LEARNING DAILY

 

Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

 

This verse relates to the thought that the faithful followers of the Lord must do so by faith. I am using it to explain that my expectations about what I would see in Israel were much different (most of the time), than what I saw. At times, I was amazed at the difference between Jewish culture and my traditional view of the Bible; the meaning was not changed – my understanding was clarified and expanded.

 

Let me give some examples. We went to Mount Carmel, the site the prophet Elijah challenged the prophets. It was an easy journey by bus to ascend to the peak that stood 550 meters above the Coastal plain (from our guidebook). I could not help but wonder what the route was for

Elijah’s walk to get there. This day was the only day we experienced rain; I was disappointed that I was not able to take in the significance of what happened here. By the way, you will see this quite often as I relate our experiences. The views were spectacular from this position as many historical areas could easily be seen. There was a Carmelite Monastery built here; wherever we saw a significant historical site related to Bible history, there was a church or monastery built by a religious group.

 

From Mount Carmel we drove a short distance to see the Jezreel Valley, the future site where the battle of Megiddo (Armageddon) will take place. This is the valley the Bible names as the location of the final battle between the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the Antichrist and his followers will take place (Revelation 16:14-16). When we got to the location to view this valley, two thoughts came to me. First, we passed by the ruins of where Solomon had built a fortification to oversee the valley. An historical fact that would not be related to the Bible. Solomon’s “palace” or residence was not very large. We left the area by way of 150 steps that went down into an area where water was stored and secured in case of a siege by enemy forces. A fortification needs water and this area was important to be secured.

 

The other thought I had as I observed the Jezreel Valley was the farming that was taking place. What had I expected? Life continues to happen while we wait for the return of our Lord. I could not help but let my “sanctified” imagination see the Biblical account of what was going to happen in the future in this valley. I could imagination the forces of the Antichrist gathering from around the world to battle against the Lord Jesus Christ and His saints (that’s us!). Read Revelation 14:17-20 and you will see the Antichrist and his followers are so soundly defeated that the blood of the dead will be up to the bridles of the horses for 1,600 furlongs. I had to look this up in terms I understand – this would cover about 200 miles reaching a depth of about 4 feet. I had to consider the peace and life today contrasted with what was going to be the future.

 

Think about this statement I heard or read a long time ago. On any given day, we are only seven years (the length of the Tribulation) away from this event happening. It makes me desire to be diligent about my walk on the narrow way to eternity in God’s kingdom and to be watching and listening for the trumpet to sound for His faithful followers to join Him in eternity!