Prophecy Today Weekend - November 30

Uh Yeah. Mm-hmm. Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, we've got a great program this week.

Of course, I say that every week, but I really do believe it. And this being the beginning of December, looking forward to the birth of Christ, the celebration of his birth at Christmastime, we'll also be talking about Hanukkah today. We're going to start that series. Paul Scharf, a missionary, a church ministries missionary with Friends of Israel, will come and talk to us about Hanukkah in the Bible, why it's important to Christians, or at least it should be important to Christians. And today we're going to remember a friend of the De Young family, the chairman of the Temple Mount Faithful Movement.

In fact, our first video that we did in 1991, ready to rebuild, Gershon Solomon was trying to get the cornerstone of the temple up onto the Temple Mount. Today, you're going to hear an interview between two great men, in my opinion, Gershon Solomon and Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, both who have passed away.

Well, our regular broadcast. Partners are here today, so we're going to get ready, Rick. Let's go right to Ken Timmerman.

Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us, he's our expert on geopolitical affairs. He joins us on this post-Thanksgiving broadcast to talk about what is going on around the world. Ken, I trust that you had a good Thanksgiving. Did indeed, Rick.

And we were with family, as I understand you and Jimmy were too.

So isn't it a wonderful time? Blessings from the Lord. Blessings that we have our freedom and our country back. Certainly so. And Thanksgiving is a wonderful time.

You have family and food. What more could you need? Family, food, and faith. That's what you need.

Well, let's get started with a geopolitical review, and we'll start with the Russia-Ukraine crisis. And Russia is really putting the pressure on Ukraine right now, aren't they? They are putting the pressure on, and Putin is inflicting pain on Ukraine in retaliation for this decision by Biden to use the ATAC missiles, these long-range missiles, to strike deep inside of Russia.

So, over the past couple of days, he's been once again hitting Ukraine's power grid just as the winter cold front moves in. People are suffering. It's 30 degrees, 35 degrees, and the power is out. Not a fun place to be. Remember, Rick, that hitting civilian infrastructure is a violation of the rules of war.

But the rules of war, really, it's a nice thing, but war is not a civilized game. It cannot be played by civilized rules, although we like to pretend that it should be or can be. I remember the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joe Dunford, in the late 1990s, telling Congress, I never want to send the U.S. Army into a fair fight.

So Putin is giving the Ukrainians as much pain as possible. It's a senseless, unnecessary war. Donald Trump has just appointed Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as his special envoy to Russia and Ukraine to end the war. I happen to know General Kellogg. I work with him at the America First Policy Institute.

He and Fred Fleitz, another friend and associate, wrote a paper recently about how to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

So it makes a lot of sense that the president just appointed him as his special envoy. The first thing, Rick, of course, is to get to a ceasefire immediately. That is the goal. I think that is President Trump's goal.

So a lot of what you're seeing right now on the battlefield is jockeying for territory. Who is going to have the best advantage on the battlefield, Russia or Ukraine, as they head into a ceasefire and as they head into talks that are sponsored by the United States? After that, you get to negotiations. Both Kellogg and Fleitz laid out Russia and Ukraine's historic... Claims, their historical clashes.

This is something that future negotiations will have to take into account. This is not a war that just came out of nowhere.

However, First, the ceasefire. After that, you go into these negotiations. They could last a long time, but General Kellogg is the man for the job.

Well, this is certainly all taking place in this interim period before President Trump assumes power as the next president of the United States. Vladimir Putin gave a very interesting speech, and he said that he does not believe President Trump is safe. Can you talk about this speech and what he meant by that?

Well, he was speaking on Thanksgiving, of course, not a holiday in Russia, at a summit in Kazakhstan. And he was commenting to reporters on what he called the absolutely uncivilized methods used to battle against Trump during the election, up to and including assassination attempts. And more than once, he said. And he added to that, in my opinion, Trump is not safe now. I think Putin's message is pretty simple to Trump.

It's this. I'm not your enemy. Let's not be enemies. We can talk. We can get together.

We can resolve our differences. We're not going to be friends. We're certainly not going to be allies, but we don't have to be enemies. And I think that is a very important message to get across. Obviously, it never reached Joe Biden or Joe Biden.

Was just not receptive to that. But Putin also ended by saying Moscow was ready for dialogue on Ukraine, something that, again, he has said many times over the past three years, but Biden has not listened to.

So I think things are going to change quite dramatically once President Trump comes to office in January.

Well, we'll continue to monitor the situation there in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, but let's move on to other areas around the world and let's look at maybe possibly how President Trump and his new advisor and really an ally that has developed, Elon Musk, he has an interesting situation.

Now, this situation between Trump and China, Elon Musk is going to play a role there. Can you talk a little bit about how this is going to work, the dynamics of this going forward? Yeah, Elon Musk, who's made himself Trump's best buddy over the past couple of weeks, apparently Trump has even joked that he just won't leave Mar-a-Lago. He's hanging on at Mar-a-Lago. He was sitting next to President Trump at Thanksgiving dinner.

There was a short video clip that emerged from that. Baron Trump at one side of the president-elect and Musk on the other side, right? Look, Elon Musk, there are many people who believe Joy Reed and the MSDNC fantasists believe that somehow Musk is going to drive a wedge between Trump and Trump. That because Elon Musk and Tesla, they have deep ties to communist China. Remember, he built this multi-billion dollar battery plant in Shanghai 13 years ago, and he's got lots of investment at stake.

We know that. But frankly, Donald Trump has got investments in China as well. And if the Keish and Chardonnay crowd are hoping that Elon is going to somehow keep Trump from imposing tariffs on communist China, let me give them a big revelation here. Ain't going to happen. They forget that when Donald Trump first took office, And he was threatening China with tariffs.

Who was the first person he invited to Mar-a-Lago in March, I think it was, of 2017? President Xi of Communist China. He drove him around in the golf court. Look, they're going to work together, the Chinese and the Americans, Trump and President Xi. Trump wants things from communist China that are absolutely doable, things he can actually get and that they can give.

For example, he wants them to end their fentanyls. That's something they can do. It's not a huge part of their economy. Done. He wants them to stop unfair trade and stealing U.S.

technology. That's a little bit harder, but still. Remember, they had a trade agreement that they negotiated just before COVID hit in January of 2020.

So they can negotiate trade agreements. Big tariffs, in my view, are being used right now as a negotiating strategy. They are not inevitable, nor is a trade war.

So I think that Elon Musk is going to play a very positive role and that Donald Trump doesn't want war with China. He wants to put pressure on Communist China to change their bad behavior. And I think he's going to get it.

Well, we are certainly China watchers on this show, and we will. Continue to monitor that situation and report on it.

