Wonderful Notes by Anita Dykstra

Hi all,
I'm posting on behalf of Anita Dykstra who, with her husband Ray, were our representatives from Canada on the trip.  Anita took copious notes and wrote a wonderful log of the trip.  I am only adding the pictures.  The rest is by Anita.

Our Trip to Israel!

March 6, 2013 

Sunset on the Mediterranean

Here we are amazingly in the land of Israel! Tonight we watched the sun set over the great sea! We were picked up at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv without a problem and driven to King Solomon Hotel in Netanya just south of Haifa. We have already learned that this part of Israel is populated mainly by French Jews and have already heard lots of French spoken. We have also learned that our travel guides are Messianic Jews. In fact Pilgrim Tours wants Christians in Israel so that there will be some interaction with the Jewish population and perhaps other conversions will occur. It is also neat to meet other Christians on the tour with whom you have much in common even though you haven’t met them yet. The devotion this evening came from Ezekiel where Jerusalem is described as the centre of the world and thus will also be the location for the end time battle. Tonight when we were out walking, we did hear the air raid siren go off but it was just a drill and no one seemed too concerned. Tomorrow we head north!

March 7, 2013

We had an interesting breakfast complete with salted herring and lots of salad! First stop for today is Caesarea which Herod the Great began rebuilding in 22 B.C. Both Paul and Philip visited Caesarea. In fact Paul defended his faith here in front of Felix and Drusilla, Agrippa and Bernice. The Arabs captured it later and the Crusaders after that.

Breakwater and harbor at Caesarea

Here Herod built a break water and his own harbour. This was the first time that this was done. The Romans built an amphitheatre here and we also see good examples of the Roman arch.

Arch showing the keystone

 The key stone – the centre stone – holds all the weight. We also see columns of marble and granite brought from Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor. During the Muslim period, the harbour was abandoned since the Muslim orientation was toward the east- Damascus. Here there is also a dedication inscription which mentions Pontius Pilate so this confirms the Bible. The Hippodrome was just recently excavated. The sandstone wall was covered with plaster and mosaics.

The stone showing the dedication inscription
to Pontius Pilot

We saw the bath house which was a very important part of the compound as meetings could be held here. Fresh water was brought from aquaducts from Mount Carmel, 30 miles away!

Bath house mosaic

When the Crusaders had this fort, they were not interested in Herod’s palace which included a swimming pool. The Crusaders just wanted to re-fortify the harbour. Next we traveled on to Mount Carmel. Another meaning for Mount Carmel is Vineyard of God. The El ending always refers to God. There is a Druze village on Mount Carmel. The Druze also believe in reincarnation and this religion is derived from the Muslim faith. The Druze are loyal to the Israeli army even though they may end up fighting relatives on Syria and Lebanon.

A model of Megiddo showin
some of the many layers.

 From here we moved on to Megiddo. 25-30 layers of civilization have been unearthed here since it was such a strategic location between the powers of the south and the north. It lies between the Via Maris and the Carmel mountains overlooking the valley of Armageddon. Joshua defeated the King of Megiddo and this mentioned in Joshua 12:21.The city gate here dates from 2000 B.C. and Megiddo is already mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Palaces and stables from Solomon’s time and King Ahab’s time have been unearthed here. Since it is a high place, remnants of pagan temples were also found here which very likely could have belonged to Solomon’s wives. The water works were built by King Ahab. He dug a long horizontal tunnel to be able to get to water during a siege. King Josiah also died here in the battle of Carchemish.(2 Chron. 35:20-24)

A view of the Jezreel Valley from Tel Megiddo

The Jezreel valley surrounding Megiddo was revived about 100 years ago with the return of the Jews to Palestine.

Nazareth – pop. 65 000 was our next stop. It is an Arab Israeli city. Many of the Arabs who stayed inside Israel are actually better off now than those who left…i.e. Gaza. Nazareth or Nazarene means Christian. It was built as a shoot from Bethlehem which means House of Bread. Remember Isaiah’s prophecy that a shoot will grow from Jesse’s stump. Jesus is the shoot but all Christians are also the new shoots growing from the old stump-the Jewish religion.

First century wine press showing the pressing area, the groove
for flowing to  the collection area and the collection area.

In Nazareth, we saw the first century wine press. They had to press the grapes with their feet in order to keep the seeds in tact so that the wine would not taste bitter. Vineyards also need watch towers to protect against the grapes from being eaten by animals and birds. Each watch would be 2-3 hours. This is the watch that Jesus refers to in The Garden of Gethsemane. We also remember the parable of the man and his vineyard. We can see that Jesus used illustrations from his own neighbourhood. Here we also saw an olive press. The first oil pressed, the extra virgin oil would be for the temple. The next would be for cooking and eating and the third would be for fuel. Gethsemane really means oil press. Here Jesus prayed 3 times. He was also pressed or weighed down with the weight of our sins.

