We head out about 7:30 AM every morning. We have a 6 AM wake up call, with a 6:30 AM time for breakfast in the hotel dining room. Since we didn’t bill this tour as a ‘vacation’ or ‘holiday’, we don’t feel too bad. This tour is a pilgrimage to the Holy Land … and very physical. I don’t know if this is interesting to anyone, but we thought you should know. And after having quadrupal bypass surgery 2 years ago, this tour is definitely a tribute to my heart surgeon! Kudos…
So, heading out early this morning, we started our day down by the Western Wall of Temple Mount. We went through the security check point, entered into the prayer area there, then Malcolm did a lot of explaining about what was happening there, including some bar mitzvahs. After some explanation about the Western Wall, the women went to the women’s section and the men went to the men’s section to pray. There are probably millions of little pieces of paper stuck in the wall there. But there were still room for some more. Malcolm was kind enough to provide us some pieces of paper to write our prayers on that we planned to leave at the wall.
Pegram 2015 Holy Land Tour group outside the Western Wall prayer area being briefed by Malcolm, our guide…
Next, we went on a long trek underground through the Rabbi Tunnel that runs down along the length of the Western Wall (at its base) clear down to the foundation of the Antonio Fortress. We saw some models of what we were dealing with–some models of Temple Mount as it looks today and what it would have looked like in the Second Temple Period (King Herod) for sure. We then went down under the city, through some huge water cisterns, by some foundation stones that were several tons, and out by the Antonio Fortress location. Though it is sealed up today, we went by the location of the Gateway of the Priests entry to the Holy of Holies.
2015 Pegram HL Tour group sitting on the south steps to Temple Mount, 2000 years old and the same steps Jesus would have used to enter the Temple and to teach his disciples from…
We continued our day by walking through the Wohl Archaeological Museum in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, seeing the remains of a Herodian mansion that dates back to the Herodian Dynasty (37 BC to 70 AD). Indoor plumbing, incredibly decorated and stocked with the latest in dinnerware, etc., along with many ritual baths within the mansion. (Apparently during festivals, you were expected to open your home to guests of the city, without expecting compensation. You could charge for ritual baths, however!)
From there, we moved to the Temple Institute, also in the Jewish Quarter of the city. Here we saw all the pieces talked about in scripture that were used in the Temple, being made for the 3rd Temple, whenever God sees fit for that day to come (i.e. earthquake, etc.). I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much gold in one place in my life!
Full scale menorah overlooking Temple Mount–a reminder to all that the 3rd Temple is being readied…
After a brief Shwarma lunch in the Old City, we concentrated the afternoon touring on the Southern Wall (of the Temple) excavations and the City of David (below the Temple Mount). We saw the main Roman road beside Temple Mount that showed the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. We saw ruins of the shops below the Temple where visitors would have stopped to buy animals for sacrifice, etc. Then, we walked through to the southern steps going up into the Temple that are at least 2,000 years old, many having their picture taken at this location. I can almost see Jesus sitting on those steps, teaching his disciples, and saying … “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood-waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand” (Matt. 7:24-26, NLT). There he is, looking across the Kidron Valley at the houses built on rock, that have withstood many a flash flood in days gone by. What a great object lesson. What a great privilege to see what Jesus would have been talking about!
The City of David is the original city that was here when King David conquered it, the city of Salem … which became JeruSALEM. We saw the remains of David’s palace that has been uncovered. We saw the original wall of the City of David and then walked along it to Gihon Spring, where Solomon would have been crowned. Then we went through a Caananite tunnel (waterway) that would have been dug in the days of King Hezekiah, when the water from that spring would have also been re-routed downhill to what is today the New Testament Pool of Siloam.
That was our day, folks! And what an incredible day it was! Pray that we can all get some good rest tonight as we’re back in the Old City tomorrow walking the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary!
Until tomorrow, Pastor Rom