To Hell and Back

One of the words that is translated "Hell" in the New Testament is Gehenna, which means the Valley of Hinnom's son. This was the place that tradition says the Canaanites sacrificed their children to the god Moloch and in Jesus' day it was the place where garbage was burned both day and night. In both Christian and Jewish tradition, Gehenna was the destination of the wicked after judgment. The Valley of Hinnom's son is at the southern border of the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of Mount Zion. And we had the privilege of staying at the Mount Zion Hotel which had a lovely view of the Valley and of Mount Zion. So I can now I say I have been to hell and in this case it was rather lovely. In fact, I so loved watching the sunrise that I left my drapes open and woke up each morning to see the sunrise over the valley. My picture doesn't do the dawn justice, but I tried.