In the Holy Land with an Open Bible
(A Message by the Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo at True Life BPC on 13 December 2009)
In Holy Land today, one will see pilgrims from all over the world visiting the biblical sites. This is a foreshadowing of what God said would come to pass in the Millennium, “And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Mic 4:2).
Our recent 14th pilgrimage was a most blessed one, and we thank the Lord for it. All 48 pilgrims from 10 churches not only walked the land where Jesus walked, but also learned many precious lessons from out of His Word. Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land is not for superstitious or idolatrous reasons. We go to the Holy Land because there “he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
So what did we learn this time in the Holy Land? I want to share with you three things I have learned from the Lord and from His Word:
Israel a Miracle Nation
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob.” Pilgrimages are meaningful because of Israel’s place in God’s redemptive plan. Israel was God’s chosen nation and still is. Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” From Israel has come a Saviour—the Lord Jesus Christ. Christmas reminds us of the first coming of Christ. He came the first time as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). He died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. One day He will return to judge this world. Did not the angels tell the disciples as He ascended up to heaven, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11)? Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), and when He returns, He will descend and step on the same Mount and it will split in two as prophesied by Zechariah, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zech 14:4). Today, the mountain is still one not two, not divided yet. Jesus Christ has not yet returned, but He will, and we believe it will be very soon looking at the signs of the times.
We know that Jesus will return soon by this sign—the sign of the nation of Israel which has been a nation dispersed into the four corners of the earth since AD 70 but now back as a fullfledged nation in the Promised Land. The restoration of Israel as a nation in 1948 is a fulfilment of Isaiah 11:11-12, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
We know that the Jews were taken out of their land the first time in 586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah. Later on, King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon, and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Jews were never scattered to different parts of the world until AD 70 when the Romans destroyed both Jerusalem and the Temple. At that time, the Jews fled for their lives and sought refuge in foreign cities. Since then, they have been experiencing the chastening hand of the Lord. Despite their sins, the Lord has not forsaken them. The Lord promised to gather them back “the second time.” This time not from one nation, but from all the nations of the world. In Eilat this time, I met a Jew who was black, originally from Chicago. Having served in the Israeli army, he now works as a waiter. May the gospel preached to him find him believing in the Lord Jesus Christ one day.
Now that Israel is back in the Promised Land, it can no more be uprooted. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has seen to it. The many attempts since 1948 to destroy Israel have failed. The stage is now set for the Antichrist to appear and make a peace treaty with Israel which will initiate the Great Tribulation period which will last for seven years (Dan 9:27). At the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords to destroy His enemies (Rev 19:11-21), and rule over the whole world from Jerusalem for a thousand years (Rev 20:6). Are you ready for the Lord’s coming?
The Bible Comes Alive
“[A]nd he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Many pilgrims testify, “The Bible has come alive for me in the Holy Land.” Of course, this does not mean that the Bible is not or cannot be alive or lively outside of the Holy Land. The Bible is objectively the Word of God, and in and of itself is powerful to convict a sinner of his sins and convert him to the Lord Jesus Christ anywhere in the world. Nevertheless, reading and studying the Bible in the Holy Land can be a very rewarding experience because one is in a “live” classroom seeing for oneself the very places where the events of the Bible took place. This shows that the stories in the Bible are not fairy tales but actual historical events involving actual historical persons and historical places in times past. For example, we saw the ruins of Jericho, the city conquered by Joshua when God miraculously caused its walls to tumble down after the Israelites walked around the city seven times (Josh 6:15-16). In Caesarea, we saw a stone with an inscription of the name of Pontius Pilate describing him as the Prefect of Judea. For years, scholars had questioned the existence of such a man, until this stone was uncovered in 1961. The Holy Scriptures already tell us of Pontius Pilate and what he did to Jesus Christ. We know by faith that the Bible as God’s infallible and inerrant Word is true not only on spiritual matters but also historical and geographical matters. Actually, we do not need this monumental inscription of Pilate to tell us or give us certainty that the Bible is true, we already know it is true by faith. The Bible says it, that settles it, we believe it (Heb 11:6). It is the Scriptures alone that give us faith not such external evidences (Rom 10:17). God knows how to defend His Word and His Name. In His good time, He allows such stones to be uncovered in order to indict and shame the liberals and sceptics for their unbelief.
