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“It Felt Like a Little Piece of Heaven” June 8, 2015 Dear Friends, Here is a brief account of two recent trips to Pennsylvania and Tennessee, then a more detailed account of our tour through Israel. My thanks to my dear wife, Mary, for writing most of the section about Israel (I added some historical and theological parts and some spiritual applications).

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (April 24–28, 2015) I flew out of Grand Rapids on Friday evening to Philadelphia, then spoke nine times over the weekend before returning on Tuesday. On Saturday I spoke at Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, for the Philadelphia Conference of Reformed Theology (PCRT) on “The Honorable Institution of Marriage,” “Friend- ship in Marriage,” and “Sexual Sanctification.” The conference theme was “Holiness and Honor: A Reformed View of Sex and Marriage.” I also did an interview on holiness, backsliding, and the value of reading the Puritans with Carl Trueman and others on “Mortification of Spin.” The interview will be available in October. And I had a lively dinner with Michael and Emily Dewalt. Michael, my able and zealous friend, graduated from PRTS with both an M.A. and a Th.M. degree. On Sunday morning, I preached the closing sermon for the conference on “The Marriage of Christ and His Church.” I had a great lunch with Dr. and Mrs. David Gamer, whom I met for the first time, in their home. Dr. Gamer is a gifted system- atic theology professor at Westminster Seminary. We resonated well, and I pray that Providence will allow our paths to cross again. That afternoon Pastor Tom Church, a kind and self-effacing brother, drove me to Immanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Bellmawr, New Jersey, where I preached on endurance. Three small OPC churches came together for this service, so the quaint church building was full. We had dinner in the Churches’ home where we enjoyed visiting with some of their children, whose names are Ezra, Ephraim, Asahel, Adriel, Agelon, Keturah, and Simeon! After church that evening, Dr. Henry and Barbara Jansma drove me back to my temporary home near Philly. Dr. Jansma is a conservative Reformed Anglican whose little church belongs to the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Conversation with them was stimulating! On Monday, I spent the morning at the Westminster bookstore warehouse where I was interviewed by some employees, many of whom were theological students at Westminster Seminary. We discussed Puritanism, organi- zation of time, and a host of practical matters. I had lunch with Kyle Davis, who told me about his intriguing ministry and vision to translate the Bible into languages in which it has never appeared before. In the afternoon I visited with Rev. Steve Schlissel, a converted Jew who is carrying on a ministry in New York City. Later, I had dinner with West- Westminster bookstore warehouse minster Seminary’s Th.M. and Ph.D. students. Afterward

1 I spoke to them about believing in the power of preaching, using the Puritans as models for ministry, and then answered questions about time management, writing manuscripts, and publishing books. On Tuesday morning I delivered the chapel message to faculty and students at Westminster Seminary on how to per- severe in running the Christian race. It was good to chat with Dr. Vern Poythress, Dr. Richard Gaffin, and several faculty members and students. Afterward Dr. Jeff Jue, vice president of administration, took me out to lunch with Dr. David Gamer. I was pleased to serve my alma mater again.

Maryville, Tennessee (May 1–4, 2015) I flew on Friday evening of the same week to Knoxville, Tennessee, where I was picked up by Pastor Ron O’Dell, one of several pastors at the flourishing Grace Community Church in Maryville, Tennessee. The church building is a restora- tion of the old bus terminal at the heart of Maryville. On Saturday and Sunday, Phil Johnson (writer for John MacArthur) and I delivered eight messages to about four hundred people on the theme of “grace alone” at the Sola Gratia Conference. We also did a Q&A session together. Many of the people were quite new to the Reformed faith as well as first-gener- ation Christians. They were hungry, teachable, warm, and gracious. Meanwhile, Sean McDonald, an employee of Reformed Heritage Books, With Phil Johnson drove my van full of books to the conference. The people bought nearly $10,000 worth—about two-thirds of what we brought. It was great to introduce Reformed and Puritan writers to people who had never read them before. On Sunday several people approached me, thanking me for the books and saying that they couldn’t stop reading them the night before. One brother said, “Those Puritan writers—wow, they really are something special! I have never read anything so spiritually fruitful before in all my life.” Pray for the long-term impact of those books. On Sunday evening after church, I had a delightful visit with an Orthodox Presbyterian minister, Pastor James Gan- zevoort, and his wife, Clare. His grandmother is a member of our church in Grand Rapids (Elaine VanUnen) and his grandfather (Ron VanUnen) was a deacon in our church. What a large heart this friend had for Christ’s kingdom! Conference attendees He spent hundreds of hours as a volunteer recording every course taught in our seminary, and made hundreds of copies. He and his wife then sent out these tapes to people all over the world. We reminisced about how much we loved this dear departed brother who is now rejoicing in the church triumphant.

