Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25165
flock, 50 or so strong, spanned every age and nationality. My hunch was quickly verified: the tours were heavily infused with the message of Jesus Christ and warnings of the Second Coming. "Many Christians believe that Jesus will come to the top of the Mount of Olives on December 31, 1999," Bob's voice rang out over the crowd. "They have the place right but the time wrong. They are 29 years early." I made a mental note to check out the Mount of Olives on New Year's Eve. Most experts would agree that Jesus died in 29 AD, Bob insisted. As Jesus was preparing to die he told the crowd that he would be raised up in three days. According to Bob's interpretation of the Bible, Christ will return in 2029. More common interpretations take this to mean simply that Jesus predicted he would rise three days after his crucifixion. Bob's voice dropped slightly, "Between now and 2029, we can expect the end of the age, the return of Jesus Christ and the setting up of the kingdom of God." Bob's eyes scanned. the crowd, stopping at me. "Jesus will return in your lifetime," he declared. After the tour, I sought Bob out at the hostel where he has lived for the last eight months with his co-apostles Karen and Prue. We sat in a darkened room carpeted completely with bright Bedouin rugs. Bob had warm brown eyes and soft hands. He interrupted his lunch to talk with me. I asked Bob what he thinks is going on in Jerusalem right now. "There is more spiritual activity here than any other city on earth," he said. "This city is the most important city in the universe-not just the earth. Jesus Christ declared that he will return to this place. He's not coming to Sydney or Times Square or Trafalgar Square in London. He is coming to Jerusalem. He is going to land on the Mount of Olives." I ask Bob what he thinks of Jerusalem's current seemingly overwhelming political and social problems. "I'd say that Jerusalem is at its lowest ebb in terms of godliness, purity, righteousness, love, joy; peace and long-suffering gentleness," he replied. "This is a sure sign that things are coming to a point where they will simply boil over into what the Bible describes as the last countdown ... and the birth of the kingdom of God. As the Scriptures say, Armageddon is coming and when Armageddon comes, Jerusalem will suffer the worse fate experienced in the history of the world. This will be just prior to the coming of the king. Then Jerusalem will be exalted above all cities upon the face of the earth. "I am excited," Bob continued. "I think everything is on the verge of TOTAL collapse. That is why I'm doing my walks: I'm trying to tell people from a Christian point of view to prepare, because they have no idea what's around the corner. "People say, 'Oh Bob, don't be so gloomy! Why are you such a gloomy, negative prophet?' And I say; 'Well, nobody listened to Jeremiah, nobody listened to Ezekiel, nobody listened to Isaiah, nobody listens to ME.'" Bob, Karen and Prue owned an organic farm in New Zealand until about three years ago. Their journey to Jerusalem began when Bob heard a voice in his head (Jesus) telling him to forsake everything and go out with a rucksack to the degraded cities of the world and preach the scriptures on the highways and byways-starting with Jerusalem. He kept this voice secret for a couple of months. Then one day he mentioned it to the two women. To his surprise, Karen and Prue told him that they too were being instructed by God to go to Jerusalem. "Night after night we wept," said Bob, "because we knew the cost involved. We would lose everything." For months, they resisted. "But the Lord kept pleading with us, 'Will you come brethren? To Jerusalem?'" Finally they made a decision. They sold the farm and bought their tickets. For the first four months, they heard no word from the Lord. But they waited and waited, then the idea of the walks developed. "After about the fourth walk, the Lord said to us, 'This is the way, walk this path. It will be difficult, you will be persecuted. But was I not persecuted in Jerusalem?' " Since then, Bob's life has been threatened several times (bombs, knives, etc), but he's committed to his mission, and compares it to the mission of Jesus Christ. They have led some 240 tours already, and plan to continue until God tells them to do otherwise. I decided to visit the Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center in Jerusalem's New City where Dr Bar-EI first identified the Jerusalem Syndrome. The hospital is the only one in the country that treats patients of the Syndrome. It is a designated "tourist" hospital, and most of the people afflicted with the Syndrome are foreign visitors. Experts estimate that 60 percent are American and 35 percent European. Dr Gregory Katz, one of the Syndrome'S specialists who works in the emergency room, where all the patients land initially, tells me that Jerusalem Syndrome is not always clearly recognized because many sufferers do not draw attention to themselves. What is known for sure is that people who suffer from Jerusalem Syndrome are very sensitive to the place, and many of them see Jerusalem as the site of the apocalypse. According to Dr Katz, most victims fall into one of three categories. The first is the so-called "pure" Jerusalem Syndrome. This afflicts a small number of people with no previous history of mental problems. They are usually first-time visitors to Jerusalem who get caught up in an ecstatic, confused, biblical fervor once they arrive in the city. They often return to normal after a week or so. The second category embraces a larger group of people who suffer from delusions before arriving in the city. These are the ones who think themselves prophets or messiahs and come to Jerusalem to play out what they believe to be an integral role in some cosmic, biblical or doomsday scenario. The third group adhere to apocalyptic beliefs and think they can initiate action shat will result in a resurrection or reappearance of Christ. Some believe that their actions can provoke a change in society and religion. They are often very deliberate about their role in Jerusalem. "They try to persuade other people how to live," explained Dr Katz, and this puts them in danger. In a city quartered and separated, where