Blessed

The land is truly truly blessed. God really does keep His Promise, the Covenant He made with Abraham

Day 4: Sunday- Part 3

Dead Sea!!!
la~la~la\

so beautiful ya?

Burger King!!!!

Another promise land. can see but cannot go.

lol. not from me. was from one of the members of the group.

But, lol. it was the funniest statement. lol

where we stayed

 

kekeke. no naked ladies.

hy my pw wp, remember in redang we kept taking pics of erm…..the ladies?

lol. here cannot le :p

Don’t have any pictures of myself floating. WHy? cos i was floating in the water ma. where can hold the camera? =.=

Day 4: Sunday- Part 2

Travel to the Dead Sea

 

 

Squint your eyes and you can see like a row of buildings over yonder.

Its Jericho. Its now under Palestine.

wow! A CAMEL!!!

WOW!!!

0.0

kekeke. okla. No big deal la see camel. Go google image can see more ler…. =.=

wow! another camel! at a petrol station! 0.0

XP

Secret of Qumran

-The Dead Sea Scrolls

Scrolls that were found in 1947 that proved the existence of the writing of prophets like Isaiah, Nehemiah and the rest. The scrolls were dated to be very VERY old. SOme were before or during Jesus’ time.

Scrolls were written on leather like:

and kept in jars like this:

Scrolls were hidden in caves

The only scroll not found is the book of Esther. But they’re certain they’ll find it soon cos they found the rest of the scrolls. Psalms, Proverbs, Nehemiah, and the rest. But there’re 2000+ caves around so….

I think the first scroll was found in the cave on the lift. squint squint abit where the black spot is.

 

What’s the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Well, for years people have been saying, what if the Bible is NOT true? What if they’re just stories someone made up and people later on took it to be true (kinda like grimm brother fairytales)?

I’ve often been asked… How do you know the Bible is true? What proof do you have? People could just make up the stories inside it….

So when the Scrolls were found, it was like HALLELUJAH!

now no one can doubt the Bible anymore.

Why? the Bible is the translation of the scrolls. And the scrolls were dated way way way WAY back a long time ago.

Even BEFORE Jesus’ time.

So you see, the Scrolls are the proof the the Bible is the true word of God.

They are also proof that Jesus is not just a figure of imagination.

Jesus really came down to earth. Because some scrolls mentioned Him and the miracles He had done and His crucifixion and everything.

But I still don’t really understand why Jews believe that He is the Lord and Savior.

Because, it was mentioned by the prophets (Ezekiel, Nehemiah) that the Messiah would enter the Golden Gate (Eastern Gate)

and Jesus really did enter into Jerusalem through that gate sitting on a donkey. Maybe that’s why the Jews refused to believe He was the Messiah. I mean, if me also, I would’ve expected something grand. Cos God has always done something grand. Like using a stone to kill a giant, water coming out of rocks, killing pharoah’s army, parting the red sea. We like to see grand miracles. Like really mind-blowing ones. So for Jesus to enter on a donkey, like a bit anti-climax. >< But then, you can never guess how God works. He works in ways you and I cannot fathom

And not long after the death of Christ (and resurrection), the gate was shut. As in sealed up in the 16th century by the Ottomans. Which is as Ezekiel predicted. He said after the Messiah has entered, the gates will be shut. (Ezekiel 44:1-2)

The Ottoman sealed it up because they did not want the Jewish Messiah to come in. and they build a cemetery on it cos they say the Messiah will pantang to go through it (cos death surrounding it). But then again…. as if sealing up and doing a cemetery can block God =.=

Day 4: Sunday- part 1

Last Supper Room

Where Jesus and His disciples had their last supper together before He was crucified.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-last-supper-room.htm

Underneath the Last Supper Room is the

Tomb of King David

But I’m not very sure its the exact place King David was buried though.

The Tomb is divided into two.

Men and Women section.

There’s a partition on the right.

Guys have to wear an head covering called Kippah

Other places, only Jew men wear those. But in this tomb, all men have to wear it.

Why do Jew men wear this?

To remind them that there is a separation between them and God.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarmulke

On top of the tomb, inside the bird cage thingy is the Torah, holy sacred writings in Judaism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah

 

kekeke. Look at this

Up up up the steps the tractor man went

wooo~~~ He’s up!

woo~~~~

Wooo-uuu–wooo—uuuu—yeaaaaa

I love you more than I can sayyyyy~
wooo~ Woo~

Love you more than I can say~~~~

hehe. out of topic. but so cool right????
We were so terpegun we couldnt walk away.

Had to see the whole thing.

