Uh Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Remember, every time there is a conflict in or around Israel, many see it's a sign of the quickly approaching end times. The problem with this is that we may eventually tire of the conflict in Israel, so much so that we will not recognize when true, prophetically significant events occur. Conflict in Israel is not necessarily a sign of the end times.
We're going to focus on that in the program today with our broadcast partners. We've got Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, Israel Madad, and Mike Jendren talking about who could be the false prophet or the best candidate for the false prophet at this very moment. Rick, we've got a lot to cover today, 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 on geopolitical events. Affairs. We go to him when we want to find out what is happening around the world. Ken's an author, an analyst, written several books.
He has a newsletter. You can find out about Ken. Sign up for that newsletter by going to kentimmerman.com. Ken, thank you for joining us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick.
It's always a pleasure.
Well, Ken, as usual, there is certainly a lot going on this week, and we have a bunch of things that I'd like to get to, but we'll start with a story that came out this week that is saying that Ukraine is taking the fight to Russia in Africa and Syria. A pretty extraordinary report, Rick, really. This is a leaked U.S. intelligence document. I happen to think it was deliberately leaked.
The Biden administration has a history of doing this, especially when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. But this report says that the Ukrainians have been targeting the Russians, especially the Wagner group, but also Russian paramilitary forces in both Syria and the Sudan. And why would they do this?
Well, they want to throw the Russians off balance. They want to. Hopefully, get them to divert forces from Ukraine to Syria or the Sudan. They haven't done that yet. But this effort has been led by Major General Kirilo Budanov.
He is the head of Ukrainian defense intelligence. They handle foreign intelligence much as the CIA does. And the report says that he has been training, his forces, his agents, have been training both Kurdish operatives in Syria to attack the Russians and anti-Russian forces in Sudan. There was a coup that the Russians sponsored. We've talked about this on air in the past in the Sudan.
It was a Russian-backed coup, and now you have a Russian-backed government.
So Budanov has seen an opportunity to go after that government and their Russian backers at the same time, of course, that he's promoting these attacks inside Russian territory in Kursk and the attacks on Moscow using long-range drones.
So what we see here is a pretty extensive expansion of Ukraine's. Global reach. Nobody really thought of Ukraine as a global power before.
So that's a big new development, Rick, that we know thanks to what I think is a deliberate leak from the CIA. Certainly is a very interesting story as this Russia-Ukraine crisis is expanding into different areas.
Well, let's move to a Russian ally, North Korea, and they are bolstering their nuclear and conventional weapons and their testing missiles. Can you tell us about this story?
Well, the first thing that we've learned just this week is that they carried out tests on an enormous short-range missile, a Scud type of missile that can carry a 4.5-ton warhead. That is four and a half times the one-ton warhead that the Scuds carry. This missile is clearly aimed at South Korea. It's got a range of around 200 miles, but it's a new development and it is a big, big missile. The second one is a nuclear-capable cruise missile.
Again, a new missile. These were both tested in July, but we just learned about them this week. It's unclear if that cruise missile was a success, but again, it has a much, much longer range. And if it is a success, it could pose a strategic threat to the United States. But you know, Rick, there's even more going on in North Korea.
The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, also revealed this week that they are opening a new uranium enrichment facility.
Now, why is this important? North Korea traditionally has been involved in reprocessing plutonium. That's what the IAEA first discovered in 1994 when they began to punish North Korea, impose sanctions on them. Ultimately, the North Koreans, remember, they withdrew from the non-proliferation treaty and are now outside of IAEA monitoring. But the uranium enrichment facility gives them a second avenue to making fissile material for nuclear weapons.
Ironically, Rick, I first reported on this when I was working at Time magazine 30 years ago. Nobody paid much attention to it at the time, but now we know they have a robust uranium enrichment program using centrifuges in addition to everything that they're doing to reprocess plutonium.
So a big nuclear weapons state, North Korea. They have scores of nuclear warheads at this point. They have tested something like eight times already, and I expect that they could very well test another time before Biden. leaves office.
Well, Ken, this all comes against the backdrop of the IAEA's annual meeting in Vienna, and not only do they have North Korea, like you were talking about, but Iran's attempt to develop nuclear weapons uh this nuclear agency certainly has their hands full right now, don't they? They do, Rick. And that meeting just ended on Friday. But North Korea was just one of those subjects. The director general of the IAEA, Raphael Grossi, just got back from Ukraine, where he was visiting the Zaporitsia nuclear power plant.
And that has again become the target of military attacks. Grossi warned that this is something that is incredible. Incredibly dangerous. He says no nuclear power plant, this is a quote, no matter where it's located, should be a military target. He also updated the board on Iran's developments.
He said they displayed completely unsatisfactory cooperation with the IAEA.
Now, the question always is: will that lead to the board where Russia and China have seats? Issuing sanctions against Iran? Probably not, but it does raise the temperature. Ironically, Rick, nobody's talking about that in Washington. Biden doesn't want to talk about it.
Kamala Harris doesn't want to talk about it. This is a big, big story, Iran's nuclear weapons development. They don't want to hear about it because it all happened on their watch. And what we know about it now is coming from the IAEA, a source that in previous years really hadn't been very forthcoming at all. And now they had become the best source of information on Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program after the Mossad.
Yes, indeed. And we'll talk about the Mossad in just one second. But before we do that, I want to get you to talk about another story out of Iran. And there is a story saying that they tried to influence the U S election by sending stolen material from the Trump campaign to Biden's camp.
Well, I got a big chuckle out of that report, Rick. Election interference, really? A foreign power trying to interfere in America's elections? And the FBI reporting on it? I don't know.
Something makes me a little bit suspicious. They claim that the Trump campaign was hacked. Other sources say this was Roger Stone, who is not really a big campaign insider, that they hacked his emails. And then the FBI is saying they offered them to staffers on the Biden and Harris campaign who just turned it down.
Well, my guess is the information wasn't very good. And it wasn't that they turned it down. They just didn't find anything to follow up with. But again, this just reminds us that our electronic communications are capable of being intercepted by foreign powers, that foreign powers are actively seeking to do that. It's not just the Iranians.
It's not just the Russians. It's also the Chinese. And the Chinese are much more strategic in their cyber attacks. They go after our military. Military intelligence capabilities, they go after our nuclear weapons capabilities, they go after our strategic capabilities.
Both here in the United States, they go after our industrial capabilities and our high-tech enterprises.
So we are vulnerable to cyber attack. That is absolutely crystal clear. How successful the Iranians were in this case, I think, not so much.
Well, they continue to try to influence the United States in different ways, and there are reports that possibly the second attempted assassination of President Trump was influenced by Iran. Can you talk about that?
