Uh Yeah. Mm-hmm. Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy the Young Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
Rick, this week you and I are both at Israel, and what a privilege it is to be here with our groups. Tell us about the group that you just sent home. Jimmy, we just had the group from Wisconsin, that senior trip, seniors, not seniors as in older people, but seniors as those that are graduating from high school, a homeschool program there in Wisconsin. It was a wonderful trip, and we had a great time in Israel traveling the land, something that you and I have done so often throughout our ministry here with Prophecy Today. And it was just a great time, great experience.
And the kids, I'm still, I'm on a chat group with them and I'm still hearing wonderful reports of all that they've learned. And it was just such a great time being in Israel right now. No, and that trip that they were on will change their lives, just as we have another group here this week. And we know that the trip here, the greatest stage in the world to teach God's word on Israel, past, present, and future, is such a great place. And we look at it as a great privilege to be here.
On the program this week, we have our normal broadcast partners, Ken Timmerman, David Dolan.
So much happening in the Middle East with Donald Trump being in the Middle East. But we also have Mike Gendren talking about the new Pope that was just selected to head the Roman Catholic Church. And Chris Kotolka from Friends of Israel will be with us this week.
Well, Rick, let's get started with our first, Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with me. He is our expert on geopolitical affairs. He lets us know what is going on around the world. He's an author and an analyst.
You can find out more about him by going to his website at kentimmerman.com. Ken, thanks for taking the time to be with us today. Hmm. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Well, Ken, lots to talk about. We'll start with the big story of the week, and this is President Trump's trip to the Middle East and certainly seems to be very productive. Lots going on. Could you give us an update on this historic trip?
Well, it was a smashing success, Rick, even to Trump's detractors. U.S. presidents normally travel the world announcing how much they're going to spend of U.S. taxpayer dollars, either in aid or something else. But in this case, President Trump at each stop was telling Americans how much he was bringing in from Saudi Arabia, from Qatar, and from the United Arab Emirates in investment in the United States.
And he claims it was well over a trillion dollars. The UAE alone pledged to invest $1.4 trillion over 10 years. That's $140 billion a year, mostly in AI data centers. Really quite extraordinary. And the President has shown that there is another way of doing diplomacy.
Let me just give you one example. He was asked while he was in the UAE by the leader of the United Arab Emirates and on a phone call with Erdogan of Turkey. Why don't you meet this guy, Al-Sharrah of Syria?
Now, in normal times, under a normal presidency, even a Republican president, this is the kind of thing that would get staffed out, and the NSC would look at it, and the State Department would look at it, the CIA would look at it, everybody would have their word to say, and six weeks later, they might get an answer. But no, not with the Trump administration. President Trump just said, huh, that sounds like a good idea. Let's do it. And so he met with a man who just took.
Two months ago, he was still on the State Department's list of foreign terrorists. There was a $10 million bounty on his head last December.
Now, the Trump administration took that off fairly early on because he became the leader of Syria. But again, this is the way this president operates. It's completely different from what has happened in former administrations. And what's really ironic to see is that Axios, in particular, was reporting that even former Obama and Biden administration people at the State Department and the NSC were saying, wow, this is pretty astonishing. I wish I could work for an administration that could move that quickly.
That was from a Biden staffer. And then Ned Price, who had been the spokesperson of the State Department under Biden, said, Huh, he does all of this and it's kind of silenced. It's met with a shrug. He has the ability to do things politically that previous presidents did not. And it really is amazing.
And I think even those His detractors, like it's CNN and the Democrat Party, they're really hard-pressed to find something they don't like. Certainly interesting developments there in the Middle East, but let's move on and we'll talk about the Russia-Ukraine crisis developments there this week. Can you tell us what happened?
Well, there was supposed to be a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky in Turkey on Thursday. It didn't happen. Putin didn't show when he realized that President Trump was not going to come. He just didn't show up. Zelensky was there.
You know, these negotiations are now getting to a point where even the President has said nothing is going to happen until I personally, Donald Trump, sit down with Vladimir. Putin. Putin is playing games. He's constantly moving the goalposts. He is saying one week he'll meet on X, Y, and Z conditions, and those conditions are met.
He said, no, no, no, here's some additional conditions. He's basically behaving as the Iranians did when they were negotiating the nuclear deal in 2015. I think this deal is going to take some time to happen. And I think the U.S. is going to be trotting out to the Russians the kind of really, really impactful sanctions that we could be imposing on Russia.
should they not come to a deal. For example, secondary sanctions on their oil exports. In other words, targeting those countries, be they Germany or Poland or Romania, that are buying Russian oil, By forbidding them. access to the US market. That is a really huge, huge stick that Trump has got to hit the Russians with.
So I think these negotiations down the road are going to get a lot more forceful, Rick.
Well, that certainly could be the case. And there are many people that were upset about President Trump's pressure of Ukraine.
So maybe now it is time for him to pressure Russia as well.
Well, what is the next phase of the war for Ukraine as we look at this situation? And maybe, just maybe, we're coming to the end game. Can you tell us what that looks like for Ukraine?
Well, the Ukrainians have been tremendously resourceful, Rick. And they have used the time since this became a war of attrition in 2023 to build up new technological capabilities, new military capabilities. They have built up, for example, an entire drone industry out of nothing. Today, they are capable of producing 200,000 drones per month. I mean, that's absolutely astonishing.
200,000 drones per month. And they're sending these things, obviously, against the Russians. They can't shoot them all down. They have brought in technicians and inventors from Europe, from Canada, and the United States to help them develop new high-tech military. Hardware, and they're also using new tactics against the Russians, not just hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, but tactics that leverage their high-tech capabilities.
Zelensky is coming to the table with more cards than anybody thought he had. He is coming to the table also as a potential NATO ally with more cards than anybody thought he had. Ukrainians can actually teach us. Quite a bit, not just about modern warfare, but how to defeat the Russian military machine. It is astonishing that they are still in the game, but they are.
One of the byproducts of this Russia-Ukrainian crisis, and if I can go back a little bit to President Trump's first administration, he was very adamant that NATO pay their fair share. And now, coming into the second administration, after the Russia-Ukraine crisis, after Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO is now agreeing to a higher level of defense spending. Can you talk about this? Sure, during Trump won, the effort was to get them to 2% of their gross domestic product. And many of them, most of them, were not spending even that.
The U.S. was at 4% or 5% at the time.
Now, Mark Rubio announced on Thursday he thinks NATO is going to commit at their next summit in about six weeks' time to 5%, to spending 5% of their GDP on defense production, on the combined NATO effort to defend the alliance. That is an absolutely astonishing result to go from 2% to 5%, and it's something that the NATO allies Are not even complaining about Rick. I think the Ukraine war has opened the eyes of many officials in Europe, and they're realizing they can't depend on the United States. It's not in their interest to depend completely on the United States to defend them. They need to up their game and up their defense spending.
