What in the World is Happening?

If a certain topic involves one-fourth of our Bible, why are the pulpits silent? Chad's first guest is YouTuber Chad Thomas. Chad's cutting-edge current event updates online are helping many understand the times and become watchmen on the wall. Here is today's programming.

The key word is convergence. Everything is coming together right here, right now, at this particular time in human history, and it's not a coincidence. And when you take a literal interpretation of Scripture, you will know where we are right now and where everything is headed.

You have a virus that shuts down the whole world, paving the way for the rise of a new world order, a coming one-world government, a one-world currency, and the stage is getting set up right now for the coming mark of the beast system, which will be implemented during the coming tribulation period, which we are not in yet. And welcome to Understanding the Times Radio. Now and then I like to check in with some guests of mine who I think are having an impact on the younger generation.

Chad Thomas will join me in just a second. He has a very effective online outreach, primarily on YouTube. It's reaching people of all ages, certainly some younger ages as well. He's dealing with cutting-edge issues many times a week, and we're going to talk about a few of those issues here for part one of my programming. And you can find him at Watchmen on the Wall 88.

That would be on YouTube, Watchmen on the Wall 88. But Chad, welcome back to the program here. Thanks, Jan.

It's great to be back. Say, Chad, I know you're interacting with all ages, but I know you have some younger folks watching you and listening to you. How has the last year affected your younger generation? I think you suggested that those you talk to, let's just say in the age under 40, feel that maybe life will go back to normal. And frankly, since I'm a follower of yours, I know you feel this ship is sinking because you say that quite a bit. Some of your followers, I think, feel it's all going to go back to normal. Am I right?

100%, Jan. It seems like my generation, they know something's going on. They know something's not right. They're looking around and they're saying, what in the world is happening? The problem is a majority of them.

I know there's a small remnant, I would say, that hold a biblical worldview like I do. But I would say for a majority of them, unfortunately, they're falling for the lives of the enemy, the lives of the media, the government, and listening to everything the government's saying, and they're believing things are going to return to normal. In fact, they want a new normal.

They want their lives back and they're going to do anything the government says to get the normal back with very little opposition. What we're seeing right now is this is absolutely conditioning people for the rise of the Antichrist and the new world order after the rapture. And that's why I opened with that little clip of you talking about exactly that. The other thing both of us talk about is the convergence of things that are going on in the world. It's hard to keep up with all the significant things that are taking place. Evil is being called good.

Everything seems to be backwards. A lot of people are just plain asking what in the world is happening. But let's just look at a few issues that are converging. And I'm going to let you speak to that. Our generation, in the years of which you've been alive and I've been alive, have seen a lot of things come together. Talk to me about what you see coming together.

I'll add some of my own insight here, but you go first. The number one thing that a lot of people that study end times eschatology are focused on right now is God's prophetic time piece, which is the nation of Israel. Israel currently, as you know, Jan, they don't have a functioning government.

They've gone through four elections right now, and there's still no outcome as of yet. You watch Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and what's happening right there. Again, as you frequently say, Jerusalem's the minute hand, the Temple Mount the second hand. And when you watch Israel right now, the time piece, you will know, again, that God is about to put his full attention back to them, the nation of Israel, for Daniel's 70th week. So I think Israel, number one, when you look at what's happening with them currently, that'll show you how short time is. In fact, since Israel became a nation, May of 1948, again, those of us that study end time eschatology know how significant that was when Isaiah and Ezekiel both prophesied that this would happen.

In fact, Isaiah said Israel would be born in the day. That's exactly what happened. And ever since then, we've been seeing with the increase in technology, like you said, people calling good evil and evil good, the lawlessness. Yes, the lawlessness. That's huge.

Massive. Just over the last year or two, the increase in the lawlessness around the world, and you can't forget the birth pangs, the increase in the volcanic activity, earthquakes, crazy insane weather patterns, et cetera, all these things are coming together at this particular time. And we have the interest in building the Third Temple.

And of course, that's Israel-centric again. Even their search for a red heifer has gone on overdrive in the last five years. They've actually found several.

Sometimes a white hare, two or three white hares, then disqualifies that red heifer. Then they're longing for a leader. They've had their fourth election.

They may be going into their fifth election. The government seems to be in channels. I'm going to stay on this topic for just an extra moment. And I think I'm going to play a clip here because the month of May, and we're airing this program actually the last weekend of May, but it's been rough in Israel and that's an understatement. It's been a rough month for the Israelis here in 2021 because Hamas has launched tens of thousands of rockets during the month of May.

Thankfully, a ceasefire was declared back on May 21st. I'll hope to have Amir Tsarfati on air with me next weekend, folks, and we'll discuss this and much more with Amir. I want to play this short clip of Tom Hughes speculating just how might the conflict that Israel saw in May spread to the point where we see the fulfillment of Isaiah 17.

I'll let Tom explain that. But I want to ask this question, and then I'm going to show you something in the Bible. What if Hezbollah from the north gets involved in it? They're not involved in this yet. And you see Hamas has better rockets than they used to have. So what if Hezbollah does get involved in this? Hezbollah was said a few years back to have 150,000 rockets.

Some of those are strategically guided missiles. So again, Iran, as you know, is fighting a proxy war with Hamas. And will they get Hezbollah involved from the north? Can you imagine what's going to happen if Hezbollah also is involved?

