Caesarea Phillippi and the Temple of Pan

After visiting Israel for the 11^th time, taking numerous pictures each time of the sights, I thought I would share some thoughts for my friends who have not had the opportunity to visit Israel.  I hope these thoughts will bring understanding to some of the things that we read in scripture, but aren’t always aware of the background. Background makes the story richer and more meaningful.

End of Matthew 15 and 16.

In the foothills of Mt. Hermon, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, there is a spring which flowed through a cave in biblical times. It is one of the three sources of the river Jordan.  The cave was deemed a bottomless pit because a line 800 meters long could not reach bottom.  To the people of that time, it was a mysterious and mystical place which was thought to be an entrance to the god of the underworld, hence it was believed to be the gate to Hades. Today, this place is known as the Banias, an Arabic and Modern Hebrew name once associated with the god Pan. 

Pan was half man half goat; the god of the wild, of goats and herding as well as sexual and spiritual possession and of victory in battle since he was said to instill panic in the enemy.  He was companion of nymphs; beautiful young maidens who loved to dance and sing and were free of the chastity required of the wives and daughters of the Greek citizens. 

On this site was a shrine dedicated to Pan and other gods. You can still see the niches with some elaborate carvings in the face of the rock cliff which held the statues of the deities, and the foundations of a temple which stood at the mouth of the cave with a another temple to the right. It was a cult center.   

Josephus writes about this cave (Wars 1 21 3) "... the place is called Panium, where is a top of a mountain that is raised to an immense height, and at its side, beneath, or at its bottom, a dark cave opens itself; within which there is a horrible precipice, that descends abruptly to a vast depth; it contains a mighty quantity of water, which is immovable; and when anybody lets down anything to measure the depth of the earth beneath the water, no length of cord is sufficient to reach it ...".

The depth of the water, according to Josephus, was very deep in ancient times. At times the springs burst from the opening of the cave. There were also mystical traditions that a tunnel from the cave led deep into the Golan. 

This was a place of orgies and licentiousness and ritual sacrifice. In order to please the gods, animals were thrown into the abyss of the cave. If the waters below flowed clear and pure, the sacrifice was accepted. If there were tinges of blood in the waters, it was considered to be a sign the sacrifice was rejected.  Because of the wanton licentiousness, people were drawn to the area, but also repulsed at the shocking display of debauchery.

 In the beginning of Matthew 16, the Bible states that Jesus took his disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi. This is just following the multiplication of the loaves and fishes at the end of Matthew 15.  It was there, immediately following this miracle, that the Sadducees and Pharisees asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.  Jesus replied that a wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but none would be given it except the sign of Jonah.  Obviously, they cannot believe what they have observed and want Jesus to perform a very dramatic miracle just for them.  Jesus refuses and says they already know how to read signs and not further sign will be given to them except a sign soon to come equivalent to the forerunner sign of Jonah. 

 Jesus warns His disciples not to be infected with the same unbelieving and religious yeast of the Pharisees.  Then he asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am? ´Peter replied, “You are Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”  Jesus then said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

 

Now, I don’t know where Jesus was standing when He asked that question, but I like to think that the large outcropping of bedrock was prominently displayed in the background. As we have been taught, Jesus is saying that Peter is a rock, but the truth of what he has just declared is the bedrock truth on which Jesus is building His church.   Jesus goes on to address the traditions of the location. He says this place, known as the gates of Hades, full of the fear and dread of death and the underworld, will not prevail against His church.  

And why? Because He has come to undo, outdo and overdo and cancel out anything death could ever threaten. He has come to swallow up death. 

His church is also built of rock; living stones fitted together; not hewn by hand. The living stones are infused with the kingdom of God inside. They are increasing in number and are filling the earth. This structure will be built on what He will accomplish in His own death and resurrection, and on what we believe about Him. He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. When you build a church with living stones who have the kingdom of God within them, no gate of hell can overcome that kind of church. It is forcefully advancing all over the world. As soon as we individually answer the question, “Who do you say that I am?,” we become part of that church whose calling is to release the kingdom within and facilitate a way for the kingdom of God to be established in the hearts of those around us.