2 Chronicles 6:5-7 - 'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel..."
The Temple Mount
In Abraham's time, this was Mount Moriah where Abraham went to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God provided a substitute for Isaac. This is also the same mountain that King David purchased to build the Temple, where people would make sacrifices for the remission of sins. King David's son,Solomon, built the Temple and the ark of the covenant was placed there. Only the High Priest could enter this place called the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God resided. The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer in 586 BC and it was rebuilt by Herod and then destroyed by the Romans. I've heard it said that this place has been destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. The Dome of the Rock is currently on its summit, a Muslim shrine.
God's provision for a substitute to Isaac for Abraham is like a foreshadowing of God's provision of Jesus to die a substitutionary death for us who are followers of Christ. God provided his own Son, Jesus, for the remission of our sin, and the sins of the whole world. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God and when He died on the cross, the veil to the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom, signifying the believers' full access to the Most High God was made possible. Jesus said that He was the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Him. After Jesus suffered, died, and was buried, He rose from the dead. He conquered death and sin once and for all and gives everyone hope of eternal life for those who believe. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to take away their sin may be forgiven and be given a new life. The Spirit of the Living God indwells the believer, and the believer then becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. A follower of Christ no longer needs to take an unblemished lamb to the Temple and sacrifice it for the remission of sin because the wonderful grace of God made His only Son to be sin for them and take the punishment of sin away forever. Salvation then, is a precious gift, offered by the Most High God; one cannot earn it. Jesus made access to God possible and a relaionship may grow through the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Garden Tomb, which lies outside of the walls of the Old City is close to the
Damascus Gate. It is the one of two locations where the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus may have occurred. The other location option is at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The sign at the Garden Tomb's door, says it all: "He is not here. He is risen."Gethsemane - the Garden of Olives, where Jesus prayed to the Father, "Not my will, but yours be done."
Golgotha - the Place of Skulls
The Western Wall
If walls could speak, the Western Wall would reveal how it survived the Roman destruction. It is the only fragment of the Great Temple. It would reveal the verbal and written prayers and longings of its visitors from all over the world, and would tell of the war, peace and revival of the Jewish people. Only 180 feet of the 1,600 feet of the Western Wall can be seen on the plaza. The Western Wall tunnels lie to the left of the prayer wall.
As Psalm 122:6 says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love her prosper!"
