March 7, 2019
Early in the morning on Thursday we went to “Caesarea by the Sea”. Located on the Great Sea, the Mediterranean. It was Rome’s center and capital of their province of Judea. The Israeli government has been doing major excavations here and have unearthed the Roman amphitheater and the adjacent structures. After it was restored, it again is in use, when we toured a band was practicing for an upcoming concert.
It was here in Caesarea that an angel of God visited the Roman centurion Cornelius and instructed him to send for the Apostle Peter who was living in Joppa near present day Tel Aviv. Peter had just received in a dream a vision and it lead him to the conclusion that God planned for the Gentiles to hear the gospel. When he went to Caesarea he preached to Cornelius and to his amazement the Holy Spirit fell on them and they began “speaking in tongues” and exalting God. (Acts 10)
Also uncovered was the location of the court where the Apostle Paul was put on trial. Paul first came to Caesarea after missionary work bringing the gospel to the Greek islands. He stopped there on his way to Jerusalem. While lodging in Caesarea at Philip’s house the prophet Agabus prophesied that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem. Indeed while Paul was in Jerusalem he was arrested for causing a riot in the Temple. A plot was discovered to kill Paul, but because Paul was a Roman citizen the Romans sent him to Caesarea to stand before the Roman governor. (Acts 21-27) For us to see these sites in Caesarea that we had read about in the Bible was awe inspiring.
The following journal articles are of my research for various design and painting projects planned. The intial posts are of Israel and Eygpt.