This will be unbelievable. Listen, Hamas is small beings compared to Hezbollah. Hezbollah is the most well funded and most well organized terrorist organization on the entire planet called Earth.

Hezbollah from the north coming from Lebanon. Folks, these are incredible days and alarming days and pray for those who are over in Israel. Listen, pray for them. Where is this going to go?

I want you to consider this. This is what Isaiah chapter 17 says. Isaiah chapter 17 talks about during the last days, the destruction of Damascus. I believe it's a war that's still coming.

Some of my colleagues say, well, maybe not. Maybe that's already been done. But I believe it's still coming. Isaiah chapter 17 says this. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aor are forsaken.

They will be for flocks which lie down and no one will make them afraid. The fortress will also cease from Ephraim. Ephraim being the northern part of Israel. The kingdom from Damascus and the remnant of Syria.

They will be as the glory of the children of Israel, says the Lord of hosts. In that day, it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane and the fatness of his flesh will grow lean. As you continue to read through Isaiah chapter 17 and the destruction of Damascus, also during this time when Damascus is destroyed and it becomes a ruinous heap, much of the northern part of Israel is devastated.

So this is very concerning. And then at the end of chapter 17, the Bible says, behold, at eventide or other words, in the evening, there's trouble for Damascus. And before the morning heat, Damascus is no more. Chad, I don't know that either you or I are favorably looking upon the obliteration of the city of Damascus. That's many millions of people living there, but it is a very prominent prophecy as Tom Hughes just said. And I couldn't agree more with what Tom just said and what you just said. And here's the bottom line, folks. We don't take any pleasure in even talking about the destruction of Damascus. Jan, we have people subscribe to my channel and also I can guarantee on yours that are from that area.

It's hard to talk about it. The reality is the Bible says this will happen. We're not here to say exactly when it'll happen, but if you've noticed the massive uptick in airstrikes right around the Damascus area, because simply put, Iran and its proxies, especially Hezbollah, have continued to move weapons right around that area. And that's why we've been seeing the alarming increase in the airstrikes from Israel.

Of course, they're going to defend themselves when they're moving these weapons around right around that area. Think about this right now, Israel with its government, I hate to say in shambles, but with the mess going on with the government and with Iran and his proxies currently with the situation going on with Hamas, they're thinking their focus is going to be on this conflict. And just imagine if they're trying to use this time while Israel's government's in shambles and while these other problems are going on, they're going to probably use this time to make some more moves right around that area. And this could be heading in that direction right when they think Israel has their guard down to make more moves. I absolutely believe if they're trying to move possibly nuclear material around that area, or some even have speculated there could already be nuclear material in Damascus, Syria. There's been different reports on that, but folks, all we know is the Bible says it will happen.

And when you see the headlines keep popping up that there's been airstrikes right around the Damascus area, it's only a matter of time before we go to bed one night, one night, we wake up and this prophecy has been fulfilled. Chad, I'm moving on to a different topic and it's one you've covered. And you can find Chad's presentations, again, Watchmen on the Wall 88.

Find that on YouTube when he's not being censored, which is a constant problem here. I'm moving on to another topic you've covered and I'm going to 2 Thessalonians 2, 12. Actually, a few verses before 12. I'm going to read a couple of three verses.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so to be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now, strong reference here to this delusion. Quite frankly, that reference to delusion could be spiritual delusion. That's all kinds of delusion that it could be referring to. However, you have presented programming, which I have as well, and that would be this sudden explosion of sightings of UFOs.

The question you and I are raising in our programming is, will this be the excuse for what on earth has happened to people after the rapture? Give me your take on it, then I'm going to play a two-minute clip that even 60 Minutes in recent weeks has talked about this. This is the new rage being discussed on cable and other places as well.

Talk to me about it. Folks, if you just look around right now, people are fascinated with UFOs, with alien abduction, and the supernatural. It's all over our television. It's all over our movies. It's all over our entertainment.

Just over the last few months, especially, we've been seeing a massive uptick on the sightings and the alien abduction reports and this popping up all over the news. And Jan, you had mentioned 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 11, after the Restrainer is taken out of the way. If you read again 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 6 to 12, after the rapture, and then that wicked is revealed, we're told, even him who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all the siebleness of unrighteous in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Folks, the strong delusion absolutely has to do with the power and signs and lying wonders that the Antichrist is going to deceive the world after the rapture.

Think about this. After the rapture, there's going to have to be an explanation of where everybody went. They're not just going to come out and say, oh yeah, Jesus just came and took his church. This has been in the works for a while, folks.

It'd be part of the strong delusion that they're going to use to try to say where everybody went is something to do with UFOs or alien abduction or along those lines. And I'll tell you why, Jan, I know that you had mentioned a clip you're going to play, but there actually was a recent article on Fox News, Tucker Carlson, I'm looking at it right now. This is titled, UFOs may pose a real threat to the United States and the US military does not care. That's just in. And folks, another one was from an article back in December of 2020.

For those of you that don't know, President Trump, in December of 2020, part of the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief in government funding bill started a 180-day countdown for the Pentagon and spy agencies to say what they know about UFOs. Correct. It's coming out in the next few days.

Yeah. And you've been seeing some of the stuff come out a little bit, but they're saying, you're right, Jan, by June, I think is when... June 1st, June 1st. June 1st is when they're expecting what they're calling the more disclosures coming.