I can go on and on talking about such facts and evidences, but facts and evidences do not save—it is the Gospel alone that saves. A Holy Land pilgrimage is no pilgrimage when the Gospel is not preached, and a pilgrim is no pilgrim if he does not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A Holy Land pilgrimage is no pilgrimage when the Bible is not faithfully expounded and its truths humbly received by the pilgrims. That was why in the Holy Land we have evening services to praise and thank God for His blessings, and to read the Scriptures and consider the significance of what we had seen during the day. I am very thankful to the Lord that one member of our recent pilgrimage said, “I actually joined the trip as a tourist, but I will return home as a pilgrim. I now regard the Bible as my Textbook and not merely a reference book.” Praise the Lord! Golgotha and the empty tomb are powerful testimonies of what Jesus Christ did for us—our Saviour who “died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Are you saved? Are you a pilgrim on your way to heaven? If not, then confess your sins right now, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be on your pilgrim way to heaven.
Living Stones in the Holy Land
When we visit the Holy Land, our interest is not so much on the dead stones, but on the living stones—fellow believers of the Lord Jesus Christ who dwell in the Holy Land—Messianic Jews, Palestinian Bible Presbyterians (BP), and Christians from Mainland China.
When we entered Israel, the first place we visited was a life-size model or replica of the Tabernacle constructed by a group of Messianic Jews (Jews who believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ). The believing Jewess who explained the elements of the Tabernacle also used the Tabernacle to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank God for the preaching of the Gospel by these Messianic Jews. I was told there are about 20,000 of them in Israel.
What a joy it was to worship with the Christian Palestinians—fellow BPs—in Bethlehem. The Baraka BP Church was founded in the 1950s by BP missionaries from the United States. Today, Rev George Awad and his youngest son Rev Danny Awad take care of the little flock in that little town. They have an old church, but we worshipped in the new church in Shepherds Field which could accommodate more people. They also have an education centre which they hope can be used as a Bible College one day. I gave two special night lectures on the Inspiration and Preservation of the Biblical Canon and Text. The Palestinian brethren were very encouraged by the doctrine of the Verbal and Plenary Preservation of the Holy Scriptures. They said that their Arabic Bible is accurately translated from the Textus Receptus just like the KJV with all the words intact. Although there are newer versions of the Arabic Bible, they said that it is the old version, not the modern versions, that is popular among the Arab Christians.
We capped our pilgrimage to the Holy Land by worshipping with about a hundred Mainland Chinese in the Chinese Christian Church of Jordan who are under the care of Rev and Mrs Clarence Chee, BP missionaries from Singapore. I preached from Psalm 19 on God’s Perfect Gift, and Mrs Chee did a fine job as my interpreter. These Chinese believers from “the land of Sinim” (Isa 49:12; not “Aswan” in Egypt as erroneously rendered in the NIV) are in Jordan to work in factories. Although their life as factory workers in a foreign land is very hard, they exude the peace and joy of the Lord. Having accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they know of a higher life that only God can give. We were also glad to see Pastor Maher of the Irbid Baptist Church who had studied in FEBC for a semester. The Chinese Christian Church meet in the premises of the Irbid Baptist Church.
Will there be a 15th pilgrimage to the Holy Land? The spiritual benefits gained by God’s people from such pilgrimages and the blessings that we can bring to God’s people in the Holy Land have stirred my heart to plan for another trip. It goes without saying that such plans must first be committed to the Lord in prayer. It is only when the Lord so directs and opens the way again can we say, “Next year, Jerusalem!” Anyway, let me have your names if you desire to participate in the next pilgrimage, and let us see how the Lord leads.
