The face of the Turkish regime hinted at Turkish ownership over Jerusalem, citing the Ottoman Empire; Erdogan: Jerusalem is our city, a city from us.

Speaking to an audience consisting of Turkish lawmakers in the capital city of Ankara on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his personal remarks concerning Turkey’s relationship to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. Citing the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Jerusalem from 1516-1917, Erdogan sought to make his case for Turkey’s historic, authoritative ties to Great City.

Erdogan said, “In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So, Jerusalem is our city, a city from us. Our first qibla al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism.”

However, according to the God of Israel, Jerusalem is His city, where He has put His Name and given it to the Jewish people:

2 Chronicles 6:6
Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.

Ezekiel 36:24
For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.

Failing to recognize all of the good that Israel does in the region and world on an annual basis, Erdogan continued, “Another crisis that our country and our nation carefully follow is the oppression of Israel against the Palestinians and the indifferent practices that disregard the privacy of Jerusalem. The issue of Jerusalem is not an ordinary geopolitical problem for us. First of all, the current physical appearance of the Old City, which is the heart of Jerusalem, was built by Suleiman the Magnificent, with its walls, bazaar, and many buildings. Our ancestors showed their respect for centuries by keeping this city in high esteem.”

Israel time and time again extends a helping hand to the Palestinians. They’re anything but oppressive.

Furthermore, he concluded, “We consider it an honor on behalf of our country and nation to express the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people on every platform, with whom we have lived for centuries. With this understanding, we will follow both the Palestinian cause, which is the bleeding wound of the global conscience, and the Jerusalem case to the end.”

Erdogan has been anything but shy in his approach to expanding his long-awaited Ottoman Empire 2.0, and for him to assume Turkish sovereignty over the capital of Israel simply because of historical ties to the land is extremely premature, as Jewish ties to the land outdate anyone else in the region, par none. And just because the rightful owners of the land aren’t there for a time, doesn’t mean they don’t, in fact, hold the deed to the land.

From a biblical perspective, this isn’t much of a surprise. After all, the Lord announced through the prophet Zechariah that Jerusalem would be stumbling block to the nations, and such it has been and will continue to be, even through the Tribulation:

Zechariah 12:2-3
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

However, the God of Israel is not going to turn a blind eye to the attempts of the nations to divide His land during that time:

Joel 3:1-2
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.”