Israel (May 11–23, 2015; names in bold type are places we visited) Monday & Tuesday, May 11 & 12 We are off to Israel with our whole family and forty-four friends—fifty-one in all! I am more excited to go this time than I was twenty-three years ago, partly because our nine-month-old son has grown up and has someone else to take care of him. Also, I can focus on absorbing the Scriptures and on the Savior that I know and love so much more than I did then. Twenty-four of us departed by bus from PRTS to Chicago, picked up four more passengers near Kalama- zoo, Michigan, linked up with three more in Chicago, and two more in Istanbul, Turkey. The remainder arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, ahead of us.

Wednesday, May 13 Dr. Hal Roning was our guide again. He has hardly aged since our last trip, and at 78 years, his mind is incredibly sharp. Makhoul assisted with logistics, and Ehab was our able bus driver. Israel is about the size of New Jersey. There are four land types running from north to south: plains, hills, valleys, and plateaus. Caesarea Maritima was our first stop. Herod the Great built a port in the Mediterra- nean Sea which welcomed ships from all around the then-known world. The city built there Dr. Hal Roning 2 Caesarea Maritima prospered. Paul embarked on his first missionary journey from Caesarea and was later imprisoned here. Peter and Philip preached here. The Mediterranean became a water highway for the spread of the gospel. Through the years, different nations have ruled the area. Earthquakes and wars have ravaged the buildings, leaving only ruins. However, excavations and renovations have restored the amphitheater, A statue of Elijah on the top of Mount Carmel the horse-racing track, and parts of other buildings. Joel prepared twenty devotionals with personal applications, relating to places we visited, and read them in each set- ting. (They are available on his blog). We also sang songs that reflected the events of each place. We began each day’s with prayer on the bus. The men in the group took turns leading devotions at suppertime. The combination of Hal’s guid- ing, the devotional instruction of my husband, and warm fellowship with fellow travelers made the whole trip extremely worthwhile. To hear our guide, we are using Whispers, an electronic transmitter. Hal speaks in a normal tone into a mic, and we listen through earphones attached to a box that hangs around our neck. We can hear up to one hundred yards away. Atop Mt. Carmel we recalled Elijah’s contest with the priests of Baal. We looked at Brook Kishon to the north- west, where the prophet killed the Baal worshipers. Then we looked toward the sea to the west and imagined a rain cloud the size of a man’s hand that Elijah saw after praying seven times. To the north were the sites of the Old Testament resurrection by Elisha of the son of a Shunnamite woman, who had traveled fifteen miles on a donkey in the hot sun, and the New Testament resurrection by Jesus of the only son of a widow in Nain who was being transported in a funeral procession. Our view also included Mt. Tabor and Mt. Gilboa. Tel Megiddo overlooks the Valley of Armageddon, where some believe the last battle on earth will be fought. Megiddo is the site of a Bronze Age temple. Close by are King Solomon’s stables. King Ahab built a shaft and a horizontal tunnel to a water supply outside the city walls, then covered the opening so enemies wouldn’t see it. We trekked down 180 steps to see this, then up 83 steps to go out. Nazareth, sixteen miles away, was a rather despised place in Jesus’ day, but God did special things here. The angel Gabriel appeared here to young Mary to announce the conception and coming birth of Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God (Luke 1:26). After Mary and Joseph registered in Bethlehem and sojourned in Egypt, they returned to Nazareth and raised their family here (Matt. 2:23). This little village of perhaps a hundred people was the hometown of our Lord until He began His public ministry (Mark 1:9; Luke 2:51). Thus to His dying day (and beyond), Christ was known as Jesus of Remains of Solomon’s stables Nazareth (Luke 18:37; Acts 2:22). He even called Himself this when 3 He appeared to Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:8). Early Christians were sometimes mockingly called Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). Hal described four levels of authenticity for biblical sites: #1 is a historical spot that we are sure of, a #2 spot is solid tradition with convincing evidence, #3 is folklore—a biblical event may or may not have happened here, and #4 is a spot with no evidence. The water spring in Nazareth is a #1 spot; we know for sure that Jesus and His family would have come here for water because it was the only spring in the village. One can only imagine this young son of a