Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus, was a wealthy man who wanted to honor the Lord by giving Him his place of burial. I went in to the tomb in Jerusalem and there I found someone had carved a quotation from Mark 16:6, “He is risen, he is not here.” As I read this, my knees lost all strength. I knelt down and kept on looking at the empty tomb. It had been a very emotional week for me, but that was there where I totally lost it. Tears kept on coming without my permission and there was nothing I could do.

To think that my Savior gave His life for me and laid right there in that stone tomb in front of me was too much to take. I know that people came in and out and took photos, but I was not aware of them. You have to understand this: I have been preaching and teaching for 40 years with a power as if I have been touched by 220 watts from heaven. This was not just a tomb; it was the tomb where my Savior laid!!

Many verses from the Word kept on coming to my mind: “Jesus suffered outside of the gate …” (Hebrews 13:12.) “Near the city…” (John 19:20.) “People passed by, insulting Christ on the cross…” (Matthew 27:39.) “ While friends stood at a distance…” (Luke 23:49.) Yes, this place of “the skull,” in Aramaic is called “Golgotha.” My father used to preach on these verses. By the way, my father’s greatest desire was to come to this place, The Garden Tomb.

Well, I wept and thanked God for the greatest gift the world has ever received: Jesus Christ.

A man from Idaho touched my shoulder and said to me in a kind voice, “Son, He is not here.” I responded, “Sir, He is!” He looked to me and said, “Oh, well, the Spirit thing, I guess.”

I cried some more.

Rick Bonfim

The view of Jerusalem and the Kidron valley from the Mount of Olives is phenomenal. If you have never been in the Holy Land, when you see it, you will know that you were born to see this and to be there all your life. We looked at the Old City Walls of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Within those walls are the Zion Gate, the Jaffa Gate, the New Gate, the Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate, the Lion Gate, the Dung Gate, and the Golden Gate. Each one has a different meaning and different purpose. We looked down from the Mount of Olives and saw thousands of graves surrounding the Golden Gate. We crossed the Kidron Valley and came to the cemetery near the Golden Gate. As we walked on a path outside of the Old City, passing the Muslim graves on each side, we came right up to the outer walls, which were about 40 feet high. There it was, right in front of us: the Golden Gate. We could see the former splendor of the gate, which today is closed and sealed. All gates leading into the Old City of Jerusalem are open except this one. They closed up the Golden Gate and surrounded it with graves!

My heart went out to the thousands of Christians worldwide who cannot see this site. Every site in Israel costs to get in. Even the ruins of the town of Caesarea Philippi costs; just to the see the old ruins of the temple of the god Pan costs. However, it cost nothing to walk up to the Golden Gate.

When I came close to the Golden Gate, my heart was palpitating fast. I sensed energy coming from my body. Everything around it is dead, but the power of God is alive in those walls. The real gate through which Jesus will pass when he returns is probably 30 feet below ground level, but the Holy Spirit is at the surface. God began to speak to me. When I reached the foot of the wall, I saw trash all around, as if that place was of no value to anyone. I saw more trash at the foot of the Golden Gate than anywhere else in that cemetery. Tears came into my eyes, because a place of holy value to me as a Christian who believes that Jesus Christ will come through that gate one day had been desecrated.

Two young man, one Jewish and the other Druze, called us to attention, saying that we should not be walking among the graves. “Sorry,” I said. “I came to see the Golden Gate.”

Rick Bonfim

Edited by Betty McKinney

The white and golden Roman-style stone blocks you see in Jerusalem in most of the homes and buildings has to be the most common color you see everywhere. Everything is beige. The walls of Jerusalem are made of these one-ton stones seemingly standing there forever. This Roman architecture prevails everywhere as a repeated theme. You cannot miss it.

Israel has lots of repeated themes, even when it comes to food. The pita bread with salad is offered daily, as if there is nothing else to eat. The pita bread is everywhere. I had some with hyssop and almost had to go to a hospital. It upset my entrails as if World War III was happening. A constant theme: Pita bread with small plates of salad. My advice to you: do not mix pita bread with hyssop oil.

Another theme of Israel is the schwarma. This is pita bread with shaved turkey. The turkey is cooked on a skewer, sliced, and warmed by gas heaters. They will shave a plate full and give it to you with pita bread. The problem here is that this turkey has been there for a week and even though looks good, it has some age to it.

Everywhere we went, Belle Ralston pointed out to me the beautiful flower called bouganvilla, which grows all over Israel. One day she noticed a very strange tree. It was a tall cedar tree covered with red bouganvilla. The bouganvilla flower is everywhere. The red of this flower overcame the green of the tree.

How I wished the red of Jesus’ blood would overcome Jerusalem’s Roman stones and give it a new color. During Armageddon blood will run through the streets of Jerusalem. As the bouganvilla covers the cedars, I wish the blood of Jesus would run over every Chassidic Jew. It would be good to have the blood of Jesus run over every basilica filled with religious spirits. And since we are at it, why not have the blood of Jesus run over every tourist shop filled with gadgets for Americans. Come, Lord Jesus!

Rick Bonfim