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. It's our understanding of Bible prophecy that helps us to understand why the world is doing what it's doing. And we believe, we're unapologetic about our belief that the rapture of the church is the next thing that God is going to do on this earth before prophecy starts to unfold.
Well, we've got Ken Timmerman talking about the European Union, Russia, Ukraine, and China. David Dolan on Israel, Itamar Marcus on the Palestinian people, and the pastor in Jerusalem, Men O'Kallis here, will be with us on the program today. Rick, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get started.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He is our expert when it comes to geopolitics. He lets us know what is going on around the world. You can find out more about Ken by going to his website at kentimmerman.com.
Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Well, Ken, lots to Talk about today, but we'll start with the big news of the week, and that is the fact that President Trump has shaken up his cabinet. He's moved Mike Waltz, basically from the National Security Advisor to the UN. Ambassador, can you talk a little bit about this shake-up and what it means for U.S. foreign policy?
Well, many people had been expecting Waltz to be fired after the flare-up over the signal chat that was leaked to a reporter. He took responsibility for that, as he should have. But the fact that he is going as the U.S. ambassador or permanent representative to the United Nations in New York shows that he is not being cast out by Trump. He's just being shifted to another position.
So this is not really an embarrassment for Waltz. It's not a disgrace for Waltz. It is a lateral move staying in the administration but outside of the inner circle and the everyday workings of the National Security Council.
So far, many names have been put out there, including two of my colleagues from the America First Policy Institute, Keith Kellogg, who was the special envoy for the Ukraine war negotiations, and Fred Fleitz, his deputy at the America First Policy Institute. At any rate, this is a significant move, but so far does not signal a significant change of policy, with this one caveat, Rick. And that is if President Trump names Steve Witkoff, his negotiator for Iran, as the national security advisor. I do not expect that to happen. It would be a huge, huge shift in policy.
I think it would create a great deal of tension with Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, and with Pete Hegseth and other members of the cabinet.
So I don't expect Witkoff to be named. But, you know, Trump is always doing things that are unpredictable.
Well, Ken, that is something I want to follow up real quick on that question. There are certainly rumors out there that Steve Witkoff may even be in the lead.
Now, you said that that's potentially inconceivable. Can you just tell us why, if it is Steve Witkoff, why that might be concerning to you?
Well, remember that Witkoff was raked over the coals after the first round of negotiations with the Iranians when he said publicly it was fine and dandy for them to continue enriching uranium. That is a big no-no. And Trump himself has said that the Iranians have to completely dismantle their nuclear program, which means they have to end enrichment. They cannot retain the capability to enrich uranium. And we've spoken about that on this program.
The reason is very simple. If you can enrich to 3%, you can enrich to 93%. In other words, if you can enrich fuel for a nuclear power plant, you have the same technology, just sped up a little bit and going on a little bit longer, that can enrich it to weapons grade.
So that's the real problem. And Witkoff did not even know. That was an issue.
So he's somebody who just does not have the national security expertise. He has zero national security expertise.
So for me, it would be inconceivable for him to be named to that position.
Well, whoever is part of this is part of Trump's foreign policy team, whoever he does name, and he deals with several major situations around the world. Let's start in Iran, since you were just talking about them and Witkoff's dealings with Iran. Can you talk a little bit about the status of the negotiations there?
Well, so far, except for that first round that Witkoff himself leaked to the press, there have not been a great deal of leaks of what's actually going on. We know there was a so-called technical team negotiating last week. They were supposed to be talking, the Iranians said at least, about sanctions relief. I find that a bit inconceivable. It's putting the cart before the horse.
The Iranians have also said quite publicly, and they've said it repeatedly, it is out of the question for them to give up their uranium enrichment programs.
So I think these negotiations are stalled. I don't think they're going forward. I think that is going to be an iron wall, Rick, that the Iranians are just not going to be able to jump over.
Now, you have people in the United States saying that there is a group of anti-Trump, anti-MAGA neocons who are just itching for war with Iran. And they name a number of people that I know and that I respect at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, for example. But I think this is just a mistaken analysis. The Iranians cannot be allowed to continue enriching uranium because, right now, as we stand right now, Rick, the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said. Publicly, that the Iranians have enough enriched uranium to make 17 warheads within five months.
17 warheads in five months. That is not a bomb or two. That's a nuclear weapons arsenal. And that just can't go on. We cannot allow the Iranians that capability.
Well, you talk about the need to stand up to the Iranians, especially when it comes to nuclear capabilities. This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, another one of Trump's cabinet members, basically threatened Iran over their activity with the Houthis. Can you talk about that? He did, and he sent a public message to the Iranians over Truth Social. He said, this is a direct quote, message to Iran.
We see your lethal support to the Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. military is capable of, and you were warned. You will pay the consequence at the time and place of our choosing.
End message to the Iranians from the Pentagon. I think that's pretty clear. Don't need to comment too much more on it. We've already hit the Houthis many, many times, but now he's telling the Iranians, we're going to hit you too if you continue arming them.
Well, let's move from Iran and let's talk about the situation. The Russia-Ukraine crisis, big news this week, and the U.S. signing a minerals deal with Ukraine. Can you talk about that and the importance of that in that crisis there? The deal that was finally signed, Rick, actually is better for Ukraine than the initial deal.
It actually commits the United States to making investments in Ukraine's mineral resources, and it also allows the Ukrainians to retain ownership over those jointly developed mines and refining resources, refining plants, crushing plants. I think this is important. Mines can take up to 18 years to build, so this really commits the United States to a long-term strategic relationship with Ukraine. It doesn't give them explicit security guarantees, as Zelensky has been asking, but it does state that the U.S. and Ukraine are strategic partners, and that I think is a big advance and a big plus for the Ukrainians.
Well, it certainly is, and that is a major development here, but it does seem like President Trump and the US team are somewhat growing impatient in their role as mediators in this negotiation process.
Well, that's absolutely true. And you had the State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, say just Thursday that this administration is getting fed up. She said, quote, we are not going to fly around the world at the drop of a hat to mediate meetings between Russia and Ukraine. That's now up to the two parties. And President Trump himself has expressed his really frustration over Russia's continued bombing of population centers.
Just, you know, it was Kiev earlier in the week and Odessa on Thursday. These are big population centers, and the Russians are hurling missiles into them. Ukraine, for example, today only has one-third of the electrical generating capability it had before the war. And it's going to need huge amounts of electricity to develop these mining projects that the U.S. is now committed to help them develop.
So President Trump is frustrated. He's fed up with the Russians. And he's also telling Putin quite openly now, you'd better come to the table or else we're going to go all in. With the Ukrainians. By the way, that was the negotiating strategy I think he tipped us all to right at the beginning, put pressure on both parties.
But if the Russians didn't come to the table, we were going to go all in with Ukraine.
So I think that's what's coming next.
Well, we'll keep an eye on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and those negotiations. But before I let you go, Ken, I want to talk about this trade war with China.
Now, many people fear in the future potentially an open war with China, and they look at them as potentially the biggest threat to the West and the United States. But we don't have an open war right now. We have a trade war. Can you talk about that? How's it developing?
What should we be looking for? And it's a real trade war. You have ships being turned around on the high seas, carrying Chinese goods to the United States. They're going elsewhere. They realize that they're not going to be able to sell their products into the United States with 120% or 130% tariffs on them.
You will be seeing certain items at Walmart and on Amazon.com no longer available because of the tariffs. And the Chinese are beginning to realize that for all of their tough talk, and they've been talking tough about this for the past couple of weeks, they're beginning to realize they are going to lose 10 million jobs, maybe more, because those jobs depended on the U.S. export market. And that is a political price that they're. Really, not able to sustain.
So, you had on Friday a Chinese Ministry of Commerce official in this particularly Chinese way hint that they're now ready to talk. This is something, really, Rick. I've got to read this to our listeners because you don't, you've got to get the flavor for the way the Chinese think. He said, China's position is consistent. If we fight, we will fight to the end.
If we talk, the door is open. If the U.S. wants to talk, it should know its sincerity and be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel unilateral tariffs.
Now, you translate that into ordinary English. It says, okay, we're going to throw in the towel, but we're going to try to save face and make us look like the victors in this trade war. They're not the victors in the trade war. The president is crystal clear. He wants real, significant concessions from the Chinese.
He wants fair trade. China has never carried out fair trade with this country, so it's going to be a big, big shift in the way the Chinese do business. Ken Timmerman reporting for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, you do an excellent job explaining to us what is going on, putting it out there so we can understand it. Thank you so much.
Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Great job as always, Ken. And again, we focus on the nations and the events that are leading up to future prophetic events to be fulfilled.
Well, let's 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. A new set of religious regulations takes effect in China today. They address the ways that foreigners can or cannot participate in religious activities in China. Eric Berklu with China Partner explains some of the rules aren't actually new, and some of them aren't as alarming as they appear at first glance.
So, what's the goal? I think this new foreign regulation that Xi Jinping is pushing on everyone is really a way to control more what's happening with the unregistered churches, unfortunately. I think that's always been his concern. Pray for the Chinese church, but do so with faith that God's plan will prevail.
Now, of course, we react and say, oh, what's that going to mean for mission activity in China, or what's that going to mean for the church in China? But I think Jesus wants us to stay faithful. Number one, stay faithful in praying for China. And extremist laws in Central Asia are pushing believers. To rethink their ministry.
David Durance from Teach Beyond compares it to waking up and finding your front yard suddenly changed. That shift can mean revoked building licenses or new education restrictions, but the pressure is fueling creative response. How we can pivot to thinking about a learning center rather than a school and pivot towards thinking about how we can live within these constraints of the law and still have the gospel presented in a really meaningful way through the relationships that God continues to build here.
So while labels shift to neutral ones, the gospel remains central, and local partnerships, especially in schools, help provide cover to keep the work moving forward. Pray that the ministry thrives. 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 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 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 look at news coming out of Israel in particular, but the Middle East in general as well. And to do that, we have a good friend with us, Dave Dolan. Dave was a journalist in Israel for over 30 years. Dave, thanks for being with us today.
Happy to do it.
Well, David, as we look at what's going on in the Middle East and Israel, could you give us a general update what happened this week?
Well, Rick, there's four major stories to report on this week in Israel. Of course, the first one made international news, the largest single forest fire in Israel's modern history, which broke out on the Day of Remembrance for Fallen Soldiers and people killed in terror attacks. Over five thousand acres in the Jerusalem foothills burned. Seventy percent of what's called Canada Park. I've been there, you may have been there.
A beautiful park was destroyed by the flames. Firefighting equipment was brought in from Europe to supplement Israel's Uh battles. And on Friday, we had fresh fires break out after that one was contained after 30 hours, I should say, finally, on Thursday evening. But we had fresh fires break out on Friday up in the further north in the Tiberias area, one between two communities.
So the battle continues. That, of course, is amidst. Very hot weather, very, very windy weather, and very dry.
So, perfect conditions, and of course, perfect conditions for arsenic. And the Prime Minister and other leaders said that arsonists had been caught in at least three different cases. Setting these fires, Palestinians, and it was all over social media, Rick, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Palestinians to go out, Israeli Arabs to go out and start these fires everywhere, burn Israeli homes, cars. factories, forests, fields is what some of the posts from Hamas said.
So they believe that some of this is definitely terrorism. Enric, further to the north in Syria, we had a major Israeli airstrike during the week on the Presidential Palace compound in Damascus.
Now, that's a rare occasion for sure. The IDF said it was a warning strike to warn the Ashara government to stop attacking the Druze community, especially in southern Syria. Syria. There is a major pogrom basically on Monday, Rick, against the Druze town just south of Damascus. After a tape recording surfaced, supposedly from a Druze sheik, but people said it wasn't, attacking the Prophet Muhammad and insulting the Muslims and et cetera.
And that sparked this riot, basically, that 73 people were killed. Seven are being treated in hospitals in Israel. And Rick, the Druze community in Israel is livid over this. And several reserve officers have called upon the Prime Minister to let them go into Syria and fight for their brethren there. And this is a growing movement.
In fact, on Thursday night, there was a major demonstration outside of the Prime Minister's private home in Caesarea at midnight, calling about one hundred Druze gathered, calling upon the Prime Minister to take stricter action.
Meanwhile, Rick, he met with his senior security officials on Friday, and they decided to expand the war in Gaza significantly. They said there would be a call up a new call up of reservists And that's to be approved tomorrow on Sunday in a special cabinet meeting vote.
So we'll see where that goes. But it looks like that's happening. And that's, of course, after Hamas has completely broken all contacts with Israel. There's no sign of any hostage release coming. And the Israelis have basically decided to go for it.
And finally, Rick, we had two more Houthi rocket attacks on Israel on Friday. The first one, they said, was aimed at an air base, the Ramont David Air Base in the Megiddo Valley near the Mount Carmel Range. And that left some shrapnel in the area, including on the top of a kindergarten where some of the metal came down. Fortunately, the students weren't there at the time. And that came, of course, as we had the US stepping up pressure on the Houthis to stop these attacks on Israel and attacks on US ships and this sort of thing with Pete Hex's very stern warning to Iran that it will be struck militarily if it doesn't curb these forces And it looks to me, Rick, like the red light is off and the green light from Washington for such an operation against Iran is now on, but we'll see in the coming months.
