Crosstalk: August 25, 2016

Gary Frazier is a respected speaker and writer on the subject of Bible prophecy. He is the founder and president of Discovery Missions. He is the author of numerous books including one discussed on this Crosstalk called, 'Miracle of Israel: The Shocking, Untold Story of God's Love for His People'.

This edition of Crosstalk looks at Israel's past and present while tomorrow's broadcast will look at their future. Concerning their past, Gary begins with the book of Genesis. After the first 11 chapters and about 2,000 years of history, he comes to the story of Abram (later called Abraham) where we see the history of the Jewish nation beginning.

So how did the name Israel come about? To understand this you have to realize that in the Bible God delineates the ownership of the land. He does this through use of the term, 'covenant'. One is an unconditional, everlasting covenant (literally meaning 'forever' in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic) mentioned in the 15th chapter of Genesis.

Then there's the promise in Genesis 49:10. According to Gary this is saying that Israel was going to give birth. In other words, God would use the Jewish lineage of Isaac through King David to bring forth the Messiah.

The story of Moses leading Israel through the wilderness...Joshua taking them through the promised land...is this part of the miracle of Israel? Gary admits Israel was not completely obedient in following God and didn't drive out those enemies that God wanted removed. So to this day the Jewish people have never occupied all of the land that God promised to give them.

So doesn't Israel's history of rebellion and their judgment do away with the miracle idea of Israel? Gary says this isn't so due to the unconditional nature of the covenant. He noted the second covenant in the Bible from Deuteronomy chapters 28 through 30. That's the Mosaic covenant. While the Genesis 15 covenant deals with the ownership of the land, the Mosaic covenant has to do with the use of the land. Many people get these things confused. So while it's true that the Jewish nation did rebel, were descended into captivity and lost the right to use the land, such rebellion and captivity never negates their right to own the land. That's why for 1,878 years you couldn't find Israel on a map anywhere in the world.

From there Gary takes listeners through history to cover the following:

--The miracle of Christ and how this was prophesied by Daniel...

--Why the name of the land of Israel was changed in 135 AD...

--The Balfour Declaration of 1917...

--The false notion that Jesus is a Palestinian...

--Why there was a holocaust if Israel is a miracle...

...and much more.