carpenter, growing up in favor with God and man, yet knowing He would soon face hatred and scorn. That enmity began in His hometown when Jesus read Scripture in the synagogue (Luke 4:16–32), then identified Himself as the subject of Isaiah 61:1–3. Read these beautiful verses and let your heart be filled with love for such a precious Savior! Our home for three nights was the Golan in Tiberias overlooking the beau- tiful Sea of Galilee. In the evening about half of our group toured Caprice Diamond & Jewelry. A large share of the diamonds in the world are cut and polished in Israel. Thursday, May 14 A highlight of our trip was the boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. This sea is a favorite place for Christians touring Israel, for here much of our Lord’s ministry took place. The water spring in Nazareth is still Here Jesus taught the people from a boat just offshore. Here He walked on the water. visible inside of this church Here He calmed a raging storm. The region of Galilee was the place where our Lord began His ministry of public teaching and preaching. Here His teaching dawned upon the world like the rising of a sun after a long night that had lasted for centuries. Our boat ride began under a clear and sunny sky, but then dark clouds rolled in. The rain began just after the engines were turned off and my husband had given a moving meditation about Jesus’ ministry on and around the Sea of Galilee. Rev. Bart Elshout was happy about the storm, for it would provide a vivid illustration for his sermon on the coming Sunday evening about Jesus walk- ing on the waves. One man on the boat, dressed as Peter, threw his fishing net out the left side of the boat, then on the right, which gave us a living picture of the story my husband was to preach on Sunday morning from John 21. After we disembarked, we visited a museum near the Our family in the boat on the Sea of Galilee dock, where we saw a two-thousand-year-old boat that was discovered in 1986 in the mud on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. This boat is likely very similar to the boat Jesus and the disciples sailed in. On the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Tabgha (an Arabic name derived from the Greek word for “seven springs”) is likely where the crowd of five thousand were fed with the miraculous multiplication of a boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. Hal pointed out part of the large hill that is shaped like a natural amphitheater where thousands could have been seated. This is also where the disciples came to fish after Jesus’ resurrection and where they saw Him cooking breakfast for them on the shore. Jesus confronted Peter here, too, asking him three times if he loved Him, then told the apostle, “Feed my sheep.” In both cases, Jesus uncovers our insufficiency, which opens the door for Christ’s sufficiency so that we can serve Him with confident faith. Next, we visited Capernaum, the strategic center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (Matt. 4:13), and home- town of James, John, and Matthew. Here Jesus healed At Tabgha, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee a man of an unclean devil, Peter’s mother-in-law of a 4 fever, the Roman centurion’s servant, and the lame man let down through the roof. We visited the excavations, including what may have been Peter’s house. It is an amazing experience to look around and imagine Jesus mixing with the multitudes, healing the sick, preaching, and saving sinners. Although Jesus centered His preaching in Galilee, He later cursed it for its lack of response to Him. Capernaum should sober us. Great gospel privileges bring great gospel responsibilities. Every sermon we hear heats hell’s fires hotter for those who are not true believers. How hard is the heart of mankind, that the very presence of the living Jesus was not enough to turn the Galileans back to God! Near Tabgha, most of us ordered for our noon meal the “St. Having “St. Peter’s fish” between Capernaum and Peter’s fish”—head and eyeball included! Some didn’t care for it the Mount of Beatitudes much, but Joel and I thought it was delicious. The Mount of Beatitudes overlooks the Sea of Galilee. Here we meditated on the Sermon on the Mount, focusing on the Beatitudes. In Joel’s meditation, we learned that Christ’s preaching of “repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17), is fleshed out in the beatitudes. People who have truly repented are a broken and humbled people in their relationships with God and man. They are not rich in their own estima- tion but poor; not boasters but mourners over their sins; not graspers and controllers but meek and gentle. They long to be holy and to do the Father’s will. They do not simply clean up their external morality, but by faith in Christ their hearts are View from possible location of the Sermon on the Mount

