MY PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL

As I prepare for setting off to Israel, I must say it is a very exciting time for me. As we read the Bible, from Old Testament to New Testament, we read about the history and spiritual significance of so many places found in this area.

To be able to walk the places that Jesus walked, to see the very places described in the Bible that are so important to our faith, being there physically, seeing and touching these places with my own eyes is truly the longing of my heart.

As we read in 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Yes, the Apostle John was describing his personal, physical relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What I am looking forward to is having the opportunity to see, look and touch the very places from which he ministered.

I have heard time and again about the enormous spiritual significance of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. We read from Jewish writing the significance of the place…

“As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the foundation stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.”
-- Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim

There is truly a spiritual battle going on in the world we live in. The physical earth we live on is so much more than just physical, it is also spiritual. Any time we write off the significance of Israel, Jerusalem, or the Temple Mount, and the importance that place plays in our lives, we do so at our own risk. Whenever we ignore the Spiritual Battle going on in the world for the souls of man, and for the sacred places on earth, we are ignoring God’s active presence with us in the world.

Yes, I understand that places don’t hold as important of place in the eyes of the Lord. Remember he said to the woman at the well in John 4:21-ff, Jesus declared, (21) "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (22) You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (23) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Worshiping the Lord in “spirit and in truth” is more important than making a pilgrimage to certain historical and spiritual sites, but it is still very exciting for me to go and see these places that have played such an important role in the history of our faith. Pray for me as I travel, I treasure your prayers. And I look forward to returning (Lord willing) with lots of stories, pictures, and experiences to share with you all. See you in a couple of weeks.

God Bless,
Roger