From Jerusalem to Greenvile, stop 1

Well, it's been far too long away from the blog! I've gave a few cards out, and worked on a few websites, but generally, I have just not been into the blogging scene lately.

Here is a "rabbit trail" I got on the other day. Using Googe Earth I traced the "Great Circle" from Jerusalem to Greenville. A great circle is a straight line drawn on a globe which is equally distant from the center. It is shorter than the line along the latitude east-and-west. The longitudes north-to-south are great circles. So, while heading west from Jerusalem brings you to the coast of Georgia, the great circle to the same point, or rather one close to it, goes across Europe and the North Atlantic.

The great circle to my house from the temple mound, then, goes from Israel, to Greece and Croatia, then through Italy, Switzerland and France, over the the channel to southern Wales, and then across the North Atlantic to Canada and the East Coast of America. I was surprized how this route somewhat traces the spread of the gospel to upstate South Carolina.

And so, I am going to attempt a "travelogue" of some of the villages (very few cities are in the path) that I found along the "rabbit trail." I will especially be looking for evidences of the church in these places.

The first village outside of Jerusalem is Bayt Surik. This is a Palestinian village subject to much controversy due to settlement of Jews outside Jerusalem. It is also spelled "Beit Surik," and supposedly means "Springs village." A security fence was built near here in 2006 which upset the native Palestinians greatly. The village is just over the 1949 Armistice Agreement Line in what is considered "occupied territory" popularly called "the West Bank."

A good site to visit concerning this village is

http://www.beitsurik.net/


This is a site ran by some Britons who formed a friendship forum with the Palestinians. I borrowed the picture above from them. It seems that American Evangelicalism is very biased in favor of Israel, I would recommend that conservative Christians read both sides of what is happening in the "holy" land. The sin nature is alive and well in the homeland of Christ!

The nearest church that Google Maps pulls up is the Church of the Visitation, commemorating the site where Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, lived when Mary visited her (Luke 1:39). This is about eight miles away via curving road in a southern direction.

Biblical Ramah is three miles to the east, but the Google maps will not route you down the roads between the two places (both in the West Bank). The trip down into "Israel" and back up looks to be around ten miles. Keeping travelers off of dangerous Palestinian controlled roads seems to be a feature that Google wishes to provide. Mapquest, my other source for directions, is only for the US and Canada.

A Wall of Separation

Who would have thought that traffic engineers would be "peace keepers." But that seems to be the case in Israel. With all the talk about a separate Palestinian (that is, Philistine) state within the Biblical bounds of Israel, the present government seems to have come up with a solution for "separate, but equal" access through lands claimed by the separate peoples. Two parallel roads, divided by a concrete, fake stone wall, will bypass Jerusalem. Only verified Israeli or authorized Palestinians will have access to the road with exits into town. Palestinians can pass by town but not enter (routed under or over access roads).

Israel is willing to give up some of its land for peaceful "co-existence," but it will not allow Jerusalem to be used as a capital for its ancient enemies. From King David's time on, this city has been considered holy. In Solomon's time it became not only the capital, but the "home" of YHWH! How can the home of God be sold out from under Him?! Of course, we know that He owns it all. Not only that, His temple is not His home. God's home is with and IN His people! This is why I believe that the literal interpretation of all the "eternal" promises to Jerusalem are so misguided.

The city is not meant to be an eternal point in space that God considers sacred. The terrestrial city has served its purpose, being replaced by a temporal spiritual city (the church) that points to the eternal "New Jerusalem" which will be the "center of worship" in a new heavens-and-earth. This center of the new universe is described as a cube twelve thousand stadia (approx. 1380 miles) to a side. The only other cube in scripture is the "Holy of holies" - the inner sanctuary where the ark of the covenant was (1 Kings 6:16-20). It was there that God "dwelt." The symbolism is perfect, as the account in Revelation seems to make quite clear (Rev. 21:1-2, 10-27). That city will be the ultimate in "separation" as the eternally blessed will forever be with God while those outside (Rev. 22:15, see also Rev. 21:8) will forever be apart from His love and protection!

Unfortunately, many who consider themselves "God's people" driving on the Israeli side of these new roads in Israel are "heading in the wrong direction" while there is a large contingency of Christians (probably larger than all the Christian Jews in the land) in the population relegated to the other side of the wall. Such irony.

Read about the wall and the roads at the article at the New York Times.