Ken, your latest book, The Iran House, Tales of Revolution, Persecution, War, and Intrigue, is out right now for those listeners that would be interested in it. And it gives just an insight to what is happening in Iran. For my final question for you today, could you give us an update on what is taking place with President Trump's negotiations with Iran? Where does this all stand?
Well, President Trump revealed on the way back to the United States on Air Force One that Steve Witkoff, his envoy to these talks, had actually put a term sheet to the Iranians. He'd put a written deal on the table, and it's basically, according to the president, it is a take-it or leave-it deal. And he said they don't have a lot of time.
Now, what the Iranians normally do, and you can read a lot about that in my book, is they stall, they negotiate, they try to buy time, they cheat, they cheat, they cheat. The president is not going to give them a lot of wiggle room on cheating. And here's how you're going to tell whether this is working or not. The Iranians want to keep their enrichment. They say we'll only enrich to nuclear power grade, 3.67%.
And President Trump says, no, not at all, because you can cheat on that. It's way too easy to cheat. It's no enrichment, period. We dismantle those sites or else we're going to bomb them. That is what this is all about.
The Iranians are putting out a lot of disinformation saying that they've agreed to a deal that allows them to. Keep enrichment. I'm willing to state right here on this show, Rick, President Trump is not going to accept a deal that allows them to keep enrichment. And if they try to cheat, they try to wiggle out of this. They're gonna get bombed.
Ken Timmerman reporting for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, we appreciate you helping us to keep straight what is going on around the world. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless.
Great job as always, Ken. You know, I'm always amazed when I see President Donald Trump as he is moving forward. It's really as if he's being this powerful world leader and taking control of the situation. He is a perfect prototype for in the future, when, after the rapture of the church takes place, that the Antichrist comes on the scene, and he's going to be doing the same thing that Donald Trump is doing right now.
Well, we've got to take a break. And when we come back, our Middle East news update with David Dolan, right here on Prophecy Today, weekend. Mm-hmm. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. The UN's top eight officials say Lebanon is stabilizing, yet increasingly violent.
Heart for Lebanon's Camille Melki explains. On one hand, Lebanon entered a ceasefire with Israel after months of severe fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. There is a level of stability that we enjoy. On the other hand, this ceasefire is very harsh and very fragile. At least 1.2 million people have been displaced.
Heart for Lebanon is helping the most vulnerable, but resources are running low. Connect with us online to help Heart for Lebanon be the hands and feet of Jesus. Heart for Lebanon is stretched very thin. Since this conflict began, we added more than 1,800 families. to our monthly care package distribution.
And Life International is announcing a new partnership with the Anglican Church in Uganda. With 13 million members in 39 dioceses, the denomination has a significant voice in the country's religious dialogue. Life's Chris Rookas says: Archbishop Stephen Gazimba wants his nation to share the Father's heart for life. He basically wants to bring the journey of a lifegiver training, which is our core training, into all parts of Uganda. The Church of Uganda has 13 to 15 million people attending services on any given week.
So their depth of reach is vast. It's a massive amount of people that they have connection with.
So please pray for the ministry of Life International. The attack on the pre-born in particular is massive everywhere we go, and it is the work of the enemy.
So pray with us. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. Keys for Kids Ministries exists to ignite a passion for Christ in kids and families worldwide.
So this month they're offering a free annual subscription to the Kids and Teens Devotionals. Click on the banner at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, this is the portion of our program. We call it our Middle East news update. We will look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. To do that, we have a journalist with over 30 years of experience reporting on Israel, Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today.
I'm blessed to be with you, Rick.
Well, David, I'm in Jerusalem right now, and you are reporting on what is taking place here. Can you give us an update in this last week? What is the latest information, the news coming out of Israel?
Well, Rick, as you and I discussed before we went on air, you've heard several sirens this week from missiles being launched once again from Yemen. I'll talk about that more in a minute. But the big news of the week, of course, was beginning of the week when Eden Alexander was released, the American Israeli hostage being held by Hamas for so many months. That, of course, came at the beginning of President Trump's Middle East swing this week, which was really the big news of the week, frankly. He was making all sorts of news in Israel and around the world, really.
But talk about that more in a minute as well. But we had him released That came as a talk continue in Qatar for the release of Further hostages, Steve Witcoff, the U.S. Ambassador, proposing ten living hostages be released.
soon. And if so, then Israel, he indicated, would not strike at Hamas in a greater way, which of course, the Prime Minister said after the President returned to the States, there would be a major campaign, much greater than before, if the hostages weren't released or there wasn't an agreement to do that at least by that time.
Well, we're at that time and Friday Rick intense fighting going on in North Gaza. people said over one hundred were killed. That came after Israel bombed a hospital in Con Yunis in the south of the Strip.
Now why would they do that? The European hospital it's called? Because they said there was a major Hamas Operations Center underneath, and they had intelligence that the acting head of Hamas now, Yahya Sinwar's brother Mohammed, was killed, along with the Hamas spokesman, who Rick is a bit of a popular man in the Middle East. He's on Al Jazeera, another Qatar connection station almost every day giving an update on the war from their perspective. He wears a kefiyah and he's a bit of a celebrity.
They say he was killed, and also another senior commander of Hamas. 40 bunker buster bombs were dropped on that area, Rick, and the Palestinians said 70 people were dead. The Israelis acknowledged some were civilians. But collateral damage. And again, Hamas is operating underneath the hospital.
So, you know, what do you expect? And, of course, we had President Trump say that the US has sent a proposal to Iran to end their nuclear program, he said on Friday.
However, the Iranians quickly denied that they received any such deal, but there were talks going on, and the President expressed optimism that that would succeed in the end. He also, of course, lifted sanctions against Syria during the week and met with the new Syrian strongman, the new leader there, Al-Shara, in Saudi Arabia, shook his hand and encouraged him to eventually join the Abraham Accords. Although he did indicate that he knows they're not quite ready to do that now. The country is still very unstable, and there's still fighting going on in different portions, and there's still the rebel movements there. But he said that is his goal.
And Israeli officials responded that they would be thrilled if that would actually happen. But of course, they're still very skeptical that this jihadi man has changed his stripes in any great way. As I mentioned, we had all of these missile attacks on Israel continuing during the week from Yemen. And on Friday, Israel launched its promised... Major response, fifteen jets participated.
Two ports were mainly hit, Hodiah and Salib. And the IDF said they were pretty well destroyed. The airport was destroyed last week, and they warned again that if these missiles attacks continue, that there will be more action against Houthis there. Of course, that's after the U. S.
pulled out of its war with the Houthis or its counter strikes to stop their attacks after they said the group said it would stop hitting shipping in the Red Sea.
Well, David, so many things to follow up on there, but I want to focus in on the hostages and being here in the land that is such a politically important situation. There is nothing that is going to be changed in Israel until this hostage situation is resolved.
