(Travel to Tel Aviv Airport and fly to San Francisco through Frankfurt, Germany)
Going Home
It’s hard to believe that this wonderful experience is coming to an end. As directed, we gathered in the lobby of the hotel at 11:30 in preparation for our trip to the airport. It has been a long day and the group is on the quiet side. The tour organizers have arranged for a nighttime snack of pound cake and coffee for those interested. It was a nice gesture on their part, but candidly speaking, the cake wasn’t very good and I’m not a coffee drinker.
We learned that our Tour Leader, Pastor Rick Cole, finally succumbed to the problems of eating and drinking in a strange land. Evidently, he became quite ill and simply could not make the return trip with the group. We found out later that Rick felt well enough the next day that he and his wife Cathy flew back the next day. After we all boarded the bus, Pastor Randy prayed for a safe trip and for Rick’s recovery. He then informed us that “there’s a new sheriff in town’ which got a good laugh. Someone from the back of the bus yelled “Is that Joanne?” (Pastor Randy’s wife) which got an even bigger laugh. The tour company arranged for Pastor Rick’s and Cathy’s return flight and they were treated like VIPs.
Tel Aviv Airport
We left the hotel at 11:30 pm and arrived at the Tel Aviv airport at approximately 2:15 am for a scheduled 5:00 am flight to Frankfurt, Germany and onto Sacramento, California. As we got to the first check point at the airport, an armed guard came onto the bus and checked our passports while another guard checked the luggage compartment. As we entered the airport we were directed to stand in line and ready ourselves for another security inspection.
We were positioned by the elevators for the purpose of going down one floor to an inspection area. However, the guards at the elevator were not moving anyone at all. After waiting for about two hours, Rimon spoke to a security person on the floor where we had been waiting and that security person agreed to allow us to go through the security process on the same floor.
We were moved to what looked like a typical airport waiting line and readied ourselves for inspection. The security guards took Pastor Randy aside and asked him several questions about what we had been doing in Israel. At the same time, another member of our group, Stan Brown, was being asked the same questions. If Randy and Stan are not giving the same answers to the same questions – security goes to another level. Fortunately for us, Randy and Stan studied for the test and provided consistent answers.
As we stood in line, we were each asked questions about the trip, the contents of our luggage and whether anyone had given us anything to transport back with us. The next step in the process was to have our luggage pass through the x-ray machines. If there were not any items in your luggage that raised the screener’s suspicion, the security guard placed a sticker on your bag. If any of the bags did not have a sticker placed on them, you were directed to a secondary security point where your bags were opened and inspected. Both Cathy’s and Shannon’s luggage were opened and inspected. The reason had to do with the bags of Bath Salt that Shannon purchased for friends from a Palestinian store during our trip. It seems that terrorists have used similar bags to store explosive materials and the Israelis do not take chances.
While we were involved in this long security check-in we heard several announcements over the Public Address system to “please move to the middle of the hall and away from glass windows.” We don’t know if there were threats received or this was just a common warning – it was a little unnerving.
Frankfurt, Germany
We finally made it through all security check points and settled by the gate at about 4:45. Our flight that was supposed to leave at 5:00 did not leave until 5:30. That may not sound like much but we only had an hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany – so any delay may mean we miss our connection. The food served on the flight was the box lunch variety – a sandwich of some description (I really don’t know what it was) that was barely edible, chips and some type of chocolate bar. It’s a good thing we were not hungry. As we approached Frankfurt, the flight attendant gave specific information about rescheduled flights. Our group was told to exit the plane and head to a specific numbered bus. We did not deplane at a gate but on the tarmac – near Gate A1. As directed, we boarded the bus and were driven to Gate A65. There was no way that we would have made our connection if we had to walk to it – it was a several minute drive to that area.
When the tour was first getting organized, there was a scheduled 2-3 hour layover in Frankfurt. Somewhere in the planning process, someone decide that it would be better just to continue on with very little or no layover in Frankfurt. The only problem with that is a 4 hour and 8-9 hour flight turns into a 12-13 hour flight and that is a long time to be on a plane. The two movies helped pass the time. The first movie was Rocky Balboa (Rocky 6) and the second movie was Wild Hogs. Neither will win any Academy Awards but they kept us entertained. About two minutes before we landed, Shannon thought it would be a good time to use her ‘sick bag’. Her timing was perfect. She seems to fly for 10 hours without a problem, but those last few minutes are killers.
San Francisco International Airport
We landed in San Francisco as scheduled. The only hiccups in San Francisco were that one piece of Stan and Elease Walton’s luggage did not make it back with us and the tour bus driver had a difficult in locating the area in which we were waiting. We waited about 30 minutes for him to find us.
Capital Christian Center
The drive from the San Francisco airport back to Capital Christian Center was uneventful – most people were sleeping. We all loaded our cars, said our goodbyes and headed home. We made it home – exhausted and still in awe of what we had experienced.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Day 14 – June 18 – Monday
(Old City Jerusalem)
Western (Wailing) Wall
The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in Jerusalem is the section of the Western supporting wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple (70 C.E.). It became the most sacred spot in Jewish religious and national consciousness and tradition by virtue of its proximity to the Western Wall of the Holy of Holies in the Temple, from which, according to numerous sources, the Divine Presence never departed. It became a center of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and Israel's exile, on the one hand, and of religious - in 20th century also national - communion with the memory of Israel's 
former glory and the hope for its restoration, on the other. Because of the former association, it became known in European languages as the "Wailing Wall".
We entered the Western Wall area through men and women entrances. There is a man-made dividing wall to keep men and women separate as they pray at the wall. Some young boys were having their Batmitzphas while we were there. The female members of the family stood on chairs to see over the dividing wall. We also noticed thousands of scraps of paper with prayers written on them shoved into the crevices of the wall.
Dome of the Rock
Built atop the earlier location of the Temple, the Dome of the Rock was erected by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691. Because of its situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al Aqsa mosque). This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691 until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in 1965. Because of rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a gold covering.
This is a Muslim controlled area and covers 32 acres. Because the Muslims control this area, their rules apply. The women of our group were instructed to cover their shoulders and knees. We were instructed to not hold hands and not to laugh. Pastor Rick’s wife, Cathy, was wearing a v-neck top which didn’t pass ‘inspection’ so she borrowed Shannon’s sweater to provide more cover. Pastor Rick looked at Cathy and said “you’re just flaunting yourself.” We all thought that was funny.
Via Dolorosa
The Via Dolorosa is the Way of the Cross, traditionally believed to be the route followed by Jesus from the Praetorium (the Roman Judgment Hall) to Calvary, which was the scene of the Crucifixion. The Via Dolorosa begins in the Muslim Quarter, in the northeast corner of the Old City, and winds its way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter. As we walked along, we passed shop after shop with the shop keepers inviting us to shop (for spices, meat, linens, beads and trinkets, etc.). Rimon also reminded us that there are more ‘stations’ today than what is recorded in the Bible – some are assumed like Jesus falling under the weight of the 
cross.
You can enter the Sanctuaries of the Flagellation and the Condemnation, where Jesus was scourged and judged. In the sanctuaries are some of the original paving stones of the Lithostrotos. The Sanctuary of the Condemnation marks the first Station of the Cross. As you leave the sanctuary to follow the Via Dolorosa, keep in mind that each Station of the Cross is marked by a small sign or a number engraved in the stone lintel over a door. Paving stones on the Via Dolorosa itself have been set in a semicircular pattern to mark those stations directly on the street.
The following is a quick guide to the Stations of the Cross:
Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death.
Station 2: Jesus receives the cross (at the foot of the Antonia).
Station 3: Jesus falls for the first time (Polish biblical-archaeological museum).
Station 4: Jesus meets his mother.
Station 5: Simon the Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross.
Station 6: Veronica wipes Jesus' face.
Station 7: Jesus falls the second time (at bazaar crossroads).
Station 8: Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem.
Station 9: Jesus falls the third time (Coptic Monastery)
The five remaining Stations of the Cross are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross.
Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to Mary.
Station 14: Jesus is laid in the chamber of the sepulcher and from there is resurrected.
We stopped for lunch at Rami's Pizza, 131 HaYehudim Steert. The owner advertised it as the first restaraunt to make pizza in Old Jerusalem. We sat with Pastor Rick and Cathy Cole and Stan and Chris Brown. Cathy Cole told us the story about the wedding of her son Nate and his bride. We shared two personal size cheese and mushroom pizzas and two cans of coke between us the three of us. Shannon thought this was the best meal of the trip. After lunch we continued down the Via Delorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Golgotha
The church is divided among the six oldest Christian sects: Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syrian Orthodox. Each denomination has its own space -- right down to lines drawn down the middle of floors and pillars -- and its own schedule of rights to be in other areas of the church at specific times. The decor, partitioned and changed every few feet, is a mixture of Byzantine and Frankish Crusader styles.
You can observe the various stations inside the church -- the marble slab at the entrance is the Stone of Unction, where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial; the site of Calvary on the second floor; the early 19th-century marble tomb edifice enclosing the actual cave of the sepulcher.
After the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made Christianity the religion of Rome in A.D. 326, his mother, Queen Helena, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and located what was believed to be the tomb from which Jesus rose. Further excavation nearby uncovered the True Cross, which became the most sacred relic of the Christian world until it was carried off by the Persians in A.D. 614. It was over this tomb that Constantine built the first Holy Sepulcher Church, a complex of classical structures, which was enlarged by Justinian 200 years later. Fire, earthquake, the 7th-century Persians, and a mad 11th-century Muslim caliph destroyed much of the great, classical church, but the Crusaders rebuilt it in the 12th century -- a mixture of Byzantine remnants and medieval Frankish reconstruction that was far less grand than the original. The church has been restored many times and is currently being renovated. In 1997, the renovated interior of the great dome covering the sepulcher was unveiled. It is bright, fresh, and to some visitors, a bit incompatible with the antiquity of the place. Its design motifs had to be neutral, avoiding incorporating any of the special traditions of the branches of Christianity that control different areas of the building.
St Anne’s Church
The Church of St. Anne is a beautiful 12th-century Crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary. It is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture.
The Church of St. Anne is a beautiful 12th-century Crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary. It is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture.
St. Anne's Church was built between 1131 and 1138 to replace a previous Byzantine church. Shortly after its construction, it was enlarged by moving the facade forward by several meters. In 1192, Saladin turned the church into a Muslim theological school, which is commemorated in an inscription above the church's entrance. Eventually abandoned, the church fell into ruin until the Ottomans donated it to France in 1856. It was subsequently restored, but most of what remains today is original.
The church is right next to the Bethesda Pool, believed to be the site where Jesus healed a paralytic (John 5:1-15). Here you can see ruins of a Roman temple to the god of medicine and remains of a Byzantine church built over the temple.
As the church is just a few hundred feet east of the Sanctuaries of the Flagellation and the Condemnation, at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, you might want to visit it before following the Stations of the Cross.
Saint Anne's acoustics, designed for Gregorian chant, are so perfect that the church is virtually a musical instrument to be played by the human voice. Pilgrim groups come to sing in the church throughout the day, and you, too, are welcome to prepare a song of any religion--only religious songs are permitted. The church's acoustics are most amazing when used by a soprano or a tenor solo voice. As our group sat inside the church, we sang ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’ and we were good.
Western (Wailing) Wall
The Western Wall in the midst of the Old City in Jerusalem is the section of the Western supporting wall of the Temple Mount which has remained intact since the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple (70 C.E.). It became the most sacred spot in Jewish religious and national consciousness and tradition by virtue of its proximity to the Western Wall of the Holy of Holies in the Temple, from which, according to numerous sources, the Divine Presence never departed. It became a center of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and Israel's exile, on the one hand, and of religious - in 20th century also national - communion with the memory of Israel's 
former glory and the hope for its restoration, on the other. Because of the former association, it became known in European languages as the "Wailing Wall".We entered the Western Wall area through men and women entrances. There is a man-made dividing wall to keep men and women separate as they pray at the wall. Some young boys were having their Batmitzphas while we were there. The female members of the family stood on chairs to see over the dividing wall. We also noticed thousands of scraps of paper with prayers written on them shoved into the crevices of the wall.
Dome of the Rock
Built atop the earlier location of the Temple, the Dome of the Rock was erected by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691. Because of its situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al Aqsa mosque). This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691 until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in 1965. Because of rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a gold covering.This is a Muslim controlled area and covers 32 acres. Because the Muslims control this area, their rules apply. The women of our group were instructed to cover their shoulders and knees. We were instructed to not hold hands and not to laugh. Pastor Rick’s wife, Cathy, was wearing a v-neck top which didn’t pass ‘inspection’ so she borrowed Shannon’s sweater to provide more cover. Pastor Rick looked at Cathy and said “you’re just flaunting yourself.” We all thought that was funny.
Via Dolorosa
The Via Dolorosa is the Way of the Cross, traditionally believed to be the route followed by Jesus from the Praetorium (the Roman Judgment Hall) to Calvary, which was the scene of the Crucifixion. The Via Dolorosa begins in the Muslim Quarter, in the northeast corner of the Old City, and winds its way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter. As we walked along, we passed shop after shop with the shop keepers inviting us to shop (for spices, meat, linens, beads and trinkets, etc.). Rimon also reminded us that there are more ‘stations’ today than what is recorded in the Bible – some are assumed like Jesus falling under the weight of the 
cross.You can enter the Sanctuaries of the Flagellation and the Condemnation, where Jesus was scourged and judged. In the sanctuaries are some of the original paving stones of the Lithostrotos. The Sanctuary of the Condemnation marks the first Station of the Cross. As you leave the sanctuary to follow the Via Dolorosa, keep in mind that each Station of the Cross is marked by a small sign or a number engraved in the stone lintel over a door. Paving stones on the Via Dolorosa itself have been set in a semicircular pattern to mark those stations directly on the street.
The following is a quick guide to the Stations of the Cross:
Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death.
Station 2: Jesus receives the cross (at the foot of the Antonia).
Station 3: Jesus falls for the first time (Polish biblical-archaeological museum).
Station 4: Jesus meets his mother.
Station 5: Simon the Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross.
Station 6: Veronica wipes Jesus' face.
Station 7: Jesus falls the second time (at bazaar crossroads).
Station 8: Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem.
Station 9: Jesus falls the third time (Coptic Monastery)
The five remaining Stations of the Cross are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Station 10: Jesus is stripped of his garments.
Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross.
Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to Mary.