Well, I got a piece in the New York Post about that this week, Rick, and it's extraordinary because the scenario that we saw hitting Trump on his golf course was almost identical to a video simulation that was released by Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. Get this. Two years ago. That simulation showed Trump starting off at Mar-a-Lago, which is what he did, then going to his nearby golf course in West Palm Beach, where I've actually been, had lunch with the president in West Palm Beach in that golf club, and then out on the course itself, where the simulation released two years ago shows the Iranians taking out Trump as he's driving off of what looks like the sixth hole. Remember, this shooter, the alleged shooter last week, was at the sixth hole.
He was aiming towards the green of the sixth hole. He probably could have hit the T as well. But were the Iranians involved? We don't know. Was this just an extraordinary coincidence that the scenario envisioned by the Iranians was pretty similar to the one that that alleged shooter was trying to carry out?
It could be. But I think it certainly deserves a lot more investigation, and I don't hear the FBI doing that.
Well, Ken, one final story that I'd like to get you to comment on, and we're going to talk about this with Dave Dolan next in our Middle East news update, but it's this targeted attack on Hezbollah using pagers and beepers. It was an extraordinary event, amazing that it was pulled off. And given your background in the intelligence community and your experience, I just wanted to get your comment on this amazing operation.
Well, again, an extraordinary intelligence coup by Mossad, probably also Unit 8200 of the Israeli Military Intelligence, Amman. They do signals intelligence. We've learned that these pagers were an outdated model. They came from, I think, a Hong Kong company that then maybe shipped them to Hungary and then to some other East European country. They were held up in customs in a Middle Eastern country for two months or something, during which time, apparently, Mossad operators swapped out the batteries and put in.
In new batteries that included high explosives, an ounce or two of high explosives. I tell you, Rick, it just shows how sophisticated the Mosa are, how persistent they are. This was an operation that took probably two years to set up, a long time. It shows how focused they are. But the real bottom line here: no Hezbollah operative can look at a pager ever again.
without seeing a grenade. Ken Timmerman reporting to us for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, we appreciate what you do to help us keep our listeners informed. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick.
God bless. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. This week marks two years since Massa Amini's death in Iranian police custody. Mike Ansari with Heart for Iran says. Many people that are protesting or have protested have either been killed, detained, or disappeared.
The regime has pretty much tightened control over all forms of dissent. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has called again for Iran to be held accountable for religious freedom violations. The regime has also increased censorship of the internet, curtailing freedom of speech. Yet on the positive side, Ansari says there's a much stronger women's movement in Iran today. It's being supported by other women around the world.
He points to hope in the gospel's themes of hope, freedom, and justice. Pray for changed hearts in Iran, and that more people will come to know Christ and love his justice. And next week is International Week of Deaf People. It also comes at the end of National Deaf Awareness Month in the U.S. But why is deaf awareness important?
Deaf people continue to face challenges in many areas that hearing folks may not realize. Nearly 80% of countries don't acknowledge their national sign language. Rob Myers with Door International says there are also gospel barriers. Many deaf people, because they have very little access to deaf education, they have challenges with access to reading. And so most people who would typically think, I have a deaf colleague, I'll just give them a written Bible.
For many deaf people around the world, that doesn't give them scripture access. They need access to the Bible in sign language. For International Week of Deaf People, pray for gospel opportunities among the deaf. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. Keys for Kids Ministries exists to ignite a passion for Christ in kids and families worldwide.
This month, they're offering free devotionals designed to help your kids spend time in God's Word every day of the year with a goal of growing disciples for Christ. Get yours free when you click on the banner ad 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. This is our Middle East news update portion of the program.
We look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, Israel in particular. To do that, we have with us journalist Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today. I'm glad to be with you, Rick.
Well David, as always, there is lots of news coming out of the Middle East, some extraordinary news coming out of Israel. If you could give us an update on what's going on.
Well, of course, everybody by now has heard of the exploding Pagers and Walkie Talkies, which I'll talk about in a minute a bit more. But the big news right now, Rick, was on Friday afternoon, the head of the Hezbollah Rodwan unit or Rodwan Force, because it's more than just a unit, Ibrahim Akhil was killed by the IDF in a targeted assassination along with six or seven or eight. We get different reports of his cohorts. Fellow leaders of Radwan. Also, they were supposedly meeting with some Palestinians.
To discuss a Hezbollah operation to take over the Northern Galilee. I mentioned that last week: that it would be pretty easy to do that relative to the Gaza Strip and what Hamas did down there. Geographically, it's easier. There's a number of reasons I won't go into. But he was in the basement underneath an apartment building, Rick, and there were civilians killed and wounded along with the members of this force.
But the Israelis said they had no choice. This is what he was doing, always hiding behind people like they do, and a terrible situation.
So he's gone.
Now, the Radwan Force RIC was set up after the 2006 war precisely to be an offensive wing of Hezbollah with the aim of taking over the northern Galilee area at some point and slaughtering people, et cetera. They've been operating in Syria over the last few years.
So they've got a lot of combat experience and training. They are sent, their leaders to Iran and their forces, their fighters to Iran, where they get their training. And the U.S. put out a $7 million bounty on this man's head, Rick, just last year because they know he was involved in both the in fact, he was the main person involved in the April 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
I was in South Lebanon at the time, remember reporting that dreadful story. And then October of that year, when the U.S. Marines barracks was attacked and 241, I think it was, Marines and other personnel were killed. He was involved in both of those, so he's been wanted by the U.S. very, very much.
And Israel got him apparently.
So that is a big victory. Nasrallah, the overall leader of Hezbollah, called it an act of war. And indicated that there would be a major response to it. By the way, the rocket fire has been intense all week, the most intense of the war. And Israel on Thursday announced to all of its citizens to evacuate the northern area entirely, to everybody get out and stay out for now, indicating that a larger operation is about to begin.
Another indication: Prime Minister Netanyahu postponed his trip to the United States next week by a day, and his office said he may not even come if things get much worse. And of course, earlier in the week, we had the exploding pagers that Hezbollah members had in their pockets or some were holding them because a message had been sent by Israel, probably, by the Mossad. We're learning more details of all of this, Rick, and we can talk some more about that in a minute. But just an amazing story. And like you said to me before we went on the air.
After the october seventh security disaster, Israel has once again proved that it has a top notch intelligence organization and situation there that they can go into their enemies' pockets, literally, and kill and maim. And we have various numbers, but we know that thousands were wounded and three dozen or so were killed, we believe, in these exploding devices. We are now hearing that it's been 15 years in the making. The Mossad has been planning something like this. It involves companies in Taiwan, Bulgaria, and Hungary, where they were actually produced and then sent through Bulgaria to Lebanon.
