Last year I received a letter from Morris
Cerullo World Evangelism inviting me to The New Millennium Israel Prophecy
Conference 2000 to be held in Jerusalem, Israel Jan,31 - Feb 9, 2000. I
cried as I thought and felt that God wanted me to go. And I asked Him, and
the answer was, "Yes, come to Jerusalem." In other ways He would
continue to confirm to me that this was His will to go. Morris Cerullo is
a Jew himself and eventually ended up in an Orthodox Jewish orphanage named
Daughters of Miriam in Cliftin, New Jersey. A gentile nurse who was a
Christian shared Jesus with him, and he gave his heart to Him. Morris
eventually ran away from the orphanage because of the persecution by the
Rabbi. But his heart is for the salvation of the Jews and especially has a
heart for Israel.
Finally the week before my trip I began reading the major and minor prophets to help me know how to pray for the land of Israel. I ended up leaving my notes at home by forgetfulness while making a copy of a prayer I had prepared for the Wailing Wall. But that turned out to be a blessing because I had to go back a read the major and minor prophets again, but this time with eyes actually seeing the Holy Land and relating to what I was seeing. The only thing I remembered being told to do was yell out, "Israel, your king is coming." I was faithful to do that on two separate occasions while everyone else was praising God in a loud voice.
Bruce decided to drive me down to So. California to LAX and actually see me hook up with the other travelers leaving L.A. to JFK and from there to Tel Aviv. Other flights were leaving the USA via El Al , Israel Airlines, on January 31, from Newark, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. At the conference 45 countries were represented making history in Jerusalem, where Christians are not exactly welcomed with open arms. On the tour before the conference, 20 bus loads of us were visiting God's nation, Israel. Our tour guide of Bus #4 told us we would not be able to conquer Israel in 7 days. Tourism is part of their livelihood and they invited us to spend all our money. And I did. And also an invitation to return. They have a saying, "Next year, in Jerusalem."
Bruce
and I were both struck by the mix of nationalities represented there at LAX
while I received my baggage claims and received my boarding pass. Bruce
left me in line to go through security as he wanted to get set up at camp in
Borrego Springs where he spent the first part of his vacation in So.
California. He had a wonderful time with friends in San Diego and Palm
Springs.
We arrived in Tel Aviv at around 4 pm the next
day Tuesday, Feb. l. By the time we got thru security and picking up our
baggage, it was dark. We traveled by bus to Galilee Hotels - mine was the
Gai Beach Hotel right on Lake Galilee. 
The ride thru this part of the
nation at night just looked dusty and not very inviting. I asked God,
"Why do you like it here?" And I was thinking to myself that I
wasn't going to like His nation. BUT, NEXT MORNING look what the
dawn brought. A few of us went out on a deck overlooking the courtyard of
the hotel, the Lake, and in the distance was the Golan Heights. White
birds were peacefully flying over the lake, a small boat with two fisherman, the
sun was beginning to make it's appearance. It was heavenly, and I knew why
Jesus loved this area doing so much ministry around this lake. It is
definitely a peaceful setting, with a "come away with me, my love" feeling.
This was a place where the shepherd could feed his sheep. We had
breakfast and Special Devotions before leaving on the first day of the
tour. By this time I had met my roommate from Vallejo, California, another
intercessor. We were very happy with one another's company, and I
understood when she got up at 3:30 am to pray. Our day started early, and
remember I had to read the major and minor prophets before starting the day.
Our first stop was the Sermon on the Mount
where Jesus gave the Beatitudes and other teachings about how he expects us to
live. We heard a sermon there on site on MERCY (which is what God does not
do to us as we deserve) and GRACE (which God gives to us and we don't
deserve). Grace from God is the ability to live the Sermon on the Mount in
His power. It's a work that He does in our hearts to save us, deliver us
from all manner of evil and weakness, and to heal us body, soul, and
spirit. Grace means you can't earn your salvation, do the works of God, or
even trust Him without the grace of God. Grace is simply the power of God
in our lives enabling us to become holy as He requested (commanded). In
this picture you can see the Lake Galilee from the north end where He
preached to the multitude setting on the grassy slopes. The acoustics are
such that everyone could hear Him.