Station 14: Jesus is laid in the chamber of the sepulcher and from there is resurrected.
We stopped for lunch at Rami's Pizza, 131 HaYehudim Steert. The owner advertised it as the first restaraunt to make pizza in Old Jerusalem. We sat with Pastor Rick and Cathy Cole and Stan and Chris Brown. Cathy Cole told us the story about the wedding of her son Nate and his bride. We shared two personal size cheese and mushroom pizzas and two cans of coke between us the three of us. Shannon thought this was the best meal of the trip. After lunch we continued down the Via Delorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Church of the Holy Sepulcher at Golgotha
The church is divided among the six oldest Christian sects: Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syrian Orthodox. Each denomination has its own space -- right down to lines drawn down the middle of floors and pillars -- and its own schedule of rights to be in other areas of the church at specific times. The decor, partitioned and changed every few feet, is a mixture of Byzantine and Frankish Crusader styles.You can observe the various stations inside the church -- the marble slab at the entrance is the Stone of Unction, where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial; the site of Calvary on the second floor; the early 19th-century marble tomb edifice enclosing the actual cave of the sepulcher.
After the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made Christianity the religion of Rome in A.D. 326, his mother, Queen Helena, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and located what was believed to be the tomb from which Jesus rose. Further excavation nearby uncovered the True Cross, which became the most sacred relic of the Christian world until it was carried off by the Persians in A.D. 614. It was over this tomb that Constantine built the first Holy Sepulcher Church, a complex of classical structures, which was enlarged by Justinian 200 years later. Fire, earthquake, the 7th-century Persians, and a mad 11th-century Muslim caliph destroyed much of the great, classical church, but the Crusaders rebuilt it in the 12th century -- a mixture of Byzantine remnants and medieval Frankish reconstruction that was far less grand than the original. The church has been restored many times and is currently being renovated. In 1997, the renovated interior of the great dome covering the sepulcher was unveiled. It is bright, fresh, and to some visitors, a bit incompatible with the antiquity of the place. Its design motifs had to be neutral, avoiding incorporating any of the special traditions of the branches of Christianity that control different areas of the building.
St Anne’s Church
The Church of St. Anne is a beautiful 12th-century Crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary. It is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture.The Church of St. Anne is a beautiful 12th-century Crusader church, erected over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary. It is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture.
St. Anne's Church was built between 1131 and 1138 to replace a previous Byzantine church. Shortly after its construction, it was enlarged by moving the facade forward by several meters. In 1192, Saladin turned the church into a Muslim theological school, which is commemorated in an inscription above the church's entrance. Eventually abandoned, the church fell into ruin until the Ottomans donated it to France in 1856. It was subsequently restored, but most of what remains today is original.
The church is right next to the Bethesda Pool, believed to be the site where Jesus healed a paralytic (John 5:1-15). Here you can see ruins of a Roman temple to the god of medicine and remains of a Byzantine church built over the temple.As the church is just a few hundred feet east of the Sanctuaries of the Flagellation and the Condemnation, at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, you might want to visit it before following the Stations of the Cross.
Saint Anne's acoustics, designed for Gregorian chant, are so perfect that the church is virtually a musical instrument to be played by the human voice. Pilgrim groups come to sing in the church throughout the day, and you, too, are welcome to prepare a song of any religion--only religious songs are permitted. The church's acoustics are most amazing when used by a soprano or a tenor solo voice. As our group sat inside the church, we sang ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’ and we were good.
Day 13 – June 17 – Sunday
(Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Holocaust Museum, Church of the Nativity, King of Kings Church)
Our first stop of the day was close to the hotel. We boarded the bus, everyone in their adopted seat, full on anticipation for a great day. The first stop must have been a favorite of Jesus during His earthly life. He spent much time here. We immediately noticed a camel and a donkey at our drop off point. The locals enticed the group members to have a photograph taken with either of the animals – a simple was for them to make a little money. We had some takers but not to many. This is also the location where we had our group picture taken with the city of Jerusalem in the background. The only problem with the group picture is the gentleman that was taking it did not give much, if any, warning that he was about to take it. Some members of the group, including Cathy, were not looking in the direction of the camera. Too bad – it would have been a nice memento to have. We have it but do you think there is any way that Cathy is going to put that photo on display?
Mount of Olives
The 2 mile long Mount of Olives is a flattened ridge series located just a few hundred yards (meters) east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It rises over 200 feet (60 meters) above the Kidron Valley which separates those two very significant places.
The Mount of Olives was the place where numerous events of Bible History occurred. Many of the most important people of the Bible walked upon it sooner or later.
In the Old Testament King David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape from Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:30). After King Solomon became corrupt, he built pagan "high places" there (1 Kings 11:7). Later, King Josiah destroyed Solomon's idolatrous altars, by which time it had become known as the Hill of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13-14). Ezekiel had his vision of The Lord and the flying cherubim above it (Ezekiel 11:22-23). The people gathered olive branches there for the first Feast of Tabernacles after their return from The Babylonian Exile (Nehemiah 8:15).
In the New Testament Jesus regularly went up onto the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39). He often traveled over it on His way to Bethany to visit His friend Lazarus. His famous Olivet prophecy is named after it (Matthew 24:1-51). The Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding on a Donkey and her colt into Jerusalem took place over and down the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:28-44). Jesus prayed with His disciples there just before His arrest That Fateful Night (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus was arrested there, during which Peter struck the servant of the high priest with a sword and cut off his ear (Luke 22:49-51). Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Mount of Olives after His Resurrection, and He ascended into heaven from there (Acts 1:1-12).
After some time for photos and viewing all of Jerusalem, we slowly walked down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Garden of Gethsemane
Adjacent to the Church of All Nations is an ancient olive garden. Olive trees do not have rings and so their age can not be precisely determined, but scholars estimate their age to anywhere between one and two thousand years old. It is unlikely that these trees were here in the time of Christ because of the report that the Romans cut down all the trees in the area in their siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony or the Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church located on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before the night of his arrest. We sat on the front steps as Pastor Rick led us in devotions.
The chapel was built from 1919 to 1924 using funds from many different countries (hence the title). The symbols of each country are incorporated into the glass of the ceiling, each in a separate, small dome. The front of the church is a facade supported by a row of pillars. Above is a modern mosaic depicting Jesus Christ symbolically as the link between God and humanity. The bubbled-dome roof, thick pillars, and mosaic give the church a Byzantine look architecturally. The architect of the building was Antonio Barluzzi.
The current church rests on the foundations of two earlier ones - a 12th century Crusader chapel abandoned in 1345 and a 4th century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746.
The church is currently operated by the Franciscans; an open altar in the garden is used by the Anglican community on Holy Thursday.
After devotions, and a few minutes for photos, we were back on the bus. I don’t believe that the next stop was part of the offficial itinerary. Since our guide, Rimon, is so well connected, he was able to get us into the Holocaust museum on very short notice.
Holocaust Museum
As you enter the museum, inscribed in rock is Isaiah 56:5:
I will give them—within the walls of my house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
It will never disappear!
The new Holocaust History Museum occupies over 4,200 square meters, mainly underground. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, it presents the story of the Shoah from a unique Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of the individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions.
Its 180 meters – long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge – a skylight – protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below. Unique settings, spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the unfolding narrative.
At the end of the Museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names—a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished. You enter in the center of a circular room with walls extending high above your head and covered with shelves. On the shelves are numbered books containing bibliographies of every Holocaust victim.
From the Hall of Names, visitors will continue on to the epilogue and from there to the balcony opening to a panoramic view of Jerusalem
As you exit the museum, inscribed in rock is Ezekiel 37:14:
I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return
home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord,
have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”
It was a very somber experience – a museum that needed to be seen but only so we don’t forget and can never let it happen again.
Church of the Nativity
Getting from the bus into the church reminded us of the gauntlet we experienced in Turkey. Many locals, mostly men and young boys, were doing their best to make us part with our money. In some cases they were selling post cards that were 6-7 years old. We made it into the Church. Rimon was chomping at the bit and the history lesson began. OK – get your learning hats on – here we go.
The Church of the Nativity is the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use, commemorating the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Since St. Helena is believed to have built the Church of the Nativity, there are others who believe that it was the Emperor Constantine who ordered the construction of monumental churches to honor the three principal events of Jesus' life.
The construction began in 326 AD, and with the aid of the locals' traditions who believed that the cave in which Jesus Christ was born was at the end of the village, the architects were able to construct the shape of the cave according to architectural and devotional requirements. The cave was encased by an octagonal structure forming the sanctuary of the basilica, which stretched away to the west in five aisles divided by four rows of monolithic columns.
The Church was rich with mosaics, frescoes, marbles, and a silver manger replacing the original clay manger.
The present Church was built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian. In 529, the Samaritans revolted, and the Church of the Nativity was badly damaged. The Patriarch of Jerusalem sent St. Sabas to Justinian for help, and the architect sent by the Emperor demolished the church and built the current one. New soil covered the mosaic floor built in 326, and a new pavement was laid at a higher level. When the Crusaders came in the 12th Century, they built a cloister and monastery around the north side of the Church.
Yet another restoration project took place between 1165 and 1169, in coordination between the Byzantine Empire and the Frankish Kingdom. The reparations took place all over the Church, covering many of the walls and the floors with marble; mosaic and mother-of-pearl. The cedar wood roof was covered with lead; the Grotto walls were laid with marble and mosaic covered the walls in the Grotto, and the two entrances received their present form.
The facade of the Church of the Nativity is encircled by the high walls of the three convents: the Franciscan on the northeast side, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox, on the southeast side. The facade had three doors, two of which are walled up. The present low entrance which leads into the narthex was made at the beginning of the 16th century, in order to prevent the entrance of horses into the building. The narthex is divided into three compartments, and a single wooden door gives access to the interior.
The Basilica is a rectangle 53.9m long, the nave is 26.2m wide, and the transept is 35.82m. Entering the Church, one can notice 4 rows of pillars, 44 in total, 6 meters high, and made of the white-veined red stone of the country. The white marble capitals are in debased Corinthian style and bear in the center of the abacus a rosette with an ornate Greek cross.
The remnants of the octagonal building which covered the Grotto of the Nativity can still be seen in the Armenian Chapel. The Armenian Alter in the northern transept is known as the Alter of the Kings, due to tradition, that it is the site were the Magi Magdalene dismounted.
In the eastern part, there are pieces of walls and steps which were part of the staircase leading from the center of the Basilica down to the Grotto. Two doors lead out of the transept: one to the Church of St. Catherine, and the second to the Greek convent. The Church of St. George, on the left, is used by the Anglicans for carol service on Christmas Eve. Two flights of steps from two sides lead down to the Grotto and meet at the Alter of the Nativity, the site where Jesus is said to have been born. The floor beneath the Alter is incased in white marble, where, fitted into the paving, shines a 14 pointed Silver Star marking the exact spot surrounded by the Latin inscription: HICDE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST . 1717 . (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Of the 15 lamps burning around the recess, six belong to the Greeks, 5 to the Armenians and four to the Latins.
The Manger is situated on the north side of the Grotto, and opposite the Manger, an Alter is dedicated to the Wise Men who came to Bethlehem from the East under the guidance of a star bearing gifts to Baby Jesus.
The Grotto is rectangular in shape: length is 12.3m, and the breadth is 3.15m. Light in the Grotto is supplied by 53 lamps, 19 of which belong to the Latins. The floor and walls are covered with nine slabs of marble, and the side walls are covered with fire proof amianthus, which belongs to the Franciscans.
A mouth of a cistern can be seen at the end of the Grotto of the Nativity, and a door leading to a few chapels, the key of which belongs with the Franciscans. It was the Franciscans, who in 1470, dug out this passage in order to have access to the Grotto from the Church of St. Catherine. Excavations done between 1962 and 1964 by Father Farina, a Franciscan, proved that the grottos were occupied between 700 and 787 BC, and occupied again at the time of Christ till the year 333 AD. Father Farina found 35 tombs, and legend has it that Christians desired to be buried next to the holy place where Jesus was born.
The first chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph, in memory of the vision he had when an Angel came to him and told him to take the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus to Egypt to flee Herod's executions. The second chapel is dedicated to the Holy Innocents, the children and infants whose lives were taken by Herod in search of Christ.
Taking a left in the passageway, we find the tomb of St. Eusebius of Cremona, successor of St. Jerome, and superior of the Monastery. The common tombs of Saints Paula and Eustochium are in a room on the left, and opposite these tombs, there is the tomb of St. Jerome, whose remains are now in Rome. The last Chapel is that of St. Jerome, where he lived and worked.
Ascending from the grottos up a staircase, we end up in the Church of St. Catherine, built by the Franciscans in 1882 to replace a smaller medieval chapel of the canons of St. Augustine. St. Catherine of Alexandria is a saint about whom nothing is known before the 8th Century. There are no historical foundations and her personality is a mystery, and yet, on November 25, there is a feast honoring her.
Leaving the Church, there is a cloister that was restored in 1948 and 1949, and is above the remains of the walls of St. Jerome's monastery. To the west of the cloister, there is the cistern of St. Helen, and visitor can see the remains of the Constantinian and Justinian walls. At the south end of the cloister, there is a door that leads to the bell tower and the chapel built by the Crusaders. Leaving the cloister we end up at the Casa Nova, a Franciscan property.
As we were leaving the church and heading for the bus, a man asked Shannon, “Are you looking for a rich husband?” Shannon said “no, but thanks.” The man shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Now you know everything you ever wanted to know about the Church of the Nativity and more. The touring for the day was complete and we had another opportunity for shopping. We were going to the National Diamond Center in Bethlehem.
National Diamond Center
If you remember, Israel has built a wall around Bethlehem and entry and exit from the city is controlled by the Israeli army. Before we were allowed entry into the city, an Israeli guard boarded the bus and checked all our passports. He was a very small soldier, maybe 18 or 19 years old, but he had a very real weapon. While he was checking our passports, another soldier was outside checking the luggage compartment of the bus. Eventually we entered the city and traveled to the National Diamond Center. Cathy and Shannon checked out the jewelry, tried on a few rings and made believe like they might buy something. I think a couple of group members bought something, gold chains and maybe a necklace, but no one at the Diamond Center got rich from our group. Shannon’s favorite was a large purple amethyst ring with a measly asking price of $6,000.