And an Indian businessman was involved. There's all sorts of details coming out, but an amazing operation. And it has left, no doubt about it, Hezbollah's leadership. Its top leaders that aren't dead are confused, are worried, are fearful. And it's really left them in a very vulnerable place.
However, that doesn't mean they won't strike. And the concern now, Rick, is that they are going to start to hit Tel Aviv with their more powerful precision-guided weapons that they may try again. They claim to have done this a couple months ago, but they may try to hit the Mossad headquarters north of Tel Aviv. They may try to hit other government buildings and certainly military bases in the north and center of the country.
So, Israel is on full war alert right now. Not that they haven't been in a full war for now over 11 months, but it's definitely spreading full on to the north. And as you and I were talking before, rockets are hitting communities. Metula. was hit with fifty homes in Metula, where I used to the office of the ministry I was with in South Lebanon was based there in northern Israel, on fire, destroyed.
It's a full war now, Rick, it looks like. And there will be, I believe, a ground operation launched very, very soon unless There is one last chance that Hezbollah could say, we're not going to fight. you know, we've lost too much now and agree to some sort of ceasefire that President Biden continues to push very, very hard for it, not only in Lebanon, but in Gaza, of course.
So we'll see what happens. But very, very difficult, dark times and everybody is on edge, no question.
Well, let's focus on the north then as you continue to talk about that. It is very difficult times, and it could be that these attacks by Israel are trying to maybe prevent a war, not just escalate to a war, but maybe prevent a war by showing Hezbollah that they have no chance to win by superiority, air superiority, intelligence superiority, whatnot. Earlier this week, the Israeli government added an additional goal to the war that is taking place with Hamas right now, and that is the goal that the people that were displaced in the north go back to their homes. Israel is not going to rest, and Prime Minister Netanyahu can't afford to politically rest until those people are able to go home and Israel's northern border is safe. Is that correct?
Oh, absolutely. I mean, you've got tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel. Hundreds of miles in some cases.
Some have been sent down to a lot in the south into hotels there. And of course, the hotels across the country are mostly empty the last year because of the war, and the government does pay for that housing for them. But many are with relatives and friends. But again, their crops are not being tended. And the north is the north, the two areas of Israel, most people won't know this probably, that are the breadbasket of Israel, considered to be, is the north.
And just next to the Gaza Strip, that's where 80% of Israel's vegetables and wheat and other things are grown. The north is. All the avocados and the golan and all the apples, all of that, and nobody's there to take care of those things. They've got to get back to a normal life. And there's no way that Netanyahu can possibly, possibly rick uh risk Hezbollah cutting off the north like they did around Gaza and slaughtering thousands of people.
That can't happen again, period.
So whatever it takes, Israel is going to do, but yes, Nasrallah could say, we're not going to win this thing, let's surrender. And if he did, and a force was established in the south, a new force, because the UNIPHIL UN force was worthless, basically, unless a new international force is stationed all along the southern border and on the go next to the Golan Heights. To stop infiltrations, et cetera, then this war will take place and Israel will physically reduce Hezbollah's capability to virtually nothing. And I think they can do that. Of course, the key question there is, what does Iran want?
What does Iran want? Because they call the shots ultimately, Hezbollah's their puppet force.
So they're not in the line of fire. It's Lebanon that is. But maybe Israel will do something to Iran itself even to remind them that they're there. And also, we're expecting a strike again in Yemen, Rick, after that long-range rocket struck central Israel last weekend. That was audacious.
So we heard that they were either trying to hit the nuclear power plant, the Demona power plant there, the reactor, really. It's not a power plant, it's a reactor that does bombs, or the Ben-Gurion airport. And thank God it was. It was stopped before it could do either of those, but another indication that this war continues on various fronts. Dave Dolan reporting for Prophecy Today.
Dave, so many things taking place. Israel is in a very tough spot right now, but they are continuing to persevere. Our job: pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for the peace of Israel. We will look forward to continuing to see what's going to happen here, and we will continue to pray. That's for sure.
There's no better time than now for prayer. That's for sure. God bless, Rick. We're going to take a break right now here on Prophecy Today, but when we come back, we'll have Winky Madadue to talk about the extraordinary events taking place in Israel this past week. We'll also talk with Mike Gendren from proclaimingthegospel.org, and he's going to talk about some very alarming statements that the Pope made.
Finally, we'll have the Legacy series with Dr. Jimmy the Young, and then a look at the book with Jimmy and myself. That's all right ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Yesterday in Lebanon, a cyber attack exploded Hezbollah walkie-talkies and solar equipment.
This, after mass explosions on Tuesday, targeted pages of Hezbollah terrorists. Overall, 3,300 people were injured and 21 killed. As citizens flee from the southern border, Nuna with Triumph of Mercy Lebanon says they're offering relief and hope in Christ. Pray for Lebanese citizens and Hezbollah to follow Jesus. And monsoon rains have battered Pakistan with severe flooding.
More than 350 people have died since July 1st. Daryl Templeton with Mega Voice says it's tragedy upon tragedy since devastation from floods two years ago still exists. Mega Voice's audio Bible players have a practical flashlight feature, and requests for them have increased. Pray for overwhelmed believers in Pakistan. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org.
Mission Network News' service. Of One Way Ministries, I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. You know, conflict in Israel has been a reality whenever Israel has existed as a nation in history.
Whether it was the Egyptians, the Amalekites, the Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, or the Romans, the nation of Israel has always been persecuted by its neighbors. Why is this?
Well, according to the Bible, it is because God has a special plan for the nation of Israel, and Satan wants to defeat that plan. Satanically influenced hatred of Israel, and especially Israel's God, is the reason Israel's neighbors have always wanted to see Israel destroyed. Whether it's Sennacherib, King of Assyria, Haman, the official of Persia, Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, or president of Iran, attempts to completely destroy Israel will always fail. The persecutors of Israel will come and go, but the persecution will remain until the second coming of Christ. And as a result, conflict in Israel is not a reliable indicator of the soon arrival of the end times.
But remember, we do talk about the time of Jacob's trouble and that there will be a mass return of Jews to the land of Israel. The Antichrist will make a seven-year covenant of peace with Israel. The temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. And the Antichrist will establish a covenant with Israel and then break it.
So, Rick, let's continue to look into the situation in Israel. And then, finishing out this second half hour, Mike Jendren will come and talk about maybe the greatest false prophet of all times.
Well, Jimmy, I've got Winky Madonna. With us. He is a frequent guest of ours. He's the former mayor of Shiloh and somebody we go to when we want to talk about what's taking place politically in Israel. To get the heartbeat of what is going on there, Winky, as always, thank you for taking the time to be with us today.
Thank you very much once again for having me on.
