Jerusalem Top 10 – Journey to Holy Land

Dominus Flevit Chapel

webmaster — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 17:22:08 +0000

During the Dominus Flevit construction, archaeologists uncovered many finds dating back from the Canaanite period until the roman era, as well as tombs from the Second Temple and Byzantine period.

Dominus Flevit has a most beautiful panoramic view to the Old City of Jerusalem, it is exactly in front of the Golden Gate and Golden Dome.

The name Dominus Flevit, which translates from Latin as "The Lord Wept", was projected in the form of a teardrop to symbolize the tears of Jesus.

Here, according to the book of Luke chapter 19th, Jesus, while riding toward the city of Jerusalem, becomes overwhelmed by the beauty of the Second Temple and prophesied its future destruction and the diaspora of the Israeli people. Luke 19:37-42

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Luke 19:37–42 NKJV

In 1874 C. Clermont-Ganneau reported the discovery of burials that yielded the names Mary, Martha, and Eleazar (Lazarus). Between 1953 and 1955 B. Bagatti conduct ed excavations on the grounds of Dominus Flevit (“The Lord Wept”) on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. He recovered forty-three inscriptions with many of the same names as are found in the NT. Many of these names, however, are quite common: Simon occurs thirty-two times, Joseph twenty-one times, Mary eighteen times, Martha eleven times, etc.

Though many of the ossuaries bear cross marks, this does not demonstrate that these are Christian burials, inasmuch as clearly Jewish ossuaries, e.g., that of Nicanor, also bear such marks. The cross on Jewish ossuaries may represent the letter Taw (cf. Ezek 9:4) as a mark of those faithful to the Lord.

But in one case from Dominus Flevit what is inscribed seems to be the Chi-Rho symbol for “Christ” or “Christian.” Inscribed on another is a monogram of the Greek letters Iota, Chi, and Beta, standing perhaps for “Iesous Christos Boethia “ (“Help!”).

Two ossuary inscriptions discovered in Talpioth, a southern suburb of Jerusalem, were called the “earliest records of Christianity” by Sukenik.50 A coin of Agrippa I and pottery indicate that the ossuaries belong to the period before A.D. 50. The two ossuaries bear the enigmatic inscriptions in Greek: IESOU IOU and IESOU ALOTH. These were interpreted by Sukenik as cries of lamentation addressed to Jesus. Kane, on the other hand, interprets these as simple personal names.51 He does concede the possibility that the ossuary of Alexander of Cyrene, son of Simon, may be that of the son of the man who carried Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21).

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Gethsemane

webmaster — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 18:29:31 +0000

Gethsemane means "oil press" in Aramaic. This incredible place was where one of the most important scenarios of the Gospels took place when Jesus and the disciples retired after the Last Supper. John described as a “garden” (κῆπος), while Luke (22:40) simply says “place” (τόπος). From John 18:1 it is evident that it was across the Kidron, and from Luke 22:39, that it was on the Mount of Olives.

The Gethsemane is located at the footstep of Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem and the Temple Mount from across the Kidron Valley and the Golden Gate.

“When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him,”

John 18:1–12 KJV

And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Luke 22:39–53 KJV

Tradition, dating from the 4th century, has fixed on a place some 50 yds. E. of the bridge across the Kidron as the site. In this walled-in enclosure once of greater extent, now primly laid out with garden beds, by the owners — the Franciscans — are eight old olive trees supposed to date from the time of our Lord. They are certainly old, they appeared venerable to the traveler Maundrell more than two centuries ago, but that they go back to the time claimed is impossible, for Josephus states (BJ, VI, i, 1) that Titus cut down all the trees in the neighborhood of Jerusalem at the time of the siege. Some 100 yards farther N. is the “Grotto of the Agony,” a cave or cistern supposed to be the spot “about a stone’s cast” to which our Lord retired (Lk 22:41). The Greeks have a rival garden in the neighborhood, and a little higher up the hill is a large Russian church. The traditional site may be somewhere near the correct one, though one would think too near the public road for retirement, but the contours of the hill slopes must have so much changed their forms in the troubled times of the first and second centuries, and the loose stone walls of such enclosures are of so temporary a character, that it is impossible that the site is exact. Sentiment, repelled by the artificiality of the modern garden, tempts the visitor to look for a more suitable and less artificial spot farther up the valley. There is today a secluded olive grove with a ruined modern olive press amid the trees a half-mile or so farther up the Kidron Valley, which must far more resemble the original Gethsemane than the orthodox site.

