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  • Day 11

    Come with Me to the New Jerusalem

    May 17, 2019 in Israel ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    At the appointed time, (of which no one knows except God the Father), Christ will return to earth and create a new Jerusalem, heaven, and earth for all those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Believer's names are written in the book of life (Rev. 20:12). And if anyone's name is not found in the book of life, they will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev.20:15)
    The Bible says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". John 3:16
    I believe in Jesus as my Savior and He has forgiven my sins. I eagerly wait for that day when I will be in God's presence with all of His believers. We do not know the day of Christ's return or what day is appointed for us to die..... ARE YOU READY?
    If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, please repent of your sins right now and accept His gift of eternal life so you too can join me in the new Jerusalem and be in the presence of God forever and forever.
    You can pray a prayer like this: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen

    Revelation chapter 21 tells us how wonderful it will be in Heaven!

    The New Heaven and Earth
    1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
    Description of the New Jerusalem
    And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
    I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
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  • Day 11

    Home

    May 17, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Tired but blessed! This has been the best trip of my lifetime! Never before or ever again will there be such an event for me during my time on earth. I will be internalizing all that I have seen and learned for many years to come. In reflecting on all that I saw and did in Israel, high points for me are:
    1) The boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. God reminded me He has been and will be with me in every storm of my life. He is my rescue and safety in rough waters. He commands the wind and the waves.
    2) The Garden Tomb. I was overwhelmed by the love of God and Christ's sacrifice for me. No words can describe my deep sorrow and overwhelming gratefulness for God's gift of salvation. I just pulled down my floppy hat over my face and sobbed tears of thankfulness.
    What I learned: It's not just history in the Bible of a far off place but I saw it. It's real and it's alive and I was part of it.
    Israel on the ground walking summary:
    123,549 steps
    60.1 miles
    In the air summary one way:
    SEA to LAX 3 hours, 954 miles
    LAX to TLV 13 hours and 55 minutes, 8389 miles
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  • Day 10

    The Temple Institute - Third Temple prep

    May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    The Temple Institute is in the Jewish Quarter. The institute's ultimate goal is to see Israel rebuild the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. They are still waiting for their Old Testament Messiah to come to earth and they reject that Jesus was the Messiah. No pictures were allowed to be taken inside the institute. As part of its ongoing effort to prepare for the future Temple, they have been preparing ritual objects suitable for Temple use. They say each object has been made as written in the Law of the Old Testament. Priests and the High Priest garments are made. Altar clay bricks have been made and built to the minimum size requirements. The altar can be dismantled and quickly moved to the temple where white plaster will be applied. A copper washbasin, copper utensils for meal and grain offerings and silver trumpets have already been made. They say they know where the ark of the covenant is hidden. They say Solomon created secret chambers to hide the ark from invaders. Fearing its capture by the invading Babylonians, King Josiah had it removed from the Holy of Holies, and hidden in a chamber deep beneath the Temple Mount. They will retrieve it when the third Temple is built. They didn't say anything about the third Temple being the dwelling place of God but called it a gathering place for all peoples.
    The Menorah is completed and displayed in the public square. It is made of real gold over a skeleton that is not gold. It weighs almost a ton and is n a bulletproof clear enclosure. God gave instructions for the first lampstand (or Menorah in Hebrew) in Exodus 25:31-33 “Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side. Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb, and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb, and a flower—so for six branches going out from the lampstand.”
    The lampstand provided light for the priests to do their work since there were no windows in the wilderness tabernacle through which natural light could enter. The almond blossom-shaped cups were filled with olive oil, and wicks were inserted into the oil and lit to provide light. All day and all night, whether anyone was present or not, these seven lamps constantly lit up the glory of the Holy Place as a reminder that God's presence is always with His people.
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  • Day 10

    Roman Cardo and Broad Wall

    May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F

    The Cardo was the main street in Ancient Roman cities, running from north to south and lined with a row of columns on each side. The Cardo of Jerusalem begins at the Damascus Gate in the north and crosses the city southwards until the area of the Zion Gate. Murals decorate modern walls giving a picture of what the Cardo may have looked like in the past.
    Nearby the Cardo in the Jewish quarter is the remains of the Broad Wall. The wall was built during Hezekiah’s expansion of the city. Jews from the northern tribes of Israel, who had been overrun by the Assyrians in 721 BC, migrated down to Judah and the city of Jerusalem for protection at this time. They settled outside the city walls to the west. To protect them and their residences Hezekiah fortified the western part of this newly expanded city around 721 BC with a wall. The uncovered remains of this wall are 23 feet wide and 213 feet long. The original wall is estimated to have been about 23 feet high. The remains of this wall were excavated in the 1970s.
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  • Day 10

    Jewish Words, Currency and Newspaper

    May 16, 2019 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    Shalom (Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם ) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and can be used as both hello and goodbye. In Arabic, it is pronounced Salom.
    Good Morning in Hebrew בוקר טוב is pronounced Bow-Care-Tov
    Thank you in Hebrew תודה is pronounced Toe-Dah
    Hebrew is written and read from right to left.
    One US Dollar is approximately equal to 3 Shekels.
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  • Day 10

    The Jewish Quarter

    May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    The Jewish Quarter is one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.
    Some Jews still wear Phylacteries (little leather pouches containing short sections of the Law, bound on the forehead and on the left arm above the elbow because of this verse in Exodus 13:9 "And it shall serve a sign to you on your hand, and on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.Read more

  • Day 10

    Tower of David

    May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    The Tower of David is an ancient citadel near the Jaffa Gate. Although the citadel has been called the Tower of David for hundreds of years – there is no connection between it and King David. It was actually built by King Herod.Read more

  • Day 10

    The Museum of the History of Jerusalem

    May 16, 2019 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem is located in the medieval citadel known as the Tower of David, just inside the Old City of Jerusalem walls near the Jaffa Gate. The Museum presents Jerusalem’s story. It details the major events in its history beginning with the first evidence of a city in Jerusalem in the 20th century BC until the city became the capital of the State of Israel.Read more