Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in 

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Matthew 24: 1-3

Jesus' prophetic words came true about forty years later. In 70 AD, on the 9th of Av (fifth month in the Jewish calendar) The Temple of The LORD was destroyed and the Holy City - Jerusalem sacked by the Roman general Titus. The destruction was complete, what remained of the Temple was a portion of its wall called today as the Western Wall. It was a sad day for the Jews, it still is - the destruction of The Temple is commemorated by devout Jews every year as Tisha B'Av (9th of Av).

    Jerusalem has a long history since and before the siege and destruction of The Temple. A brief look at the history of Jerusalem will help us see God's hand fulfill the words spoken through his prophets concerning Israel and Jerusalem.

    After the Israelites exited Egypt immediately after the first Passover (which they were to commemorate every year), God spoke to them through Moses in the wilderness that he would decide the place where they should celebrate the Passover year on year (see Deu 12: 5 and Deu 16: 1-8). However, even after the conquest of Canan under Joshua's leadership and subsequent judges, Jerusalem did not become the chosen city - until the time of David. It was under young David's leadership that Jerusalem fell completely into Israel's hands.

    King David deeply desired that he build The Temple for The LORD, but God willed that King Solomon build it. It was a magnificent temple that Solomon built. But because of Solomon and some subsequent kings' misdemeanors God brought the Babylonians against Judah,  Jerusalem was sacked and The Temple destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.

    The exiled Jews returned 70 years later under Zerubbabel and Ezra, and Nehemiah re-built the walls of Jerusalem.

    During the time of Jesus, Israel and Jerusalem was under Roman occupation. In the run-up to the siege of Jerusalem, devout, zealous Jews had taken over the Holy City in AD 66. Rome put Titus (later Emperor) to take back the city, and Jerusalem fell in 70 AD. 

    With the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine to Christianity in 325, he sent his mother, Queen Helena to The Holy Land to locate places of Christian importance and build shrines - notably The Church of The Holy Sepulchre.

    About three hundred years later the prophet of Islam, Mohammed came to "the farthest mosque" (Jerusalem is never mentioned by name in the Qur' an) on a flying horse - el buraq, in one giant leap from Mecca. Mohammed, it is believed, ascended to heaven on his Night Journey from where The Temple had existed six hundred years earlier. After the death of Mohammed, the first Caliph conquered The Holy Land and built the Al-aqsa mosque in 685 on the spot where Mohammed had supposedly ascended to heaven.

   The Muslim conquest of the Holy Land in the 7th century and the destruction of The Church of The Holy Sepulchre five hundred years later fueled the Christians to launch the Crusades - to wrench the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem from the Muslims. The first Crusade was started in 1095 and subsequent Crusades lasted for almost two hundred years.

    At the end of the First World war the Holy Land changed hands from the Muslim Ottomans to the British.

    When the British Mandate of Palestine ended and the British left without implementing the UN Partition Plan of Palestine, Israel declared its statehood on 14th May 1948. As expected fighting broke out immediately with all her Arab neighbours going to war to "push the Jews into the sea." When the fighting ended, however, Israel had more territory than she would have otherwise got under the UN Partition Plan. And Jerusalem, which according to the UN Plan was to have become an International City, fell into Jewish hands. However, east Jerusalem which has the Old City, The Temple Mount and the Western Wall went to the Jordanians. That changed in June 1967. In a spectacular and stunning war that lasted only six days Israel took on the might of Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armed forces and defeated them all. One of the prayers that Diaspora Jews prayed since the destruction of The Temple was "Next year in Jerusalem" - a prayer rising out of a deep desire and longing to pray from the Holy City where the Temple of The LORD had existed.

    That dream came true on 7th June 1967. After nearly two thousand years Jerusalem was in Jewish hands!

*       *       *       *       *       *       * 

    The Mount of Olives is a ridge to the east of the Old City of Jerusalem. Being higher than the Temple Mount it offers a panoramic view of the Old City. As I beheld this awesome view on the morning of 30.04.2008 I recalled the Psalm 122 (see my blog entry - Our feet are standing in your gates O Jerusalem). The Psalm 122 is a pilgrims' psalm - for verse 1 says "I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

    Jerusalem has changed hands so many times since the time our Lord spoke about the impending doom. The years 1948 and 1967 are two dates in which God brought to fulfilment his words spoken through his prophets concerning Israel and Jerusalem.

