David and Goliath

Here we are on site at the place where Goliath taunted the Israelites and where David visited his brothers (to bring them cheese) and ended up slaying Goliath. These pictures are pretty obvious. Matt B and Nick are picking out five smooth stones from the brook bed and Hammy is pretending to be Goliath. :)

Check out the picture tabs on the left. We also visited the Holocaust Memorial, Bet Shemesh (Sampson, Delilah, battles involving the arch of the covenant, etc.) and the Valley of Elah (shown above, where David slew Goliath).

Mount of Olives

The Mount of Olives was the locations of a couple of teachings this morning. We were basically perched over a huge Jewish cemetery and across the Kidron Valley is an incredible view of the temple mount, the old city, and the surrounding areas. The first teaching covered some prophesy and the fate and purpose of the Eastern Gate (or Golden Gate). I would definitely suggest listening to the audio that Matt B recorded from this session. The second teaching was in the Garden of Gethsemane and basically used it a time for prayer and contemplation. The garden is really not that big. It was hard to image that this was where Jesus prayed that the cup of crucifixion would pass from him and where Judus betrayed Jesus into the hands of the Roman soldiers.


Lastly, on the road that Jesus took from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem on that triumphal entry, Jeff had his picture taken with one of the local residents. Do you know which one in the picture is Jeff? :)

Where Jesus Walked

These are steps on the south wall between the gates where the common people entered and left the temple area. The steps that I am sitting on were original to the ones that Jesus would have walked on and where Jesus perhaps instructed his disciples. It was truly a highlight to actually walk where Jesus walked.

When Neil Armstrong came to these steps, he asked the tour guide where Jesus would have actually walked. When he found out and walked those steps, he said that this was far more significant than his first steps on the moon.

Our group has been very blessed to see Jerusalem and to relate to where Jesus walked, talked, and instructed. Tomorrow, we move on to the Mount of Olives (just across the Kidron Valley).

Guess What Is Sitting On Solomon's Temple?

Guess what is sitting right on the spot of Solomon's temple?

You guessed it. This is a picture of the Dome of the Rock. As we walked around the temple mount, you could just sense that this is where it will all take place. The lines are firmly drawn and there will be no peaceful resolution. Our tour guide stated it like this, "This is the line of scrimmage between the Jews and the Muslims, between good and evil, and between the spiritual forces in heavenly places." It is very surreal to see Jews and Muslims walking around the same temple mount and all claiming it as their own.

I had some battery issues with my camera this afternoon, so pictures of Hezekiah's tunnel are missing. But check out the pictures of Jerusalem in the tab on the left.

Matt Hits the Wall

Seems like I pick on the Matts quite a bit, but I'm really not intending to do so. However, I must share a story about Matt Seivers that gave me a chuckle today.

This evening, we visited the Western Wall and had a wonderful tour of the secret passages under the Muslim quarter. The tour ended right at the Wailing Wall. Gentiles (guys, that is) can go down to the wall as long as they have their heads covered. In fact, they provide paper yamakas (I know, I spelled it wrong) for those that don't have coverings. So the guys headed down to the wall. Now Matt was wearing a baseball cap, so he didn't have to use the paper yamaka. As the guys strolled along the wall, watching all the devout Jews bobbing, chanting, and wailing...Matt decided to grab an open place on the wall and to just use it for prayer. So Matt knelt down and started praying. As he did this, he decided to take off his hat (big no, no). Those of us observing this whole thing saw the Jews on both sides of Matt start to talk and point. What was Matt doing? Was he trying to make a graphic point at the Wailing Wall? Was he going to be removed from the area by the Rabbis or the Israeli police? After all, Kelly (Hanna's husband) was asked to leave a kosher cafe earlier in the day for defiling it with a couple slices of pizza. Well, Matt finished his prayer, placed his cap firmly back on his head and walked away. Once again, the Athey Creek tour avoided an appearance on CNN! :)

Fantastic Footage - car moving

Drum roll...

Amy McCracken actually filmed footage of the famed car moving event (see last article). Enjoy!

Solving a Traffic Jam - Jerusalem

I don't have a picture for this one, but I must tell the story...

We arrived in Jerusalem after dark this evening. For the bus to get into the hotel, we had to circle the block to get the right approach. While we were circling the hotel, we proceeded down a narrow street that had a bend in it. The large tour bus could not go around the bend because a couple of cars were parked away from the curb making it impossible for the bus to pass. Our tour guide (Steve) mentioned that in the Army they would have just picked up the cars and moved them. Within a couple of minutes, the bus was empty and the guys on the bus (yours truly included) picked up the cars and moved them to the side of the road. There was cheering in the streets, especially since we had caused quite a traffic jam. One Jewish man that was passing at the time said, “I've never seen anything like this happen in Jerusalem before!”

Masada

Masada. What an incredible story?

As you can see, our group reached the top of Masada by way of a tram (costing far less than the trams to Pill Hill). :)

Check out the pictures in the second album. You will see the siege ramp used by the Romans to actually breach Masada. The photograph doesn't really do the ramp justice. The ramp covers about 1000 feet of vertical distance and was constructed by carrying rocks and dirt by carts and baskets. It was rumored that Jewish slaves were used to build the ramp so that the Jews in Masada would not hurt them.

