Final Thoughts

Well we are back in Canada dealing with snow and cold.

This truly was an amazing trip and I am glad we were able to go. Some thoughts that come to mind as I think back are:

1. The presentation our guide gave us on the tabernacle in the wilderness really showed how Jesus was the fulfillment of all that God was doing in the old testament. This site and presentation was one of the highlights of this trip for me.
2.  I really enjoyed the Nazareth village that a group of Christians has set up in Nazareth. It gave a great idea of what life was like back then.
3. It was so amazing to go to some of the places that Jesus walked.  The Sea of Galilee area was one of those areas and to see some of the places where Jesus performed miracles was truly a blessing.
4. It was neat to see people getting baptized in the Jordan River, even though in the end we decided not to do it.
5. One of the highlights was the Garden Tomb and Golgotha. I never realized that Jesus was in all likely hood not crucified on a hill but beside a busy road to allow easy access to those that wanted to torment Him. The Romans were really cruel in the way that they performed crucifixions. David Mainse also pointed out that it was probably mainly the Jewish priests and rabbis and their paid staff that wanted him crucified. Most of the ordinary people did not want it.
6.  I am so glad that Jesus summarized all of the old testament rules and laws to two main commandments, to love God with all your heart, soul, body and mind and to love others. There are so many laws that Jews are supposed to follow that it is virtually impossible to follow them all.  In fact the vast majority are related to the temple and since the temple isn't there they can't be followed. But even those that are left are still almost impossible to keep. Since old testament times they have needed to add even more rules to deal with modern technology.  I just don't understand how it is ok on the Sabbath to ride up one elevator in a building but not the one right beside it.
7. The wailing wall was another highlight as I stood at the wall and felt moved to pray for the Jewish people that they would see the true light of Jesus.
8. It still amazes me that Israel is able to survive with all of the Arab nations around it that are so set on destroying them. We experienced just a bit of what they go through with the Hamas rocket attacks on Southern Israel while we were there.
9. I was really impressed with our hosts David and Norma Jean Mainse and Ron and Ann Mainse. Their passion and love for the Israeli nation is truly a blessing.

Day 10 pictures

Model of Old Jerusalem at the Israel Museum. In the centre is the temple mount.

The Shrine of the Book containing some of the Dead Sea scrolls and other artifacts found there. You are not allowed to take pictures inside.

The Shepherds field at Bethlehem. This is the entrance to the caves in which they kept their sheep at night.

The lineup in the Church of the Nativity to see the manger site.

The manger site in the Church of the Nativity. This is what we stood in line for 2 hours to see.

Service at the King of Kings Church in Jerusalem. Notice that in addition to the Hebrew they have the English phonetic printing so that you can sing along in Hebrew without knowing the language.

Day 9 Pictures

In front of our tour bus getting ready to leave the Dead Sea.

On top of Masada

Panoramic shot of the top of Masada

Some kind of Starling only found at Masada (I think)

Camel rides on way to Jerusalem

Day 13 November 21 2012

Today was a free day and we slept in and had a late breakfast. In the morning we walked to the Israel Museum gift shop and back and then in the afternoon we went on another walk trying to find the Jerusalem Botanical Garden. We did eventually find it but then we had to pay to get in so we walked back, a 2 hour round trip.

After a lovely farewell supper we are now on our way to the airport to fly home just as a cease fire was implemented in the war with Hamas.

Day 12 November 20 2012

Today we started our tour with a stop at the Garden Tomb. Here there is also Golgatha (Place of the Skull) where Jesus was crucified.  On the side of the hill there is a rock formation that looks like a skull. Jesus would actually have been crucified beside this place and beside the road that runs by there as the Romans never crucified on hill tops but where people could have access to the person being crucified to mock them and even the dogs could nip at their feet.

Right beside the place of the skull there is a garden and it was here that an empty tomb was found that had engravings of crosses and to indicate that an early Byzantine church had been there. There was also an empty cistern discovered there as well as a wine press.

This place exactly fits the description of the crucifixion and burial as described in the Gospels especially the Gospel of John. The traditional sites for the crucifixion and burial are at the Holy Sepulcher Church, but this is within the city limits and the Romans never carried out crucifixions within the city limits but outside city limits.

We participated in a communion service in the garden and then saw the empty tomb.

We then went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested.  Gethsemane means oil press and there were some very old olive trees here that were around 1,000 years old. The Church of Agony is built here. It is also called the Church of All Nations because many nations contributed to the construction of the church. This was on the Mt of Olives across the valley from the Golden Gate and the Eastern Wall. The Church of St Mary where the virgin Mary is believed to be buried is also near this church.