Well, absolutely, that's the case. And it should be pointed out all the time that Israel has said since. nearly the start of this war a year and a half ago, If the hostages are set free, the war will end. that simple. And after Alexander was set free, we had the spokesman make a statement.
I'll quote it: this was a positive initiative on our part aimed at easing the suffering of our people and demonstrating a commitment to end the fighting, et cetera. Open the border crossings well. Again, if you want to ease the suffering of your people, Stop hiding under them. Stop building your centers in their hospitals. And release the hostages.
There's no way. That Netanyahu could continue the war to its declared aim of totally destroying Hamas if all of the hostages were set free. It's pretty clear that President Trump that that's his goal. He would at that point say, you must stop the war. You must stop the war.
Now Witkoff said on Friday, he was asked by a reporter, is the President calling for Israel to stop the war? He said no. We believe they've been fighting well and that they have to do this. But the President did state on Friday there is starving in Gaza and the U. S.
will address this.
So he spent the whole week with Arab leaders some of whom are supporters of Homas and Qatar, for instance, And that all have some sympathies at least for the Palestinians.
So he's been hearing a lot this week from them, I'm sure. You know, how that will translate onto Israel and onto actions there, we'll have to see. But no sign that Hamas is about to release these hostages. And therefore, we probably will see this new wave of action or an intensified wave of action. And it's terrible that civilians are being killed.
And of course, starvation is nothing to laugh about. It's a very serious situation, but it could be ended in a minute if Hamas would just get those people out. David, we appreciate you providing context for the situation there with the hostages.
Well, let's move on and we'll talk about the situation in Syria changes this week to how the US and possibly even Israel is dealing with this new regime in Syria. Can you talk about that?
Well, Rick, it was confirmed this week that fairly senior Israeli military and Syrian leaders. have met in Azerbaijan, which has relations with both countries. in recent days to talk about possibly normalizing relations to talk about a possible IDF withdrawal back to its pre Assad borders. Of course, IDF forces are deeper into Syria right now, mainly to protect the Druze minority there. But the war continues, Rick.
On Wednesday, we had this terror attack in Samaria and a pregnant thirty-three-year-old woman with her fourth child on the way with her husband to the hospital, and a terrorist shot their car up. And she was killed, and the baby was C-sectioned, but it is in critical condition.
So the country's watching that. Just a reminder that the jihad war, the war to destroy Israel, is not going away. It's not gone. And one can be hopeful. And President Trump expressed a lot of hope during the week.
About a lot of positive things that are happening or could happen and the economic, bright, wonderful future and this sort of thing. But Rick, I don't think he understands. To the degree, certainly, that you and I do, the depth of Islamic resistance to Israel's existence, that this The Quran, it seems to call into question the authority and the veracity even of the Quran and of Islam itself.
So, you know, we've got to remember that Ashara is a long time terrorist, part of ISIS. You know, so I mean uh Let's hope, let's hope, and Israel is hopeful and will do everything it can, I'm sure. To moderate things there. And it already has, again, they're having talks. at a low level, but still they're having talks.
That's the first since the nineteen sixties.
So we can hope and pray. And but again, the war continues, obviously. Dave Dolan for Prophecy Today. Dave, as always, you do a great job of explaining what is taking place in the Middle East and the nation of Israel. We appreciate it so much.
Look forward to talking to you again soon. I'm very glad to do it, Rick. God bless. Great job, as always, David. And I'm reminded of the fact that we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
I know that more every time that I'm here, Rick and I are here this week, and as we are traveling around the land, yes, we've gone through a few air raid sirens and we've seen that. But we are encouraging our folks that are with us on this trip to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces for the sake of my brethren and companions. I will now say, Peace be within you, because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.
The fulfillment of true peace in Jerusalem will be when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.
Well, we've got to take a break, and when we come back, Mike Jindren talking about the Pope. Chris Kotolka talking about when will there be peace in the city of Jerusalem or in Israel? That's all ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ms. Kramer with Mission Network News.
The U.S. designates two Haitian gangs as terrorist groups as the situation in Haiti continues to decline. Mackensen Sanfleur is an attorney with For Haiti with Love. He says if gang activity worsens in Cap Haitian, where this ministry is based, the group will be forced to vacate. Even now, the gospel remains central to their effort.
As the team at For Haiti With Love cares and prays for their people, would you join them? Read more in the full story at our website. And Christianity is well established in Kenya, but that doesn't mean every pastor is teaching biblical truth. The Lord provided a strategic partnership between Kenya Hope and Emmanuel Baptist Church of Nairobi to help pastors get the training they need. Last month, 41 pastors attended a Kenya Hope conference.
While the Kenyan church provides the training, Kenya Hope offers logistical support. U.S. church partners provide funding and volunteers. You can find your place in the story at missionnews.org. And thanks for listening to Mission Network News, the service of one-way ministries on youth Kramer.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy Young Jr. Along with Rick, we're examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
Well, we firmly believe in Revelation 17, 17. For God has put into their hearts to fulfill his purpose, to be of one mind and to give the kingdom of the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. Who is he talking about there?
Well, he's talking about the beast and the whore, the great whore. That's Revelation chapter 17. This last week a new pope was installed into the Catholic Church.
So we thought we needed to get a hold of our good friend Mike Gendren to give us an update on what he thinks the future is for this pope.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Mike Gendren with us today. He was in the Roman Catholic Church for over 30 years.
Now he runs a ministry called Proclaiming the Gospel. You can find out more about that by going to proclaimingthegospel.org. But that ministry is focusing on sharing in the good news of the saving grace of the gospel. Mike, thanks for being with us today. Oh, it's always a pleasure.
Amazing the technology that we can connect being thousands of miles away. That's right. Mike is in Dallas. I'm in Israel. And we're talking like we're in the same room.
Well, Mike, we have you on the program when we look at what is taking place in the Catholic Church. Of course, big news this week as they elect a new pope. If you could, could you talk about the process and how this all came about, this election of this new pope from America?
Well, sure, Rick. The College of Cardinals gathers in a conclave. It's usually fifteen to twenty days after the previous pope dies, and they have a secret meeting to vote for the new pope. And they require two thirds of the vote to Elect a new pope, and so this was really significant because of the 252 cardinals that the Catholic Church has, only 135 of them were eligible to vote because they were younger than the age of 80. And of the 135 cardinals that are eligible, 109 were appointed by Pope Francis himself.
That comprises about 80% of the electorate.
So even though Pope Francis can't deceive anyone any longer, his New pope that he actually appointed two years ago to the position of cardinal. He's now the one that will be the voice of the Catholic Church.
Well, that was my next question. What do we know about this new pope? We know he's the first American Pope, and essentially, based on what you said, it seems like he is certainly in the mold of the previous Pope, Pope Francis. Can you tell us what you know about this new Pope? Yes, Pope Leo XIV was born in America, but he has a dual citizenship.
