Sian's 12 Days in Israel: Day 1- Caesarea, Mt Carmel & Nazareth

Mt Carmel/Valley of Armageddon.

What a day. We are staying 3 nights in a great hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Had a big day of seeing the sites and tomorrow will be another awesome day visiting Capernaum, where Jesus moved with his family after being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth and where He also performed most of His Galilean miracles.

After Capernaum, we will visit the Beatitudes known as “The Cove of the Parables.” This cove with its unique acoustics is where Jesus gave His teaching of the parable of the Sower, where Jesus sites four kinds of soil to illustrate the four heart conditions that characterized reception of His teaching.

Today we started with Caesarea; a city built around 20 BC by Herod the Great. I was amazed to learn that the city we were walking was only uncovered in 1987. There are so many archeological findings that are yet to be discovered, however, Pastor Bob said that every finding that is discovered in Israel has only confirmed our faith and he is excited for future findings because he is confident that every other discovery will continued to prove the scriptures.

Next stop, Mt Carmel, symbolized for its beauty, was just incredible; so peaceful and so full of God’s power and glory. Bob did a Bible study at the very site of where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, the god of fertility and provision and known, at the time, as the god of this world. Mt Carmel is where God proved His power before all the prophets of Baal. (See Kings 18)

Wow, I knew coming to Israel would be incredible but to have Bob actually read from the scriptures at the location they occurred, (see Flip Movie) will be forever etched in my heart.

One other really cool thing Bob told us was that the spot we were sitting at Mt Carmel was where Mike Macintosh, the founder of the Horizon Church, got a vision for what the name of our church would be…Horizon

Next we were onto the Valley of Armageddon, the place where all the greatest battles took place and are prophesized in both the Old Testament and New (Revelation 16) that all the Kings will be gathered in the end in the place called Armageddon. There was a rooftop viewing area that we could look over the entire valley. On a distant mountaintop we could see the town of Nazareth, our next stop, where Jesus grew up and lived before He began His ministry.

We were warned by our tour guide, an awesome Jewish man named David, that Nazareth was going to be disappointing because the city is nothing like when Jesus lived. It was the largest city/town we have seen so far and a lot of trash littered the touring site. The view was great to see but yes disappointing because it would have been really cool to see the house or area where Jesus actually lived. Israel seems so untouched and raw, however, compared to most historic sites we would see in the US, so Nazareth was just good to see and take in.

Well that it for tonight. I need to get some sleep, it’s early to bed and early to rise around here…Greggy my love it’s right up your ally! Annie and Emma, I miss you and I know you are praying for me.

Thanks for reading my Blog; I’m actually loving doing this because it’s just a regurgitation of what I am soaking in. Thanks for reading and I promise to write tomorrow. If you heard anything about the event in Jerusalem Bob said that it was far from where we will be and it was a local bus in a local area. The good thing is that there is heightened alert because of that so we are confident that God is covering us with His divine protection.

Blessings, Sian