Kings of Kings Church
We were told we were going to attend the Sunday evening service at church, however, you would have never known it when we got off the bus. We walked through a security screener, much like those at the airport, into the street level floor of a shopping mall. The church was located on the interior of the mall but had no visible signage on the outside. Once inside, we realized the church was quite large. Pastor Wayne Hilsden introduced our group and another from Colorado to the congregation. The worship part of the service was terrific –part in English and part in Hebrew. There was such a release of emotion to finally be in Church after such intense touring for the past two weeks and singing:
How marvelous, How wonderful
And my song shall ever be
How marvelous, How wonderful
Is my Savior’s love for me
We’ve received the ‘history’ behind all the sites that we have visited. Some history about how this Church was established follows. It's called the pavilion, was dedicated in late 2004, and is a state of the art facility, located in the heart of Jerusalem and the new home of King of Kings Assembly pastored by Wayne Hilsden. Pastor Hilsden said, "It's not just a building, but it actually declares that we believe in the restoration of Israel. What we did is take a dilapidated, broken down ruin and began to restore it."
In 2002, inside the building, instead of hearing singing, we’d have heard construction sounds. The physical restoration took place in a city known to Christians around the world for its tremendous spiritual warfare and its enormous biblical significance since Jerusalem is the city the Bible says Jesus will come back to and where He will establish His Kingdom.
The ground-breaking project took 22 months to transform an abandoned movie theater - the largest in Jerusalem - into one of the most technologically advanced facilities in Israel. The architecture even includes a ceiling meant to look like a prayer shawl. Pastor Hilsden calls the project a physical reflection of a spiritual truth. He said, further, "The restoration will also be a spiritual restoration. It's not only a restoration of the Land, but a restoration to the Lord."
While King of Kings met in a rented facility for years, now the pavilion will be the spiritual home for hundreds of people living in Jerusalem and is meant to serve the body of Messiah within Israel and around the world. The financial commitment posed a huge challenge, but support came from around the world, for what Pastor Hilsden calls a "miracle in the making.”
Hilsden added, "We've had an incredible response from people who have said, how can I help? They've helped us very significantly. To pray for us. Give towards us, and we've seen miracle after miracle after miracle, to see this vision become a reality."
During this season of congregational prayer, the Scripture verse, Psalm 27:5 became a powerful theme. It says: "For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle shall He hide me. He shall set me high upon a rock." We looked at the building but we heard musical worship of God. Hilsden believes joy and worship make up the heart of the pavilion. He hopes as a worship center it will reflect Jerusalem's biblical past, present and future. "The place where David worshipped. The place where Yeshua (Jesus) came and showed us the Father, whom we worship. Jerusalem is the place where He's coming back and where we'll gather around His Throne and worship."
Pastor Rick and Cathy were introduced to the congregation. Cathy spoke about the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead can raise any dead aspect of your life – the crowd responded so well. Pastor Rick was the guest speaker for the evening and preached a wonderful message – Belong, Believe and Behave. We are to love people and give them a sense of belonging. Once they believe the change in behavior will follow. After the service ended, we were given a tour of the Prayer Tower.
The Prayer Tower is the entire 14th floor of the building in which the Church is located. The tower is manned with people who pray 24 hours each day. The stated goal is to make the Jerusalem Pavilion Prayer Tower a place of devoted Prayer without ceasing (Isaiah 62:7, 1. Tim. 5:17) - until all Israel is saved (Rom. 11:26) and unending Worship (Psalms 27:4) in preparation for the day, when He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:7). There is an unobstructed view of Jerusalem from the Tower – a wonderful view from 14 stories above the Church which resides on Jaffa Street – the largest street in West Jerusalem. I’ve provided the website for the church. Take a look at the website – the church is certainly worthy of our support: http://www.kkcj.org/news/the-jerusalem-praise-experience
After viewing the Prayer Tower, we boarded the bus and traveled back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Tomorrow is the last day of the tour – lots to see and so little time.
Our first stop of the day was close to the hotel. We boarded the bus, everyone in their adopted seat, full on anticipation for a great day. The first stop must have been a favorite of Jesus during His earthly life. He spent much time here. We immediately noticed a camel and a donkey at our drop off point. The locals enticed the group members to have a photograph taken with either of the animals – a simple was for them to make a little money. We had some takers but not to many. This is also the location where we had our group picture taken with the city of Jerusalem in the background. The only problem with the group picture is the gentleman that was taking it did not give much, if any, warning that he was about to take it. Some members of the group, including Cathy, were not looking in the direction of the camera. Too bad – it would have been a nice memento to have. We have it but do you think there is any way that Cathy is going to put that photo on display?Mount of Olives
The 2 mile long Mount of Olives is a flattened ridge series located just a few hundred yards (meters) east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It rises over 200 feet (60 meters) above the Kidron Valley which separates those two very significant places.
The Mount of Olives was the place where numerous events of Bible History occurred. Many of the most important people of the Bible walked upon it sooner or later.In the Old Testament King David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape from Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:30). After King Solomon became corrupt, he built pagan "high places" there (1 Kings 11:7). Later, King Josiah destroyed Solomon's idolatrous altars, by which time it had become known as the Hill of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13-14). Ezekiel had his vision of The Lord and the flying cherubim above it (Ezekiel 11:22-23). The people gathered olive branches there for the first Feast of Tabernacles after their return from The Babylonian Exile (Nehemiah 8:15).
In the New Testament Jesus regularly went up onto the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39). He often traveled over it on His way to Bethany to visit His friend Lazarus. His famous Olivet prophecy is named after it (Matthew 24:1-51). The Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding on a Donkey and her colt into Jerusalem took place over and down the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:28-44). Jesus prayed with His disciples there just before His arrest That Fateful Night (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus was arrested there, during which Peter struck the servant of the high priest with a sword and cut off his ear (Luke 22:49-51). Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Mount of Olives after His Resurrection, and He ascended into heaven from there (Acts 1:1-12).After some time for photos and viewing all of Jerusalem, we slowly walked down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Garden of Gethsemane
Adjacent to the Church of All Nations is an ancient olive garden. Olive trees do not have rings and so their age can not be precisely determined, but scholars estimate their age to anywhere between one and two thousand years old. It is unlikely that these trees were here in the time of Christ because of the report that the Romans cut down all the trees in the area in their siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony or the Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church located on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before the night of his arrest. We sat on the front steps as Pastor Rick led us in devotions.The chapel was built from 1919 to 1924 using funds from many different countries (hence the title). The symbols of each country are incorporated into the glass of the ceiling, each in a separate, small dome. The front of the church is a facade supported by a row of pillars. Above is a modern mosaic depicting Jesus Christ symbolically as the link between God and humanity. The bubbled-dome roof, thick pillars, and mosaic give the church a Byzantine look architecturally. The architect of the building was Antonio Barluzzi.
The current church rests on the foundations of two earlier ones - a 12th century Crusader chapel abandoned in 1345 and a 4th century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746.
The church is currently operated by the Franciscans; an open altar in the garden is used by the Anglican community on Holy Thursday.
After devotions, and a few minutes for photos, we were back on the bus. I don’t believe that the next stop was part of the offficial itinerary. Since our guide, Rimon, is so well connected, he was able to get us into the Holocaust museum on very short notice.
Holocaust Museum
As you enter the museum, inscribed in rock is Isaiah 56:5:
I will give them—within the walls of my house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
It will never disappear!
The new Holocaust History Museum occupies over 4,200 square meters, mainly underground. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, it presents the story of the Shoah from a unique Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of the individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions.
Its 180 meters – long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge – a skylight – protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below. Unique settings, spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the unfolding narrative.
At the end of the Museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names—a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished. You enter in the center of a circular room with walls extending high above your head and covered with shelves. On the shelves are numbered books containing bibliographies of every Holocaust victim.
From the Hall of Names, visitors will continue on to the epilogue and from there to the balcony opening to a panoramic view of Jerusalem
As you exit the museum, inscribed in rock is Ezekiel 37:14:
I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return
home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord,
have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”
It was a very somber experience – a museum that needed to be seen but only so we don’t forget and can never let it happen again.
Church of the Nativity
Getting from the bus into the church reminded us of the gauntlet we experienced in Turkey. Many locals, mostly men and young boys, were doing their best to make us part with our money. In some cases they were selling post cards that were 6-7 years old. We made it into the Church. Rimon was chomping at the bit and the history lesson began. OK – get your learning hats on – here we go.
The Church of the Nativity is the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use, commemorating the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Since St. Helena is believed to have built the Church of the Nativity, there are others who believe that it was the Emperor Constantine who ordered the construction of monumental churches to honor the three principal events of Jesus' life.
The construction began in 326 AD, and with the aid of the locals' traditions who believed that the cave in which Jesus Christ was born was at the end of the village, the architects were able to construct the shape of the cave according to architectural and devotional requirements. The cave was encased by an octagonal structure forming the sanctuary of the basilica, which stretched away to the west in five aisles divided by four rows of monolithic columns.
The Church was rich with mosaics, frescoes, marbles, and a silver manger replacing the original clay manger.
The present Church was built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian. In 529, the Samaritans revolted, and the Church of the Nativity was badly damaged. The Patriarch of Jerusalem sent St. Sabas to Justinian for help, and the architect sent by the Emperor demolished the church and built the current one. New soil covered the mosaic floor built in 326, and a new pavement was laid at a higher level. When the Crusaders came in the 12th Century, they built a cloister and monastery around the north side of the Church.
Yet another restoration project took place between 1165 and 1169, in coordination between the Byzantine Empire and the Frankish Kingdom. The reparations took place all over the Church, covering many of the walls and the floors with marble; mosaic and mother-of-pearl. The cedar wood roof was covered with lead; the Grotto walls were laid with marble and mosaic covered the walls in the Grotto, and the two entrances received their present form.
The facade of the Church of the Nativity is encircled by the high walls of the three convents: the Franciscan on the northeast side, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian Orthodox, on the southeast side. The facade had three doors, two of which are walled up. The present low entrance which leads into the narthex was made at the beginning of the 16th century, in order to prevent the entrance of horses into the building. The narthex is divided into three compartments, and a single wooden door gives access to the interior.
The Basilica is a rectangle 53.9m long, the nave is 26.2m wide, and the transept is 35.82m. Entering the Church, one can notice 4 rows of pillars, 44 in total, 6 meters high, and made of the white-veined red stone of the country. The white marble capitals are in debased Corinthian style and bear in the center of the abacus a rosette with an ornate Greek cross.
The remnants of the octagonal building which covered the Grotto of the Nativity can still be seen in the Armenian Chapel. The Armenian Alter in the northern transept is known as the Alter of the Kings, due to tradition, that it is the site were the Magi Magdalene dismounted.
In the eastern part, there are pieces of walls and steps which were part of the staircase leading from the center of the Basilica down to the Grotto. Two doors lead out of the transept: one to the Church of St. Catherine, and the second to the Greek convent. The Church of St. George, on the left, is used by the Anglicans for carol service on Christmas Eve. Two flights of steps from two sides lead down to the Grotto and meet at the Alter of the Nativity, the site where Jesus is said to have been born. The floor beneath the Alter is incased in white marble, where, fitted into the paving, shines a 14 pointed Silver Star marking the exact spot surrounded by the Latin inscription: HICDE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST . 1717 . (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Of the 15 lamps burning around the recess, six belong to the Greeks, 5 to the Armenians and four to the Latins.
The Manger is situated on the north side of the Grotto, and opposite the Manger, an Alter is dedicated to the Wise Men who came to Bethlehem from the East under the guidance of a star bearing gifts to Baby Jesus.The Grotto is rectangular in shape: length is 12.3m, and the breadth is 3.15m. Light in the Grotto is supplied by 53 lamps, 19 of which belong to the Latins. The floor and walls are covered with nine slabs of marble, and the side walls are covered with fire proof amianthus, which belongs to the Franciscans.
A mouth of a cistern can be seen at the end of the Grotto of the Nativity, and a door leading to a few chapels, the key of which belongs with the Franciscans. It was the Franciscans, who in 1470, dug out this passage in order to have access to the Grotto from the Church of St. Catherine. Excavations done between 1962 and 1964 by Father Farina, a Franciscan, proved that the grottos were occupied between 700 and 787 BC, and occupied again at the time of Christ till the year 333 AD. Father Farina found 35 tombs, and legend has it that Christians desired to be buried next to the holy place where Jesus was born.
The first chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph, in memory of the vision he had when an Angel came to him and told him to take the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus to Egypt to flee Herod's executions. The second chapel is dedicated to the Holy Innocents, the children and infants whose lives were taken by Herod in search of Christ.
Taking a left in the passageway, we find the tomb of St. Eusebius of Cremona, successor of St. Jerome, and superior of the Monastery. The common tombs of Saints Paula and Eustochium are in a room on the left, and opposite these tombs, there is the tomb of St. Jerome, whose remains are now in Rome. The last Chapel is that of St. Jerome, where he lived and worked.
Ascending from the grottos up a staircase, we end up in the Church of St. Catherine, built by the Franciscans in 1882 to replace a smaller medieval chapel of the canons of St. Augustine. St. Catherine of Alexandria is a saint about whom nothing is known before the 8th Century. There are no historical foundations and her personality is a mystery, and yet, on November 25, there is a feast honoring her.
Leaving the Church, there is a cloister that was restored in 1948 and 1949, and is above the remains of the walls of St. Jerome's monastery. To the west of the cloister, there is the cistern of St. Helen, and visitor can see the remains of the Constantinian and Justinian walls. At the south end of the cloister, there is a door that leads to the bell tower and the chapel built by the Crusaders. Leaving the cloister we end up at the Casa Nova, a Franciscan property.
As we were leaving the church and heading for the bus, a man asked Shannon, “Are you looking for a rich husband?” Shannon said “no, but thanks.” The man shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
Now you know everything you ever wanted to know about the Church of the Nativity and more. The touring for the day was complete and we had another opportunity for shopping. We were going to the National Diamond Center in Bethlehem.
National Diamond Center
If you remember, Israel has built a wall around Bethlehem and entry and exit from the city is controlled by the Israeli army. Before we were allowed entry into the city, an Israeli guard boarded the bus and checked all our passports. He was a very small soldier, maybe 18 or 19 years old, but he had a very real weapon. While he was checking our passports, another soldier was outside checking the luggage compartment of the bus. Eventually we entered the city and traveled to the National Diamond Center. Cathy and Shannon checked out the jewelry, tried on a few rings and made believe like they might buy something. I think a couple of group members bought something, gold chains and maybe a necklace, but no one at the Diamond Center got rich from our group. Shannon’s favorite was a large purple amethyst ring with a measly asking price of $6,000.
