Joel Thornton

A common sense conservative.

Megiddo, Israel, Guardian of the Valley of Armageddon

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            Tel Megiddo stands over the Valley of Armageddon in northern Israel. This Tel, meaning hill, is not a naturally occurring hill, but rather was made through the building of cities across 28 civilizations with the last city dating back to before the time of Jesus. What that means is that looking through Tel Megiddo we get a snapshot of what life was like in 28 different cultures from Antiquity. What an amazing opportunity to better understand how folks lived thousands of years ago!

            Tel Megiddo is amazing because it was one of the fortified cities that was built by King Solomon to protect the unified kingdom of Israel that he had inherited from his father, King David. When walking along the top of the Tel you can also see the floor of part of the Palace of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. You can also walk over the area where King Ahab’s horses were kept. They were on the Tel for military purposes, the King was never far from his calvary.

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Safety in Israel

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 Obviously, until we are passed COVID-19 nobody is going to Israel. So, this information is for when those days are behind us, which they soon will be.

As we promote our Israel trips, I have a lot of people rightly concerned about their safety if they travel to Israel with us. I have been in Israel the last three years and I can start by telling you that tourists are extremely safe in Israel.

The first thing to remember is that the bombs exploding on buses and in restaurants in Israel were all before the walls were built, walls that are doing a remarkable job of keeping terrorist from the Palestinian Controlled Territories out of Israel. The bombings have stopped.

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Shilo, Alone with God

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Shilo is a place that all Christians are familiar with, even though you might not realize the significance of the area. We grew up hearing about it. We know that it was important to Israel, but we might not know why. We even sang hymns about it.

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The City of David, Jerusalem, Israel

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Just outside the gates of today’s Jerusalem lies the ruins of King David’s Palace and the city of Jerusalem that he ruled over. It is an amazing sight to behold. Enter through the gates directly off of Ma’alot Ir David Street. The gate is easy to identify because it has a harp on the wall, since King David was a harp player of great renown.

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The Entrance to the City of David

Once you enter into the City of David you are in an interior courtyard that leads to stairs on the left which will take you up to an overview of the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley. You will have an amazing view of the ancient Jewish Cemetery that sits on the Mount of Olives, just above the Garden of Gethsemane.

From there, go back down to the first floor platform and enjoy the gift shop for the City of David for a few minutes before going underneath the platform to view the foundations and the walls of the Palace of David. This sight is amazing because of what it is. It is also amazing because it was literally dug out from underneath the gift shop that sits just above it. The building was in place when an archaeologist realized there might be something significant underneath it. The archaeologist got permission to dig and man did they find something significant—The Palace of David and the walls of the that Palace!

The Walls of the Palace of David

Spend some time with the Palace. It is almost beyond words to think about standing just over the place where King David spent his private time. After your reflections, walk down the stairs to see the exterior walls of the Palace. These walls are remarkably intact and include several rooms that are believed to either be office of Palace staff or homes for Palace workers. Either way they come complete with a toilet that was used by the inhabitants. Scientists were even able to analyze the remains left at the toilet and tell us something of what the diet of these ancient Israelis was like.

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Matthew Finstein teaching at the Walls of the Palace of David

There are bleachers here for you to sit and look over the walls. Take a few minutes to reflect on these walls from the comfort of the bleachers. Do not, however, take too long because this tour is just getting started. From here you will walk uphill and downhill to the entrance of Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This tunnel was built under the direction of Jewish King Hezekiah for the purpose of bringing water into the city, from underground sources, to prepare for a siege as the Assyrians were known to be headed to Jerusalem to destroy it.

This tunnel was started at two different ends, the beginning at the source of the water and at the end where the water was being diverted to. The two crews worked hard and at the last minute, when they were to join the two tunnels into one tunnel it was discovered that they were perfectly aligned. This is made more spectacular considering that it was built about 2800 years ago!