cleansed so that they sincerely love God and people. This love shows itself in mercy when they encounter people in misery and trouble. They have been reconciled to God, and so they seek to make peace among men. Yet their lives are so different from the world, especially the world of religious hypocrites, that they suffer hostility, slander, and all kinds of persecution. They are heavenly pilgrims in this world. Mount Arbel stands high above Tiberias and offers a grand view of the area where Jesus exercised much of His ministry. We hiked to the top with Makhoul, as he added details to our day. John’s closing words in his gospel came to mind, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (21:25).

Friday, May 15 We visited Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, where Jesus and the disciples stopped to rest. From there we went to the Jordan River, which is much smaller than most people expect, though much water is diverted for irrigation today. Yet in terms of biblical sig- nificance, the river is huge. So much of Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing was done in this area. Here He proved He was not just the son of Joseph, but the Son of God. With words He preached repentance and wisdom, and with miracles He brought the message home to their hearts and ours that we might believe, and that believing we might have life.

View from the top of Mount Arbel 5 The Jordan River in Scripture often represents a new beginning in the life of a nation or individual. The people of Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, for the Lord cut off the waters of the river, even at flood stage (Josh. 3). Six centuries later, the prophet Elisha told a Syrian leper that he must wash in the Jordan seven times, and the Lord would heal him (2 Kings 5:10). This offended Naaman at first, for though a leper he was a rich and powerful military commander. Didn’t Syria have better rivers? Yet by God’s grace, he humbled him- self, and in the waters of the Jordan his flesh became like that of a little child again, which was like being born again. After eight more centuries passed, John baptized in Excavations of Bethsaida the Jordan River large number of Jews who confessed their sins and professed repentance towards God (Mark 1). John preached a new beginning to them too: the forgiveness of sins and hope in the coming Messiah. Yet when Jesus Christ appeared on the shores of the river, He shocked John by asking to be baptized. That was because our new beginning depends upon Christ taking the place of sinners in order to fulfill all righteousness. As Jesus came up out of the water, God publicly declared Him to be His beloved Son, and visibly anointed Him with the Holy Spirit, so that Christ would baptize His people in the same Spirit (Mark. 1:8–11). Have you experienced the new beginning Christ can give by His Spirit? Have you been washed of your spiritual leprosy, and been born again as a child of God? Jesus condemned Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, saying if the works that had been done for them would have been done in Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, they would have repented and been spared. The rocks that archeologists have uncovered from these villages are stark remind- ers that no civilization lasts. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. He alone is our Rock of salvation. The rain and snow from Mt. Hermon is puri- fied as it flows through the limestone into springs, creating the Hermon, Senir and Dan Streams, Excavations of Jeroboam’s altar and sacrificial area in Dan which feed into the Jordan River, then into the Sea of Galilee. One stream has been diverted around the Sea of Galilee, to preserve its fresh water for recreation and irrigation. The lower part of the Jordan River exits the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and ends in the Dead Sea, and eventually evaporates. Hal compared certain people to the Sea of Galilee, which flows in its outlet and lives, and others to the Dead Sea which has no outlet and is dead. We hiked on trails and stepping stones at the shallow edges of the Dan Stream as the water rushed by a few feet away. Lush greenery grew all around. Archeologists have uncovered ruins from the time of Abraham, from the Canaanites in the eighteenth century BC, from the First Temple period, and from the time of King Jeroboam. The excavations at Dan were amazing. Large pieces of the city remained, replete with the elders’ seats in the city gates, as well as the sacrificial area that Jeroboam established against God’s will so that the Israelites did not have to travel all the way to to worship. We Ministers and elders sitting on the excavated elders’ seats in the gates of the city of Dan 6 took a picture of the ministers and elders in our group sitting on the elders’ seats. Nearby we visited Hermon Stream, Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus asked, “Whom do men say that I am?” and “Whom say ye that I am?” When Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus replied, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:13–20). We had lunch in view of Mt. Her- mon. Then we drove through the Golan Heights, with Syria visible only a mile or two away. The border has many look- out stations and army camps. We heard With son Calvin at Caesarea Philippi gunshots in the distance. Soldiers with machine guns are a common sight.

Saturday, May 16 Our first stop was Bet Shean where much archeological work is currently being done. We visited an ancient coliseum on the outskirts of Bet Shean, which was discovered only a few decades ago. Here was where Jews and Christians were fed to the lions. At one end of this huge coli- seum, you can still see the lions’ cages and where they came out to devour their prey. The stands for the fans were about fifteen feet off the ground so that the lions could not jump into them. We prayed here for the persecuted church today, then sang “Amazing Grace.” Many of us shed tears The traditional place where the Philistines lords of Bet Shean displayed for our brothers and sisters who have died the bodies of Saul and his sons on the city walls for their faith. The excavated remains of Bet Shean are stunning. Toppled pillars show the poignant results of an old earthquake. We walked up a hill to visit the supposed place where some Philistines retrieved Saul’s head and gave him a decent burial. Outside Jericho is the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan River, which is nearly the lowest place on earth. That is an apt symbol of our Savior descending so low to save lowly sinners. Hal said Christ came this low to assure us that no sinner can ever say He didn’t come low enough for me. The Jordan River marks the border between Jordan and Israel. You could swim across in less than a minute, but sol- diers guard both sides. Some Ethiopian Amazing archaeological remains of Bet Shean 7 Christians were holding a worship ser- vice and baptizing children in the muddy water. One man had sores on his body. He kept dipping in the water and looking at his sores. We wondered if he was hoping for the same healing power that Naaman experienced. Jericho is an oasis. Today it is con- trolled by the Palestinians and is predominantly Muslim. We visited the site in 95-degree weather. It was baking hot! Here archaeologists have excavated twenty layers of civilizations, including probable evidence of the biblical account of the fall of the city of Jericho in heaps of bricks and rocks, a layer of ash, and an intact section of the wall. With Mary at the Jordan River in the area where Jesus was baptized To the west is the Mount of Tempta- tion, where Jesus is believed to have fasted forty days, then was tempted by the devil. Just outside Jericho is the Roman Road which leads to Jerusalem. Jesus would surely have walked on this road, which was also the setting of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As we climbed out of the Jordan Val- ley (825 feet below sea level) and headed toward Jerusalem (2,500 feet above sea level), we stopped at a high point and looked over the barren yet beautiful wil- derness. Hal walked us through Psalm 23 and explained it beautifully from a shep- herd’s point of view. Then we recited the psalm together. Precious! We arrived in Jerusalem at the Notre With our family looking out over the barren wilderness—the kind of terrain Dame , our home for the Jesus was in when tempted by the devil next six nights. Sunday, May 17 We used the chapel in the hotel for two church services. Joel preached in the morn- ing on “Jesus, Filler of Empty Nets,” from John 21:1–13, on Jesus trying, surprising, and feeding His disciples. Rev. Elshout preached in the evening on “Jesus’ Remark- able Dealings with His Disciples” from Mark 6:45–51, telling how Jesus commands, cares for, and comforts His disciples. They spoke about the relationship between Jesus and His disciples in the midst of trials, which was a fitting reminder that the life of a Christian has its waves and billows and disappointments, yet Jesus calms the sea and feeds our souls. With the memory of View from our room at the Notre Dame Guest House in Jerusalem 8 sailing on the Sea of Galilee fresh in our minds, the impact of the preaching was multiplied. We also heard about the work of our Puritan Reformed Theological Sem- inary and about the state of the church and education in China.

