Golgotha

The Crucifixion Site of Jesus By: Ernest L Martin

Bible and Spade (Autumn 1992)

Since the publication of my book Secrets of Golgotha in the Spring of 1988, there has been a steady flow of new information which shows that the crucifixion of Jesus took place on the Mount of Olives. Some of the evidence has come from other scholars who have seen the fact that Jesus was executed somewhere near the summit of Olivet. A great deal has also been arrived at by further research of my own. What is emerging is real evidence that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb located in Jerusalem are nowhere near the proper spot where the actual crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place. This fact has revolutionary consequences associated with it. This is because the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox churches for the past 1660 years have generally accepted the area associated with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the crucifixion site. Even classical historians have thought the site has most of the historical credentials to justify its acceptance by the scholarly world. But this new evidence shows that the Constantinian Church is thoroughly wrong. The Bible and history plainly establish that the Mount of Olives is the real place of the crucifixion.

Just over 118 years ago in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly (1873, 115; also 1870, 379–381) Dr. Hutchinson suggested that the crucifixion of Jesus must have taken place east of the Temple Mount — which placed it on the Mount of Olives. Until the publication of my book Secrets of Golgotha, that is the last scholarly indication I have found which suggests that the crucifixion happened on Olivet. Since AD 1873, the only candidates for the site have been the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was built west of the second wall of Jerusalem or at the Garden Tomb region north and east of the Damascus Gate. But my book shows from the New Testament and early Jewish records that the southern summit of the Mount of Olives near the altar “without the sanctuary” where the Red Heifer was burnt to ashes (Ez 43:21) has far greater credentials for being the site.

Sacrifice of the Red Heifer:

The first point to notice is that the burning of the Red Heifer and Jesus’ crucifixion were symbolically connected in a precise way by Christians who lived during the period of Herod’s Temple. The author of the Book of Hebrews (about AD 61) stated that Jesus was a “sin offering” for the world and that His sin-atoning death epitomized the symbolic role of all the sin offerings sacrificed at the Temple (Heb 10:8–14). The major sin offerings were burnt to ashes at an altar region east of the Temple near the top of the Mount of Olives. Besides that, all of the ashes of the other sacrifices offered at the Altar of Burnt Offering in the Temple itself were deposited at the same altar east of the Temple on Olivet (Lv 4:12; 6:11). The author of Hebrews also connected the ashes of the Red Heifer (which were mixed with pure spring water) with the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus which occurred at the precise time of his crucifixion (Heb 9:13, 14). And particularly note this point. In the Letter of Barnabas (written by a person from Jerusalem about AD 90), the author stated that the Red Heifer in Christian circles was reckoned as Jesus. “The calf is Jesus: the sinful men offering it are those who led him to the slaughter” (8:2). Remarkably, very few Christian historians have asked: “Where was this Red Heifer altar?”

As explained in my book Secrets of Golgotha, the early Jewish records found in the Mishnah plainly state that the Red Heifer altar was located directly east of the Temple that existed in Jesus’ time and that it was just shy of the summit of the Mount of Olives (Middoth 1:3; 2:4; Yoma 7:2; along with the Talmud in Yoma 68a and Zebahim 105b). And here we find the author of the Letter of Barnabas directly stating that “the calf [heifer] is Jesus” and that “the sinful men offering it are those who led him [Jesus] to the slaughter” (8:2). It is well known in Jewish circles that the priests did indeed lead the heifer from the Temple on Mount Moriah eastward across a double-tiered arched bridge (called the Bridge of the Red Heifer) to an altar just outside the camp near the summit of Olivet. This is where they sacrificed and burnt to ashes the Red Heifer. This first century identification of Jesus with the Red Heifer is clear proof that early Jewish Christians connected the sacrifice of the heifer on the summit of Olivet with the death of Jesus which took place in the same vicinity But no sacrifices of the Temple were ever connected with the western area of the “Holy Sepulchre.”

