This most amazing place

Written by Randy Alonso

It’s been my pleasure to tour the land of Israel twenty times since 2001. Often I tell people at home that no matter how excited I get about sharing how wonderful the experience is to go to the land of Israel, I’ve never had someone say to me once they got here, that I over-hyped the trip. It is so amazing once you arrive here.

We have 57 people on our current tour and it’s a fantastic group of ministry leaders. Great people serving our Lord from all over the USA and beyond. Each day we wake up with anticipation of what the day will reveal. Every experience is unique; filled with its own set of cultural, geographic, and spiritual surprises.

Today was no different as we started out our journey by making it to the Temple Mount above the Old City in Jerusalem. This place is ancient Mt. Moriah where Abraham first brought his son Isaac to be a sacrifice to God. God provided a ram in the thicket and honored the faith of Abraham.

Ronan Ben Moshe our guide did a marvelous job on the Temple Mount explaining the history of this place from King David first purchasing it, to modern times and how that Islam now controls the Temple Mount. It’s a very surreal experience to walk around this place knowing that the foundation of our Christian faith is based in Judaism but the Dome of the Rock is a statement attempting to show the superiority of Islam. This creates a sense of anxiousness or jealously for Jesus followers. Our Lord Jesus will return here one day and set up His Kingdom on earth during His Millennial reign.

We experienced a time of prayer at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount where the Jewish people faithfully pray and worship the true and living God. We experienced the walk underground that leads to the north west corner of the Temple Mount known as the Rabbis Tunnel. It is fascinating to see what is going on below the current surface of the platform of the Western Wall as archaeologists continue to dig and find remnants of life 2000 years ago.

We spent the afternoon in Bethlehem exploring what is known as the Herodian. An incredible Palace that was built by Herod the Great on the top of a small mountain that he first had leveled by slaves. In recent years the tomb of Herod was also found here. While in Bethlehem we went to the church of the Nativity and saw the ancient site where Jesus’ birth occurred. We also enjoyed a time of shopping at Johnny’s gift shop in Bethlehem. He and his family are wonderful host. They love Jesus and we’re glad to support them by coming to their store and buying our gifts for home.

There is a continual excitement among our tour group because of the constant amount of learning and inspiration that we are experiencing. Even though the trip is beginning to come to an end and we are a bit weary our enthusiasm is running high because God is speaking to us about His land called Israel and His people, the Jews. I pray that you one day get to experience this most amazing place, if you have not yet. Shalom!