"Where Jesus Preached,
Taught and Healed"
From boyhood, Jesus
visited the Temple. Luke 2:41-51...At times during his
ministry he walked daily in the Temple area. Matthew
26:55..He preached, taught and healed in the Temple.
Matthew 21:14..........From Jerusalem: The Dead Sea is 14
miles (23 kilometers) east..... The Jordan River is 19
miles (31 kilometers) east.....The Mediterranean Sea is
34 miles (55 kilometers) west.....Bethlehem is 5 miles (8
kilometers) south. ..... Nazareth is 63 miles (102
kilometers) north. .... Samaria is 30 miles (49
kilometers) north. .... Hebron is 19 miles (31
kilometers) south. .... Egypt is 300 miles (485
kilometers) southwest .... Assyria and Babylon are720
miles (1,170 kilometers) east. .... Persia or Iran is
1,050 miles (1,700 kilometers) east. .... Greece is 825
miles (1,340 kilometers) northwest..... Rome is 1,550
miles (2,510 kilometers) northwest.
Esau, who embodies
the power of might and sword, will, through his
descendants, gave rise to the Roman Empire or "Edom" as
the Bible calls it. King Herod was an Edomite or a
descendant of Esau. The power or Rome clearly lays in its
ability to conquer, dominate and build an Empire. Even
after the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the
spirit and power of Rome perpetuates itself through the
rise of the Revived Roman Empire or European Union. Esau,
like Ishmael becomes a great power, both physically and
spiritually. As intense as the rivalry is between Isaac
and Ishmael (the Jews and the Arabs) they are only half
brothers. Jacob and Esau are twins with the same genetic
material. This rivalry is possibly the ultimate rivalry
in history. that is : the Roman Empire and the
Jews.
Herod began to build the
Temple in 20 B.C. The New Temple was one of the largest
and most magnificent building complexes in the ancient
world. Some construction was still going on when Jesus
preached, taught and healed there. The main building was
finished in 9 B.C. Herod employed 1000 priests as masons
and carpenters for the inner area, never stopping the
Temple services The entire Temple complex was completed
in A.D. 64. It was twice as high as Solomon's Temple and
was made of white marble. The Eastern front was
covered with plates of gold,.a dazzling sight as the
bright sun rose over the Mount of Olives. Today the
Wailing Wall remains as part of Herod's Western retaining
wall. The most impressive feature was the platform
which is still in existence today. A walk around this
platform would measure as follows: 1601 feet on the west,
530 feet on the east, 1024 feet on the north and 922 feet
on the south. ... Around the Temple area were double
colonnades. "All the cloisters were double, and the
pillars to them belonging were twenty-five cubits in
height, and supported -the cloisters. These pillars were
of one entire stone each of them, and that stone was
white marble; and the roofs were adorned with cedar,
curiously graven. The natural magnificence, and excellent
polish, and the harmony of the joints in these cloisters,
afforded a prospect that was very remarkable; nor was it
on the outside adorned with any work of the painter or
engraver. The cloisters -(of the outmost court) were in
breadth thirty cubits, while the entire compass of it was
by measure six furlongs, including the tower of Antonia;
those entire courts that were exposed to the air were
laid with stones of all sorts" (Josephus - Jewish War 5.
5. 2).
There were eight
gates leading into the temple. The two
Huldah Gates or "mole" Gates from the
south, which passed underneath the Royal Porch. To the
east was the Gate of Susa, still visible as
the Golden Gate which was walled up by the
Byzantines. In the western wall was the main gate named
the Gate of Coponius after the first
procurator; it was decorated with the golden eagle as a
sign that the Temple had been placed under the protection
of Rome. Fourteen steps led through the Beautiful
Gate to the Court of the women where the poor
boxes were, into one of which the widow cast her two
mites (Luke 21:1-4). Another fifteen steps led up to the
famous Gate of Nicanor, to which Mary had
brought the child at the time of his presentation; this
led through the Court of the Men to that of the priests,
which had in its center the altar for the burnt offerings
and to the left of it a large basin called the Brazen Sea
resting upon twelve bulls cast in bronze. Further steps
led up to the actual Temple, It contained the golden
altar at which incense was offered and next to it the
seven-branched candelabrum and the table with the twelve
loaves of shewbread, which were replaced by fresh ones
every sabbath. Behind another large curtain, lay the Holy
of Holies, which none except the high priest was allowed
to enter, and only on the Day of Atonement. A stone
designated the place where once the Ark of the Covenant
had stood.
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The main
entrance from the south led to the court of the
Gentiles where everyone could enter. The next
court was the court of the women. The Temple was
enclosed by a balustrade, and at the entrances
to it were warning notices in Greek and Latin ,
one of them is now in a museum in Istanbul. It
says that foreigners have freedom of access
provided they do not go beyond the balustrade
which no uncircumcised could cross without
incurring the death penalty. Notices also
forbade anyone entering the Inner Court but the
Jewish men - under the pain of death.