Geographical Features:

While we moderns have wondered if we should use geographical features associated with the sin offerings as having literal geographical relationships to actual events in the life of Jesus, such usages were commonly applied by Biblical writers. Matthew symbolically associated a prophecy about Israel coming out of Egypt with Jesus and his stay in Egypt. While “Israel” of the prophecy could only symbolically refer to Jesus, Jesus still had to have been literally in Egypt for the symbol to be applied in any sensible way. Also, the symbolic teaching of Rachel weeping in Ramah could only be applied to those in Bethlehem because that is where Rachel’s cenotaph was located. Also, Isaiah’s reference to the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali could only apply to Jesus because these lands were in Galilee where Jesus taught. Thus, the geography associated with the symbols must be literal even if the symbols are not.

As an example, note a further geographical reference in the book of Hebrews associating the sin offerings of the Temple with the crucifixion of Jesus. The author stated that Jesus carried His reproach (the cross-piece for His crucifixion) to an altar located “outside the gate,” even “outside the camp” (Heb 13:10–14). There was the literal altar on Olivet that matches the author’s illustration. Indeed, in this case the author used the Tabernacle of Moses as his standard of reference (the Jewish authorities did the same thing in the Mishnah about a century later). It is important to note that the Tabernacle only had eastern gates. By using the Tabernacle as a standard, this points to the “gate” through which Jesus went to His crucifixion as being the east gate in the outer wall surrounding the Temple. Interestingly, this eastern gate was the same gate through which the major sin offering and the Red Heifer were taken to Olivet. The roadway through the eastern gate was designed specifically by the Jewish authorities to lead directly to the altar “outside the camp” where the Red Heifer was burnt to ashes. Early Jewish Christians were keenly aware of these ritualistic connections of the sin offerings with the death of Jesus. Geographically, these historical and Biblical texts about His crucifixion direct us to Olivet.

Furthermore, this Red Heifer altar was located just “outside the camp” which was at least 2000 cubits east of the Hall of the Sanhedrin then situated at the Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple, located on the left side of the Altar of Burnt Offering (Middoth 5:4; Sanhedrin 11:2; Yoma 25a). Indeed, just before Jesus was crucified, He was actually condemned to be executed while He stood before the Sanhedrin in the Chamber of Hewn Stones on the Temple Mount (see Shabbath 15a and Rosh ha-Shanah 31a, b). Since it was then the Passover season, the chief priest (the president of the Sanhedrin who was Caiaphas) and his deputy (Annas, the Sagan) were required to be resident in their quarters within the precincts of the Temple. They were then living in their official “houses” which were located in the Temple compound itself (Middoth 5:4; Encyclopaedia Judaica III.991). This is when the top priestly authorities left their own private houses (no doubt located on the aristocratic southwest hill of Jerusalem) and they took up residence within the Temple itself.

There were special times in the Jewish ecclesiastical year when residence within the Temple was essential for the High Priest and his deputy. For the seven days prior to offering the Red Heifer, the High Priest had to stay in his Temple “house” called the “House of Stone” (Parah 3:1). For the seven days prior to the Day of Atonement the High Priest had to reside within his “house” on the Temple Mount (Yoma 1:1). Though Josephus did not mention the Temple residency of the priests, he did state that such attendance at the Temple was a requirement for weekly Sabbaths, new moons and annual festivals (War V.230). Since Jesus was judged by the Jewish authorities at the Passover season, Caiaphas and Annas were not at their private homes during Jesus’ interrogation. Jesus was judged by the chief priests and condemned by the Sanhedrin while all parties were within the Temple enclosure. From the Christian point of view, this meant that Jesus was judged to die in His own Father’s House. He was sentenced to die “in the presence of God” who symbolically dwelt in the Holy of Holies.

After his judgment by the Sanhedrin on the Temple Mount, Jesus was then taken a short distance to the northwest part of the Temple courtyard where there was a stairway that led to Fort Antonia where Pilate was amongst his troops. Being at Antonia during Passover provided Pilate with a personal command over his resident army in order to properly control the festival crowds in Jerusalem, and especially those within the Temple precincts. After interrogating Jesus, Pilate washed his hands of the matter. Jesus was then led out of Fort Antonia and through the east gate of the Temple (which was also the east gate of Jerusalem) and taken over the two-tiered arched bridge of the Kidron Valley to the summit of Olivet near where the Red Heifer was sacrificed — a prominent area in Jerusalem.