Our last stop was a visit to The Holocaust History Museum telling the story of the killing of 6,000,000 Jews by the Nazis. There is also a Children's Memorial in which the names of children killed in the holocaust are read 24/7. It is a very dark and somber place.

We have had limited internet access the last few days. Our hotel did not have free Wifi so the only time we had access to the internet was on the bus as the bus had free Wifi. Pictures for the last four days will be posted later.

Day 11, November 19, 2012

Today started with a trip to Old Jerusalem where we saw what according to tradition was the room where Jesus had the last supper with his disciples.  However, the building that contained this room wasn't even in existence when Jesus walked this earth.

We then saw King David's tomb on top of Mount Zion. This is not likely the actual tomb as David was buried in his palace which was not on Mount Zion. Our guide told us there are some holy sites that are tradition and can't be proven, while some sites have almost 100% certainty of being the actual sites. David's tomb and the upper room are two traditional sites.

We then went to a church built on the site of Caiaphas' house. There was a dungeon (pit/prison) under this building where according to tradition Jesus was scourged by Pilate and by Caiaphas. Beside this church are the original steps up which Jesus would have been taken for this scourging.

Next stop was the Mount of Olives where Jesus went to pray with his disciples after the last supper. You could see much of Jerusalem from this vantage point, especially old Jerusalem. The side of the Mount of Olives is a big graveyard. It is the most desirable place for a Jew to be buried as they believe that the Messiah will come to this mountain and the closer they are to the top the sooner they will be resurrected to see him. Grave plots here cost between 400 and 500 thousand dollars.

We then saw the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the man who had been crippled for 38 years. This was close to St Ann's church, the traditional birth place of the Virgin Mary. We went inside this church and sang some songs to hear the wonderful acoustics.

After lunch we went back to Old Jerusalem for a long afternoon of walking. We walked the Via Dolorosa and saw most of the 14 stations of the cross.  Only 9 of these are actually in the Bible. The other 5 are only traditions. The last 5 stations are in the Holy Sepulchre Church, a huge structure.

We then went to the Western Wall and a tour of the tunnels under Jerusalem beside the Western Wall. This tunnel goes all the way to the North West Corner of the Temple Mount. After exiting the tunnels we walked back to the Western (wailing) wall and actually went right up to the wall to pray.

Day 10, Sunday November 18, 2012

Our first stop of the day was the Jerusalem museum to see a model of the old city of Jerusalem and the shrine of the Book where portions of the dead sea scrolls are on display.

After that we went to Bethlehem so see the Church of the Nativity to see the manger where Jesus was born. We stood in line for two hours for this and then we had lunch and were constantly accosted by peddlers who just wouldn't leave us alone.

Then we went to Bethlehem Souvenir Centre and bought some souvenirs and again were constantly accosted by peddlers when we left the store.

I wouldn't recommend going to Bethlehem.

We ended our day of touring by attending a church service at the King of Kings church in the bottom floor of Jerusalem's first high rise. Very good service. Joel Rosenburg was the guest speaker. Good message on Titus, but didn't really say much about prophecy.

Day 9, Saturday November 17, 2012

We had the morning off to allow people to float in the dead sea.  We just relaxed in our hotel  room.

At noon we left the Dead Sea headed to Jerusalem. We stopped at Masada, the mountain fortress built by King Herrod and used by the last of the Jewish rebels in AD 70 as a refuge from the Romans who had come to destroy Jerusalem. In the end all of the Jewish men killed their families and then themselves as they would rather die than be slaves of Rome.  Only 2 women and 5 children survived when they hid.

We drove through a park at Ein Gedi to see the caves in the hillsides where David hid from Saul and when Saul came in to relieve himself David cut off the corner of his robe (1 Samuel 24).  We were hoping to see some wild goats that live there but none showed up.  We did see one by the side of the road as we drove by on the bus.

We stopped at Mitzpen Yericho and had camel rides.

We arrived in Jerusalem and stopped at the top of Mount Scopus to have a view of old Jerusalem. It was already dark so could see mainly lights. Our guides welcomed us to Jerusalem with a traditional welcoming ceremony where they fed us bread and salt.  Around 6 PM we heard the Muslim call to prayer. We then checked into our hotel and had supper.  Check in was late as due to the Sabbath the staff of the hotel are not allowed to clean the rooms until the Sabbath is over.  The Sabbath is over once you can see 3 stars in the sky.

Pictures from Day 8

Sunrise over the Dead Sea taken from our hotel room.

