Jerusalem was a highlight of the tour. As the buses crossed from the north onto the Mount of Olives and suddenly the walled city came into view, there was a feeling of excitement! It is true, the ancient temple of Jehovah is no longer there. The city was completely destroyed by the Roman armies in 70 C.E. Yet, as a person stands on the Mount of Olives, he can still discern the geographical features of the ancient city.

Looking westward across the Kidron Valley, one sees Mount Moriah at the northern part of the city. There is likely where Abraham came to offer up his son Isaac. It is there that Jehovah’s angel instructed David to build an altar to Jehovah, and in this place his son Solomon erected the glorious temple of Jehovah. To the left, south of the temple area, can be seen where the City of David once stood on Mount Zion, and beyond that is the Valley of Hinnom.

It was here on the Mount of Olives that Jesus sat as he described vividly to his apostles world events that we have seen since 1914 C.E., events that prove that Christ is invisibly present in kingly power. (Matt. 24:3-14) Just a few days after speaking about these things, in the Garden of Gethsemane, apparently on the side of this same hill, Jesus was arrested. The next morning, having been falsely condemned, he was impaled on a stake at a location named Golgotha, meaning “Skull Place.” While in Jerusalem, the visitors saw the place where this is believed to have occurred​—outside the Damascus Gate to the north, where the rock formation of a cliff gives the appearance of a human skull. Nearby they also inspected an empty tomb in a cave that many believe to be the place where Jesus was buried.

Knowing the exact spot where these events occurred is not the vital thing. What is truly important is what happened there and its meaning to us. And those who made this trip found that seeing these locations helped them to visualize the events.

[Picture on page 79]

Modern-day Jerusalem as viewed from the Mount of Olives