The Jewish roots of Christianity

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Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

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Episode: “The Land Promised”
We visit Bethel and explore God’s promise to Abraham: that his and his children’s destinies are eternally bound in the Sacred Soil—what we appropriately call the “Promised Land.”
Series:Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel)”
In this eight-part television series, Dr. Jeffrey Seif takes viewers through Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel). By exploring the Bible’s accounts of the Holy Land’s past, present, and prophetic future, we discover an inextricable relationship between the people of Israel and Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel). Former CBS correspondent David Dolan helps explore the modern-day struggles that accompany the re-establishment of the ancestral Jewish homeland. On-location TV footage, dramas, and wonderful music punctuate the series.

Note: A newer version of this series is available.

Caption transcript for Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel): “The Land Promised” (1/8)

  • 00:09 LOOK TO THE NORTH
  • 00:12 THE SOUTH
  • 00:15 THE EAST
  • 00:18 THE WEST
  • 00:26 ALL THE LAND WHICH THOU SEEST
  • 00:28 TO THEE WILL I GIVE IT
  • 00:30 AND TO THY SEED FOREVER.
  • 00:35 INDEED... HE WHO WATCHES OVER ISRAEL
  • 00:38 WILL NEITHER SLUMBER NOR SLEEP.
  • 00:57 HEARTY SHALOM TO ALL OF YOU.
  • 00:58 JEFFREY SEIF HERE
  • 00:59 PLEASED TO WELCOME YOU AGAIN
  • 01:01 TO ZOLA LEVITT PRESENTS.
  • 01:03 I SAY "AGAIN" BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN GOING FOR 35 YEARS
  • 01:06 AND WE'RE GOING TO KEEP ON GOING.
  • 01:08 THIS TIME GOING TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL
  • 01:11 IN A SERIES CALLED "ERETZ ISRAEL"
  • 01:14 MEANING "THE LAND OF ISRAEL".
  • 01:17 WHY ARE WE DOING IT?
  • 01:19 WHY TAKE YOU THERE?
  • 01:21 DID YOU EVER GET THE FEELING PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE YOU...
  • 01:24 PEOPLE ARE CRITICIZING YOU?
  • 01:25 WELL IF YOU DO, YOU KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE A JEW
  • 01:28 BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AT US SINCE THE BEGINNING.
  • 01:32 FROM THE DAWN OF BIBLICAL REVELATION WE SEE GOD LEADING PEOPLE TO REAL ESTATE
  • 01:37 AND THE DEVIL TRYING TO OFF END THEM OR US.
  • 01:41 IN A WORLD TODAY WHERE ISRAEL IS SO DEBATABLE
  • 01:45 WE WANT TO TAKE YOU TO THE REAL ESTATE.
  • 01:47 WE WANT TO TAKE YOU THERE OFF THE BEATEN PATH, BY THE WAY.
  • 01:51 MY GPS WILL GET YOU PLACES YOU NORMALLY DON'T SEE.
  • 01:55 WE WANT TO TAKE YOU TO THE PAGES OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE
  • 01:58 AND SEE WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS ABOUT THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
  • 02:01 MY GOOD FRIEND DAVID DOLAN, A FORMER CBS CORRESPONDENT
  • 02:04 WILL GIVE US A MODERN VIEW
  • 02:06 BUT I WANT TO TAKE YOU TO A BIBLICAL VIEW AT THE FIRST
  • 02:09 AND SO OFF WE GO NOW TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR FATHER ABRAHAM
  • 02:14 AND JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
  • 02:20 NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAM,
  • 02:22 "GET THEE OUT OF THY COUNTRY"
  • 02:24 "AND FROM THY KINDRED"
  • 02:25 "AND FROM THY FATHER'S HOUSE"
  • 02:27 "UNTO A LAND THAT I WILL SHOW THEE."
  • 02:30 "AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION"
  • 02:32 "AND I WILL BLESS THEE AND MAKE THY NAME GREAT"
  • 02:36 "AND THOU SHALL BE A BLESSING."
  • 02:38 "AND I WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE"
  • 02:41 "AND CURSE HIM THAT CURSETH THEE."
  • 02:44 "AND IN THEE SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED."
  • 02:47 AND ABRAM TOOK SARAI HIS WIFE,
  • 02:50 HIS NEPHEW LOT,
  • 02:52 ALL THE SUBSTANCE AND PERSONS THEY HAD ACQUIRED IN HARAN
  • 02:56 AND JOURNEYED TO CANAAN.
  • 03:01 IT HAS BEEN SAID
  • 03:02 THAT A JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
  • 03:03 BEGINS WITH THE VERY FIRST STEPS
  • 03:06 WELL COME WITH ME NOW AND JOURNEY WITH ME
  • 03:09 AS WE WALK IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR FATHER ABRAHAM.
  • 03:50 EVER HEARD THE EXPRESSION
  • 03:52 "THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED"?
  • 03:54 FOR MANY OF US THE ROAD OF FAITH IS JUST THAT.
  • 03:58 WE WANT TO CONSIDER THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FATHER OF FAITH
  • 04:03 AND TO HELP US I WANT TO SHOW YOU A MAP SO YOU CAN SOME VISION
  • 04:07 FOR THE ROAD THAT HE TRAVELED.
