Caesarea Philippi

Listening to our Faith-Lesson.

Faith Lesson:

Jesus and the disciples stopped in Caesarea Phillipi on the way to a high mountain (Mt. Hermon) where they saw Jesus transfigured. How did they know it was Moses and Elijah? Who did they expect as the Prophets of Succoth?

Caesarea Phillipi was a very pagan place. This was where the fertility shepherd god Pan was worshiped. It must have been an impressive sight. It was a huge temple. The hollow niches in the wall were where the statues of the god were.
Water came out of the cave (out of the rock) behind the temple . This water is a source of the Jordan river.

The rock at Ceasarea Phillipi was used for the worship of the shepherd god Pan.

It was a fertility cult, and the god would go to "sleep" in the winter. In the spring it would be brought back to life with offerings and sacrifices (including human). This cave was known as the "Gates of Hades".

Jesus went here with his disciples. It was here that Jesus asked, "Who do people say that I am?"

Simon Peter answered... "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."

Jesus replied..."you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it".

People have tried to explain what "the rock" could have been. It could have been Peter, or what Peter said; or, it could have been this rock, used for pagan worship.