Well, Winky, we've been talking about this amazing operation, the Pagers and Walkie-Talkies, that targeted Hezbollah operatives. This is something that, again, it's just an amazing fact that it took place. And I was wanting to get from you, your perspective. What do the Israelis think about this? Does this restore some of the confidence in the intelligence that maybe was lost at October 7th?
Could you just give us a feel for how this came across in Israel?
Well two things. you have to realize that many of the Israelis were very much let down by the events of october seventh. in the response of the Army and Air Force And I think we've discussed it several times that The too many failures that had gone on from intelligence to analysis, to response time. whatever was re uh prepared uh for eventualities. And now you come across what is said to be an Israeli operation.
Which basically will probably star in the next Mission Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise. But. But I While everybody is excited, many also realize that one flash in the pan is just a part of the response that we need in order to roll back Chizbala. which for too long has been allowed to embed itself really, really deep into southern Lebanon. Of course, against the United Nations resolution many, many years ago, which no one pays attention to except when Israel does something in its own self-defense.
And so A lot of people are waiting to see if there's going to be a ground operation. If it will continue to be air operations with drones. We're still suffering. The people are not yet back home in the North. It has to be solved.
But obviously this has been a major hit on Hezbollah. tactically and strategically. I mean, you know, people can't trust standing next to someone in the street anymore if he picks up a phone or a walkie-talkie. That's kind of unnerving and setting everything off balance there. in Lebanon, which is something that's very good.
Well, the way I look at this, it seems like an incredibly targeted operation because generally, for the most part, the only ones that were hurt were those that were carrying these pagers, basically Hezbollah members. But of course, there are some that say, and it's no surprise, Iran is one of them, that called these pager explosions a quote-unquote terrorist act, and even some in the UN saying that this was mass murder, different things like that. What would your response be to hearing somebody say that? One look. Mm-hmm.
very clear That Hezbollah ordered the electronic communications equipment. and they distribute it. Anybody who knows anything knows that Hezbollah is a terror organization. You can claim this is also a political party that has nothing to do with anything. in my opinion.
And so If they gave it out. to their agents, to their activists, to their fighters, to their commanders, Whatever. And for example, as it did happen, actually, a child picked it up to give the beeping. implement to her father and suffered death, if I'm not mistaken. It would be the same thing.
Basically, if God forbid someone in America left his Shotgun. He just came back from uh from you know shooting out in the wilds or something like that, unprotected, and someone uh touched it. And a tragedy happened. In this case, though, as you said, it was very, very specifically. targeting Hezbollah people, not civilians.
not dropping bombs on UNRWA installations that people argue whether or not they are empty except for Hamas fighters if we're talking about Gaza or anything else. I if you have a gang of uh of bank robbers right? And you know they're going to come into a bank. and you sort the dollar bills I don't know, with acid. If I can be so gruesome, right?
Just to give an example, and they run away with the money, what are they gonna complain to the police? that the fingers are uh burning. they're involved in criminal activity. The Khajbillah is involved in terrorist activity.
Well, there are some that are saying that this is an escalation, that this is going to bring about an even wider war in the Middle East. Although, as of this point, there's Hezbollah sending in rockets into the North on a daily basis.
So, I don't know whether it's going to be an escalation or not. There is already a war going on, but you can look at it that way. But there is another school of thought that maybe puts this down to deterrence. If Israel does this, this targeted attack, and really just shows how superior their technology is, and puts at least a seed of doubt in the mind of those Hezbollah fighters that, you know what, this is a very formidable enemy, and maybe we don't want to get involved in this. What would you say, Winky?
Escalation or deterrence?
Well, I would say at the present moment, hopefully deterrent. We had a speech by Nasrala this week. in which he was not as threatening or specific in any sort of direction And maybe he realizes that he just sent about 300 of his fight is to Iran for surgery and for hospitalizations. That's a big chunk. And um Perhaps I don't know.
Uh perhaps these were commanders or uh Field offices. uh not just fighters or people who perhaps were involved in purchasing food. Or all sorts of other assistance. I mean, an army doesn't only run on soldiers, as we know. You have to have backup.
You have to have all sorts of things from food to supplies. To gasoline to ever, uh, and perhaps a lot of these people now have been taken out of the uh. the uh chain of command or assistance.
So, this wasn't just tactical. I know I happened to see a New York Times article. that said they would that this it was only tactical, not strategic.
Well, if you pick people who Only think. Bad of Israel and claim they're experts, you're going to get a bad news story. And that's what happened with the New York Times today. And I hope that Israel has planned for the future in a series of steps to counter anything.
Well, we'll continue to keep an eye on that situation. Just a couple more questions while I have you on the line, Winky. The first one is this new single-stage peace proposal in Gaza. This is something that is supposed to take place all at once, safe passage for the Hamas leadership, all the hostages, both those that are alive and those that are dead, all of them returned at once, and maybe an international force to kind of monitor all this in Gaza. Could you give us an idea what you think about this peace proposal?
Does it have a chance of taking place, and will it calm things down both in the south and in the north?
Well, that's the big question, Rick. I'm not quite sure at this point whether it's mainly aimed at the United States and European countries. In order to say, listen, we're going to go all out, we're going to do as far as we can go. I'm going to do it at once, and we're going to even allow Simoir and maybe some of his other people to leave Gaza alive. et cetera, and to say, well, Cynoir is not going to do this, so we're going to go in there really with force.
Or it might just be that United States and Qatar and Egypt and other countries involved in negotiating and liaising with some of the Hamas leadership. will actually convince them that this is their last chance before Gaza goes under the strategic aim of splitting up Gaza. As has been suggested, with the north. under Israeli military rule for a while and then cleaning up the rest of the Gaza Strip. We'll see what happens there.
My final question: as we continue to look at this situation, we look at it from top to bottom. And I saw a few articles this week, and I thought to myself, I need to get Winky to comment on these. And basically, there were two articles. The first one was about the quote-unquote settlers in the area.
Now, full disclosure: you live in the area of Sheila, which is in Judea and Samaria, or what the media might call the West Bank. You are technically a settler, but you are in a land that has deep, ancient Jewish roots. You are in a city there that has those type of roots. And so that is what your goal is: to be there to continue those Jewish roots.
So we look at that, but the one thing they talk about settlers, and another, they talk about those that insist on a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, and particularly maybe even building a Jewish temple there. Both of the articles, the main thrust was that these, what they called right-wing extremists, are the ones that. That are an existential threat to Israel because they are scuttling any chance for peace. And I thought, boy, I'd like to get Winky to respond to that thought. Winky, what are your thoughts on that?
Well, I'll try to do the short version of the response. All right, we are resettling Judea and Samaria, the heartland. of the Jewish historic homeland. We are repatriating Jews from abroad to come back to the country where they lived Thousands of years. Even during the eighteen centuries of exile and loss of independence, Jews lived here not only In Jerusalem and other places in the Galilee, but in Judea and Samaria.
