LEARNING DAILY

 

Acts 8:40, But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.

 

I am going to be as open with you as I can about what I experienced on the trip to Israel. It is important because there were eye opening experiences because I had preconceived thoughts about what I was going to see. For instance, not everything we were to see was exactly as it was in the day Jesus walked and the Apostles walked and preached. There have been many years pass since that time; many wars have occurred such as the crusades. The result was the destruction of many of the buildings and cities we saw. We saw many ruins where we had to use our “sanctified imagination” as Pastor Ed Newton would say. The other very important aspect to our journey was the term used by our guide – “Tradition” states (with further thought). Keep that in mind as we share some of the thoughts about the trip.

 

There will not be a day by day, moment by moment account of what we did. I want to tell you about one of the places where “Philip preached and where the Roman governor Felix heard the case against Paul. Our first stop was Caesarea Maritima or “Caesarea by the Sea”. Caesarea was given to King Herod as a gift by Augustus Caesar. Herod built a massive port there with an entertainment facility, such as a theatre and hippodrome, bathhouses, aqueducts and temples. In the Apostolic Age, Caesarea was an important Christian center. Philip was the first to preach the Gospel here. Peter became the first Jewish non-Christian convert and the Roman governor Felix heard the case against the Apostle Paul” (from the tour book we were given).

 

We sat in the Roman theatre to hear information about the city and what had taken place there. As I sat looking out at the Mediterranean Sea, I thought about the plays that had taken place here and the entertainment Christians had provided the Romans as gladiators, bears, and other animals killed them. We walked around the ruins and listened to stories of where Paul walked and was kept as he was here. We saw the hippodrome where again Christians provided entertainment for the Romans and saw where the Chariot races were held.

 

Picture one below is a look at the Roman theater and picture two is looking out toward the Mediterranean Sea. The third picture has an interesting story. This is the public restroom. One sat on the stones, did what needed to be done and there was a sponge on a stick that was used to clean oneself after the job was done. It was put back in the water and ready for the next person.

 

I’m not sure there was spiritual significance here. However, it was fun to walk where the Apostles walked and see the history of this place.

The pictures were not able to be uploaded. If you are reading this from this site, please send me your email and I will send you this with the pictures.