The Temple Mount, The Western Wall, and the Garden Tomb

On 9/11 we visited the Temple Mount. Because of the emotionally charged date, as we entered dozens of Muslims were shouting “Allah Akbar!” (Allah is great) at us. (Quite the eerie reception) Nevertheless, we journeyed on and learned that the Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holist site in the world for Muslims. It was built in 690AD but destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt. The iconic Dome of the Rock with the huge gold dome (donated by King Husain of Jordan) is actually a women’s chapel built directly on the same spot as Herod’s temple—The holiest site of all Judaism. Even today, the Western wall (Wailing wall) of the ancient Temple Mount still stands and Jews still weep over the destruction the opulent temple by the Romans in 70AD. During that time, there were three courts for the Gentiles, women and the Jews. The Royal Stowa was where the Al-Asqa mosque stands today and was the heart of commerce. Herod completely leveled out the Temple Mount, making it the flattest place in Jerusalem, in order to accommodate his grandiose building projects.

Muslims claim that Muhammad ascended up to heaven at the spot of the Dome of the Rock, but they only made that story up after they had built the Dome. Muslims assert their sovereignty by building mosques at the holiest of foreign sites. For example, this purposed 13-story mega mosque planned to be built just two blocks away from Ground Zero in NYC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51

Reverting back to the history of the Temple Mount, French crusaders conquered Jerusalem from the Muslims in 1098 and changed the Dome of the Rock into a Christian church. It was changed back when the Ottoman Empire controlled Jerusalem for 400 years—until 1917. After WWI the British controlled Israel until the Six-Day war happened in 1967, when Israel became a Jewish state again. (Israel declared independence and every Muslim country around it declared war instantly and attacked, but Israel prevailed)

Additionally, we visited the tunnels underground following the Western Wall, which used to be a street. Huge aqueducts followed this path, connecting the upper city with the Temple Mount. Then we visited ruins of wealthy homes in Jerusalem at the time of its destruction in 70AD. The homes even had Mikvahs in them—Jewish purification baths. Jesus refers to this practice when he teaches on salvation and purification in John 3:1-3. Jerusalem was destroyed because the Jews gave over to infighting and Jesus predicted that the Temple would be destroyed. Titus, who would later succeed his father as Emperor of Rome, sieged Jerusalem for months and eventually burned the city and also took Masada (rock fortress), the last Jewish stronghold.

Finally, we visited the Garden Tomb, which is a possibility of where Jesus was buried. It’s a very peaceful spot that includes many similar things to the burial place of Jesus yet it doesn’t originate to the 1^st century and it is very far outside the city. One important quote I remembered, “Romans always crucify near a busy road, to show the people the punishment of transgressing the law.”

Overall, these two days spent in Jerusalem were eye opening—especially for some of the teachings of Jesus. Jerusalem is clearly not the city of brotherly love, but it is the City of God, unique only because of the One whom bestowed favor on it, quite similar to us.

Dead Sea Scolls, Yom Kippur, and the Mount of Olives

New Testament Jerusalem Walk

Today we had the opportunity to visit the Israel Museum, which included “The Shrine of the Book” which houses The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in 1947. One quarter of the scrolls are from the Old Testament, while the remainder are sectarian manuscripts, (which show different aspects of ancient Judaism) and other books from the Second Temple period. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the OT, translated in 250B.C.

Moreover, we then stepped outside and viewed a tennis court sized model of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, which was minutely described by Josephus. I’ve heard Herod the Great was pretty terrible, but I didn’t know he murdered not only his wife but also his two sons. Prof Bill then gave a detailed analysis of the Temple Mount, such as showing us the court of Gentiles (outer court) where Jesus cleanses the temple twice.  (Jeremiah 7:11 prophecy) If Gentiles ever entered the Temple they were put to death. Further, Solomon’s porticos are on the eastern side of the Temple Mount and only priests could use the Temple Mount gate. Animals were sacrificed in the court of priests. Somewhat contrary to modern belief, the Ark of the Covenant was not located in the Temple during Jesus’ time.

Yom Kippur (Day of Prayer) is the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, and originates from the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies only one day every year, (but twice on that day—to offer his own atonement and the peoples’.) After Jesus came, he became our perfect High Priest who sacrificed himself on our behalf, so that we could enter “the inner sanctuary.” (i.e. direct access to God) Hebrews 6:19-20 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Furthermore, when Jesus cleanses the temple in John 2:13-22 He makes an audacious claim that he “will raise up this temple in three days” and is referring to himself, (claiming to be the temple) and indeed, after three days he was raised up to heaven, and “his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” Jesus is our temple and high priest, our advocate to the Father.

We then went to the Ketef Hinnom tombs, southwest of the Old City where over 1000 precious objects and tiny scrolls were found. One of which featured the oldest found inscription of the Bible. (Numbers 6:24 –“The Lord bless you and keep you.”)

Later, we visited near the town of Bethany and heard awful-sounding Muslim chants and talked about how Jesus waited for Lazarus to die before going to raise him up from the dead.