Let's not forget. Tel Aviv was founded in 1909. I mean, Jews have been living all over for many, many hundreds of years Prior to Tel Aviv.
So there's no surprise there that we want to be where our national homeland is. Where our culture, our religion, our holidays, et cetera, all originated in, that this is where we're deeply embedded in. The second aspect of Temple Mount despite all the talk, I don't think that using a I wouldn't call it a threat, but an image of the rebuilding of the third temple. It's a long time in coming. But what are the Arabs doing up on the Temple Mount?
They have this big dome of the rock.
So They can have that place and call it say uh a substitute for our temple And they have the El Aqsa Mosque up there. Everything's permitted them we can't share and we can't be equal under the law in that situation. And I think that those who are trying to blame us. for a hundred years of hostility of Arabs through riots and pogroms during the mandate, And then the wars and then the Fatach Terra and the Hamas Terror are simply making lives easier for them and ignoring the course of history. Winky Madad, our frequent broadcast partner and guest on this radio program.
Winky, as always, we appreciate your insight. We appreciate the unique perspective you bring to this program. Thanks so much. We look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you very much again for having me on, as I said before, and goodbye to you.
And our listeners. Great job, Israel Madad, affectionately known as Winky. And if you ever want to look him up on social media, I know he's on Twitter or X or what was formerly known as Twitter. Look up Israel Madad and you can find information that will help you. He's very good at understanding what's going on in the land of Israel.
Speaking of that, everybody needs a worldview. And I just want to say this. I'm tired of the news sites, which I can't ever trust, but I found a new news source, and I'll just tell you about it, worthynews.com. It's a great site to go to. They do have an app.
You can download it on your phone. It gives you news around the world, Israel, different things like that. It keeps you updated, and they update it daily.
Well, one of the stories that they posted was about the latest misstep, I believe, of the Pope. And we're going to take a look at that today with our good friend, Mike Gendron. Rick, Britt, let's bring Mike in and talk about this. And I sent you this. This story, and apparently, it's sweeping and making all the rounds on Christian media.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have a good friend of both yours and mine, Mike Gendrin. He's the head of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministry, a ministry whose mission is the desire to equip and encourage the body of Christ to faithfully and effectively share the gospel of Christ. And Mike, as always, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us today.
Well, it's always good to be with you, especially uh With this great announcement that came out last week from the Pope. Yeah, that's right. And that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm sure that listeners of this program and people that have heard you on this program before may not be super surprised at this, but it was very blatant. Basically, Pope Francis told a group in Singapore that, quote unquote, all religions are a path to God.
Can you talk about this?
Well sure. He continues to prove that he's the most influential and dangerous false prophet in the world today. Here he was in a country that has at least five different faiths and Instead of um Speaking the truth. for example, he claims to be the head of the church and Yet the true head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ, said there's only one path. to eternal life and the other path leads to eternal destruction.
So We're all familiar with the two paths that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7. But here's a man who could have said in front of his audience that. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. He could have said that Jesus is the way for those who are lost, and He's the truth for those who are deceived.
He's the very life of those who are dead in their sins. But instead of having a concern for people that are lost in non-Christian religions. said that uh all religions are a path to God and How tragic. You know, some of the people that he was addressing were Muslims and Hindus and other apostate forms of Christianity. He was definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing, and that's what he's doing.
He's seeking to unite all religious people. in the world, in a global religion that will one day worship Antichrist, And Rick, we have to remember the word anti means either in place of or opposed to. And Pope Francis is both. He's not only. saying that he is in the place of Christ.
but he's also opposed to Christ. He's opposed to the very words that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke.
Well, let's talk about this then. You talked about the prophetic implications, and we look at the Bible that says that there's going to be in the future a one-world religion. This creation of a quote-unquote big tent religion where all paths lead, as he said, all paths lead to salvation. That is something that is helping probably more than anything that we've seen to help set up that one-world religion, isn't it?
Well, it is. And once again, he does not represent the Bible. I don't know if he knows the Bible very well. because he said that we're all children of God. But since he's biblically ignorant, He's giving people a false hope.
In fact, the Bible says only those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are children of God. We see that in John chapter one, verse twelve. And according to the inspired word of God, all unbelievers are children of the devil. Jesus told the apostate Jewish leaders You are of your father the devil. Who does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him?
He said that when he was confronting the apostate Jewish leaders and John 8.44. And then by this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not practice righteousness Is not of God. Nor the one who does not love his brother. And those are the words of John in 1 John 3:10.
So clearly, the world is made up of children of God. And children of the devil, and the Pope needs to know that every unbeliever, including himself, is a child of the devil. All the un Christian religions that he was addressing. They're all children of the devil. And so the only way to become a child of God is to repent and believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At that moment, we are adopted into God's family, He becomes our Father. But Every unbeliever needs to know that as children of the God of this world, they have been blinded by this God of this world, who is, of course, Satan. and he has blinded them from the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. And rather than have compassion on these people that he's addressing, He um seeks to be Popular and loved by all people, so he doesn't tell the truth, it divides. Instead, he's seeking satanic unity in error.
You mentioned that he does not know the Bible, and I think that's one of the things that you have talked about on this program in the past is there are aspects of Catholicism, if they are correct, it is where they agree in lockstep with the Bible. And when you get away from the Bible, and and there might not be the culture of study and discernment, or I should say there might not, there is definitely not the culture of study and discernment in the Catholic religion. Is that what is allowing him to get away with saying a statement like this? And is he getting pushed back from within the Catholic community? Yes, he is getting pushback.
In fact, Rick, if I have a couple of moments, I'd just like to share An email I got from a very devout Roman Catholic, and he was just lettling me for. Spreading lies about the Catholic Church, he said. I won't bother to talk to someone who says that you were eternally condemned most of your life as a Catholic and not even aware of it. For someone to say something so outrageous and inaccurate and offensive to God, you are a nutcase and have been co-opted by evil. And then he goes on to say: as for Pope Francis, thousands of Catholics are wary of him.
I do not trust him. He says some really beautiful things in the world. and then says some really stupid anti-scriptural statements. I would agree with you that Francis is telling lies or has run morally amok. He is someone who I consider a complete and blatant heretic and a false pope who has a role to play in these last days.
And so I just find it so amazing that he was criticizing me of spreading lies about the Catholic Church. Of course, I wasn't, I was speaking the truth. But then he goes on to criticize the Pope for spewing lies about this statement that all paths Lead to God.
