Posts filed under 'Jerusalem'
Cenacle is the traditional Latin term for the Upper Room, or the site of The Last Supper. This word is a derivative of the Latin word “cena,” which means dinner.
It allegedly lies in the second floor of a building on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, just outside the Dormition Church behind the Franciscan house on Sion, and south of the Zion Gate in the Old City walls. In the basement of the building is King David’s Tomb.
The Cenacle is divided by three pillars into three naves. The pillars and the arches, windows and other Gothic style architectural elements, a clear indication the room was built by the Crusaders in the early 13th century, on top of a much older structure. The older structure, according to the archaeological research, was the church-synagogue of the early Christian community of Jerusalem.
read more…
June 22nd, 2007
References to the city of Jerusalem appear throughout the entire Hebrew and Messianic Scriptures. Through the ages it has been called by many names: Salem, Mount Moriah, Adonai Urah, Jebus, Jerusalem, Zion, the City of David, and Ariel (Lion of God). God has declared that this is the place He will establish His Name and will dwell there forever (1 Kings 9:3).
The Scriptural history of Jerusalem begins when Abraham meets “Melek Tzedek”, king of Salem - around 2110 BC/BCE (Genesis 14:17-20). This is following Abraham’s defeat of Chedorlaomer after he had captured Abraham’s nephew, Lot. A peculiar aspect of this meeting is that Abraham had bread and wine with “Melek Tzedek” and then gave him a tenth of all he had. The Scriptures reveal that “Melek Tzedek” is a priest of the God Most High.
Several years later (approx. 2082 BC/BCE), following a command from God, Abraham took Isaac, his only begotten son, to Mount Moriah in order to offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord (Genesis 22:1-18). Abraham believed God would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). As he was about to kill Isaac, the Lord intervened and supernaturally provided a sacrifice in the place of Isaac. Abraham called that place of sacrifice, “The Place Where God Will Be Seen” (Genesis 22:14). This is usually wrongfully interpreted as “The Lord Will Provide” or “The Lord Who Provides” since God provided a sacrifice in place of Isaac. However, the Hebrew word no Hebrew fonts means “will be seen” (future tense). By this we can see that the Lord had already chosen Jerusalem as the place where He would establish Himself.
Around 1405 BC/BCE, “The sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it” (Judges 1:8). It was the dividing line between Judah and Benjamin, on Benjamin’s side. It is said that the sons of Benjamin could not drive out the Jebusites so they lived together (Judges 1:21).
read more …
?
February 9th, 2007
Wikipedia
Jerusalem plays an important role in three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as in a number of smaller religious groups. A large number of places have religious significance for these religions, among which the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock for Muslims. Currently, there are 1204 synagogues, 158 churches and 73 mosques in Jerusalem. There are also 70 mikvahs and 72 monasteries.
Jerusalem in the Tanakh
Jerusalem has long been embedded into the religious consciousness of the Jewish people. Jews have always studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel and the Book of Psalms. Many of King David’s yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.
Jerusalem in Christianity
For Christians, Jerusalem’s place in the life of Jesus gives it great importance, in addition to its place in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, as described above. Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be ‘presented’ at the Temple and to attend festivals. According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, especially in the Temple courts. There is also an account of Jesus’ ‘cleansing’ of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts. At the end of each of the Gospels, there are accounts of Jesus’ Last Supper in an ‘upper room’ in Jerusalem, his arrest in Gethsemane, his trial, his crucifixion at Golgotha, his burial nearby and his resurrection and ascension.
Jerusalem in Islam
The city of Jerusalem is considered sacred by Islam and has played a significant role in the faith. The al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem is considered third holiest site in Islam, after the mosques of al-Haram and al-Nabawi. Regarding the mosque, the Quran states “Glory be to Him Who made His servant (Muhammad) to go on a night from the Sacred Mosque to the remote mosque of which We have blessed the precincts, so that We may show to him some of Our signs; surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” According to the vast majority of Islamic scholars, the “Farthest Mosque” referred to is the site of the Temple of Solomon, and the present day location of the al-Aqsa mosque of Jerusalem. However, it is not mentioned in the Qur’an, so scholars and historians have different views on its status in Islam. Some scholars claim it is holy after the cities of Mecca and Medina, some assert it is a city that contains a holy site, and some conclude it has little or no actual sanctity.
read more…
January 12th, 2007
The Mount of Olives (also Mount Olivet, Hebrew: ? ?????, Har HaZeitim; Arabic: ???? ????????????, ??????????, Jebel ez-Zeitun, Jebel et-Tur, “Mount of the Summit”) is a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem. It is named from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed. At the foot of the mountain is the Gardens of Gethsemane where Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, according to tradition. The Mount of Olives is the site of many important Biblical events.
