Jerusalem - Mount of Olives

A long ridge that was once covered with rich green olive trees, the heights that border Jerusalem to its east figure prominently in Biblical events. David ran to the Mount of Olives for sanctuary after learning of his son Absalom’s treachery [2 Samuel 15:30]; it was the hill on which Solomon built pagan altars for his foreign wives [1 Kings 11:7-8]. It was the crossing place for the scapegoat. Ever since the First Temple Period Jews have yearned to be buried on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Many believe that when the Messiah comes he will descend the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem through the Gates of Mercy and that, resurrected, they too will enter the Holy City. Early tombs include three monumental burial sites in the Kidron (Jehoshaphat) Valley.   Jesus frequented the mountain often, traveling over the mountain to visit his friends Lazarus, Mary, Martha and Simon the Leper in Bethany. On at least one occasion It was there that He gave a major address to the disciples [Matthew 24]. He spent the night before his arrest in the gardens at Gethsemane, where brought guards to arrest him [John 18]. Judas betrayed him the next morning. The mountain’s slopes are filled with churches commemorating events in Jesus’ life. The Mosque of the Ascension covers the spot from which Moslems recall Jesus’ ascension to Heaven. On the slope, the tear-shaped chapel on its slope is the spot at which he wept while recalling the dire future in store for the Holy City of Jerusalem [Luke 19].