Hello reader. Here is part two of my Jerusalem report...

The feelings I had when I went to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall or simply as the Kotel, which is the Hebrew word meaning "wall") were mixed. On the one hand, I felt peace and contentment in the same way I would upon going to sleep after the end of a long journey. On the other hand, I knew that the Wall was part of a sad tale of past judgment and destruction.

Yeshua predicted that the Temple would be totally destroyed to the point that not a single stone would be left standing (Mark 13:1_2 and Luke 21:5_6). That came to pass in AD 70 when the Romans obliterated the Temple and the rest of Jerusalem in the First Jewish_Roman War. Only part of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount platform remains as a reminder of what used to stand on top of it. This is what we call the Western Wall.

However, one day, a new Temple will stand there from which ADONAI will reign (Ezekiel 40_48). That is the promised future hope and that is why I felt closer to ADONAI outside the famous Golden Gate to the east where, on the basis of Ezekiel 43:1_4 and 44:1_3, it is believed that Yeshua will enter at His second coming. I stood facing the Gate and declared out loud the following words from Psalm 24:7_10 (All quotations are from Complete Jewish Bible_ CJB)

Lift up your heads, you gates!

Lift them up, everlasting doors,

so that the glorious king can enter!

Who is he, this glorious king?

ADONAI, strong and mighty,

ADONAI, mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, you gates!

Lift them up, everlasting doors,

so that the glorious king can enter!

Who is he, this glorious king?

ADONAI_Tzva'ot –

he is the glorious king.

I also repeated the lament of Yeshua over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37_39 and Luke 13:34_35):

"Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused! Look! God is abandoning your house to you, leaving it desolate. For I tell you, from now on, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI.'"

Here are some photos of the Golden Gate as it is today:

I then turned directly east with my back to the Gate and, reading from Zechariah 14, looked towards the Mount of Olives:

Verses 3 to 4 speak powerfully about the return of Yeshua to His city:

Then ADONAI will go out

and fight against those nations,

fighting as on a day of battle.

On that day his feet will stand

on the Mount of Olives,

which lies to the east of Yerushalayim;

and the Mount of Olives will be split in half

from east to west, to make a huge valley.

Half of the mountain will move toward the north,

and half of it toward the south.

On a different day, I went to another part of the Mount of Olives and took a picture from there as well. Of all my Jerusalem photos, this is definitely one of my favourites:

If we say that the Mount of Olives represents the Kingdom of Light, we could say that the Mount of Evil Counsel to the south of the Old City represents the kingdom of darkness.

This eye_catching name goes back to a tradition identifying it as the meeting place of the council held by the High Priest, Caiaphas, at which it was decided that Yeshua should be put to death (John 11:45_53). Today, the Mount of Evil Counsel is the location of the United Nations Middle East Headquarters, which are housed in the former Palace of the High Commissioner during the British Mandate. You can see the forested Mount in the distance in this photo:

In these last days, we should be under no illusions: ADONAI requires, as He has always done, that all who count themselves like Ruth among His people demonstrate as such in word and deed. I present to you three images to emphasise this point. Firstly, the Knesset Menorah which was given by the UK Parliament to Israel in 1956:

I mentioned this issue in a previous post but I have no hesitation in repeating it here since the situation is critical. The United Kingdom desperately needs to start honouring Israel again because, make no mistake, ADONAI will judge all the nations according to how they have treated His people and His land (Joel 3:1_2)

"For then, at that time, when I restore

the fortunes of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim,

I will gather all nations and bring them down

to the Valley of Y'hoshafat [ADONAI judges].

I will enter into judgment there

for my people, my heritage Isra'el,

whom they scattered among the nations;

then they divided my land."

Also consider Isaiah 60:12 (CJB):

"For the nation or kingdom that won't serve you will perish;

yes, those nations will be utterly destroyed."

We who are believers must, as a matter of urgency, ask ADONAI for (a) mercy and forgiveness on behalf of the nation and (b) repentance and wisdom on the part of the UK Government (1 Timothy 2:1_3). There cannot be one without the other.

Secondly, the Avenue and Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem ( Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust) where non_Jews who risked their lives, liberty or positions to save Jews during the Holocaust are honoured:

Are we currently growing in faith day by day in order to be ready when trial and tribulation come? Will we stand firm and act righteously in the face of evil? Are we doing so already? These are important questions to ask ourselves.

Thirdly and finally, the entrance to Christ Church, Jerusalem, the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East (dating from 1849), where the text of Psalm 122:6 is displayed in Hebrew, Arabic and English:

Here is the CJB version:

Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim;

may those who love you prosper.

May we all be found diligently obeying this command right up to the return of the Prince of Peace.

Shalom in the name of Yeshua,

Ben