Day 12 of Trip to Israel

Pastor Mike starting off the morning mentoring these young pastors on the fine art of journaling.













Pastor Jack leading us in a morning song on the bus.













A menorah that stands over the hills of Jerusalem. This was given to the people of Jerusalem by England as a symbol of peace between the two countries.













A common sight as you go into different touring sights.













A model city of Jerusalem during the days of Jesus.













This area displays some of the pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Due to sensitivity reasons, you are not allowed to take pictures.













Yad Vashem - The Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. This wonderful museum, which is a must see for any visitor to Israel, tells the story of the Jewish people during the time of the Holocaust. You get to actually hear and see the stories of people who went through the ordeal, typically the rememberances of the adults who were children at the time. It would take a good three hours to go through it completely because it is so well done with hundreds of artifacts and stories that are presented. It is a very somber tour. In all, 6 million Jewish people died during this time.






























One of the heroes of the Holocaust - Oskar Shindler, a German who hired Jewish people in his factories in order to save them from destruction.













The Hall of Names - where the names of Holocaust victims are permanently preserved. Out of the 6 million people who died, they have the names of 3.5 million.













When you finish the tour, you step outside to this beautiful view of Jerusalem which gives you time to reflect about what you've just experienced and pray that it never happens again.













This statue is dedicated to a Jewish/Polish educator, Janus Korczak, who took Jewish children under his wings to protect them in his orphanage. When the Germans came to take the children away, Korczek went with them and died beside them. Out of the 6 million who died, 1.5 million were children.













We had the opportunity to walk on the walls of Jerusalem, the walls that surround the Old City.













Pastor Jack, in the orange shirt, leads a time of prayer over the city.













The Zion Gate. See all the bullet holes in the wall? That happened during the Six Day War in 1967.

Day 11 of Trip to Israel

The moon overlooking Jerusalem in the morning.













The Western Wall













As the Jewish people come to the Western Wall, fountains are available to ceremonially clean their hands.













Under the Western Wall, tunnels are still being excavated and they are always finding new things.













This section of the wall is 35' long and weighs 15 tons...and it's one, uncut piece of rock!

















Some women come down here and pray at this section of the wall which they believe is one of the closest points to the Holy of Holies.













What the tunnels under the Western Wall looks like.













A Jewish soldier with an automatic rifle in his lap, while reading the Torah.













A common site at the Western Wall, men with phalacteries on their foreheads and leather straps on their arms, literally binding the commandments to their forehead and arms.













On the Southern Steps of the Temple. It was here that 3,000 received the Lord on Pentecost.













From the Southern Steps looking towards the Mount of Olives.













The southwest corner of the Temple Walls.













A common sight...soldiers with guns guarding the area.













The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.













Inside the church, some believe this is the area where Christ was crucified. The other place people believe Christ was crucified was at Golgotha shown in an earlier post.













Some believe that this is where Christ was resurrected. Others believe it was at the Garden Tomb.






























Two pilgrims in the Holy Land.

Day 10 of Trip to Israel

Today, we headed southeast-ward, towards the desert.

As we were driving in the desert, these luscious fig trees just pop right out of nowhere. Bags are tied to the trees in preparation for the harvest.













At Qumran (koom-rahn). This is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, dating back to 100 B.C.













Looking towards the Dead Sea. Notice how desert looking the area is.













Pastor Jack had the tour bus pull over to an obscure desert area. There we built an altar, and poured oil over it, just like the days of the Old Testament, as a boundary marker, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. This is the first of four boundary markers we will build.



















Masada. In 73 A.D. when the Romans invaded Jerusalem, a small group of 967 Jewish people took refuge on this solitary mountain. Because the Romans did not want ANY Jewish in the area, it was their mission to eradicate all Jewish people. It took the Romans 6 months to build a ramp leading to this mountain. But the group would not allow themselves to be captured and killed themselves before falling to the hands of the Romans.















A five minute cable car ride to the top.













Storehouses.













Below the black line is the original stone. Above the black line is a recreation of the wall.













A model of what the city looked like on top. It was originally built by Herod in the first century.













The flag of Israel proudly waves over Masada.













Pastor Mike floating on the Dead Sea.













Our evening session with Pastor Jack as he helps us process the day's events.

Day 9 of Trip to Israel

These tour buses are excellent. The air conditioning relieves the heatness of the land - which got up to 97 degrees at some areas.













If you click on the picture, you will see an ant in the middle. Pastor Jack joked that on his first trip to Israel he took a picture of an ant, which looks like any other ant, but it was an Israeli ant!













Pastor Jack teaching up on the Mount of Olives.













Many people want to be buried near the Mount of Olives because of the belief that when Jesus comes back the dead in Christ will rise.













This is the type of tree that was used to make Jesus' crown of thorns.















The Palm Sunday Road which Jesus descended on top of a donkey.













The Garden of Gethsemane. The roots of the tree in the picture dates back to the time of Christ.
































As Jesus was praying, he would be able to see the Eastern gate of the city. Although it is now closed, prophecy says that it will be through these gates that Jesus will enter.













The house of the High Priest Caiaphas.













The actual stairs Jesus walked after being judged at the house of the high priest.













This room is symbolic of the Upper Room where Jesus met with his disciples on his last night and would later be the place where Pentecost started. They are unsure of the exact location of the Upper Room but it would be near here.













Golgatha - the place of the skull where Jesus was possibly crucified. You can see the two eyes that are hollowed out areas in the mountain.













The Garden Tomb area. This is one of two sites where Jesus could have been buried.





















Entering through the Damascus Gate.

















It was in this area, or very close to it, at the Antonia Fortress, that Jesus was whipped with the cat of nine tails and his blood splattered the pavement and walls.













The Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who could not get to the pool in time in John 5.































Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 1


Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 2


Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 3


Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 4


Pastor Jack Mount of Olives Discourse - 5