  • 04:11 IT'S A BIG MAP BUT HE TOOK SOME BIG STEPS.
  • 04:15 ABRAHAM LEFT UR OF CHALDEA,
  • 04:18 HE MADE HIS WAY THROUGH MESOPOTAMIA,
  • 04:21 A GREEK WORD MEANING "BETWEEN THE RIVERS",
  • 04:23 THE EUPHRATES AND THE TIGRIS.
  • 04:25 HE GOES TO HARAN FOR A SEASON
  • 04:27 UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE LORD BECKONS HIM TO FINISH THE FINAL LEG OF THE JOURNEY
  • 04:31 MAKING HIS WAY TO "ERETZ CANAAN" IN THE "LAND OF CANAAN".
  • 04:36 AND IT'S GOING TO LEAD HIM TO THIS PLACE HERE "BETHEL"
  • 04:41 AND IT'S NOT ONLY THIS PLACE HERE
  • 04:44 BUT IT'S THIS PLACE HERE.
  • 04:46 COME WITH ME NOW...
  • 04:48 LET ME GIVE YOU A WINDOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
  • 05:00 THE PROMISE GIVEN OF A GREAT NATION, ABRAHAM THEN DEPARTS
  • 05:05 AND HE MAKES HIS WAY TO THE LAND OF CANAAN,
  • 05:09 THE LAND THEN CALLED "CANAAN".
  • 05:13 OPEN YOUR BIBLES PLEASE TO GENESIS CHAPTER 12
  • 05:16 AND LET'S FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR FATHER ABRAHAM.
  • 05:21 WE'RE TOLD IN VERSE 5
  • 05:25 ABRAHAM IS NOTED AS PASSING THROUGH VARIOUS PLACES.
  • 05:31 AND ISN'T IT LIKE A JOURNEY AS WE'RE GOING TO OUR INHERITANCE IN THE LORD?
  • 05:35 THERE'S VARIOUS STOPS ALONG THE WAY.
  • 05:38 WE'RE TOLD IN VERSE 6
  • 05:43 IT'S INTERESTING...
  • 05:44 THE LORD SAYS "I'LL GIVE YOU THE LAND OF CANAAN".
  • 05:46 THERE STILL WERE PEOPLE USING THE TERM "CANAANITES"
  • 05:49 BROADLY CONSTRUED, THAT WE'RE HERE.
  • 05:51 THAT ASIDE
  • 05:53 EVEN WITH SOME SCATTERED PEOPLE MOVING ABOUT HERE
  • 05:55 THE LORD IS EXPLICIT.
  • 05:57 AND I WANT YOU TO HEAR ME PLEASE
  • 05:58 IN VERSE 7 IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THE LORD SAYS...
  • 06:02 FIRST THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM IN SOMETHING OF A VISION
  • 06:06 AND SAID, "TO YOUR DESCENDANTS I WILL GIVE THIS LAND"...
  • 06:13 THE LAND OF CANAAN.
  • 06:15 THERE'S REAL ESTATE...
  • 06:17 THERE'S TRIBAL SORTS,
  • 06:19 LOOSE CONFEDERACIES MOVING AROUND IN DIFFERENT PLACES HERE.
  • 06:22 AND SOME HAVE TAKEN RESIDENCY IN THE CITIES,
  • 06:26 SMALL FLEDGLING CITIES IF YOU WILL,
  • 06:29 BUT AS PEOPLE ARE MIGRATING ALONG THE FERTILE CRESCENT AND SETTLING DOWN HERE...
  • 06:34 BUT THE LORD BRINGS ABRAHAM HERE
  • 06:37 AND HE SAYS, "LISTEN I HAVE GIVEN THIS LAND TO YOU"
  • 06:41 IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS OF PROMISE
  • 06:43 "TO YOUR DESCENDANTS I WILL GIVE IT".
  • 06:46 AND WHAT DOES HE DO IN RESPONSE TO HEARING THAT?
  • 06:49 WE'RE TOLD SOMETHING THAT ABRAHAM HAS DONE MORE THAN ONCE.
  • 06:51 WHAT DOES HE DO?
  • 06:53 HE BUILDS AN ALTAR,
  • 06:55 A "MITZBE'ACH",
  • 06:56 A PLACE OF SACRIFICE.
  • 06:58 AS WE MAKE OUR JOURNEY FROM THE WOMB TO THE TOMB
  • 07:02 SOME OF US HAVE MOMENTS
  • 07:03 WHERE WE HAVE SOMETHING OF AN EXISTENTIAL ENCOUNTER WITH THE LORD
  • 07:07 WHERE WE HEAR HIM SPEAK TO US.
  • 07:09 HE STIRS US UP IN OUR HEARTS.
  • 07:11 IT'S NOT ALL INTELLECT.
  • 07:13 BUT THERE'S A SENSE IF WE HAVE A LITTLE "RUACH HAKODESH" DWELLING IN US, A LITTLE "HOLY SPIRIT"
  • 07:17 THAT WE'RE BEING DRIVEN ALONG BY A FORCE THAT'S NOT OUR OWN.
  • 07:20 WE HEAR GOD'S VOICE,
  • 07:22 WE MOVE BY HIS SPIRIT
  • 07:24 AND INDIVIDUALS THUS INCLINED WITHIN THAT CONTEXT
  • 07:27 ARE MINDED ALONG THE WAY TO BUILD SOME ALTARS,
  • 07:31 TO TAKE SOME TIME OUT TO WORSHIP THE LORD.
