ancient tile map in Jordan the dead sea and the scared fish

Transcription

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 ancient tile map in Jordan the dead sea and the scared fish 4

5 5

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12

13 13

14 According to the narrative of the Druze, Jethro is considered an ancestor of all Druze and revered as the spiritual founder as well as chief prophet, who lived in Midian. [10][11][12][13][14] The Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Akhenaten, Hamza, and Al Hakim. [15][16] The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational text of the Druze faith alongside supplemental texts such as the Epistles of India. [17] The Druze faith incorporates elements of Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, Ismailism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and secretive theology known to esoterically interpret religious scriptures and to highlight the role of the mind and truthfulness. [9][18] The Druze follow theopany, which is the belief that God manifests himself in a human form and in reincarnation or the transmigration of the soul. [19] At the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achieved through successive reincarnations, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind (Al Aaqal Al Kulli). [20] 14

15 15

16 The first temple to be built high on the hill of Jerusalem was done under the reign of Solomon, the ruler of the united monarchy of Judah and Israel. It was, according to the ancient records, built between the years BCE. In 1Kings we here that it took Solomon 20 years to build the most sacred place a place to house the most holy of holies the ark of the convenant. It stood as the holiest site in the world for over 400 years, a place where Jews gathered to bring sacrifice and offer thanks to their God the one who had saved them from their exile in Egypt. 16

17 Nebuchadnezzar II was the King of Babylon from BCE. After sacking the Temple removing all of the artifacts for his own he besieged Jerusalem a few years later. It took them 30 months to breach the increased security but in 587 BCE Solomon s Temple fell it was burned to the ground along with much of the City. 17

18 After their exile in Babylon under the rule of Cyrus the great the Jews returned to the City and began construction on the second temple began in 567. After a few years of upheaval construction began again under Darius the Great in 521 and was completed in 516 BCE. It was built on the same site what we now call the Temple Mount (the above is a to-scale model of the old walled city of Jerusalem) 18

19 It s important to remember that the Temple itself was only a small part of the whole construction. It was surrounded by portico s and locations for the sellers of proper sacrificial animals to vend their wares. This is what the Temple Mount might have looked like in Christ s time. 19

20 Even Herod s castle on the other side of town was dwarfed by its magnitude 20

21 The was town built up around it note the stairway on the right hand side at the bottom stairs of ascent Psalm 122 c There was nowhere in the surrounding area that wasn t dominated by the sheer magnitude of it. It could be seen from miles away. It was a time when Jerusalem had literally been built around faith around religion. A song of ascents. Of David. 1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD. 2 Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. 4 That is where the tribes go up the tribes of the LORD to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. 5 There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. 21

22 8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, Peace be within you. 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. 21

23 bottom left new discovery an very ancient gate thought to be from the time of the first temple ancient stone roads. They have excavated down to the roads that it is thought that Jesus would have walked on. 22

24 The Temple as seen here was destroyed in 70 AD almost 40 years after Christ died on the cross. 23

25 And now all that is left of the second temple mount is the wall. It was known for a time as the Wailing Wall but now is most often referred to as the Western Wall. To the left of this picture would be the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem. This is where Jews celebrate Shabbat every week under heavy guard. In recent years they have opened up a women s section of the wall whereas previously it was only men who were allowed. 24

26 The Al Aqsa Mosque currently on the Temple Mount. Jerusalem was under Islamic rule from the Byzantium Kingdom in 687 AD. It is during this time that Islam became the dominant religion in Palestine. Interestingly, under the rule of the Caliphate Jews continued to live and worship in Jerusalem which they had been forbidden to do under Byzantian rule. 25

27 According to the Quran and Islamic traditions, al-aqsa Mosque is the place from which Muhammad went on a night journey (al-isra) during which he rode on Buraq, who took him from Mecca to al-aqsa. [57] Muhammad tethered Buraq to the Western Wall and prayed at al-aqsa Mosque and after he finished his prayers, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) traveled with him to heaven, where he met several other prophets and led them in prayer 26

