Packing for Israel. Lesson 7 and 8

Transcription

1 Packing for Israel Lesson 7 and 8 I. Jerusalem This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations. Ezekiel 5:5 Jerusalem has played a very significant part in the history of God s people. This city (Salem) is first mentioned when Abraham encountered Melchizedek in Genesis 14. God commanded Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). About a thousand years later, David purchased a threshing floor from Araunah so he could build an altar to the Lord on the high ground. After David was anointed as the king, he moved his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem. During the United Kingdom, it was the capital city of Israel. Once the kingdom was divided, it was the capital of Judah. The city fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC. It was rebuilt after the exile. The city is located on seven hills (which is why the Bible always refers to going up to Jerusalem ). Three important valleys surround it: Valley of Hinnom, Kidron Valley and the Tyropoeon Valley.

2 The valley of Hinnom contained the city dump. The garbage was burnt and thus it became symbolic of gehenna or hell. The Kidron Valley was the eastern gateway to the city. The Mount of Olives is located on its eastern edge. And the Tyropoeon Valley is just west of the old city of David. The walls around the city have changed through the ages.

3

4 Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus

5 Herod built the Great the Tower of David. It became part of the Turkish Jerusalem citadel. In that courtyard they have uncovered archaeological finds from nearly every period of the city s history. The existing city walls were built by Suleiman the Magnificent ( ). The circumference is about 2 and one half miles. You can still walk the perimeter. There are eight gates surrounding the four quarters of the ancient city: The Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish Quarters. The gates are: The New Gate (1887), the Damascus Gate (1537), the Herod s Gate (Not Known), the Lion Gate ( ), the Golden Gate (6th century), the Dung Gate ( ), the Zion Gate (1540), and the Jaffa Gate ( ). Regarding the Eastern Gate, see Ezekiel 43:1-5.

6 What We Will See: The ancient city, the temple mount, southern excavation, the upper room, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (traditional sit of the crucifixion and burial of Christ), the garden tomb, and the old city of David. 1 Kings 9:3

7 II. Mount of Olives This is the tallest of the mountains around Jerusalem (2900 feet above sea level). Because the kings of Judah were anointed here, it is also known as the Mount of Anointing. Although only a few olive trees remain, the hill was covered with them in the time of Jesus. The cities of Bethany (2 miles away) and Bethphage are located on the eastern slopes of this mountain. Jesus likely began His Palm Sunday processional from there (Luke 19:28-40). Luke tells us that Christ ascended from the Mt. of Olives (Luke 24:50-53). What We Will See: A garden setting similar to the Garden of Gethsemane, a number of shrines and thousands of Jewish graves. David walked up this mountain weeping as he went... trying to escape Absalom: 2 Samuel 15:30-37 Jesus wept over Jerusalem from here: Luke 19:41-44, and he gave His Olivet Discourse from the western slopes. Jesus prayed with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and was arrested here: Matt. 26:36-56, Luke 22: In a prophecy given by Zechariah, the Mount of Olives will be split in two when Jesus returns (see Zech. 14:4) It is believed that Christ and the faithful will then enter the new temple through the nearest city gate, the eastern gate (the Golden Gate, or the Mercy Gate). See Ezekiel 46:12.

8 III. Garden of Gethsemane This was a garden frequented by Jesus and His disciples (Judas knew where Jesus would be praying). We will visit a small garden area with olive trees that have been dated to be at least 1000 years old. Matthew 26 Mark 14 Luke 22 John 18

9 IV. Upper Room Jesus took His last Passover meal in the upper room (the Last Supper). See Luke 22. And His disciples received the Holy Spirit while gathered there after His resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:13, Acts 2) We will visit a second story room that resembles the room Jesus would have used for His last supper with His disciples. It is located above the Tomb of David on Mount Zion. This room cannot be the original because it was constructed in the 12th century Luke 22 Acts 1:13 Acts 2

10 V. Temple Mount Abraham offered Isaac on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:1-19), believed to be the future site of the Temple Mount. David purchased a threshing floor from Araunah that was located on this site. David s son, Solomon built the first temple on the same mount. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed that first temple about 400 years later. Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple on the same mount after the 70 years of Babylonian exile. Herod built his temple there in BC. It lasted until the Roman general Titus destroyed it in 70 AD. The Temple Institute (founded thirty years ago) focuses on being ready to rebuild the temple on the mount. They have begun a historical registry to identify Biblically eligible descendants of the tribe of Aaron to serve as priests. They have established a school for training those priests. They have created a solid gold menorah for that temple, made a breastplate for the High Priest, etc. The Dome of the Rock: a shrine built in 691 by the Ommayad Caliph Abd-al Malik Ibn el Marwan and the Al Aksa Mosque, which was built a few years later (built on the site of Solomon s porch or the Royal Stoa). This mosque is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam (after Mecca and Medina). Muslims believe that the mount marks the site where Mohammad arrived in Jerusalem after his miraculous night journey from Mecca and where he ascended to heaven. There are four minarets on the mount. And there is a free standing prayer house called the Dome of the Chain (built in 691 AD). The Western Wailing Wall: it is the last visible remainder of Herod s Temple. In essence, it is part of a retaining wall that supported a plaza upon which Zerubbabel s temple sat. For the Jews, it is both the most sacred location in ancient Jerusalem and a symbol of national pride. Abraham: Genesis 22 David: 2 Samuel 24:16 Solomon: 1 Kings 6 Zerubbabel: Ezra 5:2, 6:3-5 Ezekiel: Ezekiel Revelation: Revelation 11 (temple during the Tribulation), Revelation 21:22 (New Jerusalem has no temple).

