Participants: Pr. Tony Moore
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000706
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01:01 We welcome you back again,
01:03 that first program we saw together was fascinating 01:06 but we're glad you're back for part two 01:09 and we're gonna be looking at the Middle East. 01:10 You know, it's kind a hot today here in Wichita, 01:14 but it's much hotter over in the Middle East 01:16 for different reasons. 01:18 There is a lot of unrest 01:20 and tonight hopefully we'll learn something 01:23 that can help us understand 01:24 more than just what we see on the television many times. 01:28 And we're glad that you are here with us. 01:30 Let's just bow our heads 01:31 and ask the Lord to bless us as we study together. 01:35 Father in heaven, we're indeed grateful 01:38 that we can come and that we can again learn 01:40 and grow and we are thankful 01:42 that You oversee every part of the world, 01:47 whether it is here, 01:49 whatever place anyone is watching this evening 01:53 wherever anyone is You oversee it all. 01:55 We're thankful for Your all powerful, 01:57 all knowing love. 01:59 Tonight we ask that Your spirit would especially be with us 02:02 this evening as we study together 02:06 and we come in Christ name, amen. 02:09 Before we look at the what some have called the Holy City, 02:12 we're going to hear about the Holy City 02:16 and again, Rafael Scarfullery is with us 02:20 and he's going to be playing what I think many times 02:24 as I listen to people as what many people most enjoy 02:27 and that is the piece called "The Holy City." 07:58 Thank you so much Rafael, for that beautiful song. 08:04 Truly enjoy that, you told me earlier 08:06 you began playing the guitar 08:07 when you're 15? 08:10 About 15, amazing. 08:13 Well, we gonna go to Jerusalem not to that Jerusalem perhaps, 08:16 we're gonna go to a little different Jerusalem 08:17 tonight on the screen. 08:19 We're glad that you join us for this study 08:22 "The Jew, The Arab and Jerusalem." 08:25 How many have you been to Jerusalem? 08:28 Few of you, one, two. 08:30 Only two of you, okay. 08:32 Well, tonight we're gonna be going to Jerusalem 08:34 and the nicest thing about is 08:38 that you don't have to worry about bombs tonight or bullets. 08:43 You can go and see all the sites of Jerusalem 08:45 and its very, very safe I guarantee it, 08:48 right here in this church or right here on your homes. 08:51 Well, perhaps I should really rename 08:53 this evening presentation 08:54 The Jew, The Arab, 08:57 The Christian, The Muslim, and Jerusalem. 09:01 For technically there are many Arab Christians 09:04 as well as Arab Muslims. 09:07 And by the way Arab Christians 09:09 in their Bible call the name of God, "Allah." 09:13 And so a majority of the Arab town of Bethlehem is Christian. 09:17 A majority of the Arab town of Ramallah 09:22 in the West Bank is Christian. 09:24 Yet the city of Jerusalem 09:25 has long been divided into the four quarters, 09:28 the Jewish, the Arab, the Armenian, 09:31 and the Christian quarters. 09:33 Jerusalem is a tremendous city of significance 09:36 to millions of people. 09:38 Now Israel cannot boast the pyramids of-- 09:43 of ancient Greeks of ancient Egypt 09:46 or the classical ruins of the Acropolis of Greece, 09:49 but this land alone lays claim to the title Holy Land. 09:55 Sacred as a spiritual epicenter 09:57 for the three monotheistic religions. 10:00 Jerusalem draws religions pilgrims 10:02 from around the world with an irresistible force. 10:05 Now the name Jerusalem means "City of Peace." 10:09 But few cities have been subject to more war 10:12 or bloodshed than this one. 10:15 During its 4,000 year history 10:17 it's been besieged and conquered by Israelites, 10:21 and Egyptians, and Syrians, 10:23 and Babylonians, and Persians, 10:24 and Greeks, and Romans, and Arabs, and Seljuqs, 10:27 and Crusaders, and Mameluks, and Ottomans, 10:29 and The British, and The Jordanians, 10:31 and finally after 3,000 years 10:34 Israelis have conquered it once again. 10:36 The city has been totally erased, 10:38 that is totally destroyed on three different occasions. 10:41 Once by the Babylonians in 586, once by the Romans in 70 AD 10:46 and again by the Romans in 135 AD. 10:49 Now as you approach the city of Jerusalem for the first time 10:52 you are impressed by the walls at loom large on the horizon. 10:56 Inside the walls of the old city-- 10:59 inside the walls lie the old city of Jerusalem. 11:02 Now coming from relatively new land like America, 11:05 we're not use to wall cities, are we? 11:07 We don't really need them at a time of mortar shells 11:10 and airplanes that drop bombs. 11:12 But through out the long history of Jerusalem 11:15 these walls have been critical to the defense of the city. 11:19 One afternoon I was visiting with Palestinian shepherds, 11:23 near the Jaffa Gate 11:24 along the walls of the old city of Jerusalem. 11:27 We set and we visited it was during Ramadan 11:29 and most of us have learned more about Ramadan 11:31 in the last few years, haven't we? 11:33 When Muslims did not eat during the day time 11:36 and so they were sitting there with their sheep 11:38 waiting for sunset so that they could eat their meal, 11:40 and I was visiting with them and I laughed 11:42 and I walked across the Hidden Valley 11:45 over to King David Hotel into that area. 11:49 And I heard what sounded 11:50 like firecrackers going off in the distance. 11:53 As a matter of fact, I turned to my friend 11:54 and he said, oh, they're celebrating, 11:56 and I said, that's not celebrating, that's a nosey. 11:58 I said, we got to go, I could see what happened. 12:00 And he says, no, if it's nosey, we are gonna back. 12:02 And I said no, we're gonna back and what happen. 12:04 So ran back across and would you believe it 12:07 the very men that I been talking to 12:09 just a few minutes earlier, 12:10 zealot had come by a member of the Sakhara, 12:13 had come by an emptied two flips of the nosey 12:15 into the four men. 12:17 Well, I went the next morning 12:21 and I was amazed as I actually saw the blood on the rocks. 12:25 One man lost his life 12:26 and other three were critically injured. 12:29 And I was amazed that how that the peace I'd sense, 12:32 the fragile peace on previous visit Jerusalem 12:35 had now been removed. 12:36 As a hostilities were spilling out 12:38 and even blood was spilling on to the rocks. 