  • 07:33 ABRAHAM UPON HEARING AT THIS PLACE IS MINDED TO DO MUCH THAT.
  • 07:39 I WANT YOU TO SEE...
  • 07:40 WE'RE TOLD, HAVING HEARD THE PROMISE,
  • 07:53 AND BY THE WAY I'M COMING TO YOU FROM THAT PLACE RIGHT NOW.
  • 07:58 TOURISTS DON'T FREQUENT THIS
  • 08:00 BECAUSE THERE'S NOT MUCH AT ONE LEVEL
  • 08:01 BUT ONE PILGRIM DID MANY YEARS AGO
  • 08:05 AND WE'RE ALL ABOUT FOLLOWING THE OFF ROAD STORY OF THE BIBLE
  • 08:09 WHERE THE TOURISTS BUSES DON'T COME.
  • 08:11 IT'S EASY TO GET A CAMERA CREW,
  • 08:13 OR EASIER I SHOULD SAY TO GET A CREW IN
  • 08:15 TO TAKE YOU TO SEE SOME THINGS THAT THEY HAVEN'T BUILT HIGHWAYS FOR OTHERS TO GET TO.
  • 08:21 IN ANY CASE WE'RE IN PROXIMITY TO THAT PLACE
  • 08:25 HERE BETWEEN THOSE TWO CITIES NOTED WHERE ABRAHAM IS MINDED TO WORSHIP THE LORD.
  • 08:30 WE'RE TOLD, "AND THERE"...
  • 08:32 AS I NOTED EARLIER...
  • 08:33 HE BUILDS AN ALTAR TO THE LORD
  • 08:36 AND HE CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD.
  • 08:39 NOW I CALL UPON GOOD PEOPLE WHO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD TO READ THE BIBLE.
  • 08:47 I'M SURPRISED BY THE WAY
  • 08:49 HOW INDIVIDUALS THAT LAY SIEGE TO THE CLAIM OF BEING BIBLE BELIEVERS
  • 08:54 BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT BIBLE THEY'RE READING
  • 08:55 BECAUSE I'M CLUELESS HOW SOMEONE CAN BE A BIBLE BELIEVER ON THE ONE HAND
  • 08:59 AND A NON-SUPPORTER OF JEWISH PEOPLE IN THIS LAND ON THE OTHER.
  • 09:04 IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME WHATSOEVER.
  • 09:06 THEY CAN CALL THEMSELVES BISHOP, PROFESSOR, DOCTOR, REVEREND... WHATEVER...
  • 09:10 BUT I'M CLUELESS HOW SOMEONE CAN READ THE BIBLE AND NOT JUST HOLD ON TO WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.
  • 09:16 WELL, I WANT TO DO THAT
  • 09:17 AND SO I WANT TO COMMEND TO YOU,
  • 09:19 NOT JUST AS I LEAVE THIS ONE TEACHING SEGMENT,
  • 09:21 BUT AS I INTRODUCE A SERIES TO REMIND YOU,
  • 09:24 GOD GAVE LAND TO PEOPLE.
  • 09:27 AND IN THIS SERIES, "ERETZ ISRAEL",
  • 09:29 WE'RE GONNA NOT ONLY FOLLOW ABRAHAM
  • 09:31 BUT WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW HIS PROGENY.
  • 09:33 YITZHAK AND YAKOV...
  • 09:36 WE'LL FOLLOW THEM AROUND THE LAND....
  • 09:38 THE LAND CALLED "THE PROMISED LAND"...
  • 09:40 THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
  • 09:53 FOR INSIGHTFUL PERSPECTIVES OF ISRAEL AND BIBLE PROPHECY
  • 09:56 ASK FOR OUR FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
  • 09:59 "THE LEVITT LETTER".
  • 10:00 WHEN YOU CALL BE SURE TO ASK FOR OUR FREE CATALOGUE
  • 10:03 WITH THE LATEST VIDEOS, BOOKS, AND MUSIC.
  • 10:07 OUR CORRESPONDENCE COURSE,
  • 10:08 "THE INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH CHRISTIAN STUDIES"
  • 10:10 INCLUDES READING PACKETS, TEACHING CDS, AND MAIL-IN TESTS.
  • 10:15 YOU MAY WANT TO JOIN US ON AN UPCOMING TOUR OF ISRAEL OR PETRA
  • 10:18 OR CRUISE THE MEDITERRANEAN VISITING GREECE AND EPHESUS.
  • 10:22 PLEASE CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION.
  • 10:27 (Jeff speaking)
  • 10:28 AND NOW FROM THE OLD CITY IN JERUSALEM
  • 10:30 DAVID DOLAN BEGINS HIS STORY
  • 10:32 OF THE BEGINNING OF THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL.
  • 10:37 I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF ONE OF THE OLDEST CHURCHES ON EARTH...
  • 10:40 THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE IN THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM.
  • 10:44 AS YOU CAN SEE
  • 10:46 CHRISTIANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ARE HERE VISITING THIS SITE,
  • 10:48 THE SITE THAT MANY BELIEVE JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED, BURIED, ROSE FROM THE DEAD
  • 10:53 ON A LITTLE HILL, THAT'S INSIDE THE CHURCH, CALLED GOLGOTHA.