Statue of King David. He’s been disfigured, like nose chipped off and his harp was strings, some were taken off. Why? Because its the Second Commandment. Says that there should be no statues. So some people kinda vandalised it.

Day 3: Saturday part 2

Lutheran Church

Very clean and clear

As in no statues or paintings.

Dad says Lutheran Churches are like that. They normally dont put any statues or any human figures. (one of the 10 Commandments). But SOME Lutheran churches, however DO put one statue. The statue of Martin Luther. He said maybe they feel like a bit too empty so add a figure in or something

But I like this church. COs the other church we went was like the Church of All-Nations. All dark and gloomy. This one was very bright and airy.

They even have the ginormous piano. Forgot what its called now (accordian? no…). Didnt see it in the other churches.

Next, we drove out of the city to Elah Valley

The valley where David killed Goliath and chopped off his head.

David was a small puny boy while Goliath was like a 7foot giant.

David went into the battlefield without any armor., Instead, he picked up 5 smooth stones from the valley and took his slingshot. With just one throw, he hit Goliath on his forehead and… THUMP

down went the giant.

Then David sliced off his head, and carried it all the way back to Jerusalem and buried it in a hill.

The hill, somehow took the shape of a skull. (more on that later on).

But adoi….. do you know how far it was from Elah Valley to the hill???

Not near ok. It took us nearly an hour by bus…. =.=

Yay! I’m as strong as David

hoo-hoo

Weeee are the champiioonnnssss, my friieeeennnndddssss

and youuuu are the losseerrrssss, yeaaaaaa~~~~~

Garden Tomb

 

Where Jesus was buried. Dont read up the link I gave you for the previous ones because I dont agree with what they’re saying.

See, there were two places that historians argue on where the tomb of Jesus was.

First was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Which is the 14th station of the cross (the 14th station on Via Dolorosa).

The second is here at the Garden Tomb.

Small black rectangle thingy behind me is the entrance to the tomb.

Its the only place that’s run by protestant. The rest is run by Catholics and Jews.

Anyways, there are few VERY convincing arguments.

One of those, is that, the Bible says that Jesus was buried in an unused tomb and in a rich man’s tomb. The tomb used has two burial sites. One used and the other unused. How do we know? Jews build a basic burial site of standard length. When the dead person is put inside and is too tall for the site, the dig holes through the wall to lengthen the site.

See the right hand side, the wall has been dugged out.

Compared to the one opposite it:

The one on the right has not been used yet.

The tomb is a rich man’s tomb due to the size of it.

THe place has a HUGE water reservoir. Like super huge. As big as out VBS hall. Yup. That big…. 0.0

Another reason why I believe this is the place Jesus was buried was because normally they would bury people on the outskirts of the city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located inside the city.

And the Bible mentioned that Jesus carried the cross to OUTSIDE of the city gates

And in John 19:17, it was mentioned that Jesus carried the cross out to the Skull, which is a hill shaped like a skull:

And the skull shaped hill was just NEXT to the garden.

See the eyes? The nose was chipped off over the years. Especially in recent years because there’s a bus station underneath it. So alot of  much vibration and stuff on the ground….

But anyway, I really like this place too. Its like my 3rd favorite place.

First is, as mentioned before: Garden of Gethsemane

Second: Walking through the tunnel at the Western Wall

Third: This!

Anyway, I feel more at ease here than at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

http://www.ctsp.co.il/LBS%20pages/LBS_garden_tomb.htm

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2019:17-42

kekeke. For 10+ dollars can send postcards back here.

And using TNT too! XP

But too bad no time. Just found out last minute T.T

Oh yeah. I even saw a TNT plane. It was bigger than ours…. =.=

Day 3: Saturday part 1

Helloooooo

This should be a shorter post compared to the rest

Rememeber the Garden of Gethsemane?

We went back there again today to pray for 30 mins.

But this one was at a less quieter spot.

The ones in the picture the day before was very…. how to say…. crowded. Too many people

We wanted a quieter place where no one would look at us praying.

So our superly nice guide arranged for us to be able to pray at another part of the garden, secluded from everything.

The previous groups did not get to go to this secluded garden to pray

I tell you, it was superly PEACEFUL inside

We went inside through the gates, CLIMB up some rocks, and…. was chased out.

X.0

NEARLY

But when the woman who wanted to chase us out was talking to other members of our group, the rest of us walked quickly inside and found a quiet spot to pray. After seeing us praying quietly and not making any noise, they left us alone.

Now we finally understood why Jesus prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane.

You know why?