Well, my final area of influence that I'd like to talk about is Iran. And before I do that, I'd like to remind our listeners that your latest book, The Iran House: Tales of Revolution, Persecution, War, and Intrigue, is out right now. You can get it on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. We highly recommend you do that. But let's talk about Iran a little bit, Ken.

And there were reports coming out this week that Iran welcomed the ceasefire that took place in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel. And they say that's going to change their plans about striking Israel. Can you tell us about this situation? Sure. As you can read in my book, The Iran House, the Iranian regime does, in fact, respond to military pressure.

It depends. how much pressure and how it's applied and what they attack. But when Donald Trump made the decision to take out Qasim Soleimani, their chief terrorist, the Iranians backed off and they backed off for many years. What's happened here in Lebanon with this ceasefire agreement, I believe, is that the Israelis have reestablished deterrence with Iran. They have fought Hezbollah until Iran, their backer, lost the will to fight to the blood of the last Lebanese.

In other words, the Israelis broke the Iranian will to fight. Extraordinarily important, Rick. This is incredibly important.

Now, look, we know Hezbollah is going to cheat. They always do. And Israel is going to hit them. That's in the ceasefire agreement. Then Hezbollah is going to cheat less.

and then a little less. And then finally, after the Israelis continue to hit them each time they cheat, they're going to stop cheating.

So I'm actually pretty sanguine about this. I think it shows that the Iranians have been hit hard by Israel. They've suffered damage and they're worried about the future.

Well, very interesting, Ken. And we know you have extensive experience in this part of the world, which is why my final question here I'd like to get you to talk about. And this is a story that came up late in the week. Syrian rebels exploit the weakness in Iran's proxies, and they launched a surprise offensive. Can you tell us what's going on here?

This is very disturbing, Rick. As you say, this happened just over Thanksgiving, where the ISIS groups, these ISIS-affiliated groups in northern Syria, not the Kurds, but the ISIS-affiliated groups that had been supported by Turkey for so many years, they took advantage of this Hezbollah ceasefire and the weakening of Hezbollah and its military forces there, who were essentially holding the line against ISIS from moving south.

Well, they moved overnight and swept across parts of northern Syria they've not occupied for several years. They captured some 60 towns and villages that had been controlled by government forces. This is very disturbing, Rick. This is reminiscent. Of what happened in 2014 when ISIS swept across northern Iraq in a matter of days.

So if the rebels here, the ISIS rebels in Syria, continue to make these advances, I say we've got a big, big problem on our hands. We need to keep our eyes on this one.

Well, we certainly will do that, and you help us do that. We appreciate it so much. Again, for all of our listeners, if you'd like to find out more about Ken, the books he's written, including his latest, The Iran House, you can go to his website at ken Timmerman.com. Ken, as always, thank you so much. We look forward to talking to you again soon.

Thanks for having me, Rick. It's always a blessing. Great job, as always, Ken. You know, we're always asked the question: will true peace be able to be reached in the world today?

Well, we know at least there'll be a false peace in the future that the Antichrist brings, and only true peace comes when Jesus Christ comes.

Well, we've got to take a break, and 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. God sustains his people to be his hands and feet in long-term crises. Lebanon has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.

Lulwa Malouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut says: We're used to difficulties and hardships, but at the same time, we are used to continue seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of his work. Today, ABTS serves not only around 240 students, but also a couple hundred displaced people. They provide shelter and meals, and daily chapel services are open to all. It takes a lot of effort because we are doing all our programs and we're also doing that, but we're grateful that God is allowing us to serve Him through these tests. Ask God to raise more workers for the harvest.

And after years of an evangelistic focus, Bibles for China has a new opportunity to help send out Chinese missionaries. Kurt Rovenstein with Bibles for China notes that, of course, there have been many Chinese missionaries, but sending is new for them. Our work here at Bibles for China has always focused on helping Christians within China receive a Bible, and it's been a little bit: what can we do to help them? In recent years, there has been this move towards partnership. What can we do together to reach not just China, but the world?

Two different groups have reached out to Bibles for China to help give scriptures to Chinese missionaries in parts of the world that have traditionally been very restricted for Westerners. Please pray that Bibles for China will have wisdom as they support Chinese missionaries. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. This month, the Slava Gospel Association is making available the free book Much Prayer, Much Power. It's a resource aimed at making your prayer life more vibrant.

Get your free copy 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. 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 a journalist with over 30 years of experience reporting on Israel, Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today.

Happy to be with you, Rick.

Well Dave, we typically start off this segment with an update on what has taken place in Israel in the last week. What's the latest?

Well, of course, Rick the overwhelmingly big news is the ceasefire that was announced in Lebanon earlier this week. The Israeli Cabinet approved it with only one dissenting voice. It is a two-month ceasefire. Israeli forces are to remain in southern Lebanon, south of the Latani River, during those two months. They will gradually pull out as Lebanese forces and Unitbilt forces are brought into the area, especially Lebanese army troops, over 4,000 expected.

Hezbollah has pledged to take all of its fighters out of south Lebanon and move them further north, but there were already violations on Thursday and Friday. On Friday, they were actually spotted moving a mobile missile launcher RIC, and the IDF struck that. According to the accord, Israel has the right to do that. If there's an immediate threat, something that's happening that threatens their towns or their people or their soldiers, they can respond. Otherwise, if they spot something they want to handle up further north or something coming over the Syrian border, they have to go to a committee that has been overseeing.

To make sure the ceasefire is implemented, and that's comprised of the US, France. Britain and Germany working with The Lebanese government and UNIFIL to make sure this takes place. And that was one of the reasons Prime Minister Netanyahu gave for saying he agreed to this ceasefire because it would give his soldiers a rest, but it would also be managed in a much stronger way than the ceasefire in 2006. And by the way, speaking of that, Naim Qassam gave a speech. That's the new head of Hezbollah, gave a speech on Friday saying that they had received a divine victory greater than 2006.

Said we won because the enemy was prevented from destroying Hezbollah and it stopped them from ending the resistance. He said, Our people are returning to the south, and we don't see any Israelis returning to the north, which is true. But by the way, Rick, those people fleeing to the south. Are not supposed to be coming in without being checked first, according to this accord. But a lot of people got in their cars immediately from Sidon and from further north and came marching down, many of them displaying Hezbollah flags out their windows, some of them carrying weapons and stuff.

Well, those are violations of the accord, so confusion there. And in fact, most Israelis have not returned to their home RIC, and they're not being encouraged to until the ceasefire is set to really hold. If it holds through the two months, then of course it will probably be extended and then they would be urged to return. But of course, people are free to go on their own now if they want to. And finally, Rick, we had last evening the Prime Minister held a very unusual emergency security cabinet meeting after the beginning of the Sabbath to discuss New fighting in Northwest.