Our Nazareth guide in the Synagogue with
a scroll similar to the Torah.  Behind him,
one of the heart shaped columns.

In this Nazarene village we also saw a synagogue which literally means House of Meeting. Two columns were put together for the Corner stone this makes a heart shape. When Jesus preached in the synagogue, he used two examples of non Jews (Naaman and the poor widow) as examples of faith. So he was saying that non Jews too belong to the family of God. For this he was accused of blasphemy and was taken to a cliff. This is actually the second most common form of execution for the Romans, after crucifixion. Cana of Galilee is right next to Nazareth. It is also an Arab village. There are two churches here and one is called, “The Wedding” after Jesus’ miracle at the wedding in Cana. This was also the home town of Nathaniel in whom was found no guile!

Now we are off for our hotel in Tiberias! Tiberias is only mentioned once in the Bible. It became an important centre after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. It remains a thriving town in comparison to the other nearby cities of Chorazim and Bethsaida which were cursed.

March 8, 2013

Unbelievable! We are waking up to a sunrise over the Sea of Galilee! Snow is on Mount Hermon in the distance! On the left is Mount Arabel..one of the last strongholds in the fight of the Jews against the Romans. We stayed for two nights in Tiberias which was built or at least started in Jesus’ time and it is still flourishing. The cities Jesus cursed for their unbelief – Chorazim, Bethsaida and even Capernaum lie in ruins.. one black basalt rock after another. Luke 9:10 and Luke 10:13. These towns also have synagogue ruins in them. Synagogues or community places took over after the Jews couldn’t get to the Temple anymore. Prayers have replaced the ritual sacrifices.

Mike Martino overseeing his wife Nanette trying to get a picture
of the fish engraving from the portico of the synagogue.
The inset is an enlarged image of the engraving.

On one synagogue we found the engraving of a fish which proves that this synagogue was taken over by Christians later after Jesus’ crucifixion. Churches were then a continuation of the synagogues. We also see the Greek influence in these synagogues with the classical bascilica and columns. In this synagogue there is a chair which the grandfather sat on while his grand son was being circumcised. Bethsaida is actually a very fertile region as it is a delta of the Jordan river and it receives the rain and snow melt from Mount Hermon. 

Part of the Syrian military post ruins

We traveled on to the ruins of a Syrian Military Post which until 1967 overlooked many Israeli villages. Now this area is in Israel’s hands. This fort too is made of the black basalt or volcanic rock as this whole area is part of the Syrian-African Rift valley. Here we saw the Syrian military pill boxes and we walked the tunnels which the Syrian military dug here. In fact the whole of the Golan Heights is full of tunnels. The feeding of the 5000 could also easily have happened here on one of these high mountains. We are seeing lots of large prickly pear cacti which the Israelis call sabras and this is also the name for their female soldiers. You can understand why- tough exterior, yet has many uses and it is ubiquitous in the land. There are also many tall Castor Oil Plants here and it is surmised that this is the plant that Jonah sat under. Since this is an agricultural land – though stony- we see many Kibbutzim which have actually seen their day and now many of these are being privatized. Many of these kibbutzim were started by Eastern European and Russian Jews as this system was familiar to them.

We moved on to the Upper Galilee and passed by the town of Sufat which is the centre of Jewish mysticism. This whole area was given to the tribe of Dan. Here they worshipped on the high places in contradiction of God’s laws. One reason the Kingdom split is because too much money was going to Jerusalem…taxes three++ times a year. Here in Tel Dan they have also re-created the Horns on the Altar which the people grabbed on to in order to save their lives in case of a dispute. In Greek mythology this is similar to Mount Olympus. The City of Dan also had a temple which was built there when the kingdom was divided. The City of Dan was originally called Laish – check out the Old Testament story on this. We also passed Mount Hazor – a Caananite strong hold similar to Megiddo. (Mount Hermon is on the border with Syria…the border is just past its summit.) This whole area in Upper Galilee which is now fertile was originally swamp land. The first settlers after 1948 drained these swamps and planted many eucalyptus trees- after first contacting malaria. This land was sold to them because the Arabs didn't want it. In fact the cure for malaria came from Israel. There are also many wild life refuges here and we are on the path of migrating birds from Africa. On June 6, 1967 all the Arab nations attacked Israel and there were heavy battles on the Golan Heights. In this war, the Israelis took about 65 miles of Syria’s land all along the border. However, 6000 Israelis out of a population of 60 000 died in this war of Independence. The strategy used by the Israelis was simply to injure a tank instead of destroying it and then use that tank again in the war against the enemy. This strategy worked! This idea was later taken over by the American army. Some of this land was returned in exchange for peace.