Because it overlooks Jerusalem, His beloved city, and MOST IMPORTANTLY,

the Garden of Gethsemane directly faces the Temple Mount.

So the whole time He was praying in the garden, He was looking at the Temple Mount.

After that, we went to walk through Via Dolorosa

The 14 stations of the Cross.

The path Jesus walked through carrying the cross on His back

Ohmigosh!

The walk……

Even without carrying any heavy cross on our backs, I was super tired and out of breath….

Imagine Jesus carrying the cross on His back, His body already badly beaten and the crown of thorns on His head…..

The cross not small small cross ok. It was made using sturdy wood. And it was much larger than Jesus. So it’s SUPERLY heavy.

And the path is not smooth road. Its very easy to trip and steep and hilly. Like have to climb up…. No wonder Jesus fell down 3/4 times.

Walking through the Via Dolorosa…. All I could think was….

T.T

Thank you Jesus for loving us so much that you’d walk through this for us.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-via-dolorosa.htm

Day 2: Friday- Part 2

Garden of Gethsemane

Church of All-Nations

Next to the Garden of Gethsemane.

The inside of the church is… super gloomy. cos the designer, Antonio Barluzzi (who also designed other churches in Jerusalem) does his design according to the history of the area. His interpretation was, since this was the last place Jesus prayed before He was taken by the pharisees and guards, such a sad history. so the church design is also….. sad…..

Garden of Gethsemane. It’s actually a small garden.

See the olive trees? There are about 8 trees I think. THe oldest tree, they suspect is from Jesus’ time.

 

The oldest tree. Its SUPERLY huge.

ohmigosh. look like a panther or a scary monster popping out of the tree… x.0

hehe. yeah…. i like to make out shapes out of rocks or clouds. but….. unfortunately…. most of the time, the figures are…. scary. :S

So cool right the tree? Small branches pop out from a huge trunk. Adoi. You HAVE to be there to see it.

adoi. another scary face popping out. ><

I LOVE this garden. Its just so calming. Makes you feel at ease.

This is my favorite place to go

 

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-all-nations.htm

Day 2: Friday – part one

Hohoho

New day!

Went back to Mount Moriah again (where the Temple Mount was)

Inside the walls- Temple Mount

Outside, Wailing Wall (Western Wall)

 Remember yesterday, we went to Temple Mount and I said it was divided into 2?

Yesterday we went to the Muslim site, and today is the Jewish one.

To the Jews, this wall is the holiest wall as it is the closest to the Temple Mount (They can’t enter the Muslim site).

But I tell you, really can feel God’s presence in this area. We went to the wall for only a short while, but still…. like don’t want to leave. ><

Sigh….. the biggest I can enlarge it is still too small to be read.

I’ll Just write the whole thing down ><

THE DIVINE PRESENCE NEVER MOVES FROM THE WESTERN WALL

Jewish tradition teaches that the Temple Mount is the focal point of Creation. In the center of the mountain lies the ‘Foundation Stone’ of the world.

Here Adam came into being

Here Abraham, Isaac and Jacob served God.

The First and the Second Temples were built upon this mountain.

The Ark of the Covenant was set upon the Foundation Stone itself.

Jerusalem was chosen by God as the dwelling place of the Shechinah.

David longed to build the Temple, and Solomon his son built the First Temple here about 3000 years ago.

It was destroyed by Nevuchadnezzar of Babylon.

The Second Temple was rebuilt on its ruins seventy years later.

It was razed by the Roman legions over 1900 years ago.

The present Western Wall before you is a remnant of the western Temple Mount retaining walls.

Jews have prayed in its shadows for hundreds of years, an expression of their faith in the rebuilding of the Temple.

The Sages said about it: ‘The Divine Presence never moves from the Western Wall’

The Temple Mount continues to be the focus of prayer for Jews from all over the world.

Western Wall behind me.

Separated into two: Men and Women areas

Left, is where we went to go into a tunnel.

Its like…. hmm… and underground city like that. They excavated the area few years ago. Though they stopped cos of private problems.

Anyway, its really like a whole city inside and its really deep. And, there’s one part, where its the um…. holiest part of the Western Wall (I think). Like, where the wall is the CLOSEST to the Holiest of the Holies.

   

lol. this is real caving ok. not like the gua nia one. =.= (hehe. ok. its NOT real caving. just walking around. )

But the area was aerated really really well. You dont feel stuffy at all. And I’m a bit claustrophobic but I dont feel cornered at all.

Anyways, came out through Via Dolorosa. (Way of the Cross).

