This was the most incredible day overall. Tisha decided that we had an early start so we could all go to a coffee shop first. The Starbucks in the area had failed and this place was very popular. They sold "Aroma," which has melted chocolate inside the coffee. It was for sale in a large bag and Gary brought some home.
We were greeted at the traditional Garden Tomb by Victor Jack, a volunteer from England. He said that England bought this land in 1892 & has owned it since. We visited the tomb of a wealthy Jewish family, one like where Jesus was laid. We could walk inside and see just how things were arranged. We strolled through the garden right beside it and saw what is believed by many to be Golgotha, the Skull. The face of this cliff does look like a skull, with hollowed caves for the facial features. At the base of this is a paved parking lot and bus station, built by the Muslims. Victor gave us lots of good info which I recorded. This is a very special place. Perry Stone preached and then communion was shared by all. We were given the grape juice in small olive wood cups, shaped like chalices, and told we could keep them. This prepared our hearts for what was yet to come that day.
A point of extreme interest is that the Muslims are crowding into this area. Above the garden wall, we could see cement blocks and then a wire fence. Victor told us that there is a Muslim cemetery on the other side that is very prestigious. It is very expensive and all the wealthy want to be there. They have been adding dirt behind the garden wall, which is illegal, but they continue to do as they please. They have added 20 extra feet. Those who operate the Garden Tomb say there is danger the wall will fall in and the foundation will crack. The whole thing is in court. What caught our attention were big ,white Arabic letters facing into the Garden Tomb area from above. It had gone up just the previous week. It faces into the garden area and expresses their usual saying, "There is only one god. Allah is his name," or something like that. It is rumored that Yassar Arafat is being exhumed (which is totally against their religion) and is going to be moved here. They SAY they are going to do an autopsy on him to see if he was poisoned. Is this a cover for moving him here? It would cause MUCH Muslim tourism to the Garden site.
The bus station at the base of the hill is on the site where Solomon quarried his stones for his buildings. That land had not been used for 2000 years. They are trying, but they will never refute the truth of Jesus' life. Jesus is alive! He is not here in a tomb. Other religions do not have a god who LIVES!
We passed Herod's palace and his burial site. Then we stopped at a shop of antiquities. Gary got a ring with a Hebrew inscription. I bought shawls for all the gals from a vendor outside.
We went to lunch in a crowded tent-type place with buffet style food. There was a man who played awesome piano music, all types of American styles. There was a small program where the Muslims told us they think we brought the cease fire to the country and rain to Israel. They showed much appreciation to us for coming.
Next we went to the St. Peter's Church, which was built over Caiaphas' house. Jesus was brought to this house for trial. The courtyard here is where Peter denied Christ 3 times. Under the house is the jail, 1 level down. It is all chiseled out of rock. Holes had been made through the rock for chains, and holes were dug in the base of this solid rock--it looked like for toilets. There was a ramp-like area next to the jail cells where Jesus was probably judged with Barabbas. The next level down took us to a pit, possibly the exact one Jesus was in the night before he was crucified. That was probably the only night Jesus spent in Jerusalem. The pit was solid rock. We could see scratching on the wall of a man praying. Three Byzantine crosses (3rd, 4th, & 5th cent.) were painted on a rock grotto above the steps coming down to the pit.When we were all in this pit, we prayed there and sang "Amazing Grace." Tisha read from the Psalms. Once again, the Spirit of the Lord came over all of us. It was emotional. Outside, we could see a grove of trees in the distance where they had Jesus walk from--down the Kidron Valley (Jehoshaphat Valley), across it to the Old City, and up steep rock steps (up a hillside) to Caiaphas' house where we stood. He was brought here for judgment. Jesus was probably judged there in the jail.
Next, we visited the Pool of Shiloam, one of 40 pools that stored water for the Old City and the City of David. This is in the area of the City of David at the bottom of the Kidron Valley. As we drove into the area, we saw it is filed with trash just flung off of people's balconies. Houses are crowded together everywhere. A large number of young boys had found a small area of a sloped street to play soccer. One side of their "field" was probably at least a 100 ft. drop. So much for the ball if it goes over there! There were cars and houses all around them, and they had to stop often to allow a car to go in or out. It is filthy everywhere.
The Pool of Shiloam was just recently discovered in the 1990's. We went down precarious steps to a short hillside under an over-hanging rock. The hillside was all cut-rock places for seating. The Pool lay just in front of these ledges and several feet below the walkway beside it. The cripple who came for 35 years, trying to get into the water when it stirred, would have had to drop off a 3-4 ft ledge to get in. The pool now is ugly, filthy mud.
From here, we walked just a few yards to ascend the original steps to the Temple Mount. We only walked partway up this tunnel of steps. There were two tunnels there that Hezekiah dug to prepare for an Assyrian attack. He diverted a river to dig them. Today, a school group is wading through water and emerging from one of the tunnels. Everything is original stone. We are touching walls thousands of years old.
Finally, we went to the Upper Room. Wow!! This is an old Crusader building on the spot where it was believed the Last Supper took place. There are cats all over Jerusalem, and there was a cat in the Upper Room. All around the room are the Muslim symbols from when they came in after the Christians and ruled. We had our most powerful experience of the trip in this room. The Spirit of the Living God descended on us. We (the green bus) prayed and sang as a group and specifically prayed over Tisha as a missionary to the world. We were people from all over the world, including Australia, worshipping in unity. The room got very warm. Other groups came in and stood behind us. I think it was a Muslim group who tried to shout over us and disrupt us--but to no avail! Other groups came in and sang with us before leaving. We were mostly unaware. It was an amazing time. Needless to say, we got back to the hotel later than usual.
AWESOME DAY!!!!
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