Elisha Vision – Commentary

Doreen and I are presently in Jerusalem celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary with the entire nation of Israel. (Well, maybe they are not all aware of ours, but we sure are rejoicing in theirs.)

Ten years ago, Doreen and I were here for our 40th. Here is an updated description of what it is like to visit Yehovah God’s holy city.

“Going up to Jerusalem” pulsates every fiber of your being.

I have always felt that a visit to Israel is like a salmon returning to it spawning grounds. The Bible clearly declares that “this one and that one were born in her”. You really feel like you were born there:

“HIS foundation is in the holy mountains. Yehovah loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God!      Selah 

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia: ‘This one was born there.'” And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her.” Yehovah will record, when He registers the peoples: “This one was born there.”      Selah

Both the singers and the players on instruments say, “All my springs are in you.” Psalm 87

You are literally returning “to the rock from which you were hewn:”

“LISTEN to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek Yehovah: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him.” For Yehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Yehovah; joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:1-3

ALL THREE DIMENSIONS of your humanness – spirit, soul and body vibrate with the pulse of His Life while you are in His Land!

BODY: All five senses are engaged. You see with your own eyes the stones that will cry out if His people won’t praise Him. You see the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water. You see the land that Abraham walked 4,000 years ago! I cannot begin to list the sights that follow one rushing after the other. You hear the wind and waves and sparrows and voices from every tongue with your own ears. You smell exotic aromas of food and spices and perfumes and people like you have never noticed before. You taste the salt air of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean and the sweat of Masada and close contact in the open market! And did I mention the food? Real bread? Black olives like you have never tasted? Falafel and shwarma sandwiches and spices you may not recognize? Then you touch the Western Wall in prayer and praise and worship. You pick up a stone on the shore of Galilee that Peter may have thrown in the water while listening to Jesus teach. Yes, the senses are assaulted in Israel beyond words.

SOUL: The soul of man is who you are, your personality. It is what makes you, you! It is made up of mind, will and emotion. This dimension too, is overwhelmed in Israel. The guide will share so much thrilling factual history that your mind can scarcely process it. Only take notes of the most pertinent facts or your brain will blow a fuse. Your own memory will spring into overdrive as every Bible story you ever heard comes alive! Your emotions may at times feel like you will explode with tears and joy and understanding. Don’t worry, it is a good thing. (Although, they do have a wing in a Jerusalem hospital for those diagnosed with “the Jerusalem Syndrome.” If you think you are Jesus, or one of the two witnesses, or Moses; you may want to delay your visit to Israel until after your deliverance.) Regarding your will, if you ever had any doubts, they will be blasted into the stratosphere in light of the living evidence surrounding you at every site. In Israel, your choice to follow the Lord is loudly confirmed with humility and great joy.

SPIRIT: Remember when Saul was among the prophets and he could prophesy? That is how it is in the Land of God. You will be hearing so much in your spirit that you will hardly contain yourself and will certainly have to share what you are hearing with those around you. It is that way every time I go. Even familiar old verses come alive with new insight. Your worship seems sweeter, the quiet seems quieter. In praise you may hear the angel’s voices joining in with yours. You are exhausted and yet do not want to sleep at all for fear you will miss something. Your spirit is edified and you wonder why temptation was so tempting. You are truly on a mountaintop of the glory of Yehovah. On the other hand you will also discern (with greater clarity than ever) various other spirits around there that are not of God. I like to say, not entirely in jest, that Jerusalem is where all the demons go for their annual two-week vacations.

It is quite true that Jerusalem is the focal point of the whole earth. God placed His love on her and all the demons of hell are opposed. Jerusalem is not the target, it is the prize. We are at the end of the age. The lines are drawn. All the nations will gather to take the prize but all who try to lift Jerusalem will hurt themselves according to Zechariah.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” Zechariah 12:3

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists                 (READ MORE)

(Why use God’s literal covenant Name: Yehovah? Here is a link to the best simple explanation I know, from my friend, Keith Johnson.)