11 VI. Rabbinical Tunnels These tunnels are about 50 feet below ground level and pass along the entire length of the retaining wall of Herod s Temple. The massive stones along the wall are incredible (one is estimated to weigh over 570 tons). There are prayer chambers, evidence of a water channel and the remains of an ancient bridge that connected the city to the mount. Some of the wide trenches we pass may have been built by the exiles that returned with Nehemiah (Neh. 7:2).

12 VII. Southern Wall Since it is impossible to excavate up on the temple mount itself, the excavations done since the 1960s have concentrated on the southern section. Ophel is the name ascribed to the southernmost portion of the Temple Mount. A first century street has been uncovered, there are southern steps that lead to the main entrances of the temple mount and the outline of the single, double and triple gates are visible. The single gate is not original to the Temple Mount. It was cut by the crusaders and shut by Saladin in The Hulda Gates were used for entry into the Temple on busy feast days. On quiet days, only the middle door was used. (Likely the triple gates are the Beautiful Gate mentioned in Acts 3:2). The Western Gates (doubles) would then by the exit from the Temple Mount. A Crusader building covers part of the double gates. If you were visiting the temple during periods of mourning, you entered and exited in the opposite direction so the public would know about your loss and respect your sorrow. There are a series of ritual bathing pools and on the southwest corner there is a trumpeting stone. It has an inscription that reads in part, to the place of trumpeting. Here the priests would blow the shofar and signal the start of the feast days and the Sabbath. We will see the city street, gates to the Temple area, ritual bathing pools and blocks of stone that survived the destruction of 70 AD. There is also a columned courtyard that was part of the Muslim palace complex from 700 AD. Apparently those columns were taken from destroyed Christian churches and used here. Some commentators believe that the songs of Ascent (Psalms ) were sung on the southern stairs as a traveler made his way up to the temple. The Hulda gates are named after Hulda, and Old Testament prophetess (2 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 34).

13

14 VIII. Via Dolorosa This path is not mentioned in scripture, but comes out of Roman Catholic tradition. It memorializes the journey Christ made from the Praetorium (before Pilate) until he is crucified on Mount Calgary (Matthew 27:2-55). The Stations of the Cross represent 14 incidents along that route (5 of which do not appear in scripture). It finishes in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The route is about 2000 feet long, starting in the Muslim/Arab Quarter and ending in the Christian Quarter. We will walk the route and end up at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

15 IX. Church of the Holy Sepulchre The term Golgotha is Aramaic for place of the skull. In Latin, it is translated Calgary. According to the gospels, the site where Jesus was crucified and buried was outside but near the walls of Jerusalem, near a main road and in a garden. In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine ordered that a church was to be built over the site where by tradition Jesus was crucified and buried. It was called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church contains the last five of the Stations of the Cross. Today the church is shared by 5 churches: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian Orthodox and Armenian. The 1852 status quo agreement dictates which group does what in and around the church. We will visit the church and see both where they believe Jesus was laid after He died and the shrine attributed to His burial spot. Matthew 27 Mark 15 Luke 23 John 19

16 X. Garden Tomb While the Church of the Holy Sepulchre may have a preponderance of historical and archaeological evidence to suggest that Christ was both crucified and buried on those grounds, the Garden Tomb resembles a cave that might have been used to bury Jesus. Nearby is a rock formation that resembles a place of the skull. Since 1894, a nondenominational group known as the Garden Tomb Association has owned and protected the serene garden and its tomb. We will see a well-preserved cave that was likely used as a tomb. It has a stone in front and a small gutter that would have been used to roll the stone in place is visible. Matthew 28 Mark 16 Luke 24 John 20

17 XI. City of David During the time of David, Jerusalem was a Jebusite fortress known as Zion. After his conquest, David began to build up the city. His palace over looked the Tabernacle, which was situated on the northern end of the city. The City of David was very narrow, only about feet wide. On the eastern side, there was a steep slope of about 60 degrees that runs into the Kidron Valley. We will see excavation of stone structures and supporting walls. 2 Samuel 5:6-10

18 XII. Gihon Springs Jerusalem s most important water source came from the Gihon Spring located to the east of the City of David (it later became known as the Pool of Siloam where Jesus told the blind man to wash his eyes: John 9). The inhabitants of the early city, Jebus, built a shaft from within the city walls out to this spring. David s general, Joab used that shaft to conquer the city by surprise. Hezekiah s Tunnel and the spring Samuel 5:6-8

19 XIII. Hezekiah s Tunnel During the invasion by the Assyrian King, Sennacherib, Hezekiah blocked a portion of the Gihon Spring and channeled the water into the city of Jerusalem. His tunnel wandered for 1750 feet. Had it been straight, it would have been 1070 feet long. It is speculated that the diggers followed some kind of crack in the rock or a small channel. Visitors can climb /crawl through the tunnel. 2 Chronicles 32:4 2 Kings 20:20

20 XIV. Temple Institute The Temple Institute is dedicated to every aspect of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem the ultimate goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. We will visit the site and see the story of the temple in words and pictures. We will see (perhaps in picture form) the various sacred temple vessels that have been produced by the Institute. There are also works of art that detail daily life in the Temple.