Uh Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, you're in Israel this week. I'm so envious, but I will be there next week. You've got a group there again from Wisconsin.
Tell us about your group. That's right, Jimmy, and we sure are excited about this trip. Our good friend Randy Melchert is bringing a group from the Academy of Excellence online. It's a private school, a Christian school there, and this is their senior trip. Could you imagine going to Israel on your senior trip?
But I think it's a great opportunity for these young people for sure. There's no better classroom or stage to be presenting God's plan for the Jewish people, looking at Israel past, present, and future. You know, this trip is going to change those young people's lives. Looking forward to hearing more about the trip as we talk on the program today. But we do have our broadcast partners, Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, Wiki Medad, and Dr.
Richard Schmidt. Plus, R. C. Murrell at the end of the program today.
So let's get started, Rick, with our first Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He is our expert in geopolitical affairs. He's an author and an analyst. You can find out more by going to his website, kentimmerman.com.
Ken, thanks for being with us this week. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure. Ken, we got a lot to get to, so we'll get started right away. President Trump having a meeting in the Middle East this week.
Before he did that, he met in the White House with a Netanyahu advisor.
Well, Rick, this was billed as a private meeting, something that was not widely publicized. Ron Dermer, who's the national security minister in Israel, very close to Bibi Netanyahu, flew to Washington to speak with Trump.
Now, Dermer is American-born. He speaks Trump's language, and I don't mean English. I mean that he speaks Trump's language, right? The way that Trump thinks. They think very similarly.
And he's a masterful politician. He was before that. He'd been ambassador to Washington and has long been an ally of Bibi Netanyahu. I met him first in 2009 when Bibi was returning to the prime minister's seat. He was coming in at that point as an advisor.
But look, this is an important meeting. It is very significant. I believe that Ron Dermer came with some very Specific intelligence on Iran that we'll discuss a little bit later in this segment. And of course, it came right after Trump unexpectedly announced a truce with the Houdis. and of course the Hoodies promptly attacked Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
Well, I in a way was involved in that story. I got the last flight in, flew in the day that that happened, and that was very concerning to all of Israel.
Well, we look at this situation, this was along with the fact that Trump is decoupling from Israel in his dealings with the Houthis, and that is a concern.
Well, the decoupling story is something that's being rumored in the media. Trump says no. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, says no as well. But here's the fact: Trump did not give Israel a warning about this so-called truce with the Houthis.
And as I said, and as you experienced, the Houthis then attacked Ben-Gurion airport, and the U.S. did nothing about it. The Israelis had to respond unilaterally. Look, I've got a real concern here, Rick. You have people in the administration like J.D.
Vance, the vice president, and Tulsi Gabbard, who is the director of national intelligence, who have shown themselves willing to ignore Iran's double talk, Iran's missile attacks, and their nuclear double dealing. I'm worried about this. I'm afraid that the U.S. is going to get duped in these nuclear negotiations. And I'm also worried that there could be larger things going on here.
You know, the president is getting ready for a A big trip that begins this weekend to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and to Qatar. Mike Huckabee, again, the U.S. envoy to Israel, says that the Saudi nuclear deal just might not include a recognition of the state of Israel or Israel's right to exist. I think that is a big deal. It should include that.
The president has talked for a long time about the second round of the Abraham Accords.
Well, you can't have the Abraham Accords without recognition of the state of Israel.
So if he's going to go to Saudi Arabia and negotiate these bilateral deals with the Saudis and the Qataris that might include substantial U.S. transfer of civilian nuclear power plant technology, I think that's troubling. I'm a little worried about this. I'm also worried about the relationship between the United States and Qatar. You know, I've expressed my reservations about this many times on this show.
So now you have the Trump organization investing in Qatar. They've got a billion dollars. Hotel and luxury condo complex that's being funded by the Qataris. This is being run by Eric Trump. He has announced this publicly.
I think it's a clear conflict of interest. As I think, by the way, so is Steve Witkoff's investments in Qatar, are a clear conflict of interest. Remember, he sold his Park Lane Hotel to the Qatar Investment Authority in 2023 for over $600 million, well over the market price. And now he is being our chief envoy, both for the negotiations with Hamas taking place in Qatar and those negotiations in Iran, which enter a new round this weekend. I have concerns.
I've got to say, I've got concerns. Certainly so, and those are concerning points. This all taking place against the backdrop, as you said, of that coming visit of President Trump to the Middle East. And the reason the stakes are so high, especially for the nation of Israel, but for the world really as well, is is Iran's nuclear program.
Well, that's right. And again, J.D. Vance this week said the U.S. is, quote, happy with how the Iranians have been responding to issues raised by the U.S. And they're going into this fourth round of talks this weekend.
But just as Ron Dermer was coming to the White House, there was new intelligence released. It came from the Mujahideen Halk, the MEK and opposition group, that Iran has a tritium production plant in eastern Iran. What is tritium, Rick? It's used to boost nuclear warheads, the yield of nuclear warheads. We have one in the United States at the Savannah River plant.
When that goes down, we cannot renew our nuclear warheads. There is no civilian use for tritium.
So the fact that the Iranians have got a plant to produce tritium is an absolute giveaway, Rick. That they have a nuclear weapons program. I am sure that Ron Dermer. Talked about this with President Trump. I am sure he gave him those satellite photographs, which he then gave to Fox News on Thursday.
And I wrote about all this in the Iran House: how the Israelis have been feeding the MEK with this kind of intelligence. Remember, it was the MEK in 2003 which initially blew open Iran's nuclear weapons program. And I learned in interviews that I did in Israel that it was the Israelis that had the intelligence. They offered it first to Reza Pallavi, the son of the former Shah. He didn't want it because he said, everybody's going to know that I don't have access to that kind of intelligence, so the Israelis must have given it to him.
He gave it to the MEK, and the MEK didn't care.
So I think that's what's going on again. I think the Israelis had this intelligence on the tritium plant. They gave it to the MEK to launder it, if you wish. And then Ron Dermer went to the White House and told President Trump about it. Let's move from that to another major situation going on in the world, major especially because it involves two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan.
This is a very concerning situation. Could you fill us in?
Well, and in the United States, we don't cover this very often. The news media does a really bad job at covering things that are happening overseas. On April 22nd, there was a Major terrorist attack inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. 26 people were killed at a popular tourist spot. The Indians responded, striking into Pakistani-controlled areas, going after the terrorists.
They apparently killed an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist who was involved in the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was actually physically murdered by Halid Sheikh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11. And then, and this is the really big thing in my book, Rick: the Pakistanis had a standoff dogfight with three Indian jets.
