Israel Tour September 24 to October 4, 2015 Sample itinerary I invite you all to join us on a special "Sukkot" Feast of Tabernacles tour in Israel this coming fall. This tour is going to be a special one. We are going to see Israel from a biblical viewpoint and learn BIBLICAL texts that both Jews and Christians share. We will also visit "off the beaten path" biblical sites such as Joshua's Altar on Mt. Ebal and Sebastia (ancient Samaria). We will visit Jerusalem during the expected Blood Moon. See you soon in Israel. Avi Lipkin
Day 1 Thursday, September 24, 2015 Departure from North America Day 2 Friday, September 25, 2015. Welcome to Israel! Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv. Meet, and be assisted by our local representative responsible for your tour of Israel. Your guide and driver will take you to ancient Jaffa (New Testament Joppa) where the Apostle Peter had a vision, while sitting on the rooftop of the House of Simon the Tanner, and he received God's command to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Next we drive northwards through the modern metropolis of Tel Aviv and on to the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, which was the seat of government of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. We continue to our Galilee hotel for dinner and overnight. Overnight at Galilee hotel. Day 3 Saturday, September 26, 2015. Lower Galilee After breakfast, we head to Mt. Carmel to visit the "Place of Sacrifice" where the Prophet Elijah had an encounter with the Priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:17-40). Then on to Megiddo, where the Messiah will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist (the "beast") in the battle of Armageddon. We drive to the town of Nazareth in the hill country of the Galilee where Jesus grew to manhood (Matth. 2:23), there we will visit Nazareth Village, a reconstruction of a Jewish village in the time of Jesus. We continue with a visit to Cana in the Galilee, the scene of the wedding feast where Jesus turned the water into wine (Jon. 2:1-11). Overnight at Galilee hotel.
Day 4 Sunday, September 27, 2015. Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee is rich in memories of the three years of Jesus' ministry around its shores. After breakfast, we visit the Yigal Alon museum exhibiting a 2,000 year old boat that sailed the Galilee sea during the time of Jesus. We set sail on a boat to Capernaum singing and worshiping. Capernaum was in Jesus' time a flourishing border town and was called "his own city" because of the frequency with which Jesus visited it and the mighty works he did there. We continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, the scene of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5). We head to Eshel Hashomron hotel in Ariel, north of Jerusalem, for the Feast of Tabernacles. Overnight Eshel Hashomron, Ariel. Day 5 Monday, September 28, 2015. Jerusalem's old city (night of Blood Moon) After Breakfast we will see ancient Jerusalem, the center of the biblical world. We visit the holy shrines on the Mount of Olives: Garden of Gethsemane (time for prayer) and the Church of All Nations where Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal (Luke. 22:40-46). Next we tour the Jewish Quarter and the Western (Wailing) Wall where we will wait for the Blood Moon to appear. Day 6 Tuesday, September 29, 2015. Judea We Depart Jerusalem for Hebron, city of the Patriarchs and first capital of King David. Tour the ancient Jewish neighborhoods and the Machpela cave (Tomb of the Patriarchs). Meet with residents of one of the Hebron area communities and learn about this unique area in Israel. We continue to Gush Etzion. Visit the Sound and Light Show in Kfar Etzion and learn about the special history of this area. Path of the Patriarchs, including ancient ritual paths and strategic lookout toward Jerusalem. Lone Oak Tree. On the way back from Jerusalem we stop at Rachel's Tomb on the road to Bethlehem. Dinner and overnight at Eshel Hashomron hotel
Day 7 Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Samaria We start our day with a visit to Joshua's Altar on Mt. Ebal, the greatest archeological discovery of the 20 th century. Next we visit Sebastia, the ancient capital of the 10 tribes. Day 8 Thursday, October 1, 2015. Benjamin After breakfast we head to the biblical tribal lands of Benjamin. Our first stop is the site of Jacob's Dream Of The Ladder in Beth El. Next we visit ancient Shiloh where the Tabernacle stood for 369 years. We continue to Ofra, the first Jewish village in Samaria after the Six Day War with a lookout over the Hatzor Heights where God appeared to Abraham according to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Day 9 Friday, October 2, 2015. Dead Sea After Breakfast, we head to the Kumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We continue to the Ein Gedi desert oasis where King David hid from King Saul. We arrive at our next destination, the Dead Sea shores, one of Israel's main tourist attractions. There we will have time to bath and float in the sea's mineral rich waters. We check in to our Jerusalem hotel for a special Shabbat experience with Avi and Aaron Lipkin. Overnight at Jerusalem hotel
Day 10 Saturday, October 3, 2015. Jerusalem neighborhoods walking tour Shabbat Shalom: After Breakfast, our guide will take us on a walking tour of Mishkenot Shananim and Yemin Moshe neighborhoods, the first neighborhoods outside of the Old City. We return to the hotel for lunch and some rest. After dinner, our bus will take us to the Western Wall Tunnels. We then visit the new pedestrian mall of Mamilla open for shopping and a cup of coffee near the walls of the Old City. We head to the Garden Tomb. We take our leave from Jerusalem and check in for our homebound flight at Ben Gurion Airport, rejoicing and putting our trust in the Lord, remembering the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 125:1: "Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever". Day 11 Sunday, October 4, 2015. Arrival in North America