"Banias/Caeseria Philippi"

So what do you say about a day that is so full of wonders that it holds something new and amazing at every turn? Mostly you take a lot of pictures and try to write down every single feeling and impression that you have. I did a lot of picture taking but not as much note taking as I wish I had done in retrospect.

We arrived near Banias/Caesarea Philippi at noon after our stop at Hazor and as our group considered food an important thing…we quickly went to the local eating establishment, only a stones’ throw away from the ruins. This lunch place, like so many we ate in while in Israel, was a local version of fast food…for tourists. The usual choice of Falafel, Shwarma and Schnitzel was offered and orders taken. This restaurant, I believe, was owned by an Israeli Druze. None of the three entrees were the best we had had, but hunger is its own spice, as they say.

Our guide, Yoni, taught us that King Jeroboam of Israel was worried that all of Israel would join Judah again if they started going to worship in Jerusalem again. To prevent this, Jeroboam set up worship centers; one in Bethel and one in Dan (I Kings 12:25). His excuse was that the 3 week round trip from North Israel up to Jerusalem for the 3 feasts was too great a hardship. (Attendance by the head of each household was compulsory). This was contrary to God’s instruction as clearly specified in the Torah. Worship at these two places quickly became pagan worship to Baal and Ashtoreth. Dan had actually been a center of pagan worship for centuries prior to that, even extending to the Greek and Roman empires and beyond.

What we saw in this place was a cave, a very huge cave large enough to park at least two pairs of 18 wheelers on top of each other and is very deep. Before an earthquake diverted some of the water that came out of the cave, it is said that a very, very large amount of water rushed out from the cave that is in solid rock. Just beneath the cave were pools of water and a large amount of foliage everywhere.

This water was believed to come from the underworld as it was very cool and Hades (the underworld) was thought to be a very cold and dark place. The god Pan; the half-man and half-goat creature; was god of the underworld as well as god of mischief and pandemonium. Pan was said to be rather mean in his mischief and from his activities we get the concept of “panic, panicking, etc.” Part of what Pan is said to have fomented was severe sexual immorality. His very appearance gave the image of bestiality…. This cave was therefore named after Pan as being the gate to the underworld. Panias eventually degraded to Banias due to an Arab pronunciation. However, during the Roman Empire Banias was renamed in honor of the emperor and thus became known as Caesarea Philippi during Jesus’ times. By Jesus’ times the area in and around the cave had multiple temples and niches carved into the rock. Horrible, horrible pagan activity was said to occur in this location. There was a temple to everything as it were and this entire worship center was very close to the main road from Damascus to the Galilee and Jezreel Valley. Most of the pagan worship centered on female and male temple prostitution!!

Just to the side of the huge cave is a small area with sitting stones and there we had a powerful time of worship. Very powerful, as we meditated and tried to imagine Jesus asking his disciples’ “who do the people say that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-20) I tried to imagine how Jesus felt when Peter answered correctly…did He think “finally!”…or did He think “I knew they were getting it.”….or if there was a long discussion before Peter even confessed Jesus as Messiah.

It doesn’t really matter…it still comes down to answering that question for ourselves and then living out the answer. Who do we say Jesus is? God is dealing with me on that very issue right now. I shall never forget that afternoon…I told God I wanted to die to some worldly things and that I wanted to be as far away from the pagan in my life as I could. I told Him I really wanted to know Him as Messiah…not Elijah, Elisha or some other holy person…I just want to know my Father as my Father, my Savior as Messiah and to be full of the Holy Spirit. What do you want?