Israel Touring Day 5

Our Saturday turned out a little different than originally expected.  We were going to take about a 45 minute drive to Masada but the road had washed out so we took a couple hours detour instead.  That wasn't bad though because it let us see some beautiful and varied landscape along the way.  At one point, we passed an area where Moshe said it's believed David fought Goliath; that's pretty cool!  On our drive, we learned a lot more about the Palestinians and the Bedouins.  We saw the security walls that differentiate the Palestinian territories, and we saw a few Bedouin camps along with their camels.  At one point, we even saw a shepherd following his herd of goats.  These are just a few of the pictures that we took along our drive.

We finally arrived in Masada which has a very interesting history to it.  Herod had built it as a palace in case he needed it, but he never used it at all.  The Jews used this as their last stronghold in their rebellion against the Romans in 73 AD.  It's really quite the story of bravery.  After watching a brief movie, most of us took the gondola to the top, but about a dozen people actually hiked up.

 There were beautiful views all around, and this was a historically fascinating place to visit.

 When we left Masada, we drove down the road to a hotel where we ate lunch and then quickly changed clothes to go play in the Dead Sea.  The water here is too salty for anything to live in.  Where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are about 3%-4% saline, the Dead Sea is about 33%!  Oh man, one little drop got in my mouth, and it tasted so disgusting.  It is believed that this is the location of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the saltiness found here (which is unlike anywhere else on earth) is from where God turned them into salt.

It was a beautiful day to be out here!

 The buoyancy is truly remarkable.  You just sit down and start floating.  In fact, it's almost difficult to push your legs back down to stand up.  We were all laughing a lot out here!  Water shoes were definitely a big help too as there are large salt crystals everywhere; they can cut your feet up easily if you aren't careful. 

 After about 30 minutes or so of floating around, it was time to get "mudded up."  The Dead Sea minerals are world-renowned for how good they are for your skin, so they brought out a big bucket for us and we went to town getting covered up in it.

Of course the only way to clean it up is to get back in the water to wash off!

Finally, it was time to run back in and change again.  As we drove away, we saw the mountains were David hid from King Saul and cut away some of his robe, and we saw the area where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.  What a great day!

Israel Touring Day 4

 We left Tiberius and started the drive south.  We stopped to see the ruins of Bet She'An.  This is an amazingly well preserved and excavated Roman town.  It was a gorgeous day to explore.  I love Ancient Rome, so this was fascinating to me.

Our guide, Moshe, gave us all sorts of interesting facts about life in Ancient Rome.

 Everyone found ancient toilets funny!

We left here and continued driving until we arrived at Mount Megiddo.  We climbed to the top of it, and looked down upon the Valley of Armageddon.  This is the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, so it has always been an important area.  It may best be known though for it's future.  This is the site of the final battle of good versus evil: the Battle of Armageddon.

Bryant preached here for about an hour and fifteen minutes.  He barely even needed his Bible as he quoted scripture upon scripture, jumping between the old and new testaments.  He is such an amazingly gifted teacher, and this is why we wanted to visit Israel with him, so we could sit under his teachings.  I'm going to relay my notes here as best I can so I'll have them in the future.  May be a good idea to read his book "The Stage is Set" again too.  Here's what we reviewed:

