Caesarea Philippi

 

Me & Mike standing in front of the "Gates of Hades"

The Gates of Hades

 

Caesarea Philippi is an archaeological site in the Golan Heights.  It was an ancient city located at the base of Mt. Hermon.  In 20 BC the area was annexed to the Kingdom of Herod the Great.  It was named Caesarea by Phillip II in honor of Caesar Augustus, but not to confuse it with Caesarea by the sea (Maritime) he added Philippi after himself, thus it became Caesarea Philippi. 

A temple was built honoring the many Greek gods against a large cliff referred to as the "Rock of Gods" in reference to its many shrines built in the side.  A great spring poured out of the mouth of the cave, called the Gates of Hades.  During the Hellenistic period it was the center of pagan activity and the worship of many gods, especially Pan (the half man, half goat, god of fertility)  Sacrifices were thrown into the deep chasm of water.  If the springs below flowed with blood the god had rejected the sacrifice, if the water ran clear, he had accepted it and all would be well.

 

Artist rendition of how the temple may have appeared.

The grotto's where statues of pagan gods were placed.

 

Sam leading our group in study and devotions.  There were 20 of us altogether.

 



Mark 8:27 

And Jesus went forth, and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, "Who do men say that I am?" 

 

 

I wondered to myself, why would Jesus take them to Caesarea Philippi?  This city was reviled by the orthodox rabbis, and it was taught that no good Jew would ever visit there.  A city of pagans, sin city, the Las Vegas of ancient days, and Jesus takes them there of all places.  Reading further in Mark...

 

Mark 8:34-35

And he called out to the multitude with his disciples, and said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it."

 

He called out (the Greek meaning, literally shouting at the top of his voice) to the crowd and His disciples.  And in Matthew's version...

 

Matthew 16:17-18

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

 

I wonder if they were standing at the "Gates of Hades" when He spoke those words.  I can picture Him there, right where Mike and I stood,  with a crowd of sinners and adulterers, and pagan worshippers.  Shouting to be heard, the disciples feeling a little foolish to be standing there with him.

Wondering if they would be laughed or stoned out of town.  I believe Jesus had a very significant reason to take them to this city filled with lust and godlessness.  He was telling the disciples this is where I want you to go forth to build my church.  My love is for everyone.  I have come to save the lost and the forsaken.  We don't need to preach to the ones we know, those who already know and seek God.  We need to reach out our arms to the undesirables of the world.  Like Jesus and the disciples did 2,000 years ago, it is our responsibility as believers to spread the good news, build the church of Jesus, and bring others to know, love, serve, and share God, Yahweh, the one and only true God of all creation.

 

 

Actual stones, floors  & pillars of the ancient temple

 

 

 





The Truth

Why does the American government want Israel to stop the attacks?  Is it just "peace" that our officials seek or is there an underlying cause?  I don't know the facts so I can only hypothesize.

Palestine is not a country how can they be freed?

What I do know and can report for sure is the following: As a tourist in Israel I know for a FACT that I saw hatred amongst the Arab muslims that are allowed by the Israeli Jews to continue to live peacefully in Israel.  I saw for a FACT the hatred by the muslims against Christians.  I heard the FACTS every day about 3 young Jewish men who were kidnapped, yet American media reported nothing until weeks later after they were discovered dead in a shallow grave.  I heard the FACTS daily about missles being launched from the Gaza strip into Israeli territory.  Did anyone hear those reports back in the states?  No.  I have to wonder why?  Does it have anything to do with our continued relationships with the Arab nations and our guzzling desire for oil?  Maybe.  Like I said before, I don't have the answers, but I do have a lot of questions and so should the people of the U.S.A.  Just remember, there is MORE to the story than our Country's leaders want you to know and they ARE controlling what you see and hear in the media. 

