Description
Israel Tour with Dr. Scott Preissler - May 2025
ISRAEL - MORE THAN A TOUR,AN UNFORGETTABLE LIFE EXPERIENCE
Join this special “all inclusive” tour
Site-specific Bible Teaching - Witnessing - Prayer Walking - Tour of Biblical Sites
· Each day is FULL of insightful Bible teaching while connecting sites with Scripture!
· Personal and group time to reflect on the spiritual significance of what is experienced.
· Spontaneous and planned outreach to the people of Israel.
· Daily devotions – Scripture/biblical history will accompany the sites visited.
· Floating on the Dead Sea (optional).
What's Included
Our tours are all-inclusive. Always.
Itinerary
Day by Day
- 3
Monday
Caesarea / Mount Carmel / Megiddo / Baptisms in TiberiasWe begin today at Caesarea, constructed on the Mediterranean by Herod the Great several years before the birth of Jesus. The massive harbor could accommodate 300 ships, and the hippodrome could seat over 20,000 people at chariot races. It was in Caesarea that Peter baptized Cornelius the centurion and his household, the first known baptism of a gentile convert to Christianity. Paul visited Caesarea between his second and third missionary journeys and was later imprisoned here before being sent to Rome. From here we drive inland to Mount Carmel and visit the traditional site of Elijah’s dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal. From the summit we take in the panoramic view of the Jezreel Valley. Then we visit the ruins of Megiddo and see Ahab’s stables and the famous water system. We conclude our day at a baptismal site on the River Jordan near the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee, and then we drive to Tiberias, located along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, for dinner and overnight.
- 4
Sunday
Magdala / Mount of Beatitudes / Sea of Galilee / Capernaum / Tabgha / Jesus Boat / TiberiasWe drive along the edge of the Sea of Galilee to Magdala, home of Mary Magdalene. When excavating the synagogue, archaeologists found a coin minted in Tiberias in 29 A.D., indicating that the synagogue dates back to the time of Jesus’ ministry here in the Galilee. Then we go a short distance to the Mount of Beatitudes. Somewhere on this green hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. From there we drive through the Golan Heights. We continue along the eastern shore of the sea to Ein Gev, where we enjoy a traditional lunch of St. Peter’s fish. After a memorable boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, we visit the ruins of ancient Capernaum. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew all lived here. We visit Tabgha, the traditional site of the multiplication of loaves and fishes and feeding of the 5,000. We conclude our day at Kibbutz Ginosar where we visit the Jesus boat, discovered in 1986. Then we return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
- 5
Wednesday
Hazor / Dan / Caesarea Philippi / Crusade Castle: Nimrod FortressToday we drive to Hazor to see the ruins of the powerful Canaanite city destroyed by Joshua. We continue to Old Testament Tel Dan, which marked the northern limit of the land of Israel. Here we see a mud-brick gate from the Bronze Age - the time of Abraham, the cultic high place attributed to kings Jeroboam and Ahab, and an inscription mentioning King David. We explore the Dan Nature Reserve, through which flows the Dan River, one of the sources of the Jordan River. We continue to Caesarea Philippi near the headwaters of the Jordan River. In this area, Peter memorably proclaimed Jesus to be “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” and Jesus affirmed this by declaring “...on this rock I will build my church...” Then we visit the medieval Nimrod Fortress, overlooking the deep, narrow valley separating Mt. Hermon from the Golan Heights and the road linking the Galilee with Damascus (in present-day Syria). From there we return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
- 6
Tuesday
Nazareth / Mount Precipice / Tzipori / Beit She’an / Dead SeaThis morning we go to Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus. There we visit Mary’s Well at St. Gabriel’s Church, the traditional site where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear the Son of God. Following our time here, we drive to the top of Mount Precipice, traditional site where an angry mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff following his Messianic proclamation in Luke 4. From this windswept hilltop, we take in the spectacular views of Mount Tabor and the Jezreel Valley. We continue to Tzipori, ancient Sepphoris and traditional home of Mary, mother of Jesus. Then we travel south to Beit She’an, perhaps best known as the site where King Saul and his sons were hung from the city walls by the triumphant Philistines. During the Roman era, it was renamed Scythopolis and became the capital city of the Decapolis - the only one of the 10 cities on the west side of the Jordan River. The site offers some of the best-preserved ruins in the Middle East, including the second- century Roman theater. We continue south through the Jordan Valley and past New Testament Jericho, believed to have been at the mouth of the Wadi Kelt, where Herod had his winter palace. Our destination this evening is the Dead Sea and the Ganim Hotel. Enjoy the opportunity to float in the Dead Sea or indulge in a treatment at the hotel’s spa, with dinner included at the hotel.
