Blindfolded.

I prayed before getting on the plane that I would be able to talk with whomever I sat with. After all it was going to be a long ride-11 or so hours. Since Dennis was already in Tel-Aviv I was traveling alone.



The nice couple I sat with are Israeli, living in Texas. It 'just so happens' that they live in the same town my sister does. Small world. We had a nice, uneventful flight.

A couple of hours before we landed I noticed that they were awake so I started a conversation. Their names are Sara and Ya'akov and they told me that they always come back once a year to Israel. They have a home there. They were very anxious to see their grandchildren. They asked me what we were going to be doing while in Israel and I told them that I really wanted to go to Petra. They both said at once, "Don't go!" They told me that they also had a trip to the Sinai desert planned but their son, who is a commander in the IDF warned them not to go. "It isn't safe, people are being kidnapped."

We went on to talk about politics and of course they asked me what I thought of our new President. I don't like talking about politics because you are always going to make someone mad and I find that two very intense topics do not mix well. So I said something non-commital and went on to ask them if they went to synagogue in Dallas. They told me that they are not 'religious Jews'. I asked what they thought about the afterlife.

Ya'akov said he thought there was some sort of afterlife but he wasn't sure what it would be like. He also said he thought Hell was right here. Sara believed in Heaven but not Hell. I asked them if people had to be good to get to Heaven. Ya'akov answered affirmatively, even though he previously said he wasn't sure if there was such a place. Sara said she thought one had to be good, as well.

When asked if they thought they were good people, they told me they tried to be. I asked if we could look at the Law of Moses. They nodded. I took them through some of the Commandments and asked if they had ever failed to keep them. They were both honest and admitted failure. I asked them to tell me a bit about the Exodus. Sara told me that was when the Israelites came out of Egypt, led my Moses. I asked what they did on the last night with the lamb. She told me that the lamb was roasted and eaten. I asked her why the blood was put on the doorposts. She told me that when the Angel of Death saw it he would pass over the house. If it wasn't there the firstborn would be killed. I told them that Jesus was called the Lamb of God and He was slain for the sins of the world. I told them that it was foretold that He would come as a Lamb over 700 years before He ever arrived. I asked them if they had ever read Isaiah. They had not read it, but were still listening.

" Jesus died to pay for our sins once and for all time. He was slaughtered like the animals that were killed in times past." Sara mentioned that once a year Yom Kippur was celebrated and that atonement was made. "But scripture states that 'without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin' so how does that work?" I asked her. She was thoughtful.


I told them that typically, Jewish people were awaiting their Messiah, but that they had missed Him. He had already come as a Lamb and they failed to recognize Him. The next time He came it would be as a Lion. He would not come with mercy but to slaughter and destroy. Ya'akov had left his seat but Sara was very concerned. She asked, "What will happen to us?" I told her that would depend upon whether or not she had surrendered and recognized Him as Ha'Maschiach. "A time is coming soon that will make the Holocaust look like a picnic." I said. She became very concerned.

"God has made provision for us, even thought He knows we aren't perfect. He made a way for us to be forgiven and to be able to go to Heaven. It is only though the Lamb slain for the sins of many that we are able to be reconciled to God. The very fact that there is a state of Israel is a testament to the hand of God. He foretold that Israel would become a nation in a day. He also had much to say about the Messiah and you must get to know Him."

As we landed I gave them a little Good Person booklet to read. They both promised that they would read it.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.