12:42 Well, City of Jerusalem has a seven open gates 12:47 that lead into the city. 12:48 The Saint Stephen's Gate, 12:51 that you see in the picture of 12:52 is known as Saint Stephen's Gate 12:53 because it's believed that Stephen was lead 12:55 through that gate to the Kidron Valley 12:57 that be stoned, it's also know as the Lions Gate 12:59 because there are embossed lions above them. 13:01 Then there are-- are gates 13:04 that lead to the north The Herod's Gate, 13:06 The Damascus Gate, 13:07 There is a gate to the east a New Gate, the Jaffa Gate, 13:11 there is a gate to the south called The Zion Gate, 13:13 and it's a even a gate to the south called the Dung Gate. 13:15 Can you imagine what went through that? 13:17 You know, that was gonna taking animal bodies 13:20 and things like that from the temple 13:22 out to be burned in the Valley of Hinnom, 13:24 which we also think of as Gehenna or Hell. 13:27 And so things will be burned out there. 13:29 Well, I have to confess I spend over three months in Jerusalem 13:33 and no matter which gate I through, 13:34 I still get lost 13:35 and I'm wandering around in the Old City. 13:37 But I loved to wander through that city 13:39 to walk on the narrow cobblestone walkways 13:42 and streets, and the twist trough the fruit markets, 13:46 and the spice markets, and the meat markets, 13:47 and the clothing bazaars. 13:49 Not to mention the one selling religious goods 13:51 to pilgrims and tourists. 13:53 As you walk through the streets 13:54 and as you talk to the shopkeepers 13:56 you sense an uneasy peace and this the city of peace. 14:01 During the first intifada 14:03 I actually had to run through the Damascus Gate 14:05 because tear gas had been shot. 14:07 Had to cover our faces to the escape 14:10 that chocking sensation. 14:11 And I remember walking down the street 14:14 and-- and being confronted by mass Palestinian youths 14:17 with Palestinian flags over their faces 14:19 and rocks in their hands, and it was very unnerving. 14:22 During my last trip when we were working 14:25 on the series on "Life of Paul," 14:26 we were filming there, we were there for week 14:28 and we had three car bombs 14:30 during the week that went off in the city of Jerusalem. 14:32 And so the easy fragile peace that have been there is 14:36 now been replaced and you sense it, 14:39 it's a very discouraging thing. 14:42 I have to tell you this, 14:44 there is no market that I'd rather visit 14:46 than the Old Souq of Jerusalem. 14:48 The color, the smells, the food, 14:51 the shopkeeper who actually challenges you 14:54 not to buy his goods, 14:55 haggles and ancient customing the bazaar 14:58 with for carved olive wood from Bethlehem 15:00 or in laid boxes from Damascus 15:02 or ancient coins on earth in a dig 15:05 or better one garments that sought, 15:07 hello, hello, its beckons you to come in, 15:10 sit down and have a cup of tea 15:12 and haggle over something that they want to sell to you. 15:15 None but the most iron willed 15:17 will leave without purchasing something. 15:19 Baklava, I had some today with pastor. 15:22 You know that, wonderful pastries 15:24 made with walnuts. 15:25 In this part of the world, 15:26 it's made with pistachios in that part of the world. 15:28 I have to tell you that there are-- 15:29 that I have maybe a kilo 15:30 to sustain me on my journeys over there 15:33 and that part of the world. 15:34 I was a wondering around the old streets of Jerusalem 15:36 and saw this man, he was making sort of a pancake 15:39 and so I said, okay, I'll buy a kilo of it 15:41 and I ordered a kilo 15:43 and ultimately as up in the Galileo 15:45 and I had to feed it to the birds, 15:46 I couldn't take it, it was just didn't taste good at all. 15:48 But anyway the Baklava was great anyway. 15:52 Fruits always seem to be 15:54 in a great abundance in Jerusalem. 15:56 This lady here, she had a portable store, 15:59 she was carrying the oranges on her head, 16:01 she had the little scale on her blouse 16:03 and she get wiped it out and just a moments times. 16:05 She seems to also have two prices, 16:08 one for everybody else and one for me. 16:10 So, the sites and sounds of the spices market 16:15 and the coffee section are essential to lie. 16:17 I'm a vegetarian so I try and avoid the meat market, 16:19 but it seems like every time that's where I ended up 16:21 when I'm wandering around in Old Jerusalem. 16:24 We're in the Old City is also the Via Dolorosa, 16:27 the 14 stations with the cross, 16:29 the holiest spots within Christendom. 16:32 Within the Old City is also the Western Walls, 16:35 some people call it the Wailing Wall, 16:37 know as a place where Jews have come for centuries 16:40 to mourn the loss of their temple. 16:43 And of course dominating the city state 16:45 is the Dome of the Rock, the Dome of the Rock, 16:48 third holiest spot in the Islamic world. 16:52 Now tonight, before we explore 16:54 the holy places of these three religions, 16:56 I want to share with you 16:58 the historical background of the city 17:00 in the religions within. 17:01 You see all three religions 17:03 they look back to a common ancestor, 17:06 to a spiritual ancestor by the name of Abraham. 17:11 Abraham was known as the Khalil of God, 17:13 the friend of God, he is known the father of the faithful. 17:16 All three religions look back to one and the same God, 17:20 they look back to common stories 17:21 found in the Hebrew's scriptures 17:23 also called the Old Testament. 17:26 Nowhere is this clearer than down in Hebron 17:28 where Abraham bought a cave from Ephron for 400 shekels 17:32 in which he buried Sarah. 17:34 Later the patriarch himself will be buried here 17:37 with his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob 17:40 and their wives. 17:42 This was a very special place. 17:44 Now inside the building is a Jewish synagogue 17:50 and a Muslim Mosque. 17:51 On my earlier trip in 1987 we discovered that the... 17:59 here we have the cave, 18:00 the building that King Herod built in honor of Abraham 18:06 and his burials. 18:08 Here and on my earlier trip I was able to go in, 18:12 you could sense the uneasy peace 18:14 between the Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque there. 18:17 But a several years later a real tragedy took place here, 18:21 a zealot came in and he open fire on the worshipers 18:25 who are inside. 18:26 He unloaded his bullets and you can actually see them 18:29 here on the screen some of the places 18:32 where the bullets actually ricochet off 18:36 and there were a number of worshipers 18:38 who were killed that day. 18:39 And so there is a terrible tension between the peoples, 18:42 now as a dividing wall 18:44 between the synagogue and the mosque, 18:46 and it has a higher security of experienced 18:48 in the entire country of Israel. 18:51 Very, very high security. 18:53 Well, Abraham came down 18:54 and he steeled in a place called Beersheba. 18:56 He dug a well here. 18:58 And he found a peace treaty with the local people. 19:01 He maintained extensive flocks 19:03 and live in a goat hair tent 19:05 much like the modern better one lived today. 19:08 Now the tents are very particle in this hot climate 19:11 because they are very portable, 19:13 and during hot weather 19:14 you can just kind of bring the sides up 19:16 and the breeze will flow through, 19:18 they are also warm in the winter, 19:19 and they are also very, very expensive. 