    In my blog entry, Sh'ma Yisrael,  I'd written about the Shema. The Shema is a prayer said at the Western Wall and, since 7th June 1967 Jews have been able to recite it freely there.

    In this post, I've posted a video I'd made from two songs from a Messianic Praise album by the name Sh'ma Yisrael. The first song is the Shema and the next - a documentary, of the radio broadcast made by an Israel Defense Force soldier as the IDF fought its way into the Old City on 7th June 1967. With this audio I've mixed video footage of our pilgrimage and other footage of the Six Day War I'd taken from the Internet.

    The Israeli soldiers entered the Old City through the Lion's Gate (also called St. Stephen's Gate). On our second and last day in Jerusalem we too entered the Old City through the same gate for the Via Dolorosa.

 

    Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122: 6

    

Israel through my lens
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.com

"Sorry Sir, we do not supply our guest rooms with newspapers." came the answer when I called the reception for The Jerusalem Post. I had been a reader of the online paper, and I thought what a good idea it'd be to collect The Jerusalem Post at Jerusalem, as a souvenir as well as read it. It was end of Day Five (30.04.2008) of our pilgrimage and we had just checked into The Jerusalem Gate Hotel, west Jerusalem. The room did not have any newspaper.
"Would The JPost be available at the lobby?" I tried my luck.
"No Sir" and the line went dead.
I dialed Binu's room, "Binu, would you like to go out for a walk with me?" Having some time on hand before dinner, I thought I'd step out for a walk. Before leaving Chennai, I had planned to purchase a book called "Israel through my lens" in Jerusalem, now I added The Jerusalem Post to that list.
"Sure, in five minutes." Binu replied. Binu and I had stepped out for a walk the previous evening as well, at Bethlehem, when I went looking for a local English Palestinian Newspaper. We had found none, what I bought as a souvenir was an English newspaper printed in Egypt dated a few days earlier.
I turned on the TV as I waited for Binu. Israel was getting ready for her 60th Independence Day celebrations a few days away - 14th May, and a TV commercial celebrating the event was playing on TV. I cursed myself for not having the camcorder with me to record it. Perhaps I'll find it in Youtube later, I thought. I've not been lucky till date.
"Is there a Newsstand or a Bookstore nearby, where I can buy The Jerusalem Post?" I asked the receptionist when Binu and I reached the lobby. "Down by the bus stand, Sir" came the reply. Before I could ask where the bus stand is, the man was on the phone answering another guest.
It was nippy outside, we pulled our jackets close and thrust our hands into our pockets. We generally loitered around, expecting to find the bus stand. Almost all the buildings we came across were built with stone bricks. The roads and pavements were clean, no litter anywhere. Traffic on the roads moved smoothly, not one motorist used the horn! Motorists slowed down or stopped to allow us cross the road where there was no signal, no one cursed us!
Among the people we saw on the roads, two distinctive groups stood out - Haredim and soldiers. Haredim are ultra-orthodox Jews, conspicuous in their black coats and hats. The soldiers were conspicuous too, in olive green uniforms, with their berets tucked into the left shoulder flaps and with their machine guns hung casually from the shoulders. The soldiers were a mixture of both sexes, they were off-duty, but still alert.
Not finding the bus stand nor the bookstore we returned to our hotel. We continued our search the next evening, after taking directions from the reception. We found a store that had The Jerusalem Post. Some more walking and we found the bus stand. Next to the bus stand was a shopping mall, outside of which were barricades, and everyone entering the mall had to walk through metal detector frames and security check. The people waiting for their turn to enter were patient, the only clue to their impatience, if any, was the number of cigarette butts littering the floor. Israel takes its security seriously, though suicide bombings by Palestinian terrorists had come down in Jerusalem, thanks to the "Wall of Separation" - a security barrier that Israel had built in some parts of The West Bank to monitor Palestinians' movement.
Inside the mall bright neon lights on shop-fronts attracted customers to step inside. A great many people were moving around everywhere, including soldiers, but minus Haredim. We window-shopped around the mall. I was happy to see a Canon 400D camera (same as mine) in one of the store windows. And yes we finally found a book store.
"Have you got the book "Israel through my lens," by David Rubinger"? I asked the man at the counter. He directed me to two store girls inside, I repeated my question to them. The girls blinked. "It's a coffee table book." I explained, "David Rubinger was a photographer with The Jerusalem Post and he covered the Six Day War of 1967." At the mention of the Six Day War, one of the girls smiled, went over to a book shelf and returned with a book. I was so happy and gave the girl a big thank you smile.
But soon my happiness turned to disappointment - the book was in Hebrew! To buy, or not to buy was the question that plagued my mind. The book would certainly make a great souvenir, but not a practical one.
Binu and I returned to the hotel, empty handed, save The Jerusalem Post, tucked under my arm.

