Um Hi, everybody. This is Jimmy DeYoung Jr. with Prophecy Today. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. And, Rick, this is a very important weekend when you've got Passover, you've got Easter, the ending of the Passion Week, and they all come together at the same time.
That's right, Jimmy.
So many things taking place around the world today. And we've got our normal lineup of broadcasters, plus a few extra. We've got Ken Timmerman talking about Jill Poland. Political Affairs, Dave Dolan with the Middle East News Update. Steve Herzig will be here with us, Friends of Israel.
And then at the end of the program, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung will come in and he will give us his understanding of how we get Jesus Christ in the grave three days and three nights. That's all coming up on the program.
Well, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get started.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He's our expert on geopolitical affairs. His latest book, The Iran House, Tales of Revolution, Persecution, War, and Intrigue, is out right now. You can get that at Amazon.
And you can find out more about Ken by going to his website, kentimmerman.com. Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Well, Ken, you keep us updated on what is going on around the world. And we're going to start this week. We're going to look at the situation between Russia and Ukraine. And it looks like the Trump administration is starting to get impatient with Vladimir Putin and the negotiations.
Well, remember that the President said he wanted a deal within the first 100 days of his administration, and now he's getting pretty close to that, and there is no deal in sight. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, was in Paris on Thursday and Friday meeting with Macon and other European leaders. And he was a little bit testy there. At the end, he said, look, if it's not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on. He said that on Friday to reporters.
He said, quote, we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking a matter of days, whether or not this is doable.
So this is a new line that we're hearing from the administration. And I think Rubio is starting to realize that the Europeans have demands, the Ukrainians have demands, the Russians have demands, and there isn't an awful lot of meeting room amongst all those various demands.
Well, there certainly is. And Ken what does this mean now? I mean, what kind of leverage is President Trump going to use? Is this going to mean more weapons to Ukraine, more support for Ukraine, more sanctions? What is President Trump going to do?
Well, he hasn't told us yet. He has told us that he's not going to ship Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. That's something I'm sure the Russians are happy about. But he has not given in to other Russian demands. You know, Steve Witkoff has met three times with Putin.
And after the last meeting, he said, well, look, a ceasefire is very easy. All we need to do, and he said this publicly, all we need to do is give the Russians those four provinces that they're demanding. And that set off a firestorm, Rick, because that is what Putin has been fighting for for three years. He does not even occupy those four eastern provinces of Ukraine today. He occupies about half of them.
So to give him jurisdiction, let alone de jure, control over them, would be an absolutely outrageous capitulation, not just of the United States, but the entire West. It's a non-starter. But that's what Witkoff was willing to do.
Now, Witkoff is also dealing with the Iranians. And I know we're going to talk about that separately later on. But he is getting schooled by his bosses, not just by the president, but by Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor, by Markov Rubio. They had a meeting this week at the Situation Room in the White House on Tuesday. And after that, Witkoff came back and severely trimmed his sales.
And I think that also had to do with Rubio's trip to Paris, where he was really given a remit, Rick, to find out whether these talks are going to go anyplace. And right now, it doesn't look like they are.
Well, given President Trump's history, he certainly doesn't mind readjusting his approach. We'll see what he does in the future. But before we leave Russia, I want to talk to you just a little bit. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria, that was a close Russian ally this week. Russia has sought to reestablish those relationships with Syria.
Can you talk about that? A very interesting development through the intermediary of the emir of Qatar. The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, came to Moscow this week, met with Putin, and basically served as an intermediary for the new Syrian regime. And he told Putin: look, these guys really would like to have good relations with you. They don't want to kick you out completely, even though you are allies with the former regime.
They are willing to consider allowing you to have those two air bases that you had before.
Now, why would Russia need two air bases in Syria, Rick, unless they have some designs on the Mediterranean and have some designs on putting pressure on Israel? Israel knows that as well. But I thought it was interesting to see that the Qatari emir is trying to make nice with President Trump, and now he's trying to make nice with Putin. He's trying to make nice with everybody and put money in the bank at the same time. And I think that's his real goal: money in the bank.
Well, we'll continue to follow those developments as well. Very interesting. Let's move on to the trade wars. We talked about that last week, and of course, that's quieted down quite a bit, not quite as volatile this week, but we still have a situation. And I'm not asking you for your prognostication on the stock market, Ken.
Although if you have one, go ahead and share it with us. But I want you to I feel like there's a geopolitical aspect to this as we look at President Trump negotiating with the European Union and especially with China. Can you talk about how this is playing out geopolitically?
Well, the president said this week, again, I've got talks with everybody.
So he had the Italian prime minister in the White House. By the way, he gets along very well with her. She is a conservative, Georgia Maloney. And she said, let's make Europe great again. And Trump said, absolutely.
Why not? You should make Europe great again. But to do that, you need to resolve some of your differences with us and open up your markets. Trump said also he has had several talks with the Chinese. He wouldn't say whether he'd spoken with President Qi, but he said with the Chinese.
And he made very clear: he said, look, when Chinese officials call us, they're not doing this on their own. They're not moonlighting. We know that they're doing this with Xi's approval and at his direction.
So those talks with the Chinese are ongoing. Trump was pretty positive this week. He said, I think we can get a deal with the Chinese, which means that we won't have those 145% tariffs. But We might not get a deal, so it's still way up in the air. And let me just say one thing about the stock market, Rick, because I can't resist.
Just listen to what this president says. When he tells you it's a great time to buy stocks, buy stocks. We appreciate that advice and we will take it under consideration.
Well, we look at that trade war with China, and that's a trade war economically. We also, there are many people that say that in the future we might have an actual war with China because of their global aspirations. But we look at right now, there are some that are saying there is a cyber war going on with China. Can you talk about that? Well, we're learning a lot more about the Chinese cyber war against the United States.
Some of our listeners may recognize the term SALT Typhoon. That's the code name, very public, that's been given to China's penetration of U.S. telecom companies. They have basically penetrated all U.S. commercial telecom companies.
And when I say penetration, I mean they have access to your data, they have access to your calls, they have access to your telephones.
So much so that the White House is now encouraging all Americans, not just people who work for the U.S. government, but all Americans to use end-to-end encryption for their telephone conversations and for their messaging apps. That's pretty dramatic, frankly. We're also learning about a second cyber campaign by the Chinese called Vault Typhoon.
Now, this one is even more serious, if you can imagine that. They have embedded malware in our national infrastructure. It's a huge issue. This means, for example, they have embedded malware that they could set off in the event of a war in Taiwan that would shut down our electric grid, that would shut down our dams, that would shut down water purification plants, that would shut down, for example, the New York subway system or the Washington, D.C. subway system.
