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SPECIAL EDITION Volume IV No.14
Nicholas
Scrolls April 2009 The
Land where GOD walked as a Man Part Eight Greetings brethren, friends and neighbors, I once again bid each of you
shalom – to you and all you’re household. This is the last leg of our tour in
my Special Edition series of the Nicholas Scrolls detailing my pilgrimage to
the The
Burnt House of Kathros Our second full day in As it usually happens, the
excavation of a site marked for new construction in the Upper City of Jerusalem
revealed some charred remnants of a house structure. Before new construction
could proceed, archeologists were allowed to carefully investigate in 1970 and
what they soon realized is that they were peering back into a time when the As we entered the museum facility
we were led past darkened rooms where the Kathros house stood and were seated
to a viewing area. We first were treated to an audio-visual presentation. The
short film gives a probable depiction of the family and what might have
happened during the days of the At the time of the Based on archeological evidence
found at this site and others the Herodian sector of the city was largely
affluent being mostly populated by Cohanim priests who were among the
aristocracy and worked in the The sector below the “Woe is me because of the House of Kathros; woe is me because of their [poison] pens… For they are the High Priests and their sons are treasurers and their sons-in-law are trustees and their servants beat the people with staves.” (Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 57, I) The meaning of the name Kathros
in Greek is “oak tree” or also “lyre” as in a musical instrument. The
Kathros family is from one of four aristocratic lineages of Jewish priests who
abused their power and status giving members of their own family positions of
importance in the Think what it must have been like
if you were a witness to the prolonged Roman assault on your city, looking out
your window at the burning Temple hearing frightening screams long into the
night as the Romans made their advance, raping, burning and pillaging. A whole
month would have passed and your food and provisions would have depleted as
famine and epidemics were added to the suffering masses enduring the siege. If
you survived long enough you would have likely been killed by Roman sword or
worse, taken captive. Women were subject to rape as often is the case in brutal
warfare. Josephus Flavius reported 110,000 casualties and 97,000 captives were
taken during the “… The Underneath the house of Kathros
was a tunnel that was part of an underground drainage system networked
throughout the Though the original residence was complete with a paved courtyard, five rooms, a kitchen area and ritual bath, only the basement of the home survived. Within the basement a great many other artifacts were discovered among which were stone vessels and related ritual utensils. Because of purity laws, stone vessels would have been used by priests rather than ceramic because stone does not acquire the impurities that earthenware jars do. A great number of stone tablets, jars and dishes were discovered here and in other sites within the Herodian quarter. Among them was a curious looking stone with an engraving on it. The stone was likely a small grinding stone used for foods, spices or perhaps incense. The engraving reads, “[of] Bar Kathros” meaning, “of the son of Kathros.” It was ultimately this find that led archeologists to surmise that this was the dwelling place for the infamous Kathros family. Treasures
of the A short distance away was the
Temple Institute. Here, we were treated to a history of the last two Among them were several silver
trumpets, two beautiful harps and a nicely crafted lyre made of olive wood, all
behind locked glass cases. Most impressive was the amount of gold used to
fashion the show-bread racks, wine and water vases and other instruments on
display at the Institute. Some of the implements were crafted in fine woods and
then overlaid by solid gold while other parts were made of steel for strength
and then overlaid with gold. The more ornate and decorative detail was made of
pure gold. Also on display were priestly robes fashioned according to biblical
standards using the same fabric, weave and colors designated by ancient Jewish custom.
Over the bust hung a breast plate with 12 beautiful gemstones representing the
12 tribes of Other display cases included a
large pitch fork for tending the coals on the altar of sacrifice and an ornate
coal shovel. Another featured an elaborate ritual hand wash basin with spouts
and a golden incense chalice. The incense chalice holds half a portion (approx.