(Second Temple was built by Herod who was the king at that time. He built it because he was not well liked nor accepted by the Jews (he’s not a full Jew) so he wanted to ‘curry’ some favour with them. He was a very smart man. The tunnel built showed really really cool technology. But he was also a very paranoid man).

Pool of Bethesda

  

Where Jesus healed the man who has been lame for 38 years. He did it on the Sabbath so it caused alot of hoo-ha with the pharisees.

the pool is DEEP……

but its empty now ><

Next to it is the place where they treat mad people.

How?

Electric Shot

0.0

ELECTRIC SHOT????

Electricity was not even invented then le, you bob.

kekeke.

‘Electric shot’

They put the crazy man inside one of the small caves, give them a candle to light up.

After lighting the candle, they either get cured, go more crazy or….. die of heart attack….

Why?

They put lions or tigers in the cave before hand.    X.0

lol.

But they’re in cages la….

Shopping at the Cardo in the Old City

(cardo= heart. which is where we get the cardiac- i think….>< )

Anyway, the place is really REALLY clean. Was very surprised.

Pomegranate Juice.

They flattened the pomogranates to get the juice.

The taste? hmm…. sour at first then bitter. I thought it was ok……. til I got sick and headachy and nauseous after drinking it… X.=

Mee’s theory:

Fruit and Vegetable Juice detoxify you. If you feel headachy after drinking it, it means you body is full of toxins and the juice is acting on it.

Dee’s theory:

You drank it on an empty stomach. So there’s already air in your stomach, you drink liquid, make the liquid stuck halfway, then the air wants to come out. or something like that that really makes sense but i dont know how to say it now.

Carob (clearer pics later)

chocolate substitute

also the food of Elijah when he was hiding from Jezebel and Ahab and John the Baptist’s food when he was in the wilderness.

The BEST baclava. Seriously. The other baclavas we tried in the other places were too sweet and wet.

This one was dry and NOT (so) sweet.

But the coffee… Let’s say its an acquired taste.

Jewish market

It was SUPERLY crowded cos the Sabbath was beginning in 2 hours and they were rushing to buy food. The fruits here are HUGE and JUICY! We bought the BEST mango here (also the biggest). But…. not cheap leh…. T.T like rm16 for one mango…. =.=

But figs are really good. Guavas too (HUGE!). persimmons, same size as the ones we get here.

The crowds were so……. :S

so stuffy and pushy!

After walking about 10mins, me and joyjoy were SUPERLY testy. Like, didnt want to talk to anyone, show face (><), superly rude, and whiny….

I HATE crowds. (i think only mei e can understand how i feel T.T)

Day 1:Thursday part 4

Overview from Mt Zion

The place where Jesus was trialed in the High Priest’s house and where Peter betrayed Jesus

Circled red: Where Judas hanged himself after betraying Jesus

See the painting?

Illustration on how they lowered Jesus into the ‘dungeon’ like place.

This is the High Priest’s house at the time. hehehe. The high priest was considered one of the richest man in Jerusalem and hence, he has the biggest house. (but dunno if its bigger than the roman governor’s one or not…)

Anyway, all major trials have to go through the High Priest in his house. They keep criminals inside his house. But underground. Like 5 storeys underground. So they tied Jesus up and lowered Him underground like in the pic shown. Tie around the waist and lowered.

We walked down to the hall in the top pic. Jesus was lowered through the hole shown in the bottom pic. the one with light shining through it. Sigh… thats why I said they lowered Him about 5-6 storeys. We walked DOWN to reach the hall and then DOWN again, and He was lowered lower than where we were. :S

Ritual baths outside of the High Priest’s place. There were many of these there. Told you the place was huge. Btw, the courtyard area was where Peter denied Jesus 3 times.

I think the place is also called St. Peter’s Gate.

Carving outside of his house. Blue man on the right with 3 fingers up refers to Jesus while the man on the left with his right hand up and left on his heart is Peter. Peter put his hand on his hand to say, ‘even if I die I wont betray you. I swear’ something like that… i think

Going through security checks to go into the shopping mall to watch The Covenant

A really really REALLY good musical. So touching. Especially the ending.

BUt….. hehe….since it WAS the first day there, and like most of us were tired, some of us slept abit during the show. hehehe. someone even snored LOUDLY. too tired ma. >< (not me ok. =.=)

 

hehehe. re-read the post and realized that I mentioned, most of the place had security checks and everything, Israel is not a scary place, ok. Its just that in some places they are tight with security. Especially at Holy Sites and malls. Other than the Temple Mount and the mall, I dont remember there being any other security checks. But you DO see army people around holding guns though. But the whole time I was there, I did not feel scared or unrest or anything. Instead, felt very peaceful there.