And they can do it. All at once, simultaneously, everywhere. This is a huge, huge issue, Rick. Just one other specific example. We have found, the government has found recently that they have installed this Volt Typhoon malware.
On the water systems in Guam, to shut down the water systems in Guam.
Well, guess why Guam is important to U.S. national security and to the Chinese? That's where we base our B-2 bombers when we want to get them closer to either Iran or to the Chinese.
So, this is a really big deal. I am happy to see that Mike Waltz, who's now the National Security Advisor, has been on this for many, many years. He understands this threat, and I'm confident that he and the National Security team are taking steps to address it.
Well, we'll continue to follow those events and see what happens there, and we'll keep you informed. But Ken, this is the last program before Easter. Easter is tomorrow. And if you could, I know President Trump had an Easter proclamation this week. Maybe you could talk a little bit about that.
But also, Ken, if you would like to say something to our listeners wishing people a happy Easter.
Well, Rick, this is the most blessed time in the Christian calendar. And I must say, I was stunned this week to read the President's proclamation on Holy Week. And I really urge all of you, just Google that. The presidential message on Holy Week 2025. Last year on Easter, the man who was then President of the United States.
He was celebrating, not Easter rig, he was celebrating Transgender Visibility Day. I'm not making this up. Biden was celebrating Transgender Visibility Day on Easter in the White House. This year, President Trump is celebrating Easter and he's celebrating all of Holy Week. This proclamation, Rick, is just absolutely stunning.
He says, During the sacred week, we acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross in his final hours on earth. I'm reading from the proclamation. Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all his creation. And he goes on and on for several paragraphs, talking about the meaning of Easter, the meaning of the crucifixion, and the resurrection. I listened to Franklin Graham's comment on this, Rick.
It was almost funny. He said, you know, a lot of our pastors are going to give us their interpretation of the meaning of the crucifixion and the resurrection in their sermons on Sunday. I don't think any of them are going to get better than what the president just told us. What a change a year makes, Rick. We finally have somebody in the White House who acknowledges that America is a Judeo-Christian nation and he's doing what he can to harness the power of the federal government to protect that and to defend that.
Ken Timmerman for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless.
Well, we've got to take a break in when we come back. David Dolan with our Middle East news update right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. The rescue of kidnapped American pastor Joshua Sullivan in South Africa has people talking.
South Africa has one of the worst crime indices in the world. Police statistics between 2023 and 2024 show a nearly 19% rise in commercial crimes. Kidnapping shot up by 8%. Ricky Prolius with Transworld Radio Africa says increasing violent crime isn't so much driven by political anger as it is by hard realities of poverty. Our tagline is speaking hope to the world.
So our aim is always to speak hope into these situations where crime is rife. TWR broadcasts biblical content in South Africa's hard languages. The team responds to listener prayer requests and sometimes connects them to counseling services. Pray TWR Africa can keep sharing the hope and love of Jesus in South Africa's challenges. More prayer points at missionnews.org.
And this Easter, you can give medicine, build a church, or provide a bicycle for a traveling evangelist. All of this is possible through the Global Gift Guide from World Concern. It offers gifts ranging from $5 Bibles for South Sudan to $30 ducklings in Bangladesh, even a $6,000 church in Congo. Allison Farstadt says it reflects Easter's heart as the idea of redemption and resurrection goes along with giving others a chance at new life and opportunity. The guide is part of the Village Transform Project.
It's a six-year process of kind of helping them develop skills, equip them with tools they need to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining. And your gift meets real needs and the gospel connects, meeting the physical needs along with the spiritual needs. 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 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 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. It's our Middle East news update. We look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. To do that, we have a journalist with over 30 years of experience reporting on Israel, Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today.
Blessed to be with you, Rick.
Well, Dave, you typically give us an update letting us know what has happened this week, what has happened in Israel politically.
Well, the big news of the week actually was from New York, from an article in the New York Times on Thursday saying that the reason President Trump summoned Vivi Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, to the White House right after he made his dramatic tariffs announcement was to basically prevent a planned Israeli strike, military strike on Iran's nuclear program. That was reported on Thursday, as I said in the New York Times, quoting several senior U. S. officials. They said that Netanyahu was shocked, surprised and shocked.
He thought it would be more discussing the cooperation that was being discussed in military circles about how they would participate in such a strike and how the U. S. would back it. Whereas Trump said, no, I've decided on diplomacy. We're going that direction.
It was a bombshell in Israel. We had strong reactions from the two opposition leaders, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, both saying that Netanyahu was afraid of Iran. That this was the perfect time to strike Iran, and he knew that, but he didn't want to go against President Trump, and he was afraid of other. Sanctions and other things that might come. Of course, he's been dealing with a fairly hostile president up until Trump under Joe Biden.
So he certainly doesn't want to get on Trump's bad side. But that was the main news. And the report said that there were several other planned attacks prior to Trump's becoming president, but that Beebe had decided to wait. Until the election, thinking that Trump would probably win, which he obviously did.
So that was the big political news of the week. We had more action in the Gaza Strip, more fighting going on there during the week, Rick. We had the IDF said on Tuesday they killed the senior weapons smuggler for the Hamas group. Involved in smuggling from both the sea and from Egypt and other methods. Hamas said at the same time that talks are, quote, nearing completion.
that a reaction to the Israeli latest Israeli ceasefire plan would come soon. And they didn't say what that would be. But according to reports, Rick, we don't know exactly, but it's supposed to be maybe 10 or 11 living hostages released. And some more dead bodies released in exchange for a ceasefire of some say a month, some say 45 days. We don't really have the details of that, but we'll see what happens there.
And in Lebanon, Rick, we have the new President Joseph Aoun, who's a Christian, a Maronite Catholic. say that Hezbollah will basically be disarmed, will not be allowed to have its own militia anymore, will not be allowed to have tanks and weapons factories and the sort of thing that it did before. This, of course, angered the Shiite group very much. And he said he didn't want Lebanon to look like Iraq with a bunch of basically Shiite militias operating in conjunction with the government. He said the government is the only source Of military strength should be, and we're going to demand that.
And that, of course, was good news to the Israelis, hoping that Hezbollah may really. Be neutralized fully if the Lebanese government will do that. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Well, David, let me get you to comment on that first story. It seems very interesting. I guess my first thought is: does this mean that there may be a rift between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu?
And secondly, doesn't it seem kind of odd that the center-left opposition is urging and blaming Prime Minister for not attacking Iran? That does seem like roles are reversed. Can you talk about that? Well, Rick, we have to remember that there was some tension between Netanyahu and Trump during the President's first Term. And of course, afterwards, in a speech, he called him an idiot.
He made some other derogatory remarks about him over the intervening years.
