Israel Study Tour - The Church At Rocky Peak

May 5-16, 2014

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Beginnings, Endings and a New Reality.

Ready for your final Israel blog entry? This one is a “double stuff” post because we’ll be covering our final two days.

The last 48 hours have been an incredible whirlwind as we’ve walked through much of the life of Jesus. We went into Palestine to Bethlehem where we saw the Shepherd’s Fields and the Church of the Nativity, which is likely the birth site of Christ. Amazing to think that the Son of God broke into our time and space as a baby in a manger isn’t it?

Then, after an Indiana Jones like adventure wading through knee high water in Hezekiah’s tunnel, we entered the city of Jerusalem. On The 14th we were given the opportunity to pray at the Western Wall as well as take an underground tour, which follows the path of the entire west wall where we saw pillars and stones which remain from the temple of Jesus time.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

A 1750-foot (530m) tunnel carved during the reign of Hezekiah to bring water from one side of the city to the other, Hezekiah’s Tunnel together with the 6th c. tunnel of Euphalios in Greece are considered the greatest works of water engineering technology in the pre-Classical period. Had it followed a straight line, the length would have been 1070 ft (335m) or 40% shorter.

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We started the 15th praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (after a brief trek from the Mount of Olives) and then we literally walked the length of old Jerusalem. We visited each of the quarters. Experienced the Church of the Sepulcher, which is believed to be the site of Golgotha where Jesus was crucified, and after a long walk along the city wall ramparts (not an easy task by the way), we ended our time in Jerusalem at the southern steps that once led up to the temple. These are the steps where it’s believed the Holy Spirit descended on the crowd in Acts while Peter was sharing the Gospel.

Mount of Olives

Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem’s landscape. From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.

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Tired just reading about all this huh? Imagine how we feel! :-D Still, it’s been an amazing journey. Not just because of all the sites, but because we kept turning to Scripture to constantly see how all of this is a reminder that the presence of God is here and we are now the temple in which God resides.

As we prepare to head home, we’re reflecting on the fact that while here we walked in the literal footsteps of Jesus, but we don’t stop doing so because we’re back in California. We are his living Temple now. He lives within us. And because of that, we are always walking in the footsteps of our Lord.

Thank you for following along with us. What you read each day was simple a glimpse into what we experience. I’d highly recommend you reach out to someone on this trip and ask them to share their personal experience with you.

California, here we come!

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