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. Rick, as I am watching world events taking place today, as I am watching the world, it seems like it's getting darker and darker, doesn't it? Oh, it certainly does, Jimmy. And we're going to talk about that on the program today.
But one thing that we know that we have the advantage is that we know how this story ends, and we know that we have the truth, we have the light, which helps us to basically continue to go on every day. It sure does. Really, I mean, it depends on how you look at it, right? I mean, it could be darker according to the world, but to us, we look at it from the perspective of it's getting lighter and lighter.
Well, on today's program, we have Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, R.C. Merle back, and Lieutenant Colonel Bob McGinnis on the program with the legacy series, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, also.
Well, let's get started, Rick. We've got a lot to cover. Let's get started with Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He is our expert on geopolitics. We go to him when we want to find out what is taking place in the world today. Ken, as always, we appreciate you joining us.
Always a pleasure to be with you, Rick. Thanks for having me.
Well, Ken, we know you just recently returned from your home in France, so you should be an expert on this next question. And I think it's going to take an expert because it seems like a confusing situation. There is a new Prime Minister in France. Can you talk about that? Explain the situation.
It is a bit confusing to Americans. We're not used to a parliamentary system. We're not used to a, you know, where you have three, four, five different parties all vying for a majority in the legislature. And remember, we've talked about this a couple times during the recent legislative elections. You had basically three groups, each with around a third of the members of parliament.
So there had to be some kind of coalition. The president of France, Macron, who I like to call Little Cookie, has decided to do what I thought he was going to do. He's done a quarterback sneak up the center. He has stiffed his allies in the legislative elections on the far left and said, you're not coming into the government. And he chose a guy named Michel Barnier, not a household name.
He's around 73 years old. He will be the oldest person to become prime minister in France, succeeding to the youngest, Gabrielle Atal, who is going out. Barnier is sort of center-right. He is going to have to rule with the party of Marine Le Pen, of the National Rally Party. Otherwise, the left, if they vote against him and they promise to do that, they will be able to bring down the government.
Barnier is a former foreign minister, and his real claim to fame is that he was the European Union Commissioner who was the chief negotiator starting in 2016 with the Brits over Brexit. That didn't go so well. But nevertheless, he is going to, I think, be able to survive. The right-wing parties have said that they will vote with him, and they have demanded some concessions from him, most notably that he makes some concessions in terms of the economy, on taxes, purchasing power, and especially immigration and security. The French are really upset with the outrages being perpetrated in major cities around the country by Muslim migrants.
Ken, when you look at this situation, if you look at the bottom line there, can you tell us, does this represent a shift to the right to the government, to the left, or maybe we're not sure yet? It presents a slight shift to the right, and I think that is probably a good thing for the French economy, and it's probably a good thing for the pocketbooks of most French men and women.
Well, we'll continue to monitor that situation there, but let's move on and let's talk about another country we often speak about, and that is Turkey. Turkey is applying to join the BRICS bloc, which includes Russia and China, and this is Turkey a part of NATO. It seems to be another confusing situation. Can you explain this?
Well, this is yet again Erdogan, the Muslim Islamist president of Turkey, pretending that he's carrying out some kind of balancing act between East and West, between NATO and Russia and Russia's allies. I don't see it that way, Rick. I have considered for a number of years that Turkey does not belong in NATO any longer. They do not behave as a NATO ally. And by joining BRICS, it's just one more indicator that Turkey is going to the dark side.
You mentioned Russia and China as part of BRICS, but Iran is also part of BRICS, as is India, Brazil, and South Africa. This is. Really, a very serious situation. This alliance, which includes the two most populous nations in the world, each with a billion people, India and China, has the intention of issuing a new global currency that would rival with the dollar. Should they do so, Rick, we will have severe economic dislocation in this country, especially since they have a number of oil-producing countries such as the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf who have joined their alliance.
So this is something that is potentially dangerous. It is potentially a big deal, potentially a big threat to our economic well-being here in this country.
