The last thing I expected to see at Caesarea Philippi

Caesarea Philippi is known for being the place in Matthew 16 where Peter says to Jesus, "You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God".

In this region is this mountain and cave where the headwaters of the Hermon Stream (from Mount Hermon) flow out of the ground and form part of the headwaters of the Jordan River. 

What I learned on this visit there, that differs from my tour in 2017, is that while Peter said this to Jesus in this area, it's unlikely he said it right here at this cave. 

Why?

Because it's a place of pagan idolatry, and Jews would not have gone there. Jesus didn't need to—everyone know about this place, this rock. His play on words, "Upon this rock I will build my church" still makes sense whether or not Jesus was standing there. 

While today the cave is closed up (though still deep), back in the day, this is where the water flowed from—just like the spring where Gideon's men drank. It's was so deep they couldn't find the bottom, and it was believed that this was the gate to the underworld.

Next to this cave were temples to the pagan god Pan. People worshipped here, did vile acts, and sacrifices were made in this stream. This site says that children were thrown in; we know for a fact that goats were too. If the goats sank, then the sacrifice was accepted.

In 749 AD, the same earthquake that destroyed Beit She'an, Susita, and so many other places in Israel, also destroyed this place. At that point, the cave was closed in and the springs found a place farther south to stream from the rock.

The last time I visited this site, this is basically all I saw, along with more statues/pillars. So I was unprepared for the latest excavations:

It turns out that Augustus Caesar gave this town to Herod, who turned around and built a marble temple for Caesar in front of the cave. About 5 centuries later, a church was built right over those ruins.

Something that is very common in Israel that is that any place where it's documented that Jesus said or did something, the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or another liturgical church came later and built a church there. So, I guess it shouldn't be that surprising—but I was only here 5 years ago and those ruins had not been excavated then! So that definitely shocked me.

It's also surprising to me, to see a church here at a place of pagan worship, even if Jesus did say that statement nearby (or right there). But, there you go... can't argue with proven fact. 

What do you think of this?