Syria, heavy fighting going on, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group attacked. Syrian soldiers and others on Wednesday and Thursday. They say one hundred and fifty people are killed and Russia is involved. It's been bombing these forces. Most ominously, Rick, the Iranian foreign minister issued a statement on Friday saying that this was a U.

S. Zionist plan following the Zionist regime's defeat in the Lebanon and Palestinian fronts.

So blaming Israel, blaming the U. S., possibly a precursor for this still expected by many, threatened Iranian attack upon Israel. And they did mention another official that again this week.

So they may indeed be planning something.

Well, we'll certainly keep an eye on that. But let me go back to what you talked about. You gave us the details of this ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. And David, one of the reasons we have you on this program is you have so much experience, and especially in this area, you lived in the north of Israel and you actually worked in Lebanon. You would cross the fence.

Maybe you could tell us a little bit about your background there, but then cut through the noise. Is this a victory, as the Hezbollah chief has declared? Is this a victory for Hezbollah? Is this good for Israel? How does Iran figure into this?

Give us the details about this ceasefire and what we should know about it. Rick, it's clear to pretty much all military analysts and people studying this closely that Hezbollah was roundly defeated, just as the boss has been. It was no victory of any kind for them. That's just, of course, their illusions. The IDS said on Friday, Rick, that it had struck their main underground missile production facility.

And we've known it's been there for some years, but Israel had never before hit it. And that stretches from the Syrian border into Lebanon a mile underground. With two little entrances that don't look like you're entering an underground base, basically. They destroyed that. They released some statistics, Rick.

11,000 sorties, the idea of carried out the Air Force. Over twelve thousand five hundred targets hit and destroyed, three hundred and sixty alone in Beirut. 1,000 in the Beckaw Valley where that underground facility was. Over 1600 military headquarters. Struck over a thousand weapons storage facilities destroyed.

And of course, a little fact. Hassan Nasrano was killed, the head of Hezbollah, and 14 other senior leaders who were listed by the IDF on Friday were killed.

So no, this is no victory at all for them. They've been set back greatly. But again, they have Iran behind them. Iran set them up. And yes, I was there.

I was actually in South Lebanon the day that the first Hezbollah suicide terror attack was launched. An old man wearing a robe on a donkey had explosives underneath his robe, and he came up to an IDF checkpoint and killed a bunch of soldiers just about a mile from where I was.

So This has been going on from the start. They became a major force because of Iran. But in the end, Rick, they were nowhere near as powerful as we expected. This has been going on for fourteen months. They're clearly now left in the dust.

But that doesn't mean that Iran or Syria and or Russia or The Houthis, the other enemies of Israel won't keep trying. And it just takes one rocket to get through and do a lot of damage to really upset the Apple cart.

So, whether this is going to succeed or not is anybody's guess. And I can tell you, my Israeli friends in the north are not rushing back. To their communities, especially those right along the border, like on Hago Shree, where I lived, because they just don't trust. that these militants won't regroup or won't just try something on their own even, you know, even though their leadership has been decimated. But Israel was clearly victorious.

Israel clearly had the divine. victory here, not Hezbollah.

Well, we look at the situation. If we could, uh if the the silver lining to this, if they can have a ceasefire in Lebanon and it holds, then maybe they'll be able to focus on getting the hostages out of Gaza. Is there any progress on that front? No, and really there's not much expected, frankly, Rick Hamas's Discombobulated. They really don't seem to have any clear leadership that could even make a deal.

We haven't so far had anybody take up Netanyahu's offer for $5 million if they would turn over some of the hostages. But he did say that part of the reason that he'd agreed to this ceasefire was to give the soldiers of Israel a rest. fourteen months of intense fighting on two fronts. Really, on many more fronts in Judea and Samaria as well, and of course, Iraq and Yemen and all of this. That they're tired, he said that.

But he did say our first reason, our main reason, is to deal with Iran. And then what did he say? I'm not going to elaborate on that. He said that. In his speech, very brief.

So it looks to me like they still believe that this is the time to strike Iran's nuclear program, not today, but when Donald Trump comes into office, that in the next early part of next year will be the time to finally deal with that, which would really put an end to this war, would really put an end to Hamas and Hezbollah. But without that, they're going to still try to regroup. And that's what Qassam said today. And that's, of course, what Hamas leaders, those that are left, say as well.

Well, David, we know that there will be no true peace until the Prince of Peace comes, but for now do you see at least the prospects for a normalization, a peace for now in the Middle East? If Israel can destroy Iran's nuclear program, Rick, then it will happen. Then the war will be effectively so reduced at least that it'll be back to like the Al Qaeda group in Northwest Syria that's launched this major offensive against the Syrian regime in the past couple of days. It'll be more of those types of skirmishes, which we've had for decades. Those will continue.

But the major threats against Israel, this sword over Israel's neck from Hezbollah all these years.

Well, it wasn't nearly as sharp, nearly as big. But again, Iran, until it's dealt with, then they're going to reconstitute, they're going to keep pushing, and they basically are saying so.

So Israel's got that final act to take care of it. And then I think we will have a period of calm and peace. Maybe the precursor to the prophecies found in Ezekiel and some other things. We'll see. Dave Dolan reporting for Prophecy Today.

And Dave, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. And I you as well, Rick. God bless. Great job as always, Davis.

Well, we got to take a break and when we come back. Gershon Solomon. Paul Sharp, Mike Gendren. All right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Uh I'm Reuth Kramer with Mission Network News.

Tensions remain high between Israel and Lebanon amidst talks of a ceasefire deal this week. The Israeli army will withdraw troops from key positions, handing them over to the Lebanese army. Israel reserves the right to strike if Hezbollah attempts to reestablish ground. Pierre Hosni with Horizons International in Lebanon asks us to pray for gospel impact, pray for an end to the conflict, and for people whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed. And in 1979, Dr.

Bashira Awad heard God's call to establish Bethlehem Bible College.

Now, it's one of the most prolific evangelical institutions in the Middle East. In honor of his decades of faithful service to the college and to God, he was awarded the Labib Madnite Kingdom Impact Award. While the mantle of leading the college has now passed to Jack Sarah, Dr. Awad's impact resounds across the Middle East. Dr.

Sarah asks you to pray for its future. And thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of One Way Ministries. I Miss Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.

Along with Rick, we've been looking at current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, we're going to start out this half hour with an interview that Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, our father, and his good friend Gershon Solomon did way back in 2016. This is something that we feel like we're honoring both of these men, don't we? That's right, Jimmy.

We're certainly honoring both of these men. Gershon Solomon was certainly instrumental in being part of the Temple Mount Faithful and very excited to rebuild the temple, which we know is going to happen in the future. We sure do. And I really believe that this is a part of the history of God's plan of using different men to accomplish his will. And it was Dad and Gershon that really brought to light the rebuilding of a temple that will stand during the tribulation period.

