It would be in this region He would gather His disciples to Himself. Peter hailed from the town of Capernaum on the northern shores. From the town synagogue to the home of Peter's mother, at least the lower stones of many structures were original to the time of Yeshua. As our group sat under a grove of olive trees listening to our guides speak, it wasn't too hard to imagine Peter, James, John, and the others sitting under the same trees while Yeshua taught them.
Our tour of the area wouldn't be complete without seeing the presumed location of the Sermon on the Mount. Located in the Golan Heights above the northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee is the Mount of the Beatitudes. Of this site, it is said a person could be easily heard from the edge of the mountain to a great distance with little more than a normal speaking voice.
Among the highlights of our time in Tiberius was a cruise out on the Sea of Galilee. Again, it wasn't all that hard to imagine us being out on that sea with Peter at the helm. It was another magic moment in walking where Yeshua and His disciples walked. Even now as I reflect back, I can close my eyes and see Yeshua walking across that expanse of water toward our boat, calming storms on the seas of our lives.
Day two of our time in Tiberius had us viewing three particular sites of interest, among others. Messiah speaks of Korazim (Chorazin) in Matthew 11: 21. Among other towns in the region, including Capernaum, Yeshua spoke harshly of the lack of repentance of the inhabitants of Korazim.
In their rejection of Yeshua and His message, even in the face of "mighty works", they were relegated to being worse than Tyre, Sidon, or even Sodom in the case of Capernaum. When I stood in the synagogue at Korazim and saw the remains of the Seat of Moses, I saw two sides to a coin.
On one side, I saw the "wise and prudent" Pharisees that rejected Messiah Yeshua, even as they do to this day. On the other, I saw the "high and mighty" teachers of our day that accept Yeshua yet reject or make null and void His pure ways (Torah). Then, I saw the souls both then and today caught in between (Hebrew children of Abraham) that both cling fervently to Messiah Yeshua and keep His Torah because they love Him. For this, they are rejected by both groups just as He was rejected.
John quotes Yeshua in 15: 18 saying on their behalf, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you". In a day soon coming, these precious souls that lovingly cling to Messiah will be ushered into His everlasting joy while the "wise and prudent"--high and mighty--of Korazim, Capernaum, and their modern day descendants will be cast down.
Deep in the Golan Heights Mt. Bental rises up to overlook Syria, with Damascas only about 60 miles to the north. The top of the mountain is still fortified with the remains of trenches, observation areas, and gun turret mounts. It was from this mountain in 1973 Israeli soldiers saw the beginning of a major Syrian invasion.
Hundreds of Syrian tanks rolled across the valley floor below. The battle was costly in consideration of Israeli lives. Yet, when the smoke had cleared away, Syrian tanks that had not been destroyed fled back toward Damascas. One Israeli tank was credited with more than 20 tank kills and another with over 50. Even though surprised and greatly outgunned, Israeli ground forces won the day. But, that has been the Israeli legacy throughout Biblical history.
The IAF had mastered the enemy Air Force. In fact, their supremacy over the Syrian Air Force was so great the IAF was able to record three "non-ordinance" kills. IAF pilots that had already expended ALL their ammunition flew up behind Syrian MIGs and "locked on". Syrian pilots in each plane (later determined to be elite Russian pilots) didn't waste time in ejecting from their aircraft. One might say those Russian pilots had "the fear of God" put in them.
In the extreme northern reaches of Galilee just south of the Lebanese border lies the ancient ruins of Tel Dan. Entering this lush, green forest area with the beautiful Dan river cutting through its middle is like going from one world to another. The serenity of this wooded area below Mt. Hermon is as a hedge of protection from the world outside. It is in this area we met the Israeli children SueJean so affectionately wrote of on our "Tsiyon Bound" blog. I had the honor and privilege of taking their pictures.
Tel Dan also includes the synagogue presumed built by Jeroboam, king of Israel (northern kingdom) in about 930 BCE. This site clearly shows the evil mixture of Baal worship with the purity of worship of YHVH. With the exception of the steps going up to the altar (steps are forbidden in Torah) and the large Terebinth tree overshadowing the altar (trees are forbidden around or near the altar in Torah), the altar bore the same dimension requirements of an acceptable altar before YHVH.
The most brazen departure from an acceptable altar was two golden calves erected and displayed above the altar. Of these, it is written in 1 Kings 12: 28. "Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, 'it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!'"
To expand upon this sin, v. 32 says, "Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made". The feast initiated by Jeroboam is his duplicate of the Feast of Tabernacles commanded of YHVH to begin on the fifteenth day of the "seventh" month.
Father's Word is not only unchanging, it is specific. It is clear from this account Jeroboam was "pulling out all the stops" to keep his people from going to Jerusalem and worshiping according to the purity of Torah. He put in place just enough of YHVH's precepts to make it look good, but mixed in enough pagan rituals to entice the ungodly crowd--all in the name of money, greed, and power.
Throughout Scripture, the eternal nature of the covenants of YHVH made with His people Israel is made explicitly clear. Just as from the beginning in Eden, satan had only one way to destroy the pure work the Father--distort its truth. This is precisely what Constantine did in about 325AD. By making Christianity the official religion of his kingdom, he purposely drove out all evidence of our everlasting Hebrew heritage.
Effectively, he accomplished the same end as Jeroboam. Among other things, he changed the observation of Sabbath. In his version of changing the time for celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, he discarded all the Biblical feasts and replaced them with pagan celebrations. Biblical time keeping was done away with and Torah observation disappeared. Only the tenet of tithing was kept--of course directed to church officials, as it so effectively is today.
It is clear in Scripture that YHVH hates mixture--which is the essence of Baal worship. Through His prophets He has repeatedly admonished against mixing the "profane with the holy". He has called it "witchcraft and idolatry". He has called it "whoring after other gods". Even though I may stand alone at days end, I choose to align myself with the unchanging purity of YHVH and His Word.
Throughout Scripture, the eternal nature of the covenants of YHVH made with His people Israel is made explicitly clear. Just as from the beginning in Eden, satan had only one way to destroy the pure work the Father--distort its truth. This is precisely what Constantine did in about 325AD. By making Christianity the official religion of his kingdom, he purposely drove out all evidence of our everlasting Hebrew heritage.
Effectively, he accomplished the same end as Jeroboam. Among other things, he changed the observation of Sabbath. In his version of changing the time for celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, he discarded all the Biblical feasts and replaced them with pagan celebrations. Biblical time keeping was done away with and Torah observation disappeared. Only the tenet of tithing was kept--of course directed to church officials, as it so effectively is today.
It is clear in Scripture that YHVH hates mixture--which is the essence of Baal worship. Through His prophets He has repeatedly admonished against mixing the "profane with the holy". He has called it "witchcraft and idolatry". He has called it "whoring after other gods". Even though I may stand alone at days end, I choose to align myself with the unchanging purity of YHVH and His Word.
It is difficult dealing with mixture among strangers. Yet, the pressure put upon us by our families is immensely more heart rending. There just isn't an easy solution in these dealings. My heart goes out to those that bear the heavy burden of leaving all to follow Yeshua rather than living with mixture. SueJean and I personally know what it is like to walk alone, leaving precious family members behind. The road traveled with Yeshua may not be an easy one, but it's laden with His many blessings. Won't you join us on that journey with Him?
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