50 Years Since the Building of the Berlin Wall

My wife and I were living on the German border when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. I remember the celebrations as East and West Berliners embraced each other, danced for joy and hammered on the hated Wall that had imprisoned so many for so long. For me, this illustrates an astounding future event from Bible prophecy.

History records the names of many famous walls—fortifications built for defense. The Great Wall of China was built to keep nomadic invaders away. Hadrian’s Wall in northern England was built by the Romans to control access to northern England. Most of the important cities throughout history had strong walls for protection from attack; many vestiges remain today in cities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

But one city is famous for a wall not intended to keep danger out, but to keep its people in and suppressed: Berlin. Aug. 13 of this year will mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the Berlin Wall.

The division of Europe

Post-World War II Europe, freed from Nazi domination, was divided into zones of occupation by the victorious powers: the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The first three zones soon merged into one free zone in Western Europe, including most of Germany and the free zone of Berlin (surrounded by East Germany).

Joseph Stalin imposed oppressive regimes to keep control in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet-controlled zone in East Germany and East Berlin. But the Communist Bloc saw increasing numbers of citizens flee to freedom and opportunity in the West. Between 1950 and 1953, 750,000 people fled from East to West Germany. To stop this, the Communists built barriers to staunch the flow. The line between the two Germanys became a militarized international border.

The “death strip”

The wall surrounding West Berlin was the last link in the chain to prevent East Germans from escaping. The structure eventually included the wall itself and a fence 100 meters farther into East Berlin.

The space in between, called the “death strip,” contained land mines and was monitored by spot lights. It was swept by clear fields of fire from towers manned by soldiers with orders to shoot on sight. Experts estimate that up to 200 people or more died trying to cross to freedom. The wall stood for 28 years, a testimony to barbarous domination, until it was torn down in 1989.

A spiritual wall

The Bible tells the story of another kind of wall, a spiritual one, which now holds most of humanity in a prison of ignorance and misery.

This wall went up in one day, when our first parents, Adam and Eve, chose to believe and follow Satan’s twisted lies rather than the Word of God (Genesis 3:1-6). Their sin forced them to leave the Garden of Eden and God’s presence, and closed their minds to spiritual understanding. They had allowed Satan to erect a spiritual wall between them and God.

Paul explains: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age [Satan] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

This spiritual wall, compared here to a heavy, blinding veil, prevents most people from understanding the truth of God. Many recognize that something is very wrong with the world in which we live, but they can’t grope their way out of spiritual mists to see the truth.

Revelation 12:9 reveals that Satan “deceives the whole world.” Hebrews 2:15 speaks of Satan holding humanity in “bondage” due to fear and ignorance. This is the root cause of the violence, suffering and misery throughout history and in our world today.

The brutal fiasco of the human story will reach a terrible crescendo right before the return of Jesus Christ. Recognizing that his time is short, Satan will fight with all his evil might to keep control of humanity. Jesus said of that time, “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again” (Matthew 24:21, New International Version).

Good news!

The good news is that, like the Berlin Wall, Satan’s prison wall will not stand forever. Bible prophecies show the wonderful time when the “god of this age” will be removed and imprisoned himself and when the true God takes His rightful place: “The kingdoms of this world [shall] become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).

Memories of the Berlin Wall and its fall are already fading with time. But the destruction of the great spiritual wall and the wonderful liberation to come will certainly be celebrated throughout all eternity!

Read more about the coming Kingdom of God, God’s plan to liberate humanity and how these events will affect you in our booklets The Mystery of the Kingdom and From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.

Joel Meeker is a pastor and writer who lived in Europe when the Iron Curtain was dismantled. He and his wife and two daughters now live in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area.