So it's really interesting. I think there is a division in the Catholic Church. They don't know what to do with this Pope. But more than ever, we see that he is the false prophet that will one day bring the world to a global religion. And I know we've talked about this before, but when we look at the role of Satan in these last days, His goal is to form a united global religion, to create counterfeits so as to mislead.
to cause apostasy, to deceive and destroy and to blind, devour and kill. And this is everything the Pope is doing. He is influenced by the God of this world, who is Satan.
Well for my final question, and you mentioned it a little bit, you had somebody responding to you, a Catholic who was upset, but also confirming some of the fears and recognizing what this Pope was.
Well, for my final question, as we look at this, and one of our big missions here on Prophecy Today is to look at current events in the light of Bible prophecy so it can help place us where we are in God's timeline of events so it can motivate us and encourage us to reach others. You mentioned this one friend, or this one person, a Catholic that reached out to you. Many of us have Catholic friends. If you could, before you go, since we are realizing how close we are to God's end time scenario beginning, for those of us that have Catholic friends, could you give us maybe a few tips to help reach them and share with them the gospel? Yes, thank you so much for asking that question because We're living in a time of great deception, of growing apostasy.
These were the words of our Lord Jesus at The last days would Be just like we're experiencing.
So, more than ever, Rick, we need to test. The uninspired words of men with the inspired word of God. And so here you see a Pope that's blatantly lying. He's going directly against the Bible.
So if a Catholic is listening, they need to test the Catholic Church. the uh uninspired words of their priests and bishops and popes With the inspired word of God, they need to abide in God's Word. That is their only hope to being set free from the bondage of deception and the bondage of Satan. It was the Apostle Paul who said that we were to pray for those in opposition to the gospel, that God would grant them repentance, leading to a knowledge of the truth, so they can escape the snare of the devil that holds them captive to do his will. And so, as ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ, Christians need to recognize the Roman Catholic religion as a huge mission field, one point three billion precious souls that are being led down the broad road to destruction.
So we need to share the true gospel, its purity and exclusivity, and then call them to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Catholics' only hope, and of course, that's what our mission is. We've got so many resources to help your listeners, including gospel tracts and a book I wrote called Contending for the Gospel. That's what's at stake today.
So I invite your listeners to visit our website at proclaimingthegospel dot org. And we've got a lot of videos to watch, a lot of different Gospel tracts, but also you can call us at 817-379-5300. We are here to equip and encourage the body of Christ to be faithful witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ in these last days. Mike Gendren from Proclaimingthegospel.org. Mike, we certainly appreciate the ministry that you have.
It's certainly needed in this time, and we encourage our listeners to go to your website, use those resources available. As always, we will continue to pray for your ministry and pray for those that need the saving grace of the gospel. Mike, thanks so much for being with us today. We look forward to talking to you again soon. All right, Rick, it's always a pleasure to be on your show.
Thanks so much. Bye now. Great job, Mike. And stick around because Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, finishing up in the book of Zachariah, chapter 11, he's going to be talking about the Antichrist and his role in the end times.
We'll get to that right after we take a short break, right here on Proxy Today weekend. Welcome back 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, great program today.
So far, we've got the Legacy Series coming up. And then, of course, at the end of the program, you and I will take a look at the book and discuss what we have heard and some of the things that we've learned on the program today. But, you know, I am so very appreciative of our followers and people that take an interest in Bible prophecy. That's for sure, Jimmy. And not the least of which would be those that carry us on this radio program on Christian radio stations across the country.
We are grateful for them. We are grateful for their partnership in sharing the good news of God's prophetic word. As always, Jimmy, if listeners want to get involved, go to prophecytoday.com, find out a little bit more about us. We'd love to get involved with you as we continue to look at God's prophetic word. Exactly.
Thank you, Rick. Good stuff. Today on the Legacy Series, we're going to look at the last three chapters. Of Zachariah, the rejected king anointed. But first, go with me to Zachariah chapter 11, verses 15 to 17.
And before we discuss the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, Dr. DeJoung will take a look at the false Messiah, the Antichrist. Again, go with me to Zachariah 11 and verse 15. Dr. Jimmy D.
Young and the Legacy Series. Let me take you back to chapter 11 just for a moment. Remember when we finished our study yesterday? I left you hanging there with an interesting personality who is going to play a key role. In that day, in the city of Jerusalem, at the time when the program, the sovereign program of God will be instituted, a rejected king will be anointed.
That personality Chapter 11 is in verse 15 to 17, the Antichrist. And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. The chief shepherd, 1 Peter 5, is Jesus Christ. The foolish shepherd is Antichrist. A false messiah.
that the Jews having rejected the true Messiah will then blindly run after during this time of the tribulation. They will, many of them, continue on. in their blindness. And reject the real Messiah and follow after the false Messiah, Antichrist.
Now, the Antichrist. has a special program. I told you, after chapter 3 of the book of Genesis and till chapter 19 of the book of Revelation, there is not a theocracy, which was in chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the book of Genesis and will be in chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22 in the book of Revelation. The theocracy is at both ends of the Word of God. But from chapter 4 of the book of Genesis to chapter 19 of the book of Revelation, it has been a Satanocracy.
And Satan knowing the plan of God, knowing what God's going to do because he knows the scripture, he knows the word of God and trembles. It says in James chapter 2, verse 19. He knows the word of God. And he said, and in fact, it says in Revelation, he knows how short his time is. But in particular, he knows the word of God.
He knows the plan of God. He knows that he has a special program for the Jewish people.
Some Christians don't understand that, but Satan understands it. That's why he's trying to eliminate. You look at the book of Esther. Came within that much of eliminating the Jewish people. Had it not been for Mordecai, Mordecai, or Mordecai, we say, in Israel.
And his niece Esther? Who said Oh, Mordecai said she's here for such a time as this, and she said, If I perish, I perish, but I'm going in anyway. I'm going to take care of my people. Had it not been for the angel of the Lord appearing to Jesus Christ, the Messiah had been wiped out. Because of Satan's program.
In Matthew chapter 2, when Herod said to the wise men, When you go find him over in Bethlehem. Come and tell me where he is. I want to go worship him also. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto Joseph. They went into Egypt.
They were in safekeeping, then came back and went to Nazareth after that. When the angel of the Lord appeared again to them and said, It's safe to go back. Herod the Great has died. You study history. First of all, the Romans, when they came in and devastated the Jewish population, the city of Jerusalem, 70 AD, the Spanish Inquisition.
Continual persecution against the Jewish people. They're spread across the face of the earth. They have been continually, they've lived in fear. And that's what the Bible said in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28 would happen. They'll be, as a proverb, they'll be fearful.
They will be scared to death to live among the diaspora. That's a Greek word meaning those that have been dispersed all over the world.