In 1973 on the Day of Atonement, all the Arab countries again attacked Israel. “By God’s grace we survived” said our tour guide. Israel now has control of the Golan Heights although there is not too much settlement here. An entire village that was evacuated did not return even after the peace agreement. There is a United Nations camp here and also the remains of a Crusader fort. The settlers feel that they are too close to Syria here. The Memorial for the Golan Heights soldiers uses King David’s words in his mourning for Saul and Jonathan. We moved on to the area of Caesarea Phillipi named after Herod’s son Philip since this area was given to him. The Greeks also called this area Pan or Banweiss according to the Arabs since they can’t pronounce the P. Once an area is called holy it stays holy even though it passes to another religion and this area had a large grotto and smaller shrines cut into the rock. Ritual sacrifices were also held here. Later Echo – the mountain nymph and the Greek God Hermes were worshipped here. Later during the reign of Emperor Trajan a temple to Zeus was built here. So the Greeks called this entire area Pan in honour of the God Pan who is the God of shepherds since they use the Pan flute to call their sheep. A Pan cult has been in place here since the third century. The word panicked comes from the word Pan. Herod the Great took over this area after the Greeks. He built a temple here for Caesar.

Jesus came here to Caesarea Philippi– to the bottom of Mount Hermon and asked his disciples: Who do people say that I am? Peter answered: You are the Christ- the Son of the Living God! It is important to know that this declaration is made in front of a long time pagan background! Jesus was also transfigured on Mount Hermon although some say it was Mount Tabor. This is the background to Jesus declaration of who he is. Later the Byzantines came to the Holy Land 30 years after Jesus’ death. They wanted to know where Jesus traveled and they marked some of these sites. Peter is also told in this area that he is the Rock and that on this rock, God will build the church. Here we were also told the story of Elochim, an Israeli Jew, who became a friend of the high Syrian army officials. These officials even took him on a tour of all their bunkers in the Heights. Since they were bothered by heat and flies here, Elochim suggested that they plant eucalyptus trees in front of their bunkers which they did! Thus they inadvertently marked all their bunkers for the Israelis! Unfortunately, he was eventually discovered and hanged in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Now there is a double fence between Syria and Israel with watch towers all along it. A few Arab and Druze villages do remain in the Heights.

The fisherman's boat discovered in the Sea of Galilee

We travelled on to Genereset and toured an old fishing boat from Jesus’ time. It was discovered when the Sea of Galilee shrunk due to a number of dry years. We finished the day with devotions on board a boat on the Sea of Galilee. We couldn’t cross the lake because it was quite windy and wavy so we also got an idea of how rough this lake can become!

March 9, 2013 

Off we went first to the town of Capernaum which is on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. Remember the story where Jesus tells the disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat? They get 153 fish! This number is very significant because if we calculate this number geometrically and use the Hebrew words, it stands for-“I am your God!” Our guide said she shivered when she realized this! Capernaum is a fisherman’s town but it also had a tax post and a Roman centurion here. This is also where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Peter himself was from Bethsaida. This town was Jesus’ home base. Nothing is left of this town as it was cursed like Bethsaida and Chorazim. Jesus came to Capernaum after his baptism and his followers kept coming to his home town after his death.

A synagogue is now built on posts over the original ruins and they can look down on the ruins of two original synagogues through the glass floor. We see 8 walls in the ruins since 8 was also seen as a holy number. The synagogue here was very lavish, for a poor town, all made of white stone, so it is speculated that the Roman centurion helped build this synagogue. Remember his son was healed by Jesus and Jesus marveled over his faith. In the synagogue the Torah was read- i.e. the books of the law. Even now when Jewish grooms get married they break a glass signifying that even at their happiest moments, they remember the destruction of the temple. Jesus shows the people how they can have an intimate conversation with God, i.e. prayer , even without the temple because the temple is corrupt according to Jesus.

Synagogue in Capurnaum
Anita and her Husband Ray
in the foreground

In this town we remembered the story of Jairus and his daughter. See Mark 5. Jairus’ story is like a sandwich with the story of the bleeding woman in the centre. She touched Jesus’ garment or prayer shawl which the orthodox Jews always wear under their clothing. They let the tassel or talith of this garment hang out. This is what the woman would have touched when she was healed and when Jesus felt power go out of him. But then Jesus also says to the little girl, Talitha cume or pure thread when she is healed. So now we can see that these stories are actually related. Jesus was also wrapped in a Jewish prayer shawl when he was buried. He did not spurn all the Jewish customs. In this synagogue as in all of them, no icons are allowed-i.e. graven images. We do see some date palms and this used to be the symbol of the Jewish people. It was actually the Nazis who used the Star of David and made this their symbol.

From here we went on to the Mount of Beatitudes. Here there is a Catholic church designed by Burlocci an Italian architect. It is made of the local basalt stones and white stones and also uses the motive of eight. Each wall of this octagonal building has a beatitude written on it. Rachel’s tomb is also in this area. Our next stop was Beth She'an but first we ate lunch at the site of the first kibbutz in Israel. Beth She'an is located near the mountains of Gilboa and David cursed these mountains because this is where Saul and his sons were killed. Their bodies were hung on the walls of this city.

