze (holy tempests) timely raged on thousands of invading Mongolian naval ships off the Japan's shore even twice.
(For your information, Japan has been only once occupied by foreign troops, which was when World War II was over in 1945...)
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In my interpretation of the history, the God did not allow ancient Egypt to conquer the world like Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire since around 1300 B.C.
Instead, He gave Egypt a special role to put an end to the Mongolian conquest and advancement around 1300.
The significance of this proceeding of the history is made manifest on Marco Pole, the first European who travelled to China, then called Yuan Dynasty, the major offspring of the Mongol Empire.
Marco Polo wrote a book on his experiences in China in addition to a rumor about royal palace of Japan roofed in gold.
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While he knew of Mongol attempts to invade Japan, Marco did not claim that he had been there. However, he states that gold was so abundant in Japan that the emperor’s palace was entirely roofed and paved with it. Marco’s was the only reference to Japan in Western writings before the 16th century.
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20040608a/article_01.htm
Marco Polo's description of the Far East and its riches inspired Christopher Columbus' decision to try to reach those lands by a western route. A heavily annotated copy of Polo's book was among the belongings of Columbus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo
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In the above context, Jerusalem is truly situated at a location to give special fates to ancient Egypt, the Mongol Empire, Japan, and the American Continents.
Paradoxically speaking, Christianity must have started there, departing itself from ancient Judaism, which would be however another story.
Now you know why Japan must be situated here, Tokyo must be situated there, and my residence must be situated exactly at this coordinate point, since it is regarded as a critically great strategic point in whatever scale of time and space.
It is so since you know I am allowed to be beyond time and space sometimes, though without intended mistakes.
(As I saw a bear on TV last night:
http://www.menziesera.com/midi/runbear.mid
Source: http://www.menziesera.com/singalong/running_bear.htm)
2Co 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.