Monday, May 18 We spent a full day in Jerusalem. We left the hotel by 7:15 A.M., and toured the tunnels of the Western Wall, where layers of history can still be seen. Herod’s engineering skills and ambitious projects confirmed his title of Herod the Great, but greater than he is King Jesus, whose kingdom lasts forever! We stopped by the Western Wall. Men and women have separate sections, but many women, including some from our group, stood on chairs, peeking over the wall at the men. Several 13-year-old Jewish boys were celebrating their Bar Mitzvahs.

Touring the tunnels of the Western Wall

Hundreds of orthodox Jews gathering under Wilson’s Arch to pray and study near the Western Wall

Joel and several of the men went next to the Western Wall, where hun- dreds of Orthodox Jews were praying and dozens were studying. He said that was far more fascinating than what tourists normally see. Our next stop was the City of David, just south of the Old City walls. In this Old Testament Jerusalem we saw excavated sites of walls, buildings, and artifacts dating back to King David’s time. The Gihon Spring supplied fresh water to the residents of Jerusalem. The Assyrians threatened to invade the city during King Hezekiah’s reign, so the king had his men dig through the rock from the north and the south, meeting in the middle to divert the water from the city. Visitors today can walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which is 1,750 feet long, or take the shorter, dry route. Half of our group, including me, took the wet route. The water was refreshingly cold and one to two feet deep. I was feeling claustrophobic until Simon Green (always valiantly bring- ing up the rear) started singing “The Lord’s My Shepherd!” We sang our way through the water until we reached the Pool of Siloam, where the blind man’s sight was restored in John 9 and who testified in verse 25, “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Joel did a meditation on that story here. This story has special meaning for me since God used my husband’s preach- ing from this text a few decades ago to make me conscious of my spiritual deliverance in Christ. After trekking back through another long tunnel, we saw the Beauti- ful Gate where Peter and John healed the lame man. We finally had lunch at 2:15—a tuna sandwich never tasted so good! In the afternoon we visited a model of the city during the Second Temple period. We also toured the Our guide speaking at the Pool of Siloam 9 Visiting a model of the city during the Second Temple period Biblical Archeology Center at the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, which tells the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Joel found the Isaiah scrolls very moving. Supper was a delicious buffet at the YMCA. It got up to 104 degrees today. We were so thankful that we spent a good part of the day underground in tunnels and in air conditioned buildings! One of many old artifacts in the Israel Museum Tuesday, May 19 Our original plan was to go to the Dead Sea area, but since it is usually ten degrees hotter there than in Jerusalem, we rescheduled that for Thursday, when it is supposed to be cooler. Instead we headed south to Herodium, which is the fortress and palace that Herod the Great built on a high hill made higher by transferring soil from the next hill. This is likely where he met with the wise men and dispatched his soldiers to kill the infants of Bethlehem. Herod knew he was not loved by the people so he decreed that important men be killed on the same day he died, so that the people would be sure to grieve on future anniversaries of his death. But those who were ordered to do so refused. Herod is supposedly buried here. How great is the contrast between King Herod and King Jesus! King Herod, an old man, lived in pomp and power, yet he was paranoid about his kingdom. He was not of the house of Israel, but a foreigner with no rights to the throne. He was a liar and a murderer (John 8:44). On the other hand, King Jesus was the Son of Abraham, born miraculously not of an old woman but of a virgin (Matt. 1:1, 18, 20). He was the Son of David, Israel’s rightful and promised King (Matt. 1:1). His birth fulfilled God’s prom- ises (Matt. 2:6). He was no mere man, but Immanuel, God with us in the flesh (Matt. Herodium 1:23). Wise men worshiped Him and brought Him costly offerings (Matt. 2:10–11). He was no murderer, but saved His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He was forced to flee for His life at an early age, and one day was nailed to the cross for our sins. What a King! Today He reigns in a palace far more beautiful than Herodium ever was, and if we serve Him we shall reign with Him there forever. From Herodium we went to Bethlehem. We heard Joel’s meditation in a shepherd’s cave, much like that in which Jesus was born. So much happened in this little sleepy town.