The Area of Judgment:

This eastern area where Jesus was executed was famous for another reason. Jesus was actually crucified in the official area of Jerusalem that was designed for the execution of criminals and in the region that the Jewish authorities believed was the symbolic place where the whole world would one day be judged by God. This was the area directly east of the Temple but located “outside the camp” of Israel (Nm 15:35). The limits of the camp were determined in the time of Jesus to be a radius of 2000 cubits (near 3000 ft) from the Court of the Sanhedrin in the Temple (Rosh ha-Shanah 2:5, see also Sanhedrin 1:5 and Shebuoth 2:2 for the authority of the Jewish Supreme Court to set the limits of the camp). This factor alone disqualifies the present sites of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb from being the place of Jesus’ crucifixion (even though outside the walls) because both sites were within the official region of the “camp.”

The authorized place of execution for criminals in the time of Jesus had to be at least 2000 cubits from the Court of the Sanhedrin on the Temple Mount, but it had to be in a place where the condemned could see the entrances to the Temple located in a westward direction. The Biblical examples for judicial sentencing of people for their criminal acts in the time of Moses show they took place on the east side of the Sanctuary. Women accused of adultery were brought for judgment “before the Lord”, that is, to the east entrance of the Sanctuary (Nm 5:16–31). The two sons of Aaron were judged “before the Lord” on the east side of the Sanctuary (Lv 10:1–7). Korah and his Levites were also punished east of the Tabernacle (Nm 16:41–50).

It was important for official judgments to be rendered and executed east of the Temple. This allowed the judgments to be made “in the presence of God,” who figuratively faced east from his Sanctuary. Because of this, both the Sanhedrin and the lesser courts at Jerusalem in the time of Jesus were located in the Temple to the east of the Holy Place (Cohen 1949:299). It was reckoned that while God was symbolically sitting in the Holy of Holies, he could watch the proceedings going on in the law courts. God supposedly faced east while sitting on his Temple throne. Thus God in a figurative way had a panoramic view of all the ritualistic and judicial duties of his people which were being conducted east of the Sanctuary. This allowed all ceremonies (both religious and secular) to be done “in the presence of God.” It is remarkable that many textbooks written by Christian theologians fail to mention the importance of this eastern area in this regard nor do they show the location of the altar “without the Sanctuary” (Ez 43:21) where the Red Heifer was sacrificed and where the Day of Atonement sin offerings were burnt.

This eastern location was also significant in judicial matters involving capital crimes. Moses demanded that the place of executions had to be “outside the camp” (Nm 15:35, 36). All ritual sacrifices were offered east of the Sanctuary and in full view of God who figuratively dwelt in the Holy of Holies, and the prime sin offerings were burnt “outside the camp” at the summit of Olivet. And in Jewish practice, heinous criminals were required to be their own “sin offerings” in paying for their sins (without having the benefit of an animal sacrifice as a substitute) (Cohen 1949:185, n. 1).

Since the major sin offerings were sacrificed near the summit of the Mount of Olives, this is why criminals were “sacrificed” as being their own sin offerings in the same vicinity. This is precisely the area where the later Jerusalem church believed Stephen was officially executed by the Sanhedrin (Wilkinson 1981:185, n. 1). This was known by the Jews as “the Place of Stoning” (Sanhedrin 6:1, 2, 3, 4). It was just “outside the camp” but in full view of the eastern entrances of the Temple. The Temple curtain in front of the Holy Place could easily be seen from this prospect and the New Testament shows that when the Temple curtain tore in two at the moment of Jesus’ death that the centurion and the others around the crucifixion site viewed that phenomenon taking place (see especially Lk 23:44–47and Mt 27:54). From outside the walls of Jerusalem the curtain could only be seen from an elevated site east of the Temple. The area of the “Holy Sepulchre” is disqualified because from there only the back parts of the Temple could be seen. Besides, Josephus shows that the site of the “Holy Sepulchre” was the spot of the Tomb of John Hyrcanus (a respected Jewish king of the Hasmonians) and such a shrine would never have been selected by the Jewish authorities as a place to execute criminals. But the summit of Olivet is different. Everything fits perfectly.

