Jerusalem watchman

ISRAEL – Not her ancient story only; her future glory too.  Not just the land to which He came to be born and live His earthly earthly life; also the land to which He will return.  Concerning this, Christians are called not to be sight-seers, nor just to encourage Israel from the sidelines.  We have an active part to play.  As Bible-believers we know that Israel’s future – which is guaranteed forever – is our future too.

Of the record-breaking four million tourists to visit Israel in 2019, 60% were Christian.  By far, most of these came to “walk where Jesus walked.” Their 8-to-14-day pilgrimages were spent visiting shrines and geographical locations that speak to the beloved Biblical accounts of the Messiah’s life 2000 years ago.

These tours enormously impact  a Christian’s faith as they render the Bible in a hi-definition, 3-D setting that can only enhance and enrich one’s grasp of the Book.  Small wonder the Land of Israel is also known as “the fifth Gospel.”

Of course, while Jesus’ life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension are at the core of our faith, for convicted Christians it doesn’t end there.  The culmination of His story contains our ardent longing for Messiah’s return.

The setting for virtually the entire Bible is the Land of Israel.

See, Jesus’ earthly life is hardly the only subject in the Bible, though it is doubtless the central one.  But the setting for virtually all of Scripture is the Land of Israel.  The founding, forming and unfolding history of the Nation of Israel — into which Jesus would be born — takes place primarily in this Land.  All Biblical prophecy concerning the closing of the Age and Messiah’s coming reign is tied to Israel – the People and the Land.

Stop, then, for a moment, and consider.  

Of course, we want to see the ‘Jesus sites’:  Bethlehem and Nazareth, Capernaum, Caesarea Philippi, Jericho and the Judean Wilderness and, without question, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, Golgotha and the Empty Tomb.

As millions of Christians have down the years, you have the opportunity to be baptised in the Jordan River, float in the Dead Sea, ascend Masada, stand under the sweet-water falls at Ein Gedi.

But there is so much more to be immersed in.

Come, learn about the miraculous, prophecy-fulfilling rebirth in their ancient national home of the remnant of the Jewish nation.  See where immigrants fleeing antisemitic persecution in Eastern Europe and Russia entered and began to settle.  Discover how they brought the land back to life – draining the swamps, channelling water to the deserts, covering a myriad hills with fresh green forests.  See how they were taught to defend and secure themselves – and what it has cost them.  And come learn the legacies of the Christian Zionists who believed in their vision and sought to work with them towards its realisation.

Visit battlefields where the Jewish state was born in the fires of war, and where Israel faced destruction in the conflicts that followed.  Be brought up to speed with the astonishing ways this fledgling Jewish state overcame its foes — against all odds.

Journey along the timeless “Way of the Patriarchs” – across the mountains of Samaria and Judea – where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob traversed the land of Canaan and believed in the Lord’s promise to give it to them.

Spend time in one or two of the internationally-hated Israeli settlements which today line that ancient way, and meet the God-fearing Jews who live undaunted in the midst of their enemies; in these dangerous, disputed places the antisemitic world calls “Israeli-occupied Arab lands.”

Communities bullied by diplomats and threatened by bombs, bullets and missiles will welcome us, and we will affirm them in  this Biblical truth: that God has brought them back “to their own land” (Jeremiah 31:17) and planted them here, never to uproot them again.

Yes, Israel’s past stretches virtually from the dawn of time. It is the cradle of civilisation for billions of the world’s people today. Her present is vibrant and enthralling; it affects and challenges every nation on earth. But what of her future? Where is Israel headed and what is her destiny?

Come stand with me on the Mount of Olives – high above the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and directly across from the Mountain of the Lord – and, Bible in hand, let us reason together as we consider this.

Israel is here to stay.

Be in touch!