Well, certainly was a significant development, and something we're going to talk about a little bit later on in the program, but let's move to the Middle East and we'll talk about Iran. And there's a United Nations report that says that they are on an execution Yeah, well, this happens regularly. The UN keeps track, as do most human rights organizations, of the publicly announced executions. There were 93 of them just in this month of August, this past month. But again, that is only what the regime reports.
We know that they execute many more people in the prisons on the frontiers with Pakistan and with Iraq. They go into Iraqi Kurdistan with hit teams and take out people that they feel are enemies of the regime.
So this is a trend. It's an indicator, if you wish, of what the regime is doing. And it's an indicator also of how this new so-called moderate president is behaving. Not so moderately. Certainly not.
And we look at the way they treat their own citizens and much less the way they look at the country of Israel and the United States, the Little Satan and the Big Satan as they call it. And now Iran is about to become, by all accounts, a nuclear power. And there are some people saying that that needs to be stopped. We need to consider a military option to stop that.
Well, I think it's interesting to see that you're finding an increasingly large number of voices in the policy community who are talking about this. You know, I've mentioned this for a long time. I've also said that Iran is a nuclear threshold state. They now seem to have gone beyond the threshold. Remember, the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that they can have as many as 13 nuclear weapons within a matter of months with the amount of highly enriched uranium currently that they have in their stockpile.
Look, Rick, the options for the West and for Israel are not very many. There is a military option. Biden and Harris clearly are not going to go in that direction. Both of them are appeasers. They like the Islamic regime in Iran, so they're not going to be threatening them.
In fact, you haven't heard a word from them about Iran all during this presidential campaign. You know, I talked in a recent paper I did for the America First Policy Institute about an alternative course. Helping the Iranian people to overthrow the regime, not militarily through our own military intervention, but by using our influence, our diplomatic support, our media support to help lift the weight of regime oppression from the people of Iran so they have more freedom to be able to organize and to be able to organize against the regime. I think this is probably the best alternative that we have. I am certainly proposing it to the next administration that will come into office in the United States in January.
But I think this option of helping the people of Iran to overthrow the regime is the only option we're going to have in the coming months to an actual kinetic war with the Islamic regime in Iran.
Well, one final question that I have for you as we complete this interview, Ken, and this includes Iran now, and it's the subject of election interference. With the November elections coming up for the presidency here in the United States, there are those that are saying Iran is going to be involved in election interference. Of course, we have heard about the Russian interference, and the U.S. Justice Department is working on this right now.
So, anyways, I think this is going to become a huge issue. I'd like to get your thoughts on it, Ken.
Well, the Department of Justice announced a number of weeks ago that the Iranians have been caught hacking the emails of Roger Stone, who is considered to be an advisor to President Trump. I don't know how close an advisor he is to President Trump, but nevertheless, there are also reports that they're trying to hack into WhatsApp accounts used by campaign officials in both the Democrat and Republican Party. But this is not surprising, Rick. The Iranians hacked me a couple of years ago. I was warned by the FBI about this.
So they are very, very active. They're very good at it. Most Americans are really not suspicious of phishing attempts. These are attempts through emails and text messages to get you to click on a link. And when you click on that link, you download a piece of malicious software.
That's one of the things that the Iranians do. The Russians also, just this past week, were accused by the Department of Justice of a much larger, well-funded effort to influence social media influencers. In particular, they said that they had spent about $10 million to hire some so-called right-wing social media influencers with millions of followers. But you know, Rick, what's really going on here, the Russian goal here is to sow confusion, to incite divisions, to look at race, to look at all those things that really divide us as a country. But this is what social media has been doing since Facebook began in 2004, Rick.
I think that the real culprit of the divisiveness that we see in our country is social media, which makes Us vulnerable to the type of media manipulations that we are now seeing from Iran and Russia. We're also seeing them from the Democrats and from the U.S. media, which is the communications arm of the Democrat Party.
