Palestine
Mount Zion

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    • Day 13

      Day 1: Morning

      May 19, 2015 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Tozer taught that the teachings of Jesus were so deeply disturbing to the "natural mind" because it takes from sinful men, the power of self-determination. "It cuts the ground out from under their self-help and throws them back upon the sovereign good pleasure of God-and that is precisely where they do not want to be." I'm sitting here right outside of the old wall looking out over the city. This is said to be the site of the new Mt. Zion. I have to wait to get started to figure out exactly what that means, but suffice it to say everything just seems so normal. Cars honking, chain smokers, brakes squealing. Nothing "supernatural" here. Just a regular old city.

      Yet here I am in the place where the unnatural became natural. And I can see how easily that would get lost in puffs of exhaust from tired out old cars.
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    • Day 3

      South of the Old City

      December 8, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

      The streets were crowded so we looped around the south walls of the Old City. It was well worth the walk! Connecting the Jaffa, Zion, and Dung Gates, through the Armenian Quarter, and taking in views of the Dome of the Rock, Tower of David, City of David, and West Wall.Read more

    • Day 9

      The Way of Suffering

      May 15, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

      The Way of Suffering, (or the Via Dolorosa ), is the traditional route that Jesus walked from trial to crucifixion. The number of Stations and the events represented has varied from 7 to 18 or more. Of the present 14 Stations, 9 are based on Gospel accounts and 5 on tradition only. The path begins just inside Lions’ Gate in the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Holy Church of the Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter. Each station is marked by a black disc with Roman numerals.Read more

    • Day 8

      Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu

      May 14, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

      The Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu is a Roman Catholic church located on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The church design and art are a colorful blend of contemporary and ancient works. This spot is also believed to be the location of the High Priest Caiaphas' palace.
      The church takes its name from the Latin word "Gallicantu", meaning cock's-crow. This location is believed to be where Peter denied Christ three times. After his third denial, he heard the rooster crow and recalled Jesus' prediction. Peter then began to cry bitterly in Luke 22:59-62. In the church courtyard is a statue that depicts Peter's denial, including the rooster, the woman who questioned Peter, and a Roman soldier.
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    • Day 7

      Temple Mount

      May 13, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

      The Temple Mount, as it is known today, is on Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to take his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice (Gen. 22). It is also the location of the threshing floor that King David purchased for fifty shekels of silver from the Jebusite Ornan (also called Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:18-25; 1 Chr. 21:18–30). In the Bible, the mount is also referred to as “Zion,” a name that eventually came to encompass the entire Land of Israel.
      King David captured Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-9) and designated it as the nation's capital. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, David planned to build a dwelling place for God and the Ark of the Covenant. But God said the temple would instead be built by his son Solomon (1 Kings 5:3; 1 Chronicles 22:7-8; 28:3).
      First Temple
      Construction commenced in Solomon's fourth year, about 966 BC and it took seven years to complete (1 Kings 6:1, 38). The temple became a treasury for national wealth and was often the target for attack and plundering. Over the centuries, the Temple has been desecrated and defiled by Jewish idolatry and enemies. Hezekiah thoroughly renovated the temple and restored worship after it had fallen in disuse (2 Chronicles 29:1-19) and later Josiah repaired the temple in 622 BC. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem in 586 BC, burned down the house of the Lord, broke down the walls around Jerusalem and took the Jews captive to Babylon (2 Kings 25:8-10).
      Second Temple
      In 538 BC, the Persian king Cyrus permitted Jews to return from exile and he authorized the rebuilding of the temple, financing it from the Persian treasury. The book of Ezra records the building of the Second Temple and the book of Nehemiah records the rebuilding of the city walls. The Second Temple was modest in comparison with its predecessor.
      Herod's Temple
      Starting in 20 BC, Herod the Great expanded the Temple Mount and rebuilt the Temple. The project began by extending the Temple Mount on the north, south, and west to create a vast platform bordered by a retaining wall of huge limestone blocks. The expansion doubled the Temple Mount platform and involved burying several structures, including Solomon’s palace. The Temple was rebuilt and was one of the most magnificent buildings of its time. While the main sanctuary was quickly erected (it was in full operation within 10 years), the total project was not completed until 64 AD, only 6 years before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Jesus foretold this event (Matthew 21:9-15; 24:1-2) and wept over the impending destruction of the city and the temple (Luke 19:41-44). Since the destruction of the Second Temple, temple sacrifices, offerings, instruction, and worship have ceased.
      The Muslim's history with Mount Moriah dates back only to about the 7th century AD. The Dome of the Rock houses the rock where they claim their prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven on a "night journey". Fittingly, on the right wall of the front entrance into the Dome is an image that looks like the devil's face. About 10 years ago, this diabolic picture emerged in the natural marble. They try to cover it up with a green booth but can still be seen. The Muslim stewards of the site have systematically tried to destroy or cover overall evidence that this site was a Jewish holy site long before they arrived in Jerusalem. Some even go so far as to deny a Jewish Temple was ever here.
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    • Day 9