Well, he certainly will, David.
Well, let me dig down a little bit and just follow up on some of that report that you gave us there. For those that have been to Israel, certainly if you've been to Israel with us, but most people, if you've been to Israel, you've been in the Mount Carmel mountain range, you've probably been into a Druze village, is definitely up in the Golan Heights. Could you explain for listeners that might not understand, there's Druze on both sides of the border. You have the Druze villages in Israel, Druze villages in Syria, and you have Druze in the army. Just explain a little bit, because I know you know about these people in this area of the world very well.
Could you explain this situation to our listeners? Rick, I actually had some Israeli Druze friends that I met and kept in touch with over the years, and they gave me a fair idea of what their life was like. It's a small minority religious breakoff of Islam, basically, many centuries ago. And the Druze have always been persecuted by the mainstream Sunni Muslims. They drove them to the north of where Iraq is today.
There's many up there. And also further west, mainly further west, into Lebanon, into Syria and into northern Israel, the Galilee region in particular. And as you say, some of the Syrian Druze were loyal to the Assad regime. Many of them actually were. But again, the Assad regime was also a minority Muslim group.
The Alawites and also persecuted by the Sunni majority.
So they have that in common.
Now, of course, the new Ash'ara regime is Sunni Muslim, and most of the Arabs in Syria are Sunnis.
So, Rick, we're seeing an increase of these attacks upon the Druze in southern Syria. And Israel has been warning that it's not going to sit by and watch this happen. And, of course, we have many military commanders, even Rick, especially in the border police, because they're Arabic-speaking the Druze, primarily. They speak Hebrew too. And they are very good scouts.
They're very well respected in the country, well thought of. And their countrymen, as it were, their co-religionists, if you will, are being slaughtered just to the north. And so it looks to me like. Israel will do more action. Of course, the Syrians strongly condemned this on Friday, Rick.
Said it's got to stop. And if you keep these things up against us, you're going to be in trouble, Israel. And it's becoming clearer and clearer, I think, every week, Rick, that the new regime in Syria is not going to be friendlier towards Israel like some originally thought, is not going to be a moderate Sunni Muslim thing, but is going to move towards the extremes with Turkey backing them. And that comes as Iran is increasingly reasserting itself in the area as well, building new camps, Rick, right next to Syria in Iraq. Where they're training new militia forces to move into Syria.
So it looks like that conflict is not over either.
Well, David, we'll keep an eye on the situation with the Druze as you gave us an update there and explained to us a little bit about the situation. We, as well, as just from our time and so many tours that we've taken, have some really good Druze friends that we are certainly concerned about. But I want to move on to what you just talked about, and we'll finish with this, David. The Iran situation, we look at even though they have suffered many setbacks, the negotiations, we talked with Ken just before you, they're not going as well as would like. And of course, the Houthis continuing and all those things.
Put all this together. You said it yourself. There's an air of inevitability. Can you talk about what you think is going to happen in the future?
Well, when you think of the fact that Tom. Talks have been going on now for nearly a month between the U. S. and Iran when nobody thought that those talks would take place under Donald Trump. But he told Bibi Netanyahu, I would rather try the road to peace first, and then if that doesn't work, We'll go to war.
Well, Rick Hexa's statement, of course, came after the Houthis fired a missile at an American aircraft carrier, and it had to turn swiftly, and we lost one of our aircraft. It fell over the side into the Red Sea. These are expensive items.
So they are continuing to attack the U.S. military and continuing to allow the Houthis, if not ordering them to, send ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles. These can kill thousands of people if they were to hit the petrochemical plant I mentioned last week in Haipa. And again, the second strike was in the Haifa area today, Rick.
So they may have been, again, trying to hit something there. That's going on while they're supposedly talking peace with Donald Trump.
Well, it looks like the U.S. patience has run out and that they now accept, it seems to me, Rick, we don't know this formally, but Netanyahu's position that the only way, the only way to stop Iran's nuclear program is to physically stop it. They're not going to do it themselves. They made that plain in all their statements. They're certainly making it plain in these continuing attacks that are going on.
And it seems to me that the decision has been taken. It's just a question of when they'll strike and what they'll strike. It probably won't be Tehran itself, but their oil facilities like Ronald Reagan did several decades ago and some other important Iranian targets. Dave, as always, we appreciate what you do keeping us informed. Look forward to talking to you again soon.
I'm always blessed to do it, Rick. God bless. David Dolan, great job, David. We're going to continue our conversation with Itamar Marcus on the other side of the break. And also, Pastor Minnow Kalashier, Kahila Harushulayim in Jerusalem will be with us in the next half hour.
Don't go anywhere. We're coming right back here, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. A new set of religious regulations takes effect in China today. They address the ways foreigners can or cannot participate in religious activities in China.
Eric Berklund with China Partner explains some of the rules aren't actually new, and some of them aren't as alarming as they appear to be at first glance. He believes the intent is to gain more control over unregistered churches. Pray for the Chinese church, but do so with faith that God's plan will prevail.
Then, extremist laws in Central Asia are forcing believers to rethink the approach to ministry. David Gerance from Teach Beyond says changes like revoked licenses or education limits are pushing them to get creative. Many shift from using Christian labels to neutral ones, but the gospel remains central. And local partnerships, especially in schools, help keep the work going. Pray the ministry continues to thrive despite the pressure.
And find your place in the story at missionnews.org. Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy the Young Jr.
Along with Rick, we are examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, you head to Israel this next week, and then the following weekend, I will be there joining you. We have two groups going over, and we're looking forward to being there. We do hope that the fires will, and I'm sure that they will be fine, as we have been through this before, Israel has been through this before.
So, we're looking forward to being there. I have Intermar Marcus standing by, but also would like to get our listeners caught up on the body of Christ and our good friend Minnow Kalashir in Jerusalem. He's the pastor of Kehilah Rushalaim. And we have Minnow coming up in the next moments here after we talk to Intermar Marcus, who is monitoring what the Palestinians are saying. And I think that this is something very important that we all need to understand.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Itimar Markis, a longtime guest of this program and a good friend of ours. He's from Palestinian Media Watch. He lets us know what the Palestinians are hearing from their own state-sponsored media, and also lets us know what's going on in Israel. Itemar, thanks for being with us today.
Thanks very much for inviting me.
