Today began our second tour day in Jerusalem. We started our day with a reading from Psalm 28, and sang praise songs together on the bus as we made our way to the Temple Mount. We entered through the Dung Gate, the gate nearest to the Western Wall. It is thought that the Dung Gate gets its name from the ash that was taken from the Temple to be dumped outside the city walls. It is the smallest gate, but is the main entrance and exit for the Jewish Quarter. Since the Muslims control the Temple Mount, we were not allowed to take anything inside which had any Christian prayer or scripture on it, so we left our Bibles and journals behind.
We reviewed the history of the Jewish temples… the first being built by Solomon around 960 BC which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC; the second was a much smaller temple built after the exile in Babylon by Zerubbabel around 515 BC, and the last temple was built by King Herod to gain favor with the Jews, and it was the most extravagant. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Our Tour Guide, Roni, also reviewed some Jewish history with us…
Dome of the Spirits
According to Roni, the Jews are accepting of Muslim control because they feel that the Dome of the Rock is actually built over the area of the temple known as the “Court of the Gentiles,” and the site of the “Holy of Holies” is actually about 300 feet north. This location was the actual place of Ornan’s threshing floor, on which the Holy of Holies and Ark of the Covenant rested. It is marked by an arched cupola and is called the Dome of the Spirits or Dome of the Tablets. This spot also lines up with the Eastern Gate (also called the Golden Gate or Beautiful Gate). Ezekiel 44:1-3 says that this gate will remain closed until Messiah comes in glory. When Jesus returns, He will come down from the Mount of Olives (Zech 14), and enter Jerusalem from the East (Isa 61). The Muslims blocked it off in the 1500s to prevent his entrance, and they placed a cemetery just outside the gate, thinking that no Jew would defile himself by passing through this cemetery. It has remained closed off since that time. Lion's Gate
After viewing the site of the Holy of Holies (called the Dome of the Spirits) and the Eastern Gate, we exited the Temple Mount through the Lion’s Gate (also called the Sheep Gate and Stephen’s Gate) on the Eastern wall, north of the Temple Mount. We proceeded on to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the invalid man of 38 yrs on the Sabbath (Jo 5:1-15) This was a location where people came for healing, and it consisted of 2 large pools fed by rainwater and underground springs. When there were surges, it was said that an angel was ‘stirring the waters’ (John 5:7)Pools of Bethseda
Adjacent to this area was the Church of St. Anne’s. This is a Roman style Crusader church with tall, vaulted ceilings with crossed arches, and large pillars. This church is well known for its outstanding acoustics. We were able to sing some praise songs together here and as we sang, we paused to hear the echoes. From there we went to the Church of Flagellation, the traditional site where Jesus was flogged. This church had beautiful stained glass windows depicting Jesus’ scourging, and in the dome above the altar, a mosaic design in a crown of thorns. Next we went into the Church of the Condemnation, commemorating the site where Jesus took up His cross after His sentencing.Church of St. Anne's
Church of Flagellation
Crown of Thorns mosaic
Church of the Condemnation
Inside the Church of the Condemnation 
Then we learned about the water system of the Temple Mount, and got to walk through some underground aqueduct tunnels and view cisterns, and the old underground Roman road before coming out onto the street above.
We ended up on the Via Dolorosa (Way of Suffering). The traditional route that Jesus walked was from Gethsemane to the House of Caiaphas on Mt. Zion, then to Herod’s Pratorium, and on to Golgotha, the site where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands. Along this route are marked the 14 Stations of the Cross, each one which identifies a particular event which occurred along the path to Jesus’ crucifixion. 
Next we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The site of the tomb is positioned under a large domed structure. There are many ornate lamps, religious objects, paintings and mosaics located within this church. This church is owned by a Muslim, and shared by the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Coptic and Armenian religions. This church site was extremely crowded and we waited in long lines and tolerated heavy crowds to see the traditional locations of the crucifixion and tomb of Jesus. 