      Church of Saint Anne

      May 15, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      The Church of St Anne is located next to the Pool of Bethesda. It was built by the Crusaders just before 1140 AD and is the best-preserved Crusader church in Jerusalem. It marks the traditional site of the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents, Anne and Joachim, and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. The Church of St Anne is renowned for its remarkable acoustics and reverberating echoes. The voices of even a small choral group can sound like a large congregation in a vast cathedral. We sang the Christian chorus Alleluia and it sounded like a choir of angels!Read more

    • Day 9

      First and Second Stations

      May 15, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

      The first station marks Jesus' encounter with Pontius Pilate, the trial and his scourging. The Antonia Fortress was a vast Roman military garrison built by Herod the Great north of the Temple. Within the fortress is believed to have been the seat of Pontius Pilate and the hall of judgment. The Antonia Fortress may have been where Jesus stood trial before Pontius Pilate in John 18:28. "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment". The Bible confirms that the Apostle Paul was at the Antonio Fortress. After Paul was seized by Jews from Asia while visiting the Temple, it was from the Antonia Fortress that soldiers ran to rescue him and prevent a riot. And it was on the steps leading to the fortress that Paul addressed the crowd and avoided being flogged by announcing that he was a Roman citizen in Acts 21.
      Where the former fortress stood is now the Ecce Homo Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Zion and houses the Convent of the Sister of Notre Dame de Sion. Underneath the convent, is an extensive area of Roman stone paving where Pilate may have had his judgment seat. In John 19:13 the pavement (Lithostrotos in Greek, Gabbatha in Aramaic) was identified as the location where Jesus was condemned by Pilate. Markings in the paving stones, indicating a dice game known as the King’s Game, suggests this may have been where Jesus was mocked by the soldiers (John 19:2-3).
      Adjacent to the convent is the Ecce Homo Arch. The arch continues through the wall of the convent chapel to the right. It is named after the famous phrase “Behold the Man” in Latin which Pilate said when he presented the scourged Jesus, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd. (John 19:5). The arch was built after Jesus stood before Pilate but draws one’s attention to the cruelty Jesus endured.
      Across the street is the second station where Jesus received the cross (John 19:17, 19).
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    • Day 10

      The Pool of Shiloah (Siloam)

      May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

      The Pool of Siloam was a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David. Remains from the pool that King Hezekiah built in the First Temple period have yet to be found. However, in the summer of 2004 remains of a very large pool (covering three-quarters of an acre) from the Second Temple period was revealed. Nearby, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a stepped street, the path taken by pilgrims ascending from the pool to the Temple Mount.
      The Canaanite pool-the biblical Upper Pool
      The Canaanite city had a water system by which the Gihon Spring emptied into a large open basin at its source, before being conveyed along the eastern city walls by an aqueduct that opened at several spots towards the valley below, where the water irrigated agricultural fields. This basin is sometimes known as the Upper Pool (2 Kings 18:17, Isaiah 7:3)
      Hezekiah's Lower Pool
      The (Lower) Pool of Siloam was built during the reign of Hezekiah (715–687/6 BC), to leave besieging armies without access to the spring's waters. The pool was fed by the newly constructed Siloam tunnel. The old Canaanite tunnel had been very vulnerable to attackers, so, under threat from the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Hezekiah sealed up the old outlet of the Gihon Spring and the Upper Pool, and built the new underground Siloam tunnel in place of the older tunnel (2 Chronicles 32:2-4). During this period the Pool of Siloam was therefore sometimes known as the Lower Pool (Isaiah 22:9).
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    • Day 8

      The Zion Gate

      May 14, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      The Zion Gate is located on the southwest Old City of Jerusalem Wall. It is one of the gates that leads to the Jewish section. The bullet holes on the walls around the gate show the scars of the battles that took place during the 1948 War of Independence.Read more

    • Day 10

      Silwan

      May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

      Silwan is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood located just outside of the southeast wall of the Old City. East Jerusalem including Silwan was annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. It is currently one of the hottest spots in the on-going war of words and violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Israelis believe more of the City of David lies below a neighborhood in Silwan which is home to some 5,000 Palestinians and 1000 Jewish settlers. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future Palestinian state while Israeli’s contend all of Jerusalem is its capital and has belonged to them for thousands of years.
      Excavations are part of Israel’s campaign to strengthen their claim of East Jerusalem. Israeli tunnel excavations under Silwan in 2007 lead to the discovery of an ancient 2,000-year-old road. The road begins at the Shiloah Pool steps and travels to the Western Wall at Robinson’s Arch. The road has been named the “Pilgrimage Road,” and is likely the path Jesus and millions of Jewish pilgrims used to go up to the Temple. Excavations have also revealed evidence of David’s Palace and the City of David. Some Palestinians discredit all discoveries as lies. Just as some deny there was ever a Holocaust, Palestinians are trying to de-legitimize the Jews’ claim to all of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Israeli’s say any future negotiation as to whether East Jerusalem could be the capital of a future Palestinian state would need to be based on the“archaeological truth” of the City of David.
      Jewish and Muslim homes can be easily distinguished. Jewish homes tend to be fortress-like buildings protected by high walls, fences, security cameras and in some cases by guards. The guards will chauffeur the families in armored vehicles. Some fly Israeli flags and display the star of David. Muslim homes use black water tanks on top of their homes.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Mount Zion, Ciono, Sión

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