So, this latest indictment of two Russians from RT television is another Russia, Russia, Russia ploy by the Democrats and the deep state. It's not a hoax, but it is a feint. We should be looking in the mirror, Rick, at our own willingness to demonize our political opponents and not to Russia and Iran for trying to influence the elections. We are allowing ourselves to be influenced by the demons we have inside ourselves. A great insight, Ken, as we look at that issue from a different perspective.
Well, as always, you do a great job of keeping us informed. We look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless. Ken Timmerman, great job as always, Ken.
You know, we focus on these nations because they're a part of the times of the Gentiles spoken about in Daniel chapter 2, Daniel chapter 7, and a revived Roman Empire that will be in place in the future along with all these other nations of Bible prophecy.
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 Ruiz Kramer with Mission Network News. Lebanon's former central bank governor, Riyadh Salome, was arrested this week in Beirut after a lengthy interrogation. Salome is facing domestic and international charges for allegedly embezzling over $40 million. Poverty more than tripled over the past decade in Lebanon, affecting nearly half the population.
And yet, hope remains. Heart for Lebanon's Camille Melke says: God has put us in a position to engage the world with a positive change.
So I see great hope in the country of Lebanon only if we continue to work diligently in raising a new generation of God-fearing, compassionate leaders that would replace the current leaders. Connect with us online to learn how you can foster transformative change through Heart for Lebanon. And Spanish-speaking mentors from Chase Oaks Church in Texas are meeting a crucial need by writing letters with prisoners through crossroads prison ministries. Pastor Iran Vega of Chase Oaks Church explains. When people hear about going to prison or peace prison ministry, they think, oh, it may take a lot of time.
Fears combined with ignorance, it's a lot of trouble. But in this case, knowing that anybody could do it, because anybody is a Christian and knows how to read and write, could be a mentor, I was excited about the possibility of opening up something that my church could do. And we could serve at the same time our community, which is Latinos or Spanish-speaking people. Crossroads still needs more Spanish speaking mentors. Pastor Vega urges more Christians, especially Spanish speakers, to get involved.
Find your place in the story at mission news. or g. 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 the 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 the portion of our program we look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. We call it our Middle East news update.
To do that, we have with us Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for joining us today. I'm always happy to be with you, Rick.
Well, Dave, we typically get started with an update from Israel. Can you give us the latest?
Well, Rick, as has been the case for a number of weekends now, the big news of the week happened last weekend, happened soon after we broadcast this program, when, of course, the bodies of six slain, cruelly slain Israeli hostages were found in a tunnel in Gaza just A day or two before they would have been rescued, it's believed, by the Israeli. Forces that, of course, included Hirsch Goldberg, Poland, and American Israeli. in the White House very much involved in trying to get him free, and the other four American Israelis are still being held hostage, assuming they're alive. Of course, all week we've had reactions to that. We've had major street demonstrations against the Netanyahu government every night in Tel Aviv and other places since then, apart from last night on the Sabbath.
It was a smaller demonstration. We had videos released on Friday, yesterday, of some of the slain hostages that Hamas recorded just before they were killed, in which they're pleading for their lives and making statements against the government and all of this. psychological warfare basically being waged by Hamas. And on Friday also, Rick, we had a story published in the German Built newspaper They said they saw a document that was found on Yaya Sinwar's personal computer, the head of Hamas. Israel must have discovered it.
Somehow it got to them. And it basically says we want the war to continue. We want to put as much pressure on the families, the hostage families, as we can. During the first hostage release, if it happens, there's a deal. We're going to let the Red Cross in to see the remaining hostages.
Finally, Israel's been asking for that the whole time, but in order to increase pressure on the Israeli government. It talks about international pressure against Israel. It wants an Arab armed force to come into the Gaza Strip. uh during a ceasefire and to prevent the idea from going back in. And some other things that I can talk about a little bit more later.
But a very disturbing report, and they said they've confirmed that it was. From Sinwar's computer.