  • 10:56 THE EMPEROR HADRIAN,
  • 10:58 THE ROMAN EMPEROR,
  • 10:59 DESTROYED THE STATE OF JUDEA IN THE YEAR 135 AFTER A JEWISH REVOLT.
  • 11:04 THE TEMPLE HAD ALREADY BEEN DESTROYED IN A.D. 70,
  • 11:07 REPLACED BY A TEMPLE TO A PAGAN GOD, JUPITER.
  • 11:12 HERE THERE WAS A PAGAN TEMPLE TO THE GOD VENUS.
  • 11:16 THAT WAS DELIBERATE
  • 11:18 BECAUSE THE ROMANS KNEW THAT CHRISTIANS REVERED THIS SIGHT AS SOME SORT OF A SPECIAL PLACE.
  • 11:23 A JEWISH MINI-STATE REMAINED IN THE LAND AFTER JUDEA WAS DESTROYED
  • 11:27 AND RENAMED SYRIA PALESTINA,
  • 11:30 A NAME THAT WAS DELIBERATELY PICKED TO INSULT THE JEWS
  • 11:32 BECAUSE IT CAME FROM THEIR ANCIENT ENEMY THE PHILISTINES.
  • 11:35 UP IN THE NORTHERN GALILEE A JEWISH STATE REMAINED IN EFFECT.
  • 11:40 IN FACT THE SANHEDRIN WAS RECONSTITUTED THERE.
  • 11:43 IN THE 4TH CENTURY THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS DIVIDED.
  • 11:46 THE EASTERN HALF IS RULED BY THE BYZANTINES FROM CONSTANTINOPLE.
  • 11:49 THE WESTERN HALF REMAINED UNDER ROMAN RULE.
  • 11:52 THE BYZANTINES FIERCELY PERSECUTED THE JEWS HERE IN THE LAND
  • 11:55 AND MANY OF THEM FLED TO THE EAST TO MESOPOTAMIA OR BABYLON.
  • 11:59 YET SOME JEWISH COMMUNITIES REMAINED,
  • 12:02 IN FACT, THE RECORDS SHOW IN THE 6TH CENTURY THERE WERE 43 JEWISH COMMUNITIES REMAINING.
  • 12:07 THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE
  • 12:09 CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY
  • 12:10 IN THE 4TH CENTURY.
  • 12:12 THE TEMPLE THAT WAS HERE
  • 12:13 TO VENUS
  • 12:14 WAS DESTROYED BY HIS MOTHER
  • 12:16 QUEEN HELENA
  • 12:17 WHO CAME BY TO FIND
  • 12:18 CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES
  • 12:20 IN THIS LAND.
  • 12:22 THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME HAS 6 DENOMINATIONS OPERATING IN IT...
  • 12:26 THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH WHICH WAS BASED IN CONSTANTINOPLE BUT THAT BECAME ISTANBUL...
  • 12:31 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THERE...
  • 12:34 ARMENIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS ALSO ARE THERE...
  • 12:36 THE SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OPERATES THERE...
  • 12:38 THE EGYPTIAN COPTIC CHURCH...
  • 12:40 AND THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH.
  • 12:42 IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR THESE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS TO BE TOGETHER IN THIS BUILDING
  • 12:47 AND THERE ARE SOME CLASHES.
  • 13:01 IN THE YEAR 614 THE PERSIANS INVADED THE LAND,
  • 13:03 THEY DAMAGED THE CHURCH,
  • 13:05 BUT THEY WEREN'T THERE VERY LONG.
  • 13:07 IN 630 THE BYZANTINES RECAPTURED IT.
  • 13:09 BUT JUST A FEW YEARS AFTER THAT IN 638 A NEW RELIGION, ISLAM,
  • 13:14 SENT IT'S FORCES UP TO THIS LAND
  • 13:16 BEHIND ME YOU SEE THE TOWER OF DAVID.
  • 13:18 THAT WAS A MOSQUE MINARET.
  • 13:21 IT'S GONE BETWEEN CHRISTIAN, JEWISH AND MUSLIM RULE OVER THE CENTURIES.
  • 13:25 THEY ALSO CAPTURED THE TEMPLE MOUNT;
  • 13:27 THEY BEGAN WORK ON A MAGNIFICENT SHRINE, "THE DOME OF THE ROCK"
  • 13:30 THAT WAS FINISHED IN THE YEAR 691.
  • 13:33 THE MUSLIMS THAT RULED HERE DIDN'T SET THIS UP AS A CAPITAL.
  • 13:36 THEY RULED THE CITY BUT THEY DID SO FROM BAGHDAD,
  • 13:39 SOMETIMES FROM DAMASCUS,
  • 13:41 SOMETIMES FROM CAIRO.
  • 13:43 AND THE DIFFERENT ARMIES FROM THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS WOULD CLASH HERE IN THE CITY OFTEN.
  • 13:48 IN THE YEAR 1009 THE CHURCH WAS DESTROYED BY CALIPH AL HAKIM.
  • 13:53 THIS WAS ONE OF THE PROMPTS FOR THE CRUSADES.
