Anyone who teaches truth from the Bible understands the concept of continuing education. What most teachers of the Bible have missed, however, is the existence of the best classroom Christians have had since the era of the First-Century church.
Do the math. In the year 70 CE, Jerusalem and its amazing temple were both destroyed by Roman forces. In 1967, Jewish forces took the city during the Six-Day War. Though a Jewish presence has always been in or very near the city, it had been almost exactly 19 centuries since Jewish families could live and worship there freely.
The result? The Jewish faith Jesus knew is on full display in Jerusalem today.
Want to see some of the prayer practices of the First Century? Visit Jerusalem today. Want to know how the Sabbath is completely different from the rest of the week? Visit Jerusalem and observe the stillness next Saturday. Want to know how precious the words of scripture are to the Jewish community? You’ll discover more than you ever imagined … in Jerusalem.
Best of all, it doesn’t take long to absorb the lessons. A visit to Jerusalem and modern-day Israel leads to an attack on the senses. The sounds, sights, smells and touch of the place will completely reorder the Christian understanding of the Bible almost immediately.
This is a gift from God for our generation alone.
If preceding generations ever made the long trip to Jerusalem, they did not see a Jewish community thriving there. If the rare traveler toured the area even a century ago, the archeological wonders we know today were still buried. Mark Twain once made the trip, and he came away unimpressed. The great writer of the 19th Century would not express that disappointment today!
We have been given the technology, the ability to travel quickly, and a Jewish community living out its faith in the same place Jesus and his earliest followers did. In terms of Christian education, this is the miracle of our times.
Don’t miss what we can learn from Israel, even if you never make the trip. These lessons are far too important to miss!