Kings of Kings Church
We were told we were going to attend the Sunday evening service at church, however, you would have never known it when we got off the bus. We walked through a security screener, much like those at the airport, into the street level floor of a shopping mall. The church was located on the interior of the mall but had no visible signage on the outside. Once inside, we realized the church was quite large. Pastor Wayne Hilsden introduced our group and another from Colorado to the congregation. The worship part of the service was terrific –part in English and part in Hebrew. There was such a release of emotion to finally be in Church after such intense touring for the past two weeks and singing:
How marvelous, How wonderful
And my song shall ever be
How marvelous, How wonderful
Is my Savior’s love for me
We’ve received the ‘history’ behind all the sites that we have visited. Some history about how this Church was established follows. It's called the pavilion, was dedicated in late 2004, and is a state of the art facility, located in the heart of Jerusalem and the new home of King of Kings Assembly pastored by Wayne Hilsden. Pastor Hilsden said, "It's not just a building, but it actually declares that we believe in the restoration of Israel. What we did is take a dilapidated, broken down ruin and began to restore it."
In 2002, inside the building, instead of hearing singing, we’d have heard construction sounds. The physical restoration took place in a city known to Christians around the world for its tremendous spiritual warfare and its enormous biblical significance since Jerusalem is the city the Bible says Jesus will come back to and where He will establish His Kingdom.
The ground-breaking project took 22 months to transform an abandoned movie theater - the largest in Jerusalem - into one of the most technologically advanced facilities in Israel. The architecture even includes a ceiling meant to look like a prayer shawl. Pastor Hilsden calls the project a physical reflection of a spiritual truth. He said, further, "The restoration will also be a spiritual restoration. It's not only a restoration of the Land, but a restoration to the Lord."
While King of Kings met in a rented facility for years, now the pavilion will be the spiritual home for hundreds of people living in Jerusalem and is meant to serve the body of Messiah within Israel and around the world. The financial commitment posed a huge challenge, but support came from around the world, for what Pastor Hilsden calls a "miracle in the making.”
Hilsden added, "We've had an incredible response from people who have said, how can I help? They've helped us very significantly. To pray for us. Give towards us, and we've seen miracle after miracle after miracle, to see this vision become a reality."
During this season of congregational prayer, the Scripture verse, Psalm 27:5 became a powerful theme. It says: "For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle shall He hide me. He shall set me high upon a rock." We looked at the building but we heard musical worship of God. Hilsden believes joy and worship make up the heart of the pavilion. He hopes as a worship center it will reflect Jerusalem's biblical past, present and future. "The place where David worshipped. The place where Yeshua (Jesus) came and showed us the Father, whom we worship. Jerusalem is the place where He's coming back and where we'll gather around His Throne and worship."
Pastor Rick and Cathy were introduced to the congregation. Cathy spoke about the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead can raise any dead aspect of your life – the crowd responded so well. Pastor Rick was the guest speaker for the evening and preached a wonderful message – Belong, Believe and Behave. We are to love people and give them a sense of belonging. Once they believe the change in behavior will follow. After the service ended, we were given a tour of the Prayer Tower.
The Prayer Tower is the entire 14th floor of the building in which the Church is located. The tower is manned with people who pray 24 hours each day. The stated goal is to make the Jerusalem Pavilion Prayer Tower a place of devoted Prayer without ceasing (Isaiah 62:7, 1. Tim. 5:17) - until all Israel is saved (Rom. 11:26) and unending Worship (Psalms 27:4) in preparation for the day, when He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:7). There is an unobstructed view of Jerusalem from the Tower – a wonderful view from 14 stories above the Church which resides on Jaffa Street – the largest street in West Jerusalem. I’ve provided the website for the church. Take a look at the website – the church is certainly worthy of our support: http://www.kkcj.org/news/the-jerusalem-praise-experience
After viewing the Prayer Tower, we boarded the bus and traveled back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Tomorrow is the last day of the tour – lots to see and so little time.
Day 12 – June 16 – Saturday
(Masada, Jericho, Qumran and the Dead Sea)
Masada
The first stop of the day was Masada, a mountain top fortress located in Israel on the western shore of the Dead Sea. All but one member of the group, ascended to the ancient fortress by cable
car. Chad Hardcastle, our lone, single young man decided to walk up the path to the top. We waved to Chad as we passed him high above on our way up. I’m sure it sounded like a good idea when he started but he was dragging when he got to the top – it was steep and the weather was warm.
Masada is a mountaintop, complete with ancient ruins, located in the Negev desert near the Dead Sea.
The word Masada means "fortress" in Hebrew. The cliff's remoteness from human habitation and difficult approach made it an ideal location for a fortress. Two fortified palaces were built there in the 1st century BC by the Judean king Herod the Great. After Herod's death, Masada was occupied by a Roman garrison. Jewish zealots captured it in AD 66.
From AD 66-70, Masada became a refuge for Jewish zealots revolting against Roman rule. After the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD 70, about 1000 men, women, and children escaped to Masada.
At the end of AD 72, the Romans set out to conquer Masada, the last point of Jewish insurrection. The Roman camp consisted of some 10,000-15,000 Roman soldiers and Jewish prisoners. Eight Roman army camps, linked by an earthen wall, were built in a circle around the base of Masada. The Jewish zealots fought the approaching army off with stones. When the Romans finally succeeded to breach the wall at the top of the mountain, the Jewish zealots knew they had lost the fight. All but seven Jews killed themselves rather than surrender to slavery.
During the tour of Masada, among the ruins we saw Herod’s bath house and original frescos from Herod’s time. Have I told you how hot it was on a mountain top in a desert situated in the southern part of Israel? After touring Masada for close to two hours it was time to catch the cable car back down. This time 4 or 5 people decided to walk down the trail. We didn’t have to wait to long for them at the bottom and I’m not sure any of them would have made that walk if they had another chance. Although, it is quite impressive to be able to say that I walked down from Masada. We loaded up with cold drinks and ice cream and headed for Jericho.
Jericho
Commonly known as “the oldest city in the world,” Jericho is an important historical, cultural, and political center located northwest of the Dead Sea. The city is perhaps best known from the Biblical story of a great victory over its Canaanite citizens by the Israelite leader Joshua.
The present city was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 along with the rest of the West Bank from Jordan. It was one of the first cities handed over to Palestinian Authority control in 1994, in accordance with the Oslo accords. Jericho was re-occupied by Israel during the Al-Aqsa Intifada of 2001. After a period of Israeli control during Operation Defensive Shield, it was returned to the Palestinian Authority on March 16, 2005. Today, Jericho seems like a ghost town – no industry – 60-70% unemployment – and entry into the city is controlled by Israeli forces.
You may wonder what we were doing in Jericho. Well, we were doing lunch. Our guide has taken us into a couple of depressed areas for lunch. I believe he feels it’s his Christian duty to help the down trodden and the people of Jericho are certainly that. Lunch was edible but that’s it. We were able to shop at a store that sold many products manufactured using the healing ‘powers’ of the Dead Sea salt. Shannon bought 7 bottle of Ahava hand lotion (from the Dead Sea Laboratories) for her girlfriends back home. They have all confirmed that it is the best hand lotion they have ever used. It was an odd diversion and the city is simply dirty, dusty and all but dead. After what I thought was an abnormally long stop, we boarded the bus and headed for Qumran.
Qumran
The drive from the hotel in Jerusalem to the Qumran National Park was approximately 40 minutes long. Once outside of Jerusalem, the landscape turns to desert, a few trees and shrubs and the occasional Bedouin community - living in their tents. I imagine the Bedouins have been living this way for thousands of years. The trip to Qumran was uneventful – we were still in the wake up mode. As we entered the Park, the bus driver unloaded us near the reception building/gift shop. Our guide bought our tickets for 18 shekels each (about $4.50) and led us into a large room where we watched a video presentation
Qumran National Park - Home to the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Rimon explained that the Qumran site was discovered in 1946 by a Bedouin boy, who went to find a lost goat, but instead found a cave in which clay pots were hidden. In these pots, a treasure of manuscripts was discovered. This discovery led to the discovery of over 700 additional manuscripts in this area.
The discovery of the ancient settlement of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls was thrilling to Christians and Jews alike. The Dead Sea Scrolls had sat undisturbed deep in the caves of the Judean Desert for millennia. From the scrolls and the more prosaic material artifacts found in the Qumran area, historians were able to patch together a clear picture of the way of life and manner of thought of the residents of Qumran. Although Qumran likely had no more than 200 inhabitants, it is hard to overestimate the importance of the ideas promulgated by these individuals.
If you are like me at all, I have heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls for many years but really didn’t know what they consisted of. The following is the official explanation. Altogether more than 500 Hebrew, Aramaic and occasionally also Greek manuscripts, ten of them almost completely preserved, have been found in eleven caves at Qumran. They include all the books of the Old Testament except Esther, together with apocrypha like the Hebrew text of the Book of Sirach, previously known only in translations, and various writings of the Qumran community, including a scroll over 3m/10ft long which contains the whole book of Isaiah in 54 columns and a 2m/6.5ft long scroll with the "manual of discipline" of the Essenes of Qumran. There are also various private documents in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and, more rarely, Nabataean and Latin, and letters, including some from Bar Kochba, found in the wadis to the south of Qumran. Don’t forget this information – there may be a quiz later on?
There are a number of parallels between statements attributed to Jesus in the New Testament and chapters found in the scrolls. Paul cites passages written in Qumran in his Epistles and the author of the Gospel According to John expresses thoughts similar to those recorded in the scrolls. The concept of a uniform prayer service recited at set times during the day was an invention of the residents of Qumran that was adopted by the Sages after the destruction of the Second Temple.
The people of Qumran were apparently the Essenes, who were well known even before the discovery of the scrolls. In his description of Essenes and their radically isolationist world view, the historian Josephus Flavius felt compelled to remark that the members of the cult were of Jewish origin, lest his readers not realize this. The Essenes saw themselves as the chosen ones and believed that the Israelites should follow in their path or suffer the consequences. This approach was responsible for the Essenes' being set apart from the Jews and their departure for the desert, although there were pockets of Essenes in the cities as well, for instance in Jerusalem.
When the video presentation ended, we walked outside and looked at the caves from a distance. Our time at Qumran lasted between 1-2 hours and then it was back on the bus and to the Dead Sea.
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a natural wonder which is situated in the center of the great Syrian-African rift valley fault between Israel and the Jordan. The Dead Sea is actually a big inland lake 42 miles long, up to 11 miles wide and it is 1,083 feet deep at the deepest point. It is the lowest point on dry land in the world (1,378 feet below sea level).
Another record held by the Dead Sea is having the highest salt concentration of any of the world's seas, salt lakes or any stretch of water. The salt concentration in the Dead Sea is ten times higher than other seas (for example: the salt concentration in the Dead Sea is 34%, while the concentration in the Mediterranean Sea is only 3.5%). This high salt concentration makes floating in its waters effortless.
The high salinity of the waters in the Dead Sea prevents the existence of life in the water, hence its name. The name "Dead Sea" for the Hebrew "Yam Hamelach" (Salt Sea) was attributed by Christian Monks, astonished by the apparent absence of any form of life in the sea water. Recent scientific research however, discovered 11 types of bacteria in the water.
The Dead Sea is drying quickly. 2,000-3,000 years ago, the level of the Dead Sea was 360 meters below sea level. However, diversion of water from the Jordan River since 1950, by both Jordan and Israel, has reduced to less than the half the flow of water from the Jordan River into the Dead Sea. Today, water evaporation is faster than the water supply and the sea is gradually shrinking. Over the last 30 years, water levels have dropped 25 meters.
This fall of the Dead Sea level has caused another strange and problematic phenomenon in the area. At points where rivers flow into the Dead Sea, (such as Nahal David and Nahal Arugot in the Ein Gedi area), the water is absorbed by the sandy ground and streams underground into the Sea. Because of the fall in the Dead Sea level, the underground rivers flow faster, and carry clay sediments: thus large underground caves have been formed, which sometimes collapse unexpectedly, and people have fallen down holes a few meters deep. This phenomenon causes great damages to tourism and local industries.
I believe that the only reason a person goes to the Dead Sea is to confirm that you can float with ease and not sink if you wanted to. For those of us in the group that decided we wanted to float in the Dead Sea, we came prepared with our bathing suits and towels. We used the changing room to get ready, brought our belongings with us in a plastic bag, asked those not going into the water to watch our belongings, and then headed to the water. It was crowded, it was hot, it was late afternoon and it was very ‘rocky’ for the first 10-15 feet walking into the Dead Sea. Once we got past the rocky bottom, we immediately noticed the salinity of the water, which felt kind of slimy to me. We gave this floating thing a try, and sure enough, when we put our butts into the water, our legs and upper bodies popped out. Without exerting effort, you could not straighten your body. I believe we could have stayed in that semi-sitting position floating for a long, long time. Once we realized that we could float for as long as we wanted – there wasn’t much else to do. We didn’t want to go under water for fear that some of that salty water would get into our mouths - the salt taste was so strong. The water wasn’t refreshing - it was warm. So after a few minutes, we got out, showered and dressed and waited for everyone else to stop playing. The feeling of floating effortlessly is so unique. That being said, I have no desire to visit the Dead Sea again. The feeling is like, ‘been there, done that.’
This was the last stop of the day. We gathered everyone, boarded our wonderfully cool air conditioned bus and headed back to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Masada
The first stop of the day was Masada, a mountain top fortress located in Israel on the western shore of the Dead Sea. All but one member of the group, ascended to the ancient fortress by cable
car. Chad Hardcastle, our lone, single young man decided to walk up the path to the top. We waved to Chad as we passed him high above on our way up. I’m sure it sounded like a good idea when he started but he was dragging when he got to the top – it was steep and the weather was warm.Masada is a mountaintop, complete with ancient ruins, located in the Negev desert near the Dead Sea.
The word Masada means "fortress" in Hebrew. The cliff's remoteness from human habitation and difficult approach made it an ideal location for a fortress. Two fortified palaces were built there in the 1st century BC by the Judean king Herod the Great. After Herod's death, Masada was occupied by a Roman garrison. Jewish zealots captured it in AD 66.