So, they haven't always had a real close relationship. It's just that, in comparison to Biden, it's a much stronger relationship. And obviously, it's important. for BB to maintain that. and to cross the United States.
would not be a good thing. But more than that, Rick, the press reports during the week said that the plan that Israel was basically has finalized for a May attack involved very heavily U. S. military support for that. That the B two bombers would probably be involved, that are stationed in Diego Garcia to the south of India, that they would probably be involved because they have the huge bunker buster bombs, as we call them, that can penetrate one hundred fifty feet underground and systems that Israel doesn't have such weapons.
So, in other words, if the U. S. wouldn't back Israel fully and actively, then it would be a much riskier proposition for Israel to go against. Iran. And of course, they're worried about a ballistic missile attack in response.
And again, it was the United States that helped deflect the two that we've had so far during the war with U.S. forces actively involved.
So they definitely don't want to do this without U.S. backing, Rick, it seems. And yes, it is odd to see Ir Lapid, in particular, who's a center-left politician, a former TV personality, Naptali Bennett, is a right-wing politician.
So, more from him, it would be understandable. But for them to be calling Bibi a liar and that he's weak and that he doesn't have the guts, they used other words, to go after Iran, this sort of thing, is a bit ironic. And we'll see what happens. It could be that Israel takes on Iran by itself, but that is a dangerous proposition. And particularly, we have to remember as the Iranians.
Maintain. They have friends. They have China, they have Russia. In fact, they sent their foreign minister, Abbasarachi, to Moscow on Thursday, Rick, carrying a letter from Ayatollah Khomeini to Putin talking about their relationship, the foreign ministry there said, and how close they are, and how they support each other in their military endeavors and this sort of thing.
So, just a reminder to Israel that, you know, Iran has outside superpower support, as does Israel. And we'll see who blinks first. But Iran is already. actively involved in the Ukraine war, sending them all those drones. And of course, North Korea is as well, and China buying all of Iran's oil.
So, yes, it's a complicated situation. And yet, this is, everybody agrees, this is the best time that Israel's had, or the best opportunity, I should say, that Israel's had to strike this weapons program, nuclear weapons program, in a long time. And also, of course, the fact, as we're hearing all the time, that Iran is just a A breath away from having fully enriched uranium to complete their nuclear weapons program. And by the way, Arachi also said that. that the enrichment program was, quote, not negotiable that they would not even consider stopping that.
Well, that is one of Israel's main demands.
So that just suggests that these talks and of course, we have another round going on today in Rome between Iran and the US, that they will come to nothing.
Well, we'll continue to monitor that situation, but in the brief time we have left, another area that we follow is the Temple Mount. And of course, we know God's word says that that is going to be a center of controversy in the last days. And that was the case this week as well. Hamas said that they're condemning frantic attempts to Judaize and seize Islamic holy sites. Can you talk about that statement and what it means there, especially at this time of Passover?
Well, Rick, as you know, during Passover, the Jews are allowed extra hours of prayer on the Temple Mount, but it's supposed to be visits. It's supposed to be not really prayer. But on Thursday, we had a religious Zionist member of the Knesset, Zvid Zukot, go up there with some of his friends. and they donned uh Jewish prayer shawls. And they even had one of them a prayer book, and they were davening or bowing, prostrating themselves in a very open demonstration of the fact that they were up there praying.
Well, just a year ago, another visitor, not a member of parliament, was arrested for doing that. And until recent years, Jews didn't even attempt such a thing.
So it's another sign that Jews feeling freer, Orthodox Jews, to go up to the Temple Mount and to pray on the site. And this was filmed and it appeared in all the social media throughout Israel. And the religious community in particular was very, very thrilled. And what was most telling about it, Rick, was you could see in one of the shots that there were some Israeli police nearby. They were just watching.
Whereas until Now they would come and physically break up any attempts. By Jews to openly, overtly pray, let's put it that way. And that was clearly not the case this time. seeing again more and more liberalization of that situation and more and more Jews wanting to go up and pray and in particular political leaders that make the news and make Hamas very unhappy.
Well, Dave, that's all the time we have in this section, the Middle East News update. But if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you a little bit more in the next section as we discuss the upcoming Easter holiday. Would you mind sticking around? I'd be glad to, Rick. When we come back, we'll hear more about Easter in the eternal city of Jerusalem with David Dolan.
Steve Herzik will be here talking about the fulfillment of the High Holy Days and missionary to Africa, John Page. That's all I had, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. China is banning foreign missionary activity in the country effective May 1st. Kurt Rovenstein with Bibles for China says the legislation isn't surprising, but it is discouraging.
While the ban may not slam doors closed for ministries already in the country, it will mean more oversight of their work. Rovenstein sees the legislation as a move by the government to oust foreigners and retain sole influence over the Chinese people.
So pray for missionaries who are affected by the ban and read more in the full story at our website. Then spring is underway in the U.S., a season of new beginnings. David Kinneman with the Barna Research Group recently presented the results of an extensive survey done for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. People are increasingly turning to the spiritual for answers. Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries says, this spiritual spring creates gospel opportunities for believers.
Find your place in the story at missionnews.org. You've been listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries on YouTube. Yeah. 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. This is the weekend that we focus on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It really should be every day of the year. We're going to go back to David Dolan in just a moment, but coming up, Steve Herzig, looking at how Christ fulfilled the four spring feast and will fulfill the three fall feast. And missionary John Page will be here.
He's focusing on the country of Africa. But, Rick, let's go back to our good friend David Dolan.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Dave Dolan back with us as we look ahead to Easter Sunday.
Now, this is a special holiday as we remember the most important event in all of history: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this is a special time for us. But, Dave, I know you spent many years in Israel, in the location Jerusalem there. Much of your time there in Israel was. Was in Jerusalem, right where that happened.
Can you talk a little bit about experiencing Easter in Israel and then how it's coincided with Passover this year? Just give us a little bit of the flavor of what that's like and what it means.
Well, Rick, I always found it especially exciting when the two holidays overlapped. that happens maybe once or twice a decade, where Passover and Easter are on the same dates or near each other, really close to each other. And sometimes they're very far apart, weeks apart from each other. This year, we had Passover actually occur on Palm Sunday. It began Saturday evening last week, and then Sunday was the first full day of it.
And also, the city of Jerusalem was filled, therefore, with Jews celebrating Passover, but also with Christians. This year, it was mainly local Christians, Palestinians, and others that were marching down from the Mount of Olives with palm branches in their hands. But here they were coming into Jerusalem while the Jews were celebrating the first day of Passover. And of course, the last day of Passover is today, and tomorrow is Easter.
So we have the end of the festival of Passover coinciding as well. And all during the week, as Christians were marking the holiest events of what many call Holy Week, the Last Supper on Thursday, and of course the crucifixion on Friday, and then of course the resurrection tomorrow. all of that during the festival of Passover. I always found that the most exciting. But obviously, when they are separate, it's also good.