Since my return from Israel, I've found the book on Indian online book stores. On more than a couple of occasions, I've been tempted to make the purchase. But my other mind has said, "You might be lucky in your next visit to Israel!"
God willing.

A photo-album of "Israel through my lens" - CLICK HERE

He died in my place

 Peter J. Asirvatham

 

I awoke with a start that momentous morning. I thought I heard someone call my name. As I lay on the cold hard floor of the prison my senses became alert.

    "Barabbas" I heard my name called out, voices in unison. I jumped up. Why was my name being called out so early in the morning? Were my ears playing a trick on me? No. There it was again "Barabbas". It sounded like it was coming from the Praetorium - the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate's office. "Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas." Louder and louder as more and more voices joined in. 

    My heart sank! Has my execution day arrived? "Crucify him!" rang out a shrill lone voice. As if on cue the crowd picked up and, the chorus began, "Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!" I had been incarcerated for insurrection against Rome, and death by crucifixion was a foregone verdict. "Barabbas, Barabbas, Barabbas Barabbas." The baying for blood reached fever pitch. Suddenly the chorus stopped. 

    A sliver of uncanny silence pierced my pounding heart. I had known the verdict for my crimes - crucifixion, and knew that the day would come but was it really so soon? Not during Passover. Surely God, not now! 

    And then I heard with rising dread the stomp of soldiers' feet hastening down the prison corridor. Strong arms threw cold shackles on my hands and feet, dragged me up the cold steps and pushed me out into the glaring light.

    Squinting in the bright sunlight, I saw a large crowd gathered outside the Praetorium, standing in the front was Caiaphas - the high priest, with the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrin - the religious ruling council of Israel. The governor was seated in the judgement seat. "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" demanded the governor. The crowd responded "Barabbas, Barabbas." Pilate continued, "Again I ask you. What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" "Crucify him!" They shouted. "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted, "Crucify him!" Their demand prevailed.

    It was then that I noticed the man standing before Pilate, the one who had been called "Christ" Jesus. Realisation dawned on me - the crowd had been demanding my release all along and, the crucifixion of this man.

    Jesus Christ turned to look at me. A strange feeling swept over me as I gazed into his eyes. Overcome with guilt I tried to look away and yet in just a moment I yearned and turned to look into his eyes. A rush of warmth engulfed my heart, momentarily. Suddenly, two soldiers dragged Jesus away for flogging, while another unshackled me. I was set free without trial.

    One of the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Jesus' head. Another put a staff in his right hand and they knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. The crowd that had demanded my release was oblivious of my freedom. As they led Jesus away to crucify I followed him to Golgotha (The place of The Skull).

    Crucifixion - a painful and humiliating execution meted out to criminals by Rome is inhuman and yet soon after Jesus was hoisted on his cross, he cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." The excruciating pain and shock – to mind, body and soul can change the kindest soul - Jesus forgave his tormentors and all those who were responsible for his condition, from the cross! 

    Two criminals were crucified alongside Jesus. As the chief priests, elders, and even passersby mocked Jesus, the two criminals who were enduring a similar fate as Jesus joined in the mocking too. All of a sudden, however,  it dawned on one of them who Jesus is. He cried out to him, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." When Jesus saw the man's faith he answered, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." His words pierced my heart. Why, oh why was I not up there on the cross? Why was I set free into darkness?