From AD 66-70, Masada became a refuge for Jewish zealots revolting against Roman rule. After the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD 70, about 1000 men, women, and children escaped to Masada.At the end of AD 72, the Romans set out to conquer Masada, the last point of Jewish insurrection. The Roman camp consisted of some 10,000-15,000 Roman soldiers and Jewish prisoners. Eight Roman army camps, linked by an earthen wall, were built in a circle around the base of Masada. The Jewish zealots fought the approaching army off with stones. When the Romans finally succeeded to breach the wall at the top of the mountain, the Jewish zealots knew they had lost the fight. All but seven Jews killed themselves rather than surrender to slavery.
During the tour of Masada, among the ruins we saw Herod’s bath house and original frescos from Herod’s time. Have I told you how hot it was on a mountain top in a desert situated in the southern part of Israel? After touring Masada for close to two hours it was time to catch the cable car back down. This time 4 or 5 people decided to walk down the trail. We didn’t have to wait to long for them at the bottom and I’m not sure any of them would have made that walk if they had another chance. Although, it is quite impressive to be able to say that I walked down from Masada. We loaded up with cold drinks and ice cream and headed for Jericho.
Jericho
Commonly known as “the oldest city in the world,” Jericho is an important historical, cultural, and political center located northwest of the Dead Sea. The city is perhaps best known from the Biblical story of a great victory over its Canaanite citizens by the Israelite leader Joshua.
The present city was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 along with the rest of the West Bank from Jordan. It was one of the first cities handed over to Palestinian Authority control in 1994, in accordance with the Oslo accords. Jericho was re-occupied by Israel during the Al-Aqsa Intifada of 2001. After a period of Israeli control during Operation Defensive Shield, it was returned to the Palestinian Authority on March 16, 2005. Today, Jericho seems like a ghost town – no industry – 60-70% unemployment – and entry into the city is controlled by Israeli forces.
You may wonder what we were doing in Jericho. Well, we were doing lunch. Our guide has taken us into a couple of depressed areas for lunch. I believe he feels it’s his Christian duty to help the down trodden and the people of Jericho are certainly that. Lunch was edible but that’s it. We were able to shop at a store that sold many products manufactured using the healing ‘powers’ of the Dead Sea salt. Shannon bought 7 bottle of Ahava hand lotion (from the Dead Sea Laboratories) for her girlfriends back home. They have all confirmed that it is the best hand lotion they have ever used. It was an odd diversion and the city is simply dirty, dusty and all but dead. After what I thought was an abnormally long stop, we boarded the bus and headed for Qumran.
Qumran
The drive from the hotel in Jerusalem to the Qumran National Park was approximately 40 minutes long. Once outside of Jerusalem, the landscape turns to desert, a few trees and shrubs and the occasional Bedouin community - living in their tents. I imagine the Bedouins have been living this way for thousands of years. The trip to Qumran was uneventful – we were still in the wake up mode. As we entered the Park, the bus driver unloaded us near the reception building/gift shop. Our guide bought our tickets for 18 shekels each (about $4.50) and led us into a large room where we watched a video presentation
Qumran National Park - Home to the authors of the Dead Sea ScrollsRimon explained that the Qumran site was discovered in 1946 by a Bedouin boy, who went to find a lost goat, but instead found a cave in which clay pots were hidden. In these pots, a treasure of manuscripts was discovered. This discovery led to the discovery of over 700 additional manuscripts in this area.
The discovery of the ancient settlement of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls was thrilling to Christians and Jews alike. The Dead Sea Scrolls had sat undisturbed deep in the caves of the Judean Desert for millennia. From the scrolls and the more prosaic material artifacts found in the Qumran area, historians were able to patch together a clear picture of the way of life and manner of thought of the residents of Qumran. Although Qumran likely had no more than 200 inhabitants, it is hard to overestimate the importance of the ideas promulgated by these individuals.
If you are like me at all, I have heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls for many years but really didn’t know what they consisted of. The following is the official explanation. Altogether more than 500 Hebrew, Aramaic and occasionally also Greek manuscripts, ten of them almost completely preserved, have been found in eleven caves at Qumran. They include all the books of the Old Testament except Esther, together with apocrypha like the Hebrew text of the Book of Sirach, previously known only in translations, and various writings of the Qumran community, including a scroll over 3m/10ft long which contains the whole book of Isaiah in 54 columns and a 2m/6.5ft long scroll with the "manual of discipline" of the Essenes of Qumran. There are also various private documents in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and, more rarely, Nabataean and Latin, and letters, including some from Bar Kochba, found in the wadis to the south of Qumran. Don’t forget this information – there may be a quiz later on?
There are a number of parallels between statements attributed to Jesus in the New Testament and chapters found in the scrolls. Paul cites passages written in Qumran in his Epistles and the author of the Gospel According to John expresses thoughts similar to those recorded in the scrolls. The concept of a uniform prayer service recited at set times during the day was an invention of the residents of Qumran that was adopted by the Sages after the destruction of the Second Temple.
The people of Qumran were apparently the Essenes, who were well known even before the discovery of the scrolls. In his description of Essenes and their radically isolationist world view, the historian Josephus Flavius felt compelled to remark that the members of the cult were of Jewish origin, lest his readers not realize this. The Essenes saw themselves as the chosen ones and believed that the Israelites should follow in their path or suffer the consequences. This approach was responsible for the Essenes' being set apart from the Jews and their departure for the desert, although there were pockets of Essenes in the cities as well, for instance in Jerusalem.
When the video presentation ended, we walked outside and looked at the caves from a distance. Our time at Qumran lasted between 1-2 hours and then it was back on the bus and to the Dead Sea.
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a natural wonder which is situated in the center of the great Syrian-African rift valley fault between Israel and the Jordan. The Dead Sea is actually a big inland lake 42 miles long, up to 11 miles wide and it is 1,083 feet deep at the deepest point. It is the lowest point on dry land in the world (1,378 feet below sea level).
Another record held by the Dead Sea is having the highest salt concentration of any of the world's seas, salt lakes or any stretch of water. The salt concentration in the Dead Sea is ten times higher than other seas (for example: the salt concentration in the Dead Sea is 34%, while the concentration in the Mediterranean Sea is only 3.5%). This high salt concentration makes floating in its waters effortless.The high salinity of the waters in the Dead Sea prevents the existence of life in the water, hence its name. The name "Dead Sea" for the Hebrew "Yam Hamelach" (Salt Sea) was attributed by Christian Monks, astonished by the apparent absence of any form of life in the sea water. Recent scientific research however, discovered 11 types of bacteria in the water.
The Dead Sea is drying quickly. 2,000-3,000 years ago, the level of the Dead Sea was 360 meters below sea level. However, diversion of water from the Jordan River since 1950, by both Jordan and Israel, has reduced to less than the half the flow of water from the Jordan River into the Dead Sea. Today, water evaporation is faster than the water supply and the sea is gradually shrinking. Over the last 30 years, water levels have dropped 25 meters.
This fall of the Dead Sea level has caused another strange and problematic phenomenon in the area. At points where rivers flow into the Dead Sea, (such as Nahal David and Nahal Arugot in the Ein Gedi area), the water is absorbed by the sandy ground and streams underground into the Sea. Because of the fall in the Dead Sea level, the underground rivers flow faster, and carry clay sediments: thus large underground caves have been formed, which sometimes collapse unexpectedly, and people have fallen down holes a few meters deep. This phenomenon causes great damages to tourism and local industries.I believe that the only reason a person goes to the Dead Sea is to confirm that you can float with ease and not sink if you wanted to. For those of us in the group that decided we wanted to float in the Dead Sea, we came prepared with our bathing suits and towels. We used the changing room to get ready, brought our belongings with us in a plastic bag, asked those not going into the water to watch our belongings, and then headed to the water. It was crowded, it was hot, it was late afternoon and it was very ‘rocky’ for the first 10-15 feet walking into the Dead Sea. Once we got past the rocky bottom, we immediately noticed the salinity of the water, which felt kind of slimy to me. We gave this floating thing a try, and sure enough, when we put our butts into the water, our legs and upper bodies popped out. Without exerting effort, you could not straighten your body. I believe we could have stayed in that semi-sitting position floating for a long, long time. Once we realized that we could float for as long as we wanted – there wasn’t much else to do. We didn’t want to go under water for fear that some of that salty water would get into our mouths - the salt taste was so strong. The water wasn’t refreshing - it was warm. So after a few minutes, we got out, showered and dressed and waited for everyone else to stop playing. The feeling of floating effortlessly is so unique. That being said, I have no desire to visit the Dead Sea again. The feeling is like, ‘been there, done that.’
This was the last stop of the day. We gathered everyone, boarded our wonderfully cool air conditioned bus and headed back to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 11 – June 15 – Friday
(Garden Tomb, Israel Museum, Mount Zion, Caiaphas House)
The day begins as all the others. A buffet breakfast that is more filling than tasty – then onto the tour bus. Today, our first stop is the Garden Tomb.
Garden Tomb
The Garden Tomb is located just north of the Damascus Gate, outside the walls of Jerusalem. This site was discovered by a group of British Christians during the late 1800s. The Tomb looks like what people might typically envision as Christ's tomb. Also, there is a skull-shaped hill nearby, as indicated in the New Testament as Golgotha. A beautiful park now surrounds the tomb. This site is believed by some Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Others believe that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of the tomb.
While officially the Garden Tomb Association only maintains this as a possible site for Christ's burial, some tour guides of the site are convinced of the authenticity. They note the large cistern nearby, which proves the area must have been a garden in Jesus' day. They maintain that there are marks of Christian worship at the tomb which also prove its sanctity throughout the ages.
It would be nice to know with certainty that this was the tomb in which Christ was buried after His crucifixion. However, it really isn’t important at all. Wherever the tomb is in which Jesus was buried, that tomb is empty. He is risen! So at most, we are simply viewing a tomb which may be where Christ was buried, and if it isn’t the tomb, it would be similar to the authentic one.
There was a 5-10 minute wait to get into the tomb, so we waited patiently in line. When we entered the tomb, we noted that it had two chambers. On one side was the weeping room – a place for professional mourners. The other side had two spots for bodies. At the time of use, it was a new tomb and only one spot had been used. As we walked back out, we saw a trench that ran along the front of the tomb. Our guide said that the trench was there for a stone to be rolled along and cover the entrance to the tomb.
There is a quiet sitting area not far from the tomb’s
entrance. Pastor Rick talked for a few minutes, exclaiming that we serve a risen Lord. We had communion there - small olive wood cups filled with juice and small pieces of bread were provided to groups making prior arrangements. After communion, we sang two songs: “Oh the Blood of Jesus’ and ‘Because He Lives’. I had asked Pastor Rick earlier in the day to sing ‘Because He Lives’ – it’s one of my favorites. The 1st verse and chorus follows:
God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
This experience was a beautiful way to begin our day. Next stop the Israel Museum.
Israel Museum
The brochure at the entrance advertises the museum nicely. It states, “Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, boasts a vast array of world art, spanning five continents and ranging from Rembrandt, Rubens, and a long-lost Poussin to cutting-edge creations by acclaimed contemporary artists; a Judaica holding that is considered the most comprehensive in the world; and a renowned Archaeology Wing, whose treasures include the Dead Sea Scrolls and a figurine thought to be the world's oldest artwork. The splendors of this great encyclopedic museum are now displayed in 300 full-color reproductions, accompanied by in-depth commentaries by its curators.”
In four sections that correspond to the organization of the Israel Museum-Art, Judaica and Jewish Ethnography, Archaeology, and the Youth Wing-this collections catalogue presents: a superb collection of Western art in every medium, as well as rare works from the Americas, Africa, Eastern Asia, and other parts of the globe; a rich assortment of objects that offer an illuminating overview of Jewish ritual, custom, and daily life in many cultural contexts; the largest collection of antiquities from the Holy Land; and a captivating view of the Youth Wing, which draws half the museum's visitors every year and has established an international reputation for innovative activities.
Portions of every book in the Old Testament, except Esther and Nehemiah, are housed here. The entire Isaiah manuscript was found and part of that is on display. The Isaiah manuscript is 637 centimeters long. Outside is a huge model of the city of Jerusalem. When we first heard that we were headed to the Israel Museum, we naturally thought that we would be inside a nice air-conditioned building. We eventually ended up in one but in the first 30-45 minutes, we were walking outside and getting a history lesson from our guide at the model of Jerusalem. Since we thought that we would be indoors, many of us left our hats on the bus – bad move. It was hot, sunny and there was no breeze. My ‘dome’ was cooked – not a pretty site. We enjoyed all the museum had to offer, however, all good things must come to an end. We left the museum and headed for Mt. Zion.
Mount Zion
Rimon, our tour guide, has consistently stated when he thought the sites we visited were the actual places from Biblical times, when the sites we visited could not be the actual places from Biblical times and when there continues to be debate as to the authenticity of the sites from Biblical times. There seems to be some confusion between the location of Mount Moriah and Mount Zion
The modern Mount Zion is one of those places probably not located where the Mount Zion of the Bible was. He explained that the modern Mount Zion is a misnomer applied by Byzantine pilgrims who thought that the larger, flatter Western Hill (of Jerusalem) must be the original City of David or Mount Zion (but it was really Mount Moriah). Archaeological evidence has shown that this hill was only incorporated within the city's fortifications in the 8th century B.C. but the name has stuck. The Hinnom Valley borders this hill on its western and southern sides. Mount Moriah is not a single peak, but an elongated ridge which commences to rise at its Southern end at the junction of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, at the original City of David, (elevation approximately 600 meters). The ridge then climbs in elevation to a maximum of 777 meters just Northeast of the present Damascus Gate of the Old City. The Temple Mount, prominent in most photos of Jerusalem occupies an area of about 45 acres. However the elevation of the bedrock outcropping on the Temple Mount within the Dome of the Rock Moslem shrine is only 741 meters.
A distinctly separate "mountain" is Mount Zion (elevation 772 meters) which lies about 600 meters to the West. In ancient times, a deep valley separated Mount Zion from Mount Moriah. Today many layers of ruined city and rubble from Jerusalem's many destructions completely fill this valley.
Outside the present old city walls, the traditional tomb of David and site of the Upper Room are located on present-day Mount Zion, as well as the Church of the Domition.