Dome above Jesus' burial tomb
"Golgotha" site of the crucifixion
"Golgotha" site of the crucifixion
Then we visited the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount. Here we saw evidence of an unearthed cistern, and the probable area of David’s palace. Recently uncovered in 2005, are foundation walls of a large building, and a seal or “bulla” from a government official mentioned in the book of Jeremiah.
From here we visited Hezekiah’s Tunnel. We did not walk through the tunnel, but saw the beginning and end of it and where it flows into the Pool of Siloam on the southern end of the City of David. The Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley, southeast of Jerusalem (in the City of David) is the source of the water flow. Around 700 BC, King Hezekiah, in an ingenious engineering feat, had a 600 yard tunnel dug in the shape of the letter "S" to divert the waters of the Gihon Spring into the city to protect the city’s water supply from Assyrian invaders (2 Ki 20, 2 Chr 32). This tunnel was dug by 2 teams from opposite ends that met in the middle. 
The Pool of Siloam was used for ritual cleansing before entering the temple. It was also where Jesus healed the blind man in John ch. 9. Jesus taught us that it was not this man’s sin, or the sin of his parents causing his blindness, but that the work of God might be displayed in his life. Jesus made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes, then told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.Some coins found during excavation of Hezekiah's Tunnel and the Pools of Siloam
From here we traveled through the Kidron Valley past the tomb of Absalom to the Garden Tomb. This is an alternate tomb site for Jesus located on the north side of Jerusalem outside the Damascus Gate. The Bible describes that Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem near a gate of the city along a major thoroughfare, and that at the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a tomb. The tomb is described as being a new tomb cut out of rock, belonging to a wealthy man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea. It had a weeping chamber, a burial chamber, it was sealed with a rolling stone, and it had a traditionally low doorway through which the disciples were forced to stoop in order to look into. 
At this site, our guide gave abundant scriptural support for this location of Jesus’ tomb, but beyond that, he emphasized that “the tomb is empty”, acknowledging the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our hope for salvation through Him. After the guided tour, our group met together in the garden for a time of worship, communion and a devotional led by Lori DeNicola, focusing on Isa 41: 17-20. We were reminded of how when God led His people back into this land of Israel, He brought fruitfulness, like trees in a desert, an oasis of beauty. In contrast, the wicked are described as bushes in a wasteland. We were encouraged that we too, can have fruitfulness in our lives though the power of the Holy Spirit.
From here we headed to the southwest corner of the Temple Mount, and the site of the “Wailing Wall.” This area is actually the retaining wall built by King Herod in 20 BC on the western side of the Temple Mount, which remained after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The Jews consider this a sacred place of prayer, because it the closest location they can come to, nearest to the location of the Holy of Holies in the temple. The men and women have separate areas for prayer at the wall. People often write their petitions on small pieces of paper and place them in the cracks of the wall. We all had an opportunity to approach, touch, and pray at the wall, and were encouraged by Pastor Steve to connect with and pray for loved ones while we were here.
Our day ended with a fabulous guided tour of the Western Wall tunnels. These tunnels were excavated to expose the entire length of the Western Wall, underneath the Old City of Jerusalem. We saw a model of how the original temple and city walls were laid out. We learned about how the Romans were able to move the massive stones with levers and pulleys. The largest foundation stone was reported to weigh close to 600 tons! There were shafts dug very deep to show how high the original wall was. We passed an area called “Warren’s Gate” and our tour guide told us that this is the closest point one could get to the Holy of Holies. There were people praying and placing their paper prayer requests in the wall here as well. At the northern end of the tunnel we saw a large cistern which supplied water to the Temple Mount. There is an exit point from the north end, but it was closed by the time we ended our tour, so we traveled back through the tunnels and exited into the Western Wall Plaza.
Wow… another day filled with wonder and amazement! We were overwhelmed with seeing so many sites and learning so much about Bible history!
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