Panoramic shot of excavated Bet She'an

Beth She'an was originally a Caananite city but was taken over by the Greeks, then the Romans and later the Byzantines. Since it is such an old city some of the first immigrants were sent here because they wanted to secure this city. This city goes back at least as far as the days of King Ahab. It was taken from the Philistines and later re-done by Herod. Who put in the main road or cardo with pillars along side it.
The Romans invented the road systems we still use today. Here we saw the elaborate bath house, the amphitheatre, the aquaducts and the remains of the covered shops which were on both sides of the road. During its prime in the Byzantine era, 30 to 40 000 inhabitants would have lived here. The city declined when the Arabs took over and it was also hit by an earthquake. Statistically this area gets hit with an earthquake every 100 years and they are due for another one. This city was also the main city of the Decapolis. Another name for this city is Scythopolis.

After this town we continued south along the Jordan River. This remains a good agricultural area. There is a mined strip along the Jordan on the Israeli side and this is for defence. This was once a semi arid area but now there are date palm plantations all along the river. We travelled through the West Bank which is Israeli occupied territory since 1967 and we had to pass through several check points. John the Baptist probably baptized along this stretch of the river. This is also the approximate site of the miraculous crossing of the Jordan by Elijah and Elisha. We passed by Jericho but did not enter since this is under Palestinian rule. Zaacheus lived in Jericho and from this story we learn that sometimes we need to make an effort to see Jesus.

We are beginning to get a feel of the Judean wilderness as it is getting progressively more barren and hilly. Ray got a picture of a shepherd. Apparently we are getting a good view of the area as it is greener than normal due to good rainfall this winter. This is also the region of Mount Nebo where Moses got a glimpse of the promised land. We are now getting our first look of the Dead Sea. They are exporting potassium from the Sea and this is a major source of income for Israel. We also stopped at a store to buy Ahava products- skin creams also mined from the Dead Sea.

Our first look at Masada

We had our first look at Masada which King Herod built for his winter palace. He built fortresses around the country. This one has many store rooms, a palace, and many aquaducts which worked like eave troughs capturing the flash floods which occur from time to time in the desert. They even captured the water which falls in the mountains around Jerusalem. The water was held in cisterns and they also had a filtration system. This Herod died in his sleep and his kingdom was divided amongst his 3 sons and his sister. He wanted to make sure that no son would be greater than he was. Masada became the Jews last stand when they revolted against the Romans in 66 A.D. and this place was finally captured by the Romans in 73 A.D. However, it took 5000 soldiers and 3 years to crush this revolt and when they finally entered the fortress, they found that all the Jews except a two women and a few children had committed suicide. (The temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.-remember Jesus’ prediction that not one stone would remain.) They preferred death to tyranny and enslavement. The survivors were able to tell their story to Josephus who wrote their story down. The Romans finally captured this place by building a huge siege ramp. The Romans under the command of Flavius also had to go to En Gedi to get water while the Jews used the water from the cisterns and aquaducts built by Herod. About 1000 people were part of this last stand and this story is the inspiration for the Israeli army. In fact they use to use the slogan – remember Masada in their oath to their country but now many people object to this. After this event the Jews were exiled to countries around the world and did not return until after the second world war and the holocaust. After the Babylonian exile only the tribe of Judah returned to their land. The other ten tribes were lost so that is why you can even find Jewish native Americans. (This also gives the Mormons fuel for their belief that they are part of the lost 10 tribes.) All the back ground to Masada was told by our guide as we travelled past. Tomorrow we shall tour the fortress. Our stop for the night was at the Leonardo Hotel bordering the Dead Sea.

A panoramic image of part of Masada

March 10, 2013 

We rested up this morning by having a relaxing float in the Dead Sea…lots of fun! This morning we noticed that our hotel door has a Mezzuza or little box on the door frame in which there is a paper with a bit of the story of the Passover where the angel passes over the homes with blood on the door post.. These are used as keepers of the door and now we have one on our door frame also! We had a little more history on the bus ride to tour Masada which we toured in the warm sun for a couple of hours. We learned that Mount Moriah means God shows me. This is of course where Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac and also where the Temple Mount is now located. Mid Bal means desert in Hebrew but it also means to talk so God talks to us in the desert just as He called Moses in the desert. This is what happened to the Israelites when they wandered in the desert for 40 years and also why monks and other mystics travel to the desert. God speaks more clearly in the desert away from distractions. The Essenes also went into the desert to be closer to God. The remnants of two synagogues have been found by the Spring of En Gedi- David’s hiding place. In Roman times one group actually made a balm or perfume from a rare plant that grows in the desert. They were sworn to secrecy as to which plant(s) were used for this balm and the people of En Gedi died without revealing this secret to the Romans. Remember the song-“There is a Balm in Gilead”. Scientists are now trying to use DNA to develop this balm once again.