But that reminds us just exactly what Easter is. Because to many Christians around the world, and I've traveled all over the place, it's a Christian holiday. It's something that they don't really see the association with Israel necessarily or with Jesus being Jewish. or the fact that the Last Supper was a Passover seder.
So, when they coincide, it really reminds everyone that this is the origin of Christianity and of Christ. that he is Messiah, Mashiach in Hebrew, that he's fully Jewish, that his mother was Jewish, that his disciples were all Jewish, and this was a religious Jew. He really was. He wasn't ultra Orthodox in that sense. He obviously turned over the money changer tables and did other things that upset the religious establishment of his time, but that he was Jewish and is Jewish.
And of course, I enjoyed it when we would have a Seder meal at a friend's house just below the walls of the old city, and that would be maybe a day or two or three some years before Easter or maybe as this year right on it. and uh then go to the Garden Tomb. and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord on Sunday morning, one of my favorite places to be. And as a journalist, it was usually where I wanted to be anyway to send back stories and interview people. And I think I've shared this before on previous programs, but my greatest thrill, Rick, was being able to interview for CBS And I point out to people that's not the Christian Broadcasting Service.
It's the Columbia Broadcasting System. And it's a secular network, obviously. But one of the only two times in the year that I could send New York, the headquarters of New York, testimonies of Christians. You know, either at Christmas at Bethlehem, why they were there and the birth of the Lord, etc., or even more, why they were at the Garden Tomb and what it meant to them and what the resurrection meant. And it was so thrilling to hear from friends in the States, Hey, I heard you interviewing so-and-so from Sheboygan, and they were talking about Jesus on the network, on the news, you know.
So I was blessed in that way to be there for so many Easters and for so many Passovers, and I do miss that. I celebrate wherever I'm at and occasionally go on the the tube on the T V or YouTube or whatever and and look at a service. And they do broadcast Garden Tomb service on several of the Christian networks. Broadcast that live. And where I'm at, it's the day before, but you don't have to get up early.
Well, David, I appreciate your recollection. And of course, I appreciate the fact that you do connect this. And this is why we focus on Israel. God had a plan for Israel. God used the nation of Israel to bring about the Savior as was prophesied.
And all those prophecies that we look at in the Old Testament that were pointing towards the birth of Jesus Christ and the eventual death, burial, and resurrection. That's what we remember at this Easter. Of course, we know that there's that connection with the Jewish people and Israel. And we know as believers that God is not finished with the Jewish people. He's not finished with the nation of Israel.
He's going to fulfill those promises that he made to them, just as he is to the promises that he made to us as Christians.
So this is a good time of year to remember that, and a good time of year to make sure that we are using Bible prophecy to help motivate us to share the good news of the gospel that we celebrate at Easter. Exactly. And, you know, the news headlines that we've been discussing extensively over the past year and a half. The wars, the attacks, the crises everywhere. Just remind us how fragile this world is and how precarious things are here.
But we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and we're going to be in his kingdom forever. And his kingdom is going to be based where? In Jerusalem, a real place. If there's anyone listening that doesn't know him, he's worth getting to know. He is your Lord and Savior, and he is the one that can give you that entrance to an eternity with him and to eternal life.
So choose rightly, and he has risen indeed. Indeed, he is, David. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this pre-Easter program. We look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you, Rick.
God bless.
Let me remind people that if you want to find out more about Bible prophecy, you can go to our website. There, you can see materials that we offer. You can learn how to support our ministry and look at our top stories of the day. Yes. Speaking of websites, we're going to go back to continuing our conversation with the National North American Director of Friends of Israel, Steve Herzig.
And, Steve, you've got a phenomenal website. I love their radio program. I love everything that they do. Israel, My Glory.
So much solid, solid information that we can recommend. Steve, we have always talked about Steve's books. I believe there's volume one and volume two, right, on the holidays and the feast. Yes. Uh, except that they just re redid it and they took the two books, Jimmy, and made one made it into one.
And that happened this year.
So, uh, but it was two two wor I say two volumes is kind of uh Complimentary, but a little bit of a lie. I think each book had like 140 pages.
So that's not really two volumes. I have one regular sized book. These are excellent books.
Well, let's talk about the Passover. What can we learn? And I know that you're doing some Seder meals and you're going through that. What do you find is the most important thing for people that will, for the first time, possibly be sitting through a Seder meal as you teach it? What I want them to understand is the connection of the Lamb.
John the Baptist, his cousin. Said in the Gospels, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of God. The blood had to be applied on the door, and if there was no blood, there was judgment. And, Jimmy, if there is no blood for you and me, that is, if we have not.
received Jesus Christ as our Savior? Have we not taken the blood that doesn't just cover our sins, but remove it? We're good for judgment. And Jimmy, if you and I stand on our own, if If the Jewish people during the time of Moses just said, you know what? I don't want to do this plague.
I don't want to put the blood on it. It wouldn't matter if they were Jewish. It wouldn't matter if they were nice people. It wouldn't matter if they knew people in high places. If there's no blood, there's judgment.
So, Jimmy, for the believer today, even those people. People who go to church and there will be priesters. I don't know if you're aware of that word, creasters. I call people who come to church on Christmas and Easter priesters. They come twice a year.
And just because they're in church does not mean they're saved. Just because they say, oh, yes, Easter, I believe Jesus died, you could say that. But unless you appropriate it, unless you receive it, unless you repent and turn to him. You're not. You're outside of the camp.
But the beauty of Passover and the thing that's so neat is it happened one time, Jimmy. And my family, three thousand years later, raised in a Jewish home, we remembered redemption. And Jimmy, Jesus Christ died once, and for all. And once we receive him, we remember what he has done for us. That, to me, is a great thing.
And then when you think about The feast immediately following the Passover, which is a one-time event, we remember it, is the feast of unleavened bread. That's why Jewish people will tell you that Passover lasts eight days. But it really lasts one day, and immediately following that is unleavened bread. That lasts seven days, and that gives you eight. And that reminds us of sanctification.
That reminds us of being set apart. And Jimmy, the moment we receive Jesus Christ, we are set apart. And then the third feast outlined in in Leviticus 23, and it takes place on the third day, is first fruit. And Jimmy, that's what Resurrection Day is all about. Jesus Christ, Paul tells us, is our first fruit.
First fruits. Yes. And first fruits is the idea of the Jewish people were to offer God the first fruits of the barley. It was agriculture, barley. And they knew that once they offered God the first, that more would follow.
And it's the same thing. Jesus Christ is the first fruit He rose from the dead. Jimmy, we're looking for a future day either with the rapture of the church or the resurrection of the saints. To be with him because Jesus resurrected, we will be with him too. Boy, that's exciting to me.
