Day 1: January 23, 2017 Leave After much prayer and preparation, we will depart arrive at Dulles airport at least three hours early for our international check-in and departure for Tel Aviv.
Day 2: January 24, 2017 Arrive in 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.
Day 3: January 25, 2017 - CAESAREA MARITIMA, MOUNT CARMEL, MEGIDDO, NAZARETH, SEA OF GALILEE After a buffet breakfast, we depart the hotel on route 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 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 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. 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 three nights and enjoy another dinner together.
Day 4: January 26, 2017 - PEACE VISTA LOOKOUT, BETHSAIDA, MOUNT OF BEATITUDES, CAPERNEUM, ANCIENT BOAT, BOAT RIDE, SEA OF GALILEE You will be encouraged each morning to rise for a private, early morning walk and a time of prayer on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Most likely you will get to see modern fishermen using nets the way Jesus and His disciples did. Others may want to bring a special paper tribute to a loved one and bury it in the sands of the Sea of Galilee. After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a breathtaking view of the Sea of Galilee from the Peace Vista lookout, where we will be able to see the entire lake. From this view we will consider why Jesus chose to begin delivering His message from there. We then travel to Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, This is one of three cities that make up the Gospel Triangle and the location where Jesus spent two of His three years of public ministry. We then proceed to the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount, finishing the theme that was started earlier that day. During our lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, only eaten by people in Jesus’ day. 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. We end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum, containing an recently-discovered 2000-year old fishing boat. We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat. We return to our hotel. Dinner included
Day 5: January 27, 2017 - BET SHEAN, BAPTISMAL SITE, JERICHO, OLD ROMAN ROAD, JERUSALEM After a buffet breakfast, 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 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 with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. After lunch, we travel to the Old Roman Road, where we will consider the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. From there we will go up to Jerusalem, and have a Genesis Welcome to the Holy City. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 6: January 28, 2017 - MOUNT OF OLIVES, SOUTHERN WALL, St. ANNE’S (POOLS OF BETHESDA), WESTERN WALL, BETHLEHEM, JERUSALEM 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. We will then visit the Southern Wall excavations 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. 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). lunch 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 Rh. 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 7: January 29, 2017 - MASADA, EN GEDI, QUMRAN, DEAD SEA, JERUSALEM After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada, the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the stand- off 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 En 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 lunch, we visit Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were 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. We will end the day with some time to float in the Dead Sea. Jerusalem. Dinner included.
Day 8: January 30, 2017 - TEMPLE MOUNT, UPPER ROOM, GARDEN OF GETHSEMANI, HOUSE OF CAIAPHAS, JUDGMENT HALL, VIA DOLOROZA, CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE, GARDEN TOMB, JERUSALEM After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a 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, We will then continue to the Upper Room. We will then spend some time at the Garden of Gethsemane (time will be given at the private section of the garden). We will then walk through the Kidron Valley past the Pool of Siloam. We will then continue to the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas. We will then visit the judgement hall (Ecce Homo). After lunch, we end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb, where we will worship together and celebrate communion. We return to our hotel for our last Dinner provided.
Day 9: January 31, 2017 Travel to the airport. Return home with unforgettable memories, amazing new friends and a life-changing understanding of the Bible. The Holy Land
A PERSONAL JOURNEY INTO THE LAND OF THE BIBLE: THE FIFTH GOSPEL
A 9 Day Familiarization Trip to the Land of Jesus Hosted by Pastor David Griesemer January 23-31, 2017
Trip Cost: $1885.00 Spouse Trip Cost: $2185.00 Biblical Journeys / The Holy Land
P.O. Box 359, Palmyra, Pa 17078 phone: 717-473-0105 www.biblical-journeys.com [email protected] Single Supplement $200.00 A NOTE FROM THE TRIP LEADER: The Biblical Pastor David Griesemer For More Information, Contact Journeys’ Philosophy About Biblical Greetings Fellow Traveler! Pastor David Griesemer The New Testament contains the first four Journeys Gospels that you are probably already famil- You’ve heard the names before: the Sea of Galilee, 4420 73 rd Ave, Landover Hills, MD 20784 Jerusalem, Nazareth, and the Mount of Olives, but iar with: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We Contact me at [email protected] these places were just words from the pages of Biblical Journeys call this trip The Fifth Gospel because the exists to provide Jesus’ life. I had this frustration too. For years of Holy Land itself is a surviving witness to the my Christian life, the places and stories of Jesus’ life quality tours of events described by the authors of both the seemed like a patchwork quilt. I had no idea how historical religious Old and New Testaments of the Bible. This they all fit together. Then I went to Israel . . . and it sites to allow any- philosophy drives our mission to deliver all changed. I want to help make that same connec- one an experience a revealing scripture-based tour of these tion for you. I invite you to join Sandy and me for a that will let them ancient places. By combining a Pastor’s life-changing journey to Israel! You will experience the Bible like you’ve never have before. Just as you grow and learn experience and focused knowledge of A Wholly Unique Opportunity would see a puzzle all put together, so you will grasp about church his- ancient near-eastern life, with a top quality tory, the Bible and The Holy Land the individual sites in light of the whole land. Watch and knowledgeable tour guide, we are able the sun set over the Sea of Galilee—just as Jesus saw the God of the to offer a unique and powerful once-in-a-life- Many consider it the trip of a lifetime. Join as it. Get the feel of the land as you experience the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ. time experience to understand the Bible as we walk in the lands where Jesus lived and City of Jerusalem with your feet. Hear the Word of We have tours you watch it come to life in ways imagination walked. God in the Capernaum Synagogue—the very place going to multiple alone cannot achieve. where Jesus preached. Enjoy the fragrances in every locations that have place—from the aromatic Jerusalem markets to the had impact on salty seaside port of Joppa. Experience the fellowship Biblical and church of other Christians as you travel the lands of the Bible history to together. Taste the delicious meals of Israeli culture! It is as if you have been reading or preaching the Bible provide learning for years or decades in “black & white” but after this opportunities for trip you will be reading or preaching in “color” as the all travellers. pages come alive as you will have the full sense of the Holy Land, the people, the culture, and history! Join us before this offer is gone! Pastor David Griesemer
This Trip Includes Wide bodied transatlantic jets Superior top quality hotels throughout Breakfast and Dinner Daily Comprehensive sightseeing as per itinerary Transportation via deluxe air-conditioned motor coaches Complimentary water and soft drinks on the bus While travelling to Services of English speaking, licensed guides the Holy Land with Entrances fees included Pastor David you will Masada visit including round-trip cable car to top see ancient structures Boat ride on Sea of Galilee like this Aqueduct built Porterage of baggage by Herod the Great to bring fresh water Personal tipping covered in the price of the trip 6 miles to the city of Visas, taxes and local fees included Caesarea Maritima, Single Supplement: $200.00 one of the first planned cities in history.