We unloaded from the bus, walked uphill, just outside of the old city walls and climbed the stairs into the traditional Upper Room. Rimon made sure that we knew that this room could not be the authentic upper room, but it is the room in which we remember at least two distinct events in the Bible. The Upper Room is where Jesus brought His disciples for the Last Supper (Matt 26: 17-30). The Upper Room is also the place where the 120 believers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-2) which was the precursor for 3,000 others being saved that day (Acts 2:41). Pastor Rick led devotions by reading from the Book of Acts. Afterward, we sang two songs and by this point in the trip we were sounding like we knew what we are doing. The 1st song that was sung was ‘Surround Me’, which we didn’t know so the Taylor family hummed sweetly. I’m telling you that there is nothing like a good hum. The 2nd song that we sung was ‘Hallelujah’. About half was through the song another tour group joined in and that sweet music filled the room – it was an awesome experience. After the singing, Stan began to recite Psalm 29, broke into tears half way through, and then composed himself and finished. The Psalm is beautiful and ends by saying “The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.” Psalm 29 follows:
Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. Honor the Lord for the glory of his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon* leap like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning. The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!” The Lord rules over the floodwaters. The Lord reigns as king forever. The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
We ended our visit to the Upper Room with a prayer for peace in Israel. As we left the Upper Room, we headed back down the hill, boarded the tour bus and headed to Caiaphas House.
Caiaphas House
As we have come to expect, Rimon, our tour guide, provided some information about Caiaphas. He was an important official in the city of Jerusalem, is mentioned nine times by name in the New Testament (Mt. 26:3,57; Lk. 3:2; Jn. 11:49; 18:13,14,24,28; Acts 4:6). Next to Pilate, the Roman governor, Caiaphas was the most powerful dignitary in Judea. He served for eighteen years (A.D. 18-36) as an appointee of the Roman government.
Caiaphas was a vicious enemy of Jesus. Following the resurrection of Lazarus, as some of the Jewish leaders began to sense the impact of Christ’s miracles, a council was convened. The fear was expressed that if the Lord was simply ignored the whole populous might be swept away with this mania, and that could bring the Romans down upon them (Jn. 11:47, 48). It was Caiaphas who suggested that there was a solution—put this man to death (49-53).
The scheme to kill Jesus was vigorously discussed in “the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas” (Mt. 26:3), and when the Lord was later arrested, he was led to Caiaphas’ house (26:57; cf. Jn. 18:24). It was he who fiercely interrogated Christ, charging the Savior with blasphemy. This fueled the crowd to a feverish pitch and ultimately brought about the Lord’s death (cf. Mt. 26:62ff).
We walked into the house of Caiaphas. For our first stop, we walked down into the prison where we could see the holes in the walls which anchored the chains that were attached to the prisoners. We then walked down more stairs and gathered in a cave-like jail where Pastor Rick read from the Bible. It must be customary for the tour groups, while in the cave-like jail, to turn the lights off to get a sense of just how dark it would have been when Christ was here. You could barely see your hand in front of your face. While the lights were off, another tour group in an adjacent cave-like jail began to sing:
He is Lord, He is Lord He is risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, That Jesus Christ is Lord!
We joined in singing – another awesome experience. After the song was finished, the lights were turned on, and we walked up the stairs and out the back of the house. We walked back up the steps that Jesus would have walked down when he was here. We were encouraged to slowly walk up the steps and contemplate how much Jesus had to love us to suffer as he did for us. There was an ache in my heart as I thought about all the Jesus has done for someone so undeserving. What an awesome God!
This was the last stop of the day so we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Back at the hotel, the girls bought some jewelry. Cathy and Shannon both bought gold and silver bands with inscriptions in Hebrew; Shannon’s inscriptions were ‘Because He Lives’ and Cathy’s was ‘Psalm 29 Peace’. They also bought necklace pendants with pieces of ancient Roman class. Shannon’s pendant was the Jerusalem Cross and Cathy’s was a circle. The girls had a blast shopping and the shop owners were very nice and enjoyed the girl’s enthusiasm. About 10:00 we headed up to the rooms. A big day is scheduled for tomorrow. We will be touring Masada, Jericho, Qumran and the Dead Sea.
The day begins as all the others. A buffet breakfast that is more filling than tasty – then onto the tour bus. Today, our first stop is the Garden Tomb.
Garden Tomb
The Garden Tomb is located just north of the Damascus Gate, outside the walls of Jerusalem. This site was discovered by a group of British Christians during the late 1800s. The Tomb looks like what people might typically envision as Christ's tomb. Also, there is a skull-shaped hill nearby, as indicated in the New Testament as Golgotha. A beautiful park now surrounds the tomb. This site is believed by some Christians to be the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Others believe that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the site of the tomb.
While officially the Garden Tomb Association only maintains this as a possible site for Christ's burial, some tour guides of the site are convinced of the authenticity. They note the large cistern nearby, which proves the area must have been a garden in Jesus' day. They maintain that there are marks of Christian worship at the tomb which also prove its sanctity throughout the ages.It would be nice to know with certainty that this was the tomb in which Christ was buried after His crucifixion. However, it really isn’t important at all. Wherever the tomb is in which Jesus was buried, that tomb is empty. He is risen! So at most, we are simply viewing a tomb which may be where Christ was buried, and if it isn’t the tomb, it would be similar to the authentic one.
There was a 5-10 minute wait to get into the tomb, so we waited patiently in line. When we entered the tomb, we noted that it had two chambers. On one side was the weeping room – a place for professional mourners. The other side had two spots for bodies. At the time of use, it was a new tomb and only one spot had been used. As we walked back out, we saw a trench that ran along the front of the tomb. Our guide said that the trench was there for a stone to be rolled along and cover the entrance to the tomb.
There is a quiet sitting area not far from the tomb’s
entrance. Pastor Rick talked for a few minutes, exclaiming that we serve a risen Lord. We had communion there - small olive wood cups filled with juice and small pieces of bread were provided to groups making prior arrangements. After communion, we sang two songs: “Oh the Blood of Jesus’ and ‘Because He Lives’. I had asked Pastor Rick earlier in the day to sing ‘Because He Lives’ – it’s one of my favorites. The 1st verse and chorus follows:God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus; He came to love, heal and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
This experience was a beautiful way to begin our day. Next stop the Israel Museum.
Israel Museum
The brochure at the entrance advertises the museum nicely. It states, “Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, boasts a vast array of world art, spanning five continents and ranging from Rembrandt, Rubens, and a long-lost Poussin to cutting-edge creations by acclaimed contemporary artists; a Judaica holding that is considered the most comprehensive in the world; and a renowned Archaeology Wing, whose treasures include the Dead Sea Scrolls and a figurine thought to be the world's oldest artwork. The splendors of this great encyclopedic museum are now displayed in 300 full-color reproductions, accompanied by in-depth commentaries by its curators.”
In four sections that correspond to the organization of the Israel Museum-Art, Judaica and Jewish Ethnography, Archaeology, and the Youth Wing-this collections catalogue presents: a superb collection of Western art in every medium, as well as rare works from the Americas, Africa, Eastern Asia, and other parts of the globe; a rich assortment of objects that offer an illuminating overview of Jewish ritual, custom, and daily life in many cultural contexts; the largest collection of antiquities from the Holy Land; and a captivating view of the Youth Wing, which draws half the museum's visitors every year and has established an international reputation for innovative activities.
Portions of every book in the Old Testament, except Esther and Nehemiah, are housed here. The entire Isaiah manuscript was found and part of that is on display. The Isaiah manuscript is 637 centimeters long. Outside is a huge model of the city of Jerusalem. When we first heard that we were headed to the Israel Museum, we naturally thought that we would be inside a nice air-conditioned building. We eventually ended up in one but in the first 30-45 minutes, we were walking outside and getting a history lesson from our guide at the model of Jerusalem. Since we thought that we would be indoors, many of us left our hats on the bus – bad move. It was hot, sunny and there was no breeze. My ‘dome’ was cooked – not a pretty site. We enjoyed all the museum had to offer, however, all good things must come to an end. We left the museum and headed for Mt. Zion.Mount Zion
Rimon, our tour guide, has consistently stated when he thought the sites we visited were the actual places from Biblical times, when the sites we visited could not be the actual places from Biblical times and when there continues to be debate as to the authenticity of the sites from Biblical times. There seems to be some confusion between the location of Mount Moriah and Mount Zion
The modern Mount Zion is one of those places probably not located where the Mount Zion of the Bible was. He explained that the modern Mount Zion is a misnomer applied by Byzantine pilgrims who thought that the larger, flatter Western Hill (of Jerusalem) must be the original City of David or Mount Zion (but it was really Mount Moriah). Archaeological evidence has shown that this hill was only incorporated within the city's fortifications in the 8th century B.C. but the name has stuck. The Hinnom Valley borders this hill on its western and southern sides. Mount Moriah is not a single peak, but an elongated ridge which commences to rise at its Southern end at the junction of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, at the original City of David, (elevation approximately 600 meters). The ridge then climbs in elevation to a maximum of 777 meters just Northeast of the present Damascus Gate of the Old City. The Temple Mount, prominent in most photos of Jerusalem occupies an area of about 45 acres. However the elevation of the bedrock outcropping on the Temple Mount within the Dome of the Rock Moslem shrine is only 741 meters.
A distinctly separate "mountain" is Mount Zion (elevation 772 meters) which lies about 600 meters to the West. In ancient times, a deep valley separated Mount Zion from Mount Moriah. Today many layers of ruined city and rubble from Jerusalem's many destructions completely fill this valley.
Outside the present old city walls, the traditional tomb of David and site of the Upper Room are located on present-day Mount Zion, as well as the Church of the Domition.
We unloaded from the bus, walked uphill, just outside of the old city walls and climbed the stairs into the traditional Upper Room. Rimon made sure that we knew that this room could not be the authentic upper room, but it is the room in which we remember at least two distinct events in the Bible. The Upper Room is where Jesus brought His disciples for the Last Supper (Matt 26: 17-30). The Upper Room is also the place where the 120 believers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-2) which was the precursor for 3,000 others being saved that day (Acts 2:41). Pastor Rick led devotions by reading from the Book of Acts. Afterward, we sang two songs and by this point in the trip we were sounding like we knew what we are doing. The 1st song that was sung was ‘Surround Me’, which we didn’t know so the Taylor family hummed sweetly. I’m telling you that there is nothing like a good hum. The 2nd song that we sung was ‘Hallelujah’. About half was through the song another tour group joined in and that sweet music filled the room – it was an awesome experience. After the singing, Stan began to recite Psalm 29, broke into tears half way through, and then composed himself and finished. The Psalm is beautiful and ends by saying “The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.” Psalm 29 follows:Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. Honor the Lord for the glory of his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf; he makes Mount Hermon* leap like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning. The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!” The Lord rules over the floodwaters. The Lord reigns as king forever. The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.
We ended our visit to the Upper Room with a prayer for peace in Israel. As we left the Upper Room, we headed back down the hill, boarded the tour bus and headed to Caiaphas House.
Caiaphas House
As we have come to expect, Rimon, our tour guide, provided some information about Caiaphas. He was an important official in the city of Jerusalem, is mentioned nine times by name in the New Testament (Mt. 26:3,57; Lk. 3:2; Jn. 11:49; 18:13,14,24,28; Acts 4:6). Next to Pilate, the Roman governor, Caiaphas was the most powerful dignitary in Judea. He served for eighteen years (A.D. 18-36) as an appointee of the Roman government.
Caiaphas was a vicious enemy of Jesus. Following the resurrection of Lazarus, as some of the Jewish leaders began to sense the impact of Christ’s miracles, a council was convened. The fear was expressed that if the Lord was simply ignored the whole populous might be swept away with this mania, and that could bring the Romans down upon them (Jn. 11:47, 48). It was Caiaphas who suggested that there was a solution—put this man to death (49-53).
The scheme to kill Jesus was vigorously discussed in “the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas” (Mt. 26:3), and when the Lord was later arrested, he was led to Caiaphas’ house (26:57; cf. Jn. 18:24). It was he who fiercely interrogated Christ, charging the Savior with blasphemy. This fueled the crowd to a feverish pitch and ultimately brought about the Lord’s death (cf. Mt. 26:62ff).
We walked into the house of Caiaphas. For our first stop, we walked down into the prison where we could see the holes in the walls which anchored the chains that were attached to the prisoners. We then walked down more stairs and gathered in a cave-like jail where Pastor Rick read from the Bible. It must be customary for the tour groups, while in the cave-like jail, to turn the lights off to get a sense of just how dark it would have been when Christ was here. You could barely see your hand in front of your face. While the lights were off, another tour group in an adjacent cave-like jail began to sing:He is Lord, He is Lord He is risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, That Jesus Christ is Lord!
We joined in singing – another awesome experience. After the song was finished, the lights were turned on, and we walked up the stairs and out the back of the house. We walked back up the steps that Jesus would have walked down when he was here. We were encouraged to slowly walk up the steps and contemplate how much Jesus had to love us to suffer as he did for us. There was an ache in my heart as I thought about all the Jesus has done for someone so undeserving. What an awesome God!
This was the last stop of the day so we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Back at the hotel, the girls bought some jewelry. Cathy and Shannon both bought gold and silver bands with inscriptions in Hebrew; Shannon’s inscriptions were ‘Because He Lives’ and Cathy’s was ‘Psalm 29 Peace’. They also bought necklace pendants with pieces of ancient Roman class. Shannon’s pendant was the Jerusalem Cross and Cathy’s was a circle. The girls had a blast shopping and the shop owners were very nice and enjoyed the girl’s enthusiasm. About 10:00 we headed up to the rooms. A big day is scheduled for tomorrow. We will be touring Masada, Jericho, Qumran and the Dead Sea. Monday, December 3, 2007
Day 10 – June 14 – Thursday
(Tiberias, Cana, Nazareth, Megiddo, Jerusalem)
We ‘enjoyed’ another interesting breakfast in the Sheraton Moriah in Tiberias – which has a totally kosher kitchen. I really don’t know the impact of how food is prepared in a kosher kitchen. I do know that the food choices are odd. There are so many selections of raw fish you would think that you are is a sushi bar. We had never been so thankful for dry cereal.
Cana
The first stop today was Cana (modern name Kafr Kanna) - a Galilean town five miles northeast of Nazareth. Its population of 8,500 includes both Muslims and Christians. The principal reason that we traveled to Cana was to give those married people in the group the opportunity to exchange wedding vows again. The religious reason that we went to Cana was because this is where Jesus, at age 12, performed His first miracle.
For those of you wondering what miracle Jesus performed at age 12, wonder no more. Cana is best known as the place where, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus performed his first miracle, the turning of a large quantity of water into wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1-11) when the wine provided by the bridegroom had run out. In the Gospel of John, this is the first of the seven miraculous "signs" by which Jesus's divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured.