Another big lie used by the Arab nations as propaganda is that of a Palestinian nation.  There has NEVER been a nation known as Palestine, NOR has there ever been a Palestinian state governed by Arab Palestinians.  This lie has been perpetuated by the media.  Palestine is a geographical location and has been inhabited by many peoples, but it has never been a state or nation governed by anyone.  Period!  I dare you to prove otherwise.  I could go into a lot more details but that would take a lot of space.  If you want to learn more go to:      http://www.newswithviews.com/israel/israel14.htm

A sign we saw in the city of Tiberias

 

 

 



 

Masada Fortress

The Masada Fortress was conquered by Herod the Great on top of an isolated rock plateau.  It was incredible to see the ruins and imagine the difficulty in building such a structure in the middle of the dessert.  Standing on top you can easily see why Herod choose to live here.  Besides the beautiful view of the Dead Sea, and the protection that the plateau provided from enemies, it would have been quite pleasant because of the strong breeze that sweeps up the sides of the mountain. 

Standing on top of the Masada Fortress looking out over the valley with the Dead Sea in the background.

Mike & I at the foot of Masada



Historians believe these might have been large rooms used for

storing food, supplies, & weapons

 

 

 



Smaller rooms would be dwelling places for the citizens

Below is an artist's drawing of the inside of the temple





 

Inside the actual temple. To the right of the umbrella is a little room where scribes take turns writing the Torah by hand.  They write from the front and back of the scroll and must end exactly in the middle with no mistakes!  If a mistake is found they must destroy the scroll and start over.



A Jewish scribe copying the Torah by hand as it was done 2,000 years ago. 

 

 

The following is information from Wikipedia

 



Almost all historical information about Masada comes from the 1st-century Jewish Roman historian Josephus. The site was first fortified by Alexander Jannaeus in the first century BCE.^[3] Herod the Great captured it in the power-struggle that followed the death of his father Antipater.^[3] It survived the siege of the last Hasmonean king Antigonus II Mattathias, who ruled with Parthian support.^[3] In 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels, the Sicarii, overcame the Roman garrison of Masada with the aid of a ruse.^[3] After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, additional members of the Sicarii fled Jerusalem and settled on the mountaintop.^[3]
In 73 CE, the Roman governor of Iudaea Lucius Flavius Silva headed the Roman legion X Fretensis and laid siege to Masada.^[3] The Roman legion surrounded Masada, and built a circumvallation wall and then a siege ramp against the western face of the plateau.^[3]
According to Dan Gill,^[4] geological investigations in the early 1990s confirmed earlier observations that the 375-foot (114 m) high assault ramp consisted mostly of a natural spur of bedrock. The ramp was complete in the spring of 73, after probably two to three months of siege, allowing the Romans to finally breach the wall of the fortress with a battering ram on April 16.^[5] Romans took the X Legion and a number of auxiliary units and Jewish prisoners of war, totaling some 15,000 troops in order to crush Jewish resistance at Masada. A giant siege tower with a battering ram was constructed and moved laboriously up the completed ramp. Originally, Jewish rebels on top of Masada threw stones at those building and constructing the ramp. When this plan was realized, the Romans put captured Jewish prisoners from previously conquered towns to work the ramp. The Jewish people on top of Masada stopped killing those who built the ramp, choosing not to kill their fellow Jews, even though they understood this might result in the Romans penetrating the fortress.^{[citation needed]} The walls of the fortress were breached in 73 CE.^[6] According to Josephus, when Roman troops entered the fortress, they discovered that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed mass suicide or killed each other. Josephus wrote of two stirring speeches that the Sicari leader had made to convince his fellows to kill themselves.^[3] Only two women and five children were found alive.^[3] Josephus presumably based his narration upon the field commentaries of the Roman commanders that were accessible to him.^[7][8]


For a good read check out The Dove Keepers  by Alice Hoffman

 

It is a fiction tale of 4 women who lived on Masada during the 3-4 years the Romans were laying siege to the fortress and their story of survival.  Although it is fiction the historical connections were remarkably well kept.