The Mount Of Olives
If Jesus Christ had favorite places during His earthly
life, the Mount of Olives was certainly one of them. He spent much time there.
The 2 mile (3½ kilometers) long Mount of Olives is a flattened ridge series located just a few hundred yards (meters) east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It rises over 200 feet (60 meters) above the Kidron Valley which separates those two very significant places. (see also Bible Places)
The Mount of Olives was the place where numerous events of Bible History occurred. Many of the most important people of the Bible walked upon it sooner or later.
The Old Testament
King David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape from Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15:30). After King Solomon became corrupt, he built pagan "high places" there (1 Kings 11:7). Later, King Josiah destroyed Solomon's idolatrous altars, by which time it had become known as the Hill of Corruption (2 Kings 23:13-14). Ezekiel had his vision of The Lord and the flying cherubim above it (Ezekiel 11:22-23). The people gathered olive branches there for the first Feast of Tabernacles after their return from The Babylonian Exile (Nehemiah 8:15).
The New Testament
Jesus regularly went up onto the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39). He often traveled over it on His way to Bethany to visit His friend Lazarus. His famous Olivet prophecy is named after it (Matthew 24:1-51). The Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding on a Donkey and her colt into Jerusalem took place over and down the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:28-44). Jesus prayed with His disciples there just before His arrest That Fateful Night (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus was arrested there, during which Peter struck the servant of the high priest with a sword and cut off his ear (Luke 22:49-51). Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Mount of Olives after His Resurrection, and He ascended into heaven from there (Acts 1:1-12).
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