To visit the church, the bus dropped us off on the side of the highway and we walked down the narrow village street (maybe an alley) to the Franciscan church. The locals realized a tour group was coming and started to peddle their trinkets. We arrived at the Franciscan Wedding Church and noted that it is small and fronted by a courtyard. The facade has angel figures and is flanked by two bell towers. Inside, the church has two levels. The upper church has a chapel topped by a simple dome. In the nave just before the stairs is a fragment of a Byzantine mosaic dating from the 5th or 6th century and preserves the name of the donor in Aramaic. The lower church has a chapel and a small museum with artifacts from the site, including a winepress, a plastered cistern and vessels of various dates. One old jar is said to be one of the six jars used for the miracle.
The renewal of wedding vows took place in the upper church. Pastor Rick had all those who wanted to renew their wedding vows gather at the front of the church. As Pastor Rick led, wedding vows were renewed in a lovely ceremony. Guess what? Cathy cried – what a tender heart. There was time for a few photographs to be taken and then it was out the door and back to the alley going in the opposite direction from which we came. Our tour bus was waiting for us at the opposite end of the alley from where we were dropped off. It wasn’t a long walk to the bus and once boarded, we were headed to Nazareth
Nazareth
Modern Nazareth is situated among the southern ridges of the Lebanon Mountains, on the steep slope of a hill, about 14 miles from the Sea of Galilee and about 6 miles west of Mount Tabor. The modern city lies lower down upon the hill than the ancient one and has a population of 70,000. The majority of Nazarenes are Israeli Arabs, about 35-40% of which are Christians and the rest are Muslims.
In Jesus' time, Nazareth would have had a population of about 500. In the New Testament, Nazareth is depicted as a town from the ‘other side of the tracks.’ In the Gospel of John, people who hear of Jesus of Nazareth ask themselves, "What good could come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46) Nevertheless, the New Testament reports that Nazareth was the home of Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26), the site of the Annunciation (announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the Savior) and the town in which Jesus grew up (Matthew 2:23, 13:54; Luke 2:4, 2:51, 4:16). Nazareth is mentioned 17 times in the New Testament. Jesus eventually left the village for a wider ministry although he was always known to some as a “prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matt 21:11).
The purpose of our trip to Nazareth was to see the Basilica of the Annunciation, which stands over the traditional site of Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the savior of the world. Rarely are the tour buses able to get close to the sites we see. Typically, we are dropped off in an area where the buses can maneuver and then we walked to the site. It was no different here. We didn’t walk a long way, but it was uphill and it was sunny and warm.
The Basilica of the Annunciation was completed in 1969. This Catholic Church was built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches. The modern Church of the Annunciation is topped with a uniquely-shaped concrete dome 55 meters high. Its shape is based on the Madonna lily, a symbol of the Virgin Mary. Inside, the basilica consists of an upper church and a lower church. The vast upper church is decorated with mosaics of the Virgin donated by communities from around the world. The lower church centers on the Grotto or Cave of the Annunciation, where the angelic announcement to Mary is believed to have occurred. Also visible down here are remains of the Byzantine and Crusader churches that preceded the present one.
As we gathered near the Grotto or Cave of the Annunciation, Pastor Rick led us in devotions by reading from Luke 1:26-38:
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
We were given a few minutes to take photographs and then we headed for the bus. The walk back to the bus was downhill. Since it was so warm, many people in the group stopped by the local vendors for bottled water or ice cream. Our lone single young man, Chad Hardcastle, stopped at a vendor stand, opened the cooler to get a drink, and the stand tipped over spilling the drinks and ice down the hill. Chad looked a little pathetic, standing there with his hands up in the air as if he were saying, “I only lifted the lid up.” Chad quickly paid for the bottle of water he was holding and took off down the hill. I believe that some members of our tour group were able to take photographs of the aftermath. It really wasn’t funny but we all laughed – in a good way. At the bottom of the hill, we boarded our bus and headed for Megiddo. To get there we would cross the Jezreel Valley from the North, at 1,200 feet above sea level, to the South and back up to Megiddo – which looks out over the Valley of Armageddon.
Megiddo
Megiddo has been identified as one of the most important cities of biblical times. Located on a hill overlooking the fertile Jezreel Valley, Megiddo was of great strategic importance, as it commanded the eastern approaches of Nahal Iron, part of the international highway which led from
Egypt, along the coastal plain to the Jezreel Valley, and onto Damascus and Mesopotamia (the highway became known later as Via Maris. Numerous battles fought for control of the city are recorded in ancient sources; in the New Testament (Revelations 16:16), is named as the site of the "Battle of the End of Days".
One of the largest city mounds in Israel (covering an area of about 15 acres) and rich in archeological finds, Tel Megiddo is an important site for the study of the material culture of biblical times. A total of 20 cities were built at Megiddo, one above the other, over the course of 5,000 years of continuous occupation; from the time of the first settlement at the end of the 6th millennium BCE to its abandonment in the 5th century BCE
To get to the excavation site at Megiddo, we walked up a hill – not terribly steep but with the sun shining and temperatures in the 90s, it took some effort. Our guide, Rimon, suggested that those of the group who didn’t think that they could make the hike should get back on the bus. Those not making the hike would stay on the bus and meet us on the opposite side and bottom of the hill we were about to climb. There were probably 10 people who chose to stay on the bus but it was never a question for us. After regretting our decision to not walk (or ride donkeys) up the mountain and tour the acropolis in Lindos, Greece, we decided then that we would always participate in all the tour had to offer. So, we walked up the hill to tour the excavations at the top.
Megiddo reached its peak under King Solomon in the 10th century BCE. He rebuilt it as a royal city, administering the northern part of the kingdom. In the Megiddo excavations, discoveries included palaces, buildings, fortifications, administrative buildings, storehouses, stables and the water system.
To safeguard the city's water supply in times of siege, a subterranean water system was carved out of the rock in the western part of the city, which made it possible to reach the spring at the foot of the hill outside the walls without being seen by the enemy. This project required considerable engineering ingenuity and an enormous amount of hard labor. The water system consists of a square, 80 foot deep vertical shaft and a 250 foot long horizontal tunnel. In order to hide the source of water from the enemy and to protect the users of the water system, a particularly thick wall, camouflaged by a covering of earth, was constructed at the entrance to the cave from which the spring emanates, blocking access from the outside.
We walked down the circular stairway of the vertical shaft and along the catwalk of the horizontal tunnel. I can hardly imagine the amount of laborers and time required to complete this shaft and tunnel. After we exited the tunnel, we walked another ¼ mile along a fenced in path, thru a 1-way gate at the end to a parking lot where we boarded our bus. We are on our way to Jerusalem where we will stay for the remainder of the trip. Before we checked into our hotel, we drove through Bethlehem on our way to Jerusalem for an opportunity to purchase some nice souvenirs.
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city on the west bank of the River Jordan, 5 miles south of Jerusalem; with a population approximately 140,000. It was occupied by Israel in 1967 and came under control of the Palestine National Authority in December 1995. In the Bible it is mentioned as the birthplace of King David and Jesus, and in 326 the Church of the Nativity was built over the grotto said to be the birthplace of Jesus. We will tour the Church of the Nativity in a day or two. For now, we will shop.
Getting into Bethlehem is not a simple matter. Because the city is under Palestinian control, Israel has erected a 20 foot high concrete wall around the city. Access to and from the city is controlled by the Israeli army at fortified gates. We were waiting in a relatively long line to enter into Bethlehem. I got the impression that the Israeli soldiers at the check point were not concerned with how long it may take a Palestinian to enter or leave the city. Our tour guide Rimon, is apparently well connected, because he used his cell phone to call the Head of the Israeli Department of Defense, and politely asked if our tour bus could get quicker access into Bethlehem. The next thing we knew, we went to the head of the line of vehicles, showed our passports to the guard, and were allowed to pass into the city.
We stopped for shopping at the Kando store. The family has owned the store for many years. Grandfather Kando was the first to receive the jars containing the Dead Sea Scrolls from Bedouin shepherds. In his store is an original clay pot in which portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It has an estimated value of 15 million dollars. The importance of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls cannot be overestimated – the scrolls confirm the accuracy of the Bible we read today\. The following few paragraphs tell the basic story of Grandfather Kando’s part in bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls to the world:
Aside from being a part-time dealer in antiquities, Kando runs a small general store and cobbler shop. In other words, he's a Middle Eastern Jack-of-all-trades. But unfortunately, Kando's native tongue is Arabic, and he can't read the chicken-scratch letters - which are in fact Hebrew - any better than his Bedouin friends. For a while, as he ponders to himself, he wonders whether the leather might at least be cut into strips and put to use in making sandal straps. Imagine the Dead Sea Scrolls being worn on the feet of the citizens of Bethlehem! But on examining the letters again, he decides that they just might be worth something. So, he launches a plan. Kando and an accomplice now return to the cave where Muhammed had found the scroll and start searching through other caves in the vicinity. Sure enough, they discover several other jumbled wads of leather, which they now recognize as scrolls. Next, Kando makes the fateful decision to take four of his scrolls to the Old City of Jerusalem, to show them to the Christian elders of the Syrian Orthodox Church, to which he belongs. His destination is St. Mark's Monastery, in the Armenian Quarter of the city, just south of King David Street.
The head of the monastery, the venerable Archbishop Samuel, is a proud Syrian Orthodox cleric who looks almost regal. He is fully bearded and attired in floor-length robes of intricate design, bearing a long row of embroidered crosses down the center. Samuel the cleric and Kando the shopkeeper make an odd couple, but the Archbishop is clearly intrigued by the strange documents. However, he is equally unable to read the Hebrew chicken scratch, and his hunch is that the writing might be an ancient language called Syriac. In any case, he eagerly buys them for the grand sum of twenty-four Jordanian pounds - or about one hundred dollars. It is, in hindsight, the deal of the century. But in this way Kando quickly becomes the middleman in an incredible intrigue.
In the meantime, Kando visits a certain antiquities dealer of Turkish-Armenian ancestry, whose shop is located in the crooked streets of Jerusalem's Old City. Ever eager to make a profit, Kando sells him a few more of his parchment fragments. On the very next day, November 23, 1947, the Armenian phones the famed archaeologist of the Hebrew University, E. L. Sukenik, and arranges a secret meeting on the following morning, at the barbed wire which divides Arab East Jerusalem from Jewish West Jerusalem. It is an ugly no-man's land, a scar that courses through the holy city and turns it into a Middle Eastern version of Belfast - disjointed and alienated by a protracted internal conflict. Sukenik is the very epitome of an erudite scholar, with his necktie, his studious look, receding hairline, and thick, black-rimmed spectacles. Incredibly, this Hebrew-speaking modern Israeli can actually read and understand the ancient Hebrew writing with little difficulty. Gazing for the first time at a single scrap of parchment, he is stunned and amazed. He writes in his journal
Today I met the antiquities dealer. A Hebrew book has been discovered in a jar. He showed me a fragment written on parchment. The script seems very ancient to me. Is it possible?
Sukenik decides that he needs to see more of these parchments, and he wants to go right to the source - Kando's shop in Bethlehem. There is only one problem. Bethlehem is located in Arab territory, in what will later become part of the Kingdom of Jordan, while Sukenik lives in Jewish Jerusalem, in what is in a matter of months to be reborn, amid war and bloodshed, as the new capital of the State of Israel. Needless to say, travel between the two areas is risky business, but Sukenik finds it necessary to make the clandestine journey - risking his own life - to what is in effect hostile, enemy territory. His sole purpose: to see the scrolls for himself. What Sukenik discovers there in Kando's shop far exceeds his expectations. His journal entry that day declares that he feels "... privileged by destiny to gaze upon a Hebrew scroll that had not been read for more than two thousand years."
Although we didn’t buy anything from the Kando store, many of our tour mates did. Some bought antique jewelry, others bought beautiful Nativity scenes made of olive wood and still others bought less expensive ornaments and other trinkets. The stop at the store was longer than expected as many people were ready to leave long before we actually left. It almost got to be a battle of wills. I got the feeling that the longer we were held ‘captive’ in the store, the more the store owners thought we might buy something. The bus was parked within 15 feet of the exit door. As we left the store to board the bus, a few local, Palestinians realizing a tour group was around, tried to sell necklaces and carrying bags. They were very persistent, didn’t want to take no for an answer, and all but came on the bus to sell their wares. The zeal in which they attempted to sell their stuff was partly funny and partly sad. Bethlehem is such an economically depressed city.
Incidentally, the Kando store is just feet from the 20 foot high security wall that has been built around Bethlehem. Without tourists, business is barely survivable.
Jerusalem
We had to go through the security gate as we left Bethlehem. Once again we had to show our passports to the guard before we were allowed to leave. Our next stop was the Grand Court Hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. We arrived at the Grand Court Hotel Jerusalem, located on St. George Street between the Novotel and Olive Tree Royal Plaza Hotels, in the late afternoon. We received room keys from Pastor Rick, grabbed our luggage and went up to our rooms to get settled. Cathy and I were in room 835 and Shannon and Michelle were in room 820. We unpacked, cleaned up, and met in the dining room for our group dinner around 6:30. We enjoyed another buffet dinner in which the quality of the food met our lowered expectations. Clearly, the fellowship with other group members was the highlight of dinner time with the food coming in a distant second.
After dinner, Shannon found the internet connection in the lobby and e-mailed friends from work and her college days. After that, we went into the gift shops and Cathy and Shannon began the quest for jewelry. Although nothing was purchased on this 1st night in Jerusalem, the girls tried on many rings and necklaces. It would just be a matter of time.
After a day of touring, we were ready to head up to the rooms around 9:30 – 10:00. Before bedtime, I did as much washing as I could do. Since our portable clothes line could only hold so much – I had clothes hanging on hangars, over chairs and anywhere I could hang them. Most of what was washed was made of lightweight material and would be dry by morning – tomorrow evening at the latest. Sometime around 11:00 it was lights out.
We ‘enjoyed’ another interesting breakfast in the Sheraton Moriah in Tiberias – which has a totally kosher kitchen. I really don’t know the impact of how food is prepared in a kosher kitchen. I do know that the food choices are odd. There are so many selections of raw fish you would think that you are is a sushi bar. We had never been so thankful for dry cereal.
Cana
The first stop today was Cana (modern name Kafr Kanna) - a Galilean town five miles northeast of Nazareth. Its population of 8,500 includes both Muslims and Christians. The principal reason that we traveled to Cana was to give those married people in the group the opportunity to exchange wedding vows again. The religious reason that we went to Cana was because this is where Jesus, at age 12, performed His first miracle.
