My dear readers,

Israel Today – A City of God or A City of Idols?

Revelation 11:8 “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

New spiritual things from God's Word were learned in every visit to the Promised Land. There were blessings of course but there were also dangers that could undermine a believer’s faith. The dangers of visiting the Promised Land are real. It is difficult to find a truly born again Christian guide to accurately explain the many sites visited according to Holy Scriptures.. Most of the guides ware trained no doubt shown by their knowledge at almost every site. For example, their knowledge on many matters of the Land of Israel especially from an archaeological perspective is filled with dates and data. They also appear to know the Bible quite well including the New Testament Scripture, even though the Jewish guides believe the Old Testament only to be the Word of God (they call it the Torah). Their explanation of modern Israel and the history of the fall and rise of cities were indeed very informative and interesting.

However, the problem is not with these explanations but all information that pertains to the Word of God. The inaccuracies were startling. These errors include the simple facts that are clearly mentioned in the Bible but were wrongly explained. For example, when we visited Petra, the Jordanian guide said a few times that the 600,000 Israelites composed on men, women and children were lost in the wilderness for forty years and they all perished except for Joshua and Caleb. But the Bible says in Numbers 2:32 “These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.” [emphasis added] And their ages and gender were described in Numbers 1:2-3 “Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; 3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.” [emphasis added] The Scriptures are clear that the number included only men aged twenty years and above who could go to war which excluded all the men under nineteen and infirmed as well as all women of all ages. Similar such inaccuracies were also verbalized in some of the sites visited in Israel.

There were also inaccuracies in interpretation. This is to be expected because the Bible can only be interpreted by God’s children with the help of the Holy Spirit. These were corrected at the night devotions to ensure that the pilgrims do not return home with erroneous understanding of the Bible. The worst of all was the “attack” on our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the guides said that when Jesus was growing up, his conduct was like any normal child, careless with their words and throwing tantrums. Thank God he was corrected by one of our deacons that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He did not sin. This guide was new to us. Nevertheless he ought not to say things that are pure speculation thus insulting our Lord and what we believe. His “attacks” stopped.

Below is an edited testimony of one of the pilgrims that captured well what we witnessed of Israel today.

“Israel has attracted many religious people over the years and they have come from all over the world to express their devotion in so many ways.  They have erected large and impressive shrines, churches, basilicas and monasteries in honour of the events of Christ’s life and events in the Old Testament.  Some of the churches and monasteries are on the mountain tops that are very hard to climb, even with donkeys and camels.  Some people express their devotion by carving statues out of wood and rocks; some bowing and lighting candles and crawling on their knees to see the holy sites.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God”.  I am reminded that we ought rather to love the Word of God.  Not by literally putting the Holy Word on our foreheads or wrapping it around our arms or making broad our phylacteries and enlarging the borders of our garments. “This Book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. “

The Jews used to run after idols and statues until they were exiled to Babylon where all they saw were statues after statues, statues after statues, just like our experience here in Israel today.  Holy statues everywhere? But what is holy, if God is not there?  Is Sinai holy, if God is not there?  “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”

I have learnt that all our creative devotions like the building of impossible monasteries on mountaintops are nothing more than burning strange fires.  “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”, we ought so to do and diligently hide the Word of God in our hearts. We ought rather to apply the Word of God in our lives and let our delight be in the law of the Lord; and in his law must we meditate day and night.   “For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

I am very thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to come to Israel and for blessing those who are leaders in this trip with organizing abilities and selfless service, and I am grateful to the members of this trip for much kindness shown to me. May the Lord cause us all to walk in the law of the Lord and to keep His testimonies and His Word, perfect in history, perfect in poetry, perfect in scientific facts, perfect in prophecy and perfect in divine wisdom to the very jot and tittle, yesterday, today and in the world to come, without end. Amen.”  - K.O.

Revelation 11:8 reveals to us that Jerusalem will be like Sodom and Egypt, spiritually speaking, before the Lord’s return. The foundations of such a spiritual decline have already been laid which we see in the Jerusalem of today. Fulfilment of prophecies must stir the hearts of God’s children to spiritual vibrancy with their bellies on fire for Christ, their soon returning Lord and King! This visit to Israel taught me the urgency of the times and that the night will soon come, and the Israel of today will be destroyed and Jerusalem rebuilt to become a spiritual city which only Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, alone can do. Even, so, come, Lord Jesus, COME!

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor