Uh Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., along with my brother Rick de Young. We examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervor and heat.
Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking forward and hastening the coming of the day of God, Rick, on today's program, as we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word, I can't help but think the rapture of the church can't be far away. We have our normal broadcast partners, Ken Timmerman, David Dolan. As a matter of fact, David Dolan's going to come back and take a look at the book with us today. We also have Israel Madad and Mike Jendron all ahead.
Rick, we've got a packed program, so let's get started with our first Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He is our expert in geopolitical affairs. He comes to us regularly to talk about what's going on in 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. Ken, amazing news coming out of the White House this week as President Trump met with President Zelensky of Ukraine. That's where I want to start today.
Can you give us your take on that explosive meeting? Rick, I have never in my life seen anything like this coming out of the White House, coming out of any diplomatic exchange. President Trump likes to have the cameras in, into the Oval Office, and into his. We saw that also with the cabinet meeting this week. He would like to conduct his presidency in front of the American people instead of behind closed doors.
I think, by the way, that's one of the reasons that Americans elected him. They want to see how their government is being run. They want to see how their number one leader, how the number two leader, J.D. Vance, the vice president, are behaving. And this press opportunity, if you wish, before the official press conference was the most explosive thing I have ever seen between world leaders.
You had Zielinski. Actually, in a shouting match with President Trump, trying to talk over him, completely disrespecting him in the Oval Office, and Trump calling him out and saying he was being disrespectful. He called him out also for not thanking the United States for $350 billion worth of aid. That exchange, I think, will go down in the history books, Rick, and I'm sure our listeners will have seen it by the time they hear us talking about it. Amazing, amazing exchange.
You had J.D. Vance also schooling Zelensky on the difficulty he's been having in getting Ukrainian conscripts to go to the front, and then Zelensky insulting him, basically. He said, What do you know about Ukraine? You've been there once. He said, No, no, I've been there once, but I've also been watching all of these reports.
And so I have really never seen such a thing like this before. And I am sure that the rest of this week, they will be Zelensky. Zelinsky is going to try to be walking this back, thinking that he can stand up to the United States of America and stand essentially alone against Russia, because that's what we're talking about. Trump said that to him. He said, Look, you know, we can get a deal.
We can get to a deal, and then you've got us on your side, or you can go it alone. And if you go it alone against Russia, you guys can fight it out as long as you want, and I don't think it's going to be very pretty for the Ukrainian people. Rick, this was just, I think, a very healthy thing for the American people to see, to understand how Zelensky has been trying essentially to bully and to threaten leaders around the world. And finally, he runs up against Donald Trump, and it's not going to happen any longer. We're going to see the back rooms, the smoke-filled rooms of diplomacy right out there in the bright light of day.
Well, we certainly are, and we're watching this happen in real time. But one thing I heard President Trump say is that this was risking World War Three, so the stakes could not be higher with these nuclear powers and what is taking place here. That's what's at stake, isn't it? It is. And he said this, by the way, during the campaign.
And he said, Joe Biden was risking World War III by pushing Putin up against the wall, by insulting Putin. J.D. Vance made this point also today. He said, in the previous administration, you had a president who was using very harsh words, calling Putin a murderer, calling him a dictator, and other things. And then the United States did nothing.
Now we have an administration where you judge the president not on his words, but on his actions. And that, I think, is the big difference between these two administrations. President Trump clearly. Clearly doesn't want the Ukraine-Russia war to escalate to World War III. He does not want the United States to be dragged into a war in Europe.
The Europeans are incapable of prosecuting such a war. You had the also remarkable press conferences this week with British Prime Minister Kara Stammer on Thursday and Macron, the President of France, and both of them. Quite obsequious with President Trump and thanking him for being a game changer when it came to this Ukraine-Russia war. And then Zelensky shows up. And simply doesn't get it.
Zelensky thinks he can bully his way and talk over the president and demand more money from the American people. And frankly, it's a losing proposition. The war continues to escalate. As y you've told us before, they're jockeying for position, but now North Korea sending more troops to Russia. Can this just has to end?
And I feel like that was the point of President Trump and Vice President Vance. That was the point. North Korea, as you said, has sent another thousand troops to the battlefront in Ukraine on the side of Russia. And the Russians are going to do what they have always done historically. They don't care about casualties.
They will continue throwing troops into the meat grinder. They will lose troops. The Ukrainians have been much better on the battlefield. I mean, that is true. They have fought like a Western army, and the Russians have fought like Russians, which means that they just continue to throw human flesh into the meat grinder with no care whatsoever.
But they can do that. That's the thing. They have that five-to-one human advantage in bodies. They can continue to do this. Ukraine cannot.
Look, the deal is a great deal for Ukraine. And Zelensky refused this 10 days ago when the U.S. Treasury Secretary was in Kiev to propose. It. And the deal actually has the United States through private businesses investing in Ukraine, investing in their rare earth minerals.
It's U.S. investing in Ukraine, and that in itself is a form of security guarantee. And Zelensky seems to be stuck in his demand to join NATO, to have NATO protect Ukraine, to have security guarantees, to have forces on the ground from Europe and the United States. President Trump and J.D. Vance both, as has Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, made clear.
There will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine. That's it. It's over. That is not going to happen.
Well Ken, we continue to look at this situation from all angles, and I know that there was an emergency summit set up by the European Union to talk about this next week.
Now I am sure that summit is going to take on greater importance. Can you tell us a little bit about what's going to happen there and what is the European Union's role in this? It's going to take on a huge importance. The Europeans are in a quandary. On the one hand, they see that President Trump is making demands that they spend more on their own defense.
They are seeing that President Trump will not commit U.S. troops to Ukraine, which is something that the Europeans wanted.
So you have the French and the Brits who have stood up. They have really come to the table and said, okay, we will put troops in Ukraine. But slowly, slowly, when it comes to increasing our defense spending, Sturmer, the British Prime Minister said, well, we're really going very fast. We're talking about now increasing from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by. 2027.
That's two years from now, Rick. It's pathetic. It's ridiculous. That is fast by a European standard. I think the Europeans have not yet understood.
How fast? President Trump moves. This is an administration moving at light speed. And these leaders in Europe, Rick, are still on old wagon carts with broken wheels.
Well, Ken, certainly lots of moving parts here. Can you tell us what you see in your crystal ball for the future for Ukraine?
Well, Zelensky has two choices. Zelensky can either sign the deal, sign the deal with the United States, or, and I'm speaking to you before he has made that decision, okay?
So I'm assuming that he is going to sign the deal, because the other decision is for him to go it alone with European help, help from France, help from Germany, help from the United Kingdom, to go it alone against Russia, which is a very, very bad prospect.
So Zelensky is really playing a losing hand. Trump said to him repeatedly, you know, you don't have the cards. And Zelensky said, well, I'm not playing cards. And Trump said, you don't have the cards. You don't know what you're playing, obviously.
He is playing cards, and he does not have the cards.
So I think this will go to a ceasefire. I think ultimately Zelensky will realize that he does not. Have a good choice ahead of him. And let's also remember, he is staying in power. He canceled elections in May of 2024.
He did promise last week or the week before that he would hold new presidential elections, that he himself would step down. We'll have to see if that happens. But the Ukrainians absolutely need this deal with the United States. And President Trump, thinking outside of the box, has offered them the type of security guarantees they never could have gotten from President Biden or Obama or anybody else. And that is a very tight.
Economic interlinking of the US and the Ukrainian economies, where we win when they win, and if the Russians attack, they lose big time. That is the biggest security guarantee we could possibly have offered Ukraine, much better than having troops on the ground. And Zeliski would be a fool to reject it. Ken Timmerman for Prophecy Today. And this is an amazing series of events.
I'm glad you're here to help explain it to us. Thanks so much. We look forward to hearing your comments in the future as we continue to look at geopolitics on a world scale. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless.
Well, we've got to take a break. And when we come back, our Middle East news update with David Dolan, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Jeremy Scott with Mission Network News. 70 Christians were found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Islamic State affiliates reportedly kidnapped these believers during two raids in a Christian village in mid-February.
Then, the terrorists took the kidnapped believers to a church where they slaughtered them. According to Open Doors, some families have not been able to bury their dead because of insecurity. Greg Kelly with Unknown Nation says: There's over 100 different rebel groups that are active in eastern Congo, including radical Islamic State-based entities that are doing some of the most horrific acts against Christians primarily. Pray for peace between people groups. Kelly says attacks like these can spark tribal tension, which can then escalate into ethnic war.
Then, today marks the first day of Islamic fasting, Ramadan. Lana Silk from Transform Iran says, There will be an increased amount of interest in Iranians and all Muslims for spiritual things, for truth, for discussion on subjects like how do we talk to God? How do we know He's heard us? What does a healthy prayer life look like? Many approach these questions through the lens of Islam, but often find themselves unsatisfied.
This presents an opportunity to explore these topics with them and share biblical teaching. Muslims are very often seeking God in the most generic sense, and as they seek Him, very often Jesus reveals Himself to Him. Pray that many Muslims will have an encounter with Christ during the Ramadan. To learn more, visit missionnews.org. Find your place in the story.
Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We're a listener supported by people just like you.
So, by giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming, and together, the great commission happens. Look for the links at missionnews.org. That's missionnews.org. I'm Jeremy Scott.
Well, welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events and 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 the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. To do that, we have with us Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today. A blessing as always, Rick.
Well Dave, recently we have been looking at the events that are taking place in Israel and that's what I would like for you to do right now. Give us an update. What is the latest from Israel?
Well Rick, the main news of the week really came late last night, Friday night, when the Israeli delegation was returned suddenly, unexpectedly home from Cairo, where they were involved in talks on the second stage. of the ceasefire agreement, which was supposed to begin this week. The first phase officially ends today. And of course, we have had with the release on Thursday of the four final bodies, Israeli hostages, male hostages, transferred to Israel. We did have the end of the first phase.
Well, the talk suddenly collapsed, and it's because Israel insisted that the first phase continue for another 42 days, that it just be extended for the same amount of time that it was at the beginning, and that during that time, the remaining hostages. especially the living ones, including an American, be released. And then they'll go to phase two.
Well, of course. Phase two was supposed to be the Israeli army completely withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. They already announced this week earlier, the Army, that they're not leaving the Philadelphia corridor in the south between Egypt and Gaza.
So that's not going to happen. And now it looks like the whole ceasefire is in danger of completely collapsing. And of course, that would mean that the remaining hostages Are stuck, presumably, in Gaza. Has to be pointed out, Rick, that this agreement was formulated in such a way that the last hostages to come out are soldiers mostly. Dead and alive.
Course, we had hundreds killed in the first few days of the war, and some of their bodies. were in Gaza or taken into Gaza and that sort of thing.
So it looks like that won't happen. But again, the Israeli leadership said all along: we'll first get our civilians out, we'll get our women and children out first. Then our elderly and males that are not soldiers, and then we'll get everybody else out, including female soldiers. Of course, there's some of them. All of those are believed to be out, Rick, but there are still some male soldiers.
So we'll see where this goes. But of course, it comes at the end of a very emotional week with the Beavis family buried in the middle of the week, with a father giving a heart-wrenching eulogy to his late wife and two little children that were. Brutally murdered, and of course, the Palestinians continued to insist that it was Israeli aircraft that killed them, but the forensic tests showed that they had been strangled to death. And then of course, Rick, finally, we had the release of the military IDF reports, first assessments really, there'll be more on what went wrong on october seventh, twenty twenty three, who didn't do what, et cetera. We could talk more about that.
But a pretty bleak picture basically summarizing the whole thing is Them admitting they were asleep at the wheel. They were arrogantly not expecting anything like this. They were overwhelmed by the dimensions of it. And the response was woefully. inadequate.
So that's the the summary of it.
Well, let's follow up on that, David, as we look at that situation there and that October seventh attack, such a surprise. And, you know, of course, in hindsight, you can look at the situation and say, okay, well, maybe there were signs leading up to what was going to take place, but is it really especially when you're in such close proximity, your borders are so close, is there really any way to make sure that that doesn't happen again and to kind of foresee it coming so that you can prevent it from happening again?
Well, Rick, the previously the worst failure in Israeli security and military preparedness and response, et cetera, was of course the Yom Kippur surprise attack in 1973. That took place along two borders that Israel shares, in the south with Egypt, of course, and in the north with Syria. Others got involved, of course, as well, Jordan and others. That's One question, but in this case, Rick, it was just arrogantly thought that there's no way. that this Palestinian group could launch such a major attack into Israel.
In fact, it was revealed that the army had long assessed that there might be a breach at some point, but it would be at most three or four places. Whereas it turned out to be 114 penetrations, the report revealed. 114. They said they only knew about 40% of them. Three hours after the breach began, the military command headquarters.
By 10 a.m., they started to see more of that, but the report said there was utter chaos at Army headquarters in Tel Aviv, just utter chaos, because again, nobody envisioned such a thing. And it said that they were way too reliant on the idea of an electronic border fence that, of course, they reinforced in recent years, dug down so they couldn't tunnel under it, built it up even higher, et cetera. But the report said without an actual already cleared security zone like Israel has in the Golan Heights, of course, now they're in there the last couple months, but for many years that existed. And that without that, this could happen again. And again, it was just an underassessment of the capabilities.
of Hamas, of their determination to attack and to take the sort of casualties they did. And there's other details. The southern commander, they say, Finkelstein, he focused far too much attention on the northern Gaza area, where of course the music festival was attacked, et cetera, and far less, didn't send enough forces to the south, and that's where Kibbutz near Oz, where the Bivas family and others were killed, were taken, captured and killed. Many other things. I won't go into too much of the weeds here, but basically, a total breakdown of the understanding of the danger that they faced, a total overestimation of their capabilities.
The aircraft were almost all carrying heavy bombs that couldn't be used, Israeli aircraft, because they would kill Israelis as well if they were used. They didn't have light munitions. There's all sorts of things that had high. Highlights, and of course, there will be some changes coming as a result of this, and probably some firings. But of course, we have the resignations of the Chief of Staff taking effect this week.
And the talks going on about Hamas and the ceasefire is what's on everyone's mind first and foremost now. But looking back, it's a sad picture, a sad day.
Well, it certainly is. And that is kind of in hindsight, and that's a retrospective of what took place. Let's look forward into the future and we look at the situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Of course, Gaza and Hamas, they're entrenched there, and that is a tough situation for Israel to deal with if they want to provide security to their citizens. Can they allow Hamas to remain there?
Can they allow a Palestinian presence there? Then, also in the area that we call Judea and Samaria, but the rest of the world calls the West Bank, there is quite a bit of sympathy for the Palestinian position. Where do you see the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians? And of course, this all involves the two-state solution. If you were to kind of give a summary on the perspective of where the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians are, what What would you say right now?
Well, Rick, we had some pretty tremendous victories by the idea in the actual war, of course, and the amazing beeper. Project in Lebanon and the other things, the taking out of almost all of the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah. Nobody. Dreamed of that, but it happened. But at the end of the war, if this is the end, and that's very much up in the air.
It's clear that Hamas is still there. It's clear that they still have a lot of international support. They have Arab support, they have Islamic support, of course Iran. Phil Baxon very much, and most importantly, Rick Turkey. Turkey now has taken over essentially through its proxies Syria.
And basically the news reports this week said the IDF Had warned Syria to not the new regime there, not to put forces in the south, that they're asking the United States to urge Russia to keep its bases there in Syria. Israel wants those bases there as a counter to Erdogan. Erdogan and the Turkish Muslim militancy he represents. Is a huge threat.
Well, he's a huge backer of Hamas, Rick.
So, no, Israel can't just dictate the terms in the Gaza Strip here. It's just not going to be that simple. And President Trump. has frankly not made it any easier, although he stirred up the pot, and that's good. But everything is chaotic right now.
That's all I can say. And it's just not clear what's going to happen. But of course, We have two parties in the government that say we're quitting BB if you don't go right back to war. If you don't eliminate this group, and that they can do, Rick, in Gaza, they can pretty well destroy. Hamas, but not the forces behind Hamas, the countries that support it.
And certainly, their support in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, is very strong, and Israel can't really change that.
Well, so many things taking place in Israel right now, and as we know, this is setting the stage for future prophetic events to be fulfilled. But we are keeping an eye on it for the present at the time, and we appreciate you doing that with us. Glad to do it, Rick. God bless.
Great job, as always, David. And remember, the judgment against the Palestinians, those descendants of Edom, the little book of Obadiah, and Ezekiel chapter 37. Dave actually gets to come back, and we're going to take a look at the book with David today as we end the program, as we usually do, taking a look at God's Word. We're going to take a break and when we come back, Israel Madad and Mike Jendren on the Pope. Right here on Prophecy Today Weekend.
I'm Jeremy Scott with Mission Network News. Bangladesh's interim government is shifting alliances, moving away from India, and getting closer to Pakistan. The two nations share Islam as the majority religion. Patrick Anthony with FMI says Bangladesh's interim government is more fundamentalist, and Muslim extremists across the country feel emboldened to target minorities. FMI-supported pastors are even being intimidated by Muslims to stop preaching, yet they are finding strength in Jesus.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give believers wisdom and courage. And building a training center for Christians in northern China is no small task, especially when three local challenges arise. Kurt Rovenstein from Bibles for China identifies them as communism, poverty, and Islam. With the training center surrounded by a few mosques, Christian workers are building the center to equip and empower ministry leaders, while Bibles for China provides essential materials. Find your place in the story: MissionNews.org.
Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. I'm Jeremy Scott.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy De Young Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Going all the way back to the mid-1990s, as a matter of fact, we have been watching the Israeli settlements that have moved out into the areas outside the city of Jerusalem, the area that the world calls the West Bank.
Well, now today, there is a movement that is gaining momentum to call that area that the world calls the West Bank the area of Judea and Samaria. And to do that, Rick, we need to bring in our good friend Winky Madad to talk to us because he lives in the area of Judea and Samaria.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Winky Madad with us. He's the former mayor of Shiloh, and our go-to when we want to get a view of Israeli, the Israeli political situation from an Israeli perspective. Winky, as always, thanks for being with us today. Thank you again.
Pleasure always to be on.
Well, Winkie, first thing I wanted to talk to you about, as I mentioned, you were the former mayor of Sheila, which is in the area that we call Judea and Samaria, but the the world calls the West Bank.
Now, interesting, we often talk about that distinction, but this week Congressman Brian Mash, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, instructed committee staff to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria. Can you talk about this, what this kind of distinction means and why it's so important?
Well, first of all, if the congressman is listening or any of his senior staff, Please convey to the congressman My regards. and congratulations for doing the right thing. Why is it the right thing? Because those are the names. Those are the geographical, historical names of the regions.
for almost 3,000 years or so. And as late as nineteen forty seven, The United Nations, when delineating the borders of the Two states, the Jewish state and the Arab state, that was supposed to be. created out of the partition plan that the Arabs, of course, rejected, You can read it on Google if you say. What are the borders of the partition? a planned state of Israel, and it reads from here to Judea, from there in Judea, from there to Samaria.
So, I mean, if today the United Nations is okay, why not then? It was a name created By the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan in nineteen fifty, to say, well, we got an East Pank.
So let's have a West Bank two. when they conquered illegally the area of the Arab state that was to be in the old mandate of Palestine territory.
So the congressman and anybody and everybody calling them Jude in Samaria is doing the right thing.
Well, we certainly agree with that assessment. And my dad used to say words have meanings. And like you say, when you refer to West Bank, you're referring to it as essentially the property of Jordan. But again, we call it Judea and Samaria. Historically, that's what it's called.
And biblically, that's what it's called.
Well, we look at this edict coming down from that congressman there. And if you look at it from an overall perspective, the government since the election, since President Trump came back into office, there certainly seems to be a more friendly to Israel contingent. Is that something that you feel there? And what do you think about that?
Well, I think we are beginning to understand. That And I think I pointed it out in one of our earlier interviews Not only from President Trump, but his whole senior administration, advisory. Uh level. Men and women in position from the United Nations to the Secretary of this to the Secretary of that. all seem to be understanding because they are they've been around about ten to twenty years or so.
that uh Israel is not the enemy Israel is part of the American civilization access fighting not only Russian domination or socialist domination, but also Islamist domination. Europe has not discovered that fully yet, although some of the elections are going otherwise. And all these people are giving us the consideration and the understanding that we are on the right side, that it's not just a propaganda ploy or what the our enemies called Hasbroism and all stuff of like that. And I just want to make one comment because I think I have a captive audience in it, and the idea came to basically today. There's a rabbi Uh tensor From the reform movement, he was very angry that Governor Mike Huckabee.
is using his Christian Zionism as ambassador as if he would become ambassador, and he pleads with the senators not to confirm him.
Now referring to your first question to me, I did a little reading, and you know I like to read. If I'm not mistaken, it's in John 4. that Jesus comes to a place With as a well. And the area where that well is is. Samaria.
So If people like Jesus. or his compatriots. His apostles or anybody else from that period would come back and say Can I go see that well in Samaria? And people would say, What is Samaria?
Well, now.
Well now Thanks to Mask and Cruz and other people who are giving directions in one little small corner of correcting his history and geography, the land north of Jerusalem in the mountain range is Samaria and not at all the West Bank. Again, for those that are longtime listeners of Prophecy today, you certainly know that we support that as well. We've been saying that for as long as we've been on the air: Judea and Samaria, not the West Bank. Words have meanings, and that's a political term.
Well, let's continue to move on. And I want to continue to talk about Judea and Samaria as well. The IDF, the Israeli Defense Force, has seized Hamas' plans for a mass attack in Judea and Samaria.
So we look at what happened on October 7th in Gaza.
Now, Gaza has essentially been effectively eliminated as a fighting force, although Hamas is certainly not completely gone out of there. But is there a worry that Judea and Samaria might become the next battleground there in Israel? The shorter answer is yes. I think they've been trying now for the past. last about two to three years now.
We've As you know, I don't exactly live on Schwitter, but I visit there often. And we've seen films of Hamas marching around with Weapons that are not just pistols and rifles, but of a higher grade. And we see what they're doing in the I don't really call them refugee camps because they're actually neighborhoods that grew out of refugee camps in Janine and other places. Tool Karam, for example. that are being fortified.
And now IDF is going in is tearing up the streets because underneath them they place explosions against our tanks. and armored vehicles. And the widening areas, and dealing with these situations. as basically in my layman's terms, a warfront. And in a warfront, Things happen when you use for your own benefit, civilian structures.
It happens in every war. Anybody who's gone to a war film of Europe can see what happened to European cities when the Allies landed. I mean, that's where they were fighting. That's what happens.
So I think this time the IDF is taking things a little bit more seriously. about Hamas reinforcements, regrouping, retraining, in in in major locations in Judea and Samaria. Winky, last week when we talked to you, we talked a little bit about the question. Quote-unquote, two-state solution, Israel versus Palestine. And we talked about, you know, essentially, you were saying that it is dead.
And I saw you said you posted on Twitter this week that it is certainly dead. They need to essentially put a stake in the heart of it because Israel cannot exist as a nation and provide security to its citizens. That's essentially your idea.
So, for one, I'd like to just get your comments on that because I know you posted that on Twitter, and I would certainly refer all of our listeners to go to that. But then my follow-up question to that would be: what would happen with Gaza? What do you feel should take place in Gaza if there's not a Palestinian contingent there?
Well, um I think I mentioned to you that I spoke with six congressmen last week. And I told them that it it it just It's not logical. to continue to go to a plan called the two state solution, that not only has been tried almost a half a dozen times in various forms, But it's failed every single time, either being rejected or just doesn't work like in Gaza disengagement. That was. a form of a two-state solution.
Is there withdraws? gives the territory over to the rules of the Palestinians and they attack us again.
So the short answer again is I try to do Is a two-state solution indeed should be considered passe, gone. Uh think of something else. As for Gaza, They've got a choice. Yeah. They don't like Trump's plan.
Well, sit there among the ruins and find out if anybody's going to fund you once again to rebuild All the terror tunnels. And all the other storerooms and everything you did underground. all the while claiming to be supporting the poor refugees of Gaza. I don't think this time they're going to get as much support, and I don't think Qatar Is always going to be supporting them.
So they have a choice and a chance. to become a little bit more peaceful and find out that the world could be a better place. It certainly can, and we'll continue to look forward to that as we see what is going to take place here in the future. And I'm sure you'll be there to help us along with that, Winkie. As always, we appreciate your insight.
Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you very much for having me on. Goodbye to you. And our listeners Very insightful information from Israel Madad.
Well, you know, on this program, we keep our eyes on nations of Bible prophecy. We keep our eyes on the world leaders of those nations of Bible prophecy. But we also keep our eyes on religious world leaders. And this week, the eyes of the world are on the city of Rome and the world religious leader there, the Pope. We thought it would be good to have our good friend Mike Gendring come in.
Mike is the head of proclaimingthegospel.org ministries. Mike, thanks for being on with us today.
Well, it's always a joy and a pleasure to be on your show because of what you stand for.
Well, likewise, and of course, for those longtime listeners of our program who have heard you before, they know you have a long history originally in the Catholic Church, but now you run an organization called proclaimingthegospel.org, which is committed to sharing the good news of the free salvation that we have that was given to us by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it's at this time right now that I'd like to kind of draw on that history of your time in the Catholic Church because the Pope has been in the news. The current Pope has been ill. Many are saying that it could possibly be a life-threatening disease. And there are also some that are saying that he could possibly resign.
Could you give us the status of the situation as you know it?
Well, sure. First, I'd like to say, Rick, that it's just really been heartbreaking to see Thousands of devout Catholics with their rosary beads praying to Mary for the Pope to recover. you know, there's so much deception in the Catholic Church, these devout Catholics don't even know that Mary doesn't hear any prayers that only God is the one that can hear and answer prayers. But they don't even know they're deceived because they're blinded by religious pride. They've been.
Told that they belong to the one true church and the Pope is the head of the church. And it really is sad because, tragically, Roman Catholics have been indoctrinated to believe that any man who wears the papal crown is infallible, he's godly, holy, and he's to be authoritative without any question. They need to be warned that anyone who adds to God's word is under a curse, and of course. You know, when you look at the Pope's poor health right now, he's 88 years old, and many say that he may not. be able to recover I'm so s amazed that so many people want him to continue to live when he has misrepresented not only the Bible, but also historic Roman Catholicism.
And so I know there's a lot of conservative Catholics that would like to see him pass on and get a new pope in his place, but we'll have to wait and see. But right now, it looks like he may be near death. And I think he's even signed a letter stating that if he is incapacitated or he can't function anymore as a Pope, then he would have to resign and someone else would be elected pope.
Well, and that's, I guess, I want to talk about that a little bit. Mentioned a little bit about his legacy. I'm going to ask you about that as we continue on. But just before we do that, and we're not trying to get ahead of ourselves here, but if he does, if these injuries are life-threatening or if he can't continue to operate as Pope, what would happen next if he was to resign or pass away? What would happen next?
Well, the cardinals would be summoned to the Vatican. They would all gather in the Sistine Chapel. And they're all Sworn in to take an oath of secrecy and vote by secret ballot. And only this is interesting, Rick, only cardinals under the age of eighty are eligible to vote. And so you need a two thirds majority in order to elect a new pope.
And of course, I think any of your listeners that have been around When a Pope has died, you see two different kinds of smoke going up from The Sistine Chapel, if there's black smoke, that shows that the new Pope has not been elected. And if there's white smoke, then everybody rejoices because The Cardinals have come together to elect A new pulp.
So I don't know if that's going to take place imminently, but um Either way, either he will die and they'll need a new pope or maybe his illness will be so bad they'll have to elect a new one in his place.
Now, as we continue to talk about this pope, you've kind of touched on it briefly in your answer beforehand, but this pope is going to have a legacy. He's not been a traditional pope. He's been somewhat more, I guess you could call it liberal and maybe a bit ecumenical as he's looking to kind of expand the big tent philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church. You talked about how many conservatives inside the Catholic Church did not like this pope. Can you talk about what you think his legacy will be going forward?
Yeah. I think most uh people will recognize he violated Roman Catholic. historical doctrines. In fact, There's a paragraph in the Catholic Church that Says that No one outside the Catholic Church can be saved, and yet the Pope has dismissed that, rejected that, and he says that. Everyone will be saved.
He even goes so far as to say atheists will be saved as long as they are sincere. He says that homosexuals will be in heaven. He's even gone on to say there is no hell.
So Rick, these go against not only the Bible, but also historic Roman Catholicism. Um Tragically, the Roman Catholic Church has elevated A man to be in the position to be head of the church when we know the only head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church is an apostate form of Christianity, and what they started to do in the fourth century was depart from the authority of Scripture, and many pagan traditions came into the church many people would point to Peter as the first Pope, but yet It's all based on a misinterpretation of Matthew sixteen, eighteen that The Catholic Church says that Christ named Peter as the rock, and he was declaring that Peter should be the Pope. But the first Pope over the universal church did not happen until five hundred ninety six. and that was Pope Gregory, and he's the one that instituted the dogma of purgatory.
And Rick, this is some interesting side note, because when the Pope dies, they're going to have all the cardinals flying in from all over the world to perform masses to get the Holy Father out of a place called Purgatory.
Now you wonder if he's holy and by his title, then why is he in purgatory and not in heaven, according to Catholic teaching? they really believe that the sacrifice of the mass must be offered to get popes out of purgatory. We saw this when John Paul II died and We're going to see it again when uh Pope Francis dies.
Well Mike, you and I believe in the infallible word of God. We believe it is inspired uh scripture without error, and that is what we base our security, our hope on. But you I just if we could, uh uh just pointing this out, I feel and I don't know as much about it as you but that there's an inherent contradiction if this Pope is liberal, if many of the things that he is saying go against kind of the tenets of Roman Catholicism, but then on the other hand, the Pope himself is essentially writing scripture or infallible in the words that he says, 'cause you talk about this contradiction.
Well, sure, of course, the major heir of the Pope, not only this Pope, but previous popes is they've distorted the gospel. And according to Galatians 1, 6 to 9, they are under a divine curse. They're under God's anathema for distorting his gospel. And they distort it two ways. By adding requirements in order to be saved, but also taking away the exclusivity of the gospel.
As I mentioned, Pope. Francis is a universalist. He doesn't believe the Gospels are exclusive. And so when you look down through the history of the papacy, You can see how many different dogmas they've added to the Word of God. In just a few of them, we can talk about transubstantiation where the Eucharist is supposedly changed into the inner substance of The body and blood of Christ.
And then they came up with indulgences and infant baptism for regeneration. They have a treasury of merit where. Those Catholics have died with more than enough merit, their extra merit goes into a treasury that can be dispensed to those suffering in purgatory. They elevated tradition to be equal in authority with scripture. They say sacraments are necessary for salvation.
And then they've distorted the person and the uh history of Mary. They they call her sinless. They say that she was immaculately conceived. They say that she was a perpetual virgin. They say that she was assumed into heaven.
and they've created the rosary to have fifty three prayers prayed to her. They also call her a sinless mediator.
So Rick, I'm sure you will note and your listeners will note, none of these are in the Bible. These are all extra-biblical traditions that have been added to. The Roman Catholic Church, and that's why it's apostate, that's why it no longer resembles biblical Christianity, and you can all trace it back to the papacy.
Well, Mike, one more question as we continue along. You know, here at Prophecy Today, we look at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Now, based on my previous conversations with you, you believe that this Pope specifically has done certain things to set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, to kind of set the stage for things that are going to happen during the tribulation. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah, Rick, and I sure don't say this to offend any Roman Catholics, but hopefully to wake them up. And hopefully they would go to Christ as the source of truth and not their Pope. But this Pope is very ecumenically minded.
We know the goal of Satan in the last days is to form a united global religion, to create counterfeits in order to mislead, to cause apostasy, to deceive and destroy. And so the papacy is a willing pawn of the devil because Pope Francis Has been so aggressive in uniting the world together, not only under a global religion, but also politically and also economically. most people would call the Roman Catholic Church Satan's greatest counterfeit. Because from afar it looks like it upholds the fundamentals of the Christian faith, but it's only when you go under that thin denere of truth that you can see. all the doctrines and dogmas that go against the Bible.
And so we know that uh we're in the end times. We can see globalism taking effect, we can see the the global religion being formed. I think it's really going to be curious when the Pope dies or resigns. who his replacement is going to be because Pope Francis has appointed many Marxist Cardinals Such that when he resigns or dies, they would most likely have another Marxist Pope. take over the papacy and work hand in hand with the future Antichrist to bring about globalism, not only politically, but also religiously.
So we're living in very interesting times and I've often said that we may be the most blessed generation that's ever lived. because we're seeing prophecy unfold before our eyes.
Well, I certainly agree with you there. It's hard not to see what is taking place around us.
Well, I appreciate you coming on the program, but I also appreciate your comments you made at the beginning of that last question where you said, I do not want to offend people. And that is certainly not what we are here to do. We are here to look at the scriptures, interpret the scriptures, see what the Bible says is going to take place. And that is where we... place our complete and total emphasis when it comes to theology and discerning what the scripture says.
And so finally, Mike, as we look at this situation, with that in mind, I just want to give you a chance to talk about your newsletter.
Now, in the spirit of that last thought that I had there, you have a Q ⁇ A section where you take questions from people that are not friendly towards you and from people that don't agree with you at all. It's a very interesting time. I think it's a great thing that you do as you confront some of these subjects. And then you also have some great other ideas on theological questions. Questions that you bring up and share.
So, if you could tell us a little bit about your newsletter, what you do there, and then how our listeners could get it.
Well, sure. Th the letters to the editor that you're talking about, we get so many letters from Roman Catholics that are very upset because we expose the fatal errors of the Catholic Church and You know, the very nature of deception is that people do not know they're deceived until they're confronted with the truth. And so when I respond to these Catholics that write in, I do it with love and compassion because there, but by the grace of God, go I. I was one. Very proud Roman Catholic for 35 years, and I wasn't confronted with the truth till I opened the Bible.
And so that's my goal when I respond to. Catholics who write in. I want to present the truth from God's Word so that they can consider it and hopefully recognize they're deceived and repent and believe the true gospel. And so I really encourage your listeners to Sign up for our newsletter, they can either do it on our website, proclaimingthegospel.org. Or they can call us at 817-379-5300, and we'd be glad to put them on our free.
e-mail newsletter that goes out on the first of every month. This upcoming newsletter It's going to be entitled, Why Did Jesus Have to Die? And most often people would say because he loved us, well, that was his motivation. But he died to satisfy divine justice. And so the whole article Talks with divine justice must be satisfied in order for anyone to go into heaven.
So hopefully your listeners will subscribe to it and then pass the newsletter on to their circle of influence. Mike Gendren from Proclaimingthegospel.org. Mike, as always, you've been very insightful and a great wealth of information for us. We do encourage our listeners to go to your website at proclaimingthegospel.org to sign up for your newsletter. Mike, as always, thanks so much.
We look forward to talking to you again soon. Blessings to you. Thanks for having me, Greg. Great job, Mike, as always. And remember, on our program, we try to edify and educate the body of Christ.
We edify them by teaching them about the future. We educate them by teaching them about the present. And one of the things that we need to keep in mind as we think about the future is that there will be a satanic trinity, Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet. The false prophet will be on the scene. We'll need to use a world religion.
The Antichrist will use the false prophet to get all the people of the world to follow him and to worship him and ultimately Satan and to take. The mark of the beast. We do see the judgment that will fall on the false prophet and the false religion in Revelation chapter 17.
Well we gotta 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 Young Jr.
Along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, it seems like today we've been focusing on, as always, world leaders and especially President Donald Trump. We certainly have, Jimmy. And, you know, we look at these leaders because they are setting the stage. They are being used by God to bring about his end time plan.
And we've talked about it before on this program, but Dr. Richard Schmidt, a good friend of both yours and mine, has written a book based on Dad's series with the same name, Presidents, Politics, and Prophecy.
Now, you can get the DVD on our website. But if you're interested, the book is out as well. We have copies here in the office. You can order it on our website, or you can also call us for a donation of any amount. We'd love to get you this book.
Call 423-825-6247. Talk to Leslie and for a donation of any amount. We'd love to get this book out to you. That's exactly right. And I think it's a great book that will help you understand why we focus on world leaders.
As we come to our last session in 2 Peter, I'm sure that now you realize why we call 2 Peter a manual for the end times. We have brought to your attention how the Lord wants each of us to live in these last days. I praise the Lord for using the Apostle Peter to give us this menu. As we begin our last study of 2 Peter, we want to begin in the book of Isaiah 65. Please take your Bibles and go with me to Isaiah chapter 65, Dr.
Jimmy DeYoung, and the Legacy Series. Isaiah chapter 65, and let me show you the first mention of the new heavens and the new earth. It was not by John the Revelator over in the book of Revelation chapter 21, because Isaiah gets this message also. Look at chapter 66, we'll look at that one first. Verse 22, As the new heavens and the new earth, which I shall or I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.
He's talking about the fact that the Jewish people and the name of Israel is going to remain forever. But that first is mentioned in chapter 65 and verse 17. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. You know what that word create is in Hebrew? Bara, B-A-R-A.
It's the same word used in the book of Genesis, chapter 1. I create Bara. He's going to create, creating from nothing. a new heaven and a new earth. This is his plan.
He's going to prepare Jerusalem. And then look down here in verse 20. There shall be no more thance an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his days, for the child shall die at a hundred years old. But the sinner, being a hundred years old, shall be accursed. That's saying, and this is a description of both the Millennial kingdom after his return, the thousand-year kingdom on the earth, that's a picture of the millennial kingdom, but it's also a picture into eternity future.
That there are going to be children that will be born in the millennial kingdom. But this carries on because the millennial kingdom is only the front porch of eternity future. This carries on into eternity future. The book of Revelation, chapter 20, verses 4, 5, and 6, talks about the tribulation period when there will be people that come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. How will they do that?
144,000 male virgin Jews. They'll go out, a multitude that no man can number will come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Most of those people are going to be martyred. That's chapter 20, verses 4, 5, and 6. They'll have their heads cut off.
But there will be some who survive in living bodies. Do you remember that judgment over there in the Olimate Discourse, Matthew chapter 25, of the virgins and the sheep and the goats? The ten virgins?
Well, that's a judgment. After the Lord comes back, He's going to judge the Jews. And he's going to tell them, if you had all in your lamp, you are saved. If you did not, I do not know you. You go to Hades to await the great white throne judgment.
And then he judges the sheep and the goats. If you served me, and they say, well, how did we serve you? Because you served my brethren, because you took care of the Jewish people. Then you're saved, and otherwise, you're not a sheep, you're a goat. And so there is judgment there at the end of the tribulation period before these people can determine that they're saved and they can go into the millennium.