That's so exciting. And that's what Easter is all about. In the future, I know that you mentioned briefly about the prophetic significance of the high holy days or the festivals. What do you see? How does this play out for us in the future?
Oh, Jimmy, you could take the seven feasts, the first one being Passover redemption, the second one Feast of unleavened bread, sanctification, setting apart first fruits, as we mentioned. Then you go fifty days from Passover and you get to Shabbuot or Pentecost, the birthday of the church. Jewish people believe that's when God gave them the law. Then fast forward to the fall feast. when uh it's Russia Shanna, the new year.
Uh and the call of the shofar. which is the calling in uh Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven of God's call to the Jewish people back to the land, and then Yom Kippur, where they'll be saved in a day. Uh Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ redeeming them, and then the Feast of Tabernacles. Uh and We know from Zachariah that ten Gentiles will grab the clothing of a Jewish person and want to go to Jerusalem and worship. There.
We know that's the Millennial Kingdom and God's program that He promised. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled. And Jimmy, you know the rest of the story: a thousand years, Satan let loose. That's the book of Revelation. And finally, a new heaven and a new earth.
What a day that will be. That's fast forward and that's fast speed, but I hope that. Steve, thank you for blessing us today by giving us this information, telling us about it. How I think it will help people to understand Easter better. And, you know, I know that we celebrate Easter one day a year, but really, we should celebrate Easter every single moment of our lives because without that most important event, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything in the past pointed to this.
Everything in the future is going to point back to the moment of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1:18, he says, I am he that was alive, dead, and now live again. And that's so very important as we. Approach this weekend and thinking about not only Passover but Easter. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hey, Jimmy, always good to be with you.
Well, a byproduct of the resurrection should be evangelization. You got to have both edification and evangelization. And we're going to bring to the program now a good friend of ours, Rick. John Page.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have a good friend of both yours and mine, John Page. He's the regional director for Word of Life Fellowship in Africa. John, thanks for taking the time to join us today. And if you could, tell us where you're at right now.
Oh, thanks so much for the opportunity. Yeah, I'm actually sitting in Entebbe, Uganda. Word of Life has a Bible Institute here in Uganda, but I'm on my way to Harare, Zimbabwe. We've had a family that has joined the team there in the last two months, and I'll be spending a week with them just as they transition and settle into a new ministry for them, but an existing ministry for us there in Zimbabwe.
Well, that's great.
Well, thanks again for taking the time to be with us. And as I said, I mentioned you are an old friend.
Now, I say that often, but this is really true. In fact, let me know. It is true. Yeah, it certainly is. Let me just give you some details.
Your mother was my elementary school teacher. You and I worked in the Word of Life Camping Ministry at the Word of Life Ranch for many years, along with Jimmy, of course. And you and I were even roommates in college.
So we certainly are old friends. And this is a great chance for us to catch up with you. In fact, for our listeners, for those that are listening to the program right now, just give us a little bit about what you do in your ministry and Word of Life Africa, what is going on there.
Well, it is interesting to look back at how long our friendship has been and how God moves you in different places. I often loved what I was doing when I was in the United States. We had a camp ministry that you mentioned and working with the Bible school students, and that was fantastic. We really thought that's where we would be forever. But then we realized in hindsight that was training because God moved us 20 years ago to Johannesburg, South Africa.
We've been serving in that country for many years. And about four years ago, Word of Life asked us to continue serving in Africa, but to take our focus instead of just focusing on South Africa as a country, to look at the entire continent of Africa and develop some strategies for really reaching more young people with evangelism and discipleship. And then about two years, because of North Africa connecting into Middle East language-wise, Middle East, North Africa, in Mission Speak, they would say MENA. That became part of our region too.
So now we still have a lot of hands-on. With ministry and missions, but also oversight strategy and kind of development as we try to look at expanding our reach through local churches across really just a massive, massive area.
So it's a very different world for me. I grew up in a town of 2,000 people with no traffic lights and three bars. And then God flopped us into Africa, which is a great change. And we realize that every step along the way, God has been training us for what's next. Even if it's uncomfortable, that's where He sends us to.
And so we're learning a lot. Certainly are. And I grew up in that same town with you, John. But it's so great to hear what the Lord is doing in your life right now.
Well, this pre-Easter program, of course, we're looking ahead to Easter Sunday tomorrow. And I just wanted to talk a little bit. In a minute, I want to talk about what the Lord is doing as far as evangelization. But right now, there was a story that was out this week. A United States pastor, Josh Sullivan, was kidnapped in South Africa, and I believe he was rescued.
So, if you could let us know what you know about that situation, but also what kind of persecution do missionaries and Christians face in Africa? It really is interesting because obviously with the news reporting, it's really highlighted a specific situation there in South Africa. The irony, and people ask Christy and I this all the time, like, well, we don't see this in your newsletters or your updates. And it's not something that, as missionaries, that's what our focus is.
However, in this situation, obviously, it's a very specific highlight, and it is the reality. When we ask people to pray for us, sometimes you're praying for safety, but you don't even know how to describe that to people. It might be crazy driving in Johannesburg, or it might be this very situation that this pastor faced. Where it's economic, an economic kidnapping. Matter of fact, our missionaries up in Nigeria have had friends, at least six friends in this last year that have been in that same situation.
Two of them lost their lives in economic kidnappings, where people are doing that in such a way, whether you're a foreigner or whether you're a national, really just to try to get ahead money-wise. They do specific tracking, they figure out who's got the money, what would be the possibility of them making quick cash and that type of turnover. And so you do, you do. It's interesting, Rick.
Somebody told me one time: when you look at missionaries and you look at safety, those two often go opposite.
So you need to develop a theology of fear because oftentimes missionaries, you don't look at a situation and say, is it safe or not safe? You want to be wise, you want to be smart, but that's oftentimes where we have to go into those situations.
However, the comforting aspect is to realize that that call of God, he doesn't have to remove you from danger, but he goes with you into the danger. What I love about this situation, one, is he's alive. Praise the Lord.
So thankful that the special unit of the hawks there over the police were able to get him freed. But two, even though it's tragic, think about that. Easter weekend. And what was that pastor's desire as a missionary there in South Africa? His desire was to get out the gospel.
And all of a sudden, God has given him this worldwide platform that two weeks ago he didn't have. And they're even saying in the headlines, like this was a pastor, this was a missionary. They're not even hiding that fact.
So even though it's a tragedy, and it very much is because it's a very young family with young kids, it is interesting how God can leverage a tragedy for his glory because of the testimony and the prayers that have gone out around the world. I was amazed. At how quickly that filled into our WhatsApp groups and our prayer groups that we're part of in Africa, and how many people literally were unified in praying for his release. It doesn't always turn out that way, but praise the Lord in the situation, it did.
