Showing posts with label Anarina Heymann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anarina Heymann. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Fulfilled Jerusalem Prophecies—Including Isaiah 37:33 - JONATHAN FELDSTEIN CHARISMA


Archaeologists have found arrows only from the Babylonian and Roman period, but none from the Assyrian besiegement. (Pixabay/suju)

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Fulfilled Jerusalem Prophecies—Including Isaiah 37:33

Recently I got to spend more time over one week in Jerusalem's City of David than I've spent there in the past 30 years. Living a mere 15 minutes from Jerusalem, I try to be mindful of how incredible it is to have the privilege to be in the holy city often, even for things as mundane as business meetings, to see a movie or go shopping. However, there are special places within Jerusalem that are at the very foundation of the city, literally, and being able to spend time there is indescribably awesome.
My visit was in two parts, under the auspices of The Jerusalem Watch, which hosts extensive and compelling daytime tours (The Jerusalem Watch Tour), offering those who are passionate about Jerusalem a "tangible opportunity to connect by taking an active role in uncovering the glory and history of ancient Jerusalem; literally becoming part of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy."
The excitement of any visitor is magnified by that of AnaRina Heymann, director of The Jerusalem Watch. Her passion for being able to share and connect people to the City of David's significance is matched by the abundance of information she transmits; connecting ancient Jerusalem to the Bible and making it come to life with incredible depth.
Because Jerusalem is built with Jerusalem stone, a pale limestone common 3000 years ago and today, I've always been frustrated that pictures don't do the scenery justice. Up close, the majestic beauty is vivid, and made even richer by the dimension and color AnaRina adds.
While the history of the City of David goes back 3000 years to King David, only in the past 150 years was it clear that the original biblical Jerusalem lay just south of and outside what's today known as the Old City. It doesn't make the Old City any less significant, but in finding and excavating the original city makes that all the more important. It's the very foundation of Jerusalem, wrapped up in biblical prophecy that's unfolding today, the foundation of both Judaism and Christianity, and of course biblical history and modern politics.
Simply, visiting the City of David is a must for anyone visiting Israel.
In 1867, British officer and engineer Charles Warren set out to discover Jerusalem. He was the first to begin to unearth 2000 years of civilizations that had been buried as foreign occupiers destroyed and then built new atop the old. For thousands of years, while the world looked inside the relatively modern walls of the Old City, the original Jerusalem lay buried.
Just 50 years later, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration, the world power affirming the Jewish right and destiny to return to Zion. In the same year, as he conquered Jerusalem from the Ottomans, and in a moment of great humility, General Allenby depicted how awesome a moment it was and dismounted his horse to enter the Old City by foot. If he had only known what lay buried just several hundred yards south and east, he might have prostrated himself and kissed the ground.
Fifty years after Allenby conquered Jerusalem, Israel, already a thriving albeit newly reborn Jewish state, reunited modern with biblical Jerusalem. And today, 50 years later and 150 years since Charles Warren discovered the ancient City of David, the intersection of the Bible as a roadmap with modern archaeology is revealed one bucket of dirt at a time, with stones restored one by one to the wall of the city King David built.
There are many unique and indeed compelling aspects of a tour of the City of David that are a must. Each will have his own highlights. Mine were varied.
I saw a 3000-year-old olive tree just south of David's palace. Did David plant it or was it planted at his instruction? Either way, the tree has witnessed and survived countless wars and sieges, majestically still bearing fruit today.
I appreciated a deeper understanding of ancient Hebrew and how the biblical names overlay the history and geography, and enrich understanding of the biblical accounts about which we read and pray.
It was awesome seeing actual spots at which biblical kings were anointed, where King David spotted Bathsheba bathing, and where pilgrims prepared to ascend to the temple, providing a vivid depiction and understanding that's unparalleled and transforming.
With an ancient aqueduct at the end of my block miles away that used to provide water to biblical Jerusalem, it's incredible to see Jerusalem's original water sources, and engineering to harness the water before our eyes.
Seeing the prophecy of Isaiah 37:33, "Therefor, thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, no build a siege ramp against it." In fact, archaeologists have found arrows only from the Babylonian and Roman period, but none from the Assyrian besiegement.
The second part of my visit was to the new nighttime multimedia program, "Halleluyah." I enjoyed it thoroughly and found it meaningful on a variety of levels. Children and those who are more visual will especially appreciate this unique multimedia presentation of Jerusalem's history, where the canvas depicting the destruction and restoration of the city is the actual walls of the original City of David over which Jews wept 2500 years ago.
In short, I came away with the awareness that there is no more significant place in Jerusalem. It underscores 3000 years of unbreakable Jewish history as well as the foundation on which Christianity was born, and makes the 1400-year old mosque sitting above it seem all the more out of place.
As I emerged from a hefty hike ascending through an ancient drainage tunnel from the bottom of the City of David until almost the point where it reaches the Temple Mount, I was refreshed by a cool breeze. But I was chilled by the realization that in this same place, the breeze that felt so good to me was the same breeze that David himself felt sitting in the exact same location.
I found another unintended meaningful part of the visit. At the end of the "Halleluyah" multimedia presentation, the prophesy of Jews returning from exile is depicted, beginning with Nehemiah and continuing throughout the millennia, including me and my family. Animated arrows represented the sources and origins of Jewish migration back to the Land. But it is also a metaphor for something archeologically incontrovertible.
The opposite of arrows and siege is strength and reinforcement. Unlike the arrows found from ancient armies that sought to conquer Jerusalem, these arrows depict the prophetic Jewish return to the Land, also representing the strengthening of Jerusalem today, which is how we will continue to be protected from arrows and sieges in the future.
If you want to see and understand the foundation upon which Jerusalem, and all of the past 3000 years of Jewish history, is built, and to see the fulfillment of Isaiah's words, ""Shake yourself from the dust; arise, O captive Jerusalem" (Isa. 52:2a), the City of David needs to be your next stop
Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has been blessed by the calling to fellowship with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for Standing With Israel at charismanews.com. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.
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Friday, March 17, 2017