Lot's wife pillar of salt on Mt Sodom, South end of the Dead Sea

Front view of the Tabernacle

In front of Solomon's Pillars

An Addax with some Onagers (wild donkey) in the background.  The Addax horns were used to make shofars (a Jewish horn used for Jewish religious purposes)

Day 8

This morning we drove through the desert which makes up 60% of the land area of Israel. Stopped at Mt Sodom on which there was a pillar of salt called Lot's wife. The mountain is almost entirely made of salt. The area is known as the Negev. We drove by the wilderness of Zin. This desert has no sand dunes but is made of barren rocky hills and valleys with the odd oasis. One of these even had a McDonald's. We passed some farm land on which they grow vegetables in greenhouses, mainly peppers and tomatoes.

We drove through a dust storm blowing from the South.

We stopped at Park Timna in the wilderness where there was a replica of the tabernacle of God that the Hebrews carried with them on their 40 year journey through the desert. Our guide did an amazing job of explaining the structure and purposes of the parts of the tabernacle and tying it into the New Testament and how it was pointing to Christ and his final sacrifice. See www.berean-to-berean.com for more.

We also stopped for pictures at a rock formation called Solomon's Pillars.

Our last activity was a drive through Hai Bar nature reserve where we saw biblical animals that are being raised with the idea of introducing them back into Israeli nature. We saw Somali Wild Ass, Addax, Ostrich, Oryx, Sahara Oryx, Dorcas Gazelle and Onager and Acacia trees that grow in the desert.

We stopped at a McDonald's on the way back and saw a number of army reservists, men and women, apparently on their way to the area around Gaza.

Pictures from Day 7

Gideon's Cave from which came Harod's spring. This is where God reduced Gideon's army from 10,000 down to 300. See Judges 7

Standing in the ruins of Bet Shan. The Phillistines hung Saul's body on a wall here. See 1 Samuel 31.

Mount Gilboa on which Saul and his three sons died in battle with the Phillistines. This mountain is barren as written in 2 Samuel 1:21.

The entrance to one of the caves at Qumran in which the Dead See scrolls were found.

Day 7

Today we left the area around the Sea of Galilee and headed towards the Dead Sea area.  Our first stop was the Mayan Harod National Park which contains the spring of Gideon from Judges 7. At this site we did a video clip of the group for 100 Huntley Street. Since there was breaking news yesterday that an Hamas's leader was killed by Israel in Gaza we thought our families at home would be worried about us. Our guide assured us that we are perfectly safe.

The next stop was at the ruins of the ancient Roman Byzantine city of Beth Shan mentioned in 1 Samuel 31. Amazing what they built back in those days. See our facebook page for a picture taken there.

Driving south we passed through the West Bank area. There are three different levels of civil and security control in this area. Area A is completely controlled by the Palestinian Authority, Area B is under Israeli security and Palestinian civil administration and Area C is completely controlled by the Israelis.  We did pass through a number of checkpoints but the bus basically just slowed down and kept going.

We passed by Jericho and saw Mount Nebo in Jordan. We were unable to go to Jericho because of the political situation there. It is under Palestinian control. Mount Nebo was as close as Moses was allowed to the Promised Land and he was buried on it.

Our next stop was Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea scrolls.  We saw the remains of an Essene communal area. They apparently lived in caves and came to the communal area to bath, eat and work.  They considered themselves as the sons of light and purity was very important to them.  The sect was entirely male.  Our guide informed us that the dead sea scrolls confirmed the text of the old testament and there were no contradictions.

Our last stop was a cosmetics factory that makes cosmetics from salts and minerals from the Dead Sea. Basically a ploy to get you to buy some of their stuff.  Oh well, you can expect some of this kind of stuff on these tours.

As a point of interest we were driving down highway 90 which runs all the way from the Northern tip of Israel right down to the Southern tip and is approximately 700 kms long.

Pictures will come later.

Pictures from Day 6

The Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation built over Mary's (Jesus' mother) house  where they believe the annunciation occurred.

A shepherd with his sheep and goats in Nazareth village.

The entrance to a family burial site in Nazareth village. This could hold up to four bodies. After a year the bones are taken out and put in a box and buried in the floor and then it can be used again.

An operating olive press in Nazareth village.

Bakers making the flat bread for our noon meal.

Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation built over Mary's well.

Large water pot similar to what would have been used at the wedding in Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine. Not quite what I would have imagined.

Day 6

On a beautiful warm sunny day we started today's travels by heading to Cana the sight of Jesus's first miracle of turning the water into wine. Today there is a Catholic Church run by Franciscans sitting on this site. Ron Mainse led us on a devotional on the wedding where this took place.  His sister married an Arabic Christian man in Cana and he explained that in this tradition a lot of emphasis is placed on the bridegroom rather than the bride.  That helps us to better understand the emphasis on the bridegroom (Christ) in the final wedding when Christ will come for his bride (the Church).

