The Holy Land with Calvary Baptist Temple

Today we depart Denver (DEN) on an overnight journey to Israel.

Arrive in Tel Aviv – Ben Gurion Airport. Meeting and assistance at airport, board your modern deluxe bus and depart airport to Tel Aviv. 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 telling him that all God’s creation is clean and worthy to receive salvation through Jesus. Transfer to hotel in Netanya. D.

Overnight Netanya

Today we travel towards Caesarea Maritima (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 converts into Christianity, and on the travels of Paul — those events that led Caesarea Maritima to become the springboard of Christianity to the West. Continue to Mount Carmel (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. Then we depart to Megiddo (included). Lunch on your own. Travel 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. While there overlooking the Armageddon Valley, we will also discuss the reasons why we believe this will be the setting for the final battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16. Depart to Sea of Galilee passing Cana of Galilee where Jesus preformed his first miracle changing water into wine. B, D.

Overnight Sea of Galilee area

After a buffet breakfast, we will visit the ancient boat museum containing a recently-discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat (included). We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat (included). Then we will visit Mt. of Beatitudes and discuss the sermon on the Mount; we will then visit Capernaum (included), Jesus Galilean ministry base. Then we drive to Tabgha and will see the Primacy of Peter where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after the resurrection, Lunch on your own. Our last stop of the day will be to Kursi (included) has been identified by tradition as the site of the “Miracle of the Swine”, where Jesus healed one or two men possessed by demons by driving these into a herd of pigs, return for hotel. B, D.

Overnight Sea of Galilee area

After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean (included), the capital of the Decapolis. There 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 will then continue traveling south to Bet Arabah where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. After lunch on your own, we visit Qumran (included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy back in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings that the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived. Then we will visit the Tel of Jericho (included)  with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. On the way to Jerusalem, we make a stop at Wadi Qelt before continuing on to Jerusalem. B, D.

Overnight Jerusalem

After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (entrance & cable car included); the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We then continue to Ein Gedi (lookout/parking included), the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took places and where many of the psalms were written by David, Lunch on your own. Then You will be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea (included). B, D.

Overnight Jerusalem

After a buffet breakfast, we will begin our day with an orientation over the holy city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations within the Old City, connecting them with Biblical stories and prophecies about the return of Jesus. We will then walk down the Palm Sunday Procession Road to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. We will then visit the Southern Wall excavations (included)  where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We will then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. We then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds fields where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord. These fields are also the setting of the Book of Ruth, Lunch on your own. We will then travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where Our Lord was born. We return to our hotel. B, D.

Overnight Jerusalem

After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day entering the Old City and to visit the Western Wall (Wailing 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 (included) and a visit to nearby Pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place. Then  we travel to the Israel Museum (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 play special attention to those items that relate to Bible history Lunch on your Own.  We will have free time in the Old City this afternoon. B, D.

Overnight Jerusalem

After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a visit to the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper followed by a visit to nearby location of the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (included). We then visit the Antonia Fortress (included), where Jesus was condemned to die by Pontius Pilate. We walk nonstop from the Judgment Pavement  along the Via Dolorosa to the Holy Sepulcher . Lunch break on your own. We will visit the Garden Tomb (included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. B, D.

Overnight Jerusalem

After breakfast, we leave Israel on an international flight back home with unforgettable memories. B.