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Heading into King Hezekiah’s Tunnel

There are two options once you are underground. The Canaanite Tunnel also goes through this area. In this tunnel you can walk on dry ground through cramped tunnels to end up at the same basic location as the other tunnel. The other tunnel is the more adventurous of the two. It is Hezekiah’s Tunnel and is thus filled with water that comes up about to your mid thigh. This tunnel is not as cramped, but it does require you to get fairly wet.

Both tunnels ultimately end up at the famous Pool of Siloam where Jesus instructed the blind man to go wash out his eyes. The blind man was healed, thus a famous pool. It is no longer filled with water and is, in fact, barely excavated due to land disputes for land that literally sits over the pool. The discovery of the Pool was made in 2005.

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Pastor Doug and Mike at the Pool of Siloam

This entire trip will take you about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how much time you spend in contemplation along the way. Relax. Slow down. Enjoy the journey!

If you are thinking about traveling and would like some more information, contact me at [email protected]. You can also ask to sign up for our travel newsletter (we are beginning it soon) and to keep up with tours that we are currently planning. We can help you make memories to last a lifetime!

CAESAREA MARITIMA, AN AMAZING PLACE

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This city was built by Herod the Great right smack dab on the Mediterranean Sea. It is remarkably well preserved and quite a joy to walk through and explore. There was a Prometory Palace that sat right on the edge of the water. You can still walk through the remains of the Palace and look out over the nearly Olympic sized, fresh water pool that sits in the Mediterranean today, yet you can still see the remains of the pool.

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Herod’s Pool on the Mediterranean Sea

There remain the seats from the Hippodrome, where gladiatorial contests occurred as well as chariot races, and the Ancient Theater that seated 3,500 people that still stand. In fact, you can walk through the Theater and sit in the seats looking out toward the Mediterranean Sea. You can sit in the Hippodrome and imagine what it must be like to be a Roman citizen, living in Israel, watching the games that marked the empire for centuries. While you are sitting, look up and ahead to see the Mediterranean shining in the sun.

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Sitting at the Hippodrome

You will want to take your time in Caesarea because there is a lot to see and a lot of history here. Just up the coast are the Aqueducts that supplied water from Mount Carmel to this city, which at one time was home to 120,000 souls.

The ancient harbor was built using Roman concrete that would harden under water and was said to have been able to hold more than 300 ships at one time. All of this can be seen during a leisurely stroll from the Theater, to the Palace, to the Hippodrome, to the Harbor. Once you have finished at the Harbor, there is a great ice cream shop waiting for you. Sit down and enjoy a couple of scoops of great ice cream while you listen to the surf pounding on the shores of Israel.

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The Harbor at Caesarea

As you walk through the sight here is some history to contemplate. This city was dedicated to Augustus Caesar as Herod the Great had backed the wrong horse in the battle to rule Rome and was looking for Augustus’ favor to continue in power. That is where the name came from. Also, Pontius Pilate used this as his summer palace during the time when Jesus was in ministry in Israel. By that time, Herod the Great was dead. Herod Agrippa, the son of Herod the Great would die during a production at the Theater in a very dramatic style.

When Peter was called from Jaffa to pray for the Centurion’s family, it was Caesarea where he came. There the Centurion’s family was converted to Christianity and baptized, thus becoming the first gentiles to be baptized into the Christian faith.

When Paul first escaped Jerusalem, after his conversion to Christianity, he was brought to Caesarea. Later he was in Caesarea under trial before the Governor Felix and King Agrippa, the son of Herod the Great. The trial ended with the Apostle Paul appealing to Rome and he left Israel through the Harbor in Caesarea to go to Rome from which he would never return.

There is some proof that the Nicene Creed may have originated in Caesarea.

That is just a brief overview of the history that surrounds Caesarea Maritima. It is a rich city that will provide a great moment in any trip to the Holy Land. It is my favorite place in all of Israel. I know you will enjoy it as well.

If you are thinking about traveling and would like some more information, contact me at [email protected]. You can also ask to sign up for our travel newsletter (we are beginning it soon) and to keep up with tours that we are currently planning. We can help you make memories to last a lifetime!