    As the darkness engulfed my soul, an extraordinary darkness came over all the land at noon. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." As he said this, he breathed his last. At that very moment the earth shook under our feet. The earthquake was so powerful that some of the rocks around us shattered and the sun re-appeared! The light was so blinding, everyone around were so terrified. Even the Roman Centurion in charge became white-faced and exclaimed, "Surely he is the Son of God."

    I went home a free man, yet, blissful sleep escaped my fatigued body and troubled mind that night. At day break yesterday, I returned to Golgotha. The first rays of sun from behind the Mount of Olives silhouetted the empty cross of Jesus. Dew drops on the rugged cross made the blood of Jesus Christ glisten in the morning light. The blood on the cross reminded me of the blood of the Pascal lamb on the doorframes in the first Passover in Egypt - a story I've heard from my father, repeated at every Passover. Now, the blood of Jesus Christ and Passover had an all new meaning. I heard a still voice say, "He is the Passover Lamb, whose blood takes away the sins of the world." I turned to see who it was, but there was no one around!

     How Caiaphas and his coterie had played out a drama! Demanding my release was a ploy to force Pilate into a quick end to the trial and get Jesus Christ crucified. As an insurrectionist, I had sought to overthrow the Romans by means of violence - often murdering Romans in cold blood. Jesus Christ, on the other hand had been preaching love. He spoke of the Kingdom of God where love reigned. For all the crimes I have committed, I deserved to be crucified! And in my place Jesus died! Why was I alive? Why was he taken - an innocent person who practiced the love of God? Guilt and shame torturing my inner self, my head bowed down with the weight of all the sins, I fell on my knees in prayer at the foot of the cross and asked Jesus Christ the Son of God, to forgive - me a sinner. My prayer set me free in the truest sense of the word - freedom from sin and guilt.

 

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

 

    Jerusalem and Zion has been abuzz since morning with the most glorious news - the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Early this morning a few women followers of Jesus from Galilee, had gone to his tomb with spices to anoint the body. They found that the stone that had been used to seal the entrance rolled away and the tomb empty.  Jesus' body was not where it had been laid to rest. A young man in a white robe had appeared to the women and said that Jesus Christ who was crucified and died was not there for he had risen. Jesus' followers had been echoing the same, "He is not here. For he has risen." What joy that news filled my heart!

    Many Jews and Gentiles have been visiting the Tomb of Jesus Christ since hearing the news of his resurrection. I visited it too, with my family. As I stepped inside the empty tomb a thought crossed my mind - "Death has been swallowed up in victory!" Kneeling down I invited my risen Saviour to come into my life. I left the tomb happy that one day I would see his radiant face again and look into those loving eyes.

    I must return to my prison, to meet my former captors and inmates, and all those in whom darkness resides and share the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ in whose name there is Salvation.

 

(The Garden Tomb of Jesus Christ - Jerusalem)

Sh'ma Yisrael
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in

At about 5:40 pm (local time) on 28.04.2008 my family and I along with the entourage of pilgrims crossed into Israel from Egypt. Before crossing into Israel, our last place of Biblical visit in Egypt had been The Burning Bush inside St. Katherine's Monastery and, prior to that a trek up Mt. Sinai. To visit Israel had been a dream and this came true for me on that day.

Since my return from Egypt, Israel and Jordan, I've been reliving those moments of my pilgrimage through different ways. Coming across names of places I'd visited while reading the Bible is one way. Looking at the photos I'd shot, editing the videos are other ways. Some months ago I found yet another way - Messianic Praise and Worship music.

Messianic Praise and Worship music comes in both Hebrew and English (and I guess other languages as well). They are rendered by Messianic Jews - Jewish people or people of Jewish origin who had accepted Jesus as the "Messiah" or the "Christ". They are Christians too (they are also called Hebrew Christians or Jewish Christians) and they call Jesus as "Yeshua" - which may be the original pronunciation of the name of our Lord.

One of the songs that is repeated in the Messianic Praise and Worship albums (of my small collection) is Sh'ma Yisrael. Being the first song in two albums, it is a captivating one, even though I did not understand a word of the Jewish song. When I looked up the lyrics sheet printed on the CD cover, I saw it had a Bible reference - Deuteronomy 6: 4-6.