“Gethsemane,” ISBE, paragraph 23844.

Jesus in Gethsemane

The place where Jesus offered an anguished prayer just before his betrayal and arrest there (Matt. 26:36; Mark 14:32). Its exact location is unknown, though it was probably somewhere near the Mount of Olives since all four Gospels agree that Jesus was betrayed and arrested on or near the Mount of Olives (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39; John 18:1). The name Gethsemane is from Aram. gaṯ šĕmānê, “oil press.” Both olive trees and presses for extracting the oil from the olives were common in the area, and it is probable that Gethsemane contained such a press.

Matthew and Mark name the place of Jesus’ prayer, betrayal, and arrest as Gethsemane and place it near the Mount of Olives. Luke does not name the place but has the events take place on the mount itself. John does not mention Jesus’ prayer, nor does he name the place of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, though he locates it “across the Kidron valley” in a “garden” (John 18:1), and thus on the Mount of Olives. By combining the accounts of Jesus’ anguished prayer in the Synoptic Gospels with John’s account of his arrest in a garden, the traditional image of Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane was constructed.

Jesus in Gethsemane was interpreted as an appropriate contrast to Adam in Eden: the sinful disobedience of the first Adam in the garden of Eden was undone because of the prayerful obedience of the last Adam in the garden of Gethsemane (cf. Rom. 5:12-21). A similar development can be seen in Heb. 5:7-9, which mentions Jesus’ “prayers,” “godly fear,” and “obedience,” which led to his “being made perfect . . . the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”

“GETHSEMANE,” Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 499.

David on the Mount of Olives

And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

2 Samuel 15:30–16:2 KJV

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Mount of Olives

webmaster — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 11:52:31 +0000

The Mount of Olives is one of most important biblical sites in the Holy Land related to the live of Jesus, the Messiah and also to the King David. This mountain appear in the Hebrew and Greek Bible, OT and NT and make part of important decisions made by the most important ancient king of Israel, David and the messiah, Jesus.

Millions of people visit it place year by years to have the privileges to see the Holy City panoramic view similar to Jesus view when proclaim prophecies about the Holy City destiny.

The Mount of Olives, is a small range of four summits, the highest being 830 m, which overlooks Jerusalem and the Temple Mount from the E across the Kidron Valley and the Pool of Siloam. Thickly wooded in Jesus’ day, rich in the olives which occasioned its name, the mount was denuded of trees in the time of Titus. All the ground is holy, for Christ unquestionably walked there, though particularized sites, with their commemorative churches, may be questioned. From the traditional place of Jesus’ baptism, on Jordan’s bank, far below sea level, Olivet’s distant summit 1,200 m higher, a traditional site of the ascension, is clearly visible, for Palestine is a small land of long perspectives.

The OT references to Olivet at 2 Sa. 15:30; Ne. 8:15; Ezk. 11:23 are slight. 1 Ki. 11:7 and 2 Ki. 23:13 refer to Solomon’s idolatry, the erection of high places to Chemosh and Molech, which probably caused one summit to be dubbed the Mount of Offence. In the eschatological future the Lord will part the Mount in two as he stands on it (Zc. 14:4).