Along the way to Jerusalem, we stopped at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. They survived so well because of the hot dry climate here. It is believed that the Essenes hid these scrolls in the desert when they heard that the Romans were coming. They spent their lives hand copying the Bible books and amazingly the Book of Isaiah is pretty well word for word what we have in our Bibles today. The Essenes like many groups believed that they were the children of the Light and that all other people were children of darkness. The Essenes also developed a system to capture the flash floods in the desert. They needed water since they purified themselves twice daily and once they came out of their ritual bath they could not touch anything that was impure. They also produced a date palm honey as a way of supporting themselves. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1952 in a cave nearby by a Bedouin shepherd. 14000 fragments were uncovered and later 1000 more were found. These fragments were originally sold for quick cash until people realized the magnitude of this discovery and then they had to purchase these scraps again to get them back. Most are now on display in the Israeli museum where we saw them.

Bedouin Settlement

We are now turning west to Jerusalem. We are passing some Bedouin settlements which are now more permanent than they were in the past. These encampments which look very primitive and messy are right along side the four lane highway. Most Bedouin are Jordanian citizens even though they live within Israel’s borders now. They are generally left alone and the children do not have to go to school if they live in occupied territory. If they live in Israel they have to go to school and also go into the military. (After the 6 day war in 1967, the Bedouin just stayed put.) In the distance we are seeing the skyscrapers of Jerusalem and the golden dome of the Temple Mount.

The golden dome of the Temple Mount

The song Jerusalem is playing in the bus and it is a powerful moment! On our first night in Jerusalem we listened to a lecture on the temple in history and prophecy. The Temple is all about God’s presence! Sin entered the world and right after that we learn that we must approach God through sacrifice. This is the family altar! In Genesis 12 God begins to deal with the whole human race through one family – and he makes a covenant with Abraham but he takes Abraham’s part as well as his own. Then at Mount Sinai he begins to deal with a nation. The first thing you approach in the tabernacle is the altar since “ the life of the flesh is in the blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Deuteronomy promises that there will always be a place for God among his people and that place is Jerusalem. Gabriel also says to Mary that her son will be off the HOUSE and line of David. David cannot build a house for God but God will make a HOUSE out of him! David buys land for the temple in Jerusalem but he can’t build it because he has been a man of blood. David brings back booty from his wars for the temple. LESSON: Sometimes we have to prepare for the next generation. From 2 Chronicles 3:1 we learn that the temple was built on the threshing floor where David offered a sacrifice to end the plague caused by numbering his people so it was already a place where God’s judgment had been stayed! Before this it was also the place where Abraham offered to sacrifice his son Isaac-Mount Moriah. (The Muslims believe that this is where Abraham offered Ishmael and also where Mohamed ascended into heaven so this is their third holiest city.) Jews pray towards the temple because this is where God manifests himself. Ezekiel 10 and 11- Daniel is already in Babylon and he prays toward Jerusalem but God’s glory has left the temple and has gone to the Mount of Olives. The first temple was Solomon’s and the second temple period begins with Zerubbabel and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Then the Greeks take over the temple and we have the Maccabean revolt and the Hannukah miracle where the light keeps burning. Then Herod the Great – an Edomite takes over and re-builds the temple. It is finally finished in A.D. 63 and completely destroyed in A.D. 70. The third temple is really Jesus- The Gospel of John says that the WORD became flesh and tabernacled among us.