That's why you're starting to see militaries and governments around the world are at this particular time releasing declassified footage of UFO encounters. Why is it all of a sudden now? You have part of the COVID bill where they're saying the 180-day countdown, and now all of a sudden this is popping up all over the news. Folks, it's because they're conditioning people for what's coming after the rapture. They're going to have to blame it on something.

I think you said it all there. You said it in the sentence, they're going to have to blame it on something. In other words, folks, they can't just come out and say they being the world left behind, if I can be blunt.

Well, Jesus just raptured the church, so that's where those folks all went to heaven. No, they're going to come out with a totally secular pagan interpretation of what happened. Well, isn't it interesting that here in the spring of 2021, my goodness, I'm watching some of the cable channels, particularly Fox and Newsmax, and every other story lately in this last month or two, including 60 Minutes, where they're here, let's just play it. We have tackled many strange stories on 60 Minutes, but perhaps none like this. It's the story of the US government's grudging acknowledgement of unidentified aerial phenomena, UAP, more commonly known as UFOs. After decades of public denial, the Pentagon now admits there's something out there, and the US Senate wants to know what it is. The Intelligence Committee has ordered the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense to deliver a report on the mysterious sightings by next month. So what you're telling me is that UFOs, unidentified flying objects, are real.

Bill, I think we're beyond that already. The government has already stated for the record that they're real. I'm not telling you that.

The United States government is telling you that. Luis Elizondo spent 20 years running military intelligence operations worldwide in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Guantanamo. He hadn't given UFOs a second thought until 2008. That's when he was asked to join something at the Pentagon called the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, or AATIP.

The mission of AATIP was quite simple. It was to collect and analyze information involving anomalous aerial vehicles, what I guess in the vernacular you call them UFOs. We call them UAPs. You know how this sounds. It sounds nutty, wacky. Look, Bill, I'm not telling you that it doesn't sound wacky.

What I'm telling you is real. The question is what is it? What are its intentions?

What are its capabilities? Buried away in the Pentagon, AATIP was part of a 22 million dollar program sponsored by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to investigate UFOs. When Elizondo took over in 2010, he focused on the national security implications of unidentified aerial phenomena documented by U.S. service members.

Imagine a technology that can do six to seven hundred G-forces, that can fly at thirteen thousand miles an hour, that can evade radar, and that can fly through air and water and possibly space, and oh, by the way, has no obvious signs of propulsions, no wings, no control surfaces, and yet still can defy the natural effects of Earth's gravity. That's precisely what we're seeing. Folks, I'll be up front with you here if you've listened to this programming for a substantial amount of time. You know the position we take here is that what folks are seeing are demons. Demonic generated crafts of some kind is what they're viewing.

Folks don't fully understand that, but when you see the incredible things that they're capable of doing, it's beyond being man-made. Chad Thomas, I am moving on, and that's who my guest is for part one of my programming. He's a very outstanding YouTube presenter, Watchman on the Wall 88. I'm moving on just in the interest of time to the World Economic Forum. As you and I emailed here in the last day or two, they canceled their plans for August of 2021 and are now looking at 2022 to implement the Great Reset, to have their 2022 meeting possibly launch this.

Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive director of the World Economic Forum, called it a difficult decision. Again, cited problems related to COVID. Your thoughts on this?

You speak about it all the time. Folks, we have to realize that there's definitely an agenda here. There's a timeline where they're trying to reach their agenda. And of course, they found the crisis that they've been looking for. We've all heard, never let a good crisis go to waste. Don't forget, folks, David Rockefeller, back in 1994 at the United Nations dinner, said, we are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis, and the nations will accept the new world order. Right out of Klaus Schwab's mouth, those of you that don't know who Klaus Schwab is, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, right out of his mouth, said the following, the pandemic, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world.

Then he also said, a new world could emerge, the contours of which it is incumbent on us to reimagine and redraw. They're not even hiding it anymore, their plans. In fact, right on the Time magazine, Jan, there's a picture of the earth, and then they're resetting the entire earth with the great reset right on top. You can't hide this anymore. This has new world order written all over, and there is a timeline, and there's an agenda behind this.

While I have said it on air, I've been pretty blunt. I feel the reset could even be the tribulation. Of course, obviously, the church is not going to be a part of that, or maybe the church will go through some early stages of the reset, but they've moved this. They were going to meet in August in Singapore, not Davos. They met online a few months ago in January, and all of this to get things launched for end of 2021 for the reset. They're saying, too many problems related to COVID, so we're moving it to 2022.

But again, Chad, part of this would be a one-world currency, because they're talking about that as well. Again, this is slipping right into the book of Revelation. And that's the thing, folks, that me and Jan can't stress enough, is we know, for those of us that study end times eschatology, we believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. Folks, we know we're not going to be here for the tribulation period, but how much are we going to see before that?

We simply don't know. But when you start seeing the tribulation period casting its shadow like it is right now, folks just connect the dots, the convergence, and look at them coming out plainly and saying what their goals and what their intentions are. Jan, it simply can't be that far off. I want to play a quick clip of you, Chad, on the World Economic Forum. Don't forget the World Economic Forum. Again, this is the year of the great reset, 2021.