Jews resident in Jerusalem used to announce the new moon to their compatriots in Babylonia by a chain of beacons starting on Olivet, each signalling the lighting of the next. But since Samaritans lit false flares, eventually human messengers had to replace the old beacons. G. H. Dalman considers the Mishnaic claim that this beacon service stretched as far afield as Mesopotamia perfectly feasible (Sacred Sites and Ways, 1935, p. 263, n. 7). The Mount has close connections with the red heifer (*Clean and Unclean) and its ashes of purification (Nu. 19; Parah 3. 6–7, 11), as with other ceremonies of levitical Judaism.

According to one legend, the dove sent forth from the ark by Noah plucked her leaf from Olivet (Gn. 8:11; Midrash Genesis Rabba 33. 6). Some believed that the faithful Jewish dead must be resurrected in Israel, that those who died abroad would eventually be rolled back through underground cavities (Ketuboth 111a), emerging at the sundered Mount of Olives (H. Loewe and C. G. Montefiore, A Rabbinic Anthology, 1938, pp. 660ff.). When the Shekinah, or radiance of God’s presence, departed from the Temple through sin, it was said to linger for 3–1/2 years on Olivet, vainly awaiting repentance (Lamentations Rabba, Proem 25; cf. Ezk. 10:18). The name ‘Mountain of Three Lights’ comes from the glow of the flaming Temple altar reflected on the hillside by night, the first beams of sunrise gilding the summit, and the oil from the olives which fed the Temple lamps.

Near the Church of All Nations, at the base of Olivet, are some venerable olive-trees, not demonstrably 2,000 years old. This is the area of Gethsemane, and the precise spot of the Agony, though undetermined, is close by. Half-way up the hill is the Church of Dominus Flevit. But why should our Lord weep there, half-way down? HDB cogently argues that he really approached Jerusalem by Bethany, round the S shoulder of Olivet, weeping when the city suddenly burst into view. A succession of churches of the ascension have long crowned the reputed summit of our Lord’s assumption, and his supposed footprints are carefully preserved there as a tangible fulfilment of Zc. 14:4. Yet Luke’s Gospel favours the Bethany area as the real scene of the Ascension. The visitor to Palestine learns the futility of pondering insolubles.

“Olives, Mount Of,” NBD, 845-846.

Jesus on the Mount Olives

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Matthew 24:1–3 KJV

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

Mark 11:1–3 KJV

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.And the gospel must first be published among all nations.But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mark 13:3–13 KJV

David on the Mount of Olives

And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.

And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

2 Samuel 15:30–16:2 KJV

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Zedekiah’s Cave

webmaster — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 18:51:39 +0000

This cave has nine thousand square meters in a known area, they have about a hundred meters wide and three hundred meters in length form the most complex known underground rooms in Jerusalem.

Some believe that the cave is actually even higher and reaches under the Temple Mount.

According to the ancient Jewish beliefs, the extension of the cave is much larger than you can imagine, it would take the King Zedekiah until very close to Jericho City, and when he left at the end of the complex in the Jordan Valley region is that it It would have been caught by caudeus.

Inside the cave there are also a source that is the source of call of King Zedekiah tears, the water there flows from the pluvia water seeps through the limestone, but archeology authority advises the public to drink it.

Archeology Zedekiah's Cave in Jerusalem

The cave was re-discovered in the nineteenth century, when then the news came to the Europeans, the Masonic identified it as the place where King Solomon would have extracted the rocks for the construction of the First Temple of Jerusalem, which did not have base according to archeology.

The famous British archaeologist Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau discovered on the wall of the cave entrance hall a recording dating from the First Temple period in a similar animal to a horse with wings.

According to the research done on site, most rocks taken there actually were used for the construction of Herod's Temple, this is due to detail the cuts of the framed rocks, typical characteristic of the impressive work of Herod the Great.

But there is no denying the use of cave rocks in the First Temple, as the lack of withdrawals marks of Solomon's period does not mean that Herod could not have taken the same region as the first builder did.