Btw, national service is COMPULSORY for boys and girls when they’re 18(I think its that age). Have to join for 2 years, and after that, go back for training for a month or so every year. The army girls are really pretty. Can wear Gucci and Dior sunglasses and make-up one. But I only saw it in one place. The rest, the army girls have pretty strict dress code.

Day 1: Thursday part 3

i’m too lazy to edit prev posts. no more writing drive. cos exams finish already. there’s nothing i need to escape from. hehehe.

 

ANYWAYS, Let’s move on, shall we

      

(sorry, poor pic taking. took too much clouds. >< learning learning. )

went to a jewish cemetery to get an overview of the Jerusalem

It wasnt originally a jewish cemetery. i think it has some kind of significance or something but i forgot ^^;

But anyway, the jews want to be buried there because they believe that when the messiah comes, those buried there will be the first to be resurrected.

see, i told you that place had something related to it ><

 

Dominus Flevit Church

the trees which were the ones where the thorns that were used to make the crown of thorns for Jesus were obtained from (confusing sentence ><).

 

You wont be able to see it clearly, but the thorns are GI-NORMOUS! as in….. really really REALLY GINORMOUS! Some can even be half my arms…. imagine what Jesus was thinking when He wore it…….

This is also the place where Jesus stood and wept over Jerusalem (Matt 23:37) and predicted its destruction. You know why He wept there? because it overlooked Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (where the Holy Temple was- explained later).

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-dominus-flevit-church.htm

 

 

kekeke. what’s that?

i dont shisha ok =.=

Lunch here was the BEST among all the others

but erm….. this pretty much sums up ALL the food we ate in Israel. Not to complain or anything, but we ate practically the SAME (ok, nearly) food fr lunch and dinner. by the third day, I was… =.= but don’t dare complain. dont want to get the same thing the Israelites received from God when they kept complaining after He took  them out of Egypt. But at least now….. I can kind of understand why they complained…. but I’m NOT complaining ><  just saying I understood abit why they did…. ^^;

lol. the restaurant played spice girls and bsc/bsg/ ? the black street boys one, and westlife songs. lol

 

Temple Mount on Mount Moriah

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-temple-mount.htm

We were suddenly rushed out around 1. All so rush rush.

Why?

Because the Temple Mount we wanted to visit closes at 1.30!!!!!

The previous groups 2 groups had missed visiting this place. Why?

Because they were late by 5 mins…. =.=

Why?

erm… due to members who couldnt be on time >< ok. that was cruel of me to say that, but it IS true….

 

Anyways, we were rushing like mad to reach there and finally reached it at 1.25

Were lining up suddenly when……. at 1.30….they closed the gates after allowing a few of the members in….

we were like….. 0.0

uh-oh……

but we reasoned with them. I mean, since a few are in, what’s the rest going to do outside. and somemore the guide was locked out also… =.=

thank God they were kind enough to let the rest of us in, but the people behind us were locked out.

><

So punctual

Quoted from someone in the group

‘at first I was wondering why ps was rushing us. so we just dilly dally behind but then when we reached there, we found out… wah….. timing is really important. we were on time and in queue but still close the gate. if we were one minute late…….’

Anyway, after going through security checks (like at the airport), those who were wearing shorts and short skirts or ‘not appropriately dressed’ were turned away. There are actually army people there with giant guns (ak97?) and electric guns. dont play play ok…

 see the army boy with his gun?

Telling you about the Temple Mount is quite complicated. I’d rather tell you in person.

Anyway, The area is divided into two.

Outside the Temple Mount is the Western Wall (Wailing wall)- where the Jews pray (we’ll be visiting that tomorrow)

Inside the Temple Mount is the place where Muslims worship.

 left building is the Musim dome

Inside the Temple Mount, where the Muslim dome is, was where Abraham wanted to sacrifice Isaac and where the First(Solomon) and Second Temple(Herod) was. Opposite the dome, is like a rectangular building where the Muslims use. This was also the place where Jesus got mad at the people because they treated the place like a market place… (Mark 11:15-18)

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-temple-mount.htm

 

Came out through the Sheep’s gate.

 

See that needle look-a-like? circled red

That’s the Jesus was talking about when He said it was easier for camels to go through the eye of the needle than for rich people. (Not that He had anything against being rich…. He talked about money and how God will prosper those who worship Him more than He talked about anything else). It was easier for prostitutes and tax collectors to go to heaven than the pharisees at the time (who were mostly hypocrites then…)