So, yeah, that type of reality is very. Very, I won't say common, but it does happen very often with our missionaries across the globe. But my whole focus of area, really, Middle East and Africa, I'm very tuned into where our teams are, where our missionaries are, and what's happening in their personal lives on a daily basis.
So, yeah, we praise the Lord that he was rescued, and we thank the Lord that this is a platform. Even in Easter, will people understand their need of a Savior? What a great perspective. And we certainly appreciate what you are doing there and all the missionaries there.
Well, on this program, and I know you know a little bit about us, we look at current events in the light of Bible prophecy. But we are doing this not just because we want to know what's going on geopolitically or in the Middle East, but we want to look at Bible prophecy because it shows us where we are. It's a sign to where we are in God's timeline, and it gives us a sense of urgency to get out there and to share the gospel. And that is what you are doing, your ministry that you work with, word of life.
Now, that's something that Jimmy and I and Dad were involved in for quite some time. And they have a specific goal. They have a goal. And I would like you to. Talk about that, this evangelization goal.
They want to reach a certain amount of people. If you could talk about that goal, but then also what you're doing specifically in Africa to help reach that goal. Yeah, thanks so much. I think oftentimes of your ministry, because every time we look at prophecy and current events, Christy and I, my wife, we look at each other and go, This is such easy motivation because God's coming back soon. I think when I was younger, I always thought it was something in the distance, and now you see things and it gets you excited.
I know some people stress out and panic, but I'm going, this is just all evidence that God is coming back so soon.
So, yeah, the evangelism goal.
Now, Word of Life has a focus of young people reaching them through local churches with evangelism and discipleship.
So, we're like professional people saying, Hey, our goal is to share the gospel.
However, even in that, we've realized that we can get comfortable.
So, how do you not just depend upon yourself and strategies, but really depend upon God? And that's where God laid it on the heart of our leaders to say: if we did something for a focused month of April, which is perfect because it's the month of Easter this year. What would it look like around the world and what would a goal be that would totally take us out of our comfort zone?
Now, the goal is five million people, but that's not just a number when we look at that, it's individuals. Because and I'll share with you this. Our teams across Africa As a team, but also as individuals, they are doing an incredible job.
So it's not about the numbers. We're going to see a major impact as we're doing it together. We have a new missionary couple in Court d'Ivoire in Ivory Coast, and they're the only missionaries that we have there with Word of Life that just joined our team, and they've shared the gospel with 40 people one-on-one in their neighborhood. And to me, that's amazing. You look at the team in Uganda where I'm at right now.
Now, they have incredible infrastructure. They've been working on building relationships with up to 400 churches, and they've really mobilized their churches. But they have a massive team doing this. They've shared so far to date almost gospel conversations with almost 200,000 people just in this month. Part of that is that's part of the regular DNA.
Nigeria is blowing up from the aspect of partnering with rappers, with musicians, with basketball, with sports. And they're seeing this movement where all of a sudden they're realizing like if Christians link arms and do something that we know we're supposed to do, but you do it together, that impact can really spread. And so I just, I praise the Lord for every one of our missionaries. This week, just today, I was sharing, I had an Uber driver go into the airport and I shared the gospel with him. Turned out he was a pastor.
Now, you would think when I say he's a pastor that you would understand that he's born again, but that's not always true in Africa. We often see pastors trust Christ.
So I shared with the gospel with him and he was born again. My wife, Christy, is working finishing up a counseling certification. She's doing 50 hours of counseling and right now she's based in the U.S. just for this month. But she had a conversation in a small world with a gal from South Africa who's living in the U.S.
And just two days ago, she shared the gospel with her and she trusted Christ.
So just out of a counseling session.
So even though we would say it's really a heart movement trying to help all of us, even as missionaries, really rely on God. Trust in God, partner with the local church, and really push evangelism, not just the Easter story, because the Easter story is about evangelism.
So, not just the knowledge of that, but really challenging people to be born again, having a personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And it's just so exciting to watch our missionaries who do this get excited about it. And so, we've really been praising the Lord for this kind of this focus time together this month. The results, God will get all the honor and glory for it. But we're always thankful to be challenged to step out of our comfort zone and do what God's asked us to do.
I'm talking to John Page. He's the Regional Director for Word of Life in Africa. John, it's been so great catching up with you. If there are listeners to this program right now that want to either support you in prayer or maybe even financially, how can they find out more about your ministry and the ministry of Word of Life Africa? Yeah, if they'd like to go to give.
W O O R G, they would be able to search out the different countries there. They can look by country or they can look by missionary, John and Christy Page, and they can be part of what God is doing in this amazing area of Africa and the Middle East. John, it's been great catching up with you. Thanks so much for taking the time and your busy travel schedule there in Africa to be with us. Look forward to talking to you again soon, now that we've made this connection again.
Thanks for your ministry and your impact of really motivating people to share the gospel. We appreciate you very much. There's no better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ than telling others about God's gift of eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of his Son. We're going to take a break and when we come back, the Legacy Series with Dr. Jimmy De Young right here on Prophecy Today weekend.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with Rick, we are examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. We're getting ready for the legacy series, and we'll do that in just one moment. But this is that weekend that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of Revelation chapter 1, verse 18: I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and death. When we look at this event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most important event in history, everything hinges on it. Everything in the past points up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everything in the future points back to it.
So we're so very thankful, and we want you to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on this celebration of the life of Jesus. We should do it all year round.
Well, on this day before Resurrection Sunday, we would like to. Continue our study in the prophetic book of Isaiah. We will begin in Luke chapter 4, where Dr. Luke records Jesus at the synagogue there in Nazareth. That's where he was reading from the book of Isaiah.
Please look with me at that account in Luke chapter 4, verse 16. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. Go to the book of Luke chapter 4 to chapter 4.
Now, Jesus Christ is a grown man. He's lived in Nazareth for 28 of his years. Two years he went to Egypt, remember, because of the fear of being killed by Herod the Great or one of his descendants. He comes back, they go to Nazareth, he lives there for some 28 years. And a very interesting thing happens, verse 16, and it came and he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto him, notice, there was delivered unto him the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Verse 20, and he closed the book. And he gave it again to the minister.
And he sat down. And the eyes of all were fastened on him. He began to say unto them, This day. Is this scripture fulfilled in your eyes? One problem.
Keep your finger here. Go back over to Isaiah chapter 61 just a moment. Isaiah. Chapter 61. There was something left.
Here in Luke chapter 4, he says to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. That's in verse 2 of the 61. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and then Jesus quit reading. Look at the rest of it. And the day of the vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn.