19:22 Goat hair tents fascinate me. 19:23 There was a special place up in Tarsus 19:26 called Cilicia by the Romans. 19:28 And you might remember that cilia is hair 19:30 because they-- they had a-- 19:32 they developed a special breed of goats 19:33 up in the mountains grown nowhere else in the world. 19:36 And when took the cilia from those goats 19:38 or the hair and you made it into the goat hair tent 19:40 it allowed smoke from your camp fire to pass through the tent. 19:44 It allows sunshine to string through, 19:46 and it repelled rain. 19:47 It was the cortex fabric of the day. 19:49 And by the way, just for a bit of trivia, 19:52 Paul was from that area of Tarsus in Cilicia, 19:56 and what was Paul by trade? 19:58 A tent maker. 19:59 I've often wondered do you think 20:00 he actually sewed tents 20:01 or do you think he was a prevarior of goat tents? 20:04 It had the best connection in the world 20:05 for the finest material in the world 20:07 for making goat hair tents. 20:10 Well, I went down to Beersheba, 20:11 I wanted to research the lifestyle of Abraham. 20:14 The well in the town is named after him 20:16 although it's actually dug after he was there. 20:19 We are on a tight budget 20:20 so we slept on the ancient Tel that night, 20:23 and we slept inside the walls 20:25 and it was very-- very nice, very comfortable. 20:29 The next morning I was up before sunrise 20:31 because I was researching the lifestyle of Abraham, 20:33 and so I went down I found this Family Nowade. 20:37 I saw flocks of sheep and goats and camels going down 20:40 and this family was there washing their animals 20:44 before shearing them and sending them to market. 20:46 And so the animals would resist the efforts girls 20:49 and finally a brother would get them 20:50 and pull him into the watering hole 20:52 and they pass them from one to another 20:53 and finally the father would inspect them 20:55 and soggy animal would try 20:57 and make his way out of the watering hole. 21:00 I went back and found my son, who was 10-years-old 21:02 he had made friends with the Babylon boy 21:03 who was watching a group of camels. 21:05 And so they were taking turn for riding the camels, 21:07 Steven would ride for a while 21:08 and then the other boy would ride for a while. 21:10 And so even though they couldn't speak 21:12 the same language 21:13 they were able to have the language of friendship 21:16 and I was very pleased by that. 21:18 Yes, the ruins of the they Tel at Beersheba 21:22 did not go back to Abraham's time, 21:24 but they-- the well that we see in the town 21:28 will be very similar to the one that Isaac dug here. 21:31 In a presentation that we saw earlier fabulous tales 21:34 the Tel tells 21:35 we talk about some tablets discovered in nosey that-- 21:38 that explained the custom of how a barren woman 21:41 could choose a surrogate for her husband 21:45 to have an heir through. 21:46 And as I said, I'm sure that she found 21:49 the most beautiful woman in the village 21:50 and said honey, this is the one that you can have, right? 21:53 Well, anyway probably didn't have enquired that way 21:57 and but the law guaranteed the rights of the slave girl 22:01 but the law also said that 22:03 if the-- the wife the original wife 22:05 later had a child that child was to be the heir. 22:10 And so we think about this story 22:13 playing out, taking place. 22:15 Sarah suggested that Abraham follow this custom 22:19 and she gave him her handmaid 22:22 whose is an Egyptian maid servant Hagar. 22:25 They had a child and the child was named Ishmael. 22:30 Ishmael, you see, el, e-l is God. 22:34 It means God hears, God hears. 22:37 Abraham loved that boy, 22:39 but as you can imagine there was an uneasy tension 22:41 between Sarah and Hagar in the home. 22:44 He loved that boy but 14 years later 22:49 he had a child through his wife 22:53 and they named the child Laughter, right. 22:57 She was laugh--I'm an old woman I can't have a child. 23:00 She began to laugh and the angel said that, 23:03 and so when he was born they named him Laughter 23:05 which means Isaac today. 23:07 And so the domestic trouble increased 23:10 between Hagar and Sarah 23:13 and finally, when Ishmael was 17-years-old 23:18 he and his mother had to leave the camp. 23:21 It was difficult for Abraham to send them away. 23:23 They wandered out the Bible says, 23:25 and they came through a bush in the desert 23:28 and there is-- Hagar would be sat down 23:31 and began to cry. 23:34 She thought they're gonna die in the wilderness. 23:36 The Lord appeared to her and showed her a well nearby 23:39 and then the Lord proclaimed this name to Hagar. 23:42 He said, I-- My name is Elroy, El God, the God who truly sees. 23:49 God saw Hagar and Ishmael in their plight 23:53 and He answered their prayer 23:54 and you know what, 23:56 He sees us in our situations today 23:58 no matter how difficult they might be. 24:00 Hence we pray He is the Elroy, the God who truly sees. 24:06 No matter what we go through we need to remember that. 24:08 Well, God came and he promised to Hagar 24:11 that he would make her son Ishmael a might nation, 24:14 that he would be the father of 12 rulers. 24:18 And indeed Ishmael became the father of the Arab tribes 24:22 who inhabit this part of the land today. 24:25 Jews are the decedents of Abraham 24:27 through the line of Isaac and Jacob. 24:30 Another nation of the past were the Edomites. 24:32 Remember were the Edomites came from? 24:34 They lived down in thatcher we saw in a presentation 24:38 "Fabulous Tales The Tel Tells." 24:40 That was Jacob's twin brother. 24:43 Now Abraham had a nephew and his nephew's name was Lot. 24:49 Lot had two daughters. 24:51 He was the father and the grandfather, 24:54 go figure of two boys named Moab and Ammon. 25:00 Today the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan is the land of Moab, 25:04 the capital of Jordan is Ammon. 25:07 Can you hear it? Ammon. 25:08 Ammon we see the name of Lot son and grandson 25:11 as the capital of the kingdom of Jordan today. 25:14 So these are the players, 25:16 these are the people who were there. 25:18 Isaac and Ishmael seem to be able 25:20 to get along quite well together 25:21 while they were alive. 25:23 They participated in a joint burial of their father Abraham. 25:28 But through the years their descendants 25:30 have disagreed and fought. 25:32 They go back to a common ancestor, 25:35 but their animosities it run very, very deep. 25:38 Abraham was instructed by God 25:40 to take his son to Mount Moriah and to sacrifice him. 25:44 It was a test of his faith. 25:45 Now the Bible is very clear 25:46 that his son that was taken to Mount Moriah was Isaac, 25:51 however it is interesting in Muslim tradition, 25:53 it was not Isaac who was taken but, Ishmael. 