Googling the words "Sh'ma Yisrael" brought up a plethora of results with Wikipedia topping them. The Shema, short for Sh'ma Yisrael, is the centrepiece of the morning and evening Jewish Prayer Service and, the most important part of prayer in Judaism. Further study in the Study Bible for Deu 6: 4 points to Mark 12: 29 (and vice-versa). This is a passage that is familiar to many of us - here Jesus was questioned by a devout Jew as to which according to him is the most important commandment among the commandments. And "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12: 28-33)

In the other synoptic gospels, the evangelists Matthew and Luke have left out the "Shema" - or "Hear" (and Israel). Luke has gone beyond and expounded who a neighbour is with his Good Samaritan story. Regardless of the words "Shema" not being part of Matthew and Luke's gospels, it is an expression of our faith in one God.

The Sh'ma is recited by devout Jews while praying at The Western Wall on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now, the Shema is not something unique to Jewish worship, it is part of the Christian liturgy and, is said three or four times (depending on the number of Sundays a month has) in churches that uses The Book of Common Worship.

Listening to the Shema while driving my car, on the ipod or in the church, conjures up memories of my times in Israel, especially praying at the Western Wall.

God in His Providence fulfilled my dream of visiting Israel in 2008, if it is His Will that I should go again (as I dream of going back) I'll recite the Shema at The Western Wall.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in

The Church of Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor in Galilee, Israel, is inaccessible to large buses and can only be reached by LMVs. A mini-bus shuttle service operates between the bus terminal at Mt.Tabor (halfway up the mount) and the precincts of the church, for pilgrims. We visited the church on Day Seven (02.05.2008) of our pilgrimage.

Antonio Barluzzi, the Italian architect has designed the church in such a way that the spires would resemble three shelters (tents) that Peter suggested he would build for our Lord (see Mark 9: 5, Luke 9: 33). It was an awesome experience to be in the church. The painting of our Lord Jesus Christ flanked by Moses and Elijah inside the church reminded me of Jesus' words that he had come to fulfill prophecies concerning him - the Christ, in the Law (Moses) and Prophets (represented by Elijah).

After the visit to the church, we had to wait a long time for the mini-bus shuttle to take us back to our bus at the terminal. It was during this wait that Brother Selwyn of our group got us all to sing praises to the Lord. Our singing got an Italian pilgrim group waiting for their bus also to start singing. Selwyn, a videographer with a Christian Television Channel, started filming the pilgrims singing. Soon, he invited us to join the Italian group, and sing.

It was an evening when a group of Indians and Italians truly "made a joyful noise unto their LORD". Watch the 4: 40 min video posted below. (Or follow the link at YouTube.)

Brother Selwyn is a powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm for the Lord. He was a "Praise and Worship" leader in our bus journeys in The Holy Land.

This blog post is dedicated to Brother Selwyn.

(I bought the smallest Bible at the Mt.Tabor bus terminal)

The summit, where people used to worship God
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in

Reading the Bible is a different experience for me since my return from The Holy Lands last year. My mind's projector starts whirring images of places every time I come across the names of places I visited in Egypt, Israel and Jordan.

Being a member of an Anglican (Tamil) Church, we celebrated our Lord's Ascension and the Day of Pentecost some weeks ago. On these days my mind's projector was playing scenes from our visit to The Chapel of Ascension on The Mount of Olives and, Jerusalem. The study of our Lord's Ascension in the gospels is interesting. Among the evangelists only Mark and Luke talk about Jesus' Ascension. The evangelist Matthew ends his gospel with The Great Commission on a (nameless) mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28: 16-20). The evangelist John ends his gospel where our Lord reinstated Peter by the shores of The Sea of Galilee (John 21: 15-25).

In the gospel of Mark, the evangelist writes that Jesus was "taken up into heaven" without mentioning the place from where our Lord ascended (Mark 16: 9-20). In the Luke's gospel the evangelist Luke, who is known for investigative and accurate reporting gives a sketchy report of our Lord's ascension. He writes "When [Jesus] had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51)

However, it is in the opening verses of the book of Acts that we read in some detail of our Lord's ascension. Yet, it is not clear or conclusive from where exactly our Lord ascended to heaven. We draw an inference from Acts 1: 12 where it reads that the disciples, after his ascension returned to Jerusalem from "the hill called the Mount of Olives."