Well, Edamara I have several questions to ask you, but before I do, I know you're in Jerusalem and I know that there have been fires, just wondering to know if you're safe and what you've seen over there.
Well, it was a real, certainly a natural tragedy, a tragedy for nature. 20,000 dunams, that's about 5,000 acres, went up in smoke. Apparently, the first fire was started spontaneously, but there have already been a number of Arabs, Palestinians, who've been arrested for, once they saw the bad fire, they started fires in other places and made it much, much harder.
So it's just tragic that we have neighbors like this, or at least some of them, who feel that if there's something bad going on for Israel, let's make it worse. And this is something that happened a number of years ago. If you remember, in 2016, there was an entire period where we were going through fires all the time because Palestinians were starting fires and many, many homes were destroyed. Then Israel this time is a little more prepared and therefore We were able to prevent homes from being destroyed. A lot of nature, as I say, was destroyed.
Forests were destroyed. Um but we will Replant them and they will regrow, and we will overcome this, what we're calling now, fire terror. the same way we have overcome all of the other Palestinian terror. For those that don't know, one of the first things that the Jewish Israelis coming back and beginning in 1948 and even before is they planted trees, so many trees planted that was a national project to create forest on land that really was barren without any trees at all. And for those that have been to Israel, you could see the trees everywhere.
This is a natural tragedy. And would you say that this was encouraged maybe even by the leadership as a way to put pressure on Israel? We found many, many Palestinian telegram stations where they were encouraging people, even before the first fire, they were encouraging people to start fires. Many, many different examples. Let them turn to asses, all these kinds of horrific expressions.
And they showed in the background, of course, pictures of fires burning.
So, this was definitely something that was encouraged in a very wide manner. And you talked about how Israel. planted so many trees in the last century. There's an incredible figure that's not well known, but should be known, is that at the turn of the century, Israel was the only region In the entire world, that had more trees in the year 2000 than there were in 100 years previous, in 1900. Everyone else had fewer trees.
Israel had more trees.
So it's an incredible statement that, together with the incredible technological growth, Israel has an incredible love of nature and love of trees. And we came back to an area that had been literally destroyed, wiped out. A lot of its nature had been wiped out when we were there. And we came back to barren areas where no one could live. And we started planting trees and started planting agriculture.
And literally, they talk about making the desert bloom. It's absolutely true when you compare the pictures before Israel and before Zionism and you see what was here and then you look afterward. I mean, it's an absolute miracle. I'll even go beyond this. The Bible talks about one of the signs that God has redeemed his people is that the desolate lands of Israel will be like an Eden, will be like the Garden of Eden, will be florid, will be green again.
This is in the prophecies. And many, many Jews look at that, and I'm sure Christians as well look at that and say, wow, we see God's hand here with the greening of Israel.
Well, we certainly will continue to pray for the situation there as these fires rage, but it seems like things are under control, not a whole lot of loss of life, but what a terrible, as you said, natural tragedy and something that Israel has to deal with.
Well, let's move on. I want to talk a little bit about the Palestinian Authority. You continue to keep an eye on the Palestinian Authority.
Now, that's separate from Hamas. Hamas is in Gaza. They have not been completely eliminated, but they are basically eliminated from effective leadership, at least for right now. The Palestinian Authority is who Israel has to deal with. They have a new vice president, maybe a possible successor to Mahmoud Abbas.
I don't know if that's the case. There's also some reports on your website talking about how Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority view the United States, a country who they are continuingly trying to get help and get quite a bit of aid from. Can you talk about their view of the United States? Yes, it's quite shocking. The Palestinian Authority and senior people, such as people like Mahmoud Abbas's, one of his top advisors, his name is Mahmoud al-Abbash, have said things like they want to see the United States to be weaker in the world.
Habash has said specifically something incredible. He said he wants to see a world that is ruled by three powers: China, Russia, and And the Islamic world. Again, this is outrageous because China and Russia are. Very serious enemies of the West right now. Russia, certainly, with its aggression against Western Europe, its aggression against Ukraine, and the fear of many Western Europeans that Russia might want to go back to the old days of the Soviet Union of expansion, even beyond Ukraine, the indiscriminate murder of civilians by the Russian regime.
And this is who the Palestinian Authority wants to rule, together with China. China, we know the threat that China is. China is a threat to Taiwan, but China has been causing tremendous damage to the United States, as we know, and economically. And there is tremendous fear that maybe they are planning even much, much worse things for the United States. There are a lot of.
Articles we read: there's a lot of question about what China's real role will be in the future. Certainly, it's not an ally of the United States, and this is what the Palestinian Authority, the Islamic world, China, and Russia, they should rule and push the United States out of its position of influence.
So, it's an outrage. It's something that the United States should take more seriously. The United States funds the Palestinian Authority since October 7th. I mean, this is outrageous. Since October 7th, the United States has given the Palestinian Authority over $2.3 billion.
$2.3 billion. It's incredible, considering that the Palestinian Authority has celebrated the October 7th massacres with its rapes and its torture and its beheading of people and burning people alive. The Palestinian Authority has literally, on its official station, one of their top leaders called it heroic and epic. And just a few weeks ago, Abbas's advisor, Muhammad Abbas's advisor, said it was legitimate resistance.
So the Palestinian Authority is. A terror-supporting entity. They want to see a world where the United States is pushed aside. Why does the United States keep funding the Palestinian Authority? It's beyond rational.
That's all I can say. It certainly is, Itemar, and that's why we appreciate having you on the program to put these things in context for us.
Well, I would like to switch gears a little bit and talk about Holocaust Remembrance Day. Jews around the world and in Israel particularly observed Holocaust Remembrance Day this week, and I'd like to get your thoughts. You have some thoughts on maybe what is not the greatest slogan as people remember Holocaust Day, but just your thoughts in general about Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.
Well, Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel is a very somber day. You know, it's not just the six million. There are. millions of Israelis who are descendants of the survivors, people who went through concentration camps, people who went through ghetto, people who hid in forests for so many years. My son-in-law tells about his grandfather who hid in forests as a young child, literally, as a young child, hid in forests for years, spent the entire war being thirsty, you know, beyond imagination, and till literally spent the rest of his life, even though he eventually made it to Israel and went to university and got a very good job and had a profession and raised a family and had children and grandchildren, yet he had a need to leave.
bottles of water. Around his house at all times throughout his whole life because of this incredible irrational fear which was brought on. It's just one example of how the Holocaust ended in 1945, but the The results of the Holocaust, the suffering of the Holocaust, the impact on the survivors and then on their children and the next generation is still with us today. Young people today still talk about the way their meetings with their grandparents and their conversations with their grandparents. The Holocaust is something that is so.