Here's Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and Gershon Solomon. One of the men that was involved. In going up onto the Temple Mount, June 7, 1967, along with all the Israeli Defense Force paratroopers, General Uzi Narkis, who was leading the attack on the old city of Jerusalem up onto the Temple Mount with these paratroopers, was a man named Gershon Solomon. He was a commander of one of the units up in the Golan Heights.

He had come into Jerusalem, had been injured there in the Golden Heights. I'll find out about that in a moment. But Gershon was able to get up onto the Temple Mount, June 7, 1967. That must have been some experience, Gershon. That was amazing, was it not?

Yes, this was the biggest experience in my life. Actually, in the life of my people Israel. The liberation of the Temple Mount, the location of the first and the second temple and the third temple soon to be revealed was the biggest day in the life of my people Israel. We pass great days, very great in the history of more than four thousand years. But this was the greatest because after two thousand years of destruction, after two thousand years of a terrible exile.

Thanks to the God of Israel. We came back to the land And Jerusalem is again our capital. And in nineteen sixty seven, that was no doubt A godly wall we return to the place which is the heart in the soul of the location of the temple. under generations In the exile, could dream and pray and desire to be Instead of us. on this place.

God gave to our generation this great privilege and personally me. And I consider it as a special um uh decision of God. that he he brought me to the Temple Mount in the day of the liberation of the Temple Mount. After I was injured on the Gulan Heights, a short time before the six days war, and I was injured terribly. And God saved my life together with His angels.

has appeared in the field of Baton. and gave me back my life. And after one year in the hospital, He gave me the biggest privilege to go up to the temple mounts. with a unit of Para troops. And to be a witness to this great moment That could happen.

and happen just one in history I will never forget this day. You know, when I was injured on the field of battle and God saved my land and appeared in the field of battle as a promise. I swear. that if he will give me back my life, My life will be dedicated to build this house, and to fulfill the Jewish dream of two thousand years, And here He returned me to the Temple Mount. brought me to this place that I never had the privilege to beat them.

like my people. because foreigners that occupy the land don't allow the Jews to go to the most holy place. The Temple Mound. And on this great moment. I stood there.

In a site what is today called the dome of the rock. that the Muslims built after they occupied Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. And I stood in the front I was there. Holy Rock. that was located In the middle of the Holy of Holies.

and survived until today. the most holy place of all the world. And I must tell you Jimmy When I stood there I felt again the presence of a god. A very important day, of course, in not only your life, but the life of the Jewish people when they reunited the city of Jerusalem.

Now, you mentioned you went inside the Dome of the Rock. General Uzzi Narkis had led those paratroopers up to take back the Temple Mount after some two thousand years. But along with him was a general grade chaplain. He had the rank of general. He went into the Dome of the Rock as well.

I guess you were there. You were two men who knew each other and good friends, and ultimately would go to the location of the Ark of the Covenant underneath the Dome of the Rock. But as I understand it, General Shlomo Gorin was there in that Dome of the Rock, had dynamite in his hand. He was ready to blow that Dome of the Rock off the face of the earth and start to build the Temple. Is that correct?

That's absolutely correct. And I will not forget the moment that he'll blow with a chauffeur Inside The bomb of the rock. And I tell you, it was the first time Yeah. was blown again on this most holy place And he, yes, he suggested to General Narquis that commanded the forces on the Temple Mound, to blow up the the mosque and the dome of the rock, which were uh located on the location of the temple. and were a result of Arab occupation of the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

And they build like they did all over the world. They built on a on a holy place, the most holy place of another nation of the Jewish people. after they occupied the temple mount, They did it also in Constantinople on a church. and they did it in India on a holy place from the Indians and other places. And here, as I said, this was a godly moment, a godly world.

And I know. and I feel it in all my bones. that it was not an accident, just an historical accident. that God brought us to the Temple Mount in nineteen sixty seven. He brought us to this place Just to immediately The building.

temple and renew the worship. To the God of Israel, on this place And unfortunately, We missed this moment. You know, when we stood inside the dome of the rock with tears in our eyes no tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. Uh we did not believe that um that a short time after the liberation of the Temple Mount, from unaboccupation, a long occupation the Defence Minister of Israel, Moshev da Yam You know? Code back.

the Arabs that ran away from the Temple Mount after they fought from the Temple Mountain against the Israeli forces. They ran away. They were sure that the history of Arab occupation on the Temple Mount is finished And uh I would say a moment of weakness. of Moshe Dayan. fear from maybe Islam occupation all over the world.

maybe also by the United Nations, And he called them back. and allowed them to continue their pagan A worship Islamic pagan worship on the most only place of the Jewish people of all the world. And I tell you, Jimmy, We missed the greatest moment in our history to build The temple There's been work going on because really you did not have the priests, you did not have the implements. Over these many years that has been since Jerusalem Day 1967, some 49 years, the preparations have been made to put a temple up on the Temple Mount, on that sacred spot. And one day, and I believe in the near future, would you not agree that there will be a temple up there with all the preparations done now to put it up?

Well, you are. Absolutely right. The time is short, I tell you, Jimmy. You know, God decided again and again in prophecy. Before the destruction and after the destruction, that the temple will be rebuilt in the end times.

We are living now in the end times. And my movement that God anointed to build the temple and to reliberate the Temple Mount the sovereignty still belongs to Israel. But as you said, The Arab Wakf handle the temple mound. But time is short. And I and we feel it in Israel.

very soon. It can be tomorrow morning, it can be next year, it can be next month. the temple will be rebuilt Because no power in the world sure not an Islamic power. can stop the mouth of the God of Israel back to his holy mountain back to his holy house, from where he will remain All over the world. and bring the end time plans that he prophesied to us In the past.

in process C to bring them to pass in our lifetime Remember what I tell you today. we shall be witnesses the rebuilding of the third temple in our lifetime. Gershon, may I just say thank you so very much for sharing. I just let you talk because I just wanted our people to hear what you had to say. Nobody that I know other than you experienced that privilege and opportunity of going on to the Temple Mount June 7, 1967, the liberation of this sacred holy spot.

And I'm sure your dedication over these last almost 50 years has made preparation for that next temple to go up. Thank you so very much, my dear friend, for all of your work, for your activities as it relates to the next temple, the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. And thank you for being a friend to us and giving us this opportunity to talk with you. Thank you, my dear friend. Blessings to the American people that stand in this Special days.

with Israel so closely, so strongly. Thank you very much. We love you. The God of Israel loves you. God bless you.

Well, Gershon Solomon certainly was a friend of our ministry and our family.

Well, this week, we're starting the month of December, the time of the season, the time of Christmas, and it's also the time of the Jewish holiday of the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. And we thought we would get a head start on it this year, talking about Hanukkah and why it's important. And our good friend, Paul Scharf, church ministries representative with the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry serving in the Midwest. He's coming to the program today. Paul, welcome to the program again.