So they will be scared. You bring up a Hitler. He comes to power and he starts to annihilate and takes out one-third of the total Jewish population. in just a couple of year period of time. And had he not been stopped, he would have probably tried to wipe out every Jew on the face of the earth.
And so continual persecution has been there. Satan's plan is to wipe him out. What's Antichrist power? Antichrist power is given to him by Satan. Look at chapter 13, just a moment of the book of Revelation.
We'll come back to Zachariah, but I want to. Set the groundwork for you. Chapter 13 tells us all we need to know about the Antichrist. We don't have to pick and choose who he is. But look what it says in verse 2.
It talks about him coming up out of the revived Roman Empire, talks about him coming up out of the Gentile world, and then at the last part of verse 2, and the dragon, chapter 12 defines the dragon as Satan. The dragon, Satan gave him his power and his seat and great authority.
So the Antichrist has a program. For in that day, and the city of Jerusalem, and thus the Jewish people. And he gets his power from Satan himself. Antichrist, it says in chapter 13 of the book of Revelation, Antichrist will be as it were wounded to the death. Very important phrase, as it were.
Satan does not have the power to raise from the dead or to take life. As it were, I believe, means that the individual who's going to be the Antichrist is a vegetable. supposedly dead. And as it were, raised from the dead. Because Satan will simply take a body that's still breathing.
Energize it, give that body its power, use its vantuidiquist capabilities. And communicate in the voice of that individual that is recognizable to the entire world. Whoever the Antichrist is cannot be someone who lived in a parallel. Past period of time that we didn't know anything about. It has to be somebody we would recognize.
The world is going to wonder after him.
Somebody said, Well, it's Judas.
Well, if Judas showed up, how would I know what Judas looked like? Whoever it is, it's a body to be energized. empowered by Satan.
So he has a program, wipe out those Jews. He has a power from Satan himself, and he's going to persecute the Jews. Chapter 20. 12 of the book of Revelation. Chapter 12 unfolds talking about, and I don't have time to exegete this, but talking about the nation of Israel.
When you see the woman who bringeth forth the man-child with the stars and everything, that goes back to Joseph's dream back in the book of Genesis. And here we're going to see this is describing the nation of Israel. And the woman is going to be protected. Look what it says in verse 5. And she brought forth a man-child, chapter 12 of Revelation, who was to rule all the nations with a rod and iron.
And her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness. I'm going to show you where she's going to go, and we're going to show you when that's going to take place. Look at verse 13.
Well, by the way, in verses 7 all the way to 12, Satan is cast out of heaven. God tells Michael, the commander-in-chief of the armies of the angels, get over there and get Satan and all of these demons out of here. I'm tired of it. Did you notice that? Satan?
and a multitude of demons are in heaven. They're up there. Satan, it says in verse 10, accusing the brethren day and night before the throne of God.
So that's where Satan is and they're going to throw Satan out. And he's going to come to the earth verse. Thirteen And when the dragon, by the way, verse 12 says, the heavens are rejoiced and the earth better rejoiced. Really mourn because of this fact. But look, it says in the last part of verse 12, and he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Now his persecution is going to intensify. Verse 13, and when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman, which brought forth the man-child. She was taken by two wings of a great eagle. That doesn't literally mean that's a symbolic member of this apocalyptic literature. There's no ego going to pick up four million Jews and take them to that place prepared by God.
So that's symbolic, referring to grace, G-R-A-C-E, just like the wings that brought The children of Israel, chapter 19 of Exodus out of the bondage under Egypt. And that was grace as well.
Now, look here, verse 17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which kept the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
So Satan now intensifies his persecution at the midway point of the tribulation, and the great tribulation takes place. It starts right here at the midway point when Satan goes into the temple, desecrates the temple. That's the abomination of desolation, talked about in Daniel chapter 9, verse 27. When that starts to happen, Satan is thrown out of heaven and he intensifies the persecution against the Jewish people at that time.
Now, back to chapter 12 of the book of Zechariah.
Now that we've set this up, I show you the scene. We come out of chapter 11, verses 15 to 17. We have Antichrist on the scene. We are now going to move into a specific period in that day. Focused on a special city or a special place, the city of Jerusalem.
and starting to see Satan, through Antichrist and all of their cohorts, the Satanic Trinity. Attack God's sovereign program for this end time. Here in chapter 12, 13, and 14, let me give you three points that I see as we look at these three chapters put together. Number one, The attempted devastation.
Now, notice how I make that statement. Satan Through Antichrist and false prophet, and all the satanic demons that were released. During the judgments, Especially the trumpet judgments, are going to attempt to devastate the Jewish people. And so what we're seeing interwoven here in these three chapters is an attempted devastation. An attempted devastation.
And it's focused first on the city of Jerusalem. Look what it says in chapter 12, verses 2 and 3. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trebling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. When Jerusalem is under siege, when they're attacking, when there's an attempted devastation. Look at verse 3.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. All the nations of the earth is going to be gathered against Jerusalem. Persecution, a cup of trembling, Jerusalem will become intoxicating. For those attempting to devastate the Jewish people.
Why Jerusalem? God put Jerusalem in the center of the earth. God placed the Jew in Jerusalem. God has a plan for the Jew, an eternal plan, not just a plan for the tribulation period, not just a plan for the millennial kingdom, but for a plan for eternity future, Jerusalem, central focus for the Jewish people.
So if you're Satan With your plan to annihilate the Jew, what do you do? You go to Jerusalem. You go into Jerusalem to take out the Jew. And so Jerusalem, it says Zachariah, gets the prophecy. Jerusalem, either way.
In 1522, Jerusalem wasn't the central focus of the earth. In 1776, Jerusalem wasn't the central focus of the earth. In 1892, Jerusalem wasn't the central focus of the earth. And 19 pen. Jerusalem wasn't the center focus of the earth.
In 1967 Jerusalem. the central focus of the earth. and Jerusalem is becoming a cup of trembling. Men intoxicated with power. On our study of Zechariah today.
We've been looking at how the devil, Satan himself, will attempt to destroy the city of Jerusalem. We've also seen the prophecy of how Jerusalem will become the center of controversy in the last days. That's Zachariah 12, verses 2 and 3. This is exactly where we will begin and continue our study of Zachariah next time. Dr.
Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy series. You can go to our website and find more series like Zachariah. Great teaching. And the great thing is, even though these were taught years ago before he passed away, they're still very relevant for today. Maybe the actors have changed, but the nations are still the same.
Let me remind you: Israel will finally recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Israel will be regenerated, restored, and regathered. Got to take a break, and when we come back, Rick and I will take a look at the book right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Yesterday in Lebanon, a cyber attack exploded Hezbollah walkie-talkies and solar equipment.
