Скачать или смотреть Why this Ancient Roman City Makes the Case for Christ

It’s fascinating that by the fourth century, Caesarea became a hub of apologetics, while in the Book of Acts, Paul defended his faith before Felix and Festus right in that very city? They were the Roman governors placed over Palestine.

Situated on the crucial Mediterranean trade route, Via Maris, Caesarea was a strategic economic and political center, built by Herod to control maritime trade and taxation. This pivotal location not only influenced ancient commerce but also became a launchpad for spreading the gospel, with figures like Philip and Cornelius marking it as a key point in early Christian history.

#Caesarea #PaulDefendsFaith #ViaMaris #HerodsPort #MediterraneanTrade #BookOfActs #EarlyChristianity #PhilipTheEvangelist #CorneliusConversion #AncientHistory

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🎙️ VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Don't you think it's amazing that. That by the fourth century, it was the center of apologetics, but in the book of acts, we find Paul standing before Felix. And I don't know.

I don't know if Agrippa was there as well, but essentially defending the faith. And there's, you know, the whole second section of the Book of Acts is an apologetics for the faith in Caesarea. That's a very interesting connection.

And he was there for three years. That's right. I think the other man that was there was Festus.

Yes, you're right. The very place of apologetics there is Paul on trial for defending his faith. But the other thing is, and, you know, we start off the conversation talking about the geography of the land, Caesarea.

It's right on. As you know, the mediterranean coast. Right.

And the mediterranean coast at the day was a very important ancient trade route, and it was called the Via Maris. The Via Maris, which means the way of the sea. And it was thenumber one biggest trade route, of course, just like today, if you controlled the air, if you control the airports and the seaports.

Money. Money. And by the way, this is why Herod actually builds the city of Caesarea.

He builds a port. That was the main reason why the whole city was built. He wanted to control all the ships going up and down the mediterranean coast, all the way from Egypt in thesouth, and a region called Phoenicia in the north.

Phoenicia being tyre, Sidon, which is today's Lebanon, and every ship that went up and down that coast, he charged a taxation. So it was a great way of him making money there. Infact, the ancient historian Josephus Flavius, when he talks and describes that port, he said that it could host up to 700 ships.

That's how large that port was. So that sounds like a lot of money. So a great economic, political move on Herod's behalf.

The point is, that location on that trade route was really an axis where people like Philip, we read also in the latter chapters of the book of acts, he actually, from Caesarea, he took thegospel out to the Mediterranean. So I sometimes say on tours, this was a pivotal crossroads of time, of history, and of religion, where the gospel got taken out from that very place,Caesarea. And it's believed that Philip was the first kind of missionary who took the gospel there.

Of course, you've got the story also of Cornelius, the first gentile who became a believer that we know of.