• Revelation 16:13-16 describes the demonic trinity of the Dragon (also called the devil in Revelation 12:8-10), the Beast (also called the Anti-Christ), and the False Prophet.  The Anti-Christ will be a great world leader who can consolidate power and appear to be a person of peace.
• Matthew 24:3-5, 11 describes the things to come before Jesus returns, including false prophets, more wars, more natural disasters, an increase in persecution, and more fall away from the faith.  It's described as birth pains as we think in terms of frequency and intensity.
• Revelation 13:1-2 where the sea represents chaos and worldliness, and the beast receives it's power from the devil.  The beast has the look of a leopard, bear, and lion, which refers us back to Daniel 7:1-8 where Daniel sees four beasts: a lion with eagles' wings which represents Babylon (currently Iraq), a bear which represents Cyrus the Great from Persia (currently Iran), and a leopard which represents Alexander the Great of Greece.  The last beast is almost indescribable but it represents the Roman Empire.  These beasts are interpreted in Daniel 7:15-27.  We know that it appears Western Roman empire ended in 457 while the Eastern Roman empire ended in 1453, so this tells us the final Roman empire has not yet happened.  There is still a second time of the Roman empire to rise.  It will probably involve Europe.  Look at the mighty men from European history...Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, Churchill...all wanted to bring back the glory of Rome  The 2004 "Treaty of Rome" brought about the European Union.
• This brings us back to Revelation 13:3-4 where the devil (who is the great counterfeiter to Christ) will appear to be resurrected.  We see that Revelation 13:5-6 compares to Daniel 9:27.  We learn that there will be a peace treaty signed with Israel for 7 years, but it will be broken after 3.5 years.  How can this happen?  2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 tells us that the Anti Christ must take his place in the temple in Jerusalem and declare himself God.  The Jews will be appalled by this and will rebel against the Anti Christ.  
• Currently, the Dome of the Rock stands where the temple should be.  Bryant's speculation is that the Anti Christ will convince the Arab world to allow the temple to be rebuilt next to the Dome of the Rock.  As we will later see in the city, there is actually plenty of room to do this when you look through the Eastern Gate.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:5-6 tells us that the Holy Spirit is restraining the devil at until the right time.  This means the Holy Spirit working through the church will be removed.  In Revelation 13:5-6, we learn the church is gone.  We don't know why.  Maybe the middle tribulation is a rapture of the church.  We do know though something happens to remove the church and the Holy Spirit at the 3.5 year mark.
• Here we also looked at Revelation 13:7-10 which notes our name must be in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Verses 11-18 shows us that the financial world will be turned upside down as individuals must have the mark of the beast to participate in the economy.  Who will you trust...your money or your God?
• At this time, Revelation 19:7-9 tells of the great celebration of the completion of the church's work which is getting the gospel to all people groups.  This is also an anticipation of the life to come together.
• Here's the part that nearly brought me to tears.  All the nations of this world will be poised and ready to destroy Israel.  Why?  Because God loves them and the Anti Christ hates them.  They will be at the crossroads of Armageddon.  The whole world will be watching to see this destruction.  We read in Zechariah 12:10 that the Jewish people will cry out to God once again to save His people, and He will.  Their long-awaited for savior, Jesus Christ, will return to earth to save them.  The Jewish people will be shocked and they will mourn that they did not recognize Christ before, and they will know the punishment they deserve.  God will once again forgive them with His never-ending grace and love for His people.  We see in Revelation 19:11-21 that Christ will return and cut down His enemies with a sharp sword, the sword of truth, from His mouth.  It really won't be much of a battle as Jesus alone kills those standing against Israel.  Romans 11:25-29 again confirms that God will save the Jews as they repent.

I know that's a lot, but I wanted to record it all.  It was unbelievable to look out over this valley and see where future history will take place.  Praise God for being a God true to His word; come Lord Jesus!

It's hard to imagine there's more to the day, but there is!  After eating lunch at the bottom of Megiddo, we continued our drive south until we arrived in Jerusalem.  It was amazing to drive into this city for the first time!  We immediately drove to the top of Mount Scopus, so we could have an overview of the city just as the sun was beginning to set.

We are thankful for Bryant and Anne with their leadership on this trip and at our church.

It was fascinating to see this huge city start to shut down as we were arriving Friday evening at sundown which is the start of Shabbat or Sabbath.  What a beautiful city.  I can't believe we are here!  

Israel Touring Day 3

Today was a slightly slower paced day which was a nice break.  Our minds had taken in so much in only the prior two days!