In the Book of Zechariah the Mount of Olives is identified as the place from which God will begin to redeem the dead at the end of days. For this reason, Jews have always sought to be buried on the mountain, and from Biblical times to the present day the mountain has been used as a cemetery for the Jews of Jerusalem. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including those of many famous figures. Just a few of these include the tomb of Zechariah (who prophesied there), Yad Avshalom, and a host of great rabbis from the 15th to the 20th centuries including Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel.
Read More…
December 5th, 2006
The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony or the Basilica of the Agony, is located on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before the night of his arrest.
The chapel was built from 1919 to 1924 using funds from many different countries (hence the title). The symbols of each country are incorporated into the glass of the ceiling, each in a separate, small dome. The front of the church is a facade supported by a row of pillars. Above is a modern mosaic depicting Jesus Christ symbolically as the link between God and humanity. The bubbled-dome roof, thick pillars, and mosaic give the church a Byzantine look architecturally. The architect of the building was Antonio Barluzzi.
The current church rests on the foundations of two earlier ones - a 12th century Crusader chapel abandoned in 1345 and a 4th century Byzantine basilica, destroyed by an earthquake in 746.
Read More…
December 5th, 2006
Gethsemane (also spelled Gethsemani) was the garden where, according to the New Testament and Christian traditions, Jesus watched and prayed the night before he was crucified and suffered for the sins of the world (see Atonement). According to Luke 22:43???44, Jesus’ anguish in Gethsemane was so deep that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Gethsemane was also where Christ was betrayed by the disciple Judas Iscariot.
Read More…
December 5th, 2006
It? is the English-language name given to the hill on which Jesus was crucified. The hill is described as outside Jerusalem, but its location is not certain. Calvaria in Latin, ?????????? ????????? (Kraniou Topos) in Greek and G?lgalt? in Aramaic all mean ’skull’, referring to a hill or plateau containing a pile of skulls or to a geographic feature resembling a skull.
The New Testament describes Calvary as close to Jerusalem (John 19:20), and outside of its walls (Hebrews 13:12). This is in accordance with Jewish tradition, as Jesus was also buried near to the place of his execution.
Roman emperor Constantine the Great built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on what was thought to be the sepulchre of Jesus in 326 - 335, nearby the location of Calvary.
Read More…
December 5th, 2006
Wikipedia?
The Tower of David is Jerusalem’s “citadel”, a historical and archaeological site of world importance.
This is a medieval fortress, with later additions. Its towers and ramparts offer splendid views of that part of Jerusalem where Old and New meet, and East meets West. The site of the citadel has always been the weak point in the city’s defenses, compelling its rulers throughout history to fortify the site.
This important historical and archeological site was built in the First Temple Period (960???586 BCE). Parts of a tower and the city wall were built by the Hasmonean (first century BCE). The base of the tower was built by Herod the Great (37???34 BCE).
Read More…
September 6th, 2006
Wikipedia?
Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Way of Grief”) is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is held to be the path that Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion, although this is uncertain. It is marked by nine of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. The last five stations are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Read More…
September 6th, 2006
? Wikipedia
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, called the Church of the Resurrection (Greek: ?????? ????? ????????????????, Naos tis Anastaseos; Armenian: Surp Harutyun) by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. The ground on which the church rests is venerated by most Christians as Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary, where the New Testament describes that Jesus was crucified. It also is said to contain the place where Jesus was reportedly buried (the sepulchre). The church has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century. Today it serves as the headquarters of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Catholic Archpriest of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.
Read More…
September 6th, 2006
Previous Posts