Our bus driver just did an amazing u-turn on a narrow Cana street with all kinds of traffic.

Next stop was a re-creation of a Nazareth village in the time of Jesus. Really helps one understand what life was like in those days. There was a shepherd with his sheep (and 3 goats), an old wine press discovered right there on the rocks, terraced farm lands, lots of olive trees, a carpenter making a winnowing fork, a weaver spinning wool, an olive oil pressing demonstration using a real donkey as it was done at that time and a synagogue. Then we had a delicious lunch of lentil soup, flat bread with humus, goat cheese, olive oil with sesame seeds, cabbage salad and apples with fig paste for dessert.

After lunch we went on a walking tour of Nazareth visiting Mary's well, the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation where they believe that Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce to her that she would become the mother of Jesus. Then we walked to the Roman Catholic Church of the Annunciation. They believe that Gabriel appeared to Mary beside her house.  This church is built over her family's original house. It is the largest church in the Middle Ease. They also believe that Mary and Joseph lived here and raised their family there.  A little ways over is the Church of St Joseph which is build over what is believed to be Joseph's carpenter's shop.  Some also believe that this was the house where Joseph and Mary raised their family.

Photos from Day 5

On the Mount of Beatitudes

Pagan temple ruins at Caesarea Philipi.

 Panoramic view of the Hulata nature reserve.

Day 5

We started today with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes. The Catholic Nuns that take care of the place have done an amazing job of making a beautiful spot to reflect on the Sermon on the Mount from Mathew 5. David Mainse led us in a devotional on the beatitudes from the same place that Jesus first spoke those words.

After that we  went on to Caesarea Phillipi at the foot of Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Israel. We saw some ruins of ancient temples to many gods including Pan and Zeus.This is the setting of Mathew 16 where Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah. We drove right beside the border with Lebanon on the Northern tip of Israel. Right beside the road was a fence with signs warning of mines.

We then went on to see a beautiful nature reserve at Hulata. We were treated to a 4D movie on bird migrations which brought you right into the action including getting sprayed with water and moving seats. This is a resting spot for 500,000,000 birds every spring and fall on their migrations. Israel is on the route where the largest number of birds in the world make their semi-annual migrations.

The last stop of the day was a diamond factory in Tibereas. 60 - 70 % of the world's diamonds pass through Israel for cutting and polishing.

Day 4

Today started with a ride around the Sea of Galilee on a "Jesus Boat" similar to the ones that would have been used in the time of Jesus. During the ride a short video was taken on an iPhone which was played on 100 Huntley Street later that day. At the end of the trip we docked at Geneserat where an ancient 2000 year old boat has been excavated from the mud of the Sea of Galilee.

We continued our tour by visiting the site where the resurrected Jesus met his disciples after they had been fishing all night and not catching anything. He then told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and they caught 153 fish.  In the Hebrew alphabet the letters represented by the numbers 100, 50 and 3 spell out "I am God". This is also where Peter declared his love for Jesus after being asked by him three times "Do you love me."

We then went on to Capernaum, the second home of Jesus and his base of operations during his ministry. It is also the home of Peter and we saw the site where Peter's house was situated.  We also saw an old Jewish Synagogue.

We then continued on around the Sea of Galilee, crossing the Northern Jordan River, travelling along the edge of the Golan Heights, passing the site where Jesus cast a legion of demons out of a demon possessed man and driving them into a herd of pigs which then ran headlong into the sea. Not sure if you heard or not but two days ago Syrian rockets landed on a settlement in the Golan Heights and for the first time since 1967, Israel fired back. This information came from our guide who was in the Israeli army and did his time of service in the Golan Heights clearing mines.

Our day concluded with a baptismal service in the Jordan River on the south end of the Sea of Galilee. Ron Mainse conducted the service and baptised approximately 65 people.

On our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  That is Tiberias in the background.

A 2000 year old fishing boat excavated from the mud of the See of Galilee.

On the shore of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus met the disciples after a night of fishing.

Inside the ruins of an old synagogue in Capernaum.

Baptismal service in the Jordan River.

Day 3

Today got off to a shaky start. It was extremely windy and then pouring rain while we were loading our luggage onto the two tour buses. There were  rockets falling in Gaza this morning. Our local tour guide said the tension is due to the election coming up in January. We will be travelling North along the coast line and away from danger he assured us.

David Mainse also keeps a daily blog. If you check out his blog at www.100words.ca  from this morning you will find that he mentioned Ken and I by name in his personal reflections. Our new friends on the bus tease us that we are now famous!