  • 13:56 THE POPE IN ROME SAID, "WE MUST GO TO THE HOLY CITY",
  • 13:59 "WE MUST RECAPTURE IT."
  • 14:01 AND IN 1096 CRUSADER FORCES LANDED DOWN ON THE COAST
  • 14:05 CAPTURING THE CITY OF JERUSALEM IN 1099.
  • 14:08 BUT IT DIDN'T LAST VERY LONG.
  • 14:09 THEY WERE DEFEATED BY THE MUSLIM FORCES LED BY SALADIN
  • 14:13 UP NEAR THE SEA OF GALILEE IN THE YEAR 1187.
  • 14:16 JERUSALEM WAS AGAIN UNDER MUSLIM RULE
  • 14:19 AND THEY WERE FINALLY PUSHED OUT OF THE ENTIRE LAND IN 1291.
  • 14:22 MEANWHILE JEWS WERE BEING EXPELLED FROM VARIOUS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
  • 14:27 THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS UNHAPPY THAT THEY HAD HELPED THE MUSLIMS TO RE-TAKE THE CITY.
  • 14:32 THEY WERE EXPELLED FROM ENGLAND,
  • 14:33 THEN FROM FRANCE,
  • 14:35 THEN FROM GERMANY, FROM HUNGARY,
  • 14:36 FINALLY FROM SPAIN AND PORTUGAL IN 1492 AND 1497.
  • 14:41 THE MUSLIMS AGAIN WERE RULING THIS LAND.
  • 14:44 AGAIN IT WAS DIFFERENT MUSLIM GROUPS OFTEN CLASHING,
  • 14:46 THE MAMLUKS, THEY WERE BASED IN DAMASCUS AND IN CAIRO.
  • 14:49 AND THEN IN THE YEAR 1516 A NEW EMPIRE TOOK CONTROL,
  • 14:54 THE TURKISH OTTOMAN EMPIRE GAINED THIS CITY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS.
  • 14:58 AND THESE MAGNIFICENT WALLS THAT YOU SEE BEHIND ME WERE BUILT BY SULEIMAN, THE MAGNIFICENT.
  • 15:03 AT THAT TIME THE RECORDS SHOW THERE WERE 30 JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE LAND.
  • 15:07 AND THE TURKISH MUSLIMS WERE FAIRLY TOLERANT OF THE JEWS LIVING HERE,
  • 15:12 PERSECUTION DECREASED AND JEWISH LIFE WAS THRIVING FAIRLY WELL.
  • 15:16 BUT THAT WAS AT THE BEGINNING.
  • 15:18 TOWARDS THE END OF THE OTTOMAN RULE MORE ANTI-JEWISH RULERS EMERGED THAT PERSECUTED THE JEWS
  • 15:24 AND IT WAS A BAD SITUATION THAT ONLY STARTED TO CHANGE
  • 15:27 WHEN THE EUROPEAN POWERS GAINED MORE AND MORE INFLUENCE IN THE 1800s.
  • 15:35 NOT EVERYBODY LOVES HISTORY.
  • 15:37 BUT DAVID DOES SUCH A GOOD JOB WITH IT.
  • 15:40 AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL, IT'S NOT JUST HISTORY
  • 15:43 ITS "HIS-STORY"...GOD'S STORY.
  • 15:46 AND WE LOVE EXPOSING IT ALL TO YOU.
  • 15:52 TRAVEL MANAGER TRACIE
  • 15:53 THEY CAN GET TO IT FIRST HAND CAN'T THEY?
  • 15:55 THEY CAN.
  • 15:56 YOU DO AN EXCELLENT JOB OF
  • 15:57 REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE PLACES
  • 15:59 BUT I THINK WHAT PEOPLE
  • 16:00 EXPERIENCE AND WHAT I'VE HEARD
  • 16:02 FROM OUR PASSENGERS IS
  • 16:03 JUST THE INTIMACY THEY EXPERIENCE,
  • 16:05 THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD IN THE HOLY LAND IS SO STRONG
  • 16:08 IT'S AMAZING.
  • 16:09 SO THEY CAN CALL
  • 16:10 1-800-WONDERS
  • 16:11 AND GET TO YOU
  • 16:12 AND GET TO ISRAEL.
  • 16:13 THEY CAN.
  • 16:14 AND THEY BETTER CALL QUICKLY
  • 16:15 CAUSE I TELL YOU WHAT,
  • 16:16 OUR TOURS BOOK 8 AND 9 MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
  • 16:18 WE'RE ALREADY SELLING FOR TOURS MANY MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
  • 16:21 ONE THING PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW DR. SEIF IS
  • 16:24 ON OUR WEBSITE
  • 16:25 WE HAVE OUR DATES UP
  • 16:26 THROUGH THE NEXT
  • 16:27 COUPLE OF YEARS.
  • 16:28 PEOPLE CAN REGISTER
  • 16:29 ON OUR WEBSITE;
  • 16:30 THEY CAN ORDER
  • 16:31 ALL THE MATERIALS.
  • 16:32 AND WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO
  • 16:33 EXPERIENCE IN ISRAEL
  • 16:34 IS THE PRESENCE AND
  • 16:35 INTIMACY OF THE LORD.
  • 16:36 AND YOU KNOW ONE OF OUR RECENT PASSENGERS, DEBORAH,
  • 16:38 HAD AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE ON THE SEA OF GALILEE.