200 grams) of the incense offering. The chalice is carried into the sanctuary
of the The walls of this particular room
were adorned with several paintings depicting scenes of worship at the The tour includes a comprehensive
explanation of all the On our way to board our bus we
walked outside the The
Western Wall and Tunnels After an early breakfast we
boarded our bus for a short drive to the Western Wall which was formerly called
the “Wailing Wall.” Located below the
One of the most photographed Jewish sites in Jerusalem and regarded by many to be sacred, the Wall has a continuous presence of devout Jews, men and women standing and praying for everything from personal family needs to world peace and the promised coming of the Messiah. Prayers are often written on a small piece of paper and inserted in between the cracks and crevices of the ancient stone monument. A large plaza is situated in front of the Wall where tourists and residents intermingle criss-crossing each others paths. To the right as you stand facing the Wall, an area is sectioned off for women to approach the Wall and offer their prayers. Men enter an area to the left side and are separated from the women. Both men and women are required to put on a “head covering” to enter and offer prayer and supplication. The requirement for a head covering caused me some concern with regards to New Testament faith, prayer and application. On my 2006 tour, Rita Williams accompanied me and Larry Spargimino from Southwest Church Radio was also on this trip to assist Noah Hutchings during the tour. On both trips when we were told that men must wear a head covering to go and pray at the Wall, bells rang in my head remembering this was an improper requirement for Christians. In 2006, when a large number of the men from our group went to line up to go pray and the women likewise, I stood with Rita in the center of the plaza, opened up the scriptures to I Corinthians and publicly with a loud voice, began to exhort from the scriptures the following… 1 Corinthians 11:1-4 “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.” As I was speaking, a few of the women from our group gathered with us on the plaza and listened to me exhort further on obedience to these commandments being as a service to our Lord and a form of worship to Him in Spirit and truth. A few others not from our group also stood near to hear what the messenger was speaking. Even so, the men all hurried over in ignorance thinking such a precept coming from Paul was not relevant to Christians. After Larry Spargimino came away from the Wall to wait our gathering tour members Rita and I approached him with a few women following and questioned him why these men were not warned what our New Testament scriptures say of this and why this was always so easily overlooked by many mainstream church groups. I quoted the same scriptures to him and cited the necessity for God-fearing obedience to them. Larry acknowledged I made a good point but confessed he did not think this was such a big deal and suggested the subject matter was confusing because of the following references made to women and their hair being a natural covering. On this tour in 2008, I thought I’d be more proactive this time and asked permission from Hela and Noah if I could address our group of this often overlooked citation before disembarking our bus. They agreed and handed me the microphone but I sensed a bit of tension in the air as I gave remembrance to this passage and reminded the men especially, that they should show courage and honor and not compromise for the sake of doing as the Jews do. Since there were two or three Church Pastors along with us on this trip I was curious to see if the message would be received and honored by them. Renée and I stood in the plaza with half our group as the other half went in with Hela to tour the underground tunnel along the Western Wall. I noticed a few men did take heed and decided to wait in the plaza area rather than go to the Wall to pray. My dear friend, Francis Pickering came to me and congratulated me on standing like a prophet to exhort an unpopular truth. As we waited we took photographs and watched the Pastors cover their heads and go to the Wall to pray. One of them approached me later and said that he agreed with me in principle but did not think this act was a very egregious sin. I agreed with him but replied the conviction upon my heart was strong compelling me to obey. 1 John 2:29 “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of him.” 1 John 3:7 “My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous:” Though we are not yet without sin, the gospels are designed to compel and urge believers to practice righteousness thereby being righteous in the eyes of God through the redeeming shed blood of Christ. To simply excuse one’s sin nature without attempting to overcome it and thereby justifying his/her desire or action is to give into temptation of the flesh rather than employ God’s grace to overcome it. The internal struggle within ourselves is that when we are battling against our selfish desires, we will oftentimes ignore the prompting of God’s Holy Spirit; this is sin. What amazes me is when conflict is present and God uses another human vessel to speak a timely “Word” or warning, how often that “Word” is so easily dismissed and not even understood to be of God’s timing and will. In my broad experience I have found that those who think they know God all the time (especially church Pastors) are generally the first to dismiss another man’s spoken “Word” especially if that man is not of the acknowledged clergy class. Additionally, recognizing prophets and messengers today is rare among mainstream Christian clergy. True prophets don’t carry specialized ID cards or wear name tags and neither do they begin an introduction with, “I am a prophet.” No, they simply respond according to the Holy Spirit’s unction and timing and sometimes are not aware until after the fact that that they have been used by God for just such an occasion. Too many professing Christians today cannot see beyond their own reflection in a mirror thus missing out on edifying encounters designed by God to build up His true Church. Matthew 13:57 “And they were offended in him.