He also has citizenship in Peru. And even though he's an American, two-thirds of his life has been spent outside of the United States.
So he appears to be well qualified to be the head of an international organization. I mean, after all, he speaks five languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese. And he also reads Latin and German. He's also very well educated. He and I have something in common.
We both have advanced degrees in mathematics and theology, but that's where our similarities end. The really question, though, I think, is he qualified to be the head of the church that Catholics believe was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think your listeners would all agree that the short answer is a resounding no. Jesus Christ is God's perfect man and man's perfect God, and he's the only one qualified to be the head of the church. He Purchased it with his own blood.
And he's the very foundation of the church, as we see in 1 Corinthians 3:11.
So Catholics really need to study the scriptures and heed God's warning about trusting in mortal men. We read in Psalm 146:3, Do not trust in princes and mortal men, in whom there is no salvation.
So, Rick, I'd also like just to comment that there is significance in the name that popes choose. Popes throughout history have chosen the name of a predecessor to both honor him and to emulate his example.
So the name that a pope chooses usually foretells the direction that that pope wants to take.
So knowing that, we look at Pope Leo the Thirteenth. Who headed the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. And he was the founding figure of the Catholic social justice tradition, which we can only believe that Pope Leo XIV will continue in that direction. It's really interesting, though, that Pope Leo XIII was also 69 when he was elected, and then he served for 25 years as the Pope. Leo XIII was the Pope of the Rosary.
Marian devotion was central to his papacy. He believed the Virgin Mary served as a mediator and co-redeemer for Jesus Christ. And he actually earned the nickname of Rosary Pope because he added 11 papal encyclicals to the Rosary. And then, of course, we have Pope Leo X. I'm sure anyone that studies history knows that he and Martin Luther were the central figures of the Protestant Reformation.
Leo X. opposed Luther's criticisms of the church. Particularly regarding the sale of indulgences, and so it was the Pope. Pope Leo X that actually excommunicated Martin Luther in 1521.
So I think most Catholics are wondering if the Pope will be liberal or conservative on social and political issues, but they really should be more concerned with his position on biblical issues, which you and I know have eternal consequences.
Well, they certainly do, and that is some interesting information as we look at him, why he chose that name. Again, you do hear it framed quite often: is he conservative or is he liberal? But again, the most important thing that a spiritual leader could be, especially one who proclaims the gospel of Christ, is to be correct and true when it comes to the scripture. And we've certainly talked about that. And I'm going to ask you a question at the end of this interview because we had some listener response from some previous appearances on the program.
And I wanted to give you a chance to address them and let our listeners hear you address them as well.
Well, before I do that, one more question. We have talked about Pope Francis and his Big Ten philosophy: making the church more ecumenically open to new ideas, to expanding the church's reach. And of course, this has obvious implications as we know what's going to take place in the end times and the coming one-world religion. We look at what Pope Francis. Has put in place.
We look at what Pope Leo and maybe reading the signs of what, as you said, why he chose that name and the different things. What is he going to be like? Can you talk about any changes that you may see in the Roman Catholic Church going forward? Yeah, it's really interesting when you compare and contrast Pope Francis with Pope Leo. Tragically, Pope Francis now knows the truth, but Pope Leo continues to lead people down the wide road to destruction with a false and fatal gospel.
And I'm not saying that to be uncompassionate towards Catholics. The fact is, if you test his gospel with the scriptures, we know that he's under the same condemnation the Judaizers were for distorting the gospel by adding requirements. We also know that Pope Francis was a Jesuit. Pope Leo is an Augustinian. Francis spent 67 of his years as a Jesuit.
Which was an order created for the specific purpose of countering and defeating the teachings of Protestantism. During his time as Pope, he communicated more heretical doctrines to more people than any other human being. And so we look at Pope Leo, he's a younger pope with much more vigor and energy to carry out his globalist agenda. Both popes have been more devoted to Mary than to Christ. In fact, Pope Francis' last will and testament really reveals his true loyalty to Mary.
He said, and I quote, I got this from the Vatican website: I have always entrusted myself to the Mother of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason, I ask that my mortal remains rest in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. I wish my final earthly journey to end in this ancient Marian sanctuary, where I would always stop to pray, confidently entrusting my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and giving thanks for her gentle and maternal care.
So it's so amazing that both popes are so dedicated to Mary. And we're very aware of how Satan deflects people's pure devotion away from Christ, to other images, to other people. And in this case, I think both popes will be responsible for directing the attention of Catholics to Mary rather than to Christ.
So the real question for all of us who are listening is not who will wear the papal crown, but who will wear the armor of God and contend for the true faith against the papacy. We need to make this our clarion call. Popes die, but the word of God endures forever. We must plead with Catholics to flee Rome. to flee every gospel that adds to the cross.
We need to urge Catholics to run to Christ, not to Mary. And he is the only head of the church and the only Redeemer. Most of um Catholics today would not even be aware that we are moving toward a prophetic fulfillment of a global church and a global religion. And we know that Pope Francis was very aggressive in uniting all the people they could under the papacy. And I believe that this Pope Leo, who's much younger and probably will have more time as a pope, he will really carry that agenda further.
And Rick, you know that when Islam and Roman Catholicism come together, that will represent 40% of the world's population. And I think that the other religions will actually follow suit when these two merge. And we've talked a little bit about the common bonds between Islam and Roman Catholicism. And I actually have a message on that on my website, proclaimingthegospel.org.
So it's really exciting to know that we are in the midst of prophecy being fulfilled. All the furniture on the stage is set, as John Walvard used to say.
Now we're waiting for the final acts.
Well, we certainly are. And as you know, that's what this program is all about. And looking at this, we see the handwriting on the wall, we see that these things are being set into place, and that's what we do.
Well, I mentioned earlier on that we had a listener letter.
Now, this was an anonymous letter, but it was a four-page letter. And so I obviously can't read it all. But the general idea was that having you on our program and what you do, he called it Catholic bashing and called you a heretic. And I know this is not the first such letter that you've received like that. And I just wanted you to give you a chance to address that type of talk and these things that have been directed to you.
And listen, this is something that we want to do, speaking the truth in love. We want to share the truth. We feel we are committed to doing that. Can you talk a little bit, maybe just what you would say to this listener if you could respond directly?
Well, sure, Rick. I think it's important for all your listeners to know that it is. Proper to hate the religion that deceives people, but to love those who are being deceived by telling them the truth, telling them the true gospel. Our Lord told us we are to hate everything that's false, and the Roman Catholic religion preaches a false gospel. And people don't have to take my word for it.
