When in Israel: Footprints in The Promised Land


It was like stepping foot in a virtual bible where every place speaks the Word out loud. The Old Testament is alive, and so are its laws; every location, every structure, every remains testify this. And the law is fulfilled, for Jesus came "not to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17)"; the remnant people of Israel upholding the name of Yeshua in the secret corners of the limestone streets and in the hidden temples of their hearts testify this. They bring the testimony that the entirety of the ancient Torah which their fathers uphold, all its statutes and commandments, leads to none but one thing: Jesus Christ the Messiah. Just as Paul stated that the days of old were "a shadow of things that were to come, [and] the reality however, is found in Christ (Col. 2:17)". THIS IS THE REALITY my very own eyes have seen: As real as the solid ground of the desert were, is as real as the footprints of my Messiah are.

I found myself having breakfast in Israel one morning while my thoughts were running through the events that took place the previous day before that instance. The Tel Aviv airport looked fancy but something else was more interesting than that. It was during a 1hr drive to Jerusalem after we landed that I had my first actual glance to the land the Scripture has been talking about since Genesis. Before me was a dessert with white rocks and yellow grasses under the scorching heat of the noonday sun. In the Philippines, the heat could be a dread. But there was something about Isreal's deserts that make it more than a scene of parched land; it was vibrant. Everything was so bright, and the brightness seemed to offer a promise. I remembered a verse stated in the book of Job,


"then your life will be brighter than the noonday sun, 
the darkness of your life will become like morning (11:17)"


I am not a stranger to darkness. It wasn't so long ago that I too, emerged from a life engulfed by such. So when I saw the vibrancy of the atmosphere that appointed day, I saw the redemptive work God has done and is still doing. "Of course" I thought, "this is Israel". It was the land of flowing milk and honey. It was the land God has promised to His people, a people who emerged from slavery into redemption. 

"And I have come to deliver them out of the hand of Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.." -Exodus 3:8



There I stood beholding my God's chosen land as the tribes of Israel would have also stood thousands of years ago; their eyes set beyond its barriers with great anticipation. I was in great anticipation too; that God would grant me an extraordinary encounter in that place.

What do you say God?
Here I am, a Gentile.

How I would love to be a descendant of Abraham.
How I would love to be a seed of Jacob.
How I desire I could be a Rebekah, or a Ruth, or an Esther.
Your love for Israel never vanishes. Your promise to Your people never expires.
How I wish I could spend my youth in this ground,
Hearing all Your mighty deeds from the lips of my forefathers.
How I wish I could enter your temple and offer sweet sacrifices at Your table.
Your feasts must be such a joy, I will dance at Your city gates on the Feast of Tabernacles.
How I wish I could dance at Your city gates.
A daughter from your tribes dancing at Your city gates.

But here I am, A Gentile.
My forefathers came across the seas, from a land unknown.
They knew not of your laws nor a covenant of circumcision.
My mother has any other names but Sarah.
I too, have had no name since.
But remember Paul your servant, O' God of Israel,
Remember him who preached salvation to the Gentiles
Remember the vision on a roof near Joppa 
The wild beasts are called "clean"
Remember the generations clinging unto Your grace
For from that generation I was raised....

By grace alone I stand

I have a name and my name's in Yeshua
the Messiah whom Isaiah prophesied
My brother is Judah, My sister is Jerusalem
I share the faith of her father, Abraham
Now upholding the new covenant of blood
Circumcise my heart and get rid of my flesh
The promise laid out for your people, the feasts prepared for them
Are free for who believes and are all mine as well
Open Your city gates to me, build Your temple in me
I will dance at Your city gates,
A daughter unrenowned dancing at Your city gates
For You to own, for You to embrace.

What do you say God?
Here I am, a Gentile.
I will listen.

"Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, 
and they will listen!" -Acts 28:28



The Eastern Gate of the Old City holds a prophecy apart from its splendor. David's temple was inside these gates. The tribes of Israel used to enter through these gates to bring sacrifices and offerings on the day of the feasts. In 70 A.D The Lord Jesus Christ himself entered Juraselem himself through the East Gate riding a donkey (Matthew 23:27-39). Today, the Eastern Gate is completely shut (blocked by the Ottomans) as Ezekiel prophesied around 600 B.C.

"Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. Then the Lord said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened ; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the Lord, the God of Isreal, has entered through it. The Prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the Lord. He is to enter by the way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way." -Ezekiel 44:1-3

The prophecy foretells that the only time the gate is to be re-opened is the time in which the "Prince" will once again come (the Messiah is commonly referred to as Prince in the OT).

I was looking at this very gate astounded at the thought that my Jesus will someday enter through it... It may not look exactly how it looked at the time the Messiah walked this earth, but it stood exactly where it first stood centuries ago-- so people shall rejoice upon the sight of it from generation to generation.

...A daughter unrenowned dancing at Your city gates
For You to own, for You to embrace.


My conversations with the King were very much inspired by the structure of the land around me. There was a certain weight I felt about the place which I knew in the Spirit, is the manifestation of how heavy my Father feels about this land. How He loves it so. How He gazes and watches over it with so much delight and hope in His heart. I felt His intentions for Israel like never before.  There was a shift from a burden to myself to a burden for Israel.

