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Jerusalem today is literally cut in two. The east half,
containing all the old city and all the historical places, is in
Jordan. The West half, once just hilly ground, the NEW city, is
occupied by the Jews, and is the capital of the new nation
"Israel."
First, on this tour, we visited Egypt. We journeyed 400
miles south of Cairo up the Nile, by train, to Luxor, site of
ancient Thebes, once the glorious capital of Egypt. Once there
flourished an "advanced" civilization there, in this world's sense.
Medicine originated there. But we saw there the fruits of that
worldly civilization---not health, but degeneration, decay,
children and land wasting from rickets and trachoma, bilharziasis
and starvation, and even Nasser's rejuvenation of his country now
interrupted by the vanity and greed and ambition for power as a
military force. From Egypt we spent two weeks travelling thru the
wilderness--ancient Babylon, Tyre and Sidon, and Petra. Then,
finally, we crossed the Jordan river, on to Jericho, down thru
Bethany, and on up into Jerusalem.
I think I felt some of the thrill of the ancient
Israelites entering the promised land. But it is not today a land
flowing with milk and honey, but largely barren and desolate, under
God's curse because of the sins of the people! Jerusalem,
incidentally, is on hills. You go DOWN the hill from Mt. Moriah
where the old Temple site of Jerusalem is, and then UP a hill again
to the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane is at the foot of
the Mount of Olives, and a portion of it is retained today as a
beautiful garden. We took pictures to show you. But finally, from
today's down-trodden, defiled, dirty Jerusalem, we crossed thru the
Mandelbaum Gate, and across "No-Man's-Land," carrying our own
luggage alone, into the "NEW Jerusalem," of this modern "Israel."
The Jewish Jerusalem is all practically new---built of cream-
colored stone which is beautiful and has warmth. We expected to
find American Jews here. We didn't. They are mostly Jews from the
Balkan regions, Europe, and Russia. American Jewish DOLLARS are
here, but most American Jews are staying in America to make more
dollars.
Today Jerusalem is literally FILLED with churches,
shrines, and pagan monuments venerating every spot where the
various religions CLAIM some Bible event occurred---literally
dozens upon dozens of these shrines, where the awe-struck,
ignorant, yet devout victims of satanic deception come and kneel,
and bow, and kiss stones and rocks, and cross themselves. We have
seen them here by the DOZENS on the Arab side of Jerusalem, going
through these useless, senseless motions, worshipping the THING,
the PLACE, or the CREATED, but not knowing how to worship the
CREATOR. Worshipping in ignorance and in the physical, knowing
nothing about worshipping in Spirit and in Truth!
Well, that's a brief outline of our tour so far. From
here we tour this "new" Jerusalem this afternoon, then tomorrow
morning we go by automobile to visit Galilee, the city of Nazareth,
the Sea of Galilee, the districts where so much of Jesus' ministry
took place---the valley where "Armageddon" will be fought, Haifa,
then back to Tel Aviv. From there we fly to Istanbul