Crosstalk: December 20, 2017

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

20 years ago, Congress passed a resolution to have Jerusalem declared to be the capital of Israel. However, president after president 'kicked the can down the road'. Even President Trump passed on the opportunity in June, instead choosing to grant another 6 month extension. Recently that extension came to an end and this time the president made the declaration. Dr. Frazier was thrilled to not only hear about this but to also witness it on December 6th.

Dr. Frazier reminded listeners that Jerusalem is named over 300 times in the Bible. So when you consider that this city has not only biblical prominence but also historical and political prominence, a question comes up. Is there anyone who doesn't already know that Jerusalem is Israel's capital? This is why Dr. Frazier feels it's absurd that people would have a problem with the president's proclamation.

He reminded listeners that King David made Jerusalem the capital 3,000 years ago under the unified kingdom of Israel. The Knesset, the prime minister's office and almost all of Israel's governmental offices located there. So when the president made his proclamation, he absolutely affirmed what we already know to be biblically correct and historically accurate. Dr. Frazier also believes it was the moral thing to do and it's politically expedient because this was a campaign promise.

Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, we've been dangling a carrot to the Palestinian Muslims this idea that perhaps one day they'd get Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. When the president made his declaration on December 6th, he put a 'nail in that coffin' which sent a message saying, 'That ship has sailed. Now do you want to talk about something else?' Dr. Frazier admitted this doesn't rule out a two-state solution, but it just won't involve Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.

Jim then pointed to the contrast of activities in just the past year. President Obama was urging Israel to give terrorist supporting Palestinians half of Jerusalem, Old Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and then on December 23rd we saw the U.S./Israel relationship come to a head through a U.N. Security Council resolution to effectively sign over the holiest sites in Judaism and Christianity to radical Muslim groups.

Dr. Frazier's response was to describe President Obama as an ideologue, while he described President Trump as a pragmatic businessman who not only understands Israel's history and America, but what's also in our best interest.

Dr. Frazier's not under any allusion that that the morality of our culture is not 'going to the toilet'. On the world scene what we're seeing is somewhat of a reprieve. He doesn't know how long this will last, however, he communicated that America is not the center of God's universe in the last days. Israel and the Middle East is.

Why is the prime minister of England against this? The president of Turkey has talked about opening an embassy to Palestine in Jerusalem. Does this create the scenario for a 'collision course'? Is Islam a satanic religion? Can Russia really be an 'honest mediator' in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? You'll hear solid, biblically-based answers to these questions and others on this edition of Crosstalk.