Thank you, Jimmy. It's great to be back with you. Paul, we've covered a lot during the Jewish holidays. You have some very important information to help us to understand why these events are important to us. Why do Christians know so little about Hanukkah?

Oh, Jimmy, you know, it's interesting.

Someone once told me, and I believe it. very much to be the truth. That in our sector of the Christian world, thinking of us as dispensationalists, as Strong conservatives. in our particular sphere, often our weakest area of knowledge is church history compared to other things like the Old Testament and the New Testament and theology. And sadly, we're often even weaker in church history compared to other brothers and sisters in Christ in other portions of the Christian world.

But if we're weak in church history, I'd have to say our knowledge of intertestamental history. What happened during those four hundred silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, it's sort of like a black hole. I mean, we know almost nothing about a time that is so vitally important, Jimmy, and let me tell you why. It's the time in which God was working all things according to the counsel of His will, Ephesians 111. He was working all things together for good to those who love Him, Romans 8 28.

He was working all those things to bring history to a point to the fulness of time when he would send forth his son born of a woman born under the law into that world that he was overseeing through those four hundred silent years a world that has implications that reverberate well into the New Testament church era.

So that when Jesus did come, all the world. All the people Luke three fifteen tells us we're in expectation. And that's why it's so important for us to know about the events behind Hanukkah. And this time of the intertestamental period. Wow, that is fantastic, Paul.

And I love it. First of all, we're talking about, you know, those pages in our Bible. And a lot of times, people don't understand this, but it's the pages from where Malachi ends and Matthew begins. And that's the black hole that you're talking about: 400 years. I love that verse that you use.

Christ was brought forth in the fullness of time. That's Galatians 4:4. And as you look at that, I love to teach that at Capernaum when we go there, that God had a plan to bring his story, history, into fruition, to bring it about. And I love that.

So, is Hanukkah important for Christians? It absolutely is, Jimmy, just for all those reasons that I've listed and more. Because Hanukkah happened in the 160s, the events behind the celebration of Hanukkah, we should clarify, happened in the 160s before Christ. And that's in this intertestamental period. It is such a pivotal, important time.

It's a watershed moment in the history of the Jewish people. It will absolutely set in motion things that will last well into the times of the New Testament, into the life of Christ, As Chris Katulka, our speaker on our Friends of Israel Today radio program said last year in discussing Hanukkah, he said if You know, there wouldn't be a Christmas without a Hanukkah. And that's that's so important. And yet, Jimmy, sometimes people say, well, Boy, should we really be bringing Hanukkah into the church? Should we really, as Christians, be thinking about Hanukkah?

And I say, well, there's Hanukkah in the Old Testament. There's Hanukkah in the New Testament, there's Hanukkah in the prophetic future.

So, maybe we should be talking about Hanukkah. Paul, well, that's so important. And that's why I had you on the program today so that we could know why Hanukkah is important. Paul, is Hanukkah found in the Bible, and where is it?

Well, Jimmy, of course, as we're saying, Hanukkah, the events behind Hanukkah happen in the intertestamental period in those silent years. But here's the amazing thing. They're prophesied to occur in the book of Daniel, chapter eight, verses nine through fourteen. and the inspired interpretation of Daniel's vision later in that chapter, verses twenty three through twenty six. Also Daniel eleven twenty one through thirty five.

These deal with a leader named Antiochus IV, Antiochus Epiphanes, who is a type of the future Antichrist. And Daniel's revelation, his prophetic predictions about this man and what would happen, the events that are the basis for the celebration of Hanukkah are so precise that, of course, critical scholars say Daniel could not have written it ahead of time as predictive prophecy. It had to be a late a forgery written after the fact. because it's so accurate, it's so complete in its detail of these Events that would lead up to the Jewish Celebration of Hanukkah. Wow, good stuff, Paul.

And we're going to continue on. Hanukkah does begin later on in the month. And the interesting thing, this year, Hanukkah begins on December 26th, Paul. Just perfect timing and plenty of time for our listeners to prepare to reach out to a Jewish friend during this season. It sure is.

Well, we're going to study it, and next week we're going to pick up. We're going to talk about not only why it appears in Daniel, how does the Old Testament speak about Hanukkah, how does the Old Testament relate to Bible prophecy, and how we approach our Jewish friends about Hanukkah. How should we approach our Jewish friends about Hanukkah? And we'll cover that next week. Paul, thank you so much for being with us today, for starting to whet our appetite.

And of course, right before Hanukkah, our friend Steve Herzig with Friends of Israel, your friend, your co-worker, will be with us on the radio to talk about Hanukkah and the Jewish culture of it. But as we're looking at At it, we're helping the body of Christ to understand and to start that process, which we already started really at Thanksgiving. We started celebrating Christmas even before Thanksgiving now, but it is important to start thinking about Hanukkah also and how we can reach out to others that look at Hanukkah as important to their lives and then how we can relate that Jesus Christ. Paul, thank you so much. How do they find you if they're looking for you?

Well, Jimmy, they can find all of my materials for our ministry with the Friends of Israel at sermonaudio dot com slash p sharf p s c h In particular there, they can find an article I wrote last year called The Hanukkah Hang Up. How did we get past this idea that Christians don't need to know about Hanukkah? And let me give you a clue. Jimmy, for all of our listeners, of something that hopefully we can cover. to some degree or other.

Guess what? Jesus celebrated Hanukkah in John chapter 10.

So we need to get past that Hanukkah hang-up. and people can find my article on that at sermonaudio dot com slash p sharf. Excellent, Paul. Thank you so much for joining with us this week. Thank you, Jimmy.

It's always a joy. Mike Gendren joins us today. He's a good friend of the program. He's been on quite often. He is the head of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries, former Catholic, who now teaches basically on sound Bible doctrine.

Mike, thank you for joining us today.

Well, it's always good to be with you.

Well, Mike, I'd like to talk to you about an article that you wrote, and the article is entitled Antithetical Doctrines Provide Gospel Clarity. Can you tell us what that article means?

Well, sure. It's important as we witness that we share the statements that we make in an antithetical form. And Course, we emulate the apostles as they wrote many antithetical statements in the New Testament when it came to the gospel. And I think a classic example is Ephesians 2, 8, and 9. Pulse.

Writes there that we are saved by grace apart from works. It's not of ourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, so that no man may boast. And so he not only shares how we are saved, but then what opposes the grace of God and salvation, and that's human effort or human merit or even human works. And so As you know, my major concern, my major focus as far as evangelizing is the one point three billion Roman Catholics in the world. And every Roman Catholic that you talk to would say that they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

But the reason the Reformation was so important is because the reformers Recognize the importance of the word alone: that we are saved by grace apart from merit, by faith apart from works. through faith in Christ apart from any other mediator. And of course, we find all the truth from the Bible alone, not from any Roman Catholic source other than the Bible. And so it's important, I think, as we share the gospel to present the truth right alongside what is false.