Professor Klaus Schwab came right out and said this. The pandemic, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world. And he further went on to say, a new world could emerge, the contours of which is incumbent on us to reimagine and to redraw. And he also said the following, the COVID-19 outbreak is the first big step towards unprecedented control over mankind. Folks, that's got New World Order, One World Government, written all over it. And this is the first big step?

What's the next big step? Is it a cyber pandemic? Sure looks like it. And just to reiterate again that this has New World Order, the rise of a one world government, a new system coming together before our very eyes, and it all comes from the World Economic Forum, this group of globalists, elites, and world leaders. And like the Time Magazine that came out when they were talking about 2021, the year of the great reset, and here you have the theme of the Time Magazine, of them literally reconstructing the earth. Very well stated, Chad, and you did 15 minutes or so on this. And I think this is the major event of the last year is the, obviously World Economic Forum has existed forever.

I believe Klaus Schwab goes back as the director of it to about 1971, that's 50 years. This has been in the making. The plan has been to launch global government. I personally believe, I think you would agree with me, the church has to be gone for global government to blossom.

I think you would agree with that. 110%, Jan. The fact that we're seeing things in motion, and I know I had mentioned in that little clip about what's next, because they mentioned the first step. Months ago, I did a video on cyber warfare, and you have the pipeline that was just shut down.

It's back up now. We know that they rescheduled their meeting until next year. What's the next big thing? The fact that this is all coming in our face, and they're literally calling for a global government just shows us where we stand. How does your audience, and again, I suspect it's all ages, and I suspect you have some that are under 30 included in those all ages, how do they receive some of the things that you and I have talked about in this segment here, particularly this coming globalism, this coming great reset, the antics of the World Economic Forum? Are they fearful? Are they curious? Tell me how they're responding. What I'm noticing a lot of, especially around my age group, because a lot of people I work with and a lot of my family are right around my age group, it doesn't seem right now like there is too much of a fearful aspect. It seems like there is a lot of folks curious. They know something's happening, and they're asking questions, but at the same time they want their lives back. They see that if they follow certain rules and they do certain things, that they can start getting normalcy back. They're like, well, I missed that.

That's okay. We'll get through this. Then when you bring up the God of the Bible and where this is all headed, at times they can give you that fearful look, but for the most part, it's like they're giving you that look. I don't think we're quite there yet. So they want to hang on a little bit longer then. Unfortunately, it seems like people, again, they want to get their lives back and they'll do anything that's said to them, believe the lies to get it back.

That's right. Chad, I think it's important that we end this segment with an appeal that the Bible says today is the day of salvation. We may not have a tomorrow, the way things are going.

And then the other thing I've noticed certainly in the last year is the speed with which things are happening. And I think we need to appeal to listeners. Don't put off that opportunity to name the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. Folks, that's the most important thing of all is we want people to get saved.

That's number one above all else. And if you're listening to this message right now, yes, Jesus is coming. Quite frankly, as me and Jan are doing this, the trumpet could sound. The other thing is you're not promised your next breath. Folks, people are dying every day.

Sometimes it's expected, but other times it's unexpected. Things happen, folks, and you just don't know that you're going to be here tomorrow. The reality is heaven and hell are very real. Hell is a real place. It's eternal torment. It's eternal separation from God. I don't want you to go there.

Jan doesn't want you to go there. Jesus doesn't want you to go there. But if you die in your sin rejecting Him, you're going to be separated from Him for eternity. The gospel of your salvation is 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1-4, folks, believing and putting your faith and your trust in His blood, believing that Jesus Christ shed His blood for you on that cross at Calvary so you can be forgiven of your sins and be with Him forever in heaven. You're believing He died on the cross for your sins.

He was buried and He rose from the dead on the third day as it is written in the scriptures. I can assure you of this. If you're someone saying, I don't get all into that religious stuff. This isn't about religion. Religion doesn't save you. Jesus Christ saved you. I'm a testament of that, Jan. I know you are too.

Yes, and I love your story, Chad. Listen, you're doing just some outstanding work. Look them up right now on YouTube. We're all having to find some other venues. If we're doing anything online, we're having some issues. Let's just leave it at that.

Watchman on the Wall, 88 For Now on YouTube, and you can catch many times a week updates. They're short. They're to the point.

They're covering what's breaking in the news from a biblical and a prophetic perspective. I'm not changing topics, second half of the program. I am featuring another guest, and we'll do that in just a couple of minutes. Again, Chad, thank you for all you do. We'll stay in touch. Keep up the very, very good work. Thank you, Jan. All right, we'll talk again. We'll be back in just a couple of minutes.

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Sign up online for those. Here's part two of our program. In answering these questions, guys, what do we want the audience to walk away with, Mark? Well, I think just a sense of urgency. We've seen these things that are happening in our world today, and these things point toward the scenario that's predicted for us in Scripture. One of the things that tells us is God is in control. My favorite word in the book of Revelation about God, He's called the Almighty.

And in the Greek it's a word that means one who has everything in their hands or has their hands on everything. And we see the world going exactly the way God predicted it would, and it shows us there's a God who's in control. And I think that's a wonderful truth to know in these uncertain, chaotic times in which we live. There's someone who is guiding all the events of history.

Ron? That leads me to say that God never intended Bible prophecy to simply be something that filled your minds with what the future holds, but rather it's something that should change the way that you live and should even change the way that you interact with other people, including evangelism, reaching others for Christ. So don't let prophecy stop here.