Golgotha—Mount of the Skull:

The Bordeaux Pilgrim in AD 333 said that at the southern summit of Olivet there was a small knoll or hillock (called in Latin a monticulus). In the time of David this region was known as the rosh (that is, “the head”) (2 Sm 15:30) and remarkably the Hebrew word “Golgotha” also means “head” or “skull.” Such a usage shows that “Golgotha” (or the rosh) was a well-known place at the summit of Olivet.

Golgotha was even reckoned among the Jews as being on a mountain. Professor James Tabor in his review of my research in Secrets of Golgotha (1991:213–215) gives new information to sustain my thesis for Olivet: An interesting support of Martin’s thesis, which he does not note, is that the Hebrew text of Matthew known as Even Bohan refers to the place of crucifixion as Mount (har) of the Skull (see G. Howard, The Gospel of Matthew according to a Primitive Hebrew Text [Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1988]).

For Golgotha to have been reckoned as a mountain (har) in the Jerusalem area gives the Mount of Olives considerable credentials as being the place of Jesus’ crucifixion. Dr. Tabor, of the University of North Carolina, concludes his favorable review of my research by stating: All in all Martin’s work is valuable, fascinating, and certainly pioneering. His hypothesis deserves attention from historians, New Testament scholars, and archaeologists.

There are numerous historical reasons for selecting Olivet as the place of Jesus’ crucifixion. In the recently translated Temple Scroll, Yadin pointed out that all people bearing religious defilements which prevented them from entering the holy city or the Temple were directed to stay east of the ideal Sanctuary region mentioned in the scroll (1985:177). Evil and defiled people (sinners) were kept east of Jerusalem in order to prevent any “winds of evil” from flowing over the holy city from the west. This is one of the reasons the sin offering of the Red Heifer and those of the Day of Atonement (which were to atone for sins) were burnt to ashes in this eastern area “outside the camp” (Lv 4:21; 16:27). Yadin suggested that a part of this eastern region which had been put aside for defiled persons was even referred to in the New Testament (e.g., Mk 14:3).

Since all sin offerings were sacrificed (or “executed”) east of the Holy Place of the Temple, and the most important ones were sacrificed further east at the Red Heifer altar on Olivet, this easterly region of the Temple became known as the place where God dealt with sin — where all the sins of the world will be judged. This is one reason why the Kidron Valley separating the Temple from the Mount of Olives became known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat (the valley where “God Judges”). Even to this day Jews, Muslims and Christians consider the summit and western slope of Olivet as the ordained place where God will judge all people in the world for their sins. Charles Warren in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible listed over 14 Christian authorities (from the Bordeaux Pilgrim onward) who attested to this belief (II.562). This is why it was important, from the Christian point of view, that Jesus died in this eastern region which was reckoned the judgment place for all mankind. For Jesus to be judged as dying for the sins of all mankind, Christians thought that He had to be judged in the place where all mankind were designed to be judged for their sins.

Muslim Beliefs:

Even Muslims (who inherited many traditional beliefs from the Jews and Christians) firmly believe that the summit and the western slope of the Mount of Olives is the judgment area for mankind. The Encyclopaedia Judaica has an interesting excerpt about this: All the dead will congregate on the Mount of Olives and the angel Gabriel will move paradise to the right of Allah’s throne and hell to its left. All mankind will cross a long bridge suspended from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount, which will be narrower than a hair, sharper than a sword, and darker than night. Along this bridge there will be seven arches and at each arch man will be asked to account for his actions (IX col. 1576).

This is the Muslim account. It is easy to see that this traditional Muslim belief is based on the geography of the Temple and the Red Heifer arched bridge over the Kidron Valley that existed in Jesus’ time. Indeed, the Hebrew word for the altar where the Red Heifer was burnt to ashes is miphkad (see Ez 43:21). This word means “muster” or the place where people “congregate” or “gather together.” And in traditional teaching, it was at or near this site on Olivet where all mankind would “congregate” to be judged. This teaching can be seen in the New Testament itself. When the Son of Man returns with all His angels, He shall sit on His glorious throne and He will then “gather together” before Him for judgment all the nations of the world. Those selected to be on His right hand will go into the Kingdom of God while those on His left will go into the fire of perdition (Mt 25:31–46). The geographical features of this teaching of Jesus (from the Jewish point of view in the first century) shows Jesus sitting on His glorious throne (which was in the Sanctuary of the Temple) and all the nations were then depicted as gathering together before Him at the summit and on the western slope of the Mount of Olives to face Him for judgment. This allowed them to be judged “in the presence of Jesus.” The Book of Revelation also spoke of the wicked being tormented in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb (Rv 14:10). To be judged “in the presence of God” while He sits on His throne locates these individuals at the summit or on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Again, this is why, even to Christians, the region of the Kidron Valley became known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat — the place for God’s judgment.

