Israel is living through a time of visitation, and the question is whether we will recognise it.
The youth returned from the biblical locations with powerful testimonies. They shared about walking through the Land of the Bible, standing in the places where the events of Scripture unfolded, and sensing the presence of Elohim in a deep and personal way. These were not merely archaeological locations or historical sites. The Land itself became a classroom, and the Scriptures came alive beneath their feet.
Lives were dedicated to serving the King of Israel.
This is the central declaration of our faith: There is a King.
The prophet Zechariah proclaimed:
גִּילִי מְאֹד בַּת־צִיּוֹן הָרִיעִי בַּת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם הִנֵּה מַלְכֵּךְ יָבוֹא לָךְ צַדִּיק וְנוֹשָׁע הוּא עָנִי וְרֹכֵב עַל־חֲמוֹר וְעַל־עַיִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנוֹת׃
“Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you. He is righteous and having salvation, humble and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Zechariah 9:9 | זְכַרְיָה ט׳ 9
Yeshua entered Jerusalem as this promised King. He did not arrive according to the expectations of human power. He came humbly, yet prophetically, revealing that the Kingdom of Elohim does not depend upon human recognition in order to be real. The King had come, but many did not recognize the moment.
This is what Scripture calls the time of visitation.
Zacchaeus and the King Who Sees
Luke 19 begins in Jericho.
Luke 19:1–10 | לוקס י״ט 1–10
Yeshua entered Jericho and was passing through the city. A man named Zacchaeus lived there. He was not merely a tax collector, but a chief tax collector, and he was wealthy. He wanted to see who Yeshua was, but he could not because of the crowd and because he was short.
Perhaps Zacchaeus had been laughed at throughout his life. Perhaps people mocked his height. Perhaps they hated him because of his position. Tax collectors were often seen as collaborators with Rome, enriching themselves through the suffering of their own people. Zacchaeus may have possessed money, influence, and authority, but he was likely rejected by the community around him.
Still, he wanted to see Yeshua.
He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. When Yeshua reached the place, He looked up and said:
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Luke 19:5 | לוקס י״ט 5
This is extraordinary. Zacchaeus was trying to see Yeshua, but Yeshua had already seen him.
The crowd saw a sinner. Yeshua saw a son of Abraham.
The crowd saw a traitor. Yeshua saw a man ready for transformation.
The crowd saw someone unworthy of fellowship. Yeshua saw a household ready to receive salvation.
This reflects the heart of Elohim revealed in the prophets:
אֶת־הָאֹבֶדֶת אֲבַקֵּשׁ וְאֶת־הַנִּדַּחַת אָשִׁיב
“I will seek that which was lost, and I will bring back that which was driven away.”
Ezekiel 34:16 | יחזקאל ל״ד 16
Yeshua did not follow the judgment of the crowd. He followed what He saw His Father doing.
“The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing.”
John 5:19–20 | יוחנן ה׳ 19–20
The crowd grumbled, but Zacchaeus responded. He declared that he would give half his possessions to the poor, and if he had defrauded anyone, he would restore four times the amount.
Then Yeshua said:
“Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:9–10 | לוקס י״ט 9–10
The visitation of Elohim came to Zacchaeus, and Zacchaeus recognized it.
When Human Opinion Is Wrong
People often follow crowds, leaders, movements, propaganda, political pressure, or social hatred. History shows how crowds cheered destructive rulers, including Hitler. Multitudes have also celebrated revolutionary leaders such as Ruhollah Khomeini and the rulers who followed his ideology, despite the oppression and violence produced under their authority.
Human beings can cheer evil. We have to be different and go against the flow for what is right. What does it matter to be liked by people like that anyway?
The Time of Your Visitation
Later in Luke 19, Yeshua wept over Jerusalem.
“You did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:44 | לוקס י״ט 44
The Greek phrase is τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς σου, ton kairon tēs episkopēs sou.
The word translated “visitation” is ἐπισκοπή, episkopē.
It means visitation, inspection, oversight, examination, or divine intervention. It comes from the verb ἐπισκέπτομαι, episkeptomai, meaning to visit, look upon with care, inspect, or intervene.
A visitation is therefore not merely a spiritual feeling. It is a decisive moment when Elohim draws near to reveal, inspect, awaken, restore, correct, commission, and prepare people for the rule of the King.
In Hebrew, the strongest biblical expression is עֵת פְּקֻדָּה, Et Pekuddah, meaning “the time of visitation,” “the appointed time of inspection,” or “the season when Elohim visits.”
The root is פָּקַד, paqad. It can mean to visit, inspect, remember, appoint, intervene, muster, or call to account.
Elohim’s visitation can bring blessing:
וַיהוָה פָּקַד אֶת־שָׂרָה
“Yahweh visited Sarah.”
Genesis 21:1 | בראשית כ״א 1
It can bring deliverance:
פָּקֹד פָּקַדְתִּי אֶתְכֶם
“I have surely visited you.”
Exodus 3:16 | שמות ג׳ 16
It can also bring accountability:
וּמַה־תַּעֲשׂוּ לְיוֹם פְּקֻדָּה
“What will you do in the day of visitation?”
Isaiah 10:3 | ישעיהו י׳ 3
The phrase יוֹם פְּקֻדָּה, Yom Pekuddah, means “the day of visitation.”
Another related expression is עֵת רָצוֹן, Et Ratzon, “the acceptable time,” or “the season of favor.”
This appears in:
וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי־לְךָ יְהוָה עֵת רָצוֹן
“But as for me, my prayer is to You, Yahweh, in an acceptable time.”