Now, these were French jets, the French Rafale jet. I can remember going to Paris air shows in the late 1980s when they were first unveiling the prototypes of that Rafale.
Now, the Rafal is the frontline French fighter. It's not a fifth-generation fighter like we have, it's about a fourth-generation fighter. But the Pakistanis managed to shoot down three of them using their Chinese-built fighters or Chinese designed fighters and Chinese air-to-air missiles. The Chinese missile, the PL-15 missile, outdistanced what the French had, so they could be fired at like 200 miles over-the-horizon distance. The French did not have that capability.
This is worrisome for NATO. It shows that Chinese weapons are superior to those of a major NATO ally, France. And it also shows a severe vulnerability in U.S. air-to-air systems. We need a replacement for the AMRAM, which is our major air-to-air capability.
It is now being outclassed by the Chinese. That's bad news for us.
Well, it certainly is. And we look at this situation. President Trump has put his new main man, it seems like, because his name is always coming up in the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to encourage the de-escalation and dialogue between these two. Can you talk about that? And maybe about Marco Rubio's ascendancy?
Well, correct. He is now dual-hatted, not just Secretary of State, but also the National Security Advisor. The last time that happened was with Henry Kissinger. Rubio is a star. And he's quickly showing that he's a star and that he's a workhorse, not a showhorse type of star.
He's getting things done behind the scenes, as you mentioned. He is trying to negotiate to mediate this conflict between India and Pakistan. But at the same time, he really has his finger on the Iran negotiations. And he's made very clear that our goal in those negotiations is to dismantle the Iranians' nuclear production capabilities. In other words, their ability to enrich uranium.
And President Trump came out and said that this week. People have been listening to J.D. Vance and saying, well, you know, it looks like the negotiations are going well and the Iranians, you know, they can keep some of their nuclear enrichment capabilities. Trump said on Wednesday, an interview with Hugh Hewitt, here's the quote: I would much prefer a strong, verified deal with Iran where we actually blow them up or just Denuke them. There are only two alternatives there: blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously.
So, Trump is clearly. On board with this notion that they have to get rid of the uranium centrifuge capability. JD Vance and others are not. Rubio, I think, is now in the driver's seat, and that to me bodes well. Intriguing dynamics taking place around the world.
It's always been that way, but seems even more so now.
So glad we have you to explain what's going on. Thank you so much for what you do. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Great job, as always, kid. 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. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. An African court of 12 Nations has ruled that Nigeria's Kano state must repeal its locally enforced blasphemy laws. Kano officials have responded with pushback, citing the interests of their Muslim citizens.
Greg Kelly with Unknown Nation says: an outsider perspective is unlikely to affect local jurisdiction in Nigeria's Muslim North. When you have a Muslim-dominated area like northern Nigeria, the imams and the spiritual leaders run the day. They are the biggest influencers in the entire community. Kelly says Nigerian southern believers need to engage in this situation more actively. Because largely in the south, the Yoruba and the Igbo, which are the two dominant Christian groups, have wiped their hands of the issues in the north.
You'll find prayer points and more at the full story on our website. And Jesus' disciples knew they had met the Savior and their faith spread for generations. Yet many Muslim nations still struggle with his identity. A gospel worker named Stephen served in Pakistan where he saw how Bible stories revealed Jesus' true nature. Stephen's teammate prayed for a sick baby who was healed, and when the family asked about the power behind it, he shared stories of Jesus' miracles.
Soon, they saw Jesus is more than a prophet, he is the one true God. Our goal is to take them from misunderstanding of who Jesus is to a correct and full understanding of who Jesus is. And in that, we are making a disciple. Pray for the strategic approach of the missionaries and for the seekers to find Christ. And find your place in this story at missionnews.org.
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. Get yours free when you click on the banner out at missionnews.org. I'm Eth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy. This is Richty Young, and I'm coming to you from Jerusalem, Israel, and I'm going to be talking with Dave Dolan during this part of our program.
We call it our Middle East News Update, where we look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. Dave, thanks for being with us today. I wish I were with you actually, Rick. You just told me you were up in my old stomping grounds in the north of Israel, Kariat Shmona and the Gola and it. I would love to be seeing those sites just now.
I was certainly thinking about you as we were there driving through those locations, places that you had lived in the past.
Well, David, could you give us an update? What is the latest coming out of Israel?
Well, Rick, the biggest news of the week in Israel began on Sunday, the first day of the week, when the Houthis in Yemen fired another ballistic missile at Israel. They fired dozens of them by now. This one, however, was not successfully intercepted. And we still don't know exactly why, but as you know and your group knows and everybody in Israel, it landed right outside the main entrance to the international airport, Ben-Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, left a huge crater. It damaged some cars that were parked nearby and that sort of thing.
And had it been a few hundred feet closer, it would have been inside the compound and a few more hundred feet it could have hit the main terminal.
So thank God that didn't happen. And then they fired another one on Wednesday and then another one on Friday afternoon, yesterday afternoon. Both they said were aimed at the airport. The first one was taken out before it even entered the country's airspace, the second one over the area. But sirens sounded all around the Tel Aviv area once again as people scrambled.
And Rick, what it did was prompt a whole bunch of airlines to announce they would continue their ban of flights to and from Israel. That began soon after the Sunday attack. That's most European airlines, the Lukansa group, which is six airlines. uh the Spanish National Airline, Ryanair, et cetera.
So of course, that's impacting tourism to Israel. And it left thousands of Israelis stranded at airports around the world, especially in Europe and the region. And they've been hustling all week to get back home.
So we had that. And then we had, of course, President Trump's surprise announcement that Yemen had agreed to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. And therefore, he said he was ending the U.S. military campaign against the Houthis.
Well, this announcement came at a press conference with the new Canadian Prime Minister at the White House. And it totally blindsided the Israelis. The report said none of them had any idea that was coming. And they were quite disappointed because it was just two days after the strike on the airport in Tel Aviv. And they weren't sure why he was announcing that exactly and why he trusts the Houthis to actually keep their word.
Then we had more action in Gaza during the week, Rick. We had heavy fighting in the south again. We had two soldiers killed on Thursday in that action, others wounded. We had a dispute about the hostages.
Some reports say that there are 24 living, but President Trump in that same press conference said it was 21, that three were now believed to be dead, one a Thai national, one a Nepalese, and the other an Israeli. And there was some dispute over that.
Meanwhile, the United States announced on Friday, the new U.S. Ambassador, Mike Huckabee, that. Aid would be sent into Gaza by the U.S., the U.S. would oversee it. Israel wouldn't be directly involved, but would provide security for it, and that that would begin very, very soon.
He was asked about the President's announcement on Yemen and some other things about Iran. There's concern in Israel that maybe the terms in the talks that are going to resume again tomorrow, Rick, in Oman, by the way, between the U.S. and Iran, that too much is being given away by the U.S.
So he was asked about that. He said no, our relationship with Trump is still strong and et cetera. But He was also asked why did the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, cancel a planned trip to Israel next week? And that just came at the last minute. He is accompanying the President to the Middle East, but he was supposed to come earlier and visit Israel first.
So it's there's some signs of strain between the U. S. Israel relationship right now. There was a poll taken in Gaza and the West Bank by a Palestinian group, Rick. It shows forty nine percent of Gaza citizens would accept Israeli help to immigrate somewhere else.
Forty eight percent support anti Hamas protests. But 90% in both places don't believe Hamas carried out a massacre. On October seventh, two years ago.
So we have that going on. There were reports that the U.S. is going to delay disarming Hamas as part of any ceasefire deal, that it will agree for them to carry their arms until after a ceasefire begins. Israel is very opposed to that, of course. And then, Rick, I mentioned the President's trip to the Middle East.
Of course, he's going to the Saudi capital. But the Saudis announced during the week that the Gulf Cooperation Council states, that's all the Arab states, would be joining in a special meeting. And the President said an important announcement Would be made. The Israelis are concerned about what that might be.
Some reports said he'd announced US support for a Palestinian state. That seems unlikely because Egypt and Jordan will not be part of that discussion of that meeting. He's going to announce the building of two new Trump towers in Saudi Arabia and a $100 billion arms package. But the reports are saying that he's going to allow the Saudis to begin developing their own domestic nuclear program for energy purposes only, they say, even without a recognition of Israel. That was President Biden's demand in exchange for that.
So the U.S. support for Israel seems to be weakening a bit there. And finally, I'll just say, Rick, that we have the new Pope, Pope Leo XIV, and the Israelis have been busy all week. all day Friday, I should say, examining his past. And did he say anything anti Israel?
They haven't found anything. Of course, Pope Francis said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, and that was not welcomed news. But so far, they haven't got an indication of where the new Pope will go, but they're hopeful he'll be a little bit more sympathetic towards Israel than the previous one.
Well, David, a lot to follow up on there. Let's start with President Trump's potentially waning support for the nation of Israel. We talked about that with Ken in the previous segment, but do you see something significant happening here?
Well, Rick, there was some reporting that Mike Waltz's departure had something to do with his Opposition to the President seeming to go a bit softer on support for Israel. Seeming to go a bit softer on Iran and obviously going softer on the Houthis, since he's ending all military action against them, or so he says. And so they are feeling a little bit isolated there and a little bit confused. And Donald Trump is known for changing his mind and for saying one day there'll be a 145% tariff on China, the next day it might be 80%. And there's a lot of back and forth there.
But they are still very, very confident, Rick, in Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. He, of course, took over Mike Weltz's position for the time being anyway, of Chief National Security Advisor. to the President. And so they believe that he is getting a strong word in his ear from him at least about the situation. But they are worried about Vice President Vance, and they have been for several months, Rick, because he appears to be more of an isolationist and Supportive of Israel, but just doesn't have the same worldview for America's leadership that previous presidents or vice presidents have had.
And they're also concerned about the special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who, as many Israeli papers have said, seems to be over his head in that he isn't a diplomat, he's a real estate developer, he's Jewish, but that doesn't seem to be enough to qualify him to be dealing with these pretty heavy-hitting people, as has been pointed out, the Iranian leadership, the Saudis, et cetera, that are pretty well versed in in diplomacy and in maybe deception and some other things that he's not picking up on.
So those are the criticisms. But they they're still very happy that it's Donald Trump as President and not Kamala Harris, I can tell you that. Certainly so.
Well, David, as we were coming into Jerusalem today with my tour group, I read Psalms 122, one of the Psalms of Ascension, and there it says to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And with all the different things that are taking place right now, all the interactions, and of course, like you said, President Trump is still a supporter of Israel, but so much uncertainty in the air. We should certainly be praying for the peace of Jerusalem right now, shouldn't we?
Well, we should. And I didn't mention it, but Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the Hamas group just ten days until Trump leaves the area to either release the hostages or a brand new wave of war is coming.
So the war is not over. People are still dying. And yes, Much prayer is needed. Dave Dolan, thank you so much for all you do keeping us informed on what is taking place in the Middle East in general, but Israel specifically. We look forward to talking to you again soon.
You're welcome, Rick. God bless and enjoy Jerusalem. Indeed, we do pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That's what we are asked to do. The only time that there will be true peace in the city of Jerusalem is when Jesus Christ returns to the earth and sets up his earthly kingdom on his throne in the city of Jerusalem.
Well, we've got to take a break, and when we come back, Israel Madad, Dr. Richard Schmidt, all ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Afghan refugees living in the United States under temporary protected status have 11 days left to self-deport or face fines and forced deportation. Anyone affiliated with the U.S.
faces danger in Afghanistan. Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says: Believers fall into a special category. Extremist groups like the Taliban consider following Jesus an especially heinous crime. Yet some believers want to go home despite the risk. Please keep them in your prayers.
Next, a closer look at the witnesses and opportunities that come with Iran's exploding church. Dr. Hormuz Shariat with Iran Alive Ministry says: With few mature Christians in Iran, it's a family of spiritual children. Thousands of students in Iran Alive's online school need discipleship and mentorship. Although Iran is spiritually open, it won't remain that way forever.
That's why Shariat encourages believers to join the work to transform Iran. Mission Network News. Service of One-Way Ministries are Muth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.
Along with Rick, we're examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick is in Israel and he's going to be talking with Winky Madad in just a moment. Dr. Richard Schmidt is coming up, the legacy series with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung's teaching from the book of Isaiah.
And then R. C. Merle will wrap up the program today, talking about digital currency. And folks, it is starting to grow. Rick, let's bring in Winky Madad.
We've got a lot more to cover about Israel.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Winky Madaga. Winky, thanks for being with us today. Always a pleasure and a privilege.
Well, Winky, I am in Israel as well.
So this is your even though you're still on the phone, it's a local call, not a long distance call. And I want to ask you a little bit about what I experienced as soon as I landed in the land. There was a missile, a ballistic missile, that came from the Houthis in Yemen and approached and got close to the Ben-Gurion airport.
Now, this was the first thing that many people called when I landed. It seems to have changed quite a bit the perception of whether or not many American airlines think it's safe to fly into Israel, and this is having devastating consequences on getting people in and out of Israel. Can you talk a little bit about the effect these missiles had and what it does to Israel when the airlines cancel?
Well, you're correct that it's basically American Airlines mostly. from what I've been seeing from people who I'm friends with, who have been describing on Facebook and other platforms their travel plans, it seems that if you touch down in Europe, it's a lot easier to get a flight to Israel. which means that it's a matter of judgment, I guess. whether it's insurance or whether it's something else. But the situation is, of course, that no one shuts down an airport if there's a Airplane disaster at the site, uh ex maybe for a day, but that's about it.
So we'll just get along. The point is though, That Some people are asking, I I I see, you know, why is Azeal bombing Uh parts of Yemen.
Well, together with the United States, We've been bombing parts of Yemen for a couple of months now, and some other countries, including Britain, have been doing it also because The Khouthi regime in most of Yemen, it's a rebel group actually, against the government. has been doing the bidding of Iran, has been shelling shipping And now on behalf of the identification, with the Hamas struggle, have been shooting off these ballistic missiles. I understand it was a hopefully a onetime error in this in the defense system because up until now, nothing has really major happened at all. The only damage has been caused from missiles that have been broken up in the atmosphere and coming down. But it just goes to show with Iranian money and encouragement, Middle East countries are attacking Israel.
For no good reason. And placing it in a fairly strategic problem. And that has to be resolved. And I hope Mr. Trump.
who seem to have made a deal We realize that there's still a lot more work to be done.
Well, there certainly is, Winky, and we will continue to monitor this situation because it is very important to Israel.
Well, let's go in a different direction. I mentioned that you are in Israel right now. You are in Shiloh. That is your home, that is in the area of Judea and Samaria. That's what we call it.
The world may call it the West Bank. But Judea and Samaria is the biblical name. And, Winkie, you had a very important visitor this week. Can you talk about that? Well, it seems that some of my compatriots, shall we call them, We're in touch with the Office of the new Ambassador of the United States of America to Israel.
Uh the former governor. of Arkansas, if I'm not mistaken, Mike Huckabee. And the first sort of official event that he participated in, as far as I know, was a visit out here to Yeah. which, of course, is the place where the tabernacle rested. for a good number of years.
So And we're Hannah Parade. Uh for sun. And he came out here. Uh he made a uh I would say a faith-based message about his Mission as the new ambassador. He visited the Red Heifers.
that we've discussed on the program in preparation for perhaps The possibility of a cleansing from the impurity as it's written in the Bible. And then he made a uh political statement at a meeting with the heads of the various regional councils out here in Judea and Samaria. And I think that's very significant. I think it's very identifying with the situation that we've been talking about for dozens of years here on the program. about the status of Judea and Samaria, its importance for Israel.
and Jews worldwide and also Christians. And we're absolutely delighted. As well you should be and winky this visit, it's this political statement in and of itself that this is one of his first visits in his official capacity and that bodes well for the future of the relationship between the United States and America and especially for the future of uh the relationship of Israel to the new ambassador, doesn't it? Absolutely. First of all, I think we've probably touched on this before.
Mr. Huckabee has been here. oh, I don't know, about two to three dozen times. I'm very familiar Very cognizant of the issues, of the land, of the history, and he's very outspoken. Of course, he is uh To a certain extent, uh subservient to the secretary of of state and the president.
But we trust that he will be a good facilitator to the American administration of the situation here in Israel on the ground. internally and of course, externally, by which I mean facing its enemies.
Well, Winky, let's change subjects just a little bit. Big news coming up this week with President Trump heading to some of the Saudi Arabia and some of the Arab countries there to look at restarting the Abraham Peace Accords.
Now, I don't know if you feel, and this is why I'm asking you the question, there are pitfalls to this for Israel. We look at the development of the Abraham Accords and what Israel might be asked to do about these. Can you give us your perspective as we watch Mr. Trump, President Trump going into these nations? What are you going to be looking for and what should our listeners keep an eye out for?
Well, the first thing I think, and let me get this in before I move on to something else. If I had the ear of mister Trump, President Donald Trump, I would just make one statement.
So much has gone wrong. with administration of policies and diplomacy over the years, that it behooves any President and his Secretary of State to very carefully go over their plans and their policies. And not to look First and foremost, for a Nobel Peace Prize or for a headline. The stakes are much too important And I know there's a large body of voters in the United States We're very committed to Israel, and I presume he also has to take that into consideration. The second, of course, is that Saudi Arabia still has a long way to go.
To being a shall I say, a better ally to the United States. It is a very good ally. and there are lots of economic and other possibilities So good. Uh but uh Israel still thinks that there's that old Saudi Arabian peace plan lurking in the background. And the situation on the ground has changed so much that has put that sort of Way out of reach.
Uh for reality. And the third thing I'd like to say is that I know he's Not scheduled to visit Israel this time. And we'll hope that what he hears on the ground. will not overwhelm him. to think that everything is okay and to cooperate and take advice with Israel, not from Israel, but with Israel on the future of the Middle East as a region that should be in peace and prosperity.
Aaron Powell, Professor.
Well, my final question to you, Winky, as we look at President Trump's visit to this region, many people think that the subject of Gaza and the Hamas and maybe the final negotiations for the release of the hostages, potentially an end to the war there with Hamas.
Now, that may be an optimistic thought. Can you give me just your take on where you see the future there? Potential release of the hostages? Is that even possible? Where do you see the future in the war between Israel and Hamas?
What do you see happening? Whoa. I think it comes down to this. Hamas will not release the hostages Unless they get A very good deal. It's their insurance policy.
Okay.
Now a very good deal could be Um And we saw that for us older people who remember back in Lebanon in 1982, a thousand terrorists can leave for Tunisia or somewhere else. And let's get on. with rebuilding Gaza in peace. And uh because if they want to stay, if they want to redevelop their military potential, if they want to continue with their terror, and serve as an agent for Iran. Israel is not really interested, at least Netanyahu's government is not really interested.
in uh finishing the war that we're undergoing on those conditions. Hamas have to be dismantled Their potential has to be eliminated and we have to return to peace and reconstruction And freedom for all Gazans rather than serving as the foot soldiers and the source of mobilization and recruitment. for the Hamas terror gangs. We certainly all want an end to the situation there in Gaza, but it has to be on the correct terms so that it doesn't continue to plague Israel. And again, as you just mentioned there, to plague those Gazan citizens.
Well, Winky, as always, we appreciate your insight into the situation. You help us understand what is going on. Thank you so much for all that you do, and we look forward to talking to you again soon. Goodbye to you and our listeners. Israel Madad really gives us a lot of information pertaining to what's going on there.
I mean, we heard from about Governor Huckabee, current ambassador from the United States to Israel, Governor Huckabee, and then, of course, the Abrahamic Accords. I thought this last week, as we were thinking about this, I started thinking about some of the issues that we're having here in the United States. And I thought I needed to get my good friend, Dr. Richard Schmidt. I affectionately call him America's pastor.
Dr. Schmidt, welcome to the program.
Well, thanks so much for having me. You're looking forward to it. Yes, sir.
So, we currently are having some issues growing, and I've seen this growing across America, the United States, and abroad about rising anti-Semitism following the October 7th, 2023 attack on Israel. And it was perpetrated by Hamas, a terrorist organization. But there's been some new reports that are coming out, and we've seen the demonstrations recently, especially on college campuses. What do we know about this now?
Well, it's very interesting because, of course, we just celebrated, or I should more say remembered, Yom Hashoah, which was basically Jewish Remembrance Day regarding the Holocaust. And just right in sync with that particular day, the Anti-Defamation League came out with a major report, which basically even the secular media was kind of shook by it.
So, the Anti-Defamation League, of course, if People aren't familiar with it, have been keeping records of anti-Semitic acts that have been taking place in our country for quite some time for literally decades. And this new, brand new report just came out, and it's actually shocks the conscience with the material that came out.
So, there has been an absolutely huge increase in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7th massacre of the Jewish people down in the southern part of Israel.
So, what we're actually seeing now, and if we can go through some of these statistics, it really does tell us that there's a major, major problem in America right now with our love or lack thereof for the Jewish people.
So, if we want to go into a couple of these things, again, this report in the Anti-Defamation League get their stats once a year, they collect them. The 2025 stats are not. All available yet, but uh, they went through and they reviewed all of these horrific things that have taken place in our country. And I'll just give you a couple samplings and then we can talk through what you believe would be important to the listeners right now. But one little couple of little lines: in 2024, the Anti-Defamation League tabulated 9,354 anti-Semitic incidents across the United States.
This represents a 5% increase from the 8,873 incidents that took place in 2023.
Now, catch this number: a 344% increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the past five years and an 893% increase over the past 10 years.
So, basically, what the Anti-Defamation League is stating is that what took place. In 2024, is the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents that have taken place in the last 46 years of their recording this type of behavior.
So, again, this is getting our attention. Of course, we know that God instructed us to love and to care for the Jewish people. We're familiar with the Abrahamic covenant. Most everybody that's a Christian knows those verses. And again, Genesis 12:3 reminds us we're to bless those who, or God will bless those who bless the Jewish people and curse those who curse them.
So, this really is a huge issue that we're coming up against right now with this anti-Semitism that is just permeating our country. Dr. Schmidt, where in the past? I know it's rearing its ugly head now, and it has been in the past. I mean, we could go back, but where do you think it started?
Do you see a pivotal point in history where it really started to an uptick in all of these events?
Well, again, when we look at just the recent past, of course, the October 7th event was a major piece of that. And I think, though, what you're looking for is when did it really start to anti-Semitism become a huge issue, quite frankly, not just domestically, but internationally. If we go back to, of course, the days of Hitler and the. A horrible Holocaust took place. Just as a quick reminder on that, Adolf Hitler, of course, was a bit rebellious to the German government.
They ended up, his own government, actually, the German people, arrested Adolf Hitler, put him in jail for a one-year period. While he was in jail, that's when he wrote that book, which many people are familiar with, called Mein Kampf. In Mein Kampf is basically when he came up with the premises as to what he wanted to see take place in Germany. Basically, a people group, the Germans, that would be the most powerful people in the world. And one of the three key tenets that he came out with was the destruction of the Jewish people.
So, really, Hitler set the tone.
Now, I want to be very careful how I approach this, but Hitler actually had an apparent strong religious belief system, which basically was replacement theology. In other words, Hitler made it clear that the Jews were not part of God's plan and needed to be eliminated. And again, here's where I want to be cautious: but individual, which many people are familiar with, a denomination that came out of it, Martin Luther himself, which he had some, of course, wonderful theological discoveries when he left the Catholic Church and basically started the Protestant, part of the Protestant Reformation. But one of the things Luther never learned and he didn't study out was the issue of the Jewish people. Luther wrote a treatise called The Jews or a Jew and Their Lies.
And that, to the truth, what he put out. Horribly against the Jewish people. He called them quite a few names. It was very derogatory. And unfortunately, Martin Luther, one of the things that he didn't get trained on was the issue of the importance of the Jewish people.
Well, Hitler made mention of that in some of his writings: that he basically subscribed to that theology, if you will. And based on his poor doctrine, it added to his hatred for the Jewish people and really started that flow. Again, as we know, America helped rescue many of the Jewish people at that time. But so many things now are rising up that are causing these horrific incidents around not just our country, but around the world.
So, when we look at some of these things, and that's it's fascinating as we want people to be mindful of the fact of replacement theology, because it is. It's making a comeback in churches today.
Some of it is people and congregations understanding and following what. They follow their worldview, right?
So, the input into their worldview: what is happening, and why would churches. Veer away from understanding God's promises to the Jewish people. Yeah, well it's it's it comes out to this issue of uh Are you going to take the Bible literally for what it says, or are we going to spiritualize and allegorize it? One of the things that your dad was probably one of the best, if you will, pushers of this particular concept, that you absolutely must interpret the scriptures from a literal standpoint. What took place in this actually started way back in 300 AD with Augustine and some of the other church fathers.
They began to spiritualize the scriptures, and instead of taking the literalness of the Bible, and I can't say it any better than this, that they just kind of made it up as they went along. They made applications, they wanted to make application. They changed the literal meaning to whatever their particular thoughts were at that time, basically destroying the literal interpretation of the Bible.
So, again, that is a huge issue. Doctrine is a huge issue. And when you look at, and again, I'm Trying to be kind to Martin Luther because he did do some wonderful things. But when a leader in the church, when a leader in seminaries begin to teach false doctrine and it is pushed out to the pastors, it's pushed out to the church leaders and they adopt it. The false doctrine that was being pushed at during the Holocaust times literally cost 6 million people their lives because of false doctrine.
So, again, that's one of the key things, and that's why I love prophecy today, why I love what you teach: is the fact that we've got to get back to a literal, what would be called in a fancy term, a literal hermeneutic, which is basically Bible interpretation.
So, we don't make mistakes, we don't cost people their lives, and we don't dishonor God with our theology. You know, as we're covering some of the incidences that have happened, the rise of them, it's also not just Jews in America that these people are upset against, but it's very Zionistic in nature, these protests. They're protesting against Israel. Why don't we focus on some of those things, like the university campuses? And we've done this in the past, but it seems like it's coming back.
Even though we have an administration, we have the United States, we have a new president, who is very much stands for Israel. The former governor of Arkansas, new ambassador, he's a born-again believer.
So we have a lot of people that are carrying on that nature of, you know, like we have the right people in place.
So why do the protests continue?
So what are we seeing? We're seeing a major uprise of so-called Palestinian supporters. Borders, anti-Israel individuals, anti-Semitism increasing. And to be straightforward, a lot of this is coming out of simply individuals, some of the billionaires that we know, that are funding these protests and encouraging this type of behavior on college campuses.
So, quite frankly, I don't think a except for a small percentage of the protesters even understand the relationship between the Palestinians and Israel.
So the good news is, at least our current administration, that is the White House, Appears to be backing up the Jewish people, so we applaud President Trump and his administration for that. But they've got a lot of cleanup to do based on what the last administration did. With partially supporting Israel, partially supporting Palestine, and making the whole thing nothing more than a political back and forth ping-pong game. Yes. As we look at Bible prophecy, it's going to get worse though, correct?
Well, it actually very quickly, the Bible tells us in Zachariah chapter 13. That uh two-thirds of all Jewish people will die during what's known as the tribulation period.
So, as you know, the rapture of the church is the next major event. That God's prophetic calendar. Then, during that seven-year tribulation period, a very, very sad thing is going to take place. God makes it very clear that two-thirds of all Jewish people who lose their lives will be killed during that time. Again, that's Zechariah 13:8 and 9.
Jesus. Made it very clear in what's known as the Alba Discourse in Matthew chapter 24, verses 15 to 25, that when the abomination of desolation takes place, which is simply But God will allow the Jews to build the third temple. The Antichrist will confirm a peace treaty with the Jewish people at the beginning of the tribulation period. The temple will be built. The Jews will be allowed to start their sacrificial system.
But in the midst of that three or seven year period, The antagon frac will cut off. All the sacrifices, God says, listen, Jewish people, you see that. abomination of desolation take place. It's time to run. It's time to flee.
Because the worst Holocaust of all times, according to Zachariah, is about to take place.
So much to cover on Bible prophecy. Right now. Your charge to people today, what is our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ, part of the body of Christ, the bride of Christ? What should we be doing? Two things that we should be doing.
Number one, Is all Jewish people, all Gentile people need the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only thing that will change hearts, including those that hate the Jewish people or hate others, is for them to receive the greatest news ever given at any time: that Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners. That is our mission, which Christ gave to us. Luke 19:10, the Lord came to seek and to save those who are lost, and He gave that commission to us. Get out and win folks to Christ.
Second thing is, it is not our job as Christians to persecute, to harm the Jewish people, even if they're doing things that may not be in their own best interest, even if they're not following the Lord. God did not call the church to, if you will, try and change the Jewish people until they. Behavior. What he did call us to do is to tell the Jewish people the precious gospel of Jesus Christ, to love them, to give them the gospel, and to try and help them understand that Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Messiah, has come into the world to save all people, including Jews and Gentiles alike. Dr.
Richard Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt, thank you for being on the program today and bringing this to our attention about the times in which we're living and what is happening and leading this up to a precursor to the final timeline of Bible prophecy unfolding. Thank you, Dr. Schmidt.
Thank you so much for having me. We've got to take a break, and when we come back, the Legacy Series with Dr. Jimmy D. Young, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. And Rick, this week, coming from Israel, we do have other trips this year coming up. And I encourage people, if you want to go to Israel, we would love for them to come with us, correct? We certainly would, Jimmy. And in fact, you know, we've been taking trips to Israel for so many years.
Our whole family has, of course, starting with our dad, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, and then we've joined in. And we have a similar program we've learned through all these years. And we always like to say we show you Israel like a rose. We let it unfold before you as we look at each thing in successive order and everything builds upon it.
But it's just a great place to study scripture. If you go to our website at prophecytoday.com, we'll keep you updated and we'll put updates on there letting you know when our trips are going to go. You could call our office at 423-825-6247 if you'd like to go. I encourage you to go. Go to our website, prophecytoday.com, take a look at all of that, and join us on one of our trips to Israel coming up this next year.
Well, on our legacy series today, we're going to continue our study of Isaiah, and we're going to go to Isaiah chapter 38, verse 5, and look at how the Lord would heal Hezekiah and give him 15 more years of life. This is a key passage of evidence of God's protection for the Jewish people and the Jewish leaders that will take place. But first, let me remind you: protection for the Jews is based on his covenants, his promise to the Jewish people. His covenant, and that's in 2 Samuel chapter 7, is so Very explicit, and we'll start with that today, and then we'll go to Isaiah 38 and verse 5. Dr.
Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. The Jewish people cannot be wiped out. Because God has made a commitment. to the Jewish people.
And to King David, I will. Give him a temple in the city of Jerusalem. And one of his descendants to rule and reign from that temple forever in a kingdom. That's the promise. Covenant promise unconditional.
Jeremiah 33 says, as long as the sun, the moon, and the stars are in the heavens. I cannot break that covenant with King David. God's promise to David is still in place. This is key to understanding what God is doing today, why he has not given up on the Jewish people, why he has not changed all of his promises from the Jewish people to the church. That's a terrible theology.
It's called replacement theology. And if they negate the truth of Almighty God, and you cannot have any assurance of your salvation if you negate God's promises to the Jewish people. If he can lie to the Jews, he can lie to us. It's key. But he says right here, I have heard thy prayer and I have seen thy tears.
Behold, I will add unto thee these 15 years. But he does it to the God of David thy father. Look at verse 6, and I will deliver thee and this city out of the land of the king of Assyria, Sennacherib. He's coming down out of the north right now. He's coming down this land.
Land bridge. He's wiping out all these cities. At 722, they witnessed him take the ten tribes into the captivity. We're now 20 years later, nobody's forgotten about this, and they realize what is happening. And Zennacharib is on his way with his forces, and they're taking out all the cities of Judah around Jerusalem.
But God tells. Hezekiah, I will take care of you. Number one, I'm going to provide, here's my provision for your health. Number two, I'm going to protect your people and your city. Let me just throw this into your computer to think about.
Prophecy is so practical in so many different ways, but I think this passage of Scripture is very practical as we think about how we should deal with illnesses that may come upon us. I want you to notice the procedure that took place here. Once Hezekiah realized he was sick unto death, he went to the Lord in prayer.
Now we have to pray according to 1 John 5, verse 14, and this is the confidence that we have in Him: that if we ask anything in His will, He heareth us. And since He hears us. We know we have the petitions. It's a very key passage in prayer. You ought to have that in your mind very definitely.
First of all, we have to pray in His will if He's even going to hear us. He doesn't even hear us. If we don't pray in His will. I think it's ridiculous to say, if it be thy will, Lord. You got to pray in his will, or he's not going to hear you.
How do you know his will? You know the word of God. I can take you to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 gives a litany of things that are in his will. You want to pray for your lost one? That's in the will of God that they get saved.
How do I know? 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 9. The Lord is not slept concerning his promise, but is not willing that any should perish. The only reason he has not come back. We've got to pray in His will.
And then it says, and that if is a conditional if, and since He hears us, we can know we have the petitions desired of Him. Hezekiah, I'm not sure if he was knowing for sure he was praying in the will of God. But he didn't have 1 John chapter 5 yet. And so maybe he just started praying.
Now that was the first step he prayed. And he's moving into the situation where he's telling the Lord how he had served him. You know what the second thing is? Look down here at verse 21 again. Petty?
Used medicine. Hello? No divine healer came along. He didn't go to some divine healing meeting. Where some man would zap you In the spirit?
No. They used medicine. Verse 21. For Isaiah has said, Let them take a lump of figs. That this was the way that they would take care of these boils.
Let them take a lump of figs and lay it on for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. The second step in the healing of Hezekiah was medical. Application. The third step Was God working through the prayer and through the medical application to heal him? I will.
Heal you. Give you 15 more years. And for our age group, I think this is just excellent. Practical information. To learn what our approach should be.
This is chapter 38: the illness of Hezekiah. is healed. His sickness unto death is healed. God miraculously takes care of it, gives him 15 more years, and shows him that it's going to be real. You're going to have 15 years.
I just said it, Hezekiah, but listen, this is real. I'm going to move the son back. 10 degrees. And by the way, just this side benefit. I'm going to protect you, your people, and your city.
I go back to chapter 36. In chapter 36 of the book of Isaiah, we see how. Indeed, the things are going to unfold after the healing of Hezekiah. And again, I'm not going to go verse by verse through here. I don't have the.
Opportunity or the time to be able to deal with all these verses, you can read it. Please read these four chapters sometime today and just get the and read them in the proper order. Chapter 38, chapters 36 and 37, and then chapter 39. Here in chapter 36, we see the militia formed, verse 1.
Now it came to pass in the 14th year of Hezekiah, King Hezekiah. that Zennachareb, king of Assyria, Came up against all the defended cities of Judah and took them, I told you, at this time in history.
So Nachareb and the Assyrian army, the fiercest army, maybe one of the fiercest armies in the history of the world, coming down from the north, coming through the land of Israel, moving towards Jerusalem at the center part of the state, and wiping out all the cities of Judah. Along the way, the militia is moving towards Jerusalem.
Well, Hezekiah, he's now been healed. He's got the promise that God's going to protect the city. I'm not sure if he really believes it 100%, even though he received a sign from God. And so he gets a couple of messengers that he's going to send out: Eliakim and Shibna. And he's going to send them out.
Two Confront the Assyrians as they're making their way down. And so the second thing we see here would be the messengers coming down to the area of, going up rather, to the area of where the Assyrians are coming down to try to wipe out Jerusalem. Look at verse 4. And Ramsheka Now, this may be the name of the The underling of Zennakarib, or it may be the title. There's some debate among Jewish scholars, biblical scholars, as to who and what this represents.
Forget it, it doesn't matter. It's an individual who's a key leader in the Assyrian army. And he comes out to meet with these messengers. And when he comes out, he really starts to mock them. I mean, they've defeated the Egyptians, they defeated the ten tribes of North Israel, now they're defeating all of the Judean cities.
Look what he says here in verse 5: I say, thus, sayest thou, But they are but vain words. I have counsel and strength for war. And now, on whom dost thou trust that thou rebellest against me. He comes out, he's pretty secure in his position. I mean, past victories indicate he's in good shape.
He's a leader under Zennacharib, but he's speaking on behalf of the leader of the Assyrians.
So he said, How are you going to sustain life? First thing he asks us about Egypt. Look here at verse 6. Know thou trust us in the staff of this broken reed on Egypt? Hey.
You think you're going to call upon Egypt to come to your aid? We wiped them out before. They're a broken reed. You can't get them. Look at verse 7.
He talks about. The gods. But if thou say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God, It is not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ye shall worship before this altar?
Now, therefore, give pledges. He said, You're going to trust in your God? What about all the other gods? What about the Egyptian God? What about the God of Israel, the ten tribes of the north?
What about all these other fake gods? If you have a God that you can trust in, what are you talking about?
Well, he gives. On behalf of Zennacharib, the Assyrian king, he gives a message. to give to Hezekiah. And they come back. Look at verse 22 of chapter 36.
Then came Eliakim, and and Shibna. And they came to Hezekiah, and their clothes rent And they told him of the words of Ramshekoth. whoever this leader might be. And they come verse two of chapter thirty seven. And once Hezekiah hears the message that they're not going to stop him in any way, you can't.
Bribe us to come not come down. Your God's not going to take care of us. You can't go dealing with Egypt.
So Eliakim and Shibna are sent to Isaiah the prophet. They go to the prophet to see what is going to be the case.
Well, the prophet, verse 5, the prophet receives a message from God. Look what he says.
So the servants of the king Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall you say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servant of the king of Assyria hath blasphemed me. Remember that servant of King Sennacherib said, You gonna trust in your God? What about all the other gods of all these other peoples we've defeated? Behold, look at verse 6. And he said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
Verse 7, Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. He said, Look, when Zennacharib comes down, don't worry about it. He's not only not going to be able to defeat. Jerusalem and Judah. Where I'm going to blow him apart, and he's going to return to his homeland, and there he's going to be killed.
And the Assyrian Empire is going to fade into history. Uh The Lord told Isaiah the prophet. that the Assyrian Empire would not destroy Jerusalem and Judah. That prophecy was fulfilled, which is proof that God is true to His word, and will keep His promises to the Jewish people. And therefore we can be assured He will keep His promises to each of us to day as well.
Please come back and join us again next week as we continue our study of Isaiah. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. We have to take a break and when we come back, R.
C. Murrow will come and talk to us about more of what's taking place in the digital banking system in Europe. Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Afghan refugees living in the United States under temporary protected status have 11 days left to self-deport or face fines and forced deportation.
Anyone affiliated with the U.S. faces danger in Afghanistan. Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says: believers fall into a special category. Extremist groups like the Taliban consider following Jesus an especially heinous crime. Yet some believers want to go home despite the risk.
Please keep them in your prayers.
There are Afghan Christians who say, I want to be in Afghanistan. I want to serve the Lord there. But the Taliban was able to get many of the records from the previous government, knowing all the information potentially that the Taliban had, what would happen when a Christian person landed at Kabul? What would immigration do? And a closer look at the weak points and opportunities that come with Iran's exploding church, Dr.
Homo Shariat with Iran Alive Ministry says, Just think of it. There is no church in Iran, very few mature Christians in Iran, pastors, none.
So just think of Iran as a Family full of children, spiritual children. Evangelism, then discipleship. That's what Iran Alive works toward. 5,000 students in their online school need mentorship more than their current team can offer. But Shariat says Iran won't remain spiritually open forever.
I want to say it's urgent that we join together to transform Iran because Iran can be the first Islamic nation that turns to Christ. And I'm serious about it. It is possible if you work together. Find your place in the story at MissionNews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries.
Keys for Kids Ministries exist to ignite a passion for Christ.
So, this month they're offering a free annual subscription to the Kids and Teens Devotionals. Get yours free when you click on the banner at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.
Rick and I have been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
Well, this is the look at the book portion, and I wanted to go to my good friend RC Merle. And hello, R.C. Welcome back to the program. Hey, Jimmy, good to be back with you. Yes, sir.
RC, while the economic discussions have shifted to tariffs and trade wars, news on the digital Euro seems to have gone quiet. What can you tell us about it? You know, Jimmy, not just that, but how about all the news on the Pope and the Vatican and all that? It seems to have smothered the news cycle. You know, but an article on Thursday on Zero Hedge by a German economist, Thomas Kolbe from Germany, said this.
He said, the ECB recently launched an online interaction platform where merchants and payments service providers can express their opinions about the new payment system. About 70 pre-selected market participants are set to test the ecosystem of. The digital euro in real-world applications and identity problems. Wow.
So, is the digital euro definitely on track? It is, Jimmy. Over 130 central banks around the world are at some level of trial on CBDCs, and this includes the BIS or the Bank of International Settlements in Switzerland. They are the central bankers' bankers, and they're all in on it. The digital euro project is also making progress with a noticeable decline in paper money usage from 2016 to 24.
Cash usage in the EU went from 79% to 52% and still dropping. And that the ECB, the European Central Bank, has concluded its pilot program for central bank digital currency and is pushing hard for an October 2025 launch makes me wonder if it's all connected to the EU's need for enhanced security after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
So, what did you find out? You know, the EU has a tremendous debt problem, like most other countries, including us. The debt spiral makes Makes building an army almost unattainable. Greece debt to GDP is 160%. Italy is 140%.
France, 120%. Belgium and Spain, smaller countries were all over 100% of debt to gross domestic product. But don't worry, because the ECB has an idea. They identified a level of unused savings of EU citizens at 10 trillion euros, and it intends to find ways to mobilize this money to finance its plans to militarize Europe and support the European military-industrial complex, according to the EU Commissioner. Wow.
So I'm guessing then that the central bank has a big interest in those savings. Yes, a large part of European savings lies in the form of deposits. Get this, Jimmy, at very low rates, like three tenths of one percent to eight tenths of one percent per year.
So mobilizing even a small part of these resources will change an investment landscape in the EU. And you know, it would be easy for them to part to take in a few trillion dollars by offering some sort of government bond with a two to three percent return, which would almost triple the returns, and perhaps the digital euro will become the economic infrastructure for another European dictator riding in on a white horse to save the continent. Wow.
Have has this ever happened before in history, R. C., that you can think of? Yes, I actually i it did happen in uh nineteen thirties Germany. when a a fellow named Adolf Hitler wrote in on to save the continent from rampant hyperinflation and a a complete meltdown of the German economy. Wow.
R. C. what about NATO? Isn't the EU protected by them from attack?
Well, you know, several EU countries are members of NATO, which, according to Article V, makes an attack on one member an attack on all. But it's still the U.S. that plays a significant role of enforcing this commitment. Ongoing economic developments between the EU and President Trump over an EU shortfall in payments over defense have led to threats of the U.S. leaving NATO because, in actuality, only the US protection really matters.
Hence, I guess the need for an army. And I get it. At the conclusion of our discussions, I always ask you how this ties into Bible prophecy. Jimmy, an economically Unstable EU is a page right out of prophecy. Daniel 2:40 to 43 prophesied that the fourth beast empire, Rome, would be represented by two legs of Daniel's statue.
That prophecy was fulfilled in 330 AD when the Roman Empire Constantine the Great established Constantinople as the new capital of the Roman Empire. The feet and toes of that statue are made of iron and clay, representing the coming revived Roman Empire. Iron and clay indicate an unstable empire. An uncanny description of the European Union today. And equally uncanny is that the central bank digital currency could bring three economic prophecies from the book of Revelation leading to the end of the age.
The first is Revelation 6, 5, and 6. Global hyperinflation from rampant overhead spending that could happen with a few strokes of a keyboard would destroy the Euro. Revelation 13, 16, and 17, the mark of the beast, a deep economic depression would follow hyperinflation, creating the need for total control of the currency. And Revelation 18:11, the total and final collapse of the beast economy. RC, this is amazing.
So, and when we follow this, we. We do it so that we keep the body of Christ aware of what's going on. And as you see this, as you're following this day by day, this is something that you constantly keep me aware of. I try to get you on the program as much as I can. But as you're looking at this, what are we seeing if we look at right now, where are we as you know, how close are we to global hyperinflation, the market of the beast, and the final collapse?
Well, one man stands in between this right now, and that's Donald Trump. Think about this. The Chinese economy is the third largest economy in the world. They're already digital, and they've already outlawed crypto currency.
So the second largest economy in the world is the European Union, and they are about to go digital. I just don't think there's any doubt.
Now, October may be a little quick. It may be have to. A lot of economists are thinking they may not be ready in October, but the ECB is pushing for it. That would make two of the three largest economies in the world digital.
So how long will it be? I mean, how long? Do we wait for Donald Trump to leave office? Does he change his mind over some sort of an economic collapse where things change? That we just don't know.
But two of the three largest economies of the world going digital gives us an indication that a lot is going on, Jimmy. Wow, wow. RC, give us your website real quick. It is prophecytracker.org. And Jimmy, we have a paper on there for our subscribers that speaks to all three of these.
Revelation prophecies on the economy. R.C. Murrow, thank you so much. Thank you for keeping us aware. And R.C., I mean, I always end the program with all the things that we are seeing that are happening.
The rapture of the church can't be far away. Do you agree with that, correct? I do. And, you know, I hesitated to mention that one of the things that could change the economy of the United States in a heartbeat. is the rapture of the church.
And that could change everything, and all the economies of the world would have to adjust. Thank you, RC, for being on the program with us today. Thank you, Jimmy. God bless. And with everything that we've seen today on the program, I can't help but say that the rapture of the church could happen at any moment.
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 for more of Prophecy Today.
