The Ascent From Bethany

Bethany was a village on the south-eastern side of the Mount of Olives (see also When And Where Your Eternal Life Will Begin), with a roundabout distance from Jerusalem of a little less than two miles (i.e. "^11:18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off" John 11:18 KJV; using that English translation unit of measurement, a furlong is 220 yards and there are 1,760 yards in a mile; 15 furlongs would therefore be 1.8 miles). The village was the scene of a number of well-known events during the ministry of the Messiah, including the restoration to life of Lazarus and the obtaining of the donkey's colt that was used for the "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem.

Lazarus, and his sisters Martha and Mary, of Bethany were close friends of the Messiah. When Lazarus became ill and was allowed to die, he was resurrected by Jesus for a purpose ("This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby"; see the Fact Finder question below).

"^11:1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ^11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ^11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. ^11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." (John 11:1-4 KJV)

"^11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ^11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone.

Martha, the sister of him that was dead [see What Does The Bible Really Say About Your Soul?], saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

^11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

^11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ^11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

^11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. ^11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin [see Linen In History And Prophecy].

Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go." (John 11:38-44 KJV+

"He led them out as far as to Bethany ... while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven"

The colt that was used in the "triumphal entry" was obtained from, or in the immediate area of, Bethany (along with Mark's account below, Luke 19:29-30 in the KJV renders it "^19:29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, ^19:30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither").

"^11:1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, ^11:2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. ^11:3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.

^11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. ^11:5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? ^11:6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. ^11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. ^11:8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strowed them in the way. ^11:9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying,

Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: ^11:10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David [see The Seed Of David and The Restoration Of David's Fallen Tabernacle], that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

^11:11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." (Mark 11:1-11 KJV)

The next day came the famous incident of driving the merchants and moneychangers out of the Temple (continuing from the verses above, Mark 11:12-19, and the verses below specify the chronology).

"^21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, ^21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer [see What Was Holy About Herod's Temple?; also The Temple Vessel Prophecies Today]; but ye have made it a den of thieves [see Religious Parties and Is Your Church A Cult?].

^21:14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. ^21:15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,

^21:16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say?

And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

^21:17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there." (Matthew 21:12-17 KJV)

The days prior to the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God were achieved in Bethany and Jerusalem. Every time someone reads the verses below, the Messiah's prophecy about them is fulfilled. By reading them now, you are personally fulfilling the Words of the Son of God, "^26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

"^26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, ^26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

^26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? ^26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

^26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. ^26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. ^26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. ^26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her." (Matthew 26:6-13 KJV)

After His resurrection, the Messiah ascended to the Father from the Mount of Olives, specifically "to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven."

"^24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. ^24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, ^24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: ^24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ^24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things. ^24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

^24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. ^24:51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." (Luke 24:44-51 KJV)

Fact Finder: What was the purpose of allowing Lazarus to die?
See When Was Lazarus Resurrected?

This Day In History, December 15

37: Emperor Nero was born (see Nero's Torches; also The Politics Of Rome and Pax Romana: The Birth Of The Roman Empire).

533: Byzantine General Belisarius defeated the Vandals at the Battle of Ticameron.

1612: Simon Marius became the first to observe the Andromeda galaxy through a telescope (see also Parabolic Prophecies).

1794: The Revolutionary Tribunal was abolished in France.

1794: During the War of the Austrian Succession, the Prussians under Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau heavily defeated the Saxons under Rutowski at the Battle of Kesseldorf near Dresden.

1806: During the Napoleonic Wars, French forces under Napoleon entered Warsaw, Poland.

1840: Napoleon's remains were interred in Les Invalides in Paris, after having been brought from St. Helena where he died in exile.

1890: Sioux chief Tatanka Iyotake was shot and killed at age 59 by native-American police who were trying to arrest him. He is better known to history as "Sitting Bull."

1891: James Naismith, a Canadian, invented basketball (with a soccer ball and 2 peach baskets) while working as a physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1899: During the second Boer War, the British made a frontal attack in the battle of Colenso aimed at relieving the besieged town of Ladysmith. The action failed and the British lost over 1,100 men.

1914: The Battle of Lodz ended. Russian forces retreated toward Moscow.

1961: Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was convicted of crimes against humanity by a court in Israel and sentenced to hang (see also Presidential Quotes On War, Terrorism, Religion).

1964: Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag.

1970: The unmanned Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 landed on Venus becoming the first earth spacecraft to land on another planet.

1973: The American (i.e. U.S.) Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.

1995: West European leaders announced that the new European monetary unit would be known as the "Euro" (see also Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Euro!).

2005: Walter Haut died at age 83. Haut, a former spokesman for the Roswell Army Air Field, took dictation on July 8, 1947, as base commander Col. William Blanchard dictated a news release about a recovered "flying saucer" and ordered Haut to issue it.