Today we traveled north to Caesarea about 60-70 miles north of Tel Aviv to see the old ruins from the era of Herod the Great. As one of many architectural achievements, Herod built the city around 15 B.C. and named it in honor of Augustus the Roman Emperor. Herod, an Idumean by birth, was a double-tongued man, divided and playing off things between his own background in Judaism and that of Greek-Roman Paganism. He liked to be able to keep his Las Vegas lifestyle by high-tailing it out of Jerusalem to go and play in places like his Caesarea. In his building this city and naming it as he did, he was also smoozing with Augustus. This Herod was the infant-hater who sought to eliminate the little ones around the district of Bethlehem and hoped to kill the Christ Child, such acts of violence forced Mary and Joseph with their baby to flee to Egypt.
The old city of Caesarea, maybe 50-60 acres in size, hugged the shore of the Meditteranean and was primarily known, and very successful, as a shipping port; and it featured a palace, temple, theater, a prison, administrative courts and offices, a bath house and a hippodrome (for chariot races and games), along with a residential district. Later a Crusader castle was erected and a church building for God's faithful.
Paul the apostle, according to Acts 23- 26, sought to set things right with his testimony about his faith and life before the prominent Roman governors in Caesarea; this city was a beachhead for his missionary travels, as well as for the ministries for Philip and Peter. Paul was imprisoned here too. More on Paul in another up-coming post.
On our walk through the ruins we took notice of the sign telling of Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, 265-340 AD. He became known as the Father of Church History, being the first to pen a classic story line telling of the work of church. He was on more of the faithful side of the Arian controversy regarding the biblical teaching of the Trinity. He established a huge library, some 30,000 volumes, right there in Caesarea.
The placard telling of Eusebius at this place of the ruins was next to a deep water well. Down in the well, citizens of Caesarea would drop letters and signed memorials to witches, spirits and gods. It was a way showing devotion, maybe the well symbolized life with the water it provided, and so dropping notes to these spirits, in a way of sorcery, was part of their religious superstition. The placard went onto to say that it was Eusebius who preached sermons denouncing this letter-dropping, and of course, he preached against all forms of communication to the spirits, and he called for repentance regarding all forms of spiritism and supertitious living. He followed in the train of the apostle Paul who preached truth. In Acts 16, we read of Paul commanding the spirit to leave the demon-possessed girl.
G. Mark Sumpter
