Leave for Israel

As you arrive at Ben Gurion Airport (located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem) there is a wonderful aerial view of the Promised Land! You will begin to connect with that Land on the drive from the airport to the Metropolitan hotel by the Mediterranean coast. After dinner together we will have a brief get-acquainted orientation.

Traveling north following the ancient coastal Via Maris, we will stop first at the massive excavations at Caesarea and learn of the Roman government that ruled during the time of Jesus.  On Mt. Carmel we think about the conflicts faced by Elijah, and how they apply to our daily lives. We continue for a visit to Akko.  A drive through the Jezreel Valley (Armageddon) takes us to Nazareth. We will visit Nazareth Village. The excavated cave homes from the time of Jesus. We will also visit a tunnel and well there from ancient times. Crossing lower Galilee, we arrive at the Ron Beach right by the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight.

Our day starts with a visit to the town of Capernaum(home base for Jesus and His disciples). The Mt. of Beatitudesand other sites around the Sea focus our thoughts on the time Jesus spent here. The Yigal Alon Museum displays a boat from the time of Jesus, and then we board a larger replica for our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. The recent excavations at Magdala turn our thoughts to the women in scripture who supported Jesus. Will visit Bethsaida and Chorazim there too. On the way between Galilee and Bashan, there is a castle from Crusader times on the Israeli side we will visit as well.

where the supposed Gates of Hell Caesarea PhilippiToday we visit the are. The melting snows of Mt. Hermon rush through the Dan Nature Reserve to form the Jordan River. Walking on paths beside those headwaters brings us to Tel Dan,and the remains of Jeroboam’s pagan altar. As we exit the Tel we see a complete, huge mud-brick Canaanite city gate from the time of Abraham. What a journey through history! Driving through the Golan and stopping at the overlook into Syria will make modern issues much more understandable. Finally this day we will stop at the Yardenit Baptismal site so people who want to can be baptized in the Jordan River!

See where Israel’s first king, Saul, and his son Jonathan fell in battle to the Mt. Gilboa, along the slopes of Gideon Springs. The unique feature of the park is its hot springs and natural bathing pools.  We will also visit Sachne National ParkWe check out of our hotel by the Sea of Galilee and our first stop will be at the Phillistines, around 1010 BC (1 Samuel 31).  From here we continue to the impressive Roman excavations at Beth Shean(biblical Scythopolis). We will be driving south through the Jordan valley while talking about the hills of Samaria on our right and the country of Jordan just across the river to our left. After lunch we visit Qumran and learn about the importance of the Dead Sea scrolls which were found there. We anticipate a mid-afternoon arrival at Daniel hotel on the shore of the Dead Sea. That afternoon you can enjoy a swim in the unique waters of the Dead Sea (or the spa’s heated pools) and make use of their wonderful facilities.

A cable car will take us to the top of Masada, as we visit the site of one of Herod’s fortress-palaces, and the last holdout of the Zealots after the fall of Jerusalem. Then driving north through the Judean wilderness helps us understand the story of David hiding from Saul in the caves as we visit the area of Ein Gedi. After lunch we will stop for a camel caravan at Genesis Land.  Our ride on these “ships of the desert” won’t go too far, but it will be enough to give you a unique experience.  We will stop at Jerichotoo. And then it’s “up to Jerusalem”. What a thrilling time to finally enter the Holy City … the one place that God claims as His own! A brief stop on Mt. Scopus gives us a visual orientation to the city.  We arrive at the Prima Kings hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

We continue on to Herodion, located south of Jerusalem and east of Bethlehem, on the edge of the Judean Desert, is one of Kidron Valley to the House of Caiaphas. A short drive takes us across the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane is a magnificent site first thing in the morning! Then we take a walk among the ancient Mt. of OlivesA panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem from the top of the the most fascinating antiquities sites in the country, it was built by King Herod the Great between 23 and 15 BCE, as a combined palace and powerful fortress.   We return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Our first stop today will be at the Friends of Zion Museum.  We continue driving through the new city

(West Jerusalem) passing by the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament building)  and stop at the Israel Museum where we visit the 1:50 scale Model of the ancient city of Jerusalem (replicating the time of Jesus). This afternoon we’ll be walking in the Old City. The Jewish Quarter will be thriving with activity. After lunch we’ll see that it encompasses many historical eras: the Broad Wall of Nehemiah; the Cardo from the time of Jesus … and the time of the Byzantines … and the time of the Crusaders; the modern-day Hurvah Synagogue, destroyed in 1948 and rebuilt in 2010; and modern residences. Descending a large staircase we stand in front of the Western (Wailing) Wall, and the huge stones from King Herod’s construction. Around the corner at the South Wall excavations (Davidson Center) we see “the place of the trumpeter” and walk on ancient steps that led into the Temple during the time of Jesus.

A day at leisure allows time to shop, do additional sightseeing, or just relax and take in the local culture.  It is an easy walk from our hotel to the Old City, or take a short ride on the high speed train to the Ben Yehuda area (pedestrian mall) of the new city. This evening we will drive to Yad Hashmona Messianic community where we will visit their Biblical Garden and enjoy a Biblical Meal.  Return to our hotel for overnight.

A visit to the Western Wall tunnel is a unique opportunity to go back in time many centuries, and to see the huge single stone which is estimated to weigh over 520 tons! (How did Herod have it lifted up into the wall???) Exiting the tunnel we go to the excavations at the Pools of Bethesda and sing in the fantastic acoustics of St. Anne’s Church. The pavement stones found in the Praetorium are from the time of Jesus, and depict games of chance that would have been played by the Roman soldiers. Walking through the city, we follow the Via Dolorosa (traditional Way of Sorrow). Then we walk to the Garden Tomb to a beautiful garden where we commemorate and reflect on the resurrection, and enjoy communion together.   From here we drive to Old Jaffa (Joppa) where Jonah board a ship for Tarshish (Jonah 1) and the Apostle Peter received God’s command to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.  It was here that Peter stayed in the home of Simon the Tanner.  Our program concludes with a farewell dinner in one of the restaurants in Tel Aviv before we drive to Ben Gurion Airport to catch our homebound flight back to the USA.

Return to the USA