All encompassing Not just for the six million who were murdered, and many of them who the majority of whom were burnt in the crematorium. But for the survivors who are still living with the scars physically and primarily emotionally, which have been passed on from generation to generation, it's a very somber day in Israel. And that's why during this interview that I had, I said the expression that is so common that we hear on Holocaust day, and we hear it from Israeli leaders as well as leaders around the world. They say, we've learned never again.
Now, never again, when you talk about it in the context of the Holocaust, means never again are we going to allow Israel to be so weak that six million could be killed. And that's why I say it's a terrible slogan. We should be saying never again, one, any time any Jew is killed around the world because he's a Jew, is attacked because he's a Jew, we should respond with full force and not say, okay, it's.
Okay, if you kill a few here, a few there. The Palestinian Authority only kills 100 or so a year, 200 a year, depending on the year. Therefore, we'll continue to let them be our neighbor. It's outrageous. It was because we had this ideology, never again 6 million, that Hamas, we allowed Hamas to grow and be powerful.
Hamas was killing people all the time. And instead of going to destroy them, we said, okay, it's manageable.
Well, never again 6 million is a terrible ideology. It has to be never again one, not even one, and treat any attempt to kill Jews because they're Jews as something very seriously. And that's the only way to stop it and this vicious anti-Semitism, which still exists all around the world. It certainly does, and the post-October seventh events have kind of revealed it as well.
Well, finally, just a quick follow-up on that. How does the Palestinian Authority, how does the official Palestinian media view the Holocaust? I know that in certain ta places they are denying it, and then maybe also kind of appropriating it and say that Israel is perpetrating a Holocaust, which nothing could be farther from the truth when you look at the facts on the ground. But could you talk a little bit about how the Palestinian media and the Palestinian government uses the Holocaust? Exactly.
Both of those things are true. The early years of the Palestinian Authority, after it was established in 1994, for many years, they denied the Holocaust. I'll give you an interesting crossword puzzle clue. And the clue was the Jewish Center for Commemorating the Holocaust and the Lies. And the answer was Yad Vashem, which is Israel's Holocaust Memorial Center.
So Israel's Center for Commemorating the Holocaust is a center for lies. This was the early days of the PA. Palestinian MediaWatch reported a lot of this. The Palestinian Authority got a lot of international flack.
So they switched their narrative from denying the Holocaust to saying that Israel is doing a Holocaust and that Israel is doing a worse Holocaust. And Mahmoud Abbas himself has said Israel has done dozens of Holocaust. Uh when it comes to the Palestinian Authority, uh there is no relationship between anything that they say and and truth. Uh uh and it's just a shame that the world doesn't recognize them for what they are. It's a shame that there are m many countries in the West that are beginning to To actually recognize them as a state.
We're talking about Norway. I think Ireland also. France is talking about recognizing how you could recognize this terror-supporting entity as a state? Who would want to correct to create a new terror state? We have enough terror states in the world today, with countries like Iran, with the old Syria, which is falling apart now, with the old Libya under Gaddafi.
Why would you want to create another terror state? I hope the United States stays firm and prevents the creation of this Palestinian terror state, because it will do no good for anyone in the world. Itimar Marcus from Palestinian Media Watch. Again, if you'd like to find out more about Itimar and the organization that he runs, go to palwatch.org. Itimar, as always, we appreciate your time.
Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you very much. Bye. Itemar and Marcus, great job, Itamar. Thank you so much.
And when we look at the Palestinians in light of Bible prophecy, the little book of Obadiah pronounces the judgment upon the Palestinian people of today. And Ezekiel chapter 35, verse 10 also gives us that the judgment of the Palestinian people because they came against not only the Jewish people, they helped burn the temple during one of the periods. And those are one of the two people groups that will be as if they never were.
Well, Rick, let's get, I'm looking forward to this time that we'll get a chance to talk to our good friend Menel Kalashir. We'll each be seeing him next week, and I'm looking forward to that. But let's get our listeners caught up on what the body of Christ is doing in Israel.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have a good friend of both yours and mine. In fact, a great friend of our family. It's Menno Kalasher. He's the pastor of K Elah Yerushalayim, the Jerusalem Assembly in Israel.
Menno, thanks so much for being with us today. It's good to be with you. Thank you.
Well, Menno, I'd like to ask you about the church and how things are going there. But before I do that, you are in Jerusalem, as I just mentioned previously, and we have heard so much about the fires. Could you tell us how it's impacting you, your family, and the church?
Okay, the fire itself is not inside Jerusalem. The Fire is about uh something like 20 kilometers from Jerusalem, well, in one side, and it goes around toward about twelve kilometers from Jerusalem. There are no files inside the city. There are some townships Outside Jerusalem. And in that area, that fire destroyed something like five thousand acres of forests and places like that.
Thank God no one was killed or anything like that. I do some damage, mainly of forests. and parks, but thank God by next year it will be green again. Amen.
Well, that's a good report and welcome to hear for sure. Hopefully, they will get this under control. But the last time I talked with you, we talked a lot about what the church was doing, as you have so many young men involved in the war with Hamash right now, and I'm sure that there's a lot going on right now, kind of working to fight these fires. Can you talk give us an update? What is the church doing in those areas right now?
Well, the church is not busy with the fire. Thank God everything is okay when it comes to that. But what is the church is doing? The church is doing today and tomorrow what it did yesterday and day before. We are focusing on our Lord Jesus Christ, our God.
We are busy with evangelism in every aspect that we are able to. whether it's to go to the promenade or downtown to give tract and to speak with people, to buy Google place to pop ups in YouTube in order to spread evangelism through gospel videos and so on. we have a new project really called Connections. It really is sending and preparing Israelis to go outside Israel to places where Israeli travelers are spending time, whether in New Zealand or other places, in order to serve them, in order to be able to share the gospel with them and to connect them to churches back in Israel. We are busy on that issues.
fires, thank God, outside in forest as sad as it is, It's the job of the firefighters and airplanes to fix this issue. As sad as it is, within twenty four to forty eight hours, it's pass it's history. and by next year, by God's grace, it will be green again.
Well, again, that is the hope.
Well, let's move on from that and let's talk about Independence Day.
Now, Israel celebrated that this past week, and I'd like to get your take from two perspectives. One, you're a proud Israeli citizen. You served in the army, you've lived there all your life, you were born there in Israel, but also you are a pastor, a student of the Bible, a student of Bible prophecy, and you know the importance of the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, which eventually led to the creation of the State of Israel. Can you talk about the importance from both perspectives of Independence Day?
