Your Host
The day has arrived, and we depart RDU on an overnight journey to Israel.
Today we arrive in Israel at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. We will be met by our guide and driver, who will remain with us throughout our time in Israel. Time permitting, we visit the ancient town of Jaffa where Peter had his vision on the roof top of the house of Simon the Tanner.
Overnight Tel Aviv
Today after breakfast we travel towards Caesarea Maritima (entrance included), where we will have a brief visit to the magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. Here we will elaborate on the story of the baptism of Cornelius, the first gentile convert to Christianity, and on the travels of Paul — those events that led Caesarea Maritima to become the springboard of Christianity to the West. We continue to Mount Carmel (entrance included) and consider the contest between the Prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal, discussing the reasons why the Prophet chose that place for the contest, and the lessons we learn from the story. We visit the archaeological site Tel Megiddo, from where we take in views of the Armageddon Valley. Then it’s on to Nazareth where we will climb the Mount of Precipice, the brow of the hill on which the city was built. There we will reflect on the rejection of Jesus by his family and friends in Nazareth. We depart to Sea of Galilee, passing Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first miracle.
Overnight Sea of Galileee
After a buffet breakfast we drive to visit Mt. Arbel (entrance included), where we overlook the ancient road from Nazareth to Galilee. We visit the Ancient Boat Museum, containing a recently-discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat (entrance included). We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat (included). Afterwards, we will drive to Magdala (entrance included) the hometown of Mary Magdalene. Then we will visit the Mt. of Beatitudes and discuss the sermon on the Mount. We continue on to Capernaum (entrance included), Jesus’ Galilean ministry base, where we see the remains of a synagogue where Jesus taught, and the house of Peter, where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. After lunch we drive to Tabgha and see the Primacy of Peter, where Jesus appeared to the disciples for the third time after the resurrection. Our last stop of the day will be to the Jordan River, where you will get a chance to be baptized in the same river as was our Lord.
Overnight Sea of Galilee
This morning we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean (entrance included), the capital of the Decapolis. Here we will see the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine cities. We will also discuss the demise of King Saul and his sons, whose bodies were hanged on the walls of Beth Shean. We continue traveling south to Bet Arabah where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. After lunch we visit the Tel of Jericho (entrance included) with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. This afternoon we visit Qumran (entrance included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings where the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived.
Overnight Jerusalem
Today we travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds’ Field, where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Jesus. These fields are also the setting of some of the events of the Book of Ruth. We travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where, according to ancient tradition, Jesus was born. This afternoon we make our way to the Israel Museum (entrance included), where we will visit the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scaled model of the city from the 1st century AD, followed by a visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit, in addition to the archaeological section where many artifacts are displayed. We will pay special attention to those items that relate to Bible history.
Overnight Jerusalem
We begin our day by entering the Old City, and with a visit to the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. We will ascend the Temple Mount, discussing its connection to both the Old and New Testaments. On to visit St Anne’s church (entrance included) and the nearby Pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place (John 5). We visit the Southern Wall excavations (entrance included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. After lunch we enjoy a panoramic view of the holy city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations within the Old City, and connecting them with biblical stories and prophecies about the return of Jesus. We then walk down the Palm Sunday Procession Road. We visit the Upper Room, the traditional place of the Last Supper, and end our day with a visit to the City of David (entrance included), the original location of the city of Jerusalem. Here we see Hezekiah Tunnel and the Pool of Siloam.
Overnight Jerusalem
This morning we drive to Masada (entrance & cable car included), the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with their standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. We continue to Ein Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place and where many of the psalms were written by David. In the afternoon, free time will be given at one of the Dead Sea beaches.
Overnight Jerusalem
We begin our day with a visit the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus agonized on the night before his crucifixion. We visit the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (entrance included), where we see a pit where it is believed Jesus was kept before his cruxifixion. We walk the Via Dolorosa, the traditional path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We will also visit the Garden Tomb (entrance included), a potential site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection, where we will worship together and celebrate communion. The balance of the day will be spent at leisure in Jerusalem.
Your flight home may depart either late tonight or the following day. If the following day, and an overnight is required, overnight Jerusalem.
Your flight home may depart either the previous night or today. If today and time allows, breakfast is included today. Either way, today we arrive back at RDU.