Now I know certainly that is at the heart of your ministry, Mike. And so when you're looking at that, and this is just something that our listeners can kind of put in their toolbox when they're talking to their Catholic friends, can you tell us how potentially you might use some of these statements in a conversation, kind of a gospel conversation with these people?

Well, sure. I think first and foremost, though, we can see all the antithetical Parallels in the Bible. We see Christ and any Christ, we see the advocate. And we also see the Lord's adversary. We also see a contrast between believers and unbelievers.

Between eternal life and eternal death, light and darkness, justification and condemnation, we see a contrast between truth and error. And so when you look at sharing the gospel, I think another classic verse would be Romans 6.23. Because here Paul describes death versus life and man's wages versus God's gift. He says, for the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So in this and death with eternal life.

So these are powerful antithetical words that Are direct opposites of one another. God's free gift of grace is not something anyone can earn or a wage. to be earned through our works. Instead, Paul presents man as effecting his own death by wages of sin. And so I think as we share the gospel, we can never be too clear.

We know that the adversary is out there trying to compromise the truth, and he does that very subtly with a uh half truths and he um has a thin veneer of truth around the Roman Catholic false and fable gospel. Oh, Mike, another thing that I'd like to talk about, you know, one of the things that you wrote in your article, John 14, 6, Jesus is the only way to the Father in the heaven. And this is different from the Catholic Church's false doctrine that says there are many ways, correct?

Well, you're right. In fact, in paragraph 841 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it declares that Muslims are part of God's plan of salvation, according to the Catholic Church. And so this is really troubling, Rick, because Muslims Reject Jesus as God. They also deny that He died on the cross. And so, how can they be part of God's plan of salvation?

And this same religion, the Catholic religion, condemns born-again Christians. because we believe that Christ is sufficient, that his work was finished and that he is the only way to the Father.

So it's very troubling when you look at Roman Catholicism, they present a false Christ, and that's just one of many ways that the Catholic Church presents a counterfeit Christ in their teaching. And then the summary or the finish of this article, you talk about the final antithetical declaration, the end of times when the good shepherd will divide the sheep from the goats. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Well, sure. In the end The Lord will return and he will divide the human race into two groups throughout all eternity. one group of Enter into the joy of eternal life with their Savior, and the other group will depart into eternal punishment and the fires of hell. And so more than ever, this should motivate all of us with a sense of urgency to lovingly confront people with the truth of the gospel. People will never know they're deceived until they're confronted with the truth.

And so Rick, that's what I'm thankful for about your program. You present the truth. And there are a lot of people outside Of your listening audience that have never heard the truth. And so we need to take the truth to those who are deceived so they can be confronted and know that they have been deceived and then they can repent and believe the truth found in the gospel. Mike, it's excellent to hear this scripture juxtaposed against Catholic teaching, but just false teaching in general.

Well, we certainly do appreciate your effort to put out doctrine, correct doctrine. Could you tell us, our listeners, where they could go to find out a little bit more about your ministry and a little bit more about this concept?

Well sure. Um our ministry website is proclaimingthegospel.org. Just give us a call at 817-379-5300, and we'll send that out to you. Wow, what a great half hour. Gershon Solomon, Dr.

Jimmy DeYoung, an interview that took place in 2016: The History of That Retaking of the City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Of course, Hanukkah, Paul Scharf talking about that. We'll be talking about it all month. And Mike Gendren on the program today. We've got to take a break, and when we come back, the Legacy Series with Dr.

Jimmy DeYoung, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr. Along with Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, it's December, and you know what that means, don't you?

That's right, Jimmy. We are looking towards Christmas, and this is our commemoration of what we consider, and I know most of our listeners do as well, the most important event in all of history: the coming of God-man, Jesus Christ, to the earth. And we talk about that at this time of the year. We remember that time. And, Jimmy, you know, we have Bethlehem Beyond the Christmas story.

We go in depth as we look at the Christmas story, the arrival of Jesus to the earth. And you can get that at our website at prophecytoday.com. You can order it there. And it is a great gift to give away at Christmas.

Well, Rick, as we begin our study in this month, in which we celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ, which of course is the Christmas story, Dr. D. Will spend some time looking at some of the interesting facts and details related to the Christmas story. This is a special time of the year. We love this time of the year, as many others do as well.

So, we're going to spend some time looking at all the details surrounding the first coming of Jesus Christ, which basically sets the stage for the second coming as well. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung in the Legacy Series. As we begin our Bible study this month, I thought it would be very interesting to focus on the season in which we are living. This is one of the greatest times of the year for many of us.

I love the Christmas season.

Well, we want to spend a couple of weeks looking at some very interesting facts, some details related to the Christmas story. For example, this time we're going to look at how John the Baptist has a real connection to the Christmas story. This will amaze you as we consider the prophetic word of God as it relates to the Coming not only of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, but to the forerunner, and that would be John the Baptist, had the Jewish people believed. More on that in just a few moments. By the way, we're going to talk next time we get together about how did we get the 25th day of December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Is it a possibility that Christ could have been born in the wintertime there in the shepherd's fields just outside of Bethlehem? Many have questioned the possibility of those little shepherd boys watching over those sheep at night during those cold winter nights in Bethlehem in December, and many have speculated that it was probably sometime in the summer that Jesus Christ was born.

Well, we'll look at the December 25th date and how that came about. It was the early church fathers who decided on that date, and I'll tell you why. And there's an interesting connection with Jesus Christ as it relates to that date as well. And then we'll further Look into the fact could it have been in the wintertime? And what about those shepherds?

Were they really little 14 or 15-year-old boys there in the fields outside of Bethlehem? Or were they grown men? And if they were grown men, why did they have to be grown men?

Well, we'll look into that as well.

Some of the details, some of the facts surrounding the Christmas story. And finally, on Christmas Eve, we'll spend some time studying the Word of God to determine exactly the location of where Christ was born. And why was it that when the angels said, This will be a sign unto you, these shepherds went with haste to the exact place where Jesus Christ would be born? And in fact, if you had studied the Old Testament, it was not only Bethlehem that was significant, but it was a special place in Bethlehem that the Messiah had to be born. You know, it's very interesting that in the Bible there are only 168 verses that deal with the birth of Jesus Christ.

That's found in four chapters of the Bible: Matthew chapters 1 and 2, and Luke chapters 1 and 2. 168 verses. Not a lot of space allotted to the birth, the most magnificent. And birth in all of history, the birth, the coming of the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us. We're going to start our study today in the book of Luke, chapter 1, and verse 5.