Freemasonry and the Illuminati in Jerusalem

In the nineteenth century the Palestine Exploration Fund made a number of archaeological studies in the Holy City region, much of the fund's members were Masonic, both English and French as the official of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Because of the belief of the Masonic (free builders) that this was the site of the quarry of Solomon, they began to perform on site its annual mystical ceremonies, which attracted a large number of visitors on site.

For many years various Masonic events were made in the greatest of all cave halls and only stopped because of the War of Independence of Israel in 1948, when the site was blocked by the Jordanians.

Zedekiah, the Last King of Judah

Once more the Babylonians set up a king in Jerusalem in the person of Zedekiah, an uncle of Jehoiachin, and accordingly a son of Josiah, called Mattaniah, who afterward was called Zedekiah. He governed for twelve years (597–586 BC), and by his life, morally and religiously corrupt, sealed the fate of the house and of the kingdom of David. The better class among the leading and prominent people had been banished. As a result, the courtiers of the king urged him to try once again some treacherous schemes against the Babylonian rulers and to join Egypt in a conspiracy against them. However earnestly Jeremiah and Ezekiel warned against this policy, Zedekiah nevertheless constantly yielded to his evil advisers and to the warlike patriotic party, who were determined to win back in battle the independence of the country. While he at first, through an embassy, had assured the Great King of his loyalty (Jer 29:3), and still in the 4th year of his reign had personally visited in Babylon as a mark of his fidelity (Jer 51:59), he was induced in the 9th year of his reign to make an alliance with the Egyptians against the Babylonians and to refuse to render obedience to the latter. Nebuchadnezzar soon came and surrounded the city. At the announcement that an Egyptian army was approaching, the siege was again raised for a short time. But the hope placed by Zedekiah on his ally failed him. The Babylonians began again to starve out the city. After a siege of 18 months, resistance proved futile.

The king tried secretly to break through the circle of besiegers, but in doing so was taken prisoner, was blinded by the Babylonian king and taken to Babylon. The majority of the prominent men and state officials, who were taken to the encampment of the conqueror in Riblah, were put to death. The conquered city of Jerusalem, especially its walls and towers, together with the temple, were totally destroyed. Nearly all the inhabitants who could be captured after the slaughter were dragged into captivity, and only people of the lower classes were left behind in order to cultivate the land (2 Ki 25:11). Gedaliah, a noble-minded aristocrat, was appointed governor of the city, and took up his residence in Mizpah. At this place it seemed that a new kernel of the people was being gathered. Jeremiah also went there. However, after two months this good beginning came to an end. Gedaliah was slain by Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, an anti-Chaldaean, a fanatical and revengeful descendant of the house of David. The murderer acted in cooperation with certain Ammonitish associates and fled to the king of Ammon. The Jews in later times considered the murder of Gedaliah as an especially great national calamity, and fasted on the anniversary of this crime. And as the people also feared the revenge of the Babylonians, many migrated to Egypt, compelling Jeremiah, now an old man, to accompany them, although he prophesied to them that no good would come of this scheme. They first stayed at the border city Tahpanhes, near Pelusium, and then scattered over Upper and Lower Egypt.

“Israel, History of the People,” ISBE, n.p.

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Via Dolorosa

webmaster — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 05:17:32 +0000

In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail of the Roman soldiers, headed by a centurion, begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa. In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden cross together with the shock produced by copious blood loss is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. The prisoner is again stripped of His clothes - except for a loin cloth which is allowed the Jews.

The Crucifixion - Medical Account, Halifax-Dartmouth Church of Christ p.2

The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, and 14 from the list below.[9] The standard set from the 17th to 20th centuries has consisted of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

Jesus is condemned to death
Jesus carries his cross
Jesus falls the first time
Jesus meets his mother
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Jesus falls the second time
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Jesus falls the third time
Jesus is stripped of his garments
Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus is taken down from the cross (Deposition or Lamentation)
Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Jesus rises from the dead