25:57 Very interesting, isn't it? 25:59 Well, the Bible tells us that Isaac willingly went 26:01 with his father up to Mount Moriah, 26:02 high place outside of Salem or Jerusalem 26:05 and as they were going along remember Isaac said, 26:08 dad, we have wood and we have fire, 26:11 but where is the sacrifice? 26:13 And Abraham said, prophetically, 26:15 God Himself will provide a sacrifice. 26:20 And as Isaac willing laid there on the altar 26:23 Abraham raised his hand and the angel stopped his hand 26:27 with the knife and it saying, 26:28 now I know that you love me 26:30 for you've not withheld from your only son. 26:33 And Abraham turned over into the bushes 26:34 he saw a ram caught in the think it by its horns. 26:39 And that was Mount Moriah 26:42 the same place that Jesus would later wear a crown of thrones 26:48 as the Lamb of God as He went to Calvary. 26:52 And so we see the story run very, very deep. 26:55 Mount Moriah was in the vicinity 26:57 of that small Canaanite village Salem. 26:59 It was a Canaanite high place, 27:01 later it will be the sight of Solomon's temple. 27:05 Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek 27:07 who was the priest king of Salem. 27:10 The Israelites came in and they took the Promise Land, 27:13 they destroyed but did not occupy the side of Salem, 27:16 the Jebusites returned and live there. 27:19 It was know as the city of Jebus, 27:22 before David's time. 27:23 When David came in he wanted to unify the entire territory 27:27 and so she came in and tried to take the city of Jebus, 27:31 the Jebusites city. 27:32 He was confidant by a well fortified city however. 27:35 And the Jebusites inside their walled city 27:40 said this to David and his man, 27:41 "You will not get in here, 27:43 even the blind and the lame can ward you off." 27:47 Well, history reveals the Jebusites 27:50 were overly confident in the security of their city. 27:54 David and his men look for a weakness to exploit. 27:58 There was only one source of water 28:00 for the city of Jerusalem, 28:01 it was known as the Gihon Spring 28:04 and it was outside of the walls of the city. 28:08 And so the people of Jebusites 28:10 they had developed the tunnel that you could go down 28:13 and you could drop your water bucket 28:15 on a rope down into the spring, 28:18 you can get your water bring it up 28:19 and go back into the city. 28:21 So David and his men began to examine the city 28:24 and think what can we do? 28:25 Well, the Bible tells us what they would do. 28:28 The Bible identifies it 28:29 and says, "On that day David said, 28:32 'Anyone who conquers the Jebusites 28:34 will have to use the water shaft 28:36 to reach those "lame and blind" who are David's enemies.'" 28:40 The Bible tell us the Joab scaled up the shaft, 28:43 he came into the city, open the gates 28:45 and David and his men came in 28:46 and they conquered the Jebusites city 28:48 and it forever the-- or it became the capital. 28:53 David and his men actually moved in there. 28:55 Charles Warren has excavated the sight 28:59 in 1870 with excavating in Jerusalem, 29:01 he discovered the shaft through which Joab entered the city. 29:04 Today it's been clear that it challenges 29:06 modern Joab's to climb its walls. 29:08 Well, David established his residence here 29:11 at Mount Ophel, 29:12 it became known as the City of David, 29:16 the City of David. 29:17 Today the City of David actually lies 29:19 outside of the present walls of Jerusalem. 29:22 And here is the City of David 29:24 outside the present walls of Jerusalem. 29:26 And but this was the original city 29:28 and it was built down at the base of the hill 29:31 because that where the source of water was. 29:34 They haven't developed the technology of cistern jet, 29:36 like we talked about in our previous presentation. 29:39 And so they have to live down at the base of the hill 29:43 and over a period of time they developed new technologies 29:46 and they move up to the top of the hill. 29:49 They move up to the top of the hill. 29:50 So David establishes his royal residence here on Mount Ophel 29:54 and he expands and fortifies the city 29:58 and he ultimately brings the Ark of the Covenant 30:02 to the city of Jerusalem. 30:04 By doing that he forever united the religious 30:07 and the political center into one. 30:10 He was not however permitted to build the-- 30:14 he was not permitted to build the temple 30:17 because he had blood on his hands, 30:19 but he was able to purchase the threshing floor of Ornan 30:23 for the temple site and he was able 30:25 to gather the materials so that his son might build the temple 30:29 there on that site. 30:30 Solomon would build the temple around 960 BC. 30:34 He would enlarge and beautify the city. 30:36 Two hundred and fifty years later 30:38 King Hezekiah was confronted by the Syrians 30:40 and he hardly refortify the city of Jerusalem. 30:43 He remembered the weakness of the water source 30:46 and so he said we have to do something for this. 30:49 Now Hezekiah prayed, he met with Isaiah the prophet 30:52 and they prayed and they prayed 30:54 but he said the water source is still outside the city, 30:59 we have to do something. 31:00 And so they began to build the tunnel. 31:02 They build a tunnel you can see in the pictures 31:04 people are actually walking in the water, 31:05 the water is about knee deep to waist deep 31:07 and they built this tunnel to bring the water 31:10 inside the city wall 31:11 so they'd be protected from the Assyrians 31:13 who are coming down to try and take the city. 31:17 The water ultimately emptied 31:20 into what is known as a pool of Siloam. 31:22 You read about that in New Testament, don't you? 31:24 Jesus worked a miracle at the pool of Siloam. 31:26 Well, there was a fascinating experience 31:28 that happened here a number of years ago. 31:30 There are some children playing in 1880 31:32 and they discovered an inscription 31:34 about how this tunnel was built. 31:36 Now I want to read it to you, 31:38 it says, "When the tunnel was driven through, 31:41 while were still axe each man toward his fellow." 31:44 In other words the Assyrians are coming, 31:46 the enemies are coming, 31:47 they are coming to take you city, 31:48 and they started building the tunnel 31:49 from two different directions 31:51 so their axes are against each other, okay. 31:53 Talking about quarter of a mile they are trying to dig. 31:56 "Each man toward his fellow 31:57 and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, 32:00 there was heard the voice of a man calling to his fellow, 32:02 for there was an overlap on the rock 32:04 on the right and on the left." 32:05 You get the picture? 32:06 They are coming from different directions 32:07 but they miss each other by three feet, 32:09 but they can hear each other calling. 32:10 They're underground about 150 feet 32:12 under the ground and so they are excited. 