Let it move you here as well. Welcome back. And I'm continuing the previous discussion in my first half with a new guest this segment, author Todd Hampson, and we carry a couple of his books.

I'll say more about that later. And Todd has written to me and stated that he is having real success at reaching a younger audience with the topic of the hour. That would be again, the King is coming. He's found great interest among millennials and even younger. As a matter of fact, I'm going to read a portion of an email that Todd sent to me, and then I'll bring him on air here. And he says this, I regularly hear from the younger generations who are encountering the message of eschatology, Bible prophecy for the first time through various things that they're coming across.

And we'll talk about that. And then Todd says in this email to me, he said, the condition of the world is the elephant in the room that is not being addressed. This generation, and again, millennials and younger, sees the condition of the world, and they are surprised to find that the message of eschatology or Bible prophecy provides the answers.

Eschatology is the best kept secret in the world, but it shouldn't be a secret. It is the medium of the day, the lens through which the gospel is presented in a fresh and relevant way. One more paragraph from this email. Once engaged, this generation is hungry to share what they have learned and very often start small group Bible studies of their own as first time small group leaders to reach their generation. And then he says, just last night, we had a Zoom call with nine young people who came to our conference.

This would have been a month or so ago. That goes on to say how they're ministering to this particular younger generation. Well, Todd Hampson, welcome back to the program.

Thank you so much. It's always a pleasure to join you. Todd, you were telling me you've got some home group folks, younger people in Canada trying to meet with you, I think, perhaps on Zoom, is it? Yeah, I met with them by Zoom. It was really interesting because we had planned to meet for a couple of weeks, but the day before we met, there was a decree that went out in Canada saying it was illegal to meet in your own home to do Bible studies or whatever. So these young men literally had to park a couple blocks away and then enter the house at different times.

And that's just north of us, our neighbor to the north. So that really hit me in a powerful way that, wow, we have an underground church in China, but now we're starting to see the need for an underground church even in Canada. And they're studying along with you end time issues then?

They are very interested. I'm reading right now a couple sentences of an email Dave Reagan said to you, and he said, shortly before Tim LaHaye died in 2016, I had a serious conversation with him in which both of us expressed concern over the lack of younger persons to teach and preach Bible prophecy. It seemed that all of the old-time Bible prophecy teachers were passing on, and God was not raising up younger people to take our place. He says, we also talked about our mutual concern that very few young people were attending Bible prophecy conferences, and as a whole, they seem to have no interest in God's prophetic word, probably because they never hear it preached at their home congregation.

Of course, that's a good point that David closes off on. Perhaps they never hear it preached at their home congregation. So when I talk to you, Todd, when I hear that you are having regular online meetings, plus we'll get into your books here, and you've got your Prophecy Pro podcast, and I know you're reaching all ages, but the fact that you're getting response from the under age 45 and below, I think my listeners who have children and grandchildren and they're trying to reach them with any kind of a current event message and running into a roadblock, I think they are asking, how on earth are you doing this?

It must just be God. I didn't set out planning to reach that generation, although I did want to wake up the church at large just because I saw how compelling eschatology was and how relevant was and how we literally have a front row seat to seeing everything converge in our day. So I wanted to take off the confusion, take some of the fear factor away and help people see you can figure this out. Even a lay person, any everyday Christian can figure out eschatology, and it's more relevant than any other topic right now. As I mentioned, it's the medium through which the Gospel can be presented right now because whether it's COVID-19 or the results of that or other global things we're seeing happen at this moment, people see what's going on and the younger generation in particular sees the world fall into place and they're anxious and worried about it. And then when they engage with Bible prophecy in a meaningful way, it does two things. One, just the fact that prophecy is fulfilled, that God said what happened gets their attention and lets them know we can trust God's Word. But also just as compelling and along with that is the fact we're seeing prophecy fulfilled in our modern times is, to most Christians I talk to, it's not even on their radar.

They don't realize Israel becoming a nation again is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And as Chad and I talked about first part of the program, the convergence, and you and I here have talked a little bit about convergence. Give me your thoughts on that, because I think that's the key word for the day.

Yeah, it really is. And almost any category you can think of, you can point to something that is converging in terms of understanding the times. For example, the setup for Ezekiel 38, the past five to seven years, we've seen that fall into place to where literally that could happen any moment.

The right players are there, the right conditions are there, and it was written 2,600 years ago. Or the delusion we're seeing in our day, the confusion, the upside down thinking, the deception from within governments and elites and what people are believing these days that you can be whatever you think you are and your truth is different than my truth, and it's just absolute upside down thinking. Romans 1 playing out before our eyes.

I want to play just a short clip here. It's Pastor Jack Hibbs, and I might play another one later in the segment here, but here he's saying Jesus expects us to understand prophecy because it's 27 to almost 30% of the Bible, but clearly it's one fourth of the Bible to be very safe to say that. What you should know about the real Jesus Christ is that he expects you and I to understand Bible students, note takers, that 27% of your Bible, just over a quarter of your Bible on your lap is prophetic word. Dr. Warren Wiersbe writes this, and I quote, though we as believers today make up the bride of Christ, the church, that will not experience the tribulation period, it is an exciting thing to see the shadow that is being cast by the coming events. And as we look to this, you say, what can I get out of this portion of scripture? Pastor Jack, what's the deal? We are starting to see the shadows being cast regarding those end time events. Oh, you want to write this down?

