Our first view of the Old City of Jerusalem with its walls built between 1535 and 1538 on the remains of the ancient walls. Facing the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem is the Eastern Gate.  It was sealed shut during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.

 The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jerusalem’s Old City and is the location of many Biblical events. The Mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3000 years. Jesus went down the mount on his triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

“And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’'”
Luke‬ ‭19‬:‭28-31‬ The Garden of Gethsemane, near the foot of the Mount of Olives is where Jesus went with his disciples to pray the night before he was crucified.

“Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.'”
Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭36‬ In the garden stand the gnarled trunks of eight olive trees that some say were there during the time of Jesus.  Others say they are from the 12th century.  A study concluded that some of these olive trees are amongst the oldest known to science!

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever”
Psalm‬ ‭52‬:‭8‬ This is a view from the Temple Mount across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives.

“And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray”
Mark‬ ‭13‬:‭3-6‬
The Temple Mount is the location of Mount Moriah, where Abraham prepared to offer his son Isaac to God.  King Solomon built the first Temple on the traditional site of Mount Moriah.  Herod built the temple that stood during Jesus’ day.

“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ “
Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭46-47, 49‬
 The Dome of the Rock was completed on the Temple Mount between 691 to 692, about 55 years after Muslim armies captured Jerusalem.  The original function and significance of the Dome of the Rock are uncertain.  The building is not a mosque. Masada is an ancient fortification located on the top of an isolated rock plateau on the edge of the Judean Desert and overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada.  Almost all historical information comes from the first century Jewish Roman historian Josephus. One of 15 long storerooms that kept essential provisions for time of siege.  Herod filled them with food and weapons!The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a landlocked salt lake between Israel and Jordan  Its surface and shores lie some 1,300 feet below sea level – the lowest elevation and the lowest body of water on the surface of the earth.  The desolate wilderness beside the lake offered refuge to David. Date palm trees grow around the Dead Sea.

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon”
Psalm‬ ‭92‬:‭12‬

 The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in this general area of the ancient ruins of  Qumran in the West Bank.  The caves are located about 2 kilometers inland from the Dead Sea.  The Scrolls are for the most part written in Hebrew, but there are many written in Aramaic. En Gedi is the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea.  The abundant springs and temperate climate provided the perfect conditions for agriculture in ancient times.  Around 1000 BC, En Gedi served as one of the main places of refuge for David as he fled from Saul.

“And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi”
1 Samuel‬ ‭23‬:‭29‬ The Western Wall or Wailing Wall is located in the Old City of Jerusalem.  It is a relatively small western segment of the walls surrounding the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Jewish people offer prayers at this wall that is the only remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.  Visitors to the wall have long followed the practice of wedging small slips of paper, upon which prayers and petitions are written, into the cracks between the stones. The Pool of Bethesda, site of one of Jesus miracles-where He heals the paralytic.

“Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.
One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath”
John‬ ‭5‬:‭2-3, 5-9‬  The entrance to the Upper Room…this room is traditionally held to be the site of the Last Supper.

“And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.'”
Mark‬ ‭14‬:‭13-15‬ Interior of the Upper Room “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers”
‭Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭12-14‬ Below the street’s of Jerusalem’s Old City lies the Praetorium (Judgement Hall) where Jesus was condemned by Pontius Pilate.  It is located at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa.  Butch, standing on what is believed to be the original stone floor that Jesus stood on, leading us in a song of worship

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him”
Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭27-31‬ The Via Dolorosa (way of Suffering) is a street within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. The Gospel writers call the place where Jesus was crucified Golgotha-an Aramaic word meaning “the skull.”  Calvary is the Latin form of the word.

“And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left”
‭Mark‬ ‭15‬:‭22-27‬ “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!'”
Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭44-47‬ “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb”
Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭1-2‬ Entrance to the tomb!

“And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed” Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭3-5‬
 The Empty Tomb

“And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him”
Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭6‬
 “He’s not here anymore
He’s alive
Death has lost the fight to Jesus Christ
Hell cries in agony
Heaven celebrates victory
Hallelujah we have a risen Lord!”
        Butch Richardson
 Mount of Olives at sunset overlooking Jerusalem, our last view!

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'”
Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18-20‬

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