The n
ext stop was a church commemorating the multiplication
of the loaves and the fish. At the altar area was a mosaic of the loaves
and fish. This was not far from the Sermon on the Mount. Next we
visited the ruins of Capernaum where Jesus had a house and began his
ministry. Jesus probably taught in this very synagogue ( built in the 3rd
century, apparently built over the ruins of the synagogue where Jesus preached.)
The picture is inside of the ruins and is one of the largest synagogues of Bible
times. We saw the ruins of Peter's house and were told the reason three
towns will no longer have inhabitants - unbelief despite the miracles
Jesus did among them. "Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
Matt 11:21-22
Then lunch overlooking the Lake - a fish tasting much like perch with the head attached served with pita bread and coleslaw, french fries, and dates for dessert. After lunch we boarded a touring boat and motored to the middle of the Lake for a sermon about Jesus walking on the water and Peter believing he could too until he took his eyes off Jesus. But Jesus helped him into the boat to safety - He still does stuff like that. Our bus met us on the other side where we continued our tour up unto the Golan Heights. And what a sight looking over the Lake of Galilee from up there. We learned of the importance the Golan Heights is to the land of Israel acting as a barrier between them and Syria. The Golan Heights protects there water supply into the Lake which is a source of irrigation water for the crops that are grown. This day we saw the crops talked about in the major and minor prophets. I began to see with new eyes prophecy about abundant crops to feed the people coming from the nations as God calls them to populate His Promised Land. This prophecy is in almost every major and minor prophet in the Bible. I would come on the bus each day and say, "Yes, it's in the next two books." You see when God says something, it is true and it will come to pass. When you read the Bible you can stake your very life on His Word.
The next day we traveled to the Mediterranean coast. What a gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky and
temperature was light jacket weather. I began picking up stones to remind
me of various places, and I have one that is very porous from the beach. We
visited Caesarea where Herod the Great rebuilt the town and renamed it to honor Caesar
Augustus. We had another meeting of many busses to praise God 
and hear the word of the Lord sitting in
a well preserved amphitheater built by Herod. In this picture I'm standing
in front of an aqueduct which brought water from Mount Carmel built by Hearod. On our way
to Mount Carmel we continued to see the crops! This is amazing since we
learned that only 130 years ago everyone living in the Holy Land was in the l
mile square walled city of Jerusalem. The country was desolate. A
man walked the length of Israel and saw one man and one tree. Do you see
how God preserved this land for his own people. No one else wanted
it. But the soil is rich looking in the Galilee. And Israel produces
enough fruit to send to Europe. We saw mostly bananas, grapefruit,
and oranges. When I returned to California and we drove up highway 5, it
looked so much like Israel in the places where it is irrigated. The same
crops.
The
next picture is from on top of Mt. Carmel
where Elijah had a showdown with the false prophets who chanted nearly all day
with no fire from heaven to burn their sacrifice. But Elijah soaked his
sacrifice, alter and wood with plenty of water and after he prayed to the God of
this universe, fire came down from heaven eating up the sacrifice, wood and
stone alter. The fertile valley below shows the crops, and also where
Armageddan will be fought. Nazareth is one of the towns in the distance
between Mt Carmel and those distant mounts - Mt. Tabor and Mt Gilboa (southern
one).
The next day we headed south to Jericho where
the mounds of dirt are the remains of the walls of that city 
that God caused to
collapse for Joshua and the Isralites after crossing the Jordan river. (Does anybody know God caused the Jordan to stop so that the Isralites could
cross over into the Promised Land.) He gave specific instructions of how to
take this first city. "Your entire army is to march around the city
once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each
carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the city
seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests
give one long blast on the horns, have all the people give a mighty shout.
Then the walls of the city will collapse, and the people can charge straight
into the city." God's dunamus power caused those walls to
collapse. But the people had a part too, they followed God's instructions
to the letter. You see God says, " obedience is better than sacrifice."
The Dead Sea is in the distance from the window
of our bus - You can see it was another beautiful day. I 
actually floated
in the Dead Sea in my blue sweater and knit pants that you see in the next
picture. We were told to just lay down in the water and not try to swim or
make sudden moves in the water. The feeling was really very different -
bouyant - held up. There are so many minerals in the water our clothes
were stiff afterward. I had money underneath my body suit in a fanny pack
- the minerals went right thru the clothing and fanny pack, leaving a sandy
residue on the 5 dollar bills.