I think it's awesome. In Matthew chapter 24, in Luke chapter 21, in Mark chapter 13, they cover this Olivet Discourse. But check this out. As you put them together, the events of the second coming of Jesus Christ, this topic is mentioned 321 times in the Bible, more than any other doctrine in the Bible, except the doctrine of salvation. What does that tell you about how important Bible prophecy is? And specifically the second coming of Christ, that it is the second most mentioned doctrine in the Bible, second only to the doctrine of salvation. Don't tell me that God does not think that study Bible prophecy isn't important. It's vitally important.

You want to comment on that, Todd Hampson? Actually, I talk a little bit about that in my book, The Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times, and the fact that the Olivet Discourse is Jesus's second longest recording teaching. So I would echo what Jack said there, that obviously God says this is important. Jesus even had several parables after that, Matthew 25, and also earlier about the fact that he would be gone for a long time. In Luke 19, 13, he tells us to occupy until he comes. He constantly talked about his return in both comings, and it used to be important to the church, and it kind of faded away. You know, I remember how Lindsay in the 70s brought it to the forefront, and then it's almost like every decade or two God raises up a few people to really remind the church that this is believers doctrine 101. First and second Thessalonians were written to a brand new church plant, and Paul taught them eschatology as part of their believers 101 class.

It's important, it's essential doctrine, and it definitely should be taught right alongside other doctrines such as salvation. Very well put between you and Jack. I really appreciated that summary. We are carrying a couple of Todd's products, so let me just review them. They're in my online store, OlivetReviews.org. We carry the Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times, and that's P-R-O-P-H-E-T, Non-Prophet's Guide. It's illustrated, it's cartoons, it's a fascinating way of presenting and communicating this message. We carry the book and the workbook. A lot of you write us and say, what could I use for a home Bible study? Because they're looking for a book and a workbook.

Well, here's an option. We also carry the Non-Prophet's Guide to the Book of Revelation. I think that's my favorite of the two. However, the first one, Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times, again, that's an overview of a lot of things presented in an extremely understandable fashion. Obviously, the one in Revelation is zeroing in strictly on the Book of Revelation. Todd, we're heading out of the month of May here, and I'm going back to the fact that you're dealing with a fair number of younger people in your Zoom Bible studies or your Prophecy Prose podcast. They're tuning into that too. They see that fear has gripped the world, and it has. COVID has caused enormous fear. There's always wars and rumors of wars.

We're referencing what happened here in Israel during the month of May. How then do you deal with those? And let's stick with the younger generation. We have all ages listening here, but my interest is in getting some of the younger folks interested, but they're fear-based. Some. Those who have signed on to what we're talking about lose the fear.

Talk to me about that. They do. They see everything that's going on in the world. They hear every time they turn on the news.

It's nothing but fear-mongering and one bad day after another. In their psyche, even though they don't have a common way to communicate it, they're living in fear. So then when they come across a Bible prophecy, what it shows them is that God is still on the throne. And as you often say, things are not falling apart, they're falling into place. And they see it in concrete examples when you show them the conditions that they are lining up with exactly what the scriptures would say.

So this is what we should expect. I often will mention to them Psalm 139, and the whole chapter is amazing, but I'll read a few verses, particularly the fact that if you're a believer, every one of your days was ordained before one of them came to be. There's that tension between our free will and God's sovereignty, but the reason I share that with them, and then the few verses before that about how God knit them together in their mother's womb, is I point out the fact that you are here at this time on purpose.

It's not by accident. God has a purpose for you, and he's in control. He's still on the throne.

He's not up there pacing back and forth, wondering what to do next. This is all lining up with exactly what he said, and he can still bless you and use you. So let's rise to the occasion and let's seize the moment as believers in this generation and share the gospel through the medium of eschatology. If you'd like to learn more, you can reach Todd at toddhampson.com.

Toddhampson.com. I'm carrying both of his books and a study guide as well, two of his eschatology books. I believe, Todd, you have a book on spiritual warfare as well, correct? I do.

In the fall, I have one on an overview of the Bible coming out as well. Oh, really? Okay.

I did not know that. Here's what I'd like to do. I want to play one more soundbite here again as Pastor Jack Hibbs, and he's referencing the tide of our times. He closes off this little soundbite talking about the mark of the beast. Well, we're tuned into some of the ways that events that have been playing out in 2020 and 2021 are just causing everything to fall into place.

And I think Jack, in two minutes, sums this up, and then I want to come back and talk about it. Keep your eyes on Syria period. I mean, I believe outside the rapture, I believe that Damascus could go up any moment. I even think that Damascus and its destruction, according to Isaiah 17, could even preempt Ezekiel battle. It could be that Isaiah 17 triggers the Ezekiel battle. But right now there's a lot of people living in Damascus, according to Isaiah 17, and I believe it's Jeremiah 49. There's going to come a time when no one will ever again live in Damascus because of its destruction.

That was a distraction. Final thing about deception. The Bible gives us warnings and a unique description, by the way, that the last days are going to be days of likened under the days of Noah.

We don't even begin to embrace that. When's the last time you read about the days of Noah? My dear friend, it's pretty freaky. You know, the Bible says, Jesus said, I'm going to come back like it was in the days of Noah.