Western Wall

For the Jews, who are non believers in Christ, the physical temple remains as most important and the Western wall which is a retaining wall not the Temple itself is the closest they can get to the Ark of the Covenant. This wall is also called The Wailing Wall. In 1967, the western wall was returned to the Jews but it is under Islamic jurisdiction. The Jews have a temple institute and they are preparing for the third temple. We saw the Menorah which is completely made of gold and in a glass cover waiting for the construction of the third or tribulation temple. This could be the time of the anti Christ. See Daniel 9:17. In Ezekiel 40-43 we read about the heavenly temple. The Eastern gate of the wall is closed in order to prevent Jesus from coming through this gate. It is prophesied that Jesus will descend on the Mount of Olives when He returns and then come through this gate. The Muslims also have all their graves in front of this gate in order to prevent this from happening. The Jewish graves are on the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem was divided for 19 years into two sections- Jordan had part and Israel had a part. There was a wall dividing the two parts. Today a light rail track is on the site of the former wall. All buildings in Jerusalem must be built from the local limestone. This gives a gold colour when the sun sets. The Turks built the present walls of the old city and the final battle between the Turks and the Brits occurred in the valley of Armageddon in 1917. The Brits ruled until the state of Israel was established in 1948. After the 6 day War in 1967 a cease fire line was drawn between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem. This left about 5 metres undefined. There is a story about a nun who lost her false teeth in this no man’s zone and had to get both the Jordanian and Israeli armies involved before she got her teeth back! Today Jerusalem is all under Israeli control but the Old City ids divided into 4: The Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Armenian quarter and the Christian quarter but the Muslims control the Temple Mount. The Muslims were given this in order to guarantee the peace. While we were on The Mount of Olives, we read Psalm 22. In order to reach the Mount of Olives, you need to cross the Kidron valley. Jesus crossed this on his last night on earth. He stepped into the blood which ran down from the temple symbolizing that He is the final sacrifice. See Genesis and God’s covenant with Abraham. The Kidron Valley turns into the Valley of Jehosophat which means-God will judge. Actually the Arabs have this valley and they call it The Wadi Joes which means The Valley of the Nut! Jerusalem’s history goes all the way back to Melchishedek the priest of Salem. Beside the Golden Dome on the Temple Mount which was built in 688-691 A.D., there is the Al Aqsa mosque built in 709-715A.D. Following our over view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, we saw the Dominus Flavit Church which is built on the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. Teardrops are on the corners of the roof. At the bottom of the Kidron Valley and in front of this church, we see the tomb of Absalom. So we can understand that David “went up” from this site crying over the loss of his son. Jewish children still throw stones at this tomb and are warned to obey their parents.

March 11, 2013 

Garden of Gethsemane

We began the day by walking the same path Jesus took on Palm Sunday going down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. This garden was really an olive farm complete with an olive press and this symbolizes the crushing weight of sin that Jesus carried when he took on the sins of the world. We entered The Church of Gethsemane which has windows made of alabaster in order to give it a gloomy atmosphere. It is also called The Church of Agony or The Church of all Nations. It was built after World War 1 in a spirit of optimism and hope for peace. Part of one wall is the exact rock beside which Jesus prayed to God before his crucifixion. Beside the Mount of Olives is Mount Scopus coming from the word microscope so this name means to see Jerusalem. It also has the name Mount of Scandal since here Solomon allowed his foreign wives to have their gods and worship in the high places. Now the United Nations has its office here.

Mosaic at the mosaic museum

Next we stopped at the Inn of the Good Samaritan which is on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Now there is a mosaic museum here and we learned a bit about the Samaritans. Apparently they never left the Holy Land after the expulsion of the Jews from the land after the destruction of the second temple so their language is Arabic. They also think that they are the original Jews descendants of the tribe of Mannesah but they object as to the location where God should be worshiped. They believe that He should be worshiped on Mount Gerazim.



Next we had lunch at Abraham’s tent – a Bedouin tent. The person who played Abraham was actually an American Jew from Grand Rapids Michigan. Like many other young Jews, he wanted to be part of this exciting back to Israel movement. He found his identity here in this country. This Bedouin tent is right in the area where Abraham lived. After a wonderful lunch here, we travelled on to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is in the Palestinian Autonomous area so our Israeli driver and tour guide could not go into the city. We had a check point to go through and we were asked to bring our passports although they weren’t checked. We moved from one bus to another and received a new guide- a Christian Arab, a graduate of Bethlehem Bible College. The first city we passed through was Beit Jalal which means green carpet. The patron Saint of this town was Saint Nicholas. Both Christians and Muslims live here and they use all sorts of currency. There was a lot of mess and garbage in any open area. Beit means house and Bethlehem means House of Bread. Again we were amazed at the distance between this town and Nazareth! 50 000 people live in this city and tourism is the biggest industry although they had no visitors after 9/11 until 2006. Even though Christians are the minority, the Minister of Tourism must be a Christian. We first saw the chapel of the Angel in the Shepherds fields and learned that Canada had donated the money for the altar in this church. The shepherd’s cave was behind the church. The angel appeared to the shepherds because they are humble people and also because Jesus is The Lamb of God- the final sacrifice. Ruth and Naomi were also from Bethlehem and Jacob buried Rachel here. People came to this shepherd’s cave to buy a lamb to sacrifice in Jerusalem. The Byzantines first built churches here but then these were all destroyed except for the Church of the Nativity. This church is the oldest church in the world- built in 540A.D. Here the Persians saw the mosaic of the Wisemen and felt that these men from the East were their own people. Queen Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, the Roman emperor who converted to Christianity thus ending the persecution in the Roman Empire, sponsored the building of this church. It is a Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian church. They each have different areas or parts of the church and they are allowed to have communion in this church at different times. The Catholic Church was built in 1883 on the ruins of a Crusader church and it has a midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The eastern Christians follow a different calendar so they have a different day for Christmas the latest being Jan. 6.