All they have to do is look into the scriptures and see the true gospel. And then you can look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church and see a false and fatal gospel. And so we're often accused of being Catholic bashers, but you know, it's the Catholic Church that bashes us with dozens and dozens of anathemas that condemn us because we do not believe what they teach. And so the Bible only gives two anathemas. One is for those who distort the gospel, and the other is for those who do not love Christ.
So, why would the Catholic Church bash? Protestants who believe the truth and then call us Catholic bashers. No, we speak the truth and love for the purpose of leading people to Christ, not to Mary, not to the papacy. There's only one mediator between God and man, that's the man, Christ Jesus. He is the all-sufficient Savior, which is why salvation is offered as a gift of his grace and his righteousness.
Is also offered as a gift to those who will simply put their trust in Him and repent of any false teaching.
So that's my prayer for any Catholics that are listening to look to the scriptures. Jesus Christ is the personification of truth. He said, His word is truth. He said, I came to testify to the truth.
So, why would a Catholic look anywhere other than Christ and His Word to know the truth? And, Rick, I know you would agree with me. We want. Catholics, to test what we have been saying with the supreme authority of God's Word. If what we say conforms to the Word of God, we want you to embrace it and believe it.
If not, simply reject it. Mike Gendron from Proclaimingthegospel.org. Mike, I couldn't have said it better myself. Speaking the truth and love is what we're here to do and proclaim the authority of the scriptures and test everything against those scriptures. Mike has all kinds of materials.
If you go to his website, proclaimingthegospel.org, you can look at those materials. Mike, as always, I know you're busy right about this time as all this is going on in the Catholic Church. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today. We look forward to talking to you again soon.
Well, Rick, it's always a pleasure and a privilege. Blessings to you. Excellent, as always, Mike, thank you so much.
Well, Rick and I are in Israel, and just recently I read a great book by Chris Kotolka with Friends of Israel, called Israel Always. I wanted to get Chris back on the radio today and Chris, welcome back to the program. Jimmy, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. I'm a little jealous you're in the land right now, and I'm back here in New Jersey.
Well, I understand you will be here next week, and we do that quite often together, don't we? Throughout the year, we pass in the land. We probably will see each other at a border someplace. Mm-hmm. That's exactly right.
Yep, that's the beauty of it. When we get to bring believers over to the land of Israel, sometimes we path, we cross paths. And I'm thankful that you're over there, and I'll be over there next week. That's true.
Well, tell me, Chris, explain to us a little bit about your role at Friends of Israel. I love working with Friends of Israel and ministering with the organization. I've been with them since 2004. I started as an intern. And today I oversee all of the outreach activities that we have in the Jewish community all around the United States and Canada.
I assist our church ministries representatives who are investing in churches and sharing about Israel and the Jewish people biblically in the local church. And then I also get a chance to oversee all of the outreach efforts as our field workers are connecting with Jewish people in the Jewish communities in major cities all around the U.S. and Canada as well. And so it's a joy to be able to. Share with my colleagues the joys of doing ministry together.
But then also, I host the Friends of Israel Today radio program for the Friends of Israel. And that is an absolute joy as well to be able to connect our radio audience with the truth of the gospel and the truth that God loves and supports Israel and the Jewish people. And for that reason, as Christians, we should also. I like the fact that you have been involved in a ministry, one that we wholeheartedly support. I encourage folks, if you haven't heard Friends of Israel Today, the radio program, it's very solid.
It's a great program. You get an Israeli flavor to it. And I like that. And you also have a podcast that you do with Steve Herzig. That's right.
Steve Herzig, who I know has been on the program with you and also with your father in the past. It's called the Jew and Gentile Podcast.
Well, the reason I wanted to have you on the program this week, Chris, is I got your book when I got on the plane on the way over here to Israel. I had every intention to read it, but when I got on the plane, I opened up, I read the first chapter. And I'm telling you, I was hooked. I dove right into the book. I had my pen out.
I was underlining everything. Folks, his book that came out, Israel Always, and is a great book. What prompted you to write this book, Chris? You know, uh I'm thankful that Harvest House, the publisher, uh they reached out because they really wanted a book that connected Christians with the Holy Land and connected Christians with Israel all throughout history. And so we were able to partner together.
And my passion for writing this book is kind of it was kind of directed, Jimmy, to three different audiences. The first audience is for people who are going to take a pilgrimage to Israel. And I think you know this since you're over there leading a tour right now as we speak. You know, it's not just a trip to Israel, it's a pilgrimage. It's an opportunity to deepen your faith with the Lord Jesus as you walk.
His paths throughout the Holy Land.
So, the book preps people for what they're to expect or what they can expect when they get to Israel. The book is maybe even for the other audiences: people coming back from the Holy Land and they go, That was a lot. That was more than I could ever imagine. I feel like my brain hurts, you know, from all the history.
So, the book is designed to also maybe help re-engage people when they return from the Holy Land to kind of get a feel for everything they saw. And then, And finally, maybe the person that's reading will never go to the Holy Land. And that's okay. This book is designed to kind of take you over there and to show you one important thing that I believe biblically matters, and that's the faithfulness of God. That God has been faithful to Israel and the Jewish people since he called Abraham.
And that's because of a promise that he made to Abraham that is absolutely eternal, unbroken. It cannot. Broken, and for that reason, God's faithfulness is seen even today and in the future for Israel. And He, if you can trust that God will be faithful to Israel, the Jewish people, you can count on the fact that He's going to be faithful to us as well. Amen.
And He's got to keep that promise to He made to the Jews, or else He could break the promise that He made with us, which is eternal life if we believe in His Son dying on the cross, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I've got to add one more aspect to your book or reason for why you wrote it, Chris. I was sitting on the plane. I'm reading it. Go ahead.
I'm excited to hear. Yes.
So I sat the book down on the seat next to me, and a gentleman, a Jewish gentleman, looks at it and he goes, Ah, Israel always, what's that about? And I'm like, I'm glad you asked. It could be used as a witnessing tool.
Well, one of the things that I was what prompted me, and I wanted to have you on after reading this book, we got a question last week from a pastor. And, you know, you look at the Jews from yesterday, past, present, and the future in this book, which I love. I mean, everything, I agree wholeheartedly with everything that you write. It's very well written. But we had a pastor that asked a question: why do people hate the Jewish people?
Through history, why do people hate the Jewish people? What would you say to a pastor that's asking that question? Yes, this is a question we get a lot here too at Friends of Israel is you would think after the Holocaust The world would have learned its lesson about the dangers of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jewish people. And so you'd think we would have learned our lesson, but we didn't.
Anti-Semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, is on the rise. Even here in America, 60% of hate crimes that are committed are directed. Toward the Jewish people. And so that's a large number of hate crimes toward a very tiny minority of people as US citizens. And that is worse in other countries.
Anti-Semitism is worse in other countries as well. And the reason why is because it's a spiritual issue. It's actually, it's rooted all throughout the scriptures. We've seen it all throughout church history and history. And now we're even seeing it today.