Zacharias, who would be the father of John the Baptist, who we're going to focus on in our study, was a priest serving in the temple. In Luke chapter 1 and verse 5, we see that in the days of Herod, the king of Judah, that means it had to be around 4 BC. Remember, Herod died in 4 BC. Jesus Christ was born before Herod died, and so we're talking about 4 BC, the birth date of Jesus Christ, almost 2,000 years ago. But in the days of Herod, there was a priest, a certain priest, called Zacharias.

And notice in verse 5, it says he was of the course of Abiah, and his wife was a daughter of Aaron. That means she was a part of the priestly tribe, the tribe of Levi. Her name was Elizabeth. But by the way, they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. In other words, they were an older couple.

Zacharias went to serve at the temple, and he had the unique. Privilege of being selected by Lot, by the casting of the lot, to be the one who would take the incense and pour them on the altar of incense.

Now, this altar of incense would be right before the veil of the temple, and Zacharias would go and get some hot coals, put them on the altar of incense, and then come and very gently allow these incense to fall from his hands onto the burning coals, which would then send smoke up through the 21-story high building, out the hole in the roof, and towards the heavenlies. This was symbolic of the prayers being offered up by the Jewish people.

However, while that was happening, the angel Gabriel, an archangel, appeared to Zacharias, and he gave Zacharias a prophecy, a prophecy that he and Elizabeth were going to have a son. They were to call him John, and he would be the forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Well, Zacharias was taken back. By this, you know, he really did not think that was possible since his wife had been barren all of her life. He didn't think that at her age she'd be able to have a child.

Well, because of his unbelief, the angel Gabriel made Zacharias dumb. Not dumb stupid, but dumb can't talk. And in fact, the angel said, You'll not be able to talk until the eighth day in the life of your son when you bring him to the temple for his circumcision. Zacharias finished his priestly responsibilities. The text tells us as you read chapter one of the book of Luke, and in verse thirty three it says, And it came to pass that as soon as the days of his administration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

Now remember, he lived in Charim, which is out to the west of the Temple Mount, about seven miles. After those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived. And she was ready to bring forth a child in fulfillment of what the angel Gabriel had told Zacharias would happen. Luke chapter one, starting in verse fifty seven, gives us the record of the birth of this son, who would be a cousin to the Messiah Jesus Christ, but would have a very unique role in the ministry of God man here on the earth. After John was born on the eighth day, his mother and father, Zacharias and Elizabeth, brought him to the temple as was the custom for the circumcision service that would take place, and at that point in time the mouth of Zacharias the priest was loosed and he spoke and he praised God.

But in addition to praising God, he gave a prophecy about what would happen seventy six and thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day spring from on high. hath visited us. What a prophecy Here was John to be the forerunner for his cousin Jesus Christ, the Messiah, God man, Emmanuel, coming to earth. You know, there is an Old Testament prophecy that foretold there would be a forerunner to the Messiah, and in fact, the one spoken of, a prophet by the name of Elijah, had to appear and be the forerunner for the Messiah, Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ would have not been the Messiah. I'm referring to the prophecy in Malachi 4 and verse 5, where it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

That's a prophecy that indeed could have been fulfilled in John the Baptist. And I make that statement based upon what Jesus Christ said. In Matthew chapter 11, starting in verse 11, Jesus said unto all those listening to him, teach, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. That's verse 11. Verse 14 says, And if you will receive him, this is Elijah, which was for to come.

Indeed, John the Baptist, according to the words of Jesus Christ, could have been the forerunner called for by the ancient Jewish prophets.

However, the Jewish people not only rejected John the Baptist, they rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ, as well. But that prophecy will be fulfilled in the future. John the Baptist had to be involved in the ministry of Jesus Christ at the first coming. John, the cousin of Jesus, would play a key role in the Christmas story, one of the unique prophecies of the first coming, of which there are over 300. That is unique in itself, that one man, Jesus Christ, fulfilled over 300 prophecies about the man who would come to be the Messiah.

And of course, those prophecies were all fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Had the Jews believed, John the Baptist could have been the Elijah of Malachi 4 and verse 5. But that means Elijah still must come. There's a song that's very popular. We're living in the days of Elijah.

I believe as you look at the prophecies surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ, we have the evidence that we're quickly approaching the time when Elijah will appear before that great and dreadful day of the Lord, fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi 4 and verse 5. You see, at the first coming, Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the prophecies that foretold a Messiah would come to the earth.

Now, that's key because that gives us then a foundation upon which we can have assurance that all of those prophecies yet to be fulfilled will be fulfilled just exactly like they were given in absolute detail. Remember, John the Baptist was the one to be the forerunner at the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And Elijah will fulfill that second coming prophecy. He will come on the scene before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. About the second coming of Jesus Christ.

And as you look at the scenario that's going to unfold in the end times, as we're thinking about the Christmas story and how all of those prophecies were fulfilled, remember there are five times as many prophecies about the second coming of Christ, and those have to be fulfilled in absolute detail as well. But again, I remind you: the fulfillment by Jesus Christ of all the prophecies focusing on the first coming give us the evidence that the second coming will happen exactly like the Bible tells us it will take place. In chapter 4 and verse 1 of Revelation, it talks about an event that will happen before the tribulation period and the return of Christ will take place, and that is the rapture of the church. When Jesus shouts, the archangel shouts of the trumpet of God sounds, and we're caught up to be with Him in the air forevermore. You know, as we celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ, it gives us solid evidence that the prophecies for the second coming will be fulfilled as well.

And I do believe, as we look at all that's happening in our world today and compare it to Bible prophecy, those prophecies for the second coming. could be fulfilled in the very near future. Uh As I said several times in our study today, that first coming of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of all of the prophecies surrounding the birth of God-man, Emmanuel, the Messiah Jesus Christ, all of those prophecies were fulfilled in the absolute detail that they were given by the ancient Jewish prophets. There are five times as many prophecies about the second coming of Jesus Christ, and the Christmas story, which is a record of the fulfillment of all of those prophecies surrounding the first coming of Christ, gives us a foundation upon which we then can be assured that the second coming will happen. just exactly as He has told us.

This should cause all of us to consider the claims of Jesus Christ, who said He was the Messiah, and through Him we could have a relationship with His Father, and not only for now, but for ever.

Next week on the broadcast, we're going to discuss the issue of the date that we celebrate the birth of Christ, december the twenty fifth. I think this will be of great interest to you. Thank you, Dr. DeJoung, for that teaching. I'm sure we'll be looking forward to next week when we study and understand why we use December 25th as the date for the birth of Jesus Christ.

