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Caesarea, Mount Carmel, and a Great Question for You

Day 1: Insight for Living Ministries Israel Tour

Picture of Admin Admin : Mar 7, 2016 9:01:46 PM

Today, the tour began—with 500 of our closest friends! And what a great day it was. We began our day at Caesarea—the primary port used in the time of Jesus and the Apostles.

Caesarea—A Place for Entertainment, Evangelism, and Education

(Photo: The theater in Caesarea)

Caesarea by the Sea

In the first century, Caesarea enjoyed a constant flow of people with money to burn (sort of like tourists today, I guess). The bustling seaport featured all the usual touches of Roman culture—including a vast entertainment industry for the masses that frequented the city.

We sat in the ancient, massive theater built for 3500 spectators and overlooked the ocean.

Chuck Swindoll spoke to us here about the Apostle Paul’s trials—and his courage before Herod Agrippa II.
Reg Grant portrayed King Herod Agrippa I. According to the historian Josephus, Agrippa stood to address the throng that gathered there and that hailed him as a god, and the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God (see Acts 12:20-23 and Josephus’ Antiquities 19.8.2). All of us on the tour, however, left the theater alive. Thankfully.

(Dr. Reg Grant as Herod Agrippa I)

Mount Carmel

Our next stop found us atop Mount Carmel, beholding a stunning view of the surrounding area. When I stood on the balcony of the monastery of Muhraqa, a glance below the balcony revealed the traditional area from which Muhraqa gets its name—“the place of burning.”

(The Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel)

The slope of trees and rocks gave stage to the Prophet Elijah’s showdown against the prophets of Baal, as recorded in 1 Kings 18. In a dazzling display of authority and vindication, fire fell from heaven and licked up Elijah’s sacrifice—as well as the altar and its surrounding trenches of water! Not surprisingly, the people then turned to God.

The question Elijah asked here still moves me: