Mount Precipice

Mt. Precipice is located on the south side of Nazareth. As a boy, Jesus would have frequented this place. As I sat here looking out, it occured to me that I chose my seat because it seemed like an obvious choice to take in a great view. I wonder if Jesus would have chosen it for the same reasons... I'm looking out over the Armageddon valley. Can you imagine, Jesus as a young boy, looking out over this valley, thinking about the final battle that would take place here?

When Jesus left Nazareth, He came here to Capernaum and made his home. This served as the launching off point for the rest of His 3 year ministry. During His time, the population of the town was roughly 1,500. Jesus performed many miracles here including the casting out of a demon which caused a huge uproar. In Mark 1:28 it says that Jesus' fame spread immediately throughout the entire region as a result of this. This arial shot gives an idea of how small this town was. We can be sure that everyone knew exactly who Jesus was.



These ruins date back to the time of Christ. He would have walked down these streets and slept in one of these houses... I wonder which one...

Capernaum was also the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John, as well as the tax collector Matthew. Imagine the scene these renegades must have caused in such a small town!



Archaeological excavations have uncovered a home which they have concluded was venerated as the house of Peter the fisherman as early as the mid-first century AD (within 15-25 years after Christ's resurrection). Two churches were built around it to preserve it from the elements and set it apart as a holy site. The church walls contain ancient writings in the plaster mentioning Jesus as “Lord” and “Christ” in Aramaic, Greek, Syriac and Latin. The structure is very close to the ancient synagogue at Capernaum and contains 1st century fish hooks and graffiti references to “Peter.” This is where Jesus healed Peter's mother in law (Mark 1:29-30).



Imagine Jesus walking in and out of this doorway while visiting with his friends who lived there...



"And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching." (Mark 1:21)


This is among the oldest synagogues in the world.

Mount of Beatitudes

This is the traditional site of the place where Jesus gave The Sermon on the Mount. Although we don't know exactly where the sermon took place, the area you see pictured is a very likely candidate. In the early 1970's a German crew came to this site to test the natural acoustics. If you read through the entire Sermon from Matthew (chapters 5-7), it will take you about 8 minutes. However, most scholars believe this sermon lasted at least 1-2 hours. Imagine trying to address 10,000 people for that length of time without the use of a PA system! As it turns out, the German scientists discovered that early in the morning, or in the late evening, the acoustics are perfect here making it very easy to address this large crowd without even having to strain your voice.



This church was built by the Byzantines roughly 400 years after the time of Jesus to commemorate the site which was believed by locals to be the place where Jesus delivered His famous sermon (If you were looking out at the valley above, this church would be directly behind you - maybe 20-30 feet). Regardless of whether this is the very spot, scholars agree that the church stands in the right general area.

On the Sea of Galilee

This is a panoramic shot taken of Migdal from the Sea of Galilee (look for the green trees along the coast). We were traveling on what's known as "The Jesus Boat" which is replica of a fishing boat from the time of Christ. Migdal is named after the old city of Migdala Nunia, which was the home town of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene - Luke 8:2). In those days, you would refer to someone by their first name and the village they originated from. Which is why in Jesus' day He was known as Jesus of Nazereth.
The cliff you see in the picture is a very pronounced landmark. Jesus and His disciples would have seen this on a regular basis while doing ministry in this part of Galilee. The boat in the picture is another "Jesus boat" - there are a total of 5.



This is another shot taken from the Jesus boat on the Sea of Galilee. In addition to being a great sight seeing tour, it was a very meaningful time of worship for me. The captain of the boat played some great worship music we enjoyed singing along to many of the songs. What a humbling time - I can't believe I'm here!

There's a bed with my name on it in the valley of Armageddon!

This is standing on top of Mt. Carmel where Elijah gained victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-46). In the background is the Valley of Armageddon where we'll be staying for the next 3 nights (See Revelation 16:16). It's hard to see from the picture, but on the opposite side of the valley, on the side of the hill is a small city. That's Nazereth where Jesus spent his boyhood.

Ceaserea Maritima

This is a major site. Caesarea was prominent in early church history. The first Gentile (the centurion Cornelius) was baptized here by the apostle Peter (Acts 10). The apostle Paul not only passed through Caesarea on several of his journeys (Acts 9:30; 18:22; 21:8-16), but was also imprisoned here by the governors Festus and Felix before going to Rome to appeal his case before Nero (Acts 23:22-26:32).




The streets here date back to the 1st century.



This is what's left from Herod's palace. Since there is no natural Marble in Israel, these columns were imported from Europe.

We made it!

We finally made it! 24 hours after leaving home in Michigan, we arived at the Tel Aviv airport. Long day!! I caught a few minutes of sleep while on the plane, but you know how that is... I'm pretty whooped, but trying to force myself to stay awake and get on the local schedule. Taking advantage of a couple minutes of downtime and then off to dinner. It's currently about 5:30pm, so we're 7 hours ahead of Eastern time.

After about a 15 minute car ride from the airport we arived at our first site. This is a Philistine temple that Dr. Mayhew helped excavate back in 1973. Although it's not the exact site where Samson pushed over the pillars, killing himself and the Philistines in Judges 16:23-31, it is the very same style temple. Much smaller than I would have thought. I guess when I think "Temple" I think of a large complex. This room is no more than 25 feet across.