32:14 And as you actually go down this tunnel 32:16 you can actually feel 32:17 and see the pick marks in the wall 32:20 and you can see them going one direction 32:22 and then soon you can see them coming the other direction. 32:24 And again the Assyrians are coming, 32:26 these were the bad guys of antiquity. 32:27 They're coming, we're gonna talk about them 32:28 on Sunday evening "When Iraq Ruled The World" 32:30 and they are coming to conquer the city. 32:32 Well, we go on with the inscription, 32:35 "And when the tunnel was driven through 32:37 the quarrymen hewed the rock, each man toward his fellow, 32:41 axe against axe and the water flowed 32:43 from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, 32:48 and the height of the rock 32:49 above the heads of the quarrymen 32:50 was 100 cubits." 32:52 Can you imagine it, 1,200 cubits 32:55 that means 1,800 feet they had tunneled under the ground-- 32:58 tunnel from two different directions 33:00 and they-- they met each other, 150 feet under the ground. 33:04 Now the water is ailed to flow safely 33:06 into the city of Jerusalem, 33:07 they close up the entrance to the Gihon Spring, 33:10 and the Assyrians cannot poison their water 33:12 or they cannot enter into the city in that direction. 33:15 Well, the tunnel came out as I said, 33:17 in the pool of Siloam, within the city walls, 33:19 the city would now have a safe 33:20 and secure source of water during siege the same pool 33:24 where Jesus healed the man by telling him 33:25 to go and wash his eyes in the pool, 33:28 and his eyes were healed. 33:29 He was no longer blind. 33:31 Today it's a place where children love to fall, 33:33 they can play on hot summer days. 33:35 Well, I immerged in the tunnel during the visit 33:38 during the intifada there was a lot of excitement, 33:40 as a Palestinian flag had been painted there 33:43 and-- and we had the ushered away very, very rapidly. 33:46 Hezekiah also extended the wall. 33:48 He fortified the cities, he extended the wall 33:51 and on the screen 33:53 you can see a picture of Hezekiah's new wall, 33:56 and he built this wall up to defend the city 34:00 and today has been excavated 34:01 and you can actually see this 34:04 as you go into a place called the Cardo. 34:07 The Cardo was an interesting section 34:09 of the Jewish quarter of the city. 34:11 It has unusual shops 34:13 that are down into the old archeological ruins. 34:17 The wall was eight meters above the street in those days, 34:20 but today its several stories below the modern street. 34:24 Remember what I told you in our presentation 34:27 "Fabulous Tales The Tel Tells" over period of time, 34:29 cities tend to grow vertically 34:32 and you can see this very clearly here. 34:34 Several pits have actually been dug 34:37 that actually show the level of the city 34:39 in the days of Hezekiah. 34:41 Now Jerusalem survived the siege of Sennacherib 34:44 the Assyrian king when the other cities of Judah fell, 34:46 but 100 years later a Babylonian king 34:49 came under the leadership of a guy name Nebuchadnezzar. 34:53 Nebuchadnezzar, now Sunday evening 34:54 we are gonna talk about "When Iraq Ruled The World" 34:56 and how God gave a prophecy to this-- 34:58 this ancient Iraqi king Nebuchadnezzar. 35:01 Well, Nebuchadnezzar besieges the city 35:03 the king surrendered in 605 BC 35:06 and the king took several of the princes of Jerusalem off 35:10 in the captivity in the Babylon, 35:12 including Denial and his three friends. 35:16 And there they were able to witness 35:18 before the king of Babylon in ancient Iraq. 35:22 Now there were several interesting ostracon 35:24 that were discovered in the gate tower 35:26 of the city called Lachish. 35:27 We talked about ostracon when they would write on-- 35:29 on pieces of pottery, you know that. 35:31 And these ostracon were found 35:33 and they said, the signifiers of Hezekiah have seized. 35:39 Now these, the nearest town to us 35:41 they can't signal us anymore 35:42 because the Assyrians have conquered the city 35:45 and they coming after us next. 35:47 And indeed that's what they did, 35:48 they came, they conquered the city of Lachish. 35:50 It fell, it was destroyed, 35:52 it was a terrible, terrible time, 35:54 but they came on and they were not able to conquer Jerusalem. 35:58 The Assyrian king couldn't conquer Jerusalem. 35:59 As a matter of fact, he wrote on his-- 36:02 he wrote on his prism 36:04 that I had Hezekiah the Jew caged like a bird 36:08 in his royal city of Jerusalem. 36:10 But it was sore grapes 36:11 because he couldn't capture the city. 36:14 The city was delivered from his hand. 36:17 Well, there is a-- 36:19 here we can see the old ruins of Mount Ophel 36:22 and the City of David from the time of Jeremiah, 36:24 that had been excavated. 36:25 But I was most fascinated by this, 36:27 because this is-- 36:28 this is the broad wall of Hezekiah 36:32 and they found this ash layer and on the ash layer 36:37 they found these spear heads, can you see them? 36:39 These are Babylonians sphere heads 36:42 expended by Nebuchadnezzar's army 36:44 when he conquered Jerusalem in 605 BC. 36:47 Isn't amazing? 36:49 And so they-- they found these sphere heads 36:51 and it just conforms the story 36:53 that we read about in our Bibles. 36:55 Well, the Persians permitted the Jews to return 36:57 and rebuilt the city, and the temple, 36:59 in 515 the government was restored 37:01 and the walls were rebuilt. 37:03 Alexander the Great was the next ruler 37:05 who came to the area, 37:07 and Alexander the Great was very found of the Jews. 37:09 So matter of fact, 37:10 he the Jewish writings tell us 37:13 that he actually seen a vision of someone 37:16 coming out in white garments 37:17 and the high priest went out to met him 37:18 and went out and according to the story 37:21 actually tells him about Alexander 37:24 being named in prophecy in Daniel Chapter 8 37:27 and I think you're gonna be studying 37:28 about some of those great prophecies 37:29 as this series continues. 37:31 Daniel Chapter 8 and that 37:32 he was identified as a goat there. 37:34 Well, that's was kind of impressive 37:36 because the goat was victorious, 37:37 Alexander became a defender of the Jews 37:39 and then that was great but future kings, 37:41 they were not so kind. 37:43 Some of the kings were really very bad. 37:46 There was a king by the name of Antiochus, 37:48 Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 37:50 and he actually goes in and he takes a pig 37:53 and he scarifies it and puts it on the Jewish altar. 37:55 Well, a pig is unclean to Jews. 37:57 And so this was a major desecration. 38:00 And so they would not be so kind as time would pass. 38:03 Well, the next people who would come and rule 38:05 would be the Romans. 38:07 And the Romans appointed a king 38:10 by the name of Herod to rule over the city in 37 BC. 38:14 He repaired the walls of Jerusalem 38:15 and he adorned the temple 38:19 and he rebuilt the city in classical style. 