The picture of me in the blue sweater is on top
of Masada where the Jews refused to be captured and 
eventually killed themselves
rather than live under Roman rule. Our bus is touring a rare synagogue from
Bible times on top of Masada. Masada was originally built as a palace getaway for
Herod the Great. The bath house was well restored, and you could get
the idea of the three stages of bathing (warm water to wash, hot water to
soak, and finally a steam bath. They heated rock and fanned
the hot air into the bath house.
We traveled into the city of Jerusalem at night
seeing all the lights hearing the song "Jerusalem, Jerusalem".
The city has a population of 600,000 and was quite a site. The next picture is inside the walled city of
old Jerusalem the next day while on tour. There is no water here, 
but this
is said to be the pool of Bethsaida where sick people waited for the waters to
be troubled by an angel. The first one in was healed.
This picture is called the Western Wall or
wailing wall as we know it. The wall is the only thing standing from the
Temple during the time of Jesus. Herold the Great had built this wall
around the Temple area.The people in red are youth from 
Central
America. After presenting our prayers to God at this Holy Site, Eloise and
I could not find our bus tour. We only stayed 5 minutes over. And we
could not spot our group - no one was calling Bus 4, Bus 4 over here. No
sign of anyone. After hunting for the bus, we discovered it had moved to the next pick
up where we would eat lunch. We shopped a little - I bought a star of
David. The shop keepers gave us the most delicious tea. Eloise
bought two clocks. Then a thought came into my mind - we'll approach one
of the tour groups and ask where our bus was having lunch? Out of 20
busses, we approached the very group that was having lunch with our bus 4.
Coincidence - I don't think so - our God is our protection and He cares for us,
leads us. We knew it! We found the restaurant, and also saw the
upper Room and King David's tomb.
The
next day we traveled to Bethlehem, and visited a church which was built by the
Greek ruler Constantine 300 A.D. This is the only church left from this
time not destroyed by enemies of Christianity. It had a huge wall with a
mosaic which probably appealed to all people. There was only one small
door into the church on this wall. This church was built to commemorate
the birth of Christ. We entered the cave underneath the altar area of the
church to view the place where Jesus was born in a stable. He remained in
this unassuming life-style, living in Nazareth, becoming a carpenter. The
rulers of the church did not accept him. They were expecting Him as He
will come next time - as a King on a white horse. This time everyone will
recognize Him, but it will too late for many to accept Him as ruler of the
universe, the one in control of all
things.
This picture is the Garden of
Gethsemane where Jesus prayed until Judas brought the Temple guards.
Judas betrayed the Lord by bringing the guards to this spot and then pointing
Him out with a kiss.
This picture shows stone pavement that was probably
there during Jesus time. This stone
had a Roman game carved into the stone
where the soldiers gambled over the lives of the condemned prisoners. This
stone is in the place where Jesus was condemned by Pilate. We then walked
up the narrow street where Jesus carried his cross until he fell several times -
(it was here that the Spirit just dropped down upon me to say, this is the place
where it actually took place, and I cried.) Then someone else carried
the cross for him to the place where Jesus was nailed to the cross and crucified.
This mosaic and life-size crucifixion were inside the Church of Annunciation,
the most frequently visited holy place in all the world. 
The next picture is a cave where it is thought Jesus was
buried, resurrected and seen by Mary Magdalene in 
the garden. There's a
sign on the door that says "He's not here." That's the Good News
- we can have eternal life if we call on the name of the Lord, believe in our
heart He is Lord and believe he was raised from the dead. That's just the
beginning of the Christian walk - there is a whole life's journey from
this point. Reading the Bible is a good start, joining a Bible believing
church is another, giving your life to the Lord, asking Him to come inside of
you to clean you of your sins with His shed blood on the cross, and to rule and reign as your king and following
Him as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
We had a wonderful 3 day conference with Morris
Cerello and other speakers who spoke about our times 
and how close we are the
end of the world as we know it. Jesus is coming soon - He's going to
descend on the Mt of Olives, walk down the Kedron Valley and go through the
Golden Gate into the walled city near the Temple area. The Golden Gate is
closed up right now, but it won't be
then. From His throne in Jerusalem he will rule and reign for l,000
years. There will be one last testing of loyalty to God before entering
the Eternal City.