Meanwhile, we had the Israeli foreign minister meeting his German counterpart on Friday. He said that Israel will react to these brutal murders. Has plans to do that. He also said that Khomeini of Iran, the overall leader, is trying to turn now the West Bank, Judea and Samaria, into a full warfront. And he told her that copious amounts of weapons are going in there.
And by the way, on Friday, there was the end of the 10-day operation in Janin, the IDF operation. They said over 20 were killed in it. That to curb Hamas's growing force there and Islamic jihad there in the northern Samaria area. Also on Friday, Rick, we had a female Turkish-American peace activist. She called herself, she was shot dead during rioting in northern Samaria.
That every Friday, the Palestinians have been gathering and throwing stones and other things at soldiers and some settlers showed up and there were clashes. And she was shot dead, apparently by an IDF bullet.
So the White House is condemning that. The IDS said it will be checking into that. And finally, in the Northrick, we had more rocket fire from Lebanon all week. We had on Friday Herze Halevi, the chief of staff, up on the Golan Heights touring the border. And he said once again that a major operation against Hezbollah is being planned.
He said we've been training our forces in combat, in active combat in forests. We've had C training and other things going on. And he said we're going to have to deal with Hezbollah at some point, and we, the IDF, are getting ready for that. Dave Dolan, with an update on the news coming out of Israel. Dave, let's follow up on some of those stories that you mentioned.
And one is Yahya Sinoar's personal computer and some of the effects kind of show a glimpse into his thought process. And this is kind of a microcosm of the Palestinian situation in general. There are those that are advocating for a two-state solution, but in order to have negotiations, you have to have two willing partners. And the Palestinians are not a willing partner in that process. And then we look at this situation right now.
There are many people calling for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a hostage deal. These things, again, you must have two willing partners. You look at these documents that they discovered that show the thought process of Sinoir, and it shows that he doesn't want a deal and that this war is playing directly into his hands. And it goes further than that, Rick. He says we must prolong it as long as we can.
It states that Israel must not be allowed to be in the southern Philadelphia corridor at all, that there should be no Israeli forces back there, and that this will give Hamas, it states this. The chance to rebuild. The document admits that they've been dealt a blow, but that they will rebuild and retake. Rick, there were two states. There was a Palestinian state in Gaza, and there was an Israeli state next door.
The Israelis were not in Gaza at all. It was a totally independent state. And it was only sanctioned, and it was only to put pressure on, you know, and interdiction of weapons because Hamas said this state is going to be used to destroy our neighbor. And, Rick, during the week, the anti-Netanyahu forces were so strong, so loud. We had real rioting going on, like happened last year in the judicial reform demonstrations.
The prime minister gave an interview with Fox, and I want to quote a little bit. He said, I'm not interested in my political future, I'm interested in my country's future. This war would be over yesterday if Hamas laid down its arms and released all the hostages. This war would be over yesterday in two seconds if Hamas would go along with that. It's refusing to do that.
The obstacle to the end of the war is Hamas. The obstacle to the release of hostages is Hamas. the ones who butchered, murdering six people in cold blood. Riddling them with bullets and then firing bullets into their heads is Hamas. It's not Israel.
It's not me. And Rick, really, most Israelis are just still in shock and in mourning over this. Six young Israelis, two female, four males, they were at the music festival, and just crazy. Truly shot dead right before they're rescued. It's just the Terrible.
It shows the true nature of this group. And the opinion polls, there was a survey published on Friday, Rick. It shows that Israel's evenly split. About half the people believe that Israel must remain, as Netanyahu says, in the Philadelphia Corridor. That's about an eight-mile-long border corridor in southern Gaza.
About the same amount who support the left say no, we must give that up to get the hostages released. But another thing that Netanyahu pointed out, Rick, that I thought was very important, he said if we pull out even temporarily from that southern area, as Galant, the defense minister, is advocating, just so that a ceasefire could get going, he says, Galant, we can return there. He said then they can use the tunnels that we will no longer be controlling to smuggle out some of these hostages. He said some may