Conversely, the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well as the Garden Tomb are located west and north of the Temple. These sites were in no way areas of judgment, as was Olivet and its western slopes. These sites are further disqualified, though they were outside the western and northern walls of Jerusalem, because they were still located within the 2000 cubit zone of the “camp of Israel” as measured from the Sanhedrin located in the Temple.

The Testimony of Eusebius:

In conclusion, Christians in Jerusalem as late as the early fourth century knew that Jesus was crucified and buried on the Mount of Olives. In fact, Eusebius (the first Christian historian) stated that the only area to which pre-Constantinian Christians paid any attention in the environs of Jerusalem was the Mount of Olives, and specifically to a cave near its summit (Proof of the Gospel, VI.18). The Acts of John also mentioned the importance of this cave 100 years before Eusebius (Charlesworth I.301). In another work (The Acts of Pilate), we find that it was described as both a cave and as a tomb in the same context (bk.XII,XIII). Even the tomb of Lazarus had been a cave before it was a tomb (Jn 11:38).

When one views the evidence carefully, it can be seen that pre-Constantinian

Christians reckoned this cave on Olivet to be the ruins of the tomb of Jesus. Prior to Constantine, there is no evidence (either orthodox or heretical) that the later site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the western part of Jerusalem was in any way significant to Christians nor was the southwest hill important that came to be called “Sion” after the time of Constantine. Indeed, when Eusebius first heard in AD 326 that Constantine and his mother were selecting a Venus Shrine as the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, he stated that such was “contrary to all expectation” (Life of Constantine III.28). At the dedication of the “Holy Sepulchre” in AD 335, Eusebius requested Constantine to inform the assembled bishops his reasons for building that church. The reasons were “SECRET to us [Eusebius and the bishops], but known TO YOU ALONE…which caused YOU to RAISE UP this sacred edifice (Oration of Eusebius, XVIII, emphasis mine). There were no historical documents or traditions which were retained by Christians at Jerusalem to support its legitimacy. It was selected because of the dreams, visions and supposed miraculous signs associated with Constantine and his advisors. The early church historian Sozomen felt that historical records were not necessary when visions and dreams presented the “real facts” to the Christian world (History II.1).

Eusebius showed in his works written before AD 326 that Jesus was actually crucified on what he called the symbolic “Mount Sion” for Christians. Three times in his Proof of the Gospel (I.4; VI.13; IX.14) he identified the Christian “Mount Sion” as being where Jesus spent most of His time when He was in the area of Jerusalem and that spot was on the Mount of Olives (Mk 11:1; Lk 21:37; 22:39; Jn 18:2). Eusebius also said the shekinah left Mount Moriah and went eastward to abide on this Christian “Mount Sion” that was located “adjacent to” or “opposite” Jerusalem and the Temple Mount — an apt geographical description of the Mount of Olives (Proof of the Gospel, I.4; VI.18). To Eusebius, Olivet was where the New Covenant began when the Temple veil tore in two (VIII.2). Eusebius even stated that the Christian church was founded on Olivet (VI.18) and Jerome reiterated the same belief (Letter CVIII.12). And in his commentary on Isaiah (written before AD 326), Eusebius made the plain statement that this new “Mount Sion” (Olivet) was actually the site of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus (Is 2:1–4; see Walker, Holy City, Holy Places?, pp.302,305). This makes the top of Olivet to be Calvary.

The Altar & The Wheels

The past few days, I have been here in Israel thinking. September 22, has come and gone. Today is Shabbat. Will the abomination be set up today the 23, or Sunday the 24th or Monday, the Day of Atonement according to the Hillel calendar, September 25, 2023?

All I can do is wait and watch.