Only saved people enter the millennial kingdom. Most of them will be resurrected. The Old Testament saints, book of Daniel chapter 12, they'll be resurrected, some unto everlasting life, some unto damnation. The saints from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they're going to be resurrected and given resurrected glorified bodies. The tribulation saints that are martyrs during the tribulation period, they'll be resurrected at the end of the tribulation period.
They'll be given glorified bodies that will live forever. But there's going to be a group that comes with living bodies going into the millennial kingdom. And when they go into the millennial kingdom, they're going to have the capability of having children. They have a physical body.
Now, they also have the capability of sinning. That's why the Lord, in that temple that he builds, 45th chapter in the book of Ezekiel, reinstitutes the sacrificial system. Sacrifices never took away sin, they simply covered sin. Yom Kippur, the day of covering. And they had to repeat that on a yearly basis.
And so to restore fellowship, they would offer at the temple sacrifices. We have the same principle, do we not? 1 John 1 and verse 9, if we will confess our sins, he'll be faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John is written to Christians, and it's saying to those of us who sin, we have a way to overcome that judgment that should be pronounced upon us. And so it is that there's going to be those that will recognize and go into the millennial kingdom with physical bodies having children being married, not Christians.
We have a resurrected, glorified body. But somebody that goes into the millennial kingdom that knows Christ as Lord and Savior in a physical body, what does he do to sustain life? He eats of the tree of life, the book of Revelation, chapter 2, and verse 7. Those who are overcomers, those who come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, eat of the tree of life and you live forever. But notice the motivation.
This earth is going to burn up. The old will burn. The new. Will be created anew, and the new heavens and the new earth are going to come into place.
Well, that's his way, and that's his plan, and that's what we're going to see unfold. But he has then his work. Look at verse 11. Go back to 2 Peter now, chapter 3, and let's look here at verse 11 and notice what he says. Seeing then that all of these things shall be dissolved, in other words, he just told us that the old earth and the old heavens are going to burn up.
Seeing then that all of these things are going to be destroyed, they're going to be burned up, dissolved, what manner of person ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Holy conversation. That means how do we live? It doesn't mean necessarily just talking, although that ought to be holy, but our manner of life and how is it to be in all godliness. What was one of the exhortations?
Godliness, add unto this godliness. Why? Because it's all going to burn up. Look here in verse 12. looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on there shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Hey, look, folks. Do you understand what verse 12 is saying? We can hasten the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. By being soul winners. What was his will?
That none should perish, but all should come to know me as Lord and Savior. How can we hasten his coming? By being a soul winner. Being a soul winner. You know, I took a couple of flights lessons.
You know, I don't like to fly. But I thought maybe if I learned how to fly, if I'm in control, I'm pretty good. But if I got some other turkey up there in the cockpit, I don't know about him, you know. But I. And you know what they told me when I came in for my first landing?
Don't look at where you're going to put the wheels down. If you look at where you're going to put the wheels down, you're going to crash right into the runway. Look at the end of the runway. Look out there. where your gold is.
That's what old Peter's saying. Don't look it right here. Don't look at the tribulation that you're facing, not the tribulation, that what you're going through. Look out there. Look at the end game.
Focus on that. And you're going to fly it in and land it right.
Well His will. His promise. I select concerning. My coming. I am coming, but it's not my will that any should perish.
Oh, what's my way? Here's my plan. This whole earth, this whole heaven is going to burn up. I'm going to bring new heavens and new earth into existence. Boy, I wish I could teach.
I don't have time to teach about the New Jerusalem. It's wonderful. Look at the 21st and 22nd chapter of the book of Revelation. Study it, get into it, use my commentary. And then he said, Hey, I want you to do my work.
Do my work. Because The procedure is, I want you to help me win people to Christ. And then he concludes with all, look at the last verse. Here's what he says. But growing grace.
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace is something that he is. Nothing that I have of myself. It's something that He gives. It's what He does for me.
Greece. But what did he say? You can grow in grace. How? Knowledge.
Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Not just, do you remember the little illustration I talked about? When President Eisenhower came to my Air Force base there in Del Rio, Texas, because of the U-2 shooting down by the Russians, Gary Powers. And I told you that I was an air military police person, and I stood at the bottom of the steps off of Air Force One, and President Eisenhower came down. And so I can brag.
I've been with almost every president in some way, shape or form. And I met, I know. I know President Eisenhower. But that was just a surface knowledge. Mamie Eisenhower.
She really knew him. She had a wonderful relationship with him. And she knows him. And that's what he's saying here. I've given you grace.
Grace for salvation, grace for sanctification. I want you to grow in that grace. How can you do it? By knowledge of Jesus Christ, getting to know Him, not knowing about Him. But knowing him.
How do you do that? Studying the Word of God. We don't need to know about him. We need to know him. What did Paul say?
That I may know The power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering. Everything about him. As I press toward the mark. That's what we're to do. I pray that 2 Peter.
The manual. for the end times. Has been a blessing to you. Because it is God's Word. It is the exhortation.
for us in these last days. We need to do his will. Father. We're so thrilled for your word. I I've just been so blessed myself.
During this time of preparation to speak and teach these dear people. And it's worked in my heart. And I know it can work in their hearts as well. And I understand that we are at the age of our lives when. We may not have been as productive as we've been in the past.
Productive in the area of The world. But we can be very productive. Very productive. in our relationship. Our maturity In Jesus Christ, and we have to have it.
Apostasy is rampant. It's at the epitome. of all time. Here now. As we move Quickly into the tribulation.
And as we then have matured in the Lord. Helping to know how we can face false teaching. and await his return. He's promised. He's coming.
We need to be in his work. helping people to come to know Christ so we can hasten that coming. Thank you, Lord. for this great book. for the privilege of studying it.
for these dear sweet people. Use us all for your glory. In precious name we pray with thanksgiving. Mm-hmm. And as we conclude our study of Second Peter.
I pray that you are prepared for the rapture. living pure as we await the rapture, and living a life that is productive until the rapture does happen. Please remember that we have the manual for the end times, 2 Peter. very handy if we should need it at this time. and as we think about the rapture, Concluding our study on Second Peter, there's nothing left for me to say.
Except Let's keep looking up. Until Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and Legacy Series. We're going to take a break, and when we come back, we'll take a look at the book with David Dolan right here on Prophecy Today Weekend. I'm Jeremy Scott with Mission Network News.