10 In Bethlehem we see how God’s plan of salvation was composed of many links in an unbreakable chain of grace. One link in the chain was when, more than three thousand years ago, two women came to Bethlehem. One was a native of this Jewish town; the other, her daughter-in-law, was a foreigner from Moab. Though an outsider from a pagan land, Ruth not only was accepted by the Jewish community, but married a Hebrew man named Boaz, for she too had come to trust in the Lord (Ruth 2:12). Another link in the chain appeared some years later, when the Lord directed the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem and speak to the grandson of Boaz and Ruth Singing God’s praises in a cave near Bethlehem, one like where Jesus was born (Ruth 4:21–22; 1 Sam. 16:1). Boaz had several sons, and God led Samuel to anoint the youngest of them, David. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Ruth’s great- grandson David, and he became the champion of Israel and the father of a dynasty of kings. It seemed that God’s chain of promise was shattered when, after centuries of disobedience, the royal line of David fell under God’s judg- ment. However, long before the people of Israel went into exile in Babylon, the prophet Micah foretold that from Bethlehem would come a “ruler in Israel,” not a mere man, but an eter- nal Lord whose activities were “from everlasting,” and who would shepherd His people “in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Lord his God,” and whose kingdom would extend “unto the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:2, 4). Seven centuries after Micah said those words, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and an angel announced to shepherds nearby, “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Stooping to enter the Church of Nativity A statue of Jerome, commemorating his translation Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). It of the Vulgate underground at this place is amazing that this village still exists after so many years of war and hardship. It is even more amazing to consider that the reason Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem is because of a decree from a pagan emperor, Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1). When we are tempted to doubt that God works all things for good, let us remember how precisely He fulfilled His purpose to bring His Son into the world in the little town of Bethlehem. We can wait for the coming of His kingdom with absolute confidence, for God’s plan did not fail in the past and cannot fail in the future. The child of Bethlehem will reign. And we can be sure that even the seemingly random events of our day are exactly what God has planned to bring Christ’s kingdom to all the nations, and that one day Christ will return to earth with visible glory. Before we left the cave, we sang “To God be the Glory,” then went to a church nearby that had even better acoustics, and sang “Angels We Have Heard on High.” After lunch we visited the Church of the Nativity, which is the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Many sites in Israel are memorialized by the Orthodox Church or the Roman , which built ornate chapels here, in which

11 thousands of people worship. We tried to block out the surroundings and meditate on the gospel itself. Next, we visited the underground room where Jerome translated the Bible into Latin. It became known as the Vulgate and had a tremendous influence in church history, particularly in the Middle Ages. Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestinians and is occupied mostly by Muslims, yet Christian is the main source of income. In the state of Israel, 80 percent of the people are Jews, 18 percent are Muslims, and 2 per- cent are Christians. In the Palestinian part of Israel, 98 percent are Muslims and 2 percent are Christians. We intended to stop at the Valley of Elah, but a tire on our bus blew and we had to switch buses. The heat wave we have been experiencing came before the hotel switched its system from heat to air conditioning, so some of our members hadn’t slept well for a couple nights. After persuasive pleading, things were up and running. Before each supper, we meet in a separate room for devotions, and afterward again to close with prayer. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style in the hotel. Our hotel is just outside the city walls, so some go into the city during free time to walk and shop. Jerusalem is divided into the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters.

Three special ladies—the Queen and my two princess daughters—standing in front of our hotel

Wednesday, May 20 We saw more of Jerusalem today. The bus took us to the top of the Mount of Olives, or Olivet, which is an elevated ridge to the east of Jerusalem, known for its groves of olive trees. We had a group picture taken with the city in the background. Then we heard a meditation by Joel on tears and rejoicing. David wept here as he fled Jeru- salem to escape from Absalom (2 Sam. 15:30). A thousand years later, the Lord Jesus Christ crossed the Mount of Olives, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt as View of Modern Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives a visible sign that the promised King had come (Zech. 9:9). Though cheering crowds greeted Him when He crested the ridge and saw Jerusalem, He wept (Luke 19:41), for He knew that the people would soon reject their King. The Mount of Olives was also a place of blessing and rejoicing (Luke 24:49–53; Acts 1:8–12), for here Christ’s feet last touched the earth. Here Christ promised the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for the worldwide gospel mission, raised His hands to bless His disciples, and was taken up into the clouds into heaven. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, praising and blessing God. Approximately 2000-year-old trees in the Garden of Gethsemane 12 The west side of the mountain and the valley is a massive cemetery with a Jewish section, a Muslim section, and a Christian section. As we walked down to the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane, we met Gethsemane’s gardener. Imagine being the gardener in this garden! Olive trees still grow where our Savior once sweat great drops of blood in His agony of soul. Surely this is one of the most impressive places in all of Israel. Words are not strong enough to express what Christ suffered in this garden. Mark says He was “sore amazed” (Mark 14:33), and Luke says He was “in an agony” (Luke With the gardener of the Garden of Gethsemane 22:44). Matthew says that He cried out: “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matt. 27:38). Jesus was encompassed, encircled, and overwhelmed with grief. If God had not supported Him, Jesus could not have sustained the horrors of Gethsemane. Three times Jesus had to leave His disciples and cry out as He writhed in pain on the grounds of the garden, pleading, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). What should amaze us most about Geth- semane is not the dread wrath beginning to crush God’s Son, but the holy obedience with which He bore it. Heaven will eternally resound with wonder at those words, “not my will, but thine, be done.” What amazing grace! We then visited the house of Caiaphas and