But Jesus said unto them, “A prophet is not
without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.” It was my half of the group’s turn to go below ground and tour the tunnels alongside the Western Wall. As we entered, a man handed me a head covering. In jest, I put mine on and Renée quickly snatches it off my head saying, “You’re not wearing that papa!” Meandering through an underground maze and ducking low under small archways we listened to Hela tell us that after the 1967 Six Day War, the Old City of Jerusalem was liberated and the Ministry of religious affairs undertook the task of clearing the Western Wall plaza area. Part of this project included efforts to remove tons of dirt and refuse by hand along the Western wall’s perimeter exposing magnificent underground structures comprising a continuous chain wrought in stone stretching from the Hasmonean era to modern day. The excavations revealed the entire length of the Wall extending 488 meters in length. Among the many structures was a
road from the We stopped at the face of the
wall to marvel at the largest known hewn foundation stone to exist in The differing heights of exposed wall
show differently styled foundation stones giving clues to what period they were
laid. The lower courses of foundation stones below these larger ones come from
the Part of the passage we walked
through was known as the “Large Hall,”
a subterranean structure consisting of four interlocking vaults built in either
the Ayyubid or Mamluk periods (13th or 14th century AD)
as a substructure to support the buildings above. Here, we stopped to watch a
computerized-mechanical model presentation of what the Nearby was an alcove where women
covered in scarves were offering their prayers. This spot is opposite of a
large “Foundation Stone” believed to be the traditional site from which the
world was created and which became the Holy of Holies. We passed a medieval
cistern and walked into a larger cistern from the Hasmonean period. The cistern
which had to remain open to the sky to collect rainwater had large elevated
stones on its perimeter which served as an ancient guardrail to keep passer-bys
from falling in. Part of our path was a street surface dating back to the Time did not permit us to walk
the entire length of the tunnels but to see the extent of differing
construction methods used through periods of time was fascinating to say the
least. Had we continued, we would have walked under the place where Herod had
built the Antonia Fortress on the north end of the Psalms 122:2 “Our feet stood poised at thy
gates, O Touching
the Essence of Life Every one of us is equal at the Western Wall. At the Wall, Jewish
feelings begin to surface, often for the first time, without our knowing how
and why. This essential experience is both deep and mysterious: touching the
stones of this still- standing ancient wall; identifying with the nation, the
heritage and the essence of life. Thoughts and feelings become clear at the
Western Wall, in their true proportions. Here is the place where lament and
joy, despair and hope unite. Looking at the Western Wall, perspectives and points of view sharpen;
the truly insignificant shrinks. These stones which observe beyond time and
place have seen it all, have breathed war and seen peace, experience calamity
and promise revival. Time does not stand still at the Wall. On the contrary, it
flows constantly from past and present into the future. Everything is inscribed and embedded in these stones: all that they
have gathered and absorbed throughout the generations, from those who clung to
the Wall as they prayed and from those who yearn from afar. The one who wishes to learn from them, to feel and understand, shall
come to Courtesy of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation After exiting the tunnels we came
back out to the plaza and we all stood in line together hoping to visit the Pool
of Here, the ruins are quite large.