Bangladesh's interim government is shifting alliances, moving away from India, and getting closer to Pakistan. The two nations share Islam as the majority religion. Patrick Anthony with FMI says Bangladesh's interim government is more fundamentalist, and Muslim extremists across the country feel emboldened to target minorities. They haven't liked Christians to begin with, and they're seeing more of an opportunity to loot, steal, burn houses and properties of Christians. And that's what our partners are feeling.
Anthony says FMI-supported pastors in Bangladesh are even being intimidated by Muslims in their communities to stop preaching. Yet they say they are finding strength in Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to give believers wisdom and courage for the gospel.
Next, building a training center for Christians in China is no small task, especially when facing three significant challenges. Kurt Rovenstein from Bibles for China explains: They do face a lot of obstacles in trying to share the gospel in a place that, number one, is communist, number two, is very Muslim and very traditional, and number three is a resource challenge. Local workers are building the training center as part of a registered church in northern China. The mission is clear. The center will equip and empower local leaders in their ministry.
This is where Bibles for China plays a crucial role, providing much needed materials. Pray for the smooth construction of the training center and for wisdom for the workers as they share the good news with their families and others. To learn more, visit missionnews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We're listeners supported by people just like you.
So by giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming.
So join us here on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You can also find us on Alexa, iTunes, or TWR360. And together, the Great Commission happens. Look for the links at missionnews.org. I'm Jeremy Scott.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, as we've gone throughout the program today, we've looked at events that are taking place around the world, not only in the Middle East, not only in Israel, but in Europe and the United States, as we have looked at the full gamut of what is taking place. All these things setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. That's what this program is about. And I'm excited to have our guest, Dave Dolan, back. He came to us with the Middle East News Update.
He's a frequent contributor to this program, but he's also a student of Bible prophecy. He's back with us in this, a look at the book as we look at what has taken place. And, David, first of all, thanks so much for being here. I'm glad to be with you again, Rick. And also, David, as we look at all these things, so many things, they are setting the stage, and that's what we focus on.
we are looking at where we are to be and where we are in Bible prophecy. But if you were to kind of prioritize them, David, what would you see, some of the main things that you see right now that are setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled?
Well, Rick, certainly the two wars that have been raging in the world over the past couple of years and in the case of Ukraine three years now are major stage setters, I believe, for final end time events. You and I have talked about it many times, but Russia or Roche in Ezekiel thirty eight, said to be the main power behind an end time invasion of Israel, a goal to destroy it. to take its wealth and overwhelm it. An alliance is made by this power with Persia, Iran. And with North Africa, And some other parties are involved.
Turkey, it seems, is involved. We see the stage being set in all of those places, Rick. We see Turkey's hostility towards Israel growing. I mentioned in the news update, Israel's Concern that their influence in Syria now has escalated tremendously with the ousting of the Assad regime and a Turkish-backed Government taking over, led by former ISIS people, Paris.
So they are enemies of Israel. Of course, the Gaza war and the slaughter that, that led to and the ongoing nature of it, is another state setter for sure. I think possibly the United States also. Your late father in his excellent work mentioned often that the U. S.
is not In Bible prophecy, you certainly know that as not listed in Bible prophecy, and people say, Well, it didn't exist.
Well, how could it be? But of course. The scriptures foretell things that don't exist. And we had in Daniel, we knew that there would be four great empires, and the final one, the Roman Empire, and all of those sort of things, written before they came true.
So the U.S. could have been included and isn't. And I think what's going on, the decline economically that seems to be happening in the past few years, the huge debt. the governmental chaos and the deep division between the two parties and rioting in the streets and on and on, that this may be setting the stage for that part of Final prophecy to be fulfilled, where, and if the America is taken out of the way, Rick. We have a whole new world, of course.
So we have the release or the forces of Satan, if you will, free to roam.
Now they're roaming pretty freely now, but they would be completely free in that sense that there would be no major power immediately.
Now Europe will emerge, we believe, as That final power, they will get their act together, they will put together a military. army, as the French President is now saying. And after the White House fight on Friday, probably more likely that, that is going to be where the EU is heading.
So we see the pieces moving pretty fast Rick, and I think we can say we're definitely in the last days. Of course, Israel's return as a state was the key to knowing that, especially its reconquest of Jerusalem after what, two thousand plus years. All setting the stage, of course. And this is the era of the Lord's return and of our catching away to Him and the other things that are promised us, Lord, that the Lord has promised us. And so we can rejoice.
Even though we can expect As some difficult to difficult days ahead. I think everybody can see that now.
Well, I certainly agree with you there, David. And we had Mike Gendren on the program earlier. And one of the things that he often says, and I kind of echo that thought as well, is that God gave us the gift of Bible prophecy. It's a gift because it lets us know where we are and it lets us know how we should act, how we should be going about our business as Christians in the world today. If you could, in the last minute or two that we have here, why do you think God gave us Bible prophecy?
Why do you think God gave us the end story? And then in that explanation, how should it motivate us to live?
Well, Rick, as various people said about Jesus when he was on the earth doing his miracles, etc. How can anyone do this? We've never seen this before. Who raises the dead? It was unprecedented.
And what was it more than anything? Proof. It was proof that the claims, the audacious claims being made by Jesus: hey, I'm the Son of God, hey, I'm the Messiah, hey, I'm going to. rescue the whole earth and die for the sins but all the things he said are audacious But they're true. And the Bible predictions and the Bible, the veracity of the Bible is best confirmed by the prophecies that are in there that later, sometimes centuries.
millennia even later come true.
So it's the proof of the pudding there, and that's the Bible, and you don't have that in the Quran, and you don't have that in the Buddhist religion or Hindu religion. It's only in Judeo-Christianity, and it is the proof. that the Word of God is the Bible and that God, the God of Israel, is God. David, in the last minute that we have, what should we be doing with this knowledge, with this gift that we understand, that we are receiving? What should we be doing as believers in these times?
Well, I think, Rick, to commend you and your brother and your father and your mother and your family, it's to be focussing on prophecy. To be focusing on these things, not focused exclusively, of course, but to know about them, to study them, to understand. What they are and that they're being fulfilled. Why? Because this encourages our faith, it strengthens us.
It gives us more incentive to go out and talk to our neighbors about the Lord because the final days are here, I believe, and the scriptures' description of them seem to match what's going on now.
So, you know, let's get going and use that as a motivation. Let's read the word and study it. And God bless you and the work you're doing to educate the church to these realities. Dave Dolan, we appreciate what you do to educate us on not only what is going on in the world, but where we are in Bible prophecy. Thanks for being with us today, and we'll be talking with you soon.
It's always a joy, Rick. God bless.
With everything that we have seen today, we can't help but say that the rapture of the church cannot be that far away. 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.