One of the questions that repeated itself in my mind on my pilgrimage was, "Could this be the exact place where our Lord was born? or crucified?" and so on and so forth.

The Chapel of Ascension on The Mount of Olives is located on the summit of the mountain. There, on a small piece of rock, under the dome of the chapel is what is believed to be the site from where our Lord ascended to heaven. "Could this be the spot from where our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven?" was a question that came to mind that morning. The answer I have now is: Very likely, yes.

A few days ago, I was reading the account of King David fleeing the capital, from possible danger when his son Absalom declared himself king at Hebron and, planned to move to Jerusalem to seize power (2 Samuel 15). King David's flight from Jerusalem was eastward. He and his household crossed the Kidron Valley (v.23) and ascended The Mount of Olives (v.30) weeping, with his head covered. Now, here is the clincher. 2 Samuel 15: 32 says, "When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God..."

Now, isn't that amazing? "the summit (of The Mount of Olives), where people used to worship God"! What a privilege it was to touch the spot of our Lord's Ascension.

My prayer is that I revisit The Holy Lands again. God willing.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
peter_asirvatham@yahoo.co.in

"No, the walls and gates around Jerusalem are not the same ones which Nehemiah re-built. They were built by Sultan Suleiman" replied Mr. Sayed, our tour guide in Israel, to my question on the gates of Jerusalem. I was a little disappointed to hear that. Nehemiah is one of my Bible heroes.

It was the morning of Day Six of our pilgrimage and our second day in Jerusalem. We were heading to the old city and Sayed was giving a preamble to the first place of visit of the day's itinerary - The Temple Mount, and that we'd enter it through the Dung Gate. According to the Bible, the Dung Gate is one of the gates that Nehemiah repaired (Nehemiah 3: 14 and 12: 31).

The Dung gate is near the Temple Mount and is one of the many gates of the old city of Jerusalem. Disembarking from the bus, to the left of the road leading to the Dung gate I saw some excavation activities going on. 'Who knows what the dig might reveal?' I thought to myself 'Perhaps some archaeological evidence that might prove Biblical claims! Interesting' I thought and shot a photo of the site quietly. Then, before entering the Dung Gate, I shot a photo of it as well, in memory of my hero - Nehemiah. In fact I have shot quite a few photos of the gates and walls of Jerusalem.

A short distance from the centuries old Dung Gate, we came upon modern gates - gates made of steel, chrome and metal detectors and manned by Israeli police. The entrance to Judaism's most holy site - The Wailing Wall, Islam's third holy site - the al-aqsa Mosque and The Dome of The Rock is under very tight security.

So many names from the Bible and history crossed my mind that morning in Jerusalem. There was Abraham, bringing his only son Isaac - to this very mountain - willingly, to sacrifice him to The LORD. Little would have Father Abraham thought at that time that thousands of years later his descendants would fight over control of this mount.

There was King David, under whose kingship did Jerusalem come fully into the Judahites hands. Later he moved his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem. It was King David who bought the threshing floor from Araunah, the Jebusite and built an altar here. Later his son King Solomon built The First Temple here. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed it and exiled the Israelites.

With the return of Ezra and Nehemiah, the second Temple of The LORD and walls around Jerusalem were rebuilt and restored. About 400 years later our Lord Jesus Christ's last days before his crucifixion was around this mountain.

The previous day (30.04.2008) as we made our descent from The Mount of Olives on The Palm Sunday Road, our pilgrim group re-enacted, in part, our Lord's Triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

There is something very significant with our Lord Jesus Christ riding the Donkey in the Triumphal entry: a king or a general who rides into a capital city on a Donkey signifies Peace, as against the same who rides into the capital on a horseback as the conqueror.

If you do not know why Jerusalem is the third holiest city, after Mecca and Medina for the Muslims, here is the reason. There is a belief that the Prophet Mohammed galloped to Jerusalem on a flying horse called "el-buraq" in a giant leap from Mecca to "the farthest mosque" (Jerusalem is never mentioned by name any where in the Qur' an) and from there he was taken up to the Heaven by the angel Gabriel. In rememberance of The Prophet's Night Journey the first Caliph after The Prophet of Islam, built a Mosque here - the al-aqsa Mosque.

