The Mount of Olives / Eastern Gate

In this picture you can see the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, and the Eastern Gate. A further significance is that this picture was taken from the Mount of Olives.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3

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This day was cold and raining (a very cold rain). That being said, the entire experience was amazing and there was never a time that I wanted to leave despite being freezing and wet, which is a pretty bad combination.

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.” Zechariah 14:4, 8.

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This verse from Zechariah probably has never made much sense to many people before, except in sense that God is all powerful and if he wants to make living waters flow out from Jerusalem he can certainly do so by some great miracle, but it doesnt really make sense to imagine water flowing out from a large dry mountain. According to our guide, very recently a large body of water has been discovered under the area on which the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives now stand. Imagine, thousands of years of confusion as to how this prophecy would come to be, and now it becomes clear! There is no possible way that the men that recorded the Old Testament could have known or understood this. Once again, the bible proves itself through prophecy! Certainly, when the Mount of Olives is split in two, water will flow out from Jerusalem on that glorious day!

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Also, if you can see in front of the Eastern Gate, there are a number of tombs blocking the path that Jesus will follow at his return. These are not Jewish tombs, but Muslim ones, which were startegically placed there during the time of Islamic control to block the path of Jesus, because he would not defile himself by passing through a cemetary on the way to the temple. Little did they know that when these living waters flow out from Jerusalem, the tombs will be washed away, thus clearing the path for the messiah!

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One of the most memorable sites on this trip for me was our stop at the Mount of Olives, but not just because of the significance of the ascension or being the site of Jesus' return. It is because when we got off our bus, there was a hunched over crippled man holding himself up with a cane begging for money. The image was heartbreaking. I gave him a few dollars and recieved a "God bless you" in return. In a way, I felt that God did bless me at that moment.

On the Mount of Olives we had a short worship service in the misting rain then posed for our group picture. After the service we closed in prayer, then after a group "Amen", there was a very short subtle thunder. It was as if God was saying that he heard our prayer. Maybe it was.