The place where Peter denied Jesus the place where it is thought that Peter denied Jesus. May God keep us from denying our Savior when subjected to this world’s persecution. From there we went to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man who was crippled for thirty-eight years. Christ simply com- manded him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” By the mere power of Christ’s word, the crippled man got up and walked away with his bed (John 5:1–9). Jesus Christ shares the same divine power as the Father, for they do their works together (John 5:19–20). One day, by the same power He used to raise up this crippled man, Christ will raise the dead to life by the mere authority of His voice (John 5:28–29). All the billions of people who have lived and died on this planet will stand before Christ and receive His holy judgment, either damnation because of unbelief or life everlasting because of belief in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the church nearby, we sang “How Great the Father’s Love for Us.” Then we went through the city along the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering. Most of the Stations of the Cross here are not authenticated, but they are reminders of the suffering of Christ on His way to the cross. The Pool of Bethesda 13 Pilate’s Judgment Hall is more realistic. Here Pilate’s sentence upon Christ revealed the horrific blindness of mankind. Pilate exemplified the judgment rendered against the world: “that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). At the same time, Pilate’s sending Jesus to the cross revealed the sovereign grace of God. Jesus Himself told Pilate that he could have no power over Christ unless God gave it to him. In a sense, God Himself sat upon the judgment seat, testifying that His Son was righteous, yet condemning Him to die for the sins of His people. God’s justice is now perfectly satisfied for His elect. Praise be to God! The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the place where many believe Jesus was crucified and buried. A number of churches have built monuments here, and millions of people visit here to worship Jesus in various ways. We would see an alternate site on Friday, which is more favored by Protestants.

Thursday, May 21 We left early for Masada to avoid the heat. We stopped on the way for

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre camel rides. People in the tour group talked Joel and Dr. Ronning into riding the beasts. Dr. Ronning said that he had not been on a camel for twenty years. Most of us took the cable car to the top of Masada. Nine of our group hiked the Snake Path, including four from our family. That nor- mally takes an hour, but James Engelsma did it My first camel ride! in twenty-three minutes! Herod the Great built the Masada fortress 1,300 feet above the Dead Sea, on a plateau in the Judean desert. In the early 70s A.D., the Jews held out against the Romans here for three years. When their conquest was imminent, the Jews killed their own families and themselves rather than be slaves of the Romans. The landscape was barren yet scenic as we traveled between the shore of the Dead Sea and the mountains, dotted with the green of irrigated date palms. David and his men withdrew to the wilderness of Ein Gedi to escape Saul’s wrath. In this hot, arid land of caves and Ibex goats, fresh water springs flow, forming an oasis. In our mind’s eye, we could see David snipping a piece off Saul’s robe and calling to him from a distance. The Qumran is where a colony of the Ess- A small part of the excavated remains of Masada enes lived in the first century B.C., and who 14 With my brother Jim from the top of Masada Ein Gedi with its fresh water springs and caves copied the Scriptures onto scrolls. In 1947, two shepherd boys threw rocks into a cave and heard clay jars break. Upon fur- ther investigation, they found the Dead Sea scrolls, which had not been seen for two thousand years or more. Over the next decade, nearly one thousands texts were discovered in eleven caves in that area. They are older than any other manuscripts and confirm that the Scriptures were copied over the centuries with an amazing degree of accuracy. Floating in the Dead Sea is part of any trip to Israel. Floating in water that had a salt content of 38 percent, we were unsinkable! We chatted for a while with a North Korean in the water.

The Qumran and several of its caves The Dead Sea Friday, May 22 On the last day, we visited an alternate site of Calvary, sometimes called Golgotha. The Gospels tell us that the soldiers crucified Christ on Golgatha, “the place of the skull” (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17), or in Latin “Calvaria” (Luke 23:33). Christ died outside the city gate (Heb. 13:12), and yet “nigh to the city” (John 19:20). It was a horrible place and a horrendous atrocity when the wicked rejected the Holy and Righteous One and “killed the Prince of life” (Acts 3:14–15). The traditional location of Golgotha that we visited on Wednesday is by no means universally accepted. In 1842, heavily relying on the research of Edward Robinson, a German theologian named Otto Thenius was the first to publish a proposal that the rocky knoll north of Damascus Gate was the biblical Golgotha. In 1883, Major General Charles George Gor- don supported this view. Subsequently the site we visited today is sometimes called Gordon’s Calvary. The location, often referred to today as Skull Hill, is beneath a cliff that contains two large sunken holes, which Gordon said resembled the eyes of a skull. He and many others since have believed that the skull-like appearance of this hill is the true location of Golgotha. At Golgotha God did His greatest work. There are different words that the Scriptures use to describe the mighty work of the cross, such as redemption and reconciliation, but perhaps the most significant word is one rarely heard today: propi- tiation. The apostle John wrote, “he is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). He also said, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). On the cross, Christ suffered and died to quench the terrible fire of God’s burning anger against sin. Since Christ is God, His propitiation has a value greater than all the sins of the world. He did not merely die for the Jews or a small group 15 A group picture after we had all entered the empty tomb—the highlight of our trip of first-century believers, but to redeem a vast number of people from every tribe, language, and nation throughout all the ages. At Golgotha, God’s hatred and God’s love come together in an astonishing way. God hates sin and is so angry with sinners that nothing less than the death of His Son will appease His anger, satisfy His justice, and set them free. Apart from Christ’s blood, God’s wrath will send sinners to hell forever. However, even when God hated sin so much, He loved sinners so much that He will- ingly sent His Son to suffer that wrath for the very sinners who hated Him. Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