As I sit here at the crucifixion site, a thought occurred to me. We have written to you about the Shekinah moving from the Temple to the Mount across from Jerusalem. And we have identified that Mountain as Golgotha and how it was the Altar. We explain this in our book The Abomination That Makes Desolate.

Here is the verse that came to mind.

Lev 6:8  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 6:9  Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. It is the burnt offering for burning on the altar all night to the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

Lev 6:10  And the priest shall put on his linen garment. And he shall put his linen breeches on his flesh and take up the ashes which the fire has consumed with the burnt offering on the altar. And he shall put them beside the altar.

Lev 6:11  And he shall strip off his garments and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

Lev 6:12  And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it. And he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.

Lev 6:13  The fire shall always be burning on the altar. It shall never go out.

We read in Lev 9 how Yehovah consumed everything on the Altar.

Lev 9:22  And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and peace offerings.

Lev 9:23  And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out and blessed the people. And the glory of Jehovah appeared to all the people.

Lev 9:24  And there came a fire out from before Jehovah, and burned up the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw and shouted and fell on their faces.

The fire is never to go out on the Altar. Why?

We are told that Yehovah is a consuming fire as well as a Jealous God.

Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the sons of Israel.

Deu 4:23  Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, a likeness of anything which Jehovah your God has forbidden you.

Deu 4:24  For Jehovah your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Now, read and understand what Isaiah is telling us when He encountered Yehovah.

Isa 6:1  In the year that King Uzziah died I then saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphs; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Isa 6:3  And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts; the whole earth full of His glory.

Isa 6:4  And the doorposts moved at the voice of the one who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isa 6:5  Then I said, Woe is me! For I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.

Isa 6:6  Then one of the seraphs flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, snatched with tongs from the altar.

Isa 6:7  And he laid it on my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.

He was cleansed with a burning coal from the Altar.

You have already read about Ezekiel and the Shekinah in the article before this one, now let’s read some more for a better understanding.

Eze 1:4  And I looked, and behold, a windstorm came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire flashing itself, and a brightness to it all around, and out of its midst, like the color of polished bronze out of the middle of the fire.

Eze 1:5  Also out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was how they looked; they had the likeness of a man.

Eze 1:6  And four faces were to each, and four wings to each.

Eze 1:7  And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like the color of burnished copper.

Eze 1:8  And the hands of a man extended from under their wings on their four sides; and the four of them had their faces and their wings,

Eze 1:9  joining each one to the other by their wings. They did not turn in their going; each one went toward the front of their face.

Eze 1:10  And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side to the four of them; and the face of an ox on the left side to the four of them; and the face of an eagle to the four of them.

Eze 1:11  So their faces were. And their wings werestretched upward; to each, the two wings of each one were joined; and two wings covered their bodies.

Eze 1:12  And each went toward the front of their faces. To where the spirit was to go, there they went; they did not turn in their going.

Eze 1:13  And the likeness of the living creatures: they looked like burning coals of fire; like the appearance of torches. It was continually circling among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

Eze 1:14  And the living creatures kept running and returning, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

Eze 1:15  And as I looked at the living creatures, behold, one wheel was on the earth by the living creatures, with its four faces.

Eze 1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was the color of beryl, and the four of them had one likeness. And their appearance and their workmanship was like a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Eze 1:17  When they went, they went on their four sides; and they did not turn when they went.

Eze 1:18  And their rims: they were even high; they were even awesome. And their rims were full of eyes all around the four of them.

Eze 1:19  And in the going of the living creatures, the wheels went beside them; and in the lifting up of the living creatures from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

Eze 1:20  Wherever the spirit was to go, there they went; there the spirit was to go, and the wheels were lifted up along with them. For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Eze 1:21  In their going, these went; and in their standing still, these stood still. And in their lifting up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up along with them. For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Eze 1:22  And there was a likeness over the heads of the living creature; an expanse, like the color of awesome crystal stretched out over their heads from above.

Eze 1:23  And under the expanse their wings were straight, the one toward the other. Each one had two wings covering on this side, and to each two covering on that side of their bodies.

Eze 1:24  And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, in their going was the sound of tumult, like the sound of an army. In their standing still, they let down their wings.

