Depart USA for Tel Aviv.

Welcome to Israel! You will be met at the Tel Aviv airport and transferred to your hotel in Netanya for dinner and overnight.

This morning travel to the Mediterranean coast at Caesarea Maritima, where Paul was brought for trial before Festus and King Agrippa prior to his journey to Rome. See the extensive ruins, including the ancient theater and aqueduct. Drive to the top of Mount Carmel, where Elijah had his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Visit Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and stand on Mount Precipice, the place where an enraged hometown mob attempted to throw Jesus off the cliff. Enter the city of Tiberias to check into your hotel for dinner and overnight accommodation.

Today’s boat ride on the Sea of Galilee will help you understand the special place this lake had in Jesus’ ministry. In Capernaum, we stand in the ruins of a synagogue that was built on the site of the synagogue where Jesus taught. See the excavations that include where Peter’s house is thought to have been located. At the peaceful Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee, reflect on the words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. After enjoying a fish lunch, travel up to the famous Golan Heights and better understand their strategic importance to the security of Israel. We can drive all the way to the Syrian border and enjoy this now peaceful view from Mount Bental. Return to our hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

Bid the Galilee area farewell as you travel south along the Jordan River Valley. Your first stop will be the baptismal site of Qsar el Yahud, where many Biblical events took place, such as the Lord’s baptism, the children of Israel crossing into the promised land, and Elisha receiving a double portion of Elijah’s anointing prior to Elijah being taken to heaven. Stop in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. We can view Jericho, the city of palms and the first city to fall when Israel came to conquer their promised land. Bethany is located just prior to entering Jerusalem and is the location of where the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. We will enter the capital of Israel – Jerusalem – and take some time to view this city prior to check-in at your hotel, dinner, and overnight.

Stand on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into Heaven forty days after His resurrection, and take in the remarkable panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem. Walk the Palm Sunday Road down to the Garden of Gethsemane and pray among the olive trees. Travel to the south side of the city and visit Mount Zion and the Upper Room, believed by some to be the tomb of King David and the site of the Last Supper and baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Bet Shemesh is the location where the Ark of the Covenant was returned to the nation of Israel from the Philistines. Visit Abu Gosh, where the Shrine of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant is located. Continuing north, we arrive at the Valley of Elah, where David slew Goliath. The creek bed can still be seen meandering through the valley where David picked up his five smooth stones. We return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Visit the recently uncovered Pool of Siloam, the site of John 9 detailing the account of the healing of the man born blind. Also in this area is David’s City, home of the palace of King David prior to the building of the Temple on Mount Moriah. Travel to Ein Karem believed to be the birthplace of John the Baptist. Spend time in the Temple Institute, where efforts are being made to make the various articles that will be needed for the next Temple in Jerusalem.

The group will have a set appointment to visit the Friends of Zion Museum in the heart of Jerusalem, which celebrates the contributions of the Christian community in helping Jews and securing the existence of the nation of Israel. In the afternoon, you can enjoy leisure time in the city of Jerusalem to visit sites of interest, shop, or relax in your hotel.

This morning, stand atop the Temple Mount, once home to the Jewish Temple (conditions permitting). Visit the Pool of Bethesda, where the man who was sick for 38 years was healed on the Sabbath. Spend time in the ruins of the Fortress of Antonia, a possible location of the trial of the Lord prior to His crucifixion. Pray alongside the Jewish faithful at the Western Wall, then take a step back in time into the Rabbi’s Tunnel, where foundation stones and other stonework survive from the Second Temple! Reflect on the agony of the cross at Gordon’s Calvary and at the Garden Tomb, and experience the exhilaration of Jesus’ resurrection.

Return home with a transformed faith and memories to last a lifetime!