And the reason why is because we believe. That Satan attacks what God values. And God values the Jewish people because he has a plan for the Jewish people. In fact, on the podcast the other day, Steve and I were looking at Revelation chapter 12 when the dragon was standing there waiting for Jesus to be born because he was waiting for that opportunity to snuff out the Messiah because the Jewish people, and Jesus is Jewish, is a part of the plan of God and his redemption for all mankind. And so if Satan can get to the Jewish people, he can thwart the plan of God.
And that, of course, is not going to happen. We know who wins the battle in the end from the book of Revelation. But, Jimmy, it's a spiritual issue. It's the events going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm that are manifesting itself in the hatred toward the Jewish people that we see even today. Wow.
That great answer. In fact, that was the very chapter that that pastor was teaching in church, and he didn't really understand it. And so that's a great answer, great thought process. Satan's plan is to defeat God, to defeat the angels, and to defeat man. And if he can defeat God by wiping out the Jewish people, which he has tried through history, he can defeat God.
And of course, that's been his plan right from the very beginning in Genesis chapter 3 with the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
Well, Chris, I appreciate the book so much. You go into yesterday when you're talking about the history of the Jewish people. Very well thought out. Today, as you look at the land of the Jewish people, what do you say to people that would ask you, you know, should we be Lifting the Jewish people up every single day. 100%.
We should be praying for the Jewish people. I believe that when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, which is Psalm 122, verse 6, we're asking for shalom peace globally. I actually mentioned that in the book when I like to connect Psalm 122 with God's plan for prophetically for the future. And so when you're praying for the peace of Jerusalem, you're praying for the type of peace that Jesus wishes that he could have brought had they believed in him. You know, Jesus in the Gospel says, oh, how, you know, how he wishes as he's weeping over Jerusalem, he wishes that they would have accepted him as the Messiah because.
Then he could have brought the shalom, the peace that the prophets had promised. But it wasn't meant to be for a reason. He was meant to go to the cross, it was his mission to go to the cross. and to bring ultimately peace and reconciliation to all mankind. Through his death, burial, and resurrection.
But when we talk about the idea of lifting up and praying for the Jewish people, that goes back to the heart that even Paul had. That you can see all throughout his writings that he had a heart for his own people, and that he would even be willing to sacrifice his own salvation for his people's salvation. And so, praying for the peace of Jerusalem and showing and sharing the love of the Messiah with our Jewish friends is one of the best ways through prayer, through acts of love and kindness, is the greatest way that you can show that. That you love and support them on a constant basis. You know, Jimmy, I always say the Bible is a Jewish book, and we are grafted into this amazing story of God's redemption.
And so, you know, when we think about the fact that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, the Bible is a Jewish book through and through. It should drive us to see and to pray for Israel and the Jewish people. Wow. The book is called Israel Always. Chris gives the biblical story of the Jews, the promised land and the temple, the exile and the return between the Old Testament and the New Testament, those 400 silent years you talk about.
That's great stuff. I love it inside Israel in the time of Jesus. That's yesterday. Part two of the book is today: the land and the people, the miracle of Israel, politics in Israel today. If that's something that always we try to focus on here on our program.
Prophecy today to focus on the Jewish people. God still has a plan for the Jews and He's accomplishing it as we speak. He's moving those pieces around on the chessboard, as we like to say.
Well, Christ. Chris, I want to ask you a favor if you would stick around. We've got to take a break. And when we come back from the break, we're going to touch on the legacy series with my father, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, as we always do.
But I would love for you to hang around for our A Look at the Book section at the end of the program because I want to ask you two questions. Is peace possible in the Middle East and the place of Israel and Bible prophecy?
So when we come back after the legacy series with a look at the book, Chris, will you join with me? I'll be happy to. Thanks, Jimmy. Great. We'll take a break.
We come back. It'll be the legacy series with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and then the A Look at the Book with Chris Kotolka with Friends of Israel right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.
Along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. We'll have Chris Kotoka come back with me at the look at the book section where we'll talk about Israel's place in Bible prophecy and will there be peace in the Middle East. You can find his book, IsraelAlways at FOI.org. This week on the Legacy Series, we're going to continue our study on the second coming of Jesus Christ back to the earth. We'll look at what takes place just after the Battle of Armageddon.
But first, let us rehearse how the campaign of Armageddon unfolds. Zachariah chapter 14, verse 2 speaks of all the nations of the world that gather in Jerusalem with their armies. Jesus then comes out of heaven as revealed in Revelation 19, verses 11 to 14, and he comes with an army. And that army is the church who went to heaven at the rapture of the church. We come to the Mount of Olives with Jesus Christ.
That's Zechariah 14:4. And the armies of the world flee to the valley of the mountains. And that's the Jezreel Valley, as described in Zechariah 14:5. While these armies set up their strategy, Jesus Christ rebuilds the city of Jerusalem, makes a temple mount one mile square, and builds a temple in Jerusalem, as described in Ezekiel 40 to 46. Then Jesus goes to the Jezreel Valley for the actual battle, where this massive army will be killed.
Now we're set for the Lord Jesus Christ to go to Petra. Please take your Bible and go to Isaiah sixty three, where we will continue our study with Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy series. Go over to the book of Isaiah chapter 63.
Remember the principle I told you over there in 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 20. No prophecy of private interpretation, but we must coordinate all prophetic truth to see how things are going to unfold. Isaiah chapter 63. You do remember Isaiah 61, do you not? Isaiah 61 is the passage of scripture that Jesus read when he went into the synagogue there in Nazareth, and they asked him to read a portion of the text for that day, their reading for that particular day.
He was reading Isaiah chapter 61, verses 1 and 2. Just look at verse 2 for a moment. Here's where he finished, and he did not finish the entire verse. Isaiah 61, 2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and then he closed the scroll.
But look what was left. And the day of vengeance of our God to confront all that mourn. And here he leaves this portion out, talking about the day of the vengeance of the Lord.
Now go over to Isaiah 63. In Isaiah 63, we're going to see in the first six verses two rhetorical questions asked by Isaiah and responded to by Jesus Christ. Let's look at the first question: Isaiah 63:1. Who is this that cometh from Edom with thy garments from Basra? This is that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength.
Now that's the rhetorical question that Isaiah asked. Notice what he starts with Who is this that cometh from Edom with thy garments from Basra? Basra is the entrance to Petra. In Edom. which is the lower third of modern day Jordan.
Petra is the location. In the book of Revelation, chapter 12 and verse 6, that the Lord has prepared to protect the Jewish people in the last three and a half years of the tribulation period.
Now The question asks: Who is this that cometh from Petra, from Basra in Edom? Here's the answer, Jesus speaking. I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. And then a second question that is asked by Isaiah Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and the garments like him that treadeth in the wine vat?
