JERUSALEM....THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING!

We serve an amazing God! This CITY OF PEACE....that is what Jerusalem means. The English word 'Jerusalem' is mentioned 767 times in the Bible. This city is indeed far from being a city of peace in the physical sense, but one day when the Messiah comes, it will be GOD'S HOLY CITY on earth. We all know that the Book of Revelation talks about the return of the Lord. There are 3 verses that mention this City in Revelation :
Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name. 
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 
Jesus prayed...'thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. It all makes a whole lot of sense to me now. It takes some some to sink in....still lots more to sink in, but God is a merciful God to all who seek after Him. If we seek Him, we will indeed find Him! Such comfort! 
God continues to preserve the history of this City and we had such an amazing time of learning through Hana, our guide. She is indeed no ordinary guide and such an expositor of God's word! 
We were at Temple Mount...at the Dome of the Rock, that golden dome that is clear for all to see. That is actually a shrine, not a mosque. There is a mosque just 200m from it...can't remember the name. I am surprised that this area is controlled by the Moslem Authorities, given permission by Israel. Therefore this is the place that Moslems are allowed to do what they want, but it is heavily guarded, by the Israelis (another ?!?!) to ensure peace. We saw Moslem women shouting, 'Allah is the greatest, death to the Jews' (explained by Hana) but they were not stopped from doing that though the place is heavily guarded by Israeli police to ensure that things do not get out of hand. It is the Israeli Government's policy that each religious place is free for all and open to all. It is also a surprise that Jerusalem is considered the Moslem's 3rd holiest city....when it is never mentioned in the Quran! We were also told that there is not a single word in the Quran of FATHER, and LOVE. Isn't this a surprise! I would need to look in the English Quran that I have. All I know is that there are many verses in the Quran that brings out the fact that what the Christians and Jews do and believe are incorrect.

There were Israeli police all over the place. 

We also saw this group of Moslem women...in fact there were a few around and they acted quite violently when they shouted, "Allah is the greatest! Death to the Jews!" I wonder how they can be so blind to the fact that this is 'truth'? Wanting others dead just because you think that others are wrong and you are right? It truly baffles me.

I was a bit thick skinned...went up to the police guarding
part of the Western Wall and asked whether I could
take a photo with them. They were hesitant,
but finally agreed. : ). The Western Wall is just
next to the Temple Mount area.

Next stop....the Western Wall. It is just a few minutes walk from the Dome of the Rock. Why is the Western Wall so important? The Western Wall is the last remnant of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed in 70 CE by Titus and the Roman legions. It is not part of the Temple as the Temple was totally destroyed. The Temple is the place where the Jews went to pray and sacrifice for the atonement of their sins during the Sabbath and Jewish festivals and Feasts of the Lord. Peter Tsukahira shared that the scene in the book of Acts, as we are told it is the Feast of Pentecost, or Shavuot in Hebrew, took place here. It was a time when the Jews from all over gathered in Jerusalem. 
Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. Act 2:4  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Act 2:5  And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 
Act 2:6  Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 
We saw places where the mikveh, or ritual baths that the worshipers used  for ritual cleansing before bringing their sacrifice to the priest. It was great to be able to see the place where Acts 2 took place!

Peter teaching on Acts 2. The wall behind is the outer wall.
The Temple which was totally destroyed was behind this wall

Mikvehs just next to the outer protection wall of the temple. 

The temple was totally destroyed

With some of the younger ladies in the group...and Stephen Tang