38:22 The temple was five centuries old 38:24 and so King Herod, he actually restored the temple. 38:28 Now he could not enlarge the temple itself, 38:31 he couldn't make the temple any bigger 38:33 but he could enlarge the plaza on which it stood. 38:36 And King Herod made it 38:38 the largest man made gathering place in the ancient world. 38:41 It was large enough for 10 soccer fields 38:45 with the bleachers to be inside the gates of the temple, 38:48 okay, the temple court. 38:49 It was larger than the esplanade of the plaza 38:52 and on the Acropolis of Athens, 38:54 the largest man made gathering place in the ancient world. 38:57 So Herod does this, he decorates the temple 38:59 with marble and gold and it was a fabulous, fabulous scene. 39:03 Now the Rabbi's didn't like Herod very much. 39:05 He was actually related to Edom and Esau 39:08 and they didn't like that very much 39:09 and they kept saying, you're not a pure blood, 39:11 so you know, he did? 39:12 He burned down the section of the temple 39:14 had all the records in it, and he said now you prove 39:16 your pure blood, all right. 39:17 Okay, so he doesn't like it very much, 39:19 but the Rabbi's actually said, 39:22 "He who has not set eyes upon the structure of Herod 39:25 has not seen a structure of beauty in all of his life." 39:29 Herod couldn't enlarge the temple 39:31 but he could cover with white marble 39:33 and he could put gold on the lintels. 39:36 He could enlarge the platform. 39:37 Yes, it was a fabulous building over 200,000 people 39:40 could congregate inside of the temple courts. 39:44 Well, the Tyropoeon Valley ran beside the temple 39:47 and here is when the Tyropoeon Valley, 39:48 he place these gigantic foundation stones 39:51 over 40 feet long, he made the joints so perfect 39:54 that you didn't have to use mortar between them. 39:57 It was a fabulous building. 39:58 It had eight gates 39:59 that opened to the different points of the compass. 40:02 The Huldah Gate was named after the prophetess Huldah, 40:06 and it fronted down the to the City of David. 40:08 Jesus would have walked up on the stairs 40:11 to go through these gates into the temple 40:13 from the City of David down below. 40:16 Herod expanded the southern realm with-- 40:18 he widened the-- the Royal Porch. 40:20 He put a 162 Corinthian columns there, 40:23 four straightly rows. 40:24 This was the area of the court of the gentiles 40:27 and there was sign it said if you're gentile 40:29 and you pass here and you loose your life, 40:31 we've warned you, don't come here, 40:33 don't come here. 40:35 Well, it was a fabulous city. 40:37 There were two royal stoa as it went across, 40:42 one for priest, one for the royalty of the king 40:45 and led up into the upper city. 40:47 It was fabulous city and we can see the ruins today. 40:51 There were actually three valleys 40:53 that cut through the city of Jerusalem, 40:55 making it on five hills. 40:56 And it's important to understand this, 40:58 there was-- these three hills and... 41:06 and the three valleys 41:07 and here we have a picture 41:08 on the coming on of a burned house. 41:11 What's significant about this picture is 41:13 that in 70 AD the city was destroyed. 41:17 Now we're talking about prophecy here as well, 41:19 and Jesus actually predicted the city will be destroyed. 41:22 Here we see the ruins of a priestly house 41:27 upon top of the hill that was destroyed in 70 AD 41:30 in fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. 41:32 Here we see a Menorah 41:34 and what significant about this Menorah is 41:37 that is different than Menorah 41:38 that Titus put on to his Triumphal Arch in Rome. 41:42 What so special about that? 41:43 Well, this took place 41:45 right before the temple was destroyed, and so many feel 41:48 that this would be much more reflective 41:50 of what the Menorah actually was in 41:51 when the Titus had stylized when he built the-- 41:56 the Triumphal Arch back in Rome. 41:59 Herod also built this building 42:01 this is called the Antonia Fortress. 42:03 He named it after Mark Antony, was right there on the edge, 42:05 like they have soldiers 42:07 because often they were uprisings 42:08 that were taking place in the temple-- temple walls. 42:13 As I said, Jerusalem is built on five hills, 42:15 there are three valleys, 42:17 and here we can see some of the valleys, 42:20 this is actually the Thyropian Valley, 42:22 that right along the edge of the temple 42:24 and came down by the pool of Siloam. 42:26 Out side the city is another very famous valley 42:28 is called the Kidron Valley. 42:30 Kidron valley ran right by the Mount of Olives. 42:32 And then there was another valley 42:33 it's quite important 42:34 it's called the Valley of Hinnom, 42:35 I mention that a minute ago, Gus valley, 42:38 Gehenna is a Valley of Hinnom, all right. 42:41 And remember the Dung gate 42:42 dumped out into the Valley of Hinnom, 42:43 and so that's where they actually burn things 42:46 and so it was a dump in Bible times it actually burned 42:50 and that's where we get the idea of burning Gehenna 42:52 or burning hell, okay. 42:54 And I was quite surprised during the intifada 42:56 because I was there, they were had a rock concert 42:59 about a week before with Bob Dylan there. 43:01 But this particular Sabbath afternoon, 43:03 hell was burning again. 43:05 It was not burning because of the animals, 43:07 it was burning because of tires they been brought there 43:10 during the uprising called the intifada 43:12 by the Palestinians. 43:14 And it reminds us again 43:15 the uneasy peace in this part of the world. 43:18 Well, the Mount Olives is associated with so many stories 43:21 relating to Jesus, so many shrines marking what Jesus did. 43:25 On the top of the hill is a church 43:27 that actually commemorates for Jesus ascended to heaven. 43:30 There is another church that commemorates the-- 43:32 the prayer of Jesus in over 40 different languages, 43:37 the prayer of Jesus. 43:38 My favorite church on the Mount of Olives 43:40 is called Dominus Flevit, the Lord wept. 43:43 It's a Roman Catholic Church 43:45 in its form in the shape of a tear. 43:47 And I love to go there and I love to go and sing hymns, 43:49 it's really wonderful acoustics 43:50 but what so special there is a actually a mosaic 43:54 and I call it the chicken mosaic. 43:56 And the chicken mosaic is special 43:57 because Jesus paused here and He said, "O, Jerusalem, 44:01 Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets 44:03 and stone those sent to you, 44:05 how often I have longed to gather your children together, 44:08 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, 44:11 but you were not willing. 44:14 Look, your house is left on to you desolate." 44:19 Mathew 23:37, 38. 