Prophecy Fulfilled: City of David 'Shakes Off the Dust' - CBN News Chris Mitchell


CBN News image, Photo, Jonathan Goff
CBN News image, Photo, Jonathan Goff
Prophecy Fulfilled: City of David 'Shakes Off the Dust'
03-15-2017
CBN News Chris Mitchell
JERUSALEM, Israel – When people visit Jerusalem's Old City, they may believe it's the same place King David set up as his capital more than 3,000 years ago. But that's not exactly the case. Archaeologists are uncovering the original city and telling others its amazing story.
Anarina Heymann serves as the outreach coordinator for the City of David.
"Welcome to the City of David," Heymann told CBN News. "It's the home to the ancient biblical Jerusalem and up until 150 years ago, everybody thought that the ancient biblical Jerusalem lies within the confines of the Old City right behind you in the wall – within the walls there. So the question is what happened 150 years ago and where is the ancient biblical Jerusalem?"
She then helped answer that question by explaining how the City of David lay hidden for nearly 2,000 years until a British archaeologist began a discovery that continues to this day.
"Chris, we're standing at a magical place right now," Heymann continued. "This is the place when Charles Warren came through the fascia that he found. He saw something.  And when Charles Warren saw this, he knew that he rediscovered the ancient biblical Jerusalem."
Asked if this Warren's work was the beginning of the unveiling of the City of David in modern times, she responded, "Exactly because we're speaking of a 2,000 year period where nobody knew where the ancient city was. Most people thought when they – when they came – that what they saw in the Old City, that was ancient biblical Jerusalem. It's only when he found this that they discovered…the ancient Jerusalem lies outside of what we call today the Old City."
The discovery of the tunnel system known as Warren's Shaft visually tells how King David captured the city and brings the Bible to life.
"When we saw this, we suddenly saw exactly how the picture came together," Heymann continued. "And many times when we do excavations, we also don't know what we're looking at and then we have to go to the Bible and that starts explaining it. So it's the Bible and then the excavations and the excavations and the Bible coming together, giving us the full picture of ancient Jerusalem."
Anointing Israel's Kings
Further down, archaeologists found where men became kings.
"Most of the kings of Israel were anointed where we're standing right now.  We are standing at the place of anointing. And Isaiah says you will draw forth water with joy from the springs of salvation," she said.
In fact, the City of David echoes with the people of the Bible.
"Abraham, when he met Melchizedek, but then we get to David, to Solomon, we get to Isaiah when he was giving his prophecies on these very walls here," she said. "Jeremiah, afterwards, when he had to speak about the destruction that was looming over Jerusalem … all those things happening exactly where we're standing right now."
More than 10 years ago, archaeologists uncovered another biblical site, the Pool of Siloam, which was fed by the nearby Gihon Spring. It's the place where Jesus healed the blind man and also where the Jewish people would gather for the Feasts of the Lord.
"Three times a year, all the men had to come to the mikvah (ritual bath) in the pool and from there get ready to go to Temple Mount and this is the walk, the final ascent, that all the pilgrims can do again when they come to Jerusalem," she explained.
Heymann sees this final ascent as a merger between archaeology and prophecy.
Opening a Door to the Future
"Something amazing is happening because you see that we are now excavating this road and again prophecy is being fulfilled because it says in Isaiah 'build up, build up the road,' the highway. And it says remove the stones for my people's return," she said.
One ongoing excavation is the tunnel leading from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount. Heymann says it reveals the past and opens a door to the future.
One of the City of David's most ambitious projects is an excavation called the Givati, where the entire history of Jerusalem is being revealed as if the rocks are crying out.
"You can see exactly how she (Jerusalem) slowly disappeared from civilization because one city was built upon the other, and you could see how probably the city could have lost hope, thinking 'who's ever going to discover me again? Until God says, but in a time of favor, nothing can stop it and that's what we see in Giviti. Jerusalem is slowly being revealed," she said.
She sees prophecy unfolding.     
"We're starting to see in the last decade, the blueprint. She's starting to share what she looked like to us again. So you can see how prophecy is speeding up as we go. It's said [Hebrew] 'shake off your dust, arise, take your rightful place, Jerusalem.' If you see the excavations here on a daily basis, you can see the buckets flying. You can see the dust literally flying about, how she's shaking off her dust."  
Heymann considers her role in the City of David a privilege.
"I call myself the luckiest person in the world – the luckiest girl in the world – because I have the opportunity to take what we see here and tell the people about the City of David, about the ancient Jerusalem, and every person that is passionate about Jerusalem and serious about biblical prophecy needs to know this," she said.
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