Sounds familiar to the book of Revelation, chapters 19 and 14. Who is it that looks like he's been treading in the wine vat? The Grape vineyards. place of smashing down the grapes and braining out the juice. The answer comes in verse 3.
I have trod in the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garment, and I will stain all of my raiment, for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And Jesus Christ said, I am the one who treadeth the wine vet with the fierceness of Almighty God. I'm the one that is bringing this judgment. I do it alone.
And so he concludes that thought found in Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 2. Have you ever thought of where Nazareth is? I mentioned it just a moment ago, the mountains of Nazareth, part of those Valley of the Mountains mountain ranges. If you were to stand in Nazareth, Look, team. down to the south.
you would see the Jezreel Valley laid out. I can almost imagine Jesus as a ten-year-old boy running through those mountainsides. looking over in the Jezreel Valley. Thank you. what his responsibility would be.
As a teenager, Early 20s, he didn't leave Nazareth till he was 30 years old. Looking out. contemplating What would be happening down there? And now he's saying, I know. I'm the one that treadeth the wine vat, the fierceness of Almighty God.
I'm the one with the blood sprinkled up on my white garment. And he walks over. Two. Petra. Blood flowing as high as a horse's bridle?
Well, let's go with my I think conservative estimate 100 million soldiers. 100 million. That's 600 million. Courts of blood. A hundred and seventy-six miles.
You do the numbers, but I believe that's about 50 quarts of blood for every foot. About as high as the versus bridal. And so I think that is literal. By the way, where does he walk? From the Jezreel Valley, where he's cast everybody dead, he walks one hundred and seventy six miles.
Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. It's exactly one hundred and seventy six miles from the Jezreel Valley. to Petra. On the dart. And he goes over.
Walking through the valley of blood. I'm the one. has brought the judgment. Go to the book of Ezekiel chapter forty three. Verse 1.
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh towards the east, that would be the eastern gate. Verse 2, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and his voice was like the noise of many waters. That's Jesus Christ described in Revelation chapter 1. This is Jesus Christ coming. He's coming by way of the gate to the east.
As you study this passage of Scripture, you'll realize he's coming from Petra, which is to the east of Jerusalem. He comes across the Rift Valley, the Jordan Valley. He comes up the backside of the Mount of Olives, the mountain to the east. He crosses the Kidron Valley. He goes through the gate, the eastern gate.
By the way, there's a period of time between when Jesus Christ steps on the earth and when the Battle of Armageddon takes place, because he has to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, Zachariah chapter 14, make it 2,500 square miles, not the 8.5 square miles it is today. He has to lift up the Temple Mount. It's three football fields in size now. It would be one mile square according to the book of Ezekiel. And then he builds a 21-story temple.
On top of that, he builds the temple, Zacharias 6:12, where he will rule and reign, Zacharias 6:13. And so, while these armies are moving to the Jezreel Valley, 97 miles from Jerusalem, he's doing all of this, reconstructing the city of Jerusalem, reconstructing the Temple Mount, building that temple that he will rule and reign from. He goes to the Jezreel Valley, all the activities take place. He walks 176 miles over to Petra. He gathers in one-third of the Jews that have been protected from harm's way.
They're going to all be saved. He gathers them up. He brings them by the Jordan Valley. He comes up to the side of the Mount of Olives, crosses the Kidron Valley, comes up to the Eastern Gate.
Now, notice what it says in verse 5.
So the Spirit took me up and he brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Verse 7. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. And my holy name shall not be disgraced ever again. Jesus Christ.
brings these Jews, walks in oh, by the way, you know what day he walks into the temple? Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur, how do I know? Hebrews chapter nine.
High priest in the past, once a year, went into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. But now, once in the end of time, Jesus Christ walks into the Holy of Holies. and he there walks in to sit down on his throne. to be king of kings and lord of lords forever. on Yom Kippur.
Oh by the way. If you back that up 10 days because there's 10 awesome days. That precedes Yom Kippur, that's when the Jews try to make sure they're included in the book of life. You go back over to that first of the three fall feasts, that's Rosh Hashanah. Feast of trumpets, and Jesus Christ steps down on the earth on Feast of Trumpets.
Oh, Brother Jimmy! Matthew 24 says, no man can say the day or the hour.
Now wait a minute. The word day has a different meaning than just 24 hours. The word day is, hey, we're living in the day of computers. We're living in the day of terrible economic crises. And so it can be used generally.
You had to study the text because he fulfilled the first four feasts. He was crucified on Passover. Buried on unleavened bread, resurrected on first fruits, and the Holy Spirit came on Feast of Pentecost, just like he said. In the proper day sequences, Jesus Christ fulfilled the first four feasts for the Jewish people, not for Christians, for the Jewish people. Thus he, to be consistent, must fulfill the last three feasts.
He will come back to the earth. What did Matthew 24, 30? One say, take a trumpet, blow it. That's the blowing of the trumpets. That's the feast of trumpets.
He rebuilds the temple, he reconstructs the city, he does all of those activities, and then he goes to the Jezreel Valley, goes over to Petra, comes back, and he gets there ten days after the blowing of the trumpet on Yam Kippur, the day of atonement. Couple of days later, what happens? Feast of tabernacles. That's why old Peter in Matthew 17 said, Let's put up three tabernacles. I see Jesus in his glory, in his kingdom.
I see Moses. I see Elijah. Three tabernacles, Asukkah. That's what succott is. That feast called Tabernacles in English.
It's the remembering of how they wandered in the wilderness living in a sukkah, a thatched hut. And that is representing unfulfilled prophecy. The Kingdom Period. As he fulfilled the first four, he will fulfill in the proper day sequence the last. These seven Jewish feast days have a historic, agricultural, and prophetic significance.
Jesus fulfilled the four spring feast. He died on Passover, was buried on unleavened bread, resurrected on first fruits, and the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost as Jesus had said he would. That then leaves the three fall feasts, and Jesus must fulfil each of them in the proper day sequences. Jesus Christ will come back to the earth on Feast of Trumpets.
Now this is not the Rapture, but the Second Coming. Jesus then will enter the Temple on the Day of Atonement, and the One Thousand Year Kingdom will begin on the Feast of Tabernacles. As He fulfilled the four spring feasts, He will fulfill the last three Fall Feasts as well.
Next week on the broadcast we study God's Word to see how Babylon, modern day Iraq, how Babylon plays into its scenario. This is a very important study, but Please join us for that study. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy Series. Let me remind you that you can get all of the series that he does at our website, prophecytoday.com.
There are books, there are CD audio series, and DVDs, and we are going to make those at a special price offer just because we want you to enhance your study capability, not only yours, but your family and those people around you.
Well, we're going to have to take a break, and when we come back, Chris Kotolka joins me again to answer the questions, will there be peace in Israel? And what is Israel's role in Bible prophecy? Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. A ceasefire between India and Pakistan continues to hold after last month's terror attack claimed 26 lives in India's Kashmir region.