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The Levites
accompanied the daily sacrifice service with
songs specifically chosen for the day or
holiday. The signal for them to assemble was the
clatter when the rake used to clean the altar
was dropped when cleaning was finished.... There
were a dozen singers, playing nine lyres and two
harps. The choir conductor held the cymbals and
two trumpeters stood on either side. The
children of the singers stood at the foot of the
dias. The public sometimes sang with the choir,
such as Psalm 118, when the congregation
gathered in the courtyard chanted responsively
"His mercy endures forever"
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Herod built the
altar on the same large rock that Solomon had
used. This large rock is 58 feet by 51 feet and
called Rock Moriah. This is the site where
Abraham offered Isaac and was part of the
threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (Araunah)
purchased by David for 600 shekels of gold.
David called the place "the House of the Lord
God" and designated the Rock as the place for
the burnt offering of Israel .... I Chronicles
21,22
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THE ALTAR that sat on top of the Rock was made of wood
plated with brass and was 30 feet square and 15 feet
high.
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The Western
(Wailing) Wall is all that remains of the
Jerusalem Temple where Jesus ministered. This
wall formed part of the Plaza within the Temple
area. King Herod's incredible remodeling project
continued long after his death. It was finally
completed only seven years before the Romans
came and destroyed the Temple in 70
AD....
more
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FOR A DETAILED
PLAN
CLICK HERE
The
Temple - Its Ministry and Services
By Alfred Edersheim
CLICK
HERE
Tomb of Herod Found 10 Miles South
of Jerusalem , 8.
May 2007CaribJournal-Sci
The long search for Herod
the Great's tomb has ended with the exposure of the
remains of his grave, sarcophagus and mausoleum on Mount
Herodium's northeastern slope, 10 miles south of
Jerusalem, Prof. Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology announced on Tuesday.
.... Herod was the Roman-appointed king of Judea from 37
to 4 BCE, who was renowned for his many monumental
building projects, including the reconstruction of the
Temple in Jerusalem, the palace at Masada, as well as the
complex at Herodium, 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem.
.....
.The
Palace
Constructed over a small
pre-existing hill, the Herodium was a fortress for Herod
to quickly flee to from Jerusalem and a luxurious palace
for his enjoyment. This is the only site that
carries his name and the site where he chose to be buried
and to memorialize himself &emdash; all of this with the
integration of a huge, unique palace at the fringe of the
desert, said Prof. Netzer. Therefore, he said, the
exposure of his tomb becomes the climax of this site's
research. Herod built the mountain by first erecting a
double-walled cylinder with an outer diameter of 200
feet. There were seven stories in the cylinder
including two or three at the top which no longer
exist. Afterwards a massive fill of earth and
gravel was placed against the cylinder. The four
towers are located at the points of the
compass.
The approach to the
burial site - which has been described by the
archaeologists involved as one of the most striking finds
in Israel in recent years - was via a monumental flight
of stairs (6.5 meters wide) leading to the hillside that
were especially constructed for the funeral procession.
.... The excavations on the slope of the mountain, at
whose top is the famed structure comprised of a palace, a
fortress and a monument, commenced in August 2006. The
expedition, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was conducted by
Prof. Netzer, together with Yaakov Kalman and Roi Porath
and with the participation of local Bedouins. .... Among
the many high quality architectural elements, mostly well
decorated, which were spread among the ruins, is a group
of decorated urns (made in the form of special jars that
were used to store body ashes). Similar ones are to be
found on the top of burial monuments in the Nabatean
world. The urns had a triangular cover and were decorated
on the sides. .... Worthy of note is the fact that the
sarcophagus was broken into hundreds of pieces, no doubt
deliberately. This activity, including the destruction of
the monument, apparently took place in the years 66-72
C.E. during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans,
while Jewish rebels took hold of the site, according to
Josephus and the archaeological evidence. ..... The
rebels were known for their hatred of Herod and all that
he stood for, as a "puppet ruler" for the
Romans.
The main historical
source of the Second Temple's days, the historian
Josephus Flavius, has described the site of Herodium in
detail, as well as the funeral in the year 4 BCE, but not
the tomb proper. He wrote as follows: .. "The king's
funeral next occupied his attention. Archelaus, omitting
nothing that could contribute to its magnificence,
brought forth all the royal ornaments to accompany the
procession in honor of the deceased. ... The bier was of
solid gold, studded with precious stones, and had a
covering of purple, embroidered with various colors; on
this lay the body enveloped in purple robe, a diadem
encircling the head and surmounted by a crown of gold,
the scepter beside his right hand. ... Around the bier
were Herod's sons and a large group of his relations;
these were followed by the guards, the Thracian
contingent, Germans and Gauls, all equipped as for war.
...The reminder of the troops marched in front, armed and
in orderly array, led by their commanders and subordinate
officers; behind these came five hundred of Herod's
servants and freedmen, carrying spices. ....The body was
thus conveyed for a distance of two hundred furlongs to
Herodium, where, in accordance with the directions of the
deceased, it was interred. So ended Herod's reign."
Jewish Wars, 1,23,9
Synagogue
This room was transformed
into a synagogue by the Jewish rebels who took over the
Herodium in 70 A.D. Parallels to this
synagogue exist at Masada and Gamla, two sites also
captured and held by First century Jewish fighters in the
war against Rome.
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