You think it's bad right now? The stuff that Jan showed us, those pictures will keep you up at night. That's nothing compared to what's coming. Daniel chapter two, beginning at verse 41 into 42 tells us that in the last days, it's going to happen again.

It says they, whoever they are, will mingle with the seed of men. There's things coming, ladies and gentlemen, that maybe it's going to be spun off as Microsoft. Maybe it's going to be spun off as Google. Maybe it's going to be spun off as DARPA. Maybe it's going to be spun off as something, some high tech creation invention.

I don't know. But I know this, you know this, Satan's no dummy. And he's already captured children with games.

He's already captured a culture. None of us. Look, if somebody robbed me today, they'd be a poor man.

You want to know why? I'm cashless. Listen, I have a wife.

I have daughters. I don't have any money. I have no cash.

I have no cash. It's a cashless society. My life is numbers, ladies and gentlemen. And the Bible says in the end times, the enemy is going to use that. Days of deception.

And we love it. Banking without numbers. I don't want to carry cash. You want to stop human trafficking? Really? Do you really want to stop sex trafficking? Only one way. Bring in the mark. You want to secure the borders? Bring in the mark. You want to reboot global economies? Do away with them all. Bring in the mark.

It's a perfect answer. And we are prime. We are ready. Days of deception.

That's it on the very overt. Todd Hampson, a thing that jumped out at me is we are primed and 2020 and 2021 has further primed the pump here and primed society globally, not just North America, but globally. It absolutely has. And with my animation background, I often pay attention to story and culture and art of the day. And if you notice in a lot of commercials and secular media, even they sense it in a mocking way, they're highlighting different things about the end of the world and the apocalypse. Everyone sees what's going on.

And just like Jack said, 10 years ago, much of what he just said, people would have written off as conspiracy theory. But now because of what we've seen, if anybody is willing to take the time to take an honest look in any given category, they will see it lines up perfectly with the conditions of the day. And as you mentioned, to me, it is very interesting that all of that convergence is happening in this generation that has seen Israel become a nation again. Yes, indeed.

That seems to be the key. It always gets back to Israel becoming a nation as being so key. I highly recommend these products here, the Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times, and then the Non-Prophet's Guide to the Book of Revelation. One has a study guide, Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times, has a workbook that you can use. The other thing you told me, Todd, was that, and we're talking about things going haywire, possibly, what if Isaiah 17, the obliteration of Damascus were to take place?

Who knows? In the next day, two weeks, that huge uncertainty of our times, the fear-based society that's come about in the last couple of years here, certainly the last all of 2020 and 2021, you said to me that sharing the message, at least with the groups you're working with, of the pre-tribulation rapture was a comfort. It really was absolutely essential. Once they saw that the Bible can be trusted and taken at face value and interpreted literally, that unlocked everything so that they can see that it fully supports a pre-tribulation rapture, which gives us hope and makes total sense, because why would God judge his bride?

He takes his bride out of here before that. That gives them incredible hope to know that, yes, even though things are going crazy in the world, and things may even get darker in our day, we may have to face some things before the rapture, but at least we know he knows what's going on, and he will take us out of here before his judgment comes on earth. I'm going to read a couple of emails I got today.

That's why they're fresh on my mind. They are a little on the, let's just say these folks are on the discouraged side, and that's going to be for obvious reasons. And Todd, you and I get plenty of emails that say folks are in a state of somewhat discouragement, simply because they're trying to share the things you and I are talking about. They're running into a brick wall. So Mike says this.

I'm not going to give the last names location. Mike says, I'm so ready for the Lord to return. I hope it's soon. I am totally out of place in our upside down world. Apart from my aging mother, I am at odds with my entire woke family. Thank you for what you do. Christ is our only hope. Minutes later, I heard from Lynn and she says, good morning and everyone at Olive Tree. What is on my mind is this. We have been taught by the Bible to go out and preach the gospel.

Every time I try to do this within my own family, they give me this look like stop. We don't want to hear it. Then she says, and as far as the fact that we are living in the end times, they definitely do not want to hear any of it.

Not the rapture, the coming beast system. Stay away. And then she concludes, they will stay away from me like the plague. And she says, so thankful for one friend that I have that I can talk to. And then she concludes, we try to preach the gospel on Facebook, but we hardly ever get a reply. These are scary times right now. And that's from Lynn. Your thoughts, because I know you hear from people.

I do. And everyone I talk to, for example, everyone that was at the conference that Jeff and I held came from all over the country and they all shared the same stories. It's almost like there's truly a remnant of people.

There's very few in each given area that have the lens to see what we're seeing, even though for us, it's clear as a bell. People just don't have the eyes to see it or the ears to hear it. Some of that definitely lines up with scripture. Jesus said, will there be faith on earth once men return?

We read about a great falling away. Even though it is discouraging on a personal and a daily life level, it's also encouraging to know that it too is part of that convergence of things we're seeing. In terms of sharing the gospel, I think one thing I often have to remind myself of is it's not my job to save people. I present the gospel.

I put the truth out there. It's the Holy Spirit's job to draw them, but it's hard. It's so very clear that it's amazing that people don't see what we see.

We need to put our trust in the fact that Psalm 139, that we're here at this time for a purpose and for a reason and for a season. And I think what's unique, Todd, about your books is obviously it's unique style. You're an illustrator.