  • 16:41 SO LET'S GO TO DEBORAH RIGHT NOW
  • 16:42 AND LET HER TELL YOU PERSONALLY
  • 16:44 ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE IN ISRAEL.
  • 16:48 I UNDERSTAND THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME TO ISRAEL.
  • 16:50 HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING IT? >>I LOVE IT.
  • 16:51 I'VE RESEARCHED TRIPS A LONG TIME
  • 16:53 AND WANTED SOMEONE THAT REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE.
  • 16:57 THE THING THAT I LIKE THE MOST
  • 16:58 WAS THE SEA OF GALILEE AND THE EXPERIENCE...
  • 17:01 THE HOLY SPIRIT JUST CAME ON OUR BOAT
  • 17:03 AND PEOPLE WERE PRAISING AND WORSHIPING
  • 17:05 AND IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING I'VE BEEN APART OF
  • 17:08 INTELLECTUALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.
  • 17:10 WE'RE JUST SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU ON THE ZOLA TOUR. >>THANK YOU.
  • 17:13 IT'S BEEN A REAL BLESSING.
  • 17:15 I INVITE YOU TO COME WITH US
  • 17:16 SO YOU CAN HAVE AN EXPERIENCE SIMILAR TO DEBORAH'S.
  • 17:19 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR TOURS IS AVAILABLE AT
  • 17:22 LEVITT.COM
  • 17:24 OR CALL ME AT 1-800-WONDERS.
  • 17:25 I'M IN THE OFFICE EVERY DAY AND WOULD LOVE TO TALK WITH YOU.
  • 17:28 AND THEY'LL GET TO YOU.
  • 17:31 AND WE'LL GET YOU TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
  • 17:34 CAN'T GO BUT STILL WANT TO KNOW?
  • 17:36 YOU CAN GET OUR MAGAZINE
  • 17:38 AT WWW.LEVITT.COM
  • 17:41 TIMELY NEWS RELATED TO THE JEWS.
  • 17:43 WE WANT YOU TO HAVE IT.
  • 17:45 THE OFFER FOR THIS PROGRAM
  • 17:46 IS SOMETHING WE WANT YOU TO HAVE AS WELL.
  • 17:48 IT'S A BIBLE STUDY,
  • 17:49 "THE COVENANTS OF GOD".
  • 17:52 WE LOOK AT THE SCRIPTURE,
  • 17:53 WE SEE WHAT GOD SAYS,
  • 17:55 WHAT'S BINDING RELATED TO ISRAEL
  • 17:57 AND RELATED TO YOU.
  • 18:00 WE'RE GOING TO NOW GO
  • 18:01 TO THE MOUNT ON OLIVES.
  • 18:03 I'M THERE WITH DAVID DOLAN
  • 18:05 TALKING ABOUT BIBLICAL INFORMATION THAT'S RELATED TO TODAY.
  • 18:12 YOU KNOW DAVE,
  • 18:13 LOOKING BEHIND ME OVER HERE
  • 18:14 I'M REMINDED OF THE FACT
  • 18:15 THAT RELIGION REALLY HAS A WAY
  • 18:17 OF INSPIRING PEOPLE, YES,
  • 18:18 FOR GOOD AND BAD.
  • 18:19 WHAT SAY YOU?
  • 18:21 WELL ABSOLUTELY.
  • 18:22 IN THE HISTORIC REVIEW
  • 18:24 THAT I DID JUST A BIT AGO
  • 18:25 I MENTIONED CONSTANTINE,
  • 18:28 THE ROMAN EMPEROR
  • 18:29 CONVERTING TO CHRISTIANITY
  • 18:31 AND HIS MOTHER QUEEN HELENA
  • 18:32 COMING OUT HERE TO CHECK ON
  • 18:34 THE HOLY SITES OF CHRISTIANITY.
  • 18:36 AND AS A RESULT
  • 18:38 CHURCHES WERE BUILT
  • 18:39 AND THE FAITH SPREAD HERE.
  • 18:40 AN ENORMOUS INVESTMENT
  • 18:42 OF ENERGY, MONEY
  • 18:43 AND PEOPLE...AMAZING!
  • 18:44 IT REALLY WAS.
  • 18:45 AND OF COURSE HE WAS THE EMPEROR
  • 18:47 AND SHE WAS THE QUEEN MOTHER >>SHE HAS TO GET PLENTY OF VOTES
  • 18:49 AS IT WERE
  • 18:50 SO THEY HAD A LOT OF THAT.
  • 18:52 BUT THEN LATER ON WE SEE
  • 18:53 THE NEGATIVE INFLUENCE
  • 18:54 OF RELIGION AGAIN
  • 18:55 FROM CHRISTIANITY TO CRUSADES.
  • 18:58 THEY CAME DOWN OF COURSE TO
  • 18:59 RE-CONQUER THE LAND FOR CHRIST
  • 19:01 BUT IN DOING SO,
  • 19:02 AS YOU KNOW WELL,
  • 19:03 KILLED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
  • 19:05 OF JEWS AND MUSLIMS AND OTHERS
  • 19:07 AND MANY OF THEM WERE KILLED.
  • 19:09 AND THE MUSLIM RULE LATER ON
  • 19:10 HAD GOOD AND BAD.
