Mt. Carmel Moments: Oh Jerusalem!

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."
Luke 19:41,42

The Old City Wall and the Eastern or Golden Gate.
This is the oldest of the gates in the Old City walls.
It is the gate through which the Messiah is supposed
to return. While it may have been for defensive
reasons,it is said that the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman
sealed the gate in order to prevent His return.

Dominus Flevit - "The Lord Wept"

The window from Dominus Flevit
looks directly at the Temple Mount
where the Dome of the Rock now stands.

There is a church on the Mt. of Olives called Dominus Flevit meaning "The Lord Wept". It is tiny but picturesque. Built in the shape of the teardrop, from it there
is a magnificent view down the Mount of Olives, of the Old City and the Temple Mount. If that is truly where Jesus stood as He lamented over Jerusalem, we would likely hear the same words echoing from there today, were He standing in that place. Jerusalem is a city of many faces. Its history has been turbulent and continues to be so to this day.

The Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene

It is a city like no other - one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem has been totally destroyed two times, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times and captured and recaptured 44 times. The Israeli period of Jerusalem began in 1000 B.C. when David captured the city from the Jebusites (I Chronicles 11:4-9). Today, though again a part of Israel, it is still a city of division - East and West, Jew, Muslim and Christian. This will likely continue to be so until one day our Savior's feet again touch the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-4) and He comes to reign in the The New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-3). I know that there is much disagreement over this part of the Bible, so let me end my comments with that and show you a little of this fascinating and turbulent city beginning with a trip down the Mount of Olives and looking at the Eastern or Golden Gate.

A beautiful set of steps ascend to the
Church of Maria Magdalene

The Mount of Olives is one of three peaks of a mountain ridge that sits in the east side of Jerusalem and is separated from the Old City by the Kidron Valley. From Biblical times, many Jews have been buried there and it is the site of at least 150,000 graves including those of such Biblical figures as Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi and Absalom. Today, the eastern side is the beginning of the Judean desert and the the western side is the the site of the Arab village of Silwan. It sits 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount, giving a panoramic view of that area of Jerusalem and the Old City.

The Church of All Nations

As one travels down the Mount of Olives, there are three beautiful churches dotting the mountainside. The first is the tiny Dominus Flevit, then the beautiful Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene, and then the Church of All Nations which is surrounded by the traditional site of the Garden of Gethsemane, a site that Jesus and his disciples often visited and where Jesus is believed to have agonized on the night of his betrayal, knowing that He faced the cross. All of the churches on the Mt. of Olives are relatively new, being built between 1888 and 1955, but provide a beautiful view from which to see the city and contemplate the events of Jesus' final days. The Garden of Gethsemane is said to contain some of the oldest olive trees in the world, with some believed to be between one and two thousand years old. Though not nearly as deep as it would have been at the time of Jesus, the Kidron valley is still a passageway from the Old City to the Mount just as it would have been at the time of Jesus and is a fascinating place to view.

One of the Very Old Olive Trees in the GardenSo we will enter Jerusalem from the back, down the Mount of Olives, just as Jesus would have as he entered that final week of His life. There is much to see in the city that caused the Lord to weep.

So we will enter Jerusalem through the back down the Mount of Olives, as Jesus did on Palm Sunday. There are many interesting sights yet to see there.