"In that day His
feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the
east; and the Mount of Olives will split in its middle from east to west by a
very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and
the other half toward the south" (Zechariah 14:4).
Hey Gang: It has been
my joy to open up the memory banks and re-live some of those neat experiences
that I was able to enjoy in the land of the "apple of God's
eye". When asked what impacted on
me the most? My response, “It changed
the Scriptures”. Now when I read of
Jesus teaching and feeding the five thousand, I have a bright and shiny picture
of the place and see the thousands of people sitting on the hillside, while
Jesus opened His heart to them - not only in spiritual food but in the miracle
of the loaves and fishes.
When I was in training to become an air traffic controller,
I had an old salt teacher that had been on the firing line for more than twenty
years. He was a seasoned pro that had
literally grown up with the development of the air traffic control
systems. As I was nearing check out day
he said to me, “One of these days you will not see these strips on the board
that identify all you need to know about the aircraft, you will see the aircraft
flying around in perfect sequence in your head.” I was not sure what he meant when he said
it. A month or so later I was up to my
armpits with traffic when his prediction came true - I actually saw the
aircraft in my mind.
As I walked the land of Israel on my more than ten trips, I
found that same principle to be true.
When I stood in Gordon's Calvary and looked into the tomb where many
feel Jesus’ body was placed, it suddenly became bigger than life. And when we stood on the Mount of Olives,
wow, what a fiery sensation went through my heart and soul.
Looking down across the Kidron Valley with the valley of
Gehenna to my right and Gethsemane on the left and straight ahead thousands of
tomb stones of people that want to be resurrected first and enter the Gate
Beautiful (the Eastern Gate) with Him, is a sight to behold. If you are born again and a child of His,
this takes your breath away. It is there
that the stones will be removed and He will enter the gate and take back what
has always been rightfully His.
Are there
controversies as to what is the right place or the right time? Remember the rating system of the guides –“Yes,
it might have happened that way, or perhaps it did happen that way or no, it
could not have happened that way.”
But you see, it really did not matter what the guide, said
for my guide on those trips was that voice inside that said, "Listen to my voice not the voice of a guide
who does not even know me as Lord".
Read that sentence again - It does not matter what the person across
from you is trying to get you to believe, it is only what God said through His
Son and through His Word that will determine if your name is written in His
Book of Life and you will receive an invitation to the marriage feast of the
Lamb.
People ask, “Are you not scared to death to go over to that
place where killing is common?” After I
remind them that forty people were killed in Chicago last week, I tell them,
"Yes, I do have apprehension going over (and I emphasize going over) for
when you step on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport there is a peace that
surpasses all understanding that fills your heart of soul - but we do have to
go through Chicago or New York to get there!
Besides what better place to launched into the heavenlies than from
Mount Zion, or the Mount of Olives or any place else in Israel.
I pray you enjoyed your trip through the Holy Land and you
will recall some of these experiences when you come across them in your study
of God's Word.
Blessings,
Gramps
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