 Wednesday, March 6, 2007
Temple Mount - Western Wall
This is our last day in the city. We checked out of the hotel and put our things on the bus. Our last stop of the day will be the airport late this evening as we take a flight out near midnight.
We began our day in the city with going through a long line to enter through the security gate and metal detectors. Inside we went to the Western Wall. The men had to put on hats which they had available. We spent some time in prayer while the women went to their side of the wall to pray. After we wanted to see the Temple Mount but it had been closed for most of the time we were here. Fortunately it opened up for us so after the wall we went up the stairs to the Temple Mount.
 Dome of the Rock
On the Temple Mount we saw a lot of IDF security as well as Muslim Waqf who were there to protect the holy ground. We were not allowed to go into the Dome nor were we allowed to pray or open our Bible up on there as the Muslims are extremely sensitive to this area. We walked around the top with our guide adding information about the buildings and then we exited out the north side of the mount into the Muslem Quarter where we found the Via Dolorosa and some of Christian's most visited and holy spots. We saw a church where some of the original stones that made up the street have been excavated. The streets are very narrow and the stone street is cold. Here we could imagine the final moments of Jesus on His way to the Cross.
Here is part of the streets in the Muslim Quarter as we walked the Via Dolorosa. Notice how the steps have ramps for the carts to navigate as they go up the hill. It is hard to understand what might happen to this part of the city should the world force Israel to give up the city and close it off to all but the Muslims as they are demanding. It is also hard to imagine why they would want to do that as this part of the city streets is 100% geared to tourist shops.
Outside the Wall
This is part of the rubble from the original temple and wall structure that was destroyed in 70 AD when the Romans blew the temple apart using the heat from the fire to create massive amounts of steam in the temple water system that blew the building into small pieces.
 Southern Steps of Temple
Outside of the walls we visited another National Park whee the steps can be found. Here our group is sitting for a final Bible Study on John 7:37-39. The steps and the portion of the wall up in the top left were part of the original steps and a location where Jesus was likely to have walked as he entered the Temple.
IDF Soldiers
One of the things that takes some getting used to is the loaded guns and young men and women holding them all over the country. Israel has a standing army of about 140,000 troops ready to move in an instant and an equally large reserve force ready to move in 48 hours. Soldiers in active duty spend a lot of time in study of history and of the buildings and culture. Here are some young soldiers outside the wall on a study trip. The let us take their photograph.
Pool of Bethesda
On our way out of the city we stopped at this place where Jesus healed the blind man. We were stopped by some journalists who asked us about our faith which we had to quickly share with them from the book of Zachariah about the coming of the Messiah which the wanted to know more about. Then into the bus to get to the Garden before it closed.
 The Garden Tomb & Communion
Our final hours were at the alternative site to the Garden Tomb located outside of the Domascus gate. Here we had communion and then onto the bus to a Kibutz near by where we had dinner and changed into our travel clothes. Then off to the airport for our trip home.
This final stop was the last chance to pause and think about the things that we had seen in this fast few days. This tomb was probably not the real one as the archeologists think it was built 100's of years later but that didn't matter. This was a visual for us of what the garden was probably like and what a typical tomb was like. As we went inside and looked at the carved stone where the body was placed it was something to reminds us, perhaps much like communion, of the suffering and the death that Jesus chose to take upon himself for our transgressions. It is too bad that the Jews today were not and still are not looking for their Messiah to be God in the flesh but rather to be a man who has super abilities to restore peace as a great warrior to the land of Israel. This final time on our tour brought some closure to the trip but only opened many more doors in my mind to things to explore once returning home. There is much more to be studied about the history of this land as well as the practices of Judiasim that Jesus himself took part in. What do those Festivals and teachings mean. The key is that here we are reminded that He Has Risen.
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