Todd Nettleson with the Voice of the Martyrs USA says conflict in this area goes back to the division of India when Pakistan was created. Kashmir is mostly Muslim people, but India claims that territory as their own. India's Hindu nationalist government has been exerting more control over the region in recent years. And I think that has brought fresh attention to some of the scars and the wounds from the decades past.
So join us in praying for Christian brothers and sisters who are affected by the violence. And spring is full of Graduation Day ceremonies and open houses in the United States. Every new grad, whether finishing college or high school, is closing one chapter of life and starting a new one. But the story looks slightly different at the On Eagles Wings Leadership Center. Hutchcraft Ministries Ron Hutchcraft says, Graduation Day is launch day here.
And we call this a launching pad for leaders. This year's graduates completed 245 hours of coursework in a nine-month gap year program. They represent 10 major tribes in North America, everything from Apache to Lakota Sioux, Mohawk, Ojibwe, Hopi, and others. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org. We appreciate the prayers of Mission Network News listeners for these young men and women.
They are God's warriors, and they are the enemy's target. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. Keys for Kids Ministries exist to ignite a passion for Christ in kids and families worldwide.
So, this month they're offering a free annual subscription to the Kids and Teens devotionals and a box of Bible highlighters. Get yours free when you click on the banner ad at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with Rick, We have been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
This is the section of the program where we take a look at the book. And if you remember, in our last half hour, I asked our new friend Chris Kotolka with Friends of Israel, with the Friends of Israel Today radio program, Bible teacher, involved in the ministry as a director of ministries inside the United States and around the world. Probably, Chris, welcome back. Thank you, Jimmy. Thanks for having me back.
Yes, and this is the portion of the program where we take a look at the book. We kind of wrap it all up. And I know as we examine current events, there are always two questions that come up. One, is peace possible in the Middle East? And you've written a new book entitled Israel Always.
It's a great book. I encourage people to get it if they can. And you answer that question: Is peace possible in the Middle East?
Well, Chris, what do you say? Yeah, that's a good one. It was a great lead-up for this question here. Is peace possible in the Middle East? And, Jimmy, you know, something that's been present for the last few years has been the Abraham Accords.
We are seeing peace happen right before our very eyes.
Something that I think most politicians never thought would happen is that Israel, all of a sudden, they already had some type of cold peace with Egypt and Jordan. And now, all of a sudden, out of the blue, through the working of the Trump administration, they were able to broker a deal with Israel and several other Arab nations, Gulf nations, like the UAE. In fact, I have friends in Israel right now who are going. Through a tour, and right after they're done their tour, they're going to jump on a plane and go to Qatar, which has never been done from Tel Aviv, which is just absolutely amazing. Why?
Because of the Abraham Accord.
So there is peace that's happening, and it's an amazing thing to see. But the reality is, is that there is still a lot of anti Semitism and there's still a lot of anti Zionism, which is the anti Semitism is the hatred of Jewish people. Anti Zionism is the hatred of the State of Israel. There's still a lot of that in the countries that have made peace with Israel. Even though the politicians shake hands, Jimmy, and they make a peace deal, that doesn't mean Main Street thinks the same way as their leaders.
And so there's still in a poll was done in after the Abraham Accord, And many of these Arab countries are still weary. The poll was done among the civilians, and many of them are weary of the deal, the Abraham-Abraham Accord that was made with Israel.
So there's still anti-Semitism and there's still anti-Zionism.
So, yes, there is peace going on, but it's still kind of an awkward peace. Because there's still this embedded kind of hatred toward Israel and the Jewish people. In the Middle East. And so the reality is that there will be peace one day in the Middle East. But it won't come because of what a politician does.
It won't come because of a brokered deal between countries. In fact, I just was reading today that China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two countries that were at odds with one another, and China was the one who brokered a deal. These kind of deals don't last long. They're temporary, just like much of human history. But there will be a day that comes when peace will arrive, when there will be shalom, and that can only come when the Prince of Peace arrives.
And his name is Jesus. And when his feet touch down on the Mount of Olive. And he takes his rightful seat on the throne in Jerusalem. That's when peace will be spread. That's when there will not only be peace in the Middle East, I know that we're concerned about the Middle East, but there will be peace.
Globally, as nations stream, it says in Micah chapter 4, the nations, the peoples will stream to Jerusalem to receive the Torah, it says. And we could understand that as almost divine instruction to hear from the king himself. King Jesus, who is the king of kings. And so that is when global peace will come. That's when peace in the Middle East will become a reality.
Right now, it's all on paper. Right now, the politicians make peace. But the reality is, just as we were mentioning earlier, there is still a hatred toward Israel and the Jewish people that some of us just can't understand why it's that way. It's that way because Satan is still at work, and it will be that way until Jesus takes his rightful seat on his throne right here on earth in Jerusalem. What is the role of Israel in Bible prophecy?
What place does Israel play in Bible prophecy? Israel was designed and called by God for a purpose. You know, when God called Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, he made a promise to Abraham: Abraham, I'm going to give you land, descendants, and a blessing that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And he made a covenant in Genesis chapter 15, an eternal covenant with Abraham. And ultimately, By the time you get to the book of Exodus.
There is a covenant that God makes with the nation of Israel that they would be a kingdom of priests, that they would be a treasured possession to God if they obeyed his commandments. And so God had called Israel biblically in history in order to be the conduit of his blessings to. The world that through Abraham and his family line, through biblical history, we see that God was constantly working, even with a disobedient people, Jimmy, even with a disobedient people, God was still working to bring the message of salvation and deliverance to the world. And that's what God's plan was: to use Israel as a kingdom of priests so that the world might know once again who the one true creator God is, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it would be through Jesus' obedience to the Father, as we see in Philippians chapter 2.
It would be through his obedience to even death on a cross. That God would, he would humble himself, that through his humility, God would resurrect him and exalt him, that every knee will bow and every tongue confess, so that ultimately that promise will find its reality today and in the future as well when Jesus returns. But Biblical Israel in the past plays a major role in how God wanted to bring his message of salvation to all the nations. Excellent answer, Chris. And what a great interview from Jimmy and Chris Katoka from Friends of Israel Ministry.
You know, as we listen to this program today, we talk with Dave Dolan, we talk with Ken Timmerman, and we see events that are taking place, political events taking place across the spectrum in Saudi Arabia. We look at the things taking place in Israel right now, major upheaval, and we see that these events are setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. And then as Chris reminded us, God has a plan, a plan that began in Genesis, is going to be finished in Revelation. We are in the midst of God's plan right now. Israel has a role to play.
We, the church, have a role to play. You, the believer, have a role to play. As we look at all these events and as we look at everything that's taking place right now, really, there's nothing left for me to say except let's keep looking up until. Thank you so much for joining us today. This is Jay Johnson inviting you to join us again next week.
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