- 7
Wednesday
Negev Desert / Spa Afternoon on the Dead SeaThis morning we drive along the southern shore of the Dead Sea, past the site of biblical Sodom. We continue through the Negev, a rocky desert that comprises more than half of Israel’s land area. Our destination is a complete thorough tour of Herod’s castle and mountain fortress. Masada was constructed by Herod the Great on top of a rocky plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. We ride the cable car to the top to explore the ruins and learn about the huge storerooms and cisterns that enabled Jewish defenders to stay well-provisioned for several years while under siege by the Romans following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. After our visit here, we return to our Dead Sea hotel for dinner and overnight.
- 8
Thursday
Ein Gedi / Qumran / Old City of JerusalemWe depart our Dead Sea spa hotel and drive along the shore of the Dead Sea to the oasis of Ein Gedi, where David hid from Saul and chose to spare Saul’s life. We take some time to explore the archaeological site and see the mosaic in the synagogue. Then we visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We continue up to Jerusalem, the “Holy City,” where we have dinner and overnight at the Leonardo Boutique Hotel.
- 9
Friday
Old City / Rampart Walk / Caiaphas’ Palace / City of David / Western Wall / Davidson Center / Zion / Garden TombWe begin our orientation to the city this morning with a walk atop a portion of the Old City Walls, enjoying this unique perspective of Jerusalem. Then we go to Caiaphas’ palace, where Jesus was first brought before the high priest. We then visit the City of David, the original core of the ancient city where Jerusalem was born. Here we explore ancient shafts, view walls and fortresses that protected ancient Israelites, and see the Gihon Spring, a vitally important water source that fed the Pool of Siloam. Then at the Temple area we view the Western Wall, the most holy place accessible to the Jewish people; and Jerusalem Archaeological Park, where we climb the “Southern Steps” leading to the original main entrance of the Temple Mount in the Second Temple period - stairs that Jesus would have climbed when he visited the temple in Jerusalem. We conclude our day at Mount Zion, where we see the traditional Room of the Last Supper. We end our day at Gordon’s Calvary and the Garden Tomb, where in an inspiring service we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. From there we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
- 10
Saturday
Elah Valley / Herodian / BethlehemThis morning we travel through the Elah Valley, where the Philistines and Israelites faced off and where David defeated Goliath. We continue to Herodian, a cone-shaped hill near Bethlehem where Herod the Great built a fortress palace, and where he was buried. At the base of the hill, Herod built a royal “country club,” including a large pool, a bathhouse, and a roofed pool, surrounded by magnificent gardens. This afternoon we travel into Bethlehem (political situation permitting) and visit the Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional site of the birth of Christ. We drive by the Field of Shepherds, where the angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds, and then we return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
- 11
Sunday
Dead Sea Scrolls / Mount of Olives / Gethsemane / Via DolorosaThis morning we drive past the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament building, and visit the Shrine of the Book, which houses the original Dead Sea Scrolls. We take some time to view the scale model of Jerusalem in the 1st century. Then we travel past the Hebrew University and on to the Mount of Olives. From there we walk down the traditional “Palm Sunday Walk” where Christ made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, stopping at the Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees beside the Church of All Nations. In the Old City we visit St. Anne’s Crusader-era Church and the Pools of Bethesda. We follow the Via Dolorosa seeing Pilate’s Judgment Hall, where Christ was imprisoned, the Edicule inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We conclude the day at the Garden Tomb with a walking tour and group communion. From there we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
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