I visited Israel in May 2024, yes during the current war. We visited the Nova festival site, and Kfar Aza, a kibbutz attacked on October 7. I could have kicked a footy into no-man's land from where we stood. And yes we heard live rounds, rockets & rumbles. We saw and heard evidences of what happened. But to understand that day and this war requires more context. That context is bigger than Oct7, includes centuries before 1948, and is literally of Biblical proportions. I'm still digesting what to say theologically and pragmatically. But meanwhile I can offer these:
1) A good list addressing many of the common myths & memes about Israel & Palestine. 2) If one side stopped shooting, the war could end tomorrow. Only one side has and would do that, and that tells us a lot about the ideologies. 3) Christians do care about Gazans' suffering from the many evils attacking them. Ultimately it will only be the Way, Work & Person of Jesus who can fix this region properly, both spiritually & practically. 4) Christians must also care about Jews, and Jerusalem coming to faith in the Messiah. Just as Israel has blessed us Gentiles with the knowledge of God & the Messiah, so we are to bless them in kind, that they may return to Him - and only when welcomed will He return to them, as He said, "For I tell you, you [Jerusalem] will not see me again until you [Jerusalem] say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’" (Mt23:39) I'll return to this post with more info as I digest.
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The upcoming Creation Ministries tour of Israel will be much better than the three trips I've done, and not so much more expensive, plus proper hotels! The reason I'm seriously considering it is the destinations! The tours I've run major on the life of Jesus. But this tour will confirm much more than those events. You'll see in person that the Biblical historical descriptions are confirmed by the locations and archaeological finds. In addition to the main Jesus-related places I've taken others before, this tour visits:
Check out all the details here: israel2023.creation.com Maybe I'll see you there... Christians benefit from a closer look at the Biblical Fall Feasts, because, among other things, they foreshadow Christ's work in days to come. We have hindsight to help us see how Christ fulfilled Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost. We need foresight to see how he will fulfil Trumpets, Atonement, and Shelters.
This helps us understand why there are two New Years in the Jewish calendar: the religious-year cycle of teaching starts with Trumpets, but the calendar-year starts just before Passover. Some people start their spiritual lives at the beginning with Creation and the Old Testament (Jewish), but some start with Jesus the Passover lamb (Christians).
The religious annual cycle begins with Creation, the First era:
Whether you start with Creation, or start with Christ, the Feasts commemorate the whole of history, from the very beginning to the very end of the age.
![]() I returned to Israel in March 2017 (having first visited in 2013) to personally show 18 Aussies the Core Sites of the Core Stuff - where the key events occurred that founded Christianity on solid, historical foundations. As tour leader, I had less time to process the journey, but on the upside I could take the tour where I wanted to go in the time available. We squeezed a lot in - maybe too much if you count that one time I forgot lunch! But it was worth it! ![]() It became a presentation, CSI: Christ Scene Investigation. We personally investigated how the sites agree with the texts of the Core Stuff. We saw for ourselves:
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