Out of the fourteen traditional Stations of the Cross, only eight have clear scriptural foundation. Stations 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 are not specifically attested to in the gospels (in particular, no evidence exists of station 6 ever being known before medieval times) and Station 13 (representing Jesus's body being taken down off the cross and laid in the arms of his mother Mary) seems to embellish the gospels' record, which states that Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus down from the cross and buried him. To provide a version of this devotion more closely aligned with the biblical accounts, Pope John Paul II introduced a new form of devotion, called the Scriptural Way of the Cross on Good Friday 1991. He celebrated that form many times but not exclusively at the Colosseum in Rome. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved this set of stations for meditation and public celebration. They follow this sequence:

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested
Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
Jesus is denied by Peter
Jesus is judged by Pilate
Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
Jesus takes up his cross
Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Jesus is crucified
Jesus promises his kingdom to the repentant thief
Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other
Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus is laid in the tomb

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The Tower of David and Jerusalem Museum

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 13:33:51 +0000

The Tower of David is also known as the Jerusalem Citadel, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to western edge of the Old City of Jerusalem.

The citadel dates to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, it was built on the site of an earlier ancient fortification of the Hasmonean, Herodian, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods. It contains important archaeological finds dating back over 2,000 years including a quarry dated to the First Temple period.

The museum a wonderful place and very popular venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and sound-and-light performances.

The name "Tower of David" is due to Byzantine Christians who believed the site was the palace of King David. They borrowed the name "Tower of David" from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, his son: "Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armor of the mighty men." Song of Songs, 4:4

Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King. God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. For behold, the kings assembled, They passed by together. They saw it, and so they marveled; They were troubled, they hastened away. Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs, As when You break the ships of Tarshish With an east wind. As we have heard, So we have seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, In the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. Let Mount Zion rejoice, Let the daughters of Judah be glad, Because of Your judgments. Walk about Zion, And go all around her. Count her towers; Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; That you may tell it to the generation following. For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.

Psalms 48:1–14 NKJV

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The City of David and Zion Fortress

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 12:50:55 +0000

Since Jerusalem had remained in Jebusite control ever since the days of Joshua (Josh. 15:63) it was considered neutral, so David’s residence there would demonstrate tribal impartiality. But the very fact that Jerusalem had remained Jebusite indicated its security and defensibility. This is seen clearly in the taunting response of its citizens to David’s siege of the city. Even the blind and the lame can ward you off, they said.

Taking up a position on Mount Zion, the City of David, which lay just south of the Jebusite city (Mount Ophel; see the map “Jerusalem at the Time of the Kings” near 1 Kings 9:15), David promised his men that whoever could discover a means of access to the city would be promoted to commander-in-chief (1 Chron. 11:6). The account in 1 Chronicles relates that Joab was able to do so, apparently by passing through the water tunnel which connected Jerusalem’s water supply to its interior reservoirs (2 Sam. 5:8). The Hebrew word for water shaft (צִנּוֹר) may refer instead to a sort of grappling hook (cf. NIV marg.). In any case, the city was entered and incorporated into the capital.

So galling to David was the Jebusite sarcasm about “the blind and lame,” however, that it became proverbial to speak of his enemies in general as the blind and lame. After the city was captured, Mount Zion and Mount Ophel were consolidated into one entity described here and elsewhere as the City of David (5:7, 9; 6:12; 1 Kings 2:10). The supporting terraces (2 Sam. 5:9) were literally “the Millo” (NIV marg.). This Hebrew word means “filling”; thus this may have been the area between the hills which was filled in to level the whole city. It may also refer to embankments erected to protect the city from the North (1 Kings 9:15, 24).

5:10-12. David’s capture, expansion, and occupation of Jerusalem made it clear to all Israel and to surrounding peoples as well that God ... was with him and that he was not a renegade tribal chieftain but a political power with whom they must reckon. This is seen in the attention he received from Hiram, king of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, who provided materials and men to build David a palace (cf. 1 Kings 5:1-11). Recognition by a person of such stature convinced David that God indeed had established him and exalted his kingdom.