28 And of course, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The historic site of Golgatha the hill on which our beloved Christ died, is about a ten minute walk from the Temple Mount. 27

29 The Mount of Olives the most sought after and expensive real estate on the planet. On the Mount of Olives, the hill that Christ would have traveled as he went back and forth between Jerusalem and Bethany where his friends lived, are thousands of graves all of which face the Temple Mount as both the Jews and the Muslims await the coming of the true messiah. 28

30 The Golden Gate all three of the Abrahamic faiths hold the return (or the first coming) of the Messiah Christianity Some tradition holds that he entered through this gate on Palm Sunday hailed as the Messiah. We believe that Jesus will return in triumph and enter through the Golden Gates. To prevent Jesus from walking through these gates the Muslims have a grave yard there because no prophet will walk through a gravesite. 29

31 This is the entrance to the Church of the Holy Seplechre a place where Christian sects fight over control of the site. No one controls the main entrance. In 1192, Saladin (Salah ad-din Yusuf al-ayyubi) assigned door keeping responsibilities to the Muslim Nuseibeh family. The Joudeh Al-Goudia family were entrusted as custodian to the keys of the Holy Sepulchre by Saladin in [citation needed] This arrangement has persisted into modern times. There are in fact two manners of opening the door: A simple opening takes place when the sexton of the religious community that plans to open the door carries out all the rituals by himself, opening only one of the door leaves. A solemn opening takes place in the same manner but with the opening of both door leaves: the sexton opens the left leaf while the Muslim doorkeeper opens the right one. Each day on which there is no special feast or occurrence, the opening take place at 4.00 in the morning and the closure according to a official time. For the evening closure of the church, the three religious communities have arrived at an agreement, according to which between October and March the closure takes place at 7.00 pm, and at 9.00 pm between April and September. 30

32 Every evening, at closing time, each of the three sextons is present and they agree among themselves as to who will perform the opening on the following day: specifically, the opening is carried out in a cyclical fashion by the three communities; the one who will have the right of opening takes the ladder and places it against the center of the closed door. For the closure, both simple and solemn, the same ritual is followed as for the opening, but in reverse order. 30

33 The primary custodians are the Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, and Roman Catholic Churches, with the Greek Orthodox Church having the lion's share. In the 19th century, the Coptic Orthodox, the Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox acquired lesser responsibilities, which include shrines and other structures within and around the building. Times and places of worship for each community are strictly regulated in common areas. [citation needed] Establishment of the 1853 status quo did not halt the violence, which continues to break out every so often even in modern times. On a hot summer day in 2002, a Coptic monk moved his chair from its agreed spot into the shade. This was interpreted as a hostile move by the Ethiopians, and eleven were hospitalized after the resulting fracas 31

34 Contrary to what we may see on the news on the busy often crowded streets of the old city of Jerusalem people of all faiths live and work peacefully together. 32

35 This is St. George s (Episcopalian) Anglican Cathedral in East Jerusalem. It is about a ten minute walk from this Palestinian area to the Damascus Gate of the walled ancient city of Jerusalem. 33

36 So why are we celebrating Jerusalem Sunday? We are doing so because Jerusalem is the centre of religious and political conflict. It is a place where Christians, Jews and Muslims have a tentative peace one that involves check points and rifles and yet where you can see people of all faiths work, live and love. 34

37 Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 1:7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Just talk 35

38 refrain: Pray for the Peace, pray for peace, pray for the peace of Jerusaelm. (x3) God gave to the world, ten measures of beauty, nine to Jerusalem, one to the rest (x2) (refrain) God gave to world, ten measures of sorrow, nine to Jerusalem, one to the rest (x2) (refrain) You may greet your neighbour with the word Shalom, you may greet them with Salaam (x2) (refrain) Amen 36

39 37