On the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; the Muslim shrine 'The Dome of the Rock' that commemorates where Mohammed ascended to heaven.
GYI Israel continued...
GYI Israel continued...
March 10, 2008 (journal)
This morning’s session with Mark Edwards had to do with ‘being’ a follower of Jesus and ‘doing’ the work of discipleship. We also had an elective session where we could go and hear about what God is doing in various parts of the world. I went to the Latin America session with an emphasis on Costa Rica which is cool because there are about 5 youth leaders/pastors here from there who only speak Spanish and it’s clear that being here in Israel is a once in a lifetime experience for them!
Our Jerusalem tour on this day began with getting 250 people on 5 buses to the entrance of the Temple Mount by a certain time because visitors are only allowed there when the Muslim authorities decide that it’s ok. Well, we got our entire group there on time and we were let in! It was a surreal experience to say the least to be able to walk on the Temple Mount. THE Temple Mount where each of the Temples were constructed and God inhabited the Holy of Holies. Today neither of the 2 main structures there are the Temple, but the mosque El Aksa and the Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock. Our guide Shai told us that every Friday you can find 15,000 men praying towards Mecca on the Temple Mount. As we walked across these grounds, we heard how the King of Jordan in the first half of the 20th century donated the pure gold that is on top of the Dome at a price of 18 billion dollars, we saw the ancient gates of the eastern side of the city wall and Temple Mount, and we marveled at being on the sight containing 3000 years of the history of God’s people.
As we exited on the north east end of the Temple Mount, we soon found ourselves at the Pool of Bethsaida where the sacrificial animals were cleaned and approved by the Temple priests. A church was there next to that place where Jesus healed the paralytic man and we had the opportunity to sing as a group inside. We soon found ourselves walking down what is known as the ‘Via Dolorosa’ where there are countless shops and of course the 14 stations of the cross representing Jesus walk to Calvary from Pilate’s court. We walked through this Muslim quarter of Old Jerusalem where there were countless shops and had some time to shop as well before continuing on into the Jewish quarter.
This morning’s session with Mark Edwards had to do with ‘being’ a follower of Jesus and ‘doing’ the work of discipleship. We also had an elective session where we could go and hear about what God is doing in various parts of the world. I went to the Latin America session with an emphasis on Costa Rica which is cool because there are about 5 youth leaders/pastors here from there who only speak Spanish and it’s clear that being here in Israel is a once in a lifetime experience for them!
Our Jerusalem tour on this day began with getting 250 people on 5 buses to the entrance of the Temple Mount by a certain time because visitors are only allowed there when the Muslim authorities decide that it’s ok. Well, we got our entire group there on time and we were let in! It was a surreal experience to say the least to be able to walk on the Temple Mount. THE Temple Mount where each of the Temples were constructed and God inhabited the Holy of Holies. Today neither of the 2 main structures there are the Temple, but the mosque El Aksa and the Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock. Our guide Shai told us that every Friday you can find 15,000 men praying towards Mecca on the Temple Mount. As we walked across these grounds, we heard how the King of Jordan in the first half of the 20th century donated the pure gold that is on top of the Dome at a price of 18 billion dollars, we saw the ancient gates of the eastern side of the city wall and Temple Mount, and we marveled at being on the sight containing 3000 years of the history of God’s people.
As we exited on the north east end of the Temple Mount, we soon found ourselves at the Pool of Bethsaida where the sacrificial animals were cleaned and approved by the Temple priests. A church was there next to that place where Jesus healed the paralytic man and we had the opportunity to sing as a group inside. We soon found ourselves walking down what is known as the ‘Via Dolorosa’ where there are countless shops and of course the 14 stations of the cross representing Jesus walk to Calvary from Pilate’s court. We walked through this Muslim quarter of Old Jerusalem where there were countless shops and had some time to shop as well before continuing on into the Jewish quarter.
Along the 'Via Dolorosa', the 5th station of the cross where Simon of Cyrene was forced by the Romans to carry Jesus' cross.
Before we left the Old City, we went past the church of the ‘Domitian of Mary’ where Catholic’s commemorate Mary’s ascension to heaven, to the Upper Room where the Last Supper was, and to the traditional site of David’s tomb.
That evening we had our worship and debriefing session but a few of us also had another rare opportunity; we would go back to the Western (Wailing) Wall and see what is known as the Rabinnical Tunnels. These tunnels were dug along the lower portions of the Western Wall in some cases right under homes in the Muslim quarter. This was a most amazing thing to see as there were perfectly preserved stones of the wall Herod constructed in the first century BC; 2 of these stones are the largest stones used in any construction in the world. The tunnels follow along the Western Wall all the way to the north-western corner of the temple walls and, of great interest and reverence to the Jews, the tunnel goes in close proximity to the site of the Holy of Holies in the original Temple. Reservations for this tunnel experience along the lower regions of the Western Wall had to be made 4 months before we came, so it was quite a unique experience that we were able to have. The only difficult part of seeing these tunnels was that we weren’t able to go until 10:30pm! But it was worth it!
Inside the Rabbinical tunnels along the Western Wall of the Temple, our guide Koren speaks to us in front of the largest stone in the world ever used in construction. It weighs 570 tons and is 44 feet long, 10 feet high and 12-16 feet deep. The next largest stone in the wall is a mere 40 feet long. The largest stone in the Great Pyramid weighs 11 tons. The wall was built by Herod the Great in the first century BC.
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