The city of Jerusalem has changed hands so many times among kings, emperors, caliphs and crusaders in its long and bloody history.

In the last century, it changed hands two times, first during the First World war, from the Ottomans to the British in 1917. Next, when the British Mandate of Palestine ended, on 14th May 1948 Ben Gurion declared Israel's independence. Soon after war broke out among the Arabs and Jewish people. In that war the Jewish people captured more territory than they would have got had the Arabs and Muslims peacefully accepted the original Partition Plan. In the fight, west Jerusalem came into Jewish hands.

It's time now for me to take you to another gate of Jerusalem. While we entered the old city through the Dung gate in the morning, we re-entered the holy city in the evening for the Via Dolorosa through the Lion's Gate, also called St. Stephen's Gate, for Stephen was taken out of the city through this gate to be stoned.

When we were outside The Church of Flagellation, from where the Via Dolorosa starts, I saw a small company of Israeli soldiers marchng (it was not a disciplined flag march) on the narrow street. I've always been an admirer of Israeli soldiers and I wanted to march along with them, but better sense prevailed, instead I shot a few photos of these youngsters.

Seeing the soldiers there also reminded me of the Six Day war of 1967 (before we entered the Lion's Gate I saw soldiers of the New Airborne Brigade). It was through the Lion's Gate that Israeli paratroopers entered fighting for Jerusalem in June that year. When that fight ended, in east Jerusalem Judaism's most holiest site - The Western Wall - the surving wall of the Temple destroyed in 70 AD, fell into Jewish hands after two thousand years! The Israelies considered the capture of east Jerusalem as reunification of Jerusalem, that is; what they could not accomplish in the 1948 war, they'd done it in 1967. In 2007, Israel celebrated 40 years of the reunification.

When the Via Dolorosa ended, we exited the Holy city through the New gate. A golden sun was setting as we headed to our hotel in Modern Jerusalem. Incidentally, our hotel was called Jerusalem Gate Hotel.

Now, the Golden Gate is a gate of Jerusalem that faces the east and can be seen from the Mount of Olives. It is very likely that our Lord Jesus Christ would have entered the Holy City triumphantly through this gate in its original form. During the time of Sultan Suleiman there was a Jewish belief that when the Messiah would come to Jerusalem, he'd enter it through this gate (Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah-The Christ). Fearing the entry of The Jewish Messiah, Sultan Suleiman blocked the Golden Gate with stone bricks. Incredible!

Here's an interesting tidbit that I read some days ago on the Internet. During the First World war, when Jerusalem fell into British hands under the command of General Edmund Allenby, the general, an accomplished horseman and a fine cavalry officer, walked into the Holy City on foot rather than on a horseback, in respect for the holy place.

Our two days in Jerusalem is so memorable to me. God willing, I'd like to visit the Holy City again. On that day, I'd like to touch the soil of the Holy City with my bare feet and recite the verse, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving."

Thank you Lord!

An archaeological excavation near The Dung Gate.

The Dung Gate.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Dome of The Rock.

Enterance to The Wailing Wall.

The Wailing Wall.

Jordanian army barracks abandoned during
The Six Day War 1967, The West Bank.

Soldiers of the New Airborne Brigade, near the Lion's Gate.

The Lion's Gate or St. Stephen's Gate.

Israeli generals enter east Jerusalem through the Lion's Gate immediately after the fall of the city in June 1967. From right to left. Gen. Yitzak rabin, chief of IDF, Gen (retired). Moshe Dayan, Defense Minister, Gen. Uzi Narkis, commander of Jerusalem forces.

IDF soldiers outside The Church of Flagellation.

IDF soldiers on the Via Dolorosa.

Israel celebrated 40 years of the reunification of Jerusalem in 2007. Logo depicting the 4oth anniversary,

outside the Jaffa Gate. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Golden Gate. Blocked by Sultan Suleiman.

Our hotel foyer. The Jerusalem Gate Hotel.