Eugene H. Merrill, 2 Samuel (The Bible Knowledge Commentary; ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck; Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 1:461.

The City of David maybe is the most important biblical site in Israel, it preserve ruins of thousand years from the time of Canaanites, overing to King David period, Kingdom of Judah, New Testament and today.

Many facts describe in the New Testament also occurred in the City of David, maybe the most important was the blind man healing by Jesus.

The City of David was abandoned after the romans destroy the Temple of Jerusalem and prohibit the Jewish People to return to Jerusalem.

Visiting the City of David National Park visitors can revive experiences where live prophets, kings, disciples and Yeshua proclaim the Kingdom of the Heaven.

From the ancient palace of David, you can go down to the ancient King Hezekiah aqueduct tunnel in the heart of the rock, the spring of Gihon and walk by the water directly to the pool of Siloam.

"Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”

He said, “I am he.”

Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

Then they said to him, “Where is He?”

He said, “I do not know.”

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.”

Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”

He said, “He is a prophet.”

But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”

Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.”

John 9:1–38 NKJV

Important Digs

The Spring House, Eli Shukron In 1995, Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron began to excavate near the Gihon Spring and forever changed our understanding of Ancient Jerusalem.

The Shiloah Pool and the Second Temple Road , in 2004, Reich and Shukron began an excavation in the southern part of the City of David, at the site of the Second Temple period Shiloah Pool.

Givati Parking Lot - In 2007, Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets began a comprehensive excavation in the Givati Parking Lot, located west of the entrance to the City of David.

Eli Shukron Since 2007 and Reich have been excavating the main water drainage tunnel of the city of Jerusalem from the Second Temple period, inside the Tyropoeon Valley.

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Mount Moriah or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:22:26 +0000

The Mount Moriah is the most holy place in the World to Jewish and Christians, this place is the mount that includes the area of Solomon, Zerubbabel and Herod Temples.

The Jerusalem temple is the focus of many events described in the gospels. The birth of John the Baptist was announced there in Luke 1:11-20. The offering by Joseph and Mary at the circumcision of the baby Jesus was brought there. Simeon and Anna greeted Jesus there 2:22-38. And Jesus teach many of his parables in the same place, discuss with pharisees and operate many miracles.

Herod’s Temple Herod the Great came to power in 37 B.C. and determined that he would please his Jewish subjects and show off his style of kingship to the Romans by making the Jerusalem temple bigger and better than it had ever been. His most notable contribution was the magnificent stonework of the temple platform that was greatly enlarged. The descriptions in Josephus and the Mishnah have been fleshed out by recent archaeological discoveries.

Herod surrounded the whole enclosure with magnificent porches, particularly the royal stoa along the southern wall. Through the Huldah gates, where double and triple arches can still be seen, worshipers went up through enclosed passageways into the court of the Gentiles. Greek inscriptions separating this court from the court of the women and the holier inner courts of Israel (men) and the priests have been found. The steps south of the temple, where Jesus may have taught on several occasions, have been excavated and reconstructed. An inscription: “To the place of trumpeting” was found below the southwest corner where there was a monumental staircase ascending into the temple from the main street below. Perhaps this was the “temple pinnacle” from which Satan tempted Jesus to throw Himself.

“TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, n.p.

The Jerusalem temple is the focus of many NT events. The birth of John the Baptist was announced there (Luke 1:11-20). The offering by Joseph and Mary at the circumcision of the baby Jesus was brought there. Simeon and Anna greeted Jesus there (2:22-38). Jesus came there as a boy of 12 (2:42-51) and later taught there during His ministry (John 7:14). His cleansing of the temple was instrumental in precipitating His death. He knew no earthly temple was necessary to the worship of God (4:21-24). He predicted the temple’s destruction by the Romans, and His warnings to His followers to flee when this happened actually saved many Christians’ lives (Mark 13:2,14-23). Early Christians continued to worship there, and Paul was arrested there (Acts 3; 21:27-33).
After the Jewish revolt in A.D. 66, Vespasian and then his son Titus crushed all resistance. The temple was destroyed in A.D. 70. Stephen’s preaching tended to liberate Christian thinking from the necessity of a temple (Acts 7:46-50), and Paul thought of the church and Christians as the new temple (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20). For John, the ideal that the temple represented will ultimately be realized in a “new Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2). See Ark of the Covenant; Herod; Holy of Holies; Moriah; Shiloh; Solomon; Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting; Zerubbabel.

“TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, n.p.

“And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”

1 Kings 8:22–53 KJV

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The Western Wall or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:01:35 +0000

“TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, n.p.

1 Kings 8:22–53 KJV

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Church of the Holy Sepulchre

webmaster — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 10:12:14 +0000

The tomb in which Jesus’ body was interred, a rock-hewn cave intended for the burial of Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57-60) located outside the walls of Jerusalem (John 19:41; Heb. 13:12).

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, dedicated on 15 July 1149, the 50th anniversary of the Crusader conquest of Jerusalem, stands over the places identified by ancient tradition as Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus. Excavations beneath the church have shown that the site was an ancient quarry reused as a burial place in the 1st century. The area was first enclosed within city walls by Herod Agrippa (41–44), some 10 years after the crucifixion of Jesus (Josephus BJ 5.147–55; Ant. 19.326–27).

Emperor Hadrian refounded Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina (A.D. 135) and erected over the tomb of Jesus a temple of Jupiter with a statue of Venus nearby (Eusebius Vita Const.; Jerome Ep. 58; Dio Cassius Hist. 69.12). After the Council of Nicea (325), Constantine ordered the pagan temple torn down and a church erected in its place. Constantine’s engineers after removing the temple discovered a tomb identified as that of Jesus (Eusebius Vita Const. 3.25–40). A great rotunda was constructed above the tomb. Immediately to the east of the rotunda Golgotha stood in the open air in the southwest corner of a large colonnaded courtyard connecting the rotunda with a huge basilica called the Martyrium (“Witness,” to the place of Jesus’ death and resurrection). In 1009 Egyptian Caliph Hakim ordered the destruction of Constantine’s church, and in 1048 a new church was built on the foundations of the rotunda. The Crusaders incorporated this church into their grand plan, covering the rotunda and courtyard of predecessor churches and a space once occupied by the western portion of Constantine’s basilica.

[p. 601]

Skeptics doubt that early Jewish Christians preserved the memory of the actual sites and ascribe the 4th-century identification to the desire of Constantine to propagandize his newfound faith and the desire of the Jerusalem church to exalt itself over other ecclesiastical centers. However, the location (outside the 1st-century city) has the requisite marks archaeologically, and Eusebius, no advocate of a strong Jerusalem, favors the identification, supporting the idea of continuous Christian memory.

Bibliography. M. Biddle, The Tomb of Christ (London, 1999); C. Couasnon, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (Oxford, 1974); J. Finegan, The Archaeology of the New Testament, rev. ed. (Princeton, 1992), 258–82; J. Wilkinson, Jerusalem as Jesus Knew It (Nashville, 1983).

“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.”

John 19:1–15 KJV

“Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

John 19:16–30 KJV

“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

John 19:31–42 KJV

“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.”

John 20:1–18 KJV

“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

John 20:19–31 KJV

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Jerusalem Top 10 – Journey to Holy Land

Dominus Flevit Chapel

Gethsemane

Jesus in Gethsemane

David on the Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives

Jesus on the Mount Olives

David on the Mount of Olives

Zedekiah’s Cave

Archeology Zedekiah's Cave in Jerusalem

Freemasonry and the Illuminati in Jerusalem

The Zedekiah's Cave in the Contemporary Era

Via Dolorosa

Via Dolorosa, the last steps before the crucifixion

The Tower of David and Jerusalem Museum

The City of David and Zion Fortress

Important Digs

Mount Moriah or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

The Western Wall or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Church of the Holy Sepulchre