Masada marks the point in history where the Jews ceased being a nation. This started nearly 2000 years of the Jews being scattered over the world and persecuted in many ways and forms. It is interesting to note that when Masada was excavated, they found writings from Ezekiel 37 where it talks about the dry bones coming to life again. The Jews believe this symbolized the return of the Israel as a nation. So at the same point where the Jews were finally driven out, there were writings found that prophesied the re-forming of that nation.

For those that don't know the story, Herod the Great built Masada as a refuge are for himself (if he ever needed it). As it turns out, he probably never visited the site. When Jerusalem was leveled by the Romans in 70 AD, many of the Zealots fled to Masada. About 1000 of them held up in Masada until 73 AD when the Romans finally built the siege ramp and broke down the entry gate. The Romans retreated that night and planned to take Masada the next morning. Knowing that they would be killed or doomed to a life of slavery, the remnants of Masada committed suicide that night, so that when the Romans entered the city, there were only a couple women and children that remained alive in the fortress. Check out the video sometime. I plan to put “Masada” at the top of my movie list when I return.

Floaters in The Dead Sea

Have you ever seen a floater in the Dead Sea like this one?

I was truly amazed when we jumped into the Dead Sea and simply "bobbed" in the water. As you can see in the picture, my hands and feet are above the water and I'm not doing anything. The Dead Sea is about a 33% salt solution (compared to about 3% for the ocean). I actually sat in the water for over an hour without exerting myself at all. This is definitely something you have to experience, because this weak explanation doesn't do it justice.

The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are great examples for our lives as well. The body of water that has water flowing through it is clean, vibrant, and full of life. The body of water that takes on fresh water, but does nothing with it becomes stagnant and dead. We have all been challenged on this trip to be more like the Sea of Galilee than the Dead Sea.

How did Matt cross the Red Sea?

This is what it looks like when a pair of Matts enjoy a day at the Red Sea. :)

The group arrived in Eilat last night and spent the day relaxing in the sunshine. Part of the group went to Egypt (about a mile down the road), boarded a boat and did some snorkeling and scuba diving. We spent quite a bit of time crossing boarders, but the day was relaxing with some of the best diving in the world. Tomorrow, we load up the bus and head for the Dead Sea, followed by three days in Jerusalem. Steve, the tour guide, calls this place Jew-rusalem all the time. We are all anticipating this part of the trip.

John at Petra

Jamie and Jodie, thanks for your comments on the blog. You mentioned that I am not in very many of the pictures that I am posting. That is a problem when I am usually the guy behind the camera. The picture here is at the highest point we climbed to at Petra. It is a cliff just above the monastary. Petra has been one of the many highlights of the trip so far. It was great to have our Sunday morning service up there at Petra.

Jeremy at Petra

Kristal, thanks for the blog comment. Here is proof that Jeremy is having a good time here in Israel. This picture was taken today at Petra. Check out the picture links for all the Petra pictures. It has been terrific getting to know Jeremy on the trip and I hope to get to know your family as well.

Slow posting

Sorry about the slow postings, but my internet has been flaky. I'll try to catch up at the next hotel (if we can get some better internet connectivity). Just to keep you up on places we have visited in our first two days of touring...

Wednesday

• Tel Aviv (close to Joppa)
• Caeserea Maritima (launching the Good News to the gentiles)
• Mount Carmel (where Elijah called down fire on the prophets of Baal)
• Megiddo (archeological "tel" including Solomon's stables)
• Valley of Armegeddon (where it will all end)
• Nazarath (a drive by of Jesus' boyhood home)
• Cana (another drive by of the place of Jesus' first miracle)
• Tiberias (hotel by the Sea of Galilee)

Thursday

• Mount of the beatitudes (sermon on the mount; feeding of the 5000)
• Peter's Primacy (where Peter was restored after the resurrection)
• Lunch on the Golan side of the Sea
• Boat ride to Capernaum
• Capernaum (synagogue and other ruins)

More later. I'm hitting the sack!

Caeserea

Wednesday, November 7

Caeserea is very significant for those of us that are gentiles. This is where the gospel really took off with the gentiles and it started with Cornelius and Peter. The story is in Acts 10, but basically Cornelius was a God fearing gentile who had a vision that he should send for Peter. Peter also had a vision (when he was hungary) about a sheet with all kinds of animals contained in it and Peter was told to kill and eat. This prepared Peter to reach out to the gentiles who were considered unclean and it started with Cornelius.

Cornelius was a seeker and if a person seeks God, God will show Himself to him. We can certainly apply this principle to ourselves as well.

Peter told Cornelius, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all...."

Check out the pictures on the pictures link. Besides the Roman theater, we saw the ruins of Herod the Great's palace home as well as a Ben Hur style arena for chariot races as well as other sporting events. Later, the arena was used to persecute Christians and the floor was replace with sand to soak up the blood of those slain there.

Tel Aviv / Joppa

From our hotel room in Tel Aviv, we have a fantastic look at the Mediterranean Sea. About a mile south of the here is the ancient site of Joppa, where Jonah set out in the wrong direction from Ninevah. See any big fish out there?