44:22 Jesus stopped on this spot and He is looking across the-- 44:25 the Kidron Valleys, 44:27 He is looking across at the temple 44:28 and He looks across at the temple, 44:30 His disciples gather around and say, "O, Lord 44:32 what a marvelous building our people have built. 44:35 Isn't this marvelous?" 44:36 Look at this." 44:38 And Jesus makes a stunning prophecy, 44:42 a stunning prophecy, 44:43 He said, "You see, all this marvelous buildings, 44:45 I tell you the time is coming when not one stone will be left 44:50 standing upon another." 44:52 The disciples are shocked, how could that be? 44:54 This is a fabulous building, it's well protected. 44:59 Jesus actually predicted the destruction of the temple, 45:02 He said, "And they shall not leave one stone upon another." 45:06 Luke 19:44. 45:08 He then gave them a sign as to when this would happen. 45:11 He said "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, 45:14 you will know that its desolation is near. 45:17 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, 45:20 let those in the city get out, 45:22 and let those in the country not enter the city." 45:26 Jesus predicted the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. 45:30 He gave a sign to His followers. 45:31 He say, "When you see those armies surrounding Jerusalem, 45:33 you know it's time to get out. 45:37 This is what happened historically. 45:39 Revolt broke out against Romans 66 AD, 45:42 when Jewish zealots part of the Sicarii the "dagger-men," 45:46 they ambushed Roman soldiers at Masada. 45:51 Later that year Cestius Callus he came down from Syria 45:55 and he attacked Jerusalem. 45:57 But then for some seemingly unknown reason 45:59 he withdrew his troops. 46:02 Well, the people inside said, God's getting us victory, 46:05 and they went chasing after them, 46:07 but the people who listened to Jesus, 46:09 they didn't go chasing after them 46:11 because Jesus had given a sign. 46:13 When you see the armies surround Jerusalem, 46:16 you know that its destruction is nigh. 46:19 And so when the armies laughed 46:21 and zealots went chasing after them, 46:23 the people, the believers, disciples, 46:27 who believed in the words of Jesus, 46:28 who headed the word of prophecy, 46:30 they left the city and their lives were spared. 46:34 For a year later Titus returned with his legions 46:38 and surrounded the city of Jerusalem, 46:41 and besieged it until it was destroyed 46:46 and fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. 46:49 It was an incredible time, four legions of soldiers, 46:52 they built battering rams and siege engines, 46:54 they pelted the city. 46:57 A breach was made and they caught 46:59 fleeing citizens as they try to go away, 47:02 and Josephus tells us that they actually put people 47:04 on crosses until there were no trees left in the city. 47:08 It was terrible time. 47:11 The city continued to hold out for another five months 47:14 and they made another breach 47:15 and the soldiers had entrance into the city. 47:17 The zealots took refuge in the temple. 47:20 Now its fascinating Titus had given specific instructions 47:23 do not destroy the temple, 47:25 it's a most beautiful building upon the earth, 47:27 don't destroy the temple. 47:30 And yet the zealots went into the temple 47:32 and of course you will see for a prophet when now said, 47:35 God's gonna give us deliverance. 47:37 We'll fight from temple, God is for us 47:39 because we're God special people. 47:41 And so they went to the temple and they began to fight. 47:44 Roman soldiers through a fire brand in to smoke them out, 47:48 they caught the cedars of Lebanon on fire, 47:50 the fire raged, 47:51 the God melted went down between the stones. 47:54 And so after destroying the people 47:58 they took the stones apart, 47:59 one stone after the other that they might recover the gold, 48:03 that it melted, and went down between the stones. 48:06 It was a terrible time 48:08 over a million Jews lost their lives 48:10 according to Josephus. 48:11 The charged temple stones were throne down into the-- 48:14 to the Tyropoeon Valley, 48:15 you can see them today, they been excavated. 48:17 I'm standing beside one you can see how large it is. 48:19 You actually see the fire marks on the stones. 48:22 Josephus says, that the fire was so hot 48:24 there were explosions being heard. 48:25 Well, they didn't have arms like they have today. 48:28 The fire was so hot that the lime stone, 48:30 the water in the lime stone began to expand 48:32 and they cause this terrible cracking sound. 48:34 And then those stones were pushed over 48:36 and as you go there, you can touch them, 48:38 you can see them, 48:39 in fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. 48:42 Only the larger stones of the western wall, 48:44 the retaining wall are still intact today. 48:47 Here Jews have come for centuries 48:49 to mourn the loss of their temple 48:50 as know as the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall. 48:53 It's the holiest spot on the world for Judaism. 48:56 The ravages of the destruction of Jerusalem 48:58 are apparent here at the burnt house, 49:00 recently discovered. 49:01 You can see the ash layers there on the ground, 49:04 you can see where things actually fell in 70 AD 49:07 in fulfillment of Jesus prophecy. 49:09 They found bodies there in position showing that 49:11 they were trying to get out through the sewers. 49:13 It was a tremendous-- 49:15 tremendous destruction that took place. 49:18 It was a great victory for Titus. 49:20 Titus came back 49:21 and he commemorated this victory 49:24 by building the Triumphal Arch, here in the city of Rome. 49:27 What's fascinating about this arch is, 49:29 that you can see that he is coming back, 49:31 he had captives in his-- 49:32 in his train to use a biblical term 49:34 and you can see the articles of furniture from the temple. 49:38 There you can see the Jewish Menorah, 49:39 you can see some of the-- 49:41 the other articles that he took back to Rome. 49:43 Titus took this booty back to Rome 49:45 and he used it to build a large building 49:49 called the Colosseum. 49:51 The Colosseum and it was called the Colosseum 49:54 because it was built down by a colossal statue of Nero, 49:58 one of the former rulers. 49:59 And so it was the Jewish booty 50:00 that actually financed the building of the Colosseum 50:03 there in Rome. 50:05 Well, 62 years later the last Jewish revolt 50:08 took place under the leadership of Simon Bar Kokhba. 50:11 He was proclaimed messiah by a man, 50:16 a Rabbi named Rabbi Akiva, 50:18 that wasn't unusual that Rabbi Akiva. 50:20 He was the Rabbi who transitioned temple Judaism 50:23 to modern Judaism. 50:25 He's a leading man of the day 50:27 and he comes to this man Simon Bar Kosaba 50:30 and he renames in Simon Bar Kokhba, 50:32 Bar is son of and Kokhba is star. 50:37 Simon the Son of a Star. 50:38 Do you remember that prophecy about the star? 50:40 Star-- Balaam said, shall rise, 50:43 okay, and so he names him messiah. 