Category: Kingdom History

Israel Tour Journal: Day 1

Today we are making our journey from our home to Israel.

The journey consists of 12 hours of flying, 18 hours total travel time with the layover and travel to and from airports.

I’m actually writing this while on the plane somewhere over Europe, watching the time on the destination monitor in the plane move at an unbearably slow pace.

I supposed there is something I should get out on the table before we go any further on this journey together: I don’t travel well.

That sounds silly, I know; I love to travel but I don’t like the getting-there part of it. Continue reading “Israel Tour Journal: Day 1”

Of Empires And The Kingdom

Many Christians are concerned about the possibility of America’s decline and the effect it would have on the kingdom of God. I’m not so worried.

God chose to send His Son to establish the kingdom of God on earth during the reign of the Roman Empire. On its face, this would seem odd timing.

Why not rather choose a time when leadership is more fractured and the kingdom of God could spread with less opposition?

We know in retrospect the Roman Empire through its network of roads and trade routes became the means through which Christianity spread throughout the known world. Continue reading “Of Empires And The Kingdom”

Israel Travel Journal, Epilogue

Wailing Wall, Jerusalem 2010 © Gregory Scott

When I first posted from my trip to Israel, in my last blog post I said, “Time will tell how significant an experience it [the trip] has been for me, as I read the Bible with new understanding.”

I’m now 16 months down the road, and I can tell you the trip was a game-changer.  I’ve never read the Bible the same since then.

Before the trip, I was merely imagining how the places I read about in the Bible looked.  Now I can see them.

Reading the Bible has become a richer experience because understanding the physical surroundings enables dimensions of insight into what is happening in the text. Continue reading “Israel Travel Journal, Epilogue”

Israel Travel Journal, Day 9

View @ Cliffs of Arbel

This was our last full day in Israel, and it was a full one.

We said goodbye to Beit Bracha and then headed to the top of the Cliffs of Arbel, which overlook the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes and Tiberias.

I now understand how from this vantage point Jesus could have seen the disciples struggling in the storm on the Sea of Galilee. (Mark 6:46-51).  As you can see from the photo on the left, one has a clear view of the Sea Galilee from the Cliffs of Arbel.

From the Cliffs of Arbel we went to the ruins of an ancient Jewish synagogue where Jesus likely taught, then to Sepphori (where Jesus likely worked as a carpenter), then to Nazareth. Continue reading “Israel Travel Journal, Day 9”

Israel Travel Journal, Day 8

Sunrise Sea of Galilee

I began the day watching the sun rise over the Sea of Galilee from our balcony at Beit Bracha. Beautiful.

We headed north today, and our first stop was the ruins at Chorazin, one of the cities Jesus lamented over because, even though He performed miracles there, they did not repent. (Luke 10:13-14).

From there we drove to the northen-most border with Lebanon in the Golan Heights, where we stood on a mount looking across a vast valley to the Lebanese village on the other side.  Arie told us a story about the faitfhulness of God from modern history that took place not too far from there.  That has been the rhythm of this tour: visit the place, then study. Continue reading “Israel Travel Journal, Day 8”