Wed, Nov 10

We had such an amazing walk this morning. I love the Old City early in the morning, it's quiet, we have it all to ourselves just about. We walked through the Armenian Quarter with the western city wall on our right.

Then went into the Jewish Quarter.

Brian helped me find the Rothschild's house in the Old City. It seems to be a school now. They are a noble family of German Jewish roots. It has the largest private fortune in the world. The origins of this family is so interesting. The name is pronounced "Rote-shillt" in German." Mayer Amschel Rothschild was born in 1744 in Frankfort and developed an international financial empire. They were major financial backers, instrumental in purchasing land from the Ottoman Turks, and influential in the establishment of Israel.

Highlander Ron all ready to play Amazing Grace on his bagpipes later today! He is wearing the kilt of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1793. The last time the Highland Battalion fought in the kilt was at La Bassee during WWII. Equipped with just three Hotchkiss guns, the Highlanders knocked out 21 German tanks during the Battle of Dunkirk.

Some believe this may be Caiaphas' house. It's an Armenian church built over ruins.

Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin which had assembled at Caiaphas, the High Priest's, house. Caiaphas was married to Annas' daughter. On the slope of Mt. Zion is the St. Peter in Gallicantu (Cock crows) church. It is possible this could be Caiaphas' house, with a church built over it. The ancient foundation of the house had a foundation of 6,500 sq ft. It would have been a living quarters as well as a seat of governance.

There is a cistern under the house as well as holding cells. A prisoner was often detained by tying a rope around his chest and lowering him into a pit or cistern. Psalm 88:6 "You have laid Me in the lowest pit, in darkness in the depths."

Possibly the courtyard where Peter waited.

The steps that would have lead from the garden of Gethsemane to Caiaphas' house. Jesus would have been led up these steps.

Jaffa Gate.

I totally missed the picture but this guy was walking though the Old City carrying a huge tray of bread on his head with no hands.

We visited Messianic Christ Church. There is a guest house, school, and church forming this beautiful court yard. I caould have stayed here all day. It was so peaceful. Christ Church is the oldest Protestant Church in the Middle East.

We have an understanding that you don't get something unless you work for it. Man's religion-trying to earn righteousness by works or self-depreciation is Satan's best trick. Jesus died on the cross to set us free from all of that, if we can earn it on our own then why did Jesus die? It's a free gift-believe Jesus did it for you. Accept the gift of the Holy Spirit by just believing.

This window is beautiful, one side is the cross and the other is the menorah.

The Knights Hospitaller or Order of St. John arose around the work of a hospital located at the Muristan site in Jesusalem founded about 1023 to provide care for poor, sick, or injured pilfrims to the Holy Land. After the Western Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade they became a religious and military order. They wore a red surcoat with a white cross. After the Muslim conquest, they relocated to Cyprus, Rhodes, and Malta.

This is the outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was mobbed.

I love the arches in the middle of walls.

This thing they claim the has the tomb of Christ in it. It is FULL of icons.

Each section blongs to a different denomination. The place is huge. Inside they claim the tomb of Christ, the Prision of Christ, the Crucifixion of Christ, Stone of Anointing, the Angel's Stone, the rock of Gogotha-in a box, the burial place of Adam, the center of the world...

These steps lead down to...and I am not making this up...the Roman Catholic "Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross" believed to be the place where the True Cross was found.

Rock in a box,

a different rock in a box,

Okay, this is really creepy...this, they claim is the stone of anointing-where Jesus' body was prepared for burial. However this tradition started during the crusader era and the stone was put here in 1810. Hello! These people are so deluded-this rock has no power, it won't do anything for them...except give herpes maybe. It's not holy!

Sorry these pictures are so blurry, this was the coolest display of pamegranates and oranges.

I am on the roof of the Hospice of the Holy Family. It is an Austrian guesthouse and cafe with a great view.

The Ishmaelites are mentioned as a distinct tribe in the Assyrian records. They later intermarried with the Midianites (descendants of Abraham with his second wife Keturah). The descendants if Ishmael were scattered in Northern Arabia from the wilderness of Shur to the ancient city of Havilah. There is no historical or archaeological evidence that Ishmael went south to mecca and became the Father of the Arab race. Arabia was populated by the descendants of Cush and Shem long before Abraham or Ishmael were born. Their cities and temples have been documented by archaeologists. The Arab people existed before, during, and after Ishmael.

More pictures from the souk.

Olives,

making olvie oil,

pomegranate juice,

Arabs playing backgammon,

Ron playing his bagpipes for everyone at lunch,

Inside of the Austrian Hospice,

pictures from the roof-in the Arab Quarter,

the front, the Austrian Hospice is Catholic and they employ Arabs,

right across the street, we got to hear the call to prayer come from here, I was sort of spying on the men inside and not got down to pray...rarely did we see anyone praying during or after the call to prayer.

people watching,

shops,

leaving the Damascus Gate,

outside the gate-very busy place.

Here we are at a more likely place that was the burial and site of crucifixion of Jesus. We walked here, it's outside the city walls, in east Jerusalem. The location would have made executions here highly visible to people using the main road leading north from the city.

Jacob taught on Corporate Solidarity. It is a Hebrew term where one person is a picture of a larger group. Barabas, zealot used a political agenda in the name of religion to carry out crimes, a terrorist. Jesus says, "take Me, let them go." "Let the sinner go-take Me." Simon of Cyrene coming from the country for Passover, pick up our cross and walk after Jesus. The two criminals who were on either side of Jesus-we deserve to die, we are criminals, are we the good criminal or the bad criminal? Both wanted to be saved-one physically and one wanted his soul saved. All other religions want us to trust in this life someway, "I'm here to make a difference in the world." This life is just but a whisper. The apostles kept falling asleep, we don't stay cognizant as we should, we get caught up in life, Jesus is with us but our heads are elsewhere.

God is above time, He is eternal. God set the process going and He keeps it going. Much like a watch maker-He created the world and set time in motion, He winds the clocks and can interfere in it and control it but is not part of. God doesn't think in terms of chronology, not a point on a calendar but rather it is the moral conditions become such that causes God to act. Genesis 5:16 "For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." "Until the time of the gentiles be fulfilled," "the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world and then shall come to the end." The moral state and condition of the world is more important than any particular date. We are not waiting for Jesus to return, He is waiting for us to be ready.

Possibly Golgotha

possible quarry,

several tombs near by, this one has a groove in the front for a rock to roll in.

This tree is so wild, I walked around it and examined the two branches that stick straight out like a cross-they were not grafted on, they are both dead but the tree is a live.