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Verse:So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it,... they perceived that this work was done by our God. —Nehemiah 6:15, 16
I am writing our reflection for today while traveling through Berlin, Germany, and I was reminded of several historical facts related to this city.
For instance, in 1871, Otto von Bismarck integrated the German States into a powerful German Empire under Prussian leadership, with its capital in Berlin. Less than a century later, World War II split the country in two —into West Germany and East Germany— and divided Berlin into two sections.
In 1961, construction began on the Berlin Wall to create a permanent divide between the eastern and the western sections of the city.
But on November 9, 1989, the wall was demolished to show that the Cold War with the Soviet Union was at an end. Although the Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin, restricting travel between the two sections, the wall of Jerusalem surrounded the city of Jerusalem, protecting its inhabitants from invaders.
As stated, the Berlin Wall was demolished at the end of the Cold War, and Berlin was reunited as one city. But at the end of the Babylonian captivity, the wall of Jerusalem, as well as the city and temple, were rebuilt.
The fall of the Berlin Wall had major historical significance.
The rebuilding of Jerusalem, however, had major prophetic meaning. The book of Daniel identifies “the going forth” of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem as the starting point for both the 70 prophetic weeks (Daniel 9:24–27) and the 2,300 prophetic evenings and mornings (Daniel 8:14).
That starting point was the autumn of 457 BC, when Artaxerxes’s decree was issued in the seventh year of his reign (Ezra 7:7).
Reliable studies indicate that these time periods represent 490 years and 2,300 years, taking us respectively to AD 34, ending the time allotted to the Jewish people —3½ years after the Messiah was “cut off,” or crucified (Daniel 9:26)— and to 1844, when He would begin to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary (Daniel 8:14; cf. Hebrews 9:23).
The fulfillment of these and many other Bible prophecies confirms that God is in control of human history, patiently guiding it toward its glorious climax: the second coming of Christ!