Christian, Why do you visit Israel?

Jesus is roaring like He said He would. Roaring for the Jewish people to come home. And they are coming- coming home to the land physically, making aliyah, an end to the great dispersion. And many are coming home spiritually, as they realize a beautiful truth: believing in Yeshua is the most Jewish decision they can make. This is a holy and awaited homecoming, an appointed time.

Jesus doesn't just tell us He's sovereign, He shows us His sovereignty through prophecy. We need context for what otherwise looks like chaos. And in the midst of a chaotic world, the Jewish people's return to the land of Israel is a heavenly declaration that God is holy and trustworthy.

"The act of going up", that's what Aliyah means. It comes from the fact that Jerusalem is on a hill, it can only be ascended to. As the Jewish people return to their land and their ancient holy city, they have to go up.

On my last day in Jerusalem I sat on the southern steps and looked out at tour buses trying to go up. There was a traffic jam from all the vehicles, and movement had been mostly stilled. They were just arriving and holding beautiful visitors from all different backgrounds and nations that the God of Israel loves and wants to be there.

But many misunderstand why He wants them to be there. The pause felt significant- as if offering the time to answer an important question before entering, specifically for Christians: why have you come here?

As a replacement of the Jewish people? Surely not. Paul explains it best in Romans 11; he knew it would get confusing. And every verse in the old and new testaments that reference the people of Israel in a negative sense or call to judgment are always followed up by the promise of restoration and keeping of the unconditional and everlasting covenant.

"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved." Romans 11:26

Have you come just to see ancient sights and prophecies long ago fulfilled? There is value in that but Jesus has more for you here. You're being invited to watch prophecies being fulfilled now among the people He chose and never stopped choosing (see Ezekiel reference at the end, one of many). You're being invited to join an inheritance by the blood of Jesus, to know who you are by knowing where you came from.

Israel is walked through by thousands and thousands every year- some steps are an act of worship to Jesus and many steps are a tragic trampling. If you go to Israel, in what heart posture are you coming? If you’ve come to see, there is more to see than meets the eye. Jesus is calling you closer to Him, to see this land and people through His eyes so you can more deeply see yourself through His eyes also. To see Israel only in the natural is to see much of how the world is: filled with unrest, tension, pain and misunderstandings. You need Yeshua's eyes to see His treasures. And He is so excited to show you.

As you walk among the Jewish people who have made aliyah and come home, and the growing numbers of those who have also come home to Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), rejoice with them. This is His Kingdom come and His will being done; the nations and the Jewish people united in the same Savior (Ephesians 2).

You've come to see a canvas never abandoned by the Artist, and you're part of a complex painting whose beauty invokes humility because it cannot yet be understood fully.

Those who see it by the Holy Spirit become more child-like and that is good, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

View from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zech. 14:4)

Eastern gate, place significant to Jesus' second coming

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for My holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward Me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord (YHVH) their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 39:25-29