We started out by visiting a museum where they have "the Jesus boat."  This boat was found about a decade ago sunk down in to the Sea of Galilee.  It has a fascinating removal story, and is now in this museum.  Lots of scientific testing has been conducted on it, and it dates to the time of Christ.  While we of course have no idea if Jesus was in this actual boat, it gives a good idea of what fishing boats in that time would have looked like.  No wonder the disciples would have been scared when they were in this and a sudden storm came up on the sea.

 I walked out to the back of the museum instead of going through the gift shop, and I was rewarded with this beautiful view.  Gorgeous.

Near this is the Church of the Multiplication.  It was built in honor of the miracle of the fish and loaves multiplication.  We only spent a few minutes here, but it was a lovely place to visit.

Just having fun in the back of the bus with the Foxes.  😄

We drove a short ways down the road to then visit the Church of the Primacy.  While we did look in the church, most of our time was spent down on the bank of the Sea of Galilee.  Bryant taught on John 21 which is believed to have happened right here.  Jesus appeared to Peter (and a few others) after His resurrection.  Can you imagine Peter at this point?  He has just denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion.  He was understandably upset and confused; he returned to what he knew...fishing.  Then, three days later, a man on the shore tells them to cast their nets to the other side, and their nets overflow with fish.  Peter has been in this position before, and he recognizes this is Christ.  Can you imagine the hope that fills Peter?  This passage shows us that Jesus forgives Peter and restores their relationship.  He charges Peter to take charge of His sheep.  In this we can see that we too can be restored and used for good by God.  What an amazing hope we have in Jesus!

 After hearing Bryant's message, we had the chance to enjoy the sea for a little bit.  Ryan waded out a little ways.  We picked up stones to bring home with us to remember this area. 

We had about an hour drive from the Sea to Caesaria Philippi.  Here we stopped at "the gates of Hell."  It's where ancients believed the god Pan lived, and that these were the gates to Hades.

 Here, Bryant taught on Matthew 16:13-20, and he focused on verse 18.  We can see throughout history that the mindset of man has not really changed; we are still very much self-focused today just like in history.  In these verses though, Jesus asks Peter who he believes He is.  It reminds us that every individual must decide for themselves who Jesus is.  Peter correctly responds that He is the Christ, and we see in verse 18 Christ tell Peter "I tell you, you are peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  There are a few thoughts from this that Bryant discussed that I had not considered before.

The name Peter actually means "pebble," so maybe it is as most Catholics believe that Christ meant the church would be built by Peter which is why they call him their first pope.  However the original word for "rock" is better translated as 'boulder," so maybe it means that the church will be built on Peter's statement that Jesus is the Christ, God's son.  At this point in time, the disciples didn't know what "church" was; that didn't occur until the first Pentacost. 

This is typically read to sound as if it's in a defensive position meaning "don't let the gates of hell stop this from happening."  What if instead it's an offensive position?  One that means "we should storm the gates of Hades to win back the souls of those dead in sin.  The gates of Hell should not stop an offensive attack."

We continued on to the Upper Golan Heights area which overlooks the Israeli-Syrian border.  Moshe taught us more about the geo-political issues of the Middle East...wow, they are complicated.  This memorial is erected here at the "Valley of Tears" to commemorate a large battle in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

 The view into Syria which starts just past the valley in this picture.  We took time to pray for both countries.  Even though the Jews are God's chosen people, both countries are filled with people whom God created and loves.  His son died for both of these people groups.  We pray for them to know this and accept this.

We were supposed to continue on from here to the city of Dan, but bad weather moved in quickly which made the roads there too dangerous.  We spent a little time in a chocolate shop and then started the long journey back to Tiberius.  When we got back, we had the chance to go for a long walk with Brian and Katherine around the city, and I think it did all of hearts good.  We are so thankful for this friendship.

Israel Touring Day 2

What a beautiful morning!  This was the view from our room.  What a gorgeous sunrise over the Sea of Galilee.

 After breakfast, we drove to the Mount of Beatitudes.  We went to a reserved pavilion, and this was our view looking out over the Sea.

 Bryant simply read Matthew 5-7 as Jesus would have delivered it.  It took about 16 minutes.  He reminded us that Jesus did not slacken the Jewish laws, but this shows us how short we fall of the standard.  Thankfully, God shows us great grace.  We were reminded of that as, after Bryant's reading, we sang Holy, Holy, Holy and We Are Standing (on Holy Ground).  This was the most wonderful way to start this day.

 The Catholic church built on the Mount of Beatitudes.

 So many beautiful flowers here!

 We continued driving around the Sea to Capernaum.  This is the city that Jesus chose as His home as He got older.  He called Matthew the tax collector to be a disciple here.  He spent time with Matthew and other sinners (Mark 2:13-17).  The Bible documents many miracles that were performed here such as exorcism and healings (Mark 1:21-34).  We see in Mark 2:1-12 the paralytic man who was brought by his friends to Jesus, and Jesus healed him.  John 6 recounts many stories that happened in and around Capernaum as well, such as Jesus feeding the 5,000, walking on water, and declaring Himself to be the bread of life.  In Matthew 11:20-24, Jesus condemns Capernaum. 

One of the places to see in Capernaum today are the ruins of the synagogue.  These columns are from a synagogue built upon the ruins of the synagogue from when Jesus would have taught there.

 In the background, you can see a (gaudy, crazy spaceship-looking) Catholic church that was built over what is believed to be Peter's house.  It is believed that Jesus would have stayed at Peter's house while in Capernaum.

 Statue of Peter in his hometown.

As we left Capernaum, we stopped in Magdala which was discovered and started excavations only a few years ago.  It is believed Mary Magdalene was from here.  It is also possible (though not a certainty) that the two fish the young boy was carrying that helped feed 5,000 came from Magdala as they have discovered a man-made path from the sea to an area where fish would have been cleaned, dried, and sold.

 We went into a small chapel here, and Bryant taught from Mark 5:25-34.  This beautiful painting on the wall depicts the scene, of a woman reaching through the throng of people around Jesus just to touch the hem of His garment, believing that would be enough to heal her.  Jesus "perceives power had gone out from him" and He confronts the woman then rewards her faith and heals her.  Oh to have faith like her!  

 We went back to our hotel where we were treated to a "Saint Peter's lunch."  This is a whole tilapia as that's the most common fish in that area.  Green beans and rice were on the side but I think that's a modern day side.  It was really quite delicious, but watch out for the little bones!

After lunch we went the Yardenit area of the Jordan River.  Bryant read of Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  It's believed that He was baptized further south, closer to the Dead Sea.

 After hearing of Jesus' baptismal, we each had the opportunity to be baptized if we wanted to.  Ryan and I (along with most of the group) took this opportunity to be baptized by Bryant.  Even though this was not a baptism after a first profession of faith for either of us, it was a wonderful experience that we will both treasure.  What an amazing way to celebrate and recommit our faith and trust in Jesus as Savior.

We finished the day with a sunset boat trip on the Sea of Galilee.  Though it was a beautiful day for us, we read Matthew 14:22-36.  We could imagine the fear the disciples may have felt when a storm rose up on this sea.  It's actually so much bigger than I realized!  I imagine they were in a much smaller boat than we were too.  During this storm, Jesus walked out on water to them, commanded Peter to walk out on the water to Him, and then calmed the storm.  Jesus shows incredible power over nature at that time.

As the sun set, we could see the light of little towns and villages popping up all around the sea.  It made it easy to understand what the disciples saw when Jesus told them "a city on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14).

It was another day where we were in awe of what we were seeing.  We couldn't believe that we were actually walking in the same places that we know with absolute certainty Jesus walked and taught.  We saw scenery that looked the same as it would have 2,000 years ago.  What an incredible day.