Remember, if you'd like to get the DVD Bethlehem a Christmas story, you can get that at our website at prophecytoday.com. Or we're going to take a break, and when we come back, Rick and I will wrap up the program by taking a look at the book and rehearsing what we talked about today on the program. That's all ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. God sustains his people to be his hands and feet in long-term crises.

Lebanon has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people. Lulwa Malouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut says: We're used to difficulties and hardships, but at the same time, we are used to continue seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of his work. Today, ABTS serves not only around 240 students, but also a couple hundred displaced people. They provide shelter and meals, and daily chapel services are open to all.

It takes a lot of effort because we are doing all our programs and we're also doing that, but we're grateful that God is allowing us to serve Him through these tests. Ask God to raise more workers. For the harvest. And after years of an evangelistic focus, Bibles for China has a new opportunity to help send out Chinese missionaries. Kurt Rovenstein with Bibles for China notes that, of course, there have been many Chinese missionaries, but sending is new for them.

Our work here at Bibles for China has always focused on helping Christians within China receive a Bible, and it's been a little bit: what can we do to help them? In recent years, there has been this move towards partnership. What can we do together to reach? Not just China, but the world. Two different groups have reached out to Bibles for China to help give scriptures to Chinese missionaries in parts of the world that have traditionally been very restricted for Westerners.

Please pray that Bibles for China will have wisdom as they support Chinese missionaries. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. This month, the Slava Gospel Association is making available the free book Much Prayer, Much Power. It's a resource aimed at making your prayer life more vibrant. Get your free copy when you click on the banner ad at missionnews.org.

I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr. And with my brother Rick, we have been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. This is the time of the program where we really look back at our program today.

We're going to wrap it all up. And Rick, as we think about that, Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, looking back at the interview between Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and Gershon Solomon, Paul Scharf talking about Hanukkah this time of the year, why it's important to Christians, and then Mike Jendren bringing up the topics that he talked about on the program today. What were some of the things that stood out to you?

Well, Jimmy, as we begin this month of December and we are looking at China, we're looking at Russia, we're looking at Iran, all nations that are going to be involved in the end times. Yes, they are. And there's unrest in those countries. There are protests in China. There are protests in Iran.

I thought it was interesting that Vladimir Putin is now talking about how he. Could possibly come to the table for some sort of agreement on the situation in Ukraine. And I thought you made some very important points with Ken, and I think Ken really has a good handle on what is taking place. And as we watch the events in Europe and geopolitical, it does help us to understand that we are getting close to those days.

Well, we talk about them often. We're living in the end times and we're watching events take place. We certainly are. And Dave Dolan brought up several interesting stories, but one of the most exciting stories is he was talking about the focus on the Temple Mount with this new government that's being formed and these new people or politicians that are going to be involved in this government. There's going to be a real focus on the Temple Mount, which is certainly going to be something that is going to be a focus of the world going forward.

You know, I have mentioned several times over the, in fact, I was looking back the other day on. Articles and some stories that we have done. We've continued to focus on it. The two-state solution of two Jewish states, not a Jewish and an Arab state, but two Jewish states. And as we look at Prime Minister Netanyahu setting up his government and really bringing in the religious aspect of it, so many people don't like it.

Well, part of the country does, part of the country doesn't like the government that is being set up.

So I think that you definitely are seeing the government that is being set up trying to use the religious aspect, which is gaining input and really controlling the country. In fact, I think we're going to see something like this happen in Israel, which could be, again, the beginning and the setting up of a two-state solution. You look at all of these events put together, Jimmy, and geopolitical events, and we look at things that are happening all over Europe, Russia, China, Iran, and the Far East. And then, you know, we certainly focus on Israel and what's Taking place in the Middle East, it certainly looks like the stage is being set. Things are be being put into place that are setting forth events that are going to happen in the future.

Yes. You know, today we focused on Gershon Solomon and his passing. And we played an old interview. I hope you enjoyed that because I know I did, Rick. I know you did.

Gershon telling the story of, you know, how he was one of the first men there onto the Temple Mount in 1967 in the reunification. A divided city became a unified city in 1967, six-day war. Gershon Solomon actually gave me chills when he talked about being in there. And Rabbi Shlomo Gorin, General Rabbi Shlomo Gorin, who later became the chief rabbi of Israel, blew the shofar inside the Dome of the Rock. I mean, you and I have been there so many times.

We've been on the Temple Mount. Again, that's the third most holiest site in Islam. The number one, the first holiest site to the Jewish people where the future temples will stand. Kirshan talked about that in his putting together the Temple Mount Faithful, what he felt God had given him a role to do. And I believe he gave our father, Dr.

Jimmy Deung, a role in that period of time. When he saw this, he decided to bring the attention to the United States. And one of our most sold DVDs is Ready to Rebuild. And of course, the updated version, Ready to Rebuild, Revisited, where we focus on the next temple that will stand during the tribulation period. We talked to Paul Scharf about Hanukkah, why it's important to Christians.

We're going to focus on that all month long because Jesus not only celebrated Hanukkah, but draw the connection between the birth of Jesus Christ and when Jesus said, I am the light of the world. But, Rick, remember when we We go to Capernaum and we talk about Galatians 4:4 in the fullness of time. But when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law. I really loved how Paul Scharf brought that to the table. There was a time period predicted by Daniel exactly when Jesus would be in the city of Jerusalem to be crucified, but he had to be born.

And as you said earlier on, that is one of the most important events in history. If Christ had not come the first time, he couldn't come the second time, correct? That's right, Jimmy. And as we look at these events, I mean, you put them all together. They're forming a story.

They're forming a narrative. We look at Christ's first coming, and it all points towards Christ's second coming. And that's what we are all about on this program is looking at this progression of events that's taking place that is setting the stage for prophecy to be fulfilled. Yes. You know, when you look at the time period of Christ's coming.

In the fullness of time, there was a great anticipation among the Jews of that time that the Messiah would come. The Roman rule over Israel had made the Jews hungry for the Messiah's coming. The times of the Gentiles now are making the Jews looking forward to the coming of a Messiah. They're even celebrating that the Messiah is already here. But if they've read the book of Daniel, the Messiah already had to be here and had to be cut off or to be crucified.

So, you know, as the Jews today are anticipating the Messiah, I We look at that and we focus on it sometimes because it helps us to understand that they are mentally and spiritually prepared for that time when there will be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the Jewish people. Rick, it's the month of December. I hope you're getting ready for Christmas. Not just the giving of gifts, as we always do, but as we are looking forward to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I am Jimmy looking forward to this time of Christmas and remembering the reason for the season.

Folks, we're going to see you next week where we'll continue our conversation on Hanukkah. We'll continue looking at and examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word, and really everything that we see every single day is leading us to the conclusion that the rapture of the church cannot be 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. Prophecy Today is a listener-supported production of Shofar Communications in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mm-hmm. Mm.