This, after mass explosions on Tuesday, targeted pagers of Hezbollah terrorists. Overall, 3,300 people were injured and 21 killed. Nuna with Triumph at Mercy Lebanon says, It's the familiar echoes of war. We're definitely having all these news that are coming flashing on all the time, like 24/7 about Israel and the war and Hezbollah, and trying to rally everybody around Hezbollah to fight Israel, which Lebanon doesn't want.
So, this whole situation is daily and 24/7 before our eyes. As citizens flee the southern border, Triumph at Mercy Lebanon is offering relief and hope in Christ. Pray that Lebanese citizens and Hezbollah would follow Jesus. And monsoon rains have battered Pakistan with severe flooding and losses. Daryl Templeton with Mega Voice says it's especially devastating as scars from the floods of 2022 still exist.
It seems always that it's the poorest and the most vulnerable that are the most affected. It's, you know, tragedy is on tragedy because many of the farmlands and the homes of those poor people were never rebuilt, never restored properly, and now they're hit again. Many of the same areas. More than 350 people are reported to have died since July 1st, half of them children. Mega Voice is receiving increased requests for their audio Bible players, which also have a practical flashlight feature.
Pray that overwhelmed believers in Pakistan will stand in their faith and consider partnering with Megavoice to spread the spiritual light of the gospel as well as physical light to survivors. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. This month, Keys for Kids Ministries, they're offering free devotionals designed to help your kids spend time in God's Word every day of the year, growing disciples for Christ. Get yours free when you click on the banner ad at missionnews.org. I'm Rhys Kramer.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. You know, Rick, today we talked about really the four trends of Bible prophecy, four major trends of Bible prophecy that we keep our eyes on: the return of the Jews to the land of Israel, Aliyah, the Antichrist making a seven-year covenant, an arrangement for peace, the temple that will be built in the city of Jerusalem, the invasion or the alignment of the nations that are going to come against Israel in the end times. And you know, there is much turmoil in Israel today. Israel is persecuted, surrounded by enemies: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad.
But this hatred and persecution of Israel is only a hint of what will happen in the end times. And that we find in Matthew chapter 24. The latest round of persecution begins when Israel was reconstituted as a nation in 1948. Many Bible prophecy scholars believe the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967 was the beginning of the end. Could what is taking place today in Israel today indicate that the end is even near?
And I would say, yes, Rick. Does it necessarily mean that the end is near? No. Jesus himself said it best. Watch out that no one deceives you.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Well, Jimmy, I think that's such a great reminder to put things in context here. We are looking at things that are taking place right now. And like you said, does that mean that it's going to happen tomorrow? No, it could happen tomorrow. And I remember dad always used to say, if you were to ask me to predict when the rapture was going to take place, I would say tonight.
But if not tonight, ask me tomorrow and I'll say the same thing.
So we look at these things. We're putting this in context. And if it doesn't happen tonight, we are going to continue to do what we are supposed to do here, sharing the good news of the gospel.
Well, Jimmy, this program was really great today as we look at all these things that are taking place. And I remember with Ken Timmerman as we talked about the Ukraine crisis spreading over into places like Syria and Sudan. Jimmy, you know, Ezekiel 38 says that those are nations that are going to be involved with Russia, along with Turkey, who we talked about last week, that are going to come against Israel during the tribulation, Jimmy. And that's in Ezekiel 38. And if you could, Jimmy, we talk about that a lot, but why is it so important that the Islamic nation is going to come against Israel at that time?
Yeah.
Well, you know, what's interesting, again, and I think I'm always reminded, Rick, we don't overreach. You know, there are a lot of people that try to pull a lot of rabbits out of hats, if you will, you know, as magic and looking at Bible prophecy and far reach and try to make things work. You don't have to do that. We are looking at nations. And as you said, Rick, the nations of Ezekiel 38, those nations, and we combine that.
And that would be Russia, Iran, Syria out of the north, Egypt out of the south. That would also include Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia will be a part of these nations, which are nations that you just mentioned. And these nations. Nations and the common denominator out of all of these nations is that they're Islamic nations. And of course, what is so significant in that?
And sometimes we don't talk about it.
Now, man, people always, you know, we take a look at as they're lining up. These are nations that are talked about in Bible prophecy. We're watching them come in. We're watching Ukraine attack Russia through Sudan, like you said. And what was the other nation?
Oh, Syria.
So, as we, you know, as we think about that, you know, here, you know, Russia is really being attacked, and they're going to well up within and come against, not only really more or less make this alignment complete, but they will come against Israel and any other nation that gets in their way. And we know that they'll come against Israel in a time of peace. That's what Ezekiel 38, verse 11 says. In the time of peace, there will be an attack when Israel is living at peace. It's not happening now.
In the future, that will happen. And then, of course, Ezekiel chapter 39. And if you go to your Bibles and you look at Ezekiel 39, and if you have a King James Bible, which I love, it says, and Ezekiel 39 talks about all these nations attacking Israel, Turkey being one of those nations, also with all of those that we've talked about. It says that I will turn thee back and leave but the sixth part of thee. And Rick, if you do the math, 220 million people that That are Islamic in nature, Muslims, Arab nations surrounding Israel, wiping out five, six of those nations, of those people coming against Israel.
That's what's going to happen to the Islamic world. And interesting when we watch the events of this last week, what took place in Israel, especially with the Pager incident and how God works. I mean, I don't know how you attribute that to Bible prophecy, but I do know that God. Is on the hand of keeping Israel safe and secure, but they will suffer more persecution. And Jimmy, you know, as we look at this and the destruction of the Islamic nations there at that war when they are defeated, we look at that it's going to set the stage for a one world religion.
That's what Mike Jendren talked about. Yes. One world religion, certainly. You have to say that the Pope is going to be a part of that. At least the misinformation or, you know, twisting religion to make it seem something from what the word of God says.
I'm always reminded what Mike says. You know, I doubt that the Pope knows very much about the Bible, doesn't even understand what is going to take place in the end times, which is why it's important for us to know God's Word. And that's and what is going to happen in the end times.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. Certainly, we look at this situation. We look at all of these things put together when we realize these are the signs of the times. We realize where we are on God's prophetic plan, and it motivates us to act and to share the gospel as we did as we talked with Mike at the end of his segment. What we need to do as believers, sharing the gospel, letting people know the good news that we have.
We are to be watching for prophecy fulfilled because Jesus. Jesus told us that the day of the Lord, his return for his own, would come like a thief in the night. 2 Peter 3:10, unexpected, unannounced. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. Time is short.
We understand the times in which we're living. Hopefully, we are helping others to understand that also, and why we need to be doing God's work on this earth. Thank you again for joining with us today. Rick and I say goodbye to you, and the rapture could happen at any moment, as Rick said. 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.