An alternate site of Golgotha, the place of a skull

From Gordon’s Calvary we walked a short distance to the Garden Tomb. Our Dutch guide explained to us in some detail that though this may not be the exact tomb in which Jesus was laid, He was laid in a tomb very similar to this one. “He is not here, for He is risen” printed on the door of the empty tomb is the most impor- tant truth. Many of us felt that the Garden Tomb was the apex of our trip. The garden around it is wonderful for meditation. The temperature was cool and comfortable. My husband had special freedom in delivering his meditation here, after Preaching at the Garden Tomb 16 which we all went into the empty tomb, then took a group picture. After that, we sang “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Martin Luther once said that Christ’s death and resur- rection are the two hinges on which the door of salvation swings open. Without either one, Christianity would be empty. On the third day after Christ’s burial, the earth shook as the King of kings rose from the dead (Matt. 28:2, 6). Just as Adam fell in a garden, so the last Adam rose up in a garden as the firstborn of a new creation. His resurrection was no mere resuscitation of a dead body, but God’s decisive victory over death and hell (1 Cor. 15:21–22; Rev. 1:18), the exercise of the exceeding greatness of God’s mighty power for His people (Eph. 1:19–20). While we glory in the atoning death of Jesus Christ, we The best news in all of Israel do not serve a dead Savior. God raised up Jesus and exalted Him to God’s right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to His people, both Jew and Gentile (Acts 5:30–31; 11:18). Though we cannot see the living Lord, the presence of the Holy Spirit in believers is a living testimony that Christ is risen. After this moving experience, we drove southwest of Jerusalem to the Elah Valley. Because of the detailed description in the Bible, we know exactly where the battle between David and Goliath took place. Five smooth stones from the creek bed, which still contains tens of thousands of such stones, make a nice . We stopped at the Home for Bible Translators, which Hal and his wife Mirja run, where they enable translators to study the language and context of the Bible in the land of the Bible. We closed the trip with a nice dinner at a nearby rooftop . At Elah Valley, where David picked up stones to kill Goliath

Saturday, May 23 The trip home was long. On the plane I sat next to a Muslim turned atheist, who had a phobia of flying. I had a long con- versation with him. I stressed with him that trust in Christ alone could cure not only his phobia of flying, but could bless his soul as well. Surprisingly, he was quite interested in Cal- vinism, so I encouraged him to read Joel’s book Living for the Glory of God: An Introduction to Calvinism. We sent him that book along with several others, and will now wait to see if he corresponds with us. We arrived home safely, amazed that God took fifty-four people (including our guides) on a two-week trip to Israel without any person getting sick, no one getting lost or seri- ously injured, and not one piece of luggage lost. When Joel asked most of the tour group privately how they would rate this on a scale of 1 to 10, they all said 10. Our guide, Dr. Ronning, was superb. His head knowledge of Israel and With Hal and Mirja Ronning at their Home for Bible Translators his heart knowledge that enabled him to apply his teaching to our lives were simply amazing. The trip was also good exercise. One of our group registered that we had walked 56.2 miles on this trip! We returned home tired but filled with adoration for God, His land, His work, His gospel, and His Son. Perhaps one member of our

17 Sunrise overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee from the balcony of our room at the Golan Hotel in Tiberias tour group said it best some days later: “It was a life altering trip. We had the best time, learned ever so much, made new friends, filled up my spiritual gas tank, and so much more. For me it felt like a little piece of heaven. Being with this kind of a group was ever so special because of what we share. I really loved the music in every place we sang.” Every blessing to you and yours.

Warmly, in Christ,

Pastor Joel R. Beeke

P.S. Presently, my son Calvin and I are putting together a video of our trip which we hope to show at the seminary on July 16, at 7:15. You are welcome to join us then.

P.S.S. The Lord willing, the next annual tour group sponsored by our seminary is being planned for the last half of May 2016, to Turkey and Greece. We hope to visit most of the seven churches of Asia and follow in the footsteps of Paul and John. In May 2017, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we hope to visit Reformation sites in Eng- land, Wales, and Scotland. The following year, 2018, we hope to take another group to Israel. If you are interested in being put on the mailing list to receive information for these tours, please let Ann Dykema ([email protected]) know.

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