Israel: The City of Jerusalem!!
Day five brought our first full day in Jerusalem, and I don’t think we could have possibly packed more into the day than we did. It was amazing. Words fail to express how I felt walking through the city and experiencing its historic past. Truly astounding.
Our first stop of the day was the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, which is built on the area where Jewish people believe the “holy of holies” was located. The “holy of holies” is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept in the first Temple, and it’s an area which can be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur. As such, Jews are still forbidden from entering this area. Since they don’t know the exact location of the “holy of holies,” they do not want to accidentally walk through it, even today. The still consider it a holy place that should only be accessed by the High Priest.
Outer wall of the temple mount, and the remains of the area where the priests and people entering the temple area would go to be cleansed before entering the temple.
The Dome of the Rock, built on the temple mount where the first temple (built by Solomon) stood and where the temple was located in Jesus’ time
The Eastern Gate — this is where Jesus will enter and the steps He will walk when He returns. What else can I say — wow!
Ruins of the Pools of Bethseda
The church at the Pools of Bethseda. Our group sat down in the church and began to sing. It was an amazing experience. The voices of a few filled the entire room, and the acoustics made it sound like a full choir. It was a beautiful and magical experience.
Our next stop took us to Golgatha — the place of the skull. Can you see it? They believe Jesus was crucified near this spot.
The garden tomb, many believe this is the tomb where Jesus was buried after the crucifixion. After visiting the tomb, our group met for a sacred time of communion and consecration led by Pastor Rigdon. It’s a moment in time that I’ll never forget.
The ruins of the ancient city of David
The exit of the Holocaust museum, a very sobering part of our day. No pictures were allowed inside the museum. After visiting the museum, we went back to our hotel for a quick dinner and then our tour continued at 10 pm that evening
We toured around the city at night and stopped for a few photo opps. This is a view of the wall surrounding the temple mount. You can see the Dome of the Rock in the middle. If you look closely, you can also see the steps on the right leading to up to the wall. Jesus would have walked on those steps as He entered the temple.
Back inside the temple mount area, we toured underneath the wall to see some of the ancient areas that have been exposed by excavations. There are a series of tunnels under the wall, and some of the areas are near where they believe the “holy of holies” was originally located. Many orthodox men and women go here to pray (in separate areas of course). The picture shown above displays the remains of an ancient Roman marketplace area. The original Roman road — from Jesus’ time — is also exposed here.
After our underground tour, we stopped to pray at the wailing wall. It was a little after midnight when we stopped. As you can see, the place was packed. The picture above shows the area where the men pray. Men and women have separate prayer areas at the wailing wall. The women’s area was much smaller, but equally crowded. Women would pray and travail in tears, some holding prayer books and others placing notes in the wall. Once their prayers were finished, they would back away facing the wall, never turning their back on it. It was a sign of respect and devotion.
The wailing wall was a perfect ending to a perfect day. I couldn’t have asked for more, and I will remember that day forever. I am so blessed to have been able to experience it.
