Mount of Olives, January 14th

We trekked up the Mount of Olives last Thursday on our day off. JUC and Mt. Zion sit just outside the southwest corner of the Old City wall. To ascend the Mount of Olives, we passed the Eastern Gate, also known as the Golden Gate. In Jesus' day this was the most important gate in Jerusalem because it led to the holy place of the Temple.

About 2,500 years ago, Ezekiel foresaw the future of the Temple Mount. The prophet wrote that the East Gate would be sealed, and remain sealed, until the “prince” comes.

EZEKIEL 44:1-3
"Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord unto me; this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same."

Ezekiel wrote this prophecy in the 6th century B.C. About 600 years later, Jesus entered Jerusalem through the East Gate, riding on the back of a donkey Luke 19:28-48. Almost 2,000 years after this prophecy was written, the Eastern Gate was permanently sealed. In the year 1543, Arabs under the direction of Sultan Suleiman “the Magnificent” walled up the gate with block and mortar. After 500 years, it remains sealed to this day. Sultan Suleiman was the leader of the Ottoman Empire, and a member of the Muslim religion. Muslims obviously have no desire to convert anyone to Judaism. Yet, a Muslim unwittingly fulfilled a Hebrew prophecy. In fact, it appears that Sultan Suleiman may have sealed this gate to prevent the Messiah's return. The Muslims also built a cemetery in front of the gate, allegedly in the belief that the Messiah would not be able to pass through without risk of impurifying himself. But we know that when Jesus returns to set up his millenial reign, the King of Kings will enter Jerusalem through that gate!

The fulfillment of this prophecy has proven to be miraculous. Since the time Sultan Suleiman sealed the Eastern Gate in 1543, it has remained sealed year after year. Throughout all the years of violence, wars, and foreign occupations, no one has opened this gate. The sealed Eastern Gate is a testimony to the Word of God!

Directly across from the Eastern Gate, in the bottom of the Kidron Valley at the base of the Mount of Olives, is a Jewish cemetery. The Prophet Ezekiel's tomb is on the far right, and on the far left is Absalom's Pillar. Absalom was David's oldest son, a wild one at that. Yet, even though he usurped his father's throne and sought his death, David mourned Absalom's untimely death. The story depicts a father's refusal to discipline a wayward child, and God's unavoidable judgement . . . Absalom was killed, and David mourned.

II SAMUEL 18:18

"During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King's Valley (Kidron) as a monument to himself, for he thought, "I have no son to carry on the memory of my name." He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom's Monument (Pillar) to this day."

We then came upon the tomb of the Virgin Mary. Very elaborate and tended to by nuns. Photos were allowed, even within the burial place itself. Nope, nothing left to see but the rock slab she was supposedly laid on.

The Mount of Olives climb is steep, even though the narrow roads are now paved with asphalt. It took about 20 minutes to ascend to the top where we had a magnificent view of the Old City, and a picnic lunch! A couple of boys were fascinated with Nat's mini binoculars, so he let them use them for a while. We also watched busload after busload of tourists unload for a photo opp, some unable to resist paying a few shekels for a camel ride around the turnaround circle.

Upon descent, we visited a lovely garden and took photos of the ossuaries. An ossuary is a chest (bone box) made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary. The greatly reduced space taken up by an ossuary means that it is possible to store the remains of many more people in a single tomb than if the original coffins were left as is. I'm thinking Moses transported Joseph's bones from Egypt in an ossuary. And I noticed when we visited the Wright's living quarters that they have a bone box in a corner of the living room . . . Uncle Harry perhaps???

GENESIS 50:24-26
"Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place." So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt."

EXODUS 13:17-19
"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place."

JOSHUA 24:32

"And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants."

Back at the base of the mountain is the Garden of Gethsemane, which has some of the oldest olive trees in Israel. Jesus would have seen some of them, and most probably prayed amongst them.

MATTHEW 26:36-46

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

A church has been built right next to the Garden . . . surprise! The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church. In front of the altar is a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest.

We then walked back past the Eastern Gate (still sealed shut, by the way) and entered the Old City through the Dung Gate which happens to be the quickest/closest approach to the Western (Wailing) Wall. We returned to Pappa Andreas' rooftop restaurant to watch the sunset before returning to campus for dinner.

What a memorable day!

Shalom y'all