Eze 1:25  And there was a voice from the expanse which was over their heads, in their standing still, and they let down their wings.

Eze 1:26  And from above the expanse that was over their heads was a likeness like a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne. And on the likeness of the throne was a likeness looking like a man on it from above.

Eze 1:27  And I saw Him looking like the color of polished bronze, looking like fire all around within it. From the likeness of His loins even upward, and from the likeness of His loins even downward, I saw Him, looking like fire, and it had brightness all around.

Eze 1:28  As the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain looks, so the brightness all around looked. This was how the likeness of the glory of Jehovah looked. And I saw. And I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Eze 10:1  And I looked, and behold! In the expanse over the head of the cherubs was seen the appearance of the form of a throne, like a sapphire stone, above them.

Eze 10:2  And He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubs, and scatter them on the city. And he went in before me.

Eze 10:3  And the cherubs were standing on the right side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

Eze 10:4  And the glory of Jehovah rose from the cherub, over the threshold of the house. And the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah’s glory.

Eze 10:5  And the sound of the cherubs’ wings was heard over the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks.

Eze 10:6  And it happened when He had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubs; he went in then and stood beside the wheels.

Eze 10:7  And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubs to the fire between the cherubs, and he lifted it and put it into the hands of the one clothed with linen. And he took it and went out.

The Fire beneath the Shekinah are the coals from the Altar. The Altar was never to go out as it represented the burning fire of jealousy and Yehovah. When those coals are mixed with the incense, they are like our prayers rising before Yehovah.

Lev 16:12  And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before Jehovah, and his hands full of fragrant perfumes beaten small, and bring it within the veil.

Lev 16:13  And he shall put the incense on the fire before Jehovah. And the cloud of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat that is on the Testimony. And he shall not die.

Psa 141:1  A Psalm of David. O Jehovah, I cry to You; make haste to me, give ear to my voice when I cry to You.

Psa 141:2  Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psa 141:3  Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

Golgotha is the Altar. Yehshua represented the Sin-offering described in Lev 16. The goat that was to be slain as a sin offering represented Yehovah. It was to burned on the Altar outside the camp. That, again is Golgotha. Yehshua was killed on the tree on Golgotha as our sin offering. The fire on that Altar was not to go out and it represented Yehovah as the Shekinah. Around the Altar are those four wheels carrying the throne of Yehovah whichever way He goes as Ezekiel described.

Understanding these symbols and how Yehovah uses them to teach us, shows you how Holy this Mountain of Golgotha is. And now they are setting up an abomination on it.

I know many of you are not seeing it or disagree. So let us look up the meaning of the word wheel from Ezekiel. I will let you read what it says. Remember that Golgotha means place of the skull or mound. No interpretation needed.

H1534   (Ancient Hebrew)

H1534 = AHLB# 1058-A (l)

1058) Lc% (Lc% GL) ac: Roll co: Round ab: ?: Something that is round or a second time around of a time or event. A dancing in a circle. (eng: skull – an added s and an exchange of the k and g, Greek golgotha)

A) Lc% (Lc% GL) ac: ? co: Round ab: ?

N^m) Lc% (Lc% GL) – Mound: A mound or pile of something such as rocks or a spring out of the ground. [freq. 36] |kjv: heap, wave, spring, billow, bowl| {H1530, H1531}

N^f1) Elc% (Elc% G-LH) – Mound: A mound or pile of something such as a spring out of the ground or other rounded object. [freq. 14] |kjv: spring, bowl, pommel| {H1543}

l^m) Lclc% (Lclc% GL-GL) – Wheel: The wheel of a cart or a whirlwind. [Hebrew and Aramaic] [freq. 13] |kjv: wheel, heaven, rolling thing, whirlwind| {H1534, H1535, H1536}

l^f2) Tlclc% (Tlclc% GL-G-LT) – Skull: The roundness of the head or skull. Also a census by the counting of heads. [freq. 12] |kjv: poll, skull, every, head| {H1538}

B) Llc% (Llc% GLL) ac: Roll co: Round ab: ?