March 12, 2013 

Jerusalem started in the City of David. This is where the Gihon Spring and Pool of Siloam is located. We entered the Old City of Jerusalem through the Dung Gate and went directly to the Western Wall. The Temple Mount is built on Mount Moriah meaning God will show. Herod felt that the temple was not good enough and started re-building it by first building retaining walls. The Golden Dome which the Muslims built here in the 600’s is still only 1/3 the size of the original temple. The Muslims called on all Muslims to settle in Jerusalem and they built arches along the western wall and then built homes on top of that. This was done to cover up the wall. They also hoped to run the Jews out of the area. Immediately after the 1967 war and before the world really noticed, the Jews razed these buildings to uncover the wall so that the Jewish people would have a place to pray. (No Bibles are allowed in the Temple Mount.)

We travelled through the rabbinical tunnels which are the original arches on which these homes are built. This area is called The Tryopean or cheese maker’s valley. The gate here which is uncovered is called The Wilson’s Gate named for the archaeologist who uncovered it. Only a small part of the western wall is uncovered, however. As we walked the 600 metres of tunnels underneath the western wall, we saw huge stones over 500 tonnes! No wonder the people couldn’t understand Jesus when He prophesied that not one stone would remain. The Romans didn’t even succeed in knocking down this entire wall! As we walked along these tunnels we ran into bedrock which would have been part then of Mount Moriah! Here the stone masons made the bedrock look like stones by carving borders around the stones just like the other stones have these borders. Water runs down a natural crack in the rock and collects in a natural cistern. As we emerged from the tunnels we saw homes which were mainly built by the Turks during the time of the Ottoman empire. The entrance to the temple Mount is on the North eastern corner and on the North western corner there is the Antonia Fortress built after Marc Anthony- Cleopatra’s beau! Here Jesus was taken to be tried and we looked at scratches on the floor here which could have been done by the Romans as they argued over Jesus’ life and fate. Herod came to this fortress from time to time to see what the Jews were up to. We walked on to the Pool of Bethsaida – see John 5:2-9. Later this site also became a site for a temple because of the miraculous healing in the waters here. The pool was also close to the sheep gate so this is the gate through which the sheep were brought for the temple sacrifices.

St Ann's

Then we walked on to Saint Ann’s church named after Ann the mother of Mary. Here we were surprised by a group of Indonesian tourists who first sang Amazing G race and then Ere Zij God in this church. The acoustics were wonderful. This church was first built by the Byzantines, ruined by the Muslims, and rebuilt by the Crusaders. This is a reoccurring pattern. In fact the phrase “knock on wood” comes from the Crusader period since they sold parts of what were supposed to be the cross. After this we walked the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This road was somewhat depressing because of all the shops along it and it seemed to not be conducive to contemplation. However, as Ray said this would also have been a very busy time in Jesus’ day with almost a million visitors in Jerusalem for the Passover, buying sheep and goats for the peoples’ sacrifices. Jews cannot buy property in the Arab quarter but the president prime minister of Israel – Ariel Sharon -managed it and the Jewish flag now flies in front of his house in the Arab quarter. There were thirty years since the events in Jesus’ life and the first people coming to the area to mark the spots. The Jews themselves were not interested in marking these spots.
The church of the Holy Sepulcher is owned by the Armenians and Greek Orthodox and since there was no room for the Ethiopian Christians, they built a church on the roof of this church! Then the Coptic Christians from Egypt established themselves outside of the Ethiopian church. They believe that they are the descendents of King David and the Queen of Sheba! They have been around since A.D. 325. For awhile the Crusaders and later Christians, (during the Ottoman Empire) couldn’t get out of their church so they used a ladder to get out of an upstairs window to buy food. This ladder has been left there as a reminder of all the conflict which has occurred here. (Many priests of these churches and their families live right inside the church.) Even today a Muslim ambassador is in charge of this Christian church. He opens and closes the door every day! (He is now supposed to keep the peace between the Christian groups!)
Next we walked through the Jewish quarter. Here we also shopped. The basements of these buildings are all empty so that they can excavate wherever they want. In 1967 after the 6 day war, the Jews received possession of this quarter. They did not build right away but rather excavated first and they found the Roman cargo- or main road. Here we saw the first Jewish synagogue in this newly received area but right beside it is a mosque. We enjoyed seeing busy young families and kids coming home from school here. For them the streets of Jerusalem are home! Next we traveled on to the south west corner of the temple. This part of the temple was not ruined by the Romans. We sat on the steps of the temple (of course we couldn’t enter the temple since it is a Muslim area) and imagined Pentecost occurring here since this is the spot where Peter would have preached his sermon and 3,000 became Christians in one day! Here the Shofar Horn would have been blown calling the people to worship. In fact the rock which bore the inscription: Here stands the horn blower fell from the top. They excavated this corner also and found the Herodian street and under this street a sewage system complete with some cooking pots so at the time of the destruction of the temple some Jews tried to hide out here. Just a short history of the Holy land as a review: 3,300 The Caananite Period 1006 The Israelite Period 586 The Babylonian Period 538 The Persian Era (Darius the Great) 332 The Hellenistic(Greek) Era (Maccabean Revolt) 63 The Roman Period begins *King Herod the Great 37 – 4 A.D. He rebuilds the temple to gain favour with the Jews and renown for himself! (The temple is his greatest achievement.) 66 A.D. the Jews revolt and the temple is destroyed in 70A.D. 324 The Byzantine Era 638 The Early Muslim Era 1099 The Crusader Period 1260 The Mamluk Persians 1517 The Ottoman Empire - The Turks 1917 The Bristish rule Palestine 1948 The Jews return and the State of Israel is declared but in the short war they lose ½ of the City of Jerusalem and a cease fire is line is declared in the city between the Jews and the Jordanians 1967 The 6 Day War happens and all of Jerusalem is now under Israeli control although the Old City remains divided into 4 quarters and the Muslims are granted the Temple Mount 1973 Another major but short Arab/Israeli Conflict A Ceasefire is declared. We ended the day by visiting the quiet Garden Tomb. Now many believe that this was actually the place of Jesus’ death and burial and subsequent resurrection. Here we visibly saw a skull face in the rock. Our guide was a passionate Christian and this came out in his talk. It was also a quiet place of contemplation not the zoo that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has become. Here we were supposed to have communion but we did not have everyone so we had this back at the hotel. This was followed by an inspiring talk from a Messianic Jew.