It  was a real privilege to have David and Norma Jean Mainse as hosts on our bus today. They have so many personal stories to share as they have been coming to Israel since 1968! The tour guide gives the historical side and David Mainse gives the spiritual side to the sights we see.           

Our first stop was Caesarea.  This was an ancient seaport built by King Herod and also the place where the first Gentiles became believers when Peter came there as a result of an invitation from Cornelius a Roman soldier. Below are some pictures from the ruins that have been excavated.

 

Hippodrome where gladiators fought. They may also have had chariot races and many Christians were martyred here by being fed to the lions.

An ancient theatre.  Concerts are still held here in the summer.  Eric Clapton held a concert here about two weeks ago. If you are invited to perform here it means you are very good.

The next stop was Mount Carmel where Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal (I Kings 18).

David Mainse and his son speaking to the group on the top of the mount.

The view from the roof of a building on the top of Mount Carmel. It shows the Yizre'el Valley, also known as the Valley of Armageddon where the final battle between Christ and Satan will be fought. "The air force runway in the centre is where the Antichrist will land with his army", tongue in cheek comment made by David Mainse.

Our last stop of the day was at Megiddo (also known as Armageddon).  This was an ancient city which was strategically placed to guard important roads in ancient Israel. It was also situated beside the Yizre'el Valley an important source of food.

Above are excavations on the site of Megiddo (Armageddon).  At this spot archeologists have actually dug down through to the origin.  There were actually 25 cities built one on top of the other over many centuries as different powers took over.

Standing at the top of the stairs to an elaborate water system built so that the people of Megiddo could get water from the springs outside the city walls and not have to leave the city.



Ken and Marilyn contributed to this post.

Israel Day 2

Day 2 began with a lovely breakfast brunch at our hotel. We certainly will not go hungry on this trip! We then traveled from our hotel in Tel Aviv to Kiriath Jearim (beside modern day Abu Gosh) where the ark of the Lord rested in the house of Abinidab for 20 years (1 Samuel 6 to 7). There is a church run by a convent that sits on the location of this house. We then traveled to the Valley of Elah where David killed Goliath. We were encouraged to take five stones from the creek bed (the same one from which David picked his five stones to kill Goliath) as a reminder of what God can do when we trust Him. We then visited the Bell Caves at Bet Guvrin.  These are large caves from which soft limestone was quarried.  The outer layer of the limestone is hard and when they break through this hard outer layer, the limestone is soft and quite easy to carve out. As they work down the caves become wider resulting in a bell shape.  Our day concluded with a tour of the ancient city of Joppa (or Jaffa) which is 4,000 years old.  This is the port from which Jonah fled when told to go to the city of Ninevah and then subsequently swallowed by a large fish. It is also the where Peter raised Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9). Peter also stayed at the house of Simon the Tanner in Joppa when he had the vision from God of a large sheet of unclean animals coming down and he was told to kill and eat.  Later Cornelius from Caesarea sent for Peter (Acts 10). Below are some pictures from today

Our tour hosts, Norma Jean and David Mainse (founder of 100 Huntley Street) @ Kirieath Jearim

Our tour group at the place where the ark of the Lord was brought after being returned by the Philistines.

The inside of the church that sits on the site of Abinidab's house where the ark was kept.

200 year old olive tree beside the above church.

Inside one of the Bell Caves. At the top is the original opening. You can get an idea of the size from the person standing on the floor at the bottom.  They hold weddings and concerts inside these caves. There was also a church inside one of these caves when the Christians were in hiding.

The entrance to the house of Simon the Tanner in Joppa.  Right now there is an Armenian Christian family living in the house and it is not open to the public.

This is the view of Tel Aviv from the seaport at Joppa.  There is really no separation between these two cities.  But you can tell where one ends and the other starts as Tel Aviv is only about 100 years old whereas Joppa is over 4,000 years old.

Had a good 11 hour all night flight to Tel Aviv from Toronto, then loaded tour buses to take us to our hotel. Couldn't sleep on the El Al  Boeing 767 aircraft so now staying awake until 10 pm Israel time to conteract jet lag. Sask time is 8 hours earlier. Took a stroll along the Mediterranean Sea which is right across the street from our hotel. Watched surfers and took sunset pictures around 5 pm. Had a delicious buffet in this beautiful hotel called Dan Panorama.We have a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean Sea from our 14th floor balcony facing West. Below are some pictures from today.

View of Tel Aviv from the air as we are coming in for landing.

 

The view from our hotel room balcony

Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea

 

Windsurfers on the beach near our hotel