Finally, my favorite spot of Jerusalem was certainly the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethsemane. (Paradise = garden in Aramaic, Gethsemane = Olive press) On this mountain marks one of the most monumental events in history—the betrayal of Jesus with the kiss of death. (Matthew 26) Before that, Jesus prays and pleads with the Father (“His soul was exceedingly sorrowful”) and is disappointed in his disciples, who fall asleep while praying. Also, Jesus gives the Olivet discourse and predicts the temple will be destroyed before he comes again. We toured the gardens, hundreds of white tombs and a gorgeous Catholic church (Church of the Agony) 

Old Testament Jerusalem Walk

We started the day looking at the remains of the Hezekiah’s Broad Wall, which he built in preparation for invasion by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 700 B.C. Hezekiah also built Jerusalem’s west wall for the first time. The wall was discovered in 1970 in the Jewish quarter just after the Six Day war.  The Broad Wall is believed to be mentioned in Nehemiah 3:8 and measures 7 meters across, very thick. While Hezekiah prepared extensively for the upcoming invasion, he ultimately trusted in the Lord for protection and was saved. (recorded as a righteous king in the Bible) 

            We then went to a museum and watched a video on the history of Jerusalem and what makes the city so special. Ultimately, as we already knew, it is its spiritual value and place as God’s chosen city that makes it the most unique city on earth. We then learned more about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and wrote our names out in Ancient Hebrew and Canaanite.  

            Additionally, we walked outside the old city gates and made pyramids on the lawn! We then perused a beautiful Catholic Church— The Basilica of the Dormition, because Catholics believe that Mary did not die but simply fell into eternal sleep, (or dormition.) The church was built by a German Kaiser in 1899.

            Next, we toured the building that possibly stands on the spot of the last supper. The actual building dates to the crusader times. The last supper was actually Passover—the celebration of God’s supernaturally bringing the Jews out of Egypt. Jesus is boldly declaring that Passover is all about himself, essentially declaring himself as I AM. (Yahweh) Our professor believes that many people were at the Last Supper, including women and children. I thought that was an intriguing theory. Judas sat next to Jesus because he dips the bread into the wine. Jesus and John “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” sat close together, whispering about what was to come.

Underneath the Upper Room, we visited the supposed Tomb of David. He was actually buried in the City of David as recorded in the Bible, and not under the Upper Room.

            From the Upper Room, we ventured outside and into the graveyard where Oskar Schindler is buried. World War II broke out on September 1^st, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. Oskar Schindler is credited with saving 1,200 of Jews from the Auschwitz concentration camp by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, and subsequently spent his entire fortune bribing Nazi officials to turn a blind eye to his Jewish employees. His story is recorded in the hit movie Schindler’s List.

            Finally, we walked through the remains of The City of David and went through Hezekiah’s Tunnel! He built the 600-meter tunnel to funnel water from outside the city to the inside, and blocked all streams flowing out of Jerusalem and funneled them into the pool of Siloam—where Jesus healed the blind man. (John 9)

Jeruslam: The City of God

Hereafter, this shall be my blog/journal of my travels in Israel! Follow if you want to. I'll be blogging about everywhere I go!

              Jerusalem: The City of God. Walking where Jesus walked, wept and died is an opportunity unlike any other. We first entered Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate (West Gate) into The Old City.

(The Old City wall was built by the Turks from 1836-1815 BC when they controlled Jerusalem for 400 years. The British defeated Turks in WWI and captured Jerusalem.) We then went through the Christian Quarter, and visited the Tower of David and David’s citadel, which were actually built in the time of King Herod. (below)

We then visited Shabban and exchanged our money in the Christian Quarter. We walked through the Damascus gate and ate Falafel! I learned that the Jews have revolted three times in history: in 66-70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem, in 132-135 A.D. with the Bar Kokva Revolt, and 1099-1299 with the Crusades. 
(Technically in the Arminian Quarter) I also learned that the City of David is actually the earliest period of Jerusalem and not equivalent to the modern city of Jerusalem. It is located south of the old city below the Mount of Olives.

Visiting Christianity’s holiest site was amazing. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre sits just above where Jesus excruciatingly took on the sins of the world, enduring the full wrath of God, and died on the cross and was buried and rose again—forever making us pure before God. The very essence of the roots of Christianity took place in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, seeing so many Orthodox people worshipping icons and old rocks is heartbreaking. Their devotion is admirable and humbling, yet their focus is misguided.

Seeing Jerusalem in real life was incredible. Yet the location of the city is pretty bland. Its location is nothing special and the city is hot and dry.  Yet, for thousands of years, the three largest religions on earth have fought for control of Jerusalem for one reason alone: God attached Himself to the city. (And to the Jews) Zechariah 8:7-8 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” I have to admit, after hearing so much about Jerusalem being the “Holy City,” parts of the city are anything but. Littered trash, crazy drivers, and rude Arabs put me back in reality. Nevertheless, the city is exceptionally rich in historical beauty. Seeing places that I’ve read about in the Bible for years but never seen was awesome. (In the true sense of the word)

Somewhat surprisingly, the moment that hit me the hardest in our tour of Jerusalem was the moment when I realized that I was looking at what Jesus was seeing and talking about: the whitewashed tombs. Thousands of pure white tombs cover half the mountain. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Realizing exactly what Jesus was referring about in that passage was incredible to see.

I also think Jerusalem is confusing, as many different kings and people groups have ruled and destroyed parts of the city time and time again. Remembering who did what and which part of the city belongs to which period of time becomes hard to remember. But overall, my first taste of Jerusalem was a grand experience.