  • 19:13 GOOD IN THAT THEY ESTABLISHED
  • 19:14 SOME ECONOMIC REFORMS
  • 19:16 AND THE STANDARD OF LIVING
  • 19:19 WAS INCREASED FOR THE PEOPLE.
  • 19:20 BUT AGAIN THERE WAS PERSECUTION
  • 19:22 OF JEWS AND OF CHRISTIANS
  • 19:23 AND THE DESTRUCTION
  • 19:24 OF SOME OF THE EARLIER
  • 19:25 CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES, ETC.
  • 19:27 IT SOMETHING,
  • 19:27 THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS
  • 19:29 ENTHUSIASM FOR GOOD
  • 19:30 OR FOR BAD...
  • 19:31 BUT IT MOBILIZES,
  • 19:33 IT ELICITS ENERGIES.
  • 19:34 IT DOES.
  • 19:35 AND FOR THE MOST PART
  • 19:37 FOR THE GOOD.
  • 19:38 WE HAVE SEVERAL HOSPITALS
  • 19:39 HERE IN TOWN
  • 19:40 THAT WERE STARTED BY
  • 19:41 CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES
  • 19:42 IN THE 1800s.
  • 19:43 WE'RE RIGHT NEXT TO
  • 19:44 THE AUGUSTA VICTORIA
  • 19:45 ONE THAT GERMAN LUTHERANS FOUNDED.
  • 19:48 SO VERY POSITIVE IN THAT SENSE
  • 19:49 BUT YOU KNOW THIS IS
  • 19:50 THE ONLY SPOT ON EARTH JEFF
  • 19:52 THAT'S HOLY
  • 19:53 TO THREE DIFFERENT FAITHS
  • 19:54 IT IS UNIQUE IN THAT WAY
  • 19:56 AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS
  • 19:57 FIT TOGETHER SO WELL
  • 19:58 AND EVEN THE DIFFERENT GROUPS
  • 19:59 INSIDE OF THE FAITHS,
  • 20:01 THE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS
  • 20:02 IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY,
  • 20:03 THEY CLASH AT TIMES.
  • 20:04 THE GROUPS INSIDE
  • 20:06 OF THE CHURCHES GO AT IT.
  • 20:06 LAST NIGHT I WAS SPEAKING
  • 20:08 TO TWO CATHOLIC PRIESTS
  • 20:09 THAT WERE JUST CHAGRINED
  • 20:10 ABOUT HOW THE WAY THE MONKS
  • 20:11 ARE FIGHTING IN THE
  • 20:12 CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
  • 20:13 GO FIGURE.
  • 20:14 THEY THOUGHT IT WAS
  • 20:15 AN EMBARRASSMENT
  • 20:15 AND I AGREE.
  • 20:17 I'VE ACTUALLY WITNESSED IT
  • 20:18 OUT IN BETHLEHEM
  • 20:19 WHERE THEY HAVE BROOM HANDLES
  • 20:21 AND THEY WERE
  • 20:22 ATTACKING EACH OTHER.
  • 20:23 AND THIS WAS BECAUSE ONE GROUP,
  • 20:24 I THINK THE ARMENIANS,
  • 20:25 WERE CLEANING A CERTAIN WALL
  • 20:26 THAT THE GREEK ORTHODOX SAID
  • 20:27 WAS THEIR WALL
  • 20:28 AND THEY SHOULD CLEAN IT.
  • 20:29 SO THE ISSUES WERE
  • 20:30 EVEN JUST TINY.
  • 20:32 RIGHT,
  • 20:33 THOSE STORIES ARE LEGIONS.
  • 20:34 SO AS YOU NOTED
  • 20:36 THAT RELIGION...
  • 20:38 AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF EXAMPLES
  • 20:39 HAS A WAY OF ELICITING ENERGIES.
  • 20:40 BUT THEN THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE
  • 20:42 BESIDE RELIGION
  • 20:43 THAT'S RELATED TO IT.
  • 20:44 IT'S THE VOICE OF GOD.
  • 20:46 AND OUR STORY HERE
  • 20:48 BEGAN WITH ABRAHAM
  • 20:50 AND JUST THE BIBLICAL DRAMA
  • 20:52 OF INDIVIDUALS HEARING GOD
  • 20:55 AND RESPONDING
  • 20:56 AND GOING ON A JOURNEY.
  • 20:58 IT TAKES THEM TO INTERESTING PLACES DOESN'T IT?
  • 20:59 LAST WORD'S YOURS.
  • 21:00 IT ABSOLUTELY DOES
  • 21:01 AND IF THERE WASN'T GOD
  • 21:02 IT WOULD BE A MESS.
  • 21:04 BUT THERE IS A GOD
  • 21:05 AND HE HAS IT
  • 21:06 ALL IN HIS HANDS.
  • 21:06 YES AND SOMEHOW
  • 21:08 ALL THESE TENSIONS GET RESOLVED
  • 21:09 AS THE VOICE OF GOD
  • 21:11 LEADS US ON IN TIME.
  • 23:27 WONDERFUL YOUNG LADY.
  • 23:29 WONDERFUL LOVE SONG
  • 23:32 STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE.
  • 23:34 IT REMINDS ME OF GOD'S LOVING HEART IN SO MANY WAYS.
