Help support our friends in Israel in their time of need.
Israel In-Depth Study Tour
February 16-28, 2018
Subscription options are no longer available for this tour.
Jerusalem Has A Lot Going On
In the words of an exclamatory Yehuda, “Wow wow wee wah!” It’s been a day. Lot’s of sight-seeing, lots of history, lots to take in. While we saw an abundance of Jerusalem (by the end of the day, I think everyone was happy to come back to the hotel and let their feet take a rest) we really only read the preface/introduction/dedication page/front cover/back cover/basically any part of the book that is only a tiny fraction of the entire piece/ of Jerusalem’s story.
Maybe this is just me, but before I visited Israel - Jerusalem just seemed like an important Jewish city. I knew Jesus had spent a lot of time there. I knew the borders of the territory were a point of contention (to say the least) but I had no idea how incredibly important and complicated this city is to the entire world. Not just to Israel. Not just to the Middle East. Not just to history. Not just to politics. Not just to Jews. Not just to Christians. Not just to Muslims. But the entire world.
I’m not sure if there is another city out there that compares. Jerusalem has the Western Wall and the Temple ruins for Jews. The Dome of the Rock and other mosques for Muslims. Several churches for Catholics, Orthodox, etc. All of this within basically a two mile radius of each other. Jerusalem was controlled by David, Solomon, and other Israeli kings. It was conquered by the Romans. It was controlled by the Byzantine Empire, the Muslims, and even the Mamelukes. Today, people from all over the world flock to Jerusalem to experience their religions and exercise their faiths. As a Christian, it was crazy to see Christians, Muslims and Jews so close to each other physically, yet so far away spiritually.
We began the day at the Temple Mount on Mount Moriah. The temple was incredibly important to Jews from the time of Solomon to basically when Jerusalem fell to the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Think about the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy of Holies, the time Jesus flipped the tables (you go Jesus), the veil being torn. This all happened at the Temple. Interestingly, today we saw the location that was once the Temple - was now covered by the Dome of the Rock - the 2nd most important Muslim mosque in the world (street credz to Nayshun for knowing that).
It wouldn’t be a day in Israel without a look at a couple arches and a visit to some sort of underground tunnel system that (fingers crossed) is located near a cistern, or waterway or aqueduct. We visited both Hezekiah’s tunnel and the Rabbinic tunnels. Did not see any teenage mutant ninja turtles down there, thank goodness.
Rabbinic Tunnels
The tour of the western wall tunnels is one of the most popular tourist sites in Jerusalem. These underground tunnels connect the western wall prayer area to the north-west side of the temple mount, passing along the side of the temple mount and under the present day houses in the Old City. Along its path are remains from the second temple period, as well as structures from later periods.
We also got to see ruins of the City of David. Ya’ll are probably a lot smarter than me and realized wayyyyyyyy before now that the City of David was actually the zip code for King David’s official crib (I’m sorry my writing is started to sound like an old woman trying to stay relevant and get a job working for MTV). Here archeologists discovered ancient seals and other artifacts from the time of David and beyond. Like Yehuda said, if excavations and discoveries of seals and other artifacts affirm the stories of the Bible - then the Bible must be true.
Terry brought this whole trip together on the Southern Steps of the Temple. The Southern Steps were along the route of the pilgrimage of Jews who lived outside of Jerusalem but wanted to visit the Temple to renew and reinvigorate their faith. Terry asked us how we planned to go back to our real lives with the renewed and reinvigorated faith brought about from this wonderful trip.
Southern Steps
An enormous flight of steps leads to the Southern Wall from the south. They were excavated after 1967 by archaeologist Benjamin Mazar and are the northernmost extension of the Jerusalem pilgrim road leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount via the Double Gate and the Triple Gate, collectively called the Huldah Gates. These are the steps that Jesus of Nazareth[2][3] and other Jews of his era walked up to approach the Temple, especially on the great pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. [2] The stairs that lead to the double gate are intact and "well-preserved."[4] The steps that lead to the triple gate were mostly destroyed.[4] / The risers are low, a mere 7 to 10 inches high, and each step is 12 to 35 inches deep, forcing the ascending pilgrims to walk with a stately, deliberate tread.[2] The pilgrims entered the temple precincts through the double and triple gates still visible in the Southern Wall.[5][2] Together, the double and triple gates are known as the Hulda Gates, after the prophetess Huldah.[2]
Later today we visited the Pool of Siloam and Pool of Bethsaeda. We also visited St. Anne’s Church and did a VIRTUAL REALITY tour of the Jewish temple. Jerusalem may have been around in 900 BC, but it is currently living in 3018 with this type of technology. Finally, we ended the day with a visit to the Western Wall and a tour through the Old City of Jerusalem.
Upcoming Signature Tours
With 30 years of experience creating trips for other ministries, we've prepared our own signature study tours featuring some of our favorite itineraries and compelling teachers! If you've never been on a GTI Study Tour, take a moment to learn more about what you can expect.