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The Mount of Olives in YEHOVAH God’s Plan 17

The location of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is west of the Temple area -- facing the
BACK of the Temple building as it was in the Messiah’s time. Not only that, but a wall was located
between this area and the Temple at the time of the Messiah’s death. If the crucifixion had taken
place at this particular spot, it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for the centurion, and others, to have
seen the veil at the Temple’s entrance tear -- as described in Matthew 27:51-54.

For the very same reason, the Messiah would not have been “in the presence” of
YEHOVAH God as his sentence was carried out. In other words, he would not have been facing the
entrance to the Temple, in line with the Holy of Holies where YEHOVAH’s Shekinah Glory re-
sided.

Another big problem with this particular site is the fact that it lies well within the 2,000-cubit
distance from the Temple area. Remember, the crucifixion occurred OUTSIDE the 2,000-cubit per-
imeter at the place called “outside the camp” -- a SPECIFIC site just outside the city on the Mount
of Olives. Also, we should realize that no new tombs or gardens were allowed inside the 2,000-cubit
area, referred to as “within the camp” at the time of the Messiah.

2/. Gordon’s Tomb.

To be different, the Protestants have their particular site for the crucifixion -- called
Gordon’s Tomb! This area was proposed in 1883 by the British General Gordon of Khartoum fame,
and based upon the strange idea that by superimposing an imaginary skeleton on the city of Jerusa-
lem, the place where the skull fell indicated the crucifixion site!! So, with this flawed reasoning,
Gordon selected a hill in the area with eye-like openings, asserting that this fit the meaning of “place
of the skull.” It is interesting to note that these eye-like features in the hill area are the result of ero-
sion that has taken place since the death of the Messiah, and simply DID NOT exist 2,000 years go!

Just like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Gordon’s Tomb does not satisfy the basic scrip-
tural requirement of provid-
ing a vantage point of the
Temple so that observers
could see the huge veil tear
from top to bottom. This is
because Gordon’s Tomb is
located NORTH of the Tem-
ple -- away from the eastern
entrance where the veil
hung.

Be this as it may, the
final blow to the authenticity
of this site came in the pages
of the Biblical Archaeology
Review magazine. An article
in this magazine points out
Tomb under Pater Noster Church the fact that Gordon’s Tomb

The Berean Voice March-April 2003