The Best Rolling Stone Tomb in Israel — Khirbet Midras

As Easter approaches, I thought I would share a few related blog posts that contain some images that some of you might find useful for Easter presentations.

View Looking East at the entrance to the First Century A.D. Tomb

View looking east at the entrance to the tomb. The rolling stone was 6 ft. [1.8 m.] in diameter and 1.3 ft [0.4 m.] thick. It was placed between two walls, each built of hewn stone. When discovered, it still rolled in its trough!

The tomb itself was in use during the Roman Period — up until A.D. 135.

In my estimation, it was the best example of a rolling stone tomb in the country of Israel. It seems to illustrate well passages from the Gospels which speak of Jesus’ tomb as being closed by a rolling stone. See especially Matthew 27:57-66; 28:1-2; Mark 15:42–47; 16:1–8; Luke 24:1–2, 10–11; and John 20:1, 11–18.

Horvat Midras (Hebrew) or Khirbet Durusiya (Arabic) is located 19 mi. [30 km.] southwest of Jerusalem in the Shephelah. The ancient remains are spread over hundreds of dunams in the area. The site dates to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

View of the Courtyard of the “Rolling Stone Tomb” at Khirbet Midras—prior to its destruction

In 1976 part of the cemetery was excavated. Several tombs were uncovered, including, in my estimation, THE BEST ROLLING STONE TOMB in the country. Unfortunately in the late 1990’s the tomb site was totally destroyed by vandals!#%$@!!

BUT it has been reconstructed and is now visible in the Adullam Park!

To view 3 additional images of the tomb Click Here.

For images of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher see: Calvary and Tomb.

Click to see images of Gordon’s Calvary and the Garden Tomb.

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Jerusalem: The Tomb of Jesus (short video)

I have seen a number of news articles describing the newly refurbished Tomb of Jesus that is within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.  Todd Bolen has summarized what appears to be the most complete article on the topic from The Daily Mail—with 14 clear photos (the original article is worth reading/viewing)

The Refurbished Tomb — From The Daily Mail and AP

I was wondering where the “what is believed to be the original stone wall of the burial cave inside the renovated Edicule in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre” was located.  The following 0:41 second video shows that it is on the far (west) wall of the burial chamber (see 0:30 following).

To view 11 photos of this structure before the refurbishing Click Here.

Unusual Photos of a Recent Visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher/Resurrection

On my first day in Jerusalem I like to go the Church of the Holy Sepulcher before our groups arrive.  The following are some photos that I took of our visit on 31 December 2016

The Tomb of Jesus is still undergoing reconstruction. It is still “walled off” but pilgrims are able to enter the tomb itself. Click on Image to Enlarge and or Download.

An architectural piece from and earlier structure (Constantinian [ca A.D. 340]?) Note the massiveness of the stone AND especially the carving and the well-preserved painting on it.

The now blocked western entrance to the Crusader Church on Christian Quarter Road.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch praying at the Stone of Anointing at the entrance of the Church.

A Coptic Priest leading prayers west of the Tomb of Jesus.

To view over seventy (70) images of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Click Here.  These free, High Resolution Images, are arranged in 12 convenient folders.

Tomb of Jesus to Be Revealed

I cannot believe that this is going to happen in my lifetime!  The Christian communities that control the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have agreed to take apart the aedicule that encases what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus—beginning in April 2016!

View looking down from the dome of the rotunda on to the structure that covers the Tomb of Jesus. This structure is the most recent of a series, from the time of Constantine that have enshrined the tomb of Jesus. It was constructed after the great fire of 1808 and was completed in 1810.

The New York Times has an extensive article on this topic that informs this post.

View looking south at the northern wall of the monument that encases the Tomb of Jesus. The entrance to the tomb is from the left side of the image—behind the three large candelabra. Note the iron casing that prevents the structure from collapsing—that were put in place in 1947.

The idea is to peel away hundreds of years of the shrine’s history, clean it and put it back together.

They will take apart, slab by slab, the ornate marble shell built in 1810, during Ottoman rule of Jerusalem. The conservationists will then tackle the remains of the 12th-century Crusader shrine that lies underneath. That was erected after the Shiite ruler of Egypt, al-Hakim, destroyed the first Aedicule in 1009. The original was built by Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, the Christian Roman emperor who did much to elevate the status of Christianity through the empire.

Please see the link to the NY Times article for details.

For more images of this shrine and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Click Here.

HT: Jim Monson of Biblical Backgrounds