You're putting a lot of illustrations into the books and the whole nonprofit theme here. You are taking the complicated. Let's face it. Premillennial dispensationalism is a big term. To try to unpack that in a simple way, which is what you do, is not easy. And then you even go into explaining what some of the other theologies are. Amillennialism. Let's talk about that for just a minute here, because that's what I'm going to have to say. It's messing up the church big time. Tell me what your thoughts are on that, because I'm sure you hear from those who have embraced Amillennialism and they are very confused.

They really are. And with the books, I wanted to present all of the views. And then, of course, I showed the strength of the literal interpretation and the pre-trib. But I wanted them to be aware of every other view that's out there, because they're definitely going to come across it or have someone challenge their belief. And I don't want their beliefs to be shaken once they've formed these convictions. And I want them to be able to have an answer. I definitely use a lot of comedy and illustrations and simple graphics to help make the complex a little more simple.

Most people are visual learners, so if they see something that grabs their attention visually, it'll usually draw them in and make the content a little less intimidating. But on the Amillennial front, that is one of the huge things today. I think that's confused so many people in terms of the nature of God's plan for Israel and his people during the Reformation, when Martin Luther helped people return to a literal interpretation of what the Bible says about salvation.

That was a beautiful thing, but he really didn't go far enough. In terms of eschatology, they didn't touch it, and they left the figurative interpretation methods that had crept in in the Dark Ages. And before that, honestly, I think the enemy has leveraged that to bring both a soft and, in some cases, a harsh anti-Semitism and a harsh view of Israel, and also major confusion about end-time events, including the future millennial kingdom.

You can't explain that away. It's too specific, too literal. God's promises are crystal clear in the Old Testament prophets that there has to be this literal kingdom age on earth with Jesus ruling from Jerusalem. Many believers today think that's all allegory and that that's happening now during the church age, but that causes so much confusion when you bump into other things, and I think the enemy has used that to cause people to stop studying eschatology altogether.

Amillennialism is embraced by most denominations, Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Methodist Church, right down the line. They have embraced the allegorical interpretation of what we're talking about, whereas premillennial dispensationalism takes everything very literally. Obviously, when the trees of the field clap their hands, we don't take that literally, but we do when we can take it literally, that there's a literal tribulation, a literal Antichrist, a literal millennium, thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, a literal role for Israel that's very, very significant in the last days, and that's the beauty of what you and I are teaching, but all I'm saying is most denominations don't even embrace it. That's confusing so many people. It really is, and I think a lot of churches focus more on the New Testament and Jesus's words, which of course, he's our Savior and we should, but we should not throw out the rest of the Bible, and when you look at interpretation methods, the only one that is consistent from cover to cover is the literal interpretation methods. Honestly, it's the only way we can truly make sense of what God's word says, and it doesn't mean that figurative language or allegory isn't used from time to time or symbols, but those symbols and that poetic license is found in the context, and we can understand it just by plainly reading it. God's a big God.

He can speak clearly, so we need to take him at his word. If you've got someone in your life who might be a beginner at some of the things we're talking about, I do think Todd's products would be very helpful to you. Visit my online store, OliveTreeViews.org.

OliveTreeViews, views as in viewpoint, OliveTreeViews.org. Call my office anytime, and we'll get some of these products out to you as quickly as we can. Todd, we're running real short on time. Is there anything you would like to sum up? I know that both of us, we're not just teaching because we enjoy teaching. The ultimate goal in what we're doing is to lead the unbeliever to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you want to sum things up in a minute here, be my guest. It is my prayer that many are hearing this broadcast right now who have never turned to the Lord and who are seeing the conditions of the world and maybe for the first time are really wondering, wow, does the Bible really tell us what's going to happen in the end days? And anything we're seeing today, does this have to do with what the Bible says about the end times?

The answer is yes. God is a God of grace, but also you have to have judgment along with grace. God would not be gracious if he let Hitler or human traffickers or any evil person you could think of get away with what they do. He eventually has to judge evil, and that's the time that's coming on the earth. All the signs are that that time is coming soon, but we're raptured first, but you must accept Jesus Christ as your savior. So I pray that right now cars are pulling over, that people are pausing, people are praying.

Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart at this moment, and you will be saved. Thank you, Todd. Find out more info, articles, info on his book, ToddHampson.com.

I'm going out of the program. I'm just reading a paragraph. Actually, it's from the book, Nonprofits Guide to the End Times. Todd writes, here's why Bible prophecy is important for you. Fulfilled Bible prophecy is one of the most compelling evidences that the Bible is from God. As you will discover, major historical events were told centuries, and in some cases, thousands of years in advance. These prophecies were fulfilled to the exact detail. No other document in the world can make this claim.

The only logical explanation is that the Bible is supernatural in nature, and then He closes. We can't show God to you, but we can show you His fingerprints all over fulfilled Bible prophecy. Folks, I want to thank you for listening, and we will talk to you again next week. We know you can't always be by a radio, so just remember that our programming is posted to our website in both its audio and video format. Just go to OliveTreeViews.org. That's OliveTreeViews.org and then to radio. We welcome friendly feedback at OliveTreeViews.org. That's OliveTreeViews.org. 552 Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311. All gifts are tax-deductible. Aren't you glad you know that our times are in His hands, that God is the stability of our times, and that everything is falling into place?