March 13, 2013 

Today we travelled to Mount Zion. Originally more of Jerusalem was called Mount Zion. When the Jews did not have Jerusalem in the early years of statehood, they used to go to Mount Zion and look at the Old City and the temple to pray. Here we saw St. Peter’s Church which has a rooster on top! I thought that it was sad that Peter was still remembered most for his denial of Jesus but perhaps that is a lesson for all of us.

Zion Gate

From here we see the Zion Gate. The bullet holes remind us of the war following the Jews declaration of statehood. The Jewish people then came out of this gate waving white handkerchiefs. Here on Mount Zion we also saw the House of Caiaphas where Jesus was taken. There was a prison under this house so Jesus could well have spent the night before his crucifixion here and then the next morning he was brought to the Antonia fortress. We also saw the Upper Room where the last supper was held and where the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit before Pentecost. Sadly this room is also now sacred to the Jews and the Muslims as a shrine for the Muslim faith has also been built here. A police officer keeps the peace and makes sure that no one actually prays here or becomes too demonstrative in their faith An Olive tree is here which is a symbol of peace. But we also saw an imprint of a lamb and this is a symbol for Jesus the sacrificial lamb. The entire Upper room is built over King David’s tomb. That is why this is also a special place for the Jews. We read Psalm 87 in the Upper Room. Rich people lived on Mount Zion. We can know this from the cisterns which are here, the purification pools and the remnants of the Roman road. As we drove out to the Holocaust Museum, we passed the Jaffa gate. Here Kaiser Wilhelm asked that some of the gate be broken so that he could ride in on his horse. However, the British General Allenby got off his horse and walked through since he was not going to ride where Christ had walked. We learned that the American consulate is in Jerusalem but the embassy is in Tel Aviv since Jerusalem is a very controversial capital for Israel. We see a number of King George Streets and a King George School since the Israelis are grateful to the British for freeing them from the Turks. We also passed by the Knesset the Israeli Parliament and we learned from our Messianic Jewish speaker that Netanyahu is now part of a Bible Study group! The Israeli Parliament is the only democracy in the Middle East. On Mount Zion we also past Herzel Street and this mountain is sometimes called Herzl Mountain in honour of the Father of Modern day Zionism. He brought about the dream of the Jews returning to the Holy land after a number of Jewish pogroms in Europe.
At The Holocaust Museum we learned that Holo means whole and caust burning so this word means the whole burning or sacrifice of 6 million Jews. 1 and1/ 2 children were also killed and we were moved by the children’s memorial which reflected many many times over different candle flames. This comes from Proverbs 20:27 where it talks about the candle being the soul. The architect of this memorial was Moshe Sufdie. We also saw a sculpture of an orphanage director who went willingly to death with his children. He himself was not a Jew. This was the Januszkorcak Plaza and his arms are purposefully too short because he could not save all the children. Here there is also an empty tomb for the 6 million who never had a burial place and here we walked The Avenue of The Righteous and thought of Pake- Geert Greydanus- and his family and of Grandma living so close to Westerbork in Holland. Next we toured the Israeli Museum and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then I stayed on at the museum while Ray walked some of the Old City again. 

After another wonderful supper with good companionship, we boarded a van for our trip back to the airport and finally flew out of Tel Aviv at 12:50a.m. arriving back in Toronto at 8 a.m. with the time change. It was a 13 hour trip home but we felt that the trip had been an incredible blessing to us!