06/16/10 Last Day in Israel....

Today was the last day of our trip. Our awesome bus driver, Avi, was ready to get on the road.

We stopped at Nazareth and visited a place that reconstructs and reenacts village life in the time of Jesus. We got to see how farm, domestic, and craft work was performed two thousand years ago.

Shepherds

The way the scrolls were read in the synagogue.

Making yarn and weaving.

The carpenter's shop

Next we went to Megiddo. On this mountain there have been at least 27 different settlements here and as we walked around everyone found many pieces of pottery, most dating back to the Roman times.

From the top of Mt. Megiddo, is this valley which is identified in Revelation 16:16 as the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil at the end of time, known as Armageddon.

We also toured more water tunnels of the Megiddo Springs.


Then on to Mt. Carmel. Here was the place where Elijah and the prophets of Baal had their confrontation. We read the whole story found in I Kings 18:16-45.

"When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!" I Kings 18:39

View from top of Mt. Carmel

Our final stop was Caesarea, located on the Mediterranean Sea. It is another place where King Herod the Great built a palace, as well as a Roman type theater and a hippodrome for horse races and other events.

Caesarea is mentioned several times in Acts. We read the account of Paul and King Agrippa in Acts 25: 13-27.

The water was so beautiful here. It was the first time to see the Mediterranean Sea and we wished we could have stayed longer than just a few minutes!!

After a farewell dinner in Tel Aviv, we arrived at the airport to catch a 11:30 p.m. flight home. It was a wonderful trip. Everything was perfectly planned and we did so many interesting things. Our guide was awesome, our group was great, and I feel like it was a once in lifetime trip, to really get to see the Bible come to life. I loved every minute of it!!