The Best Day in Israel!

We moved on to Bethlehem. The viewed the tiny town from the distance because the Palestinians ruled the town and it was too dangerous for us to go into the town. Separating us and Bethlehem was a field; the very same filed that the shepherds were abiding keeping watch over their flocks by night when the angels came to tell them of Jesus’ birth. This filed is also the place where David slew the lion and bear and where he wrote many of the Psalms found in the Bible. It was a very special place to visit and gaze upon and imagine Christ’s birth.

We moved on to the Mount of Olives. Here, we looked over the Kidron Valley over to Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock sits. The Eastern Gate is closed off and it will “fold” open when Jesus returns to take His own. The Muslim’s do not believe in walking through graveyards. So, they have placed graves all around the eastern side of Temple Mount in hopes to prevent the Lord from keeping His promise of walking through the Eastern Gate.

The Muslim’s think that the Dome of the Rock sits where the Ark of the Covenant had sat. But the Bible says the Ark lined up with the Eastern Gate…the Dome of the Rock does not. There is, however, a small place called the Dome of the Spirits that does line up with the Gate. This small dome is unmarked and the bedrock is not cut into tiles like the ones around it. Temple Mount is thirty-six acres of solid rock and it is the most sought after piece of land in the world. Here is where Adam and Eve were created. Here is where Abraham was going to sacrifice Issac. Here is where the third temple will be built. Here is where Jesus will descend onto the Mount of Olives and walk through the Kidron Valley, through the Eastern Gate and into the Temple to rule are reign on the earth for a thousand years.

We walked all around on Temple Mount. There was “the eye of a needle;” a big door with a little door on the side. We walked through a very narrow hallway that ran along the whole Western Wall underneath Old City Jerusalem.

Next, we visited the Temple Treasures and personally saw the items that they have ready for the third temple; unfortunately, we were not permitted to take pictures. We did go to see the Menorah that was outside behind bullet proof glass.

Then, we visited the Holocaust Museum and again, we were not permitted to take pictures. Here, we walked through a dark room that was lit by “hundreds” of candles. Names and ages of children rang through the speakers in several different languages. Chills ran down my spine as the path got smaller and smaller as we walked. Then, when we reached the end of the passage, it opened up wide and gave a view of Jerusalem. This path symbolized how Hitler was choking the Jews near extinction but in the end Hitler lost and today the Jews are thriving. The “hundreds” of candles was an optical illusion of only five candles with the aid of some mirrors symbolizing their fight for life. We walked through the museum, all the while, names and ages of children rattling off. There was a round room of books upon books of all the names of the people that died in the Holocaust; a very done chilling place to just stare at.. Our tour guide did come with us because it was too much for her to bear. By the end, everybody was quiet, pondering on how cruel man can be to another man.

Onto Calvary! We saw the skull mentioned in to Bible. Unfortunately, where the cross stood is now a bus parking lot. Beside Calvary was a garden and a tomb just like it is described in the Bible. We walked into the tomb and well, I cannot describe the feeling. It was too much to take in. You could feel it! This was the place where Jesus Christ triumphed over death. This is where Satan lost. This is what makes Jesus Christ the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the One and Only Christ. This was the main reason I came to Israel, to find the tomb empty…

For our last evening in Israel, we walked down the streets of Jerusalem, past soldiers with their guns over their shoulders, past beggars, and past people who we had grown to love. We walked to the market where we bartered for most of our souvenirs. It was a neat experience and something I kind of wished we did in America.

That evening, we sat around the dinner table. The topic of our conversation was of prophecy and the places we had been. In all, my faith grew, new friends were discovered and a love for a country that has so much more coming for its future…

 Bethlehem

 Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives

 The Menorah. After the temple is built we will never see it again.

 The Western Wall. Men on the left. Women on the right.

 The Dome of the Rock. Built in 695 AD

 The Dome of the Spirits.

 The "eye of the needle"

 Calvary

 The tomb. The stone that rolled away was lost in an earth quake, thus the stones to the right.

Need I say more?

Taking in the Moments

The following morning it was raining. We went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested by the Romans and taken to Caiaphas house to spend the night in the pit before His crucifixion the following day. There was a catholic church in the Garden called the Church of All Nations. Due to the rain we stayed under the front porch of the church and listened to Susan paint a story in our heads that took place in this very location two thousand years ago; donkeys braying instead of cars honking, the sound of soldiers coming, the moment that Judas Iscariot could not take back. Since we were standing under a porch instead of sitting in a spot in the Garden, I was struggling taking the moment in. There were several olive trees in an area beside the church. Susan told us that olive trees are the only kind of tree that does not grow rings as it gets older; they become hollow and shoot new sprouts. There was only one tree that was estimated to be around when Christ was in the Garden with His disciples.

          We were dropped off by the bus and walked the streets of Old City Jerusalem. We stopped at Saint Anne’s Church. Not sure what was so special about the location, but the acoustics in the church were incredible! Due to its shape of the auditorium, there was a twelve second echo after singing. We walked to the place where Jesus was beaten before He was hung on the cross. This location was below street level – as centuries went by, civilization had built on top of the old. There was a carving in the stone floor. It was a game that the Romans played when it came to crucifying their prisoners. The streets were ridged, giving traction to the horses so they would not slip on the stone.

          We walked to the bus, and then took a brief ride to Caiaphas house. This is where Peter denied Christ three times then the cock crowed, just like Jesus promised. We walked down steps that were placed in the pit. It was believed that the pit was used as a water cistern in the past. There was a small whole at the top, where Jesus was lowered through. This is where it got me. I traced my hands on a spot on the wall, imagining my Savior tracing His hands on the very same spot and thinking of me, an unworthy sinner and yet everything He was about to go through was for me. We sang hymns that echoed in the tiny pit.  

                                                   Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane.

                                                                  Saint Anne's Church.

                                                           The Church of All Nations.

                                                      The hole Christ was lowered through.

                                                                   The floor in the pit.