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Lay it to Heart

Jerusalem's Historical Sites

Scholars will tell you that all that remains today of the second temple in Jerusalem is the western wall of the temple court at the time of Jesus. Actually, the Western Wall or Wailing Wall that is found today was built after the destruction of Jerusalem. It is not really the "Western Wall". Other traditional historical sites such as the upper room, eastern gate, and Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem are incorrect. Even the "old city" is not the Jerusalem from Jesus' day. They were rebuilt after the destruction of Jerusalem. The problem start with readers limiting their research in scripture to Matthew 24:1-2; "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Scholars stop there and assume that other parts of the city remained. Another passage, however, is more specific and gives us a much better idea of what actually happened. In Luke 19:37, Jesus was at the Mount of Olives. In verse 41, he beheld the city of Jerusalem and wept over it. Then he said:

Luke 19:
42	Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43	For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44	And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Jesus was talking about Jerusalem. If the name of Jerusalem is substituted for the pronouns it would read:

Luke 19:
42	Saying, If Jerusalem hadst known, even Jerusalem, at least in this Jerusalem's day, the things which belong unto Jerusalem's peace! but now they are hid from Jerusalem's eyes.
43	For the days shall come upon Jerusalem, that Jerusalem's enemies shall cast a trench about Jerusalem, and compass Jerusalem round, and keep Jerusalem in on every side,
44	And shall lay Jerusalem even with the ground, and Jerusalem's children within Jerusalem; and they shall not leave in Jerusalem one stone upon another; because Jerusalem knewest not the time of Jerusalem's visitation.

The Western Wall

The temple was part of Jerusalem. It was not outside the city. The Bible tells us:

1 Chronicles 6:10 And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)
Ezra 5:14 And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;
Ezra 5:15 And said unto him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in his place.
Ezra 6:5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.
Psalm 68:29 Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee.
Daniel 5:2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
Daniel 5:3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
Mark 11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
Mark 11:15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
Mark 11:27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
Luke 4:9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
Acts 22:17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;

If Jerusalem was laid even with the ground and not one stone was left upon another, the wall that is at the temple mount today was not a part of Jerusalem in Jesus' day.

Picture of the western wall with stones still in place

The Upper Room

Jesus celebrated the passover the night before he was crucified. Now called the Lord's supper, this was held in a location often called the upper room.

7	Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
8	And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
9	And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
10	And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
11	And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
12	And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

Jerusalem tour guides have shown people upper rooms in the city and said it was the place where Jesus and his apostles held the last supper. However, because the upper room was in Jerusalem, we know that it was destroyed when the Romans ruined city. Any location you are shown today is a fake.

The Other Upper Room

Yes, there was another upper room in Jerusalem. It was where the apostles waited for the Holy Spirit of God to come. Acts 1:12-13 says, Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. Jerusalem tour guides have shown this room to people as well, but the like the location of the last supper it was destroyed long ago.

The Eastern Gate

Ezekiel 44:1-4 says, "Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face." Tourists to the city visit what the guides tell them is this gate and are told nobody has entered into it. It is shut and waiting for the Messiah to enter. What they won't tell you is that Ezekiel 44 refers to the second temple not the third temple. See The Third Temple. As part of the second temple it was completely decimated during the days of Emperor Vespasian reigned. Read more on Vespasian. This is another location where scholars, pastors and tour guides are passing ignorance along to the masses.

Via Dolorosa and The Old City

Via Dolorosa is thought to be the street or path Jesus walked on his way to die on the cross for our sins. To read more see Via Dolorosa. It was part of the Old City of Jerusalem which means it was completely destroyed. The buildings along the route may be very old but they are not the ones Jesus walked by.