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THE HOLY CITY,
Jerusalem
The Eastern Gate
was later walled up by a Muslim ruler who thought he could thereby prevent the return of the Messiah. But it holds an amazing parallel with the Garden of Eden, whose eastern entrance was also closed off. The most straightforward path into Yahweh's presence (symbolized by the Temple) is closed because of sin. Pilgrims had to go the much longer way around to the Southern Steps (pictured below at left).
The ancient Temple Mount:
The eastern gate (at lower left) led directly into the sanctuary through a series of gates and courtyards.
An overview of the city from above as it was in Yahshua's day
The Temple complex is the large white rectangle. South of there is the original city of David. Westward expansion came next, then northward to its zenith right before the Romans destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70
Below left: View from the western side of the city, where most of the priests lived. The Southern Steps are at middle right. The set of gates above them on the right were where the triple gates shown above are now. The site of one of the two gates at the left is exposed now (see below), the other being covered by a later structure.
The Western (Wailing) Wall (below)
The wall at left is where the bridge from the priestly quarter used to cross the Tyropean Valley to the Temple Mount. (Yes, this is the site host and family in the foreground!)
The Western Wall is now an outdoor synagogue,the closest "house of prayer" to where the Holy of Holies once sat--and will again sit. The Dome of the Rock now occupies the site, keeping people from walking thoughtlessly over it until the Temple is rebuilt.
The Pool of Shiloakh (also at lower left on City of David photo) is known as Siloam in Greek, the name means "sent". It was originally built by King Hezekiah to provide an internal water source during a siege by the Assyrians. Y'shua SENT a blind man there to wash the mud off his eyes, and he was healed. These ancient steps into the pool which was once much larger were only recently uncovered by archaeologists.
Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Romans cut them all down, but new shoots sprang up from the roots! So these are some of the same trees that stood here when Y'shua was arrested here.
Plaza at the Damascus Gate,
the closest gate to Golgotha.
The reason the Romans chose this place to crucify Y'shua is because of the large volume of traffic here.
Crucifixion in well-traveled places was an effective deterrent to crime.
The citadel at the site of Herod's palace
"If I forget you, O Yerushalayim,
may my right hand forget [its skill]!"
(Psalm 137:5)
Remnant of one of the ancient arched stairways to the Temple Mount (left)