For those of you wondering what miracle Jesus performed at age 12, wonder no more. Cana is best known as the place where, according to the Gospel of John, Jesus performed his first miracle, the turning of a large quantity of water into wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1-11) when the wine provided by the bridegroom had run out. In the Gospel of John, this is the first of the seven miraculous "signs" by which Jesus's divine status is attested, and around which the gospel is structured.To visit the church, the bus dropped us off on the side of the highway and we walked down the narrow village street (maybe an alley) to the Franciscan church. The locals realized a tour group was coming and started to peddle their trinkets. We arrived at the Franciscan Wedding Church and noted that it is small and fronted by a courtyard. The facade has angel figures and is flanked by two bell towers. Inside, the church has two levels. The upper church has a chapel topped by a simple dome. In the nave just before the stairs is a fragment of a Byzantine mosaic dating from the 5th or 6th century and preserves the name of the donor in Aramaic. The lower church has a chapel and a small museum with artifacts from the site, including a winepress, a plastered cistern and vessels of various dates. One old jar is said to be one of the six jars used for the miracle.
The renewal of wedding vows took place in the upper church. Pastor Rick had all those who wanted to renew their wedding vows gather at the front of the church. As Pastor Rick led, wedding vows were renewed in a lovely ceremony. Guess what? Cathy cried – what a tender heart. There was time for a few photographs to be taken and then it was out the door and back to the alley going in the opposite direction from which we came. Our tour bus was waiting for us at the opposite end of the alley from where we were dropped off. It wasn’t a long walk to the bus and once boarded, we were headed to NazarethNazareth
Modern Nazareth is situated among the southern ridges of the Lebanon Mountains, on the steep slope of a hill, about 14 miles from the Sea of Galilee and about 6 miles west of Mount Tabor. The modern city lies lower down upon the hill than the ancient one and has a population of 70,000. The majority of Nazarenes are Israeli Arabs, about 35-40% of which are Christians and the rest are Muslims.
In Jesus' time, Nazareth would have had a population of about 500. In the New Testament, Nazareth is depicted as a town from the ‘other side of the tracks.’ In the Gospel of John, people who hear of Jesus of Nazareth ask themselves, "What good could come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46) Nevertheless, the New Testament reports that Nazareth was the home of Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:26), the site of the Annunciation (announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the Savior) and the town in which Jesus grew up (Matthew 2:23, 13:54; Luke 2:4, 2:51, 4:16). Nazareth is mentioned 17 times in the New Testament. Jesus eventually left the village for a wider ministry although he was always known to some as a “prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matt 21:11).
The purpose of our trip to Nazareth was to see the Basilica of the Annunciation, which stands over the traditional site of Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the savior of the world. Rarely are the tour buses able to get close to the sites we see. Typically, we are dropped off in an area where the buses can maneuver and then we walked to the site. It was no different here. We didn’t walk a long way, but it was uphill and it was sunny and warm.
The Basilica of the Annunciation was completed in 1969. This Catholic Church was built over the remains of Byzantine and Crusader churches. The modern Church of the Annunciation is topped with a uniquely-shaped concrete dome 55 meters high. Its shape is based on the Madonna lily, a symbol of the Virgin Mary. Inside, the basilica consists of an upper church and a lower church. The vast upper church is decorated with mosaics of the Virgin donated by communities from around the world. The lower church centers on the Grotto or Cave of the Annunciation, where the angelic announcement to Mary is believed to have occurred. Also visible down here are remains of the Byzantine and Crusader churches that preceded the present one.
As we gathered near the Grotto or Cave of the Annunciation, Pastor Rick led us in devotions by reading from Luke 1:26-38:
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
We were given a few minutes to take photographs and then we headed for the bus. The walk back to the bus was downhill. Since it was so warm, many people in the group stopped by the local vendors for bottled water or ice cream. Our lone single young man, Chad Hardcastle, stopped at a vendor stand, opened the cooler to get a drink, and the stand tipped over spilling the drinks and ice down the hill. Chad looked a little pathetic, standing there with his hands up in the air as if he were saying, “I only lifted the lid up.” Chad quickly paid for the bottle of water he was holding and took off down the hill. I believe that some members of our tour group were able to take photographs of the aftermath. It really wasn’t funny but we all laughed – in a good way. At the bottom of the hill, we boarded our bus and headed for Megiddo. To get there we would cross the Jezreel Valley from the North, at 1,200 feet above sea level, to the South and back up to Megiddo – which looks out over the Valley of Armageddon.
Megiddo
Megiddo has been identified as one of the most important cities of biblical times. Located on a hill overlooking the fertile Jezreel Valley, Megiddo was of great strategic importance, as it commanded the eastern approaches of Nahal Iron, part of the international highway which led from
Egypt, along the coastal plain to the Jezreel Valley, and onto Damascus and Mesopotamia (the highway became known later as Via Maris. Numerous battles fought for control of the city are recorded in ancient sources; in the New Testament (Revelations 16:16), is named as the site of the "Battle of the End of Days".One of the largest city mounds in Israel (covering an area of about 15 acres) and rich in archeological finds, Tel Megiddo is an important site for the study of the material culture of biblical times. A total of 20 cities were built at Megiddo, one above the other, over the course of 5,000 years of continuous occupation; from the time of the first settlement at the end of the 6th millennium BCE to its abandonment in the 5th century BCE
To get to the excavation site at Megiddo, we walked up a hill – not terribly steep but with the sun shining and temperatures in the 90s, it took some effort. Our guide, Rimon, suggested that those of the group who didn’t think that they could make the hike should get back on the bus. Those not making the hike would stay on the bus and meet us on the opposite side and bottom of the hill we were about to climb. There were probably 10 people who chose to stay on the bus but it was never a question for us. After regretting our decision to not walk (or ride donkeys) up the mountain and tour the acropolis in Lindos, Greece, we decided then that we would always participate in all the tour had to offer. So, we walked up the hill to tour the excavations at the top.
Megiddo reached its peak under King Solomon in the 10th century BCE. He rebuilt it as a royal city, administering the northern part of the kingdom. In the Megiddo excavations, discoveries included palaces, buildings, fortifications, administrative buildings, storehouses, stables and the water system.
To safeguard the city's water supply in times of siege, a subterranean water system was carved out of the rock in the western part of the city, which made it possible to reach the spring at the foot of the hill outside the walls without being seen by the enemy. This project required considerable engineering ingenuity and an enormous amount of hard labor. The water system consists of a square, 80 foot deep vertical shaft and a 250 foot long horizontal tunnel. In order to hide the source of water from the enemy and to protect the users of the water system, a particularly thick wall, camouflaged by a covering of earth, was constructed at the entrance to the cave from which the spring emanates, blocking access from the outside.
We walked down the circular stairway of the vertical shaft and along the catwalk of the horizontal tunnel. I can hardly imagine the amount of laborers and time required to complete this shaft and tunnel. After we exited the tunnel, we walked another ¼ mile along a fenced in path, thru a 1-way gate at the end to a parking lot where we boarded our bus. We are on our way to Jerusalem where we will stay for the remainder of the trip. Before we checked into our hotel, we drove through Bethlehem on our way to Jerusalem for an opportunity to purchase some nice souvenirs.
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city on the west bank of the River Jordan, 5 miles south of Jerusalem; with a population approximately 140,000. It was occupied by Israel in 1967 and came under control of the Palestine National Authority in December 1995. In the Bible it is mentioned as the birthplace of King David and Jesus, and in 326 the Church of the Nativity was built over the grotto said to be the birthplace of Jesus. We will tour the Church of the Nativity in a day or two. For now, we will shop.
Getting into Bethlehem is not a simple matter. Because the city is under Palestinian control, Israel has erected a 20 foot high concrete wall around the city. Access to and from the city is controlled by the Israeli army at fortified gates. We were waiting in a relatively long line to enter into Bethlehem. I got the impression that the Israeli soldiers at the check point were not concerned with how long it may take a Palestinian to enter or leave the city. Our tour guide Rimon, is apparently well connected, because he used his cell phone to call the Head of the Israeli Department of Defense, and politely asked if our tour bus could get quicker access into Bethlehem. The next thing we knew, we went to the head of the line of vehicles, showed our passports to the guard, and were allowed to pass into the city.We stopped for shopping at the Kando store. The family has owned the store for many years. Grandfather Kando was the first to receive the jars containing the Dead Sea Scrolls from Bedouin shepherds. In his store is an original clay pot in which portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It has an estimated value of 15 million dollars. The importance of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls cannot be overestimated – the scrolls confirm the accuracy of the Bible we read today\. The following few paragraphs tell the basic story of Grandfather Kando’s part in bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls to the world:
Aside from being a part-time dealer in antiquities, Kando runs a small general store and cobbler shop. In other words, he's a Middle Eastern Jack-of-all-trades. But unfortunately, Kando's native tongue is Arabic, and he can't read the chicken-scratch letters - which are in fact Hebrew - any better than his Bedouin friends. For a while, as he ponders to himself, he wonders whether the leather might at least be cut into strips and put to use in making sandal straps. Imagine the Dead Sea Scrolls being worn on the feet of the citizens of Bethlehem! But on examining the letters again, he decides that they just might be worth something. So, he launches a plan. Kando and an accomplice now return to the cave where Muhammed had found the scroll and start searching through other caves in the vicinity. Sure enough, they discover several other jumbled wads of leather, which they now recognize as scrolls. Next, Kando makes the fateful decision to take four of his scrolls to the Old City of Jerusalem, to show them to the Christian elders of the Syrian Orthodox Church, to which he belongs. His destination is St. Mark's Monastery, in the Armenian Quarter of the city, just south of King David Street.
The head of the monastery, the venerable Archbishop Samuel, is a proud Syrian Orthodox cleric who looks almost regal. He is fully bearded and attired in floor-length robes of intricate design, bearing a long row of embroidered crosses down the center. Samuel the cleric and Kando the shopkeeper make an odd couple, but the Archbishop is clearly intrigued by the strange documents. However, he is equally unable to read the Hebrew chicken scratch, and his hunch is that the writing might be an ancient language called Syriac. In any case, he eagerly buys them for the grand sum of twenty-four Jordanian pounds - or about one hundred dollars. It is, in hindsight, the deal of the century. But in this way Kando quickly becomes the middleman in an incredible intrigue.
In the meantime, Kando visits a certain antiquities dealer of Turkish-Armenian ancestry, whose shop is located in the crooked streets of Jerusalem's Old City. Ever eager to make a profit, Kando sells him a few more of his parchment fragments. On the very next day, November 23, 1947, the Armenian phones the famed archaeologist of the Hebrew University, E. L. Sukenik, and arranges a secret meeting on the following morning, at the barbed wire which divides Arab East Jerusalem from Jewish West Jerusalem. It is an ugly no-man's land, a scar that courses through the holy city and turns it into a Middle Eastern version of Belfast - disjointed and alienated by a protracted internal conflict. Sukenik is the very epitome of an erudite scholar, with his necktie, his studious look, receding hairline, and thick, black-rimmed spectacles. Incredibly, this Hebrew-speaking modern Israeli can actually read and understand the ancient Hebrew writing with little difficulty. Gazing for the first time at a single scrap of parchment, he is stunned and amazed. He writes in his journal
Today I met the antiquities dealer. A Hebrew book has been discovered in a jar. He showed me a fragment written on parchment. The script seems very ancient to me. Is it possible?
Sukenik decides that he needs to see more of these parchments, and he wants to go right to the source - Kando's shop in Bethlehem. There is only one problem. Bethlehem is located in Arab territory, in what will later become part of the Kingdom of Jordan, while Sukenik lives in Jewish Jerusalem, in what is in a matter of months to be reborn, amid war and bloodshed, as the new capital of the State of Israel. Needless to say, travel between the two areas is risky business, but Sukenik finds it necessary to make the clandestine journey - risking his own life - to what is in effect hostile, enemy territory. His sole purpose: to see the scrolls for himself. What Sukenik discovers there in Kando's shop far exceeds his expectations. His journal entry that day declares that he feels "... privileged by destiny to gaze upon a Hebrew scroll that had not been read for more than two thousand years."
Although we didn’t buy anything from the Kando store, many of our tour mates did. Some bought antique jewelry, others bought beautiful Nativity scenes made of olive wood and still others bought less expensive ornaments and other trinkets. The stop at the store was longer than expected as many people were ready to leave long before we actually left. It almost got to be a battle of wills. I got the feeling that the longer we were held ‘captive’ in the store, the more the store owners thought we might buy something. The bus was parked within 15 feet of the exit door. As we left the store to board the bus, a few local, Palestinians realizing a tour group was around, tried to sell necklaces and carrying bags. They were very persistent, didn’t want to take no for an answer, and all but came on the bus to sell their wares. The zeal in which they attempted to sell their stuff was partly funny and partly sad. Bethlehem is such an economically depressed city.
Incidentally, the Kando store is just feet from the 20 foot high security wall that has been built around Bethlehem. Without tourists, business is barely survivable.
Jerusalem
We had to go through the security gate as we left Bethlehem. Once again we had to show our passports to the guard before we were allowed to leave. Our next stop was the Grand Court Hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. We arrived at the Grand Court Hotel Jerusalem, located on St. George Street between the Novotel and Olive Tree Royal Plaza Hotels, in the late afternoon. We received room keys from Pastor Rick, grabbed our luggage and went up to our rooms to get settled. Cathy and I were in room 835 and Shannon and Michelle were in room 820. We unpacked, cleaned up, and met in the dining room for our group dinner around 6:30. We enjoyed another buffet dinner in which the quality of the food met our lowered expectations. Clearly, the fellowship with other group members was the highlight of dinner time with the food coming in a distant second.
After dinner, Shannon found the internet connection in the lobby and e-mailed friends from work and her college days. After that, we went into the gift shops and Cathy and Shannon began the quest for jewelry. Although nothing was purchased on this 1st night in Jerusalem, the girls tried on many rings and necklaces. It would just be a matter of time.
After a day of touring, we were ready to head up to the rooms around 9:30 – 10:00. Before bedtime, I did as much washing as I could do. Since our portable clothes line could only hold so much – I had clothes hanging on hangars, over chairs and anywhere I could hang them. Most of what was washed was made of lightweight material and would be dry by morning – tomorrow evening at the latest. Sometime around 11:00 it was lights out.
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