Making aliyah is the Hebrew term for the process of Jews immigrating to Israel. The re-establishment of the nation and the return of the people to the Land of our fathers is a necessary and foundational element in the preparation for the return of the Lord to the world. The fulfillment of God’s promise to re-gather those that were scattered, and plant them in the Land is at the very center of the revelation of His glory and nature on the earth. In light of the current worldwide rise of anti-Semitism and what is surely to come, this call for aliyah carries life-and-death urgency.
The word “aliyah” is derived from a verb meaning “to ascend… go up”. It first appears in Genesis 2:6, referring to the mist rising from the face of the earth. Its next appearance is in Genesis 8:20: “Noah… offered burnt offerings on the altar.” The words there for offered and offerings are from this same root… to ascend. The Hebrew word in Scripture for burnt offering is “olah,”… the feminine third person singular of the verb. More than being just a name, it describes what happens to offerings to God on the altar. As the fire on the altar consumes the sacrifice, as smoke it rises to the Lord…hence the designation “olah.” In Israel, a female new immigrant is called an olah chadasha (male – oleh). In our early days in the Land, seeing our state as likened to that of a sacrifice gave us a good laugh… even though it hurt. Our experience of immigrating to Israel, especially as adults, was truly one of being consumed in the fire of the Lord.
From the beginnings of the nation, a primary aspect of our call has been worship. It is written that the Gospel, blessings, cursings, and the revelation of His glory, are to the Jew first. Does it not then follow that for the children of Israel to fulfill their calling will release blessing to the whole world? Two years prior to our immigration in 1992, the Lord impressed us that He desired the Land to be filled with people praising Him at His return. This in turn planted in us a burden to prepare a dwelling place for Him. David’s words recorded in Psalm 132:3-5 express this longing in the heart of true worshipers: “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
For the natural children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, making aliyah means giving oneself to live in the most contested land of the planet. For Gentiles… spiritual children of Abraham… we will consider aliyah from the standpoint of an expression of worship. Coming to the Land as a living sacrifice seeking nothing for oneself. Not to see the Land…not to see the people… not to have a spiritual experience… not even for an encounter with the Lord… but as a sacrifice. Having already received everything in and through Messiah, we are simply presenting ourselves (not our gifts) to the Lord for whatever would please Him in the moment.
In Zechariah 3, Isaiah 40, Isaiah 62, and Romans 11 (to name a few references among many), the Spirit calls to the Gentile believers to prepare the way for the children of Israel. As those grafted into the natural Olive Tree become partakers in the Commonwealth of Israel, they are joined together with the Nation. There is a connection between those making spiritual aliyah and those making natural aliyah. Beloved, what is done in the spirit has a resultant effect in the natural. Does it not logically follow that Gentiles coming to worship play a major role to open the way for the Jews to come home? Both elements are necessary to prepare the way for the return of Yeshua. Through worship a connection is opened between heaven and earth. The light of the Lord will push back the forces of darkness that seek to inhibit the physical return and spiritual salvation of the Jewish people.
Understanding the impact of the Jews returning to the Land and the effect of the subsequent release of worship, we can take for granted that the kingdom of darkness will stop at nothing to prevent this form coming to pass. As spiritual and dedicated as the Body dwelling in the Land could ever be, with all the spiritual pressures and natural demands of everyday life, we will never be able to keep “our hands” continually lifted before the Lord. But you brethren from the nations…when you come for two or three weeks, leaving your daily regular life behind, you are able to give yourselves 100% to ministering to the Lord. How simple and straightforward is this strategy strategy. If the Body in the nations understood these principles and truly perceived our being One New Man, how simple it would be to have teams of dedicated worshipers in the Land all the time!!!
MAY A GREAT ALIYAH FROM THE BODY IN THE NATIONS COME FORTH THAT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL HIS FEET LAND AND SPLIT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.