50:47 This messiah leads the people in Jerusalem 50:50 to another revolt. 50:51 He leads to another Jewish war. 50:53 They take up arms, 50:54 and they chase the Romans out of the city. 50:56 As a matter of fact they, they make coins 50:59 and these coins are stamped 51:00 with the words "Freedom of Israel" 51:03 and indeed they run the people out of the city for three years 51:09 then Hadrian returns. 51:11 Hadrian comes down with the vengeance. 51:14 He comes down and he sacks the city of Jerusalem. 51:17 He raises the city, he scrims it flat to the rocks. 51:20 So when walking the old city of Jerusalem, 51:22 when you walk on those old cobblestone streets, 51:24 they don't go back at the time of Jesus, 51:26 they go back to the time of Hadrian in the second century. 51:29 He built a new city called the Aelia Capitolina, 51:31 the new capital of Rome. 51:32 It was built on prudential Roman style. 51:35 What's fascinating is, he made a decree for bidding Jews 51:41 to come within 50 miles of Jerusalem. 51:44 Now at this time 51:45 Christians were considered a sect of the Jews, 51:48 at least in the western part-- the eastern part of the empire. 51:53 In Palestine they considered the sect of the Jews, 51:55 so that meant that 51:56 Christians couldn't go to the city of Jerusalem. 51:59 So the Christians in Rome and in Alexandria, 52:01 they began to try and distinguish themselves 52:04 from Jews so they could go back to Jerusalem 52:06 and not be punished with Jews. 52:09 And this lead to some very interesting things 52:11 that would later impact Christian teachings 52:14 and Christian doctrines in years to come 52:17 because of the anti-Semitism that went back to that point. 52:21 Well, Bar Kokhba 52:24 lead this rebellion Hadrian came through, 52:27 he destroyed the city, he annihilated the population, 52:30 Jerusalem was turn into a heathen city, 52:32 Jews were barred from it. 52:34 Hadrian built a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount, 52:42 and he went to the place for the Christians 52:43 honored the crucifixion, resurrection of Jesus 52:45 and he built the temple to Venus there. 52:48 A temple to Venus there. 52:49 Well, Rome was not very kind, 52:54 but what a contrast we have between Jesus and Bar Kokhba. 52:59 Bar Kokhba died with the sword in his hand, 53:02 Jesus died saying, "My kingdom is not of this world." 53:07 What a contrast, what an ending for the two people. 53:14 Two hundred years later, 53:17 after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine 53:19 to Christianity. 53:21 His mother Helena would go to this part of the world 53:23 and she searched out the different holy spots, 53:26 and she came and she asked the Christians 53:29 where was Jesus crucified and buried? 53:32 And they took her to the place where the temple of Venus was, 53:36 where Hadrian had desecrated the site 200 years earlier. 53:39 And that's where she built the church 53:41 for the Holy Sepulchre over that ancient place. 53:44 So most likely this would the place 53:47 where Jesus was actually crucified 53:50 and rose from the dead. 53:52 This would be the place. 53:53 Well, beginning of the seventh century, 53:55 there is a Persians sweeping through, 53:57 they destroy Christians through the whole area. 54:00 They butchered Christians, they sell them in slavery, 54:02 it was a terrible time. 54:03 The Byzantine Emperor and Constantine 54:05 he liberates the city 15 years later in 629 that eight years 54:08 after that the whole dynamic changes. 54:12 A Muslim army stands at the gates of Jerusalem, 54:16 and they initiate what's they called a Jihad, right. 54:19 A Jihad and so we see that 54:21 there something new is going back and forth 54:23 between Christians and Muslims, back and forth 54:26 and it would burn for centuries. 54:28 According to Islamic legend Muhammad 54:30 came to the city in the night and the night vision 54:32 and he stop there at the city of Jerusalem, 54:34 and he went to Bethlehem and Mount Sinai 54:36 and they believe that 54:37 the Arc Angel Gabriel took him to heaven 54:39 and that became the holy site in the world for Muslims 54:41 and today it's a third holy site after Mecca and Medina. 54:44 And they built that dome of the rock 54:46 over the-- the site to commemorate 54:49 that is not a mask, it's a shrine, 54:51 it's a axioms just down from that. 54:55 Crusades went back and forth 54:56 between Jerusalem going back and forth 54:58 between Christians and Jews for many centuries. 55:01 Finally the Ottoman's took it in 1517 55:04 Suleiman the Magnificent built the modern temple, 55:07 the modern walls of the city in the 16th century 55:10 and then the British conquered the city during World War I. 55:14 Today, it is called Al-Quds the holy one by the Arabs. 55:18 They believe their prophet 55:19 ascended to heaven from the rock. 55:21 Believed to be it's Salmon's temple, 55:23 and about a mile for a third of a mile 55:26 from the dome of the rock where Jesus is said 55:28 to have been crucified and rose from the dead. 55:31 So Jerusalem is sacred to Jews and is sacred to Christians, 55:34 and it sacred to Muslims. 55:36 For centuries Jews have come here, 55:37 for centuries Christians have come here, 55:40 it's the holiest place in-- in the world for Christians 55:42 and of course, is a place where Muslims also come 55:46 to remember Muhammad and his ascent into heaven. 55:50 It's an interesting place for Christians 55:52 because here Jesus taught in the temple, 55:54 this is where Jesus died. 55:56 According to traditions Jesus was crucified here 55:58 and it's marked and the second century chapel, 56:02 that we see on screen. 56:04 It was noted for His burial here. 56:05 And here is where He came back to life. 56:07 Now I like to go out and remember the story of Jesus 56:10 at the Garden Tomb because this is much easier for me 56:13 to imagine as a God that preferred that spot, 56:16 I prefer that spot, all you can kind of see the... 56:21 the skull on top of the hill, 56:24 you can see the little eyes sockets in the skull 56:26 and it's a very moving place. 56:30 But ultimately it doesn't matter 56:31 whether it was the Garden Tomb 56:33 or the Tomb of the Holy Sepulcher 56:35 because the important thing is Jesus is not in any tomb. 56:40 Jesus rose from the dead, and the tomb is empty 56:44 and that's the most important thing of all for us, isn't it? 56:47 And that's what the whole Christian faith is about. 56:50 Well, let's pray together. 56:51 "Father in heaven, thank You for a few moments 56:54 that we have tonight to travel back in time 56:56 to visit the city of Jerusalem, to see these incredible sites. 57:00 And Lord, I thank You that it is true. 57:03 You are not in any tomb tonight, 57:05 that there is no shrine, no muslin marking Your grave, 57:08 for You have risen from the dead. |
Revised 2015-05-14