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Location -
Israel.Description -
The site where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, King Solomon was commanded to build the first temple by god, and the place where the Prophet Mohammed 's ascension occurred into paradise on his celebrated 'Night journey'. (12).Jerusalem is considered a 'earth navel' by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike. (10).
The Dome of the rock - With a perimeter of about 61m (200ft). (12). Three stones 'under-pin' the dome of the rock. They are estimated to weigh from 600 - 800 tons. They were found when excavations along the 'Wailing wall' uncovered them.
The church of the Holy Sepulchre - Outside the old city a church marks the spot where Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in his tomb. When Emperor Hadrian raised Jerusalem in the 2nd Century AD, he built a temple to Venus on the site. Following a division made in 1757 by the ruling Turks, the holy place is shared by Greek orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian, Syrian and Coptic churches.(12).
(View a map of the underground features on the 'Temple Mount')
Chronology of Jerusalem:
597 BC - The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar seizes Jerusalem. (11).
589 BC - Pro-Egyptian rebellion lasts 2 ˝ years. (11).
586 BC - The city falls again to the Babylonians. This time the temple and Jerusalem are totally destroyed. (11).
539 BC - The Persian king Cyrus takes Babylon, Jews are allowed to return with the treasures that Nebuchadnezzar took. (11)
- Temple rebuilt before end of 6th century by Zerubbabel (11).
67 AD - The Nazoreans or 'Zealots' take Jerusalem and the Temple (11).
70 AD - The city falls to Titus (Romans). Herod's temple destroyed. (11). Temple to Jupiter erected. (10).
2nd Century AD - Emperor Hadrian raises Jerusalem (12).
325 AD - Jerusalem experiences 300 years of Christian domination. Jews and Muslims barred (12).
691 AD - Muslims conquer city, The Caliph of Damascus 'Abd al-Malik', builds the 'Dome of the rock' mosque, and covers it with gold mosaics, the Ottoman Turks later replaced these with 45,000 tiles. The Dome today is covered with gold-plated aluminium embellishes with verses from the Koran (12).
14th June 1099 AD - Jerusalem captured by the Christian crusaders (Templars). The Templars excavate the ruins of Herod's temple in Jerusalem. The Qumran scrolls (Dead Sea scrolls), tell how the community hid its wealth under the Temple (11).
Alignments
- Solomon’s temple was orientated due east, so that the dawn-light would have entered the Tabernacle at both the spring and autumn equinoxes. Commenting on the autumn equinox Lady Flavia says: “In Jerusalem the solar orb would on this day rise directly over and appear to rest on the Mount of Olives. John Michell and Christine Rhone, in their work Twelve Tribe Nations and the Science of Enchanting the Landscape (1991) remark: “….the ‘Messianic ley’ from the Mount of Olives and along the Temple axis points directly to the most sacred rock of Christendom, the hill of Golgotha or Calvary whereon Jesus was crucified. Golgotha is a natural rock pinnacle, a miniature sacred mountain, which in the time of Jesus stood just outside the city walls. There is archaeological evidence that it was once a place of pagan worship. It is traditionally claimed that Adam’s skull is buried beneath it, and this contributes to its Christian reputation as the symbolic earth navel.”
References:
10). Paul Devereux. Living Ancient Wisdom. Rider press.2002.
11). Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas. The Hiram Key. Arrow press. 1996.
12). The atlas of mysterious places. Guild publishing. 1987.