He didn't read all of it. By the way, you know where this synagogue was located? On the slopes of Nazareth. Overlooking, hello, the Jezreel Valley. And from the slopes Of these Mountains of Nazareth.
Overlooking the Jezreel Valley. He does not read that very important passage and the day of the vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn. When we look out and see how everything is going to proceed to move into the kingdom, we'll go back to Isaiah 63, where that Day of vengeance. will be fulfilled. But not now.
And Jesus said, And this day. Chapter 4, verse 21 of Luke, and this day, this scripture has been fulfilled in your eyes. One thought, and we'll go along as we think through what Isaiah had to say about the Messiah. Look back, if you got Luke chapter 4, look back in verse 18. And it says this: and the recovering of sight to the blind.
That is so key. Because Jesus Christ. Is the only one. that ever healed the blind. Look at the life.
Of every one of his disciples. All of the apostles.
Some of them, some of the prophets. Raise the dead. Made the lame to walk. May the sick be well. They never.
healed. the blind and gave them sight. Oh, Jesus did that. He did it on the Mount of Olives. He did it on the Temple Mount.
He healed three different blind men as he went through Jericho. If you ever have a problem about studying that passage when Jesus is going through Jericho, it says, as he entered into the city, as he left the city, as he entered into the city, if you read the text of the account of that, Well, you must know there's residential Jericho and municipal. Jericho. And so those are two different cities. And so the record is absolute.
So he healed the blind, and Jesus. By fulfilling that minute detail. In Isaiah Sixty-one. proved he was the Messiah. The one.
Who came Emmanuel? God with us. Go back to the book of Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 53, here's a very another important passage of Scripture. That there's a lot of controversy surrounding Isaiah 53.
The Jews do not want to recognize that this is talking about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In fact, When Isaiah was given the prophecy, that's exactly what he was told. Look at Isaiah 53:1. Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? These Jews are not going to believe you, Isaiah, but I want you to give the prophecy anyway.
Now Indeed, maybe you've heard someone speak trying to be an apologist on this and making the statement: hey, this is not talking about Messiah Jesus Christ. This is talking about someone else. I beg to differ with you. I have to show you what the Word of God has to say. I hate to keep going back and forth, but I just must show you what the Word has to say about this.
Go to Acts chapter 8. You remember Acts chapter 8? Acts chapter 8 is the record of Philip, who was a close associate of Jesus Christ. He was involved, became very much involved in preaching the gospel. And he would go wherever it took to go preach the gospel.
They took him out to the Negev desert near Gaza. The Negev Desert is that southern portion of Israel south of Jerusalem. And Gaza is in the western section of the Mediterranean coast. Look at the account here, chapter 8 of Acts, verse 26. And the angel of the Lord.
Spake unto Philip, saying, Arise and go toward the south, into the way that goeth down from Jerusalem into Gaza, which is the desert. By the way, Gaza, that's God's land. You know, that ought to cure that debate up, but that's another story for another time. Verse 27, and he arose and he went, and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all of her treasury and had come to Jerusalem for to worship.
Now, this was in the springtime. He had come up. One of the pilgrim feasts was Passover.
So he had come up to Passover, and then he stayed through Pentecost. And he was now on his way back. That's another pilgrim feast when the Jewish men from all over the world had to make aliyah, had to go up to Jerusalem. The third one would be in the fall, and that's the Feast of Tabernacles. But this Ethiopian with great authority was going through the desert, making his way back to Ethiopia, going south out of Jerusalem.
Now, I always used to teach that this Ethiopian was riding through the desert, you know, and he had the chariot whip in his hand, and he had the Bible. In his hand, and he's reading and going through the desert, you know. And old Philip came running by and jumped up on the chariot. scared him, the Ethiopian eunuch, to death. This man who was of royalty.
He was probably seated in his Elongated chariot. Had a cover over the top. a servant there meeting his needs. a driver of the chariot. And Philip comes up to him and he's reading.
And Philip starts a conversation. I love this. Look at here in verse 30. And Philip ran thither unto him, and he heard him read the prophet Isaiah. And he said, Understandest what thou readest?
And he said, How can I? Except some man should guide me. and he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him, And the place of the scripture, notice, the place of the scripture which he read was this, he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his shearers, so opened he not his mouth in his humiliation, his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare this generation, for his life was taken from the earth. That's a direct quote from Isaiah 53.
Now notice. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself or some other man. Notice what Philip said. Then Philip opened his mouth, and he began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
End Of subject. Isaiah Fifty three. Three. talking about Jesus Christ. And every Jew that tries to put that down.
Have no Basis upon which to make the statement. In fact, go back to John 12. In John 12, and let's notice here just very quickly in John 12, verses 37 and 38. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed him not, verse 38 of John 12. Then the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report?
To whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Where was that? Oh, we just read that, Isaiah 53, 1. Isaiah 53, 1. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 53.
And let me just point out a couple of things to you very quickly. Go back there, Isaiah 53:1. Let me just point out to you: Isaiah 53 is talking about Jesus Christ. It says in verse 1: the Jews are not going to believe that this is the one, the Messiah. They are going to be.
Blinded in part, Romans chapter 11, verse 25. Blinded in part until, temporary blinded. Partially blinded.
Some will come to know Christ, but most are going to reject because of their, it's not because they can't see with their eyes, it's their hard head, stiff neck, hard heart. As we look through this passage, and I'm not going to try to exegete it, but as we look through the passage, we'll notice in verses 3 to 5 how he's going to suffer. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Verse 5, but he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed, not healed physically, healed spiritually. We come to know Christ as Lord and Savior in that. Look at verse 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way.
And the Lord hath laid upon him the equity of us all. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, he who knew no sin. became sin. For you and me. Here's the prophecy.
Isaiah 53, he will take on our sin. We were born in sin. It's evidenced by the fact nobody had to teach us how to lie. We knew how to lie. Psalm 51 says, From our mother's womb we came forth liars.
He took on our sin. On him to be what we needed to be. He was crucified, verses seven and eight: he was oppressed and he was afflicted. Verse eight, and he was taken from prison and from judgment. It shall be declared this generation, he was cut off out of the land of the living.
That's that same phrase in Daniel chapter 9 where it says he will be cut off. It's a term referring to crucifixion. He was cut off out of the land of the living. But look at verse 10: he will resurrect. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him.
He hath put him to grief. When he shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He will be resurrected. This will happen. Isaiah 53 is pointing to the person of Jesus Christ.
Philip testifies to that. Jesus himself testifies to that. We conclude our study of Isaiah to day in the classic passage of Isaiah fifty three. This chapter presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The Son of God, the Savior of the world.
I pray that you know Jesus Christ as your Savior. If not, please admit that you're a sinner. That Jesus died and resurrected as proof that He can save each of us, and especially you. and call upon him to save you right now. Dr.
Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. We've got to take a break, and when we come back, Rick and I will wrap it up with taking a look at the book and the time period of the three days and three nights in Scripture. Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News.
China is banning foreign missionary activity in the country effective May 1st. Kurt Rovenstein with Bibles for China says the legislation isn't surprising, but it is discouraging. On the other hand, it doesn't slam the door closed. It just makes it a whole lot more difficult to keep open. It's just there's more steps in the process.
There's more scrutiny in the process. Rather than an overt push to remove foreigners, Rovenstein sees this as a quieter closing of doors resulting from anti-foreigner sentiment. Restrictions are such that the result will be it's just too hard. There's no way to get past all of the things you'd have to go through. Pray for missionaries facing new hurdles with this legislation and read more in the full story at our website.
And spring is underway here in the United States, a new season of beginnings. David Kinneman with Barner Research Group recently presented the results of an extensive survey done for the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. Ron Hutchcraft of Hutchcraft Ministries says: Over the last couple of years, they have noticed that there's a growing turn toward the spiritual for answers. It's not so much about church going and the institutional side. This spiritual spring creates gospel opportunities for believers.
The number one thing people are looking for is peace. We've been through a huge recession, confusing political turmoil. There was a pandemic. Do you know how to share your hope story? Resources from Hutchcraft Ministries can help.
We'll connect you 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 and a box of Bible highlighters. Get yours free when you click on the banner ad at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we've had the privilege of being able to begin this weekend of where we look at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, where we talked about the fulfillment of those feasts of God, the holidays or the holy days of God, and the Passover, unleavened, first fruits, as Steve Herzog talked to us about. You know, on the program today, we looked at events and we examined them in the light of God's prophetic word. As we looked at the events presented to us by Ken Timmerman, we see how God is actively using world leaders to accomplish his will. And then, of course, as we talk to David Dolum, we see what's going on in Israel and how what's taking place there, God is moving behind the scenes, plus his thoughts on the garden tomb. And Rick, as we're looking at this weekend, you know, for some people it's a totally secular event, but for us, it's the most important event in all of history.
It certainly is the most important event in all of history, and we should be celebrating it not just on Easter, but year-round. And I've heard you say, Jimmy, not only do you celebrate Easter year-round, but you celebrate Christmas year-round. And there have been many times when you and I have been in Israel, and we've taken people to the shepherd's fields, and we sing Christmas carols, and then we've taken them to the Mount of Olives, and we've taken them into the Old City and retrace the steps, the crucifixion, and we sing songs that remember that moment. And we don't necessarily just do that at Easter, we don't just do it at Christmas, we do it year-round because we're remembering these events. The most important thing to us as Christians.
Yes, in fact, that's what Jesus said in the upper room when he was observing that Passover meal where he instituted the Lord's Supper. And he said, In the future, I want you to do this in remembrance of me. And of course, he was talking about, and the disciples had no clue of what Jesus was talking about because Christ hadn't gone to the cross. His body had not been broken yet. His blood had not been shed.
But can you imagine, Rick, what the disciples thought about after they saw that and they remembered the words of Jesus Christ? This do in remembrance of me. Absolutely. We recently had communion at church and we rehearsed that year-round. And not just at Easter, but year-round because it is so important.
It's so important. What took place is the basis of our salvation.
Well, this week we have a special, our legacy series, which usually we follow up with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and his teaching. We will continue that next week. But we thought it would be special to go back, and it is special for us, and I hope it will be special for you. My father had an understanding and really taught how Jesus Christ was in the grave for three days and three nights.
Using scripture, he developed an understanding of how that takes place. And today on the program, we're going. Going to close out for this Easter weekend, this ending of Passion Week, the beginning of Passover. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung is going to teach his understanding of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how Christ was in the grave, fulfilling that prophecy of Jonah for three days and three nights.
But let me now focus on a couple of issues that are key for you and me as we first of all come to salvation and then make preparations for the future that God has planned for us. I'm going to focus on Passover, which is a Jewish high holy day, and Resurrection Sunday, the key day in the life of Jesus Christ and his authenticity when he tells us that he can give us salvation, but also tells us about the future. God does have a plan. He started to reveal that plan to the Jewish people in the book of Leviticus, chapter 23. When you read Leviticus 23, You find that God gave the Jewish people seven Jewish feasts, and these feasts were annually to be observed by the Jewish people.
Now, in these feasts, God gives us a prophecy. In fact, all of the feasts are focused on the person Jesus Christ. He was to fulfill each and all of the feasts. There are seven feasts: Passover, celebrating the Exodus out of Egypt by the Jewish people, unleavened bread, the separation between bondage and freedom, first fruits, and when the Jews come into the land, presenting the first fruits of their harvest at the temple, Pentecost, which is the presentation of the wheat harvest, and when you look at trumpets, it's talking about celebration creation, the day of atonement, the time of giving the Jewish people one more year under the blood that is sacrificed on the day of atonement, the day of covering, so that they can extend their time under the leadership of God the Father. And finally, tabernacles, a celebration of how the Jewish people wandered in the wilderness.
Now, what was God's Procedure. He had a plan. He set in place prophecy. What was his procedure? When you study the Word of God, especially the book of Matthew, chapters 26 to 27, you'll see that after the Passover Seder, which would take place on Passover, and the beginning of the day for the Jewish people in the evening, and then Passover the next day at three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus Christ was crucified on Passover.
He was buried on unleavened bread. Unleavened bread is separation. It means it was separating Jesus Christ from life unto death. And the fact is, he was in the grave, as the Bible called for, three days and three nights. That has to mean that he was crucified on Thursday afternoon, resurrected before sunup.
On Sunday night, because remember, a Jewish day, the night and the day.
So Sunday night before sun up, as John says in his book, when the three Marys went there to the grave site and were told that he had already resurrected. By the way, that was first fruits, and that was a part of that Jewish set of feasts that would prophesy the person of Jesus Christ. Crucified on Passover, buried on unleavened bread, resurrected on first fruits.
Now, this time we're not going to be able to talk about the three fall feasts. Jesus Christ will fulfill those as well. He'll come back to the earth on the feast of trumpets. He will enter into the temple on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, and then the kingdom begins on tabernacles.
So he fulfills all seven of the Jewish feasts. By the way, even before he returns to the earth, the next event will be Jesus calling all of us who know him as Lord and Savior to be with him in the heavenlies. That's called the rapture of the church, and that happens before the second coming, seven years before, which, in fact, when we think about what we've talked about today, that rapture actually could happen today. And having said that, nothing left for me to say except let's keep looking up. Until Thank you so much for joining us today.
This is Jay Johnson inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today. Prophecy Today is a listener-supported production of Shofar Communications in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