V) Llc% (Llc% G-LL) – Roll: [freq. 18] (vf: Paal, Niphal, Hiphil, Pilpel) |kjv: roll, seek occasion, wallow, trust, commit, remove, run down| {H1556}

N^m) Llc% (Llc% G-LL) – I. Round thing: Something round such as stones or dung. [Hebrew and Aramaic] II.For the Sake of: As a rolling back around. [freq. 17] |kjv: dung, because, sake, because of thee, for, great| {H1557, H1558, H1560, H1561, H5953}

b^m) Lilc% (Lilc% G-LYL) – I. Ring: II. Border: As going around something. [freq. 4] |kjv: folding, ring| {H1550}

b^f1) Elilc% (Elilc% G-LY-LH) – Border: As going around something. The border of a country is also representative of the country itself. [freq. 5] |kjv: border, coast, country| {H1552}

d^m) Lflc% (Lflc% G-LWL) – Idol: As made from a round log or stone. [freq. 48] |kjv: idol, image| {H1544}

g^f1) Ellfc% (Ellfc% GW-L-LH) – Grape: The harvested round grapes. [df: hllwe] [freq. 6] |kjv: gleaning grapes, grapegleanings, grapes| {H5955}

C) Lca% (Lca% AGL) ac: ? co: Drop ab: ?: A drop of dew as round.

N^m) Lca% (Lca% A-GL) – Drop: [freq. 1] |kjv: drop| {H96}

D) Lac% (Lac% GAL) ac: ? co: ? ab: Redeem: The buying back, a bringing back around, of someone or something.

V) Lac% (Lac% G-AL) – Redeem: To restore one to his original position or avenge his death. In the participle form this verb means avenger as it is the role of the nearest relative to redeem one in slavery or avenge his murder. [freq. 104] (vf: Paal, Niphal) |kjv: redeem, redeemer, kinsman, revenger, avenger, ransom, deliver, kinsfolks, kinsmans, part, purchase, stain, wise| {H1350}

d^f1) Elfac% (Elfac% G-AW-LH) – Redemption: [freq. 14] |kjv: redeem, redemption, again, kindred| {H1353}

J) Lfc% (Lfc% GWL) ac: ? co: Infant ab: ?: A rejoicing at the birth of a child.

V) Lfc% (Lfc% GWL) – Milk: To get milk. [df: lwe] [freq. 5] (vf: Paal, Participle) |kjv: milch, young| {H5763}

N^m) Lfc% (Lfc% GWL) – Infant: One who takes milk. [df: lwe] [freq. 2] |kjv: infant, child, babe, little one| {H5764}

b^m) Lifc% (Lifc% G-WYL) – Young: [df: lywe] [freq. 2] |kjv: young, little one| {H5759}

l^m) Llfc% (Llfc% GW-LL) – Infant: One who takes milk. [df: llwe] [freq. 20] |kjv: suckling, infant| {H5768}

M) Lic% (Lic% GYL) ac: ? co: Circle ab: ?: A continual rolling or circling.

V) Lic% (Lic% GYL) – Rejoice: A rejoicing by dancing around in a circle. [df: lwg] [freq. 44] (vf: Paal) |kjv: rejoice, glad, joyful, joy, delight| {H1523}

N^m) Lic% (Lic% GYL) – Circle: A circle of rejoicing. [freq. 10] |kjv: rejoice, joy, gladness| {H1524}

N^f1) Elic% (Elic% GY-LH) – Circle: A circle of rejoicing. [df: tlyg] [freq. 2] |kjv: rejoicing, joy| {H1525}

k^f1) Elicm% (Elicm% M-GY-LH) – Scroll: The leather or papyrus sheets of written text that are rolled up. [Hebrew and Aramaic] [freq. 22] |kjv: roll, volume| {H4039, H4040}

fj^m) Nfilic% (Nfilic% GY-L-YWN) – Scroll: The leather or papyrus sheets of written text that are rolled up. [freq. 2] |kjv: glasses, roll| {H1549}

The four wheels described by Ezekiel when he was looking at the shekinah, are the four sides of the Altar, the four views of the Mount of Golgotha. They are describing Golgotha as being round, and in the midst of it is the ever-burning fire of Yehovah, the Shekinah which Ezekiel saw move from the Temple to the Mountain across from Jerusalem, making it the most Holy Place on Earth. The very same place they are about to set up a statue to Mary the Queen of Heaven.