As we entered the grounds we saw what I would describe as a terraced building
structure that was quite deep with tall columns and archways reaching toward
the sky. The pools no longer exist as the bottom is now dry earth but in the
time of Christ this was the place of an active geo-thermo spring which is not uncommon
in the John 5:1-3 “After this there was a feast of
the Jews; and Jesus went up to The scriptures record that an angel would visit at certain times and stir the waters which were believed to give healing to the lame that gathered near. A certain man who was crippled for 38 years could never get his-self into the waters in time as others would pass him by leaving him lay helpless. Now when Jesus saw the man He had compassion on him. John 5:4-9 “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another step down before me. Jesus saith unto him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath.” This became one of the contentions that some Jews held against Jesus but Jesus did not tell the man at first who had healed him. The man was caught carrying his bed on the Sabbath which according to Jewish Law was unlawful to do. John 5:10-13 “The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, “It is the Sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.” He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. Then they asked him, “What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?” And he that was healed did not know who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.” A little later Jesus saw the man
telling others in the Later when Jesus was defending His self from these harsh accusations about healing on the Sabbath He cited other meaningful works which were permitted by them to make a point. Luke 13:15 “But the Lord answered him, and said, “Ye hypocrites, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?” And thus Jesus became for us the Lord of Sabbath excusing us to attend to necessary good works even when we are practicing a Sabbath Day. But this is more a Christian practice than a Jewish custom. Luke 6:5 “And he said unto them, “The Son of man is lord of the Sabbath.” After taking a bunch of photos of
these spectacular ruins and touring down inside another large cistern we headed
for the Notre Dame De Sion Ecce Homo Convent, the place where Jesus was
scourged and mocked by the Roman soldiers. Ecce
Homo – “Behold the Man” John 19:5 “Then came Jesus forth, wearing
the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold
the man!” This area under the care of the
Sisters of Notre Dame of The underground Praetorium’s surface was made of polished Roman paving stones covering the entire court yard. Etched into several of the paving stones were what scholars believe to be Roman games. The etchings reminded me of the different games we would outline on the sidewalks or playground with chalk when we were kids. At least nine of the paving stones had etchings on their surface. It is hard to describe here what all the symbols represented but among them was the Star of David. A sign on the wall reads: “Games incised into the pavement remind us of Christ’s sufferings at the hands of the soldiers” Mark 15:16-20 “And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.” It is believed by scholars that
the games etched on these paving stones might be related to the cruel games the
Roman soldiers played when mocking Jesus. Since the days of the Crusaders,
Christian tradition has held this place to mark the beginning of the Via
Dolorosa; the trail of significant events that occurred leading to Christ’s
crucifixion. The Roman pavement here was laid by Hadrian above the vault of the
cistern (Struthion). Hadrian is also credited with renaming Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Leaving the Basilica we casually
walked down a number of A fairly crowded city built on a hill and under Palestinian authority. There is about 5% of the Palestinian population that are Christian and the rest Muslim. We would make only two stops; the place of Christ’s birth shared by three Churches and a popular jewelry gift shop that the tour guides will always take you to take advantage of the competitive prices. The Church grounds were massive
with a large outdoor plaza called, “ Still evident today in certain
parts of the Luke
2:4-7 “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was
of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child. And so it was,
that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them
in the inn.” Entrance to the Church was
through the “Door of Humility,” so
called because one has to stoop very low to get inside. Once inside you see
very old gothic style architecture with supporting columns provided by
different religious dignitaries from differing nations. Much of the furniture,
chandeliers and ornate décor added to the church’s religious atmosphere. The
first Church structure commemorating this site as the birth place of Christ was
built here by Helena, mother of It is generally accepted by most of the world’s Christians that this church indeed marks the cave site where Jesus would have been born. Apart from its religious flamboyance, this site and the ancient architecture offers a great deal of artistic and historic relevance. On my 2006 tour, when we were headed to the gift store, Palestinian children were playing on the street with toy guns much like we would have done when we were kids. When our bus passed these children playing war games they all picked up rocks and started pelting the bus as though we were not welcome. There is always some danger and risk when visiting behind the west Bank’s walls but staying within large groups like ours provides extra protection. A good rule of thumb is not to wander off on your own. After about an hour and one half
of shopping looking at all the potential gift items and selecting a few for my
other children, we hopped on board our bus to head back to our hotel in
Jerusalem. The Palestinian bus stops just outside the security gate, drops us
off to board our Israeli tour bus and returns us to the Olive Tree Hotel. As I
was disembarking the bus I asked our driver, Moshe, if he could recommend a
good night club in town for me to take my daughter Renée out for the evening.
He passes me a piece of paper with his cell phone number on it and the name, “ The
After dinner we showered and
relaxed a bit before heading out on the town. Renée had just turned 21 a couple
weeks before our trip to I finally spotted a couple of bar
stools on an upper deck above the main floor and Renée and I quickly navigated
through the swarm to catch a table. The place was filled with smoke, beautiful
women, dancing and drinking. Instead of a relaxing night out on the town our
little excursion became more of an evening of observation studying the social
habits of END Part Eight With all Sincerity and love for the truth and my scattered brethren abroad, Nicholas A. Stivers – a God-fearing disciple, scribe and messenger |