This one is keeping us hopping!
Scott Eynon and Community Christian Church have come to the Heartland from Fort Lauderdale. Most of our groups hop off the bus and comment on how hot it is here. South Florida folks find it a bit cool.
Jerusalem: The Final Press
Our group is seated on the front stair of the Church of All Nations.
Our group is wrapping up an incredible journey in Jerusalem, preparing to board the bus for the long journey home. For me, this marks the end of an entire tour season—two months abroad that have been as rewarding as they were exhausting.
We spent our final day at the Church of All Nations, which stands in solemn remembrance of the Garden of Gethsemane. The name Gethsemane itself means “oil press,” a place of “pressing.” It felt like a fitting theme as the Mosaic Christian Church group “presses” toward the finish line of their study tour today.
After weeks on the road, I’m ready to trade my backpack for my own front door.
Group Shot Exiting Hezekiah's Tunnel
Hezekiah’s Tunnel provided a pleasant reprieve from Jerusalem’s July. Our new friends from Mosaic Christian Church are all in.
Northern Palace, Masada
The Northern Palace at Masada is a magnificent three-tiered “hanging” palace built by King Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BC. It cascades dramatically down the northern edge of a steep cliff. A modern metal stair transports our pilgrims from the Mosaic Christian Church down dizzying heights.
The Dead Sea stretches off in the distance.
Explorers walk the stair down to the lowest tier of the Northern Palace, Masada.
Josephus knew about it and them
For those who are curious about the landscape of the biblical world, the Rhine River may seem to be a stretch, a reach, a foul ball. The Rhine (Grk Ρήνος, Lat Rhenus) is an unlikely entry in a Bible dictionary or atlas. It is unrecognized in the biblical text. And yet, this waterway and those who peopled its banks were known in the New Testament world, more by reputation than experience.
Return from exile
Packing Checklist, Israel-January 2022
A Christmas card
Coordination and Grace: The Logistics of a Large-Scale Holy Land Tour
The challenge of moving 48 people through the land of the Bible is felt most acutely in Jerusalem’s Old City. Here, the rhythm of life lived within these walls collides with the press of new arrivals. Together, residents and pilgrims rush, gawk, worship, shop and gossip. The result can be chaotic, or at least have that appearance for first-timers. There is no tutorial for this school; one must simply dive in.
The Bible Verse You Won’t Find in a Promise Book: The Fate of King Yehoram
Sturdy students
Canyon critters
Baker's dozen
A Threepeat
Naturally I lost my bearings
Gordon lifted the oversized compass to his face. The transparent plastic flexed in his hands, making his nose appear to wiggle. His voice was less animated. His words came out deliberately.
“Turn the bezel until the arrow is in the box.” He turned the disk on his plastic demonstration model. His nose wiggled again.
Above the jesus trail, 2019
Jesus trail 2019
Wisemen wafers
We are busy here at the Bible Land Explorers’ headquarters chewing the magoi. So far we’ve noted how Jesus was born in a Cold War (see here) and how the magoi were savvy politicians with a reputation for king-making and king-breaking (see here). As Christmas morning approaches, however, we lean toward something more festive: wisemen wafers!
Enter the idea of the eulogia.