Israel is beautiful. I've never seen any other place that is built with elegant limestone in ivory color just like it. If I have to name it in my own terms, I'll call it "The White Land"-- because I'm guessing that it'll appear white when a photo of it is taken top-view. I took wide shots inside a running tour bus in awe of its spectacular view and again, I was reminded of God's original intention for its land-- A land that will display the grandeur of His greatness and a land which inhibits His people that are to be "oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor (Isaiah 61:3)".

History may seem to have buried this dream. And as of today, this may not have been manifested in all its fullness. Most sections are being dominated by abomination and idolatry. We can see how the enemy has been desperately trying to conquer the territory by means of deception, a pattern he does over and over again in every Israeli generation since they entered the promised land. But again, I saw what I saw...

The remnant people of Israel upholding the name of Yeshua 
                                      in the secret corners of the limestone streets 
                                                     and in the hidden temples of their hearts..

God's remnant people lives. God's glory continue to shine within His people, His church. One thing I have learned in reading the Old Testament is that God always sets aside a "remnant"--  A people who has, because of their generation's unfaithfulness, went through the times of pestilence, famine, and sword, but have emerged out of this through looking up the heavens with a cry of repentance and re-confession of covenant. The book of Judges portrays a cycle like such, a people who kept falling apart but whom God also repeatedly saved. The book of Isaiah speaks of this "remnant people";

"In that day the remnant of Isreal, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel." -Isaiah 10:20


This has become a prophetic verse; this has happened and is now happening in this new era, the time of our generation, the new time of grace.. As stated in the NT;

"So too, at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace." -Romans 11:5


Here shows the arches of Bani Ghanim, one of the gates in the Temple Mount (the mount where the temple of God was once located). We entered through the North side and after a quick and silent tour inside, I found myself passing through these enormous archers.. At the very moment that the noonday sun was shining upon it. And again I was reminded..

"Then your life will be brighter than the noonday sun... (Job 11:17)"


In Jericho, one can gaze at the full sight of the Mountain of Temptation. Jesus had His ultimate victory over the devil in this very mountain. Familiar? It was where He fasted for 40 days and was tempted three times. How perfect is this Jesus, how blameless, how sanctified. I was reminded how His victories are the reasons why, we too, can be victorious today.  I took the chance to ride a Camel that one hot afternoon, a once in a lifetime experience.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
 -1 Corinthians 15:57

We see victory in many things. Scattered all throughout the land are traces of Jesus who walked this earth and finished His purpose in victory. Even the ruins (that has become excavation sites) depict the journey of the Lord Jesus Christ and invokes a commemoration of His triumph..


Jesus spent his early ministry in the town of Capernaum. This is where His first few miracles took place and where His first few teachings were released. Jesus walked through the hallway of this synagogue past the seats and pillars made of stone. 

Later on in His ministry, Jesus usually heads up to Jerusalem to visit His Father's temple.
These ruins (that building in the right), was David's temple. In His time, Jesus usually travels to Jerusalem to visit what He referred to in the Scripture as His "Father's House".

All the people of Israel go up to the Temple Mount and there worship God and offer sacrifices. This was true in the olden days. But today, we enter a new time, the time of Grace, the time of the New Covenant, the fulfillment of Jesus' words in the book of John;

"“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... 
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” -John 4:21,23,24

My Father is spirit, I knew this in my heart. I've learned earlier in my Christian journey that carrying this truth with me wherever I am is vital for spiritual growth. Those days of mid-July, in the grounds of the promised land, this truth became so evident to me. When I saw the hills and valleys, I couldn't help but worship. When I saw the Dead Sea and the Mount of Olives, I couldn't help but worship. Especially when I stepped into a boat (in exact replica of boats used in Jesus' time) and sailed the Sea of Gallilee, the very waters my Jesus walked into... I couldn't help but worship-- In Spirit and in Truth..


       What do you say God?
                           Here I am..
                                  I will listen..
This is where He truly spoke to me. On the last day of the trip, we went up a boat and sail through the blue seas surrounded by land on the west side and mountains on the east. As the believers around me were also in deep prayer and worship, we all conformed as one.. Our Jesus walked on water towards us to each encounter us once again. That re-encounter was none like other. It was as clear as the skies the waters also reflected that noonday. It brought up a revival and intimacy along with a promise. It was something I took home and is something I will take with me forever.

When God speaks to me everyday and I am able to see through eyes of faith and able to hear through listening to that still small voice, everyday becomes a victory that I share from Christ. 

On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. -Hebrews 1:1-2

We are able to hear Him today because of this Son. The Christ who demonstrated the ultimate victory on the cross and forever defeated death when the tomb was rolled open and resurrection was birthed. The ultimate victory is this: He is risen.


At the tomb of Jesus, there lays an inscription placed by believers just like us. And for me, all my victories lead back to this, the ultimate victory of my savior.

Again, I will say that the Promised Land is beautiful, it still lay traces of footprints from this Savior. Only to prove that He indeed is the God of all generations. His glory never comes to an end. Time cannot swallow His existence because time is itself in Him. "For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)". 

The Promised Land is in the very hands of God and He continues to uphold His promises to it. By the prophecies in Scripture good things are coming for Israel when the God of their fathers, this covenant-making, faithful God, in His perfect time will gather them all once again, each lost tribes to the ends of the earth, back to the land of promise. And once and for all cleanse all inequities and transgressions so that all will worship Him in the land all made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach.

To step into the promised land was for me, a gift. But to have Jesus as my Lord and Savior is for me, a treasure. When we see His footprints all over our lives, we just want more of Him.




*All bible references, unless stated, are in New International Version

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