Duration: 10 Days
Dates: December 6, 2023 to December 15, 2023
Departure City: Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1, Wednesday, December 06: Depart to TEL AVIV

Day 2, Thursday, December 07: Arrival Tel Aviv – Transfer to Hotel in Herzliya
Arrive in Tel Aviv and board a new, climate-controlled motor coach where our guide will greet us and give us an orientation of the land as we travel towards Jaffa. There we will consider the vision of Peter (Acts 10) and start following the sequence of events that lead to the opening of the gates of the early church to Gentiles. As we look at the very place where Jonah ran from the Lord, we will also reflect on our own walk with God. Check into our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner included. (D)

Day 3, Friday, December 08: Caesarea Maritima – Mount Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee
After a buffet breakfast, we depart the hotel on route to Caesarea Maritima (included), where we will visit the magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. Here we will elaborate on the story of the baptism of Cornelius, the first gentile convert into Christianity (Acts 10), and on the travels of Paul — those events that led Caesarea Maritima to become the springboard of Christianity to the West. We will then continue to Mount Carmel (included) and consider  the  contest  between  the  Prophet  Elijah  and  the  false prophets of Baal (I Kings 18), discussing the reasons why the Prophet chose that place for the contest, and the lessons we learn from the story. We then travel to Megiddo (included), and explore the Tel that goes back in history to 4000 BC, looking at ruins from the times  of  King  Solomon  and  King  Ahab.  Overlooking  the Armageddon Valley, we will also discuss the reasons why we believe this will be the setting for the final battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16. After a lunch break we travel to Nazareth where we will climb the Mount of Precipice, the brow of the hill on which the city was built (Luke 4).There we will reflect on the rejection of Jesus by his family and friends in Nazareth. In addition to discussing Jesus’ boyhood we will also consider the life and times of Deborah (Judges 4). We check into our hotel on the Sea of Galilee for the next two nights and enjoy another dinner together. (B/D)

Day 4, Saturday, December 09: Mt. of Beatitudes – Capernaum – Primacy of Peter – Magdala – Boat ride – Yardenit Baptismal Site
After a buffet breakfast, we will start on the Mount of Beatitudes and  discuss  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.   We  will  then  visit Capernaum (included), Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother in law, in addition to other ruins of the village. We will stand in the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus was confronted by the demoniac. We will then visit the Primacy of Peter, the location where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after the Resurrection. We will then visit Magdala (included), the hometown of Mary Magdalene with its synagogue and other town remains. We will end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum (included), containing a recently discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat. We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee (included) on a replica of that boat. We conclude our day with a visit to the Yardenit Baptismal site where you can get baptized in the Jordan River. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B/D)

Day 5, Sunday, December 10: Beth Shean – Jericho – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean (included), the capital of the Decapolis.  There  we  will  see  the  ruins  of  the Roman and Byzantine cities. We will also discuss the demise of King Saul and his sons, whose bodies were hanged on the walls of Beth Shean. We will then continue traveling south to the actual location where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. Jericho will be our next stop, where we will visit the Tel of Jericho (included) with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. We will then travel to Jerusalem to enter the Holy City and have an orientation from Mount Scopus. Dinner & overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 6, Monday, December 11: Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Jerusalem
After  a  buffet  breakfast,  we  begin  our  day  visiting Masada (entrance and cable car included), the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress  and see  the  ruins  that  are  considered  a  World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We then continue to Ein Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David. After a self-hosted lunch, we visit Qumran (included), the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls where found by a Bedouin boy back in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings that the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls lived. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 7, Tuesday, December 12: Mount of Olives – Southern Wall excavations – Bethlehem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with an orientation over the holy city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations  within  the  Old  City,  connecting  them with  Biblical stories  and  prophecies  about  the  return  of Jesus.  We  will  then visit the Southern Wall excavations (included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We will then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. After a self -hosted lunch we then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds’ Field, where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord. These fields are also the setting of the Book of Ruth. We will then travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where Our Lord was born. Time will then be given to shop for olive wood and other items. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B/D)

Day 8, Wednesday, December 13: Western Wall – Temple Mt. – St. Anne’s Church and Pools of Bethesda – Israel Museum
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day entering the Old City and a visit to the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. We will ascend the Temple Mount, discussing its connection to both the Old and New Testaments. We will also discuss why it is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Leaving the Temple Mount, we will visit the Church of St. Anne’s (included), a perfectly intact Crusader church. It is a wonderful place to gather and sing a song (sometimes with fellow Christians from all over the world). There, we will also visit the Pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place (John 5). We will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jesus’ tomb. After a self-hosted lunch in the Old City, we travel to the Israel Museum (included) where we will visit the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scaled model of the city from the year 66 AD. We will also visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit, in addition to the archeological section where many artifacts are displayed we will play special attention to those items that relate to Bible history. We then return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B/D)

Day 9, Thursday, December 14: Upper Room – Gethsemane – Caiaphas house – Antonia Fortress – Garden tomb
After a buffet breakfast, we will visit the Upper Room where Jesus had His Last Supper. Then we will proceed to Garden of Gethsemane. Afterwards we will visit the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (included) where Jesus was taken after being arrested at the Garden of Gethsemane. We will then walk the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering), the actual path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress (included) to the crucifixion site. We end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb (included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion.

Day 10, Friday, December 15, 2023: Departure
Buffet breakfast. Check-out of the hotel. Drive to the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport and board your homebound flight. (B)