Well, first of all, the creation of the State of Israel, I do believe, is a fulfillment of prophecy. When you read Ezekiel chapter thirty seven, And you realize that God is saying That For Jewish people. The Gentile countries. anything, everything outside Israel. is being called a grave.
God assigned The geography of Israel. Both. The people of Israel Imagine God is telling you. I have a place for you. And you decide to go somewhere else.
In a sense you tell God God, I have a better idea.
Well, be careful. God has a very strong hand.
So part of the anti-Semitism that we see around the world is to remind the people of Israel if you don't understand or internalize the written word you will feel a stick. And I do believe God is using it in order to tell the people of Israel, I gave you a land. You better be there. you have a purpose and it is this is my plan.
So I do believe that The formation of the State of Israel is part of fulfillment of prophecies. It is said very clearly in the vision of the dry bonds in Ezekiel thirty seven. And we are in the process where God is bringing to the land of Israel the people who are supposed to be there, the people of Israel. again, this process did not finish yet. We are in the middle of this process.
after Israel will come to this place Later on in the future, also all Israel will be saved.
Well, the leftovers of the tribulation. but we see prophecy come true Uh in front of our eyes.
So that's what I see in front of me as a student of the world of God.
So how do I celebrate right now the seventy seven year of the State of Israel? Uh basically it's a family gathering, it's a church gathering We simply use it for fellowship to see the people we love, close to barbecue. But really, that's what you do on a secular level in that sense, from the lar family family level. But biblically, as I said before, you simply enjoy to be part of fulfilled prophecy.
Well, that certainly is the case. And then if I could ask you just one follow-up question to that, you look at all the threats that you face right now, from october seventh and what took place in Gaza to the Iranian proxies. And you know, Israel is constantly in the news as they face threats from around the world. Could you talk maybe why does Israel face those threats and how do you stay strong there in the land?
Well I do believe that the reason for all the attacks against Israel is part of a spiritual warfare. And God is God says very clearly, if you check statistics of wars in the Old Testament, whenever the people of Israel are looking at God and have trust in him and faith, we truly do not need to use any air force, tanks, rifles, bullets or anything like that. God will fight for you and you will be silent. Exodus fourteen, fourteen.
So The reason that we have So many wars, it's just because we, as the people of Israel, as the nation of Israel, give our back to God. And fail in this test of faith.
So basically what God says, if you'll go away from me, you will have to deal with the issue on your own. Yes, God will make sure that we will not disappear From the face of the earth, because God has a plan and it will be fulfilled. But If we run away from God, we will suffer. and we taste it day by day. Thank God it's not going to be our eternal situation.
God intervenes and his will be done. Concerning our church. are still people in our church are regular citizens. We give to Caesar what is to Caesar. and people are going to the reserve duties, people are serving And one of them is my son, among the others.
He already did five and a half months since october seventeen twenty three in Gaza. Later on, he came home for two months and then went back to Lebanon to the war for Two months in each place, he was not just sitting dealing with papers, but actually fighting in these places. And now from July to September, is needs to do another round of reserve in Gaza.
So just pray for Danny and like him, many others in the church, in the body of Christ in Israel. We certainly will be doing that. And, you know, we go back over 30 years. I remember when Danny was just a young boy sitting on my knee, now going ready for his third time of service in the Army right now. I know he has many kids.
You know, I was just speaking with my mom recently, and she was talking about when you and my dad and another man started the church there in Jerusalem in the early days. And mom used to make her rice and meatballs that you would serve after church for church dinner. And it was just a good time of remembering that special time. And you have been there all these years. We continue to pray for you.
And what I'd like to do, and with my final question here: as those that are listening to this program, how can we, for one, pray for you? What can we pray for the church? You've already mentioned a few things as well, but then also, how could we support you?
Well, please continue to pray that we will be focused on what Our Lord Jesus command the church really to share the gospel, to equip the saints for ministry and never forget our first love. It's very easy to enter into a routine of Christian life, and I don't want that. I really want that we'll always be on the edge As we read the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation chapter two and three, I really want that our church will be between Zmyrna and Philadelphia. And learn what not to do when we read from the other churches.
So, this is always in front of my eyes. Just pray for us. Frankly. All the churches need to be like this, not only us.
So we'll pray for you. Please pray for us. to always be Right. in the love for Christ and for people. as right now, pray for us in Israel.
We're still at war. We never know what tomorrow will bring. And our church people are in the service, and we just beg before the Lord to keep them, to bless them. And when they are in service, that they will always remember their ambassadors of Christ Jesus wherever they are. And again, concerning the project of evangelism to Israeli travelers outside Israel, remember to pray for us.
topic is connections. and just pray that we'll be wise how to do that. We want to involve The general body of Christ in that it's not only us as a church. have this in mind. We push it bring it up.
My daughter is involved. She is the one who really pushed that, came with this vision. And as part of the church, we are all in it because this is the right thing to do.
So just pray for us, really, to be in the center of God's will to glorify our Lord Jesus. You can find out more about Menno by going to the website of the church there. It's thejerusalemassembly.com. Menno, as always, we love you. We appreciate what you do there.
We look forward to talking to you every time we get a chance. Thank you so much for being with us today, and we'll talk to you again soon. Thank you.
God bless you.
Well, we've got to take a break. And when we come back, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy Series, right here on Prophecy Today, weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., along with my brother Rick, we are examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
Rick, as I've said in the program, you and I will be heading to Israel in the next week or two. That's right, Jimmy. I'll be actually heading over today as I go to meet that group of young people and their parents and that senior trip for that Academy of Excellence online school there in Wisconsin. And Jimmy, you'll be joining us in the second tour, one right after the other.
So it's great to be back in the land. We look forward to this. We are excited to be there every time. We look forward, maybe in the future, to bringing some of our listeners with us as well. Yes, and we do ask you to pray for us.
This is an opportunity that we feel we are edifying and educating the body of Christ.
Well, as we continue our study in Isaiah today, we will begin with a short history lesson on the Gentile world powers leading up to the days of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a great king of Judah. which would be the two southern tribes of Israel. We'll be studying to day in Isaiah chapter thirty eight and verse one, but first a brief history lesson with Doctor Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy series.
If I had to title this today, I would call this study The Crossroads of History because we're going to see a transition from The Assyrian Empire to the Babylonian Empire.
Now, I'm using some words. You may not recognize what these words are meaning, who we're talking about here. Let me just give you a short history lesson for a few moments. You might remember that the children of Israel would go into, Jacob would take 70 of his family members into Egypt because of the famine that was going on in Israel. That would then result in the 400-year period of time prophesied.