  • 23:37 LOVE FOR PEOPLE, THE JEWS, AND FOR ALL OF US FOR THAT MATTER.
  • 23:42 GOD'S BINDING LOVE IS SO AMPLY ATTESTED IN BIBLICAL LITERATURE
  • 23:48 AND HERE THE LATE ZOLA LEVITT INTERVIEWS A RABBI WHO GIVES VOICE TO THAT AND MORE.
  • 23:56 (JEFF SPEAKING)
  • 23:57 ON ONE OF ZOLA'S MANY TRIPS TO ISRAEL
  • 23:59 HE VISITED RABBI RUBEN GRODNER
  • 24:01 AT A WEST BANK SETTLEMENT CALLED KFAR EDOMIM.
  • 24:04 THE RABBI READ FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS
  • 24:06 AND TALKED ABOUT GOD'S EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM.
  • 24:12 (SPEAKING HEBREW)
  • 24:15 "TO BE UNTO YOU A GOD AND TO YOUR CHILDREN AFTER YOU."
  • 24:18 THIS COVENANT OF THE LAND THAT WAS MADE BETWEEN GOD AND ABRAHAM
  • 24:21 WAS NOT A COVENANT OF THE PAST;
  • 24:24 IT IS A COVENANT OF THE PRESENT
  • 24:26 AND A COVENANT OF THE FUTURE.
  • 24:28 YOU READ B'RIT OLAM.
  • 24:29 B'RIT OLAM, AN EVERLASTING, AN ETERNAL COVENANT.
  • 24:34 "AND I SHALL GIVE...."
  • 24:37 (SPEAKING HEBREW)
  • 24:43 "I SHALL GIVE YOU THE ENTIRE LAND OF CANAAN."
  • 24:46 NOT A PART OF IT...
  • 24:48 NOT A PIECE OF IT...
  • 24:49 NOT TO BE GIVEN AWAY TO OTHERS.
  • 24:50 THIS IS YOUR LAND...
  • 24:52 ALL OF IT.
  • 24:53 (SPEAKING HEBREW)
  • 24:54 AGAIN WE HEAR THE WORD "OLAM", "ETERNAL", "FOREVER'...
  • 24:57 AN ETERNAL INHERITANCE.
  • 24:59 "AND I SHALL BE YOUR GOD."
  • 25:02 AND WE'RE STANDING HERE
  • 25:03 ON THE WEST BANK
  • 25:05 SO OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE NOT IN FAVOR OF GIVING ANY OF THIS AWAY.
  • 25:08 THIS IS THE HEARTLAND OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
  • 25:10 JUDEA...
  • 25:12 TO THE NORTH SAMARIA...
  • 25:15 THIS IS WHERE OUR FOREFATHERS TREAD.
  • 25:17 WHEN WE HIKE IN THESE HILLS
  • 25:19 WE FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC AND JACOB
  • 25:23 AND THAT IS OUR LAND.
  • 25:25 NOT THE LAND OF OTHERS
  • 25:28 BUT THIS IS OUR HOMELAND.
  • 25:30 NO HUMAN BEING WANTS TO GIVE AWAY HIS HOME TO ANYBODY
  • 25:34 AND WE, THE CHOSEN PEOPLE, DO NOT WANT TO GIVE ONE INCH OF OUR LAND TO ANYONE ELSE.
  • 25:41 THIS IS THE LAND PROMISED TO US BY GOD.
  • 25:45 WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID I LEARNED A SONG,
  • 25:47 "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, THIS LAND IS MY LAND."
  • 25:51 THIS LAND IS GOD'S LAND.
  • 25:53 WE LOOK HERE IN THE BOOK GENESIS
  • 25:55 WHERE THE LORD COMMENDS THIS REAL ESTATE
  • 25:57 TO THE BROOK OF EGYPT
  • 25:59 TO THE SOUTH
  • 26:00 UP TO THE EUPHRATES RIVER HERE.
  • 26:02 THE EASTERN BORDER IS A LITTLE VAGUER
  • 26:04 BUT ONE THING THAT'S CLEAR
  • 26:05 IS THAT THE LAND PROMISED TO ABRAHAM
  • 26:07 IS A LOT BIGGER THAN THE LITTLE SLIVER OF TODAY THAT'S CALLED THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL.
  • 26:14 PEOPLE SAY "THE JEWS ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD"...
  • 26:16 ABSOLUTE FANTASY.
  • 26:19 PERSONALLY I'M ALL ABOUT WANTING TO EMPLOY SOME BIBLICAL REALITY
  • 26:23 TO COUNTER-BALANCE TODAY'S NON-REALITY,
  • 26:27 HENCE, THE SERIES ON THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
  • 26:29 THIS WEEK WE LOOKED AT ABRAHAM,
  • 26:32 NEXT WEEK WE LOOK AT ISAAC.
  • 26:34 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GOING ON THE JOURNEY AND AS YOU GO NOW,
  • 26:37 PLEASE,
  • 26:38 SHA'ALU SHALOM YERUSHALAYIM
  • 26:41 PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM

Episodes in this series

  1. The Land Promised
  2. Promised to the Next Generation
  3. To All Generations
  4. Entering the Promised Land
  5. Fighting for the Promised Land
  6. Promised Forever
  7. Jesus and the Promised Land
  8. Israel Fulfilling Prophecy

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