We have now completed the circuit around the walls of Zion, and in so doing we have walked two and a half miles, and compassed an area of two hundred and nine acres of land. These walls, some portions of which probably date from the time of our Lord, are pierced by four gates; the Damascus gate, on the north; Stephen’s gate, on the east; on the south is the Zion, and on the west, the Jaffa gate. Each one of these gates is guarded day and night by Turkish soldiers. Until recently there was another entrance to the city—the Golden gate. This “gateway of glory” entered the sacred enclosure from the east. It was through this, supposedly, that our blessed Lord made His triumphal entry into the Holy City. This gate, a work of art, has been closed up. And why? Because the Mohammedans fear Christ. The Jews say that He is soon to come out of the East, across the Mount of Olives, through the Golden gate, into the Mosque of Omar. Then He will overthrow the Mohammedan government, proclaim himself king of the Jews, and, subsequently, of the world. These Jewish prophecies have aroused dread suspicions in the Mohammedan mind, and to keep Christ out of the city, the devotees of the false prophet have actually barred up the gate with great stones. These are fastened together with bolts and bars of iron, steel, and brass. I am told that the Mohammedans, especially during Jewish feasts, even station guards at the Golden gate to prevent the Messiah from entering the city. I am rejoiced to know that I worship a Christ who, when His time is fulfilled, will come. But, blessed be His name, He will come no more as the Babe of Bethlehem; no more as the lowly Nazarene; no more as the despised and rejected of men. He will come as the glorified Son of God, as Judge of all the earth. He will come crowned and sceptred; robed in splendor; seated upon the clouds, as a chariot of fire drawn by angels of light. It was He of whom it was said: “He openeth, and no man shutteth; he shutteth, and no man openeth.” So, why need they try to keep your Lord and mine out of His own city? Before entering the gates, it will be well for us to cross the brook Kedron, go over to the Mount of Olives, and from there get a bird’s eye view of the holy city. On the left, just after crossing the Kedron, we come to the so-called tomb of the Virgin Mary, over which has been built a Catholic cathedral. In the cathedral, and around this tomb, many candles and lamps are kept burning day and night. By the flickering flame of these tapers, turbaned monks constantly count their beads and swing their censers. A hundred yards down the valley, to the right, are the tombs of Absalom, James, and Hezekiah.