May 29, 2010:
Note: This story is covered in chapter 4 of my new book, "Proving God with Numbers, Second Edition", available now:
Click Here
I discovered only while putting this timeline together in early Jan 2013, that it was exactly 7 weeks to the day (one of God's numbers) from getting the idea to visit Israel that I departed New Zealand. (Saturday 10th April - Saturday 29th May.)
I left for Israel on what was the Sabbath Day. (6 days of work to be followed by 1 day of rest). It was also approximately 6 years to the day that I launched my website. (6 years of work to be followed by 1 year of rest). A complete cycle.
I was also 33 years old at the time of visiting Israel - the same age that Christ died.
To me, this is the hand of God working. Leaving his fingerprints on all things so you know that it is He that has done these things. It wasn't until I looked back that I could see all His handywork in action!
I arrived into my hotel at 2am on May 31 - just two and a half hours before the Gaza flotilla raid by the Israeli Defense Forces, which killed 9 Turks.
(Edit: May 18, 2018: Yesterday I discovered something rather more interesting about this first trip to Israel! While I was sitting in a chair watching TV, I suddenly felt that I should buy a book on the 'Feasts of Israel' on Amazon.com. I ended up buying a book called "The Feasts of Israel" by Dr. Chuck Missler and Dan Stolebarger. I will provide a link to the book at the end of this article.
While reading the book I discovered something interesting! In chapter 5 on the Feast of Passover, the authors provide a chart showing the date of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, where He proclaims Himself to be the King of Israel or the Messiah of the Jews. The date that they came up with was April 6, 32 A.D.
In Judaism, four days before Passover on the 10th day of the month of Nisan, Jews are required to present an unblemished lamb to the temple for inspection. Four days later on the 14th of Nisan, they have to slaughter it. This is a model of what was to happen to Jesus Christ as He rode into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, and then four days later to be crucified on the Cross on the 14th of Nisan or Passover.
Three days later on the 17th of Nisan, He was raised from the dead. That is, the 17th day of the 1st month in the Jewish religious calendar. This is the same day that Noah's ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, although at the time, Nisan was the seventh month in the calendar, so it reads in Genesis 8:4 as "the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month". So we have two new beginnings occurring on the same day. New life after the flood on the 17th of Nisan, and a new future after the resurrection of Christ on the 17th of Nisan. That's no accident! That's God's foreordained plan in action!
If the dates provided in Dr. Missler's book are correct, that would mean that Jesus Christ was crucified on April 10, 32 A.D. If you haven't guessed, that is the VERY day that God inspired me to visit Israel for the first time! In fact it would be exactly 1,978 years to the day if those numbers are accurate! Another interesting little side note to this trip is that I was 33 years old at the time God inspired the trip to Israel and while I was there! That was the age that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross almost 2,000 years ago!)
As it happened, I left Israel for New Zealand on June 15, 2010, one year to the day that Tim was killed.
Photo Gallery:
Click to Enlarge Any Item
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Israel via HK
Business class to Israel via Hong Kong!
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Mt. of Olives
Where Jesus stayed and ascended to heaven from.
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Garden of Gethsemane
Where Jesus spent his final few hours before being arrested.
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Jesus's Birthplace
The place of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem.
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Herod's Family Tomb
Herod's family tomb in Jerusalem.
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Mt. Sodom
Near to the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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Herod's Palace
Herod the Great's palace at Masada.
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Simon the Tanner
The house of Simon the Tanner in Jaffa.
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Mary's Tomb
Mary's tomb, mother of Jesus, in Jerusalem.
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The Garden Tomb
A potential location for Jesus's tomb in Jerusalem.
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Capernaum
Jesus's home town of Capernaum.
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St. Peter's House
The House of St. Peter in Capernaum.
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Gulf of Aqaba
The Gulf of Aqaba in Eilat, Southern Israel.
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Sea of Galilee
Looking down to the Sea of Galilee near Chorazim.
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Caesarea
Built by Herod the Great in 25-13BC.
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Old City, Jerusalem
Walking through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem.
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Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah's Tunnel under the City of David near Jerusalem.
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Western Wailing Wall
The Western Wailing Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.