Duration: 10 Days
Dates: August 3, 2021 to August 12, 2021
Departure City: Charlotte, North Carolina

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1:  Tuesday, August 3 - Depart for Holy Land

Day 2:  Wednesday, August 4 - Arrive in Tel Aviv – Jaffa – Tel Aviv
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:  Thursday, August 5 - Caesarea Maritima – Mount Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee
After breakfast we travel to Caesarea Maritima, 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 converts 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 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 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. 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:  Friday, August, 6 - Caesarea Philippi - Capernaum – Primacy of St. Peter -Boat ride – Mount of Beatitudes - Magdala
After breakfast, we will drive to Caesarea Philippi, where we will visit the ruins of the pagan altars and consider the confession of Peter in Matthew 16 (“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We will drive further north to the border with Syria where we will consider the dramatic conversion and life-transformation of Saul of Tarsus: The Apostle Paul. We will then visit Capernaum, 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.” and the Church of the Primacy of Peter, situated on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where after His resurrection Jesus met with his disciples and told Peter “feed my lambs; feed my sheep”. We end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum, containing a recently-discovered 2000-year old fishing boat. We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat. We end our day with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. We return to our hotel. we will also visit Magdala (the hometown of Mary Magdalene) with its 1st century synagogue. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, D)

Day 5:  Saturday, August 7 - Ein Harod - Beth Shean – Nablus - Samaria – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, then we will continue our way to Ein Harod, this place was founded by the pioneers of Third Aliyah and is the place where Gideon chose his men. We leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean, 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 make our way then to Shechem in Nablus also to visit the Samaria which is a name for the mountainous, central region of the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, based on the borders of the biblical Northern Kingdom of Israel. Dinner and overnight. (B, D)

Day 6:  Sunday, August 8 - Masada – Ein Gedi – Jericho – Bet Arabah - Qumran -Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (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. We will then continue traveling 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 with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. we visit Qumran, 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:  Monday, August 9 - Mt. Of Olives – Gethsemane - Bethlehem – Shepherds Fields
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 walk down the Palm Sunday Procession road to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. Each of us will be given some personal time in a private section of the Garden. we then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds fields 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.

Day 8:  Tuesday, August 10 - City of David – Caiaphas house – Israel Museum – Bethany – Valley of Elah
After breakfast, we will visit the City of David, the original location of the city of Jerusalem and explore the origins of the city, here you will have the option to walk in water through Hezekiah’s Tunnel on to the Pool of Siloam (flashlights and water shoes needed). We will visit the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas. We travel to the Israel Museum 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 archaeological section where many artifacts are displayed, we will play special attention to those items that relate to Bible history. Drive to visit Bethany the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. We will then drive to the Valley of Elah where David defeated Goliath. Dinner and Overnight in Jerusalem. (B,D)

Day 9:  Wednesday, August 11 - Temple Mt. – Western wall tunnels – St. Anne and pool of Bethesda – Davidson Center – Holy Sepulcher - Temple Institute - Garden tomb
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day entering the Old City 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 visit the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. we will then visit the Church of St. Anne’s, 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 then visit the Southern Steps, the main entrance to the Temple and the Teaching steps where Rabbis such Gamaliel used to teach. We will then walk the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering), the actual path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress to the crucifixion site. We will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jesus’ tomb. We end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb. Back to our hotel for our dinner and overnight (B, D)

Day 10:  Thursday, August 12 - Flight back home with unforgettable memories