Psalm 69:13 | תהילים ס״ט 14
Paul echoes this prophetic reality:
“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
2 Corinthians 6:2 | השנייה אל הקורינתים ו׳ 2
A time of visitation carries both invitation and responsibility. Nineveh experienced visitation through Jonah’s preaching. Jerusalem experienced visitation through Yeshua. Zacchaeus experienced visitation when the King called him from the tree.
The question is never only, “Is Elohim moving?”
The deeper question is, “Will we recognize Him and respond?”
Israel and the Present Visitation
I believe Israel is living through a serious time of visitation.
The eyes of the nations are again fixed upon Jerusalem. Israel faces war, accusation, division, spiritual confusion, international pressure, and questions concerning its identity and destiny. Yet at the same time, people are returning to the Land, believers are awakening to the biblical importance of Israel, young people are dedicating their lives to the King, and the message of the Kingdom is going forth.
I fight for Jerusalem, but my hope is not ultimately in military strength, political alliances, human institutions, or earthly governments. These have their proper place, but they cannot establish the fullness of the Kingdom.
Our hope is in the Kingdom coming here.
תִּקְוָה לְמַלְכוּת הַבָּאָה
Tikvah le-Malkhut ha-Ba’ah
“Hope for the coming Kingdom.”
We also may say:
תִּקְוַת הַמַּלְכוּת הָעֲתִידָה
Tikvat ha-Malkhut ha-Atidah
“The hope of the future Kingdom.”
Yeshua taught us to pray:
תָּבוֹא מַלְכוּתֶךָ יֵעָשֶׂה רְצוֹנְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם גַּם בָּאָרֶץ
“May Your Kingdom come. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10 | מתי ו׳ 10
The Master of Breakthroughs
The visitation of the King is also connected to breakthrough.
In 2 Samuel 5, the Philistines spread themselves throughout the Valley of Rephaim.
2 Samuel 5:18–25 | שמואל ב׳ ה׳ 18–25
The name רְפָאִים, Rephaim, is used in several ways in Scripture. It can refer to ancient giant-like peoples associated with Canaan, including groups related to the Anakim and figures such as Og of Bashan.
Deuteronomy 2:10–11, 20–21 | דברים ב׳ 10–11, 20–21
Deuteronomy 3:11 | דברים ג׳ 11
The term can also poetically refer to the departed dead or shades in Sheol.
Isaiah 14:9 | ישעיהו י״ד 9
Isaiah 26:14 | ישעיהו כ״ו 14
Proverbs 9:18 | משלי ט׳ 18
Some interpreters connect the ancient giant clans with the rebellious heavenly beings surrounding Genesis 6. That interpretation may help illuminate the broader supernatural worldview of Scripture. However, in 2 Samuel 5 the immediate enemies David physically fought were Philistine armies.
David stood in a valley associated with ancient powers, giant peoples, enemy armies, and idolatry. Yet he did not move according to fear or assumption.
David inquired of Yahweh.
Yahweh told him to go up, and David obeyed.
פָּרַץ יְהוָה אֶת־אֹיְבַי לְפָנַי כְּפֶרֶץ מָיִם
Paratz YHWH et-oyevai lefanai keferetz mayim.
“Yahweh has broken through my enemies before me like a breakthrough of waters.”
2 Samuel 5:20 | שמואל ב׳ ה׳ 20
The key word is פָּרַץ, paratz: to break through, burst forth, breach, overflow, or break out with power.
David named the place בַּעַל פְּרָצִים, Baal-Peratzim, “Master of Breakthroughs,” or “Place of the Master of Breakthroughs.”
Here בַּעַל, baal, means master, possessor, or lord. David was declaring that Yahweh was the true Master of the breakthrough.
The prophet Micah later used the same root:
עָלָה הַפֹּרֵץ לִפְנֵיהֶם
“The Breaker has gone up before them.”
Micah 2:13 | מיכה ב׳ 13
The title is הַפּוֹרֵץ, HaPoretz, “The Breaker,” the One who breaks open the way.
David did not create the breakthrough. He participated in what Yahweh had already initiated.
When the Philistines returned, David inquired again. This time Yahweh changed the strategy. The first time He said, “Go up.” The second time He said, “Do not go directly up. Circle around behind them.”
The same enemy returned to the same valley, but Yahweh gave a different command.
Yesterday’s breakthrough cannot replace today’s obedience.
David had to wait until he heard the sound of marching in the tops of the trees. Then he was to move, because Yahweh had gone out before him.
יְהוָה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יְהוָה שְׁמוֹ
“Yahweh is a man of war; Yahweh is His name.”
Exodus 15:3 | שמות ט״ו 3
The Philistines abandoned their idols. According to the parallel account, David commanded that those idols be burned.
1 Chronicles 14:12 | דברי הימים א׳ י״ד 12
This was not merely a military victory. It was a confrontation between the rule of Yahweh and the powers represented by idolatry.
The message for this time of visitation is clear: Elohim is calling His people to recognize the King, inquire of Yahweh, reject the judgment of the crowd, abandon idols, receive fresh strategy, and move when He moves.
The purpose of visitation is to reveal, awaken, restore, correct, commission, and prepare people for the rule of the King.
The King has come.
The King is coming.
The Breaker goes before us.
And our hope remains:
תִּקְוָה לְמַלְכוּת הַבָּאָה
Hope in the coming Kingdom.
Continue in this series with Hosting the Presence and More Than Superheroes, or browse everything on our Resources page. You can read Zechariah 9 in full at Sefaria.
