Rev. 9:1-12, Seeing Jesus in Israel Today (6)

Yesterday’s Israeli guide and driver for Jericho and Bethlehem came in quite handy today.  This report is from Saturday which, of course, is Shabbat.  That means that the “prime location” of our hotel, near Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, was of no effect.  That means nothing around us was open, and that included the buses and light rail that we used the other days to get around Jerusalem.  So the driver offered, for a good price, to pick us up and take us to the church we wanted to attend, and then at the end of the day, to pick us up after our early dinner and bring us back to the hotel.  When we didn’t get an answer from the driver on WhatsApp at the end of the day I called our guide from the previous day and he was able to contact him to make sure we were on track. 

Here are the events of the day.

·       We attended the worship service at Jerusalem Assembly/The House of Redemption that is in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem (southern part of town).  This is “traditional” for the times we have brought friends to Israel.  We love the music which, on the screen, is given in Hebrew, Anglicized sound of the Hebrew words so we can sing with the rest of the people, and English (so we know what we are saying to the Lord as we worship).  We love the ministry of the word also.  It is done in Hebrew by the pastor, Meno Kalisher, and then translated into English from the pulpit by another man.  There are always 2 parts to this ministry.

o   There is a lesson on the “Torah Portion” of the week.  This is what is being read in the Synagogue and by Jewish people in their homes.  Today’s reading began in Ex. 25, with the listing of the items given in the offering for the tabernacle.  We were reminded how the wooden items in the tabernacle came from Acacia trees (that’s what was available in the desert), which is not a particularly useful wood for making things.  Yet, that is what was used, and was then covered with gold, a reminder that God uses the humble and makes their meagre service to bring Him great glory.  We were reminded how God had provided great wealth for Israel when they left Egypt, and how these things, used in building the Tabernacle, all spoke of Christ.  Pastor Joe with our group had mentioned in devotions one morning that in every Bible passage you should ask 2 questions: What does it say about God; and how does it lead to the gospel?  What Pastor Meno did with the Torah Portion was to show how Christ and the gospel are mentioned even in such a passage as a listing of the items given by the people in their offering for the Tabernacle.

o   The other part of the “ministry of the Word” involved teaching on Rev. 9:1-12, the fifth trumpet judgment.  The teaching is very clear at Jerusalem Assembly.  The first point the pastor made was to remind us that the Bible is not designed to “hide” truth but to “reveal” truth.  Many come to Revelation and conclude that it is impossible to figure out.  But, as Meno mentioned, the Old Testament provides an explanative glossary of the terms used in Revelation.  Amen to that! 

We will conclude our coverage of Saturday’s activities in the next post.  Meanwhile, here are just a few pictures.

Pastor Joe from Billings, Pastor Meno from Jerusalem Assembly, and myself

Our group at Jericho with our guide and driver for the day

Our group at the bus stop after church

Evening walk on David's Harp Bridge near our hotel