To Abraham by Jesus Christ, when he confronted him and gave him the Abrahamic covenant, Genesis 15, that they would be out of the land for a 400-year period of time in a foreign land. And so they went into Egypt. And that was the beginning of the Egyptian world power. They were a Gentile nation. They were dealing with what would be a Jewish nation because Jacob took his family of 70 into the captivity.
400 years later, Moses leads out about 2 million of them, 600,000 men plus the women and children. I would guesstimate that would probably be near the area of about 2 million people. But that was the Egyptian. Captivity and then the return, the dispersion of the Jews, and then the aliyah, or the return back to Israel. And that's what we study when Joshua leads across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, captures the Promised Land, etc.
After that, and that was probably around in the area of 3,500 years ago. 3,000 years ago, the kings come into existence. You have Saul, the first king, and he's referred to or developed this record of in 1 Samuel. You have David, the second king, and he would be talked about, revealed in 2 Samuel. And then you have Solomon, the third king, and he would be looked at in 1 Kings.
At the end of his kingdom, 1 Kings chapter 11. Rehoboam is to take control of the Jewish people. Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim, who lived in Bethel, The very major city in the history of the Jewish people. That's where Abraham stopped and put up an altar. Bethel, the house of God, is the name of that community, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem.
Jeroboam rebelled against.
Solomon and Rehoboam. He took ten of the tribes, they went into the north, they became known as Israel. Two of the tribes stayed in the south under Rehoboam's responsibility as king, and they became Judah. That would be the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. They selected a location by which to rule and reign from.
It was the city of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem would be that capital city.
Now that's about 3,000 years ago from today. That's when the Jewish people selected the city of Jerusalem as their political capital. And because David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, it became the spiritual capital as well of the Jewish people. A longevity of time would have to give some credence to who has the right to control and live in the city of Jerusalem. That's 3,000 years ago.
We come along for about a 300-year period of time, and during that time, the Assyrian It's come to power. They were located in a place called Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Uniquely, Nineveh is what we know was Monsul in modern-day Iraq. In 722 B.C., about 20 years before the portion of scripture we're going to, the Assyrians come in and they take out the ten tribes of the north.
They take them into captivity. Israel goes into captivity.
Now Zennacharib is ready to bring his Assyrian army, a mighty army, the mightiest army in the history of the world until that point in time. He's going to come down to Judah and take Jerusalem.
Now there are four chapters we're going to be looking at. The Lord thought they were important enough. For us to deal with that he had. A author pin The record of these events and two other locations in the Bible. 2 Kings 18 and 19, and 2 Chronicles 29 and 30.
And these events that are going to unfold in these four chapters in Isaiah are also recorded in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. to me flags the importance of this portion of Scripture. We're going to look at chapters 36, 37, 38, and 39. This, remember, is now making the transition from the first 39 chapters, the message of retribution, into the message of restoration in chapters 40 to 66. Those 27 chapters there.
Here in chapter 38, let me just quickly go through. You can read, I'm not going to go verse by verse, you know, 66 books. This is not an exhaustive study of the book of Isaiah. It's just a, my purpose is to whet your appetite to get in and dig in the book of Isaiah. It's just so rich, so much, I just don't have the time to deal with it.
But look here in verse 1, we find out about the sickness of Hezekiah. Hezekiah is a pretty good king. There's going to be revival that breaks out under Hezekiah. He's going to destroy the high places where they would put idols to worship, gods other than the God of Israel. He would destroy those.
Idols, the high places. There would be somewhat of a revival that takes place under his leadership. The Jewish people were a people that were hard-headed, stiff-necked, and hard-hearted. You might remember in chapter one of the book of Isaiah, God tells Isaiah, I'm going to send you to Jerusalem, to Judea, but listen, they are going to be a people that are going to be tough to deal with. Ezekiel was told the same thing in chapter 1, 2, and 3.
the book of Ezekiel. But in these days, Hezekiah Gets sick.
Now, best we can understand, look here in verse 1. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. He's sick unto death. What was his problem? Go down here to verse 21.
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. He had a boil.
Now that may have meant Cancer. But it was a common disease at the time of Hezekiah. And he's going to, they're going to deal with it medically to try to cure this man. But he was sick unto death. Back to verse 1.
And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amus, came unto him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. The sickness has come upon Hezekiah. He's a king, a mighty king. He is a king that has been blessed by God. He is following the dictates to most extent of God and what it's supposed to do.
Well, Hezekiah is now going to start to supplicate. Supplication is specifically asking God for something to happen. That's one aspect of prayer. You have prayer, which is constant walking in an attitude of prayer. You have intercession when you're interceding for others.
You have the prayer of forgiveness. And then you have the prayer. Mm-hmm. Of supplication, specifically asking God to do so. That's what Hezekiah is going to do here in verse 2.
Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and he prayed unto the Lord, and he said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and have a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sorely. Then God hears that prayer. Verse 4. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer and I have seen thy tears.
Behold, I will add to thy days 15 years. This is the 14th year of the reign of Hezekiah. He serves for 29 years. This is just about the midway point in his leadership as the king of Judah. And God grants him favor.
Fifteen additional years to do what he wanted to. At the request of Hezekiah, To be healed, to be taken care of, God grants it to him. And then he says, I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to give you a sign. Look at verse 7. This shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken.
Now, this is so interesting to me to see how God Now is going to directly give Hezekiah a sign. What he's going to do, the sun at this time in the day is going down. He's going to reverse the sun's movement and make it go back 10 degrees. Look here, verse 8. And I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which has gone down in the sundial of Ahaz 10 degrees backward, so that the sun returned 10 degrees by which the degrees it was gone down.
It's in the afternoon, the sun's going down. They either had a sundial, we don't have absolute understanding of this, or the sun where Hezekiah was on his deathbed looking out of his palace, he could see where Ahaz had brought back a special statue, was basically a staircase when he went into Syria. And the staircase would serve somewhat as a sundial. And when the sun was down, the shadow was over these steps, the sun still on these steps, and it would move back to. 10 degrees.
A sign that indeed These things were going to be fulfilled. Not only his healing, but look back up here in verse 5: Go and say to Hezekiah, thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father. By the way. That is so interesting, he would say that. You're going to continue to see, I do this because of King David.
What is he talking about? That Davidic covenant that I was talking about. 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 you're in a replacement theology church, get out of it as quickly as you possibly can. Because 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.
Let me remind you that God cannot lie. He cannot lie to the Jewish people, and he cannot lie to us today as Christians. That phrase there in verse 5: the God of David, thy father. That is the Davidic covenant, an absolute promise to the Jewish people of a coming Messiah. Who will rule and reign from Jerusalem from the Forever.
