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Can you picture the scene? The very Passover lambs that PICTURED the very PASSOVER
LAMB Himself passed by Him on the road to the Temple as He hung there sacrificing Himself for
those very same people who were carrying them! What incredible fulfillment; what a mind-
boggling scene when you understand what happened on that afternoon almost 2,000 years ago!

Christ MADE SURE that the Romans would have no reason whatsoever to crucify Him at
any other location but right there on the slopes of the Mount of Olives where He committed His
"crimes" and was arrested.

Christ, at His death, fulfilled ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE ROMAN LAW!!

What About "The Place of the Skull"?

It is plainly indicated that our Savior was led to a place known as "Golgotha" for His cru-
cifixion: "They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)."
(Mat.27:33). "Carrying his own cross, he went out to The Place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is
called Golgotha)." (John 19:17).

The word "Golgotha" is also used in the Old Testament and signifies a "skull" in two
places (Judges 9:53; II Kings 9:35), the human "head" once (I Chron.10:10) and nine times it de-
notes "poll" or "head-count." The New Testament, however, indicates the connotation of "skull" --
"The Place of the Skull."

Is there any indication in the records of history of a small hill or outcropping on the slopes
of the Mount of Olives facing the east gate of the Temple? Indeed there is. A Christian pilgrim
known as the Bordeaux Pilgrim visited the area in 333 A.D. In his written itinerary of the trip he
mentions that on top of the Mount of Olives there was a MONTICULUS or "little hill."

Then, to the puzzlement of scholars over the ages, he claims the TRANSFIGURATION of
Christ took place at this spot. This is a BLATANT GEOGRAPHICAL MISTAKE because the
New Testament makes it quite clear that the "transfiguration" took place in Galilee -- many miles
to the north of the Holy City! So why, then, did he make this claim? Probably because of a
MISUNDERSTANDING of the Latin! There are several different words in Latin used to denote
the act of crucifixion. One of these is TRANSFIGERE -- meaning to "transfix a person with nails
or some other sharp instrument." This word, which means TRANSFIXIATION, is very close pho-
netically to the word which means "TRANSFIGURATION" -- TRANSFIGURARE! Dr. Martin
claims that "In spoken Latin (and with various Latin accents found among the pilgrims and resi-
dents of Jerusalem when the Pilgrim was there) the words TRANSFIGERE and TRANSFIGU-
RARE could well have sounded similar to the Bordeaux Pilgrim...But even the Latin people in
Jerusalem at the time of the Pilgrim were also making the mistake of thinking the transfiguration
occurred on Olivet." (Secrets of Golgotha, p.61).

It is highly probable, though, that this MONTICULUS on top of the Mount of Olives was
indeed the site of Christ's death, or TRANSFIXIATION.

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