God does have a plan for the Jewish people, and we to day can see it unfolding. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. We sure appreciate that you allow us to be able to play this program, these messages that taught us so much, Rick and I, so much about Bible prophecy and how to understand God's holy word.
We've got to take a break, and when we come back, Rick and I will take a look at the book as we recap today's program. That's right ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Since 2019, Syria has been under U.S. sanctions that restrict movement of finances, goods, and services from the West.
Samuel with Redemptive Story says, This is in the best interest of the Syrian people. I think a lot of governments are wise to try to leave things in place, particularly these sanctions as it relates to financial movement and purchasing of infrastructure things that are needed, until they are for sure that this government does not make sweeping changes to things like the Constitution. They know that in the midst of this situation, God is working and He's doing amazing things. At the same time, they do have deep concerns about what the future holds. They know that in the midst of this situation, God is working and He's doing amazing things.
But at the same time, they do have deep concerns about what the future holds. Yeah. Then a small team of evangelists with Transform Iran gathered in Turkey in late March, and their goal was to meet Iranian tourists on holiday for the Persian New Year with news of the gospel. Lot of Silk shares one miraculous encounter when a Muslim family walked up to the team and said, Sorry to disturb you, but we keep hearing this voice telling us to come and talk to you, and that you've got something that you need to tell us. What do you need to tell us?
More than 300 people heard the gospel and exchanged contact information to learn more. It's just a snapshot of what Silk says is happening in Iran. God is literally right before our eyes, changing the course of a nation. Would you like to join the adventure? Get started by connecting with Transform Iran's newsletter.
We'll connect you at missionnews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News' 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 out at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.
And along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, another great program. And as I started out the program today, I said we are unapologetic about our approach to Bible prophecy. We look at the people of Bible prophecy, the nations of Bible prophecy, and events that are going to take place in the future. And so I feel like we do that every week for those that follow us and are on the program with us.
And that is so very important, isn't it, Rick? It certainly is, Jimmy. We focus on these specific nations because the Bible says these nations are going to be involved in end time events. We see these events, these preparations being made, these nations getting into position to fulfill their roles that are going to take place in the end time. And we realize where we are in God's prophetic timeline.
Jimmy, I think that although we focus on nations that are all involved in Bible, Prophecy. We certainly focus on the nation of Israel for several reasons. Why it is important for us to watch Israel. When we go to Israel, we always say we look at Israel past, present, and prophetic. We look at the past, we look at what took place in the Old Testament, the life of Christ, what took place there.
We look at the present, which, Jimmy, if you look at the present in Israel, you are seeing what is basically the most tangible evidence of Bible prophecy being fulfilled in the recreation after 2,000 years, the returning of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Yes. And what was interesting to me, Rick, when Menno said, you know, you could any other nation in the world can go away, and it doesn't affect our Bible, God's word that we read. But if the nation of Israel goes away, then it's yesterday's news. Our Bible is yesterday's news, isn't it?
It certainly is, Jimmy. He always has a way of saying things so clearly and making it easy to understand. Yes. And, you know, we always think about: okay, we focus. We're not a Jewish program.
We witness to the Jewish people. We witness to Gentiles. We witness to everybody. We spend a lot of time in Israel. And as you said, we're going back there this next week to really see how things are, to check with the people, to go to the church, with Minos Church, to go around the land and start to prepare to take people back to bless the Jewish people by going to the land of Israel.
That's one benefit that you get. You get to see the land where the Bible centered on, the land where Jesus walked, the disciples, where the gospel message went forward.
So you get to see all of those things, and that's a benefit to our lives spiritually. But benefiting us even more so is blessing the Jewish people, and we're going back. There. And I just thought it was so interesting when I was thinking about that, hearing what Minnow was talking about as far as. The Jewish people, those in the church, the different things that they're struggling with, and why we focus on the Jewish people, the reason that we do it.
It's the center of God's program for the future.
Now, for right now, redemption through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the center of his program. But after the rapture of the church, Israel will be the center of God's program and his promises restoring the Jewish people to that role where Jesus Christ will be their king, their Messiah. He's our bridegroom, as we've talked about many a times on this program.
So I really enjoyed our conversation with Minnow. And just, you know, something that I took away from that was when he said, you know, you take away any nation in the world, but if you take away Israel, then you might as well throw away the Bible. It's so true. And like I said before, he has a way of turning a phrase that makes it easy to understand. Jimmy, when we go to Israel, not only does the Bible come alive, and you just mentioned that, you've talked about that as well, but we look at certain trends that are taking place.
And we look at the arrangements for the temple. We look at the return of the Jewish people to the land. We look at the peace trees. We look at these certain things, all centered around the nation of Israel. It's essentially a timepiece.
It's a measuring stick where we look and it helps us to see where we are, and that should help to motivate us. How should we live in light of what we know is going to happen at any moment? You know, a verse that Menno brought out today, Jeremiah chapter 9, verse 23 and 24. Thus says the Lord. Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom.
Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows the Lord, knows that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. And I think.
You know, really, that should sum it up. I mean, just that verse, as I was listening to it and I was thinking about it, I went to my Bible and wanted to have it here when we talked about this, but that really is what it's all about.
So, let's summarize that verse: the response God expected from the people. The people were not to boast in their human wisdom or strength or riches, for these would not last. Instead, a person should boast only to the extent that he understands and knows God. Again, that word know, pictured in an intimate knowledge of God, God wanted the people to be intimately acquainted with his kindness, justice, and righteousness. Kindness refers to God's loyal love.
God would stand by his commitment to his people. Justice is a broad term that pointed to governing justly. God would vindicate the innocent and punish the guilty. Righteousness. Yeah.
conveys the idea of conforming to a standard or norm. God's standard of conduct were supposed to be Israel's norm. You can put all your confidence and trust in these items of the world, but it's really the person that puts his love and trust in God. That's what delights the Lord, Jeremiah says. And I thought that was so very important for the times in which we're living.
Certainly is such timely advice, Jimmy. And we understand that God's word with God's prophetic word, everything that is contained in the scriptures, gives us everything we need to live in these times that we are in right now. You're absolutely right, Rick. You know, folks. We present all of this to you, having an understanding of God's prophetic word, to help you to understand where we are in God's timetable.
We need to have that right in the front of us.
So, using that information, we should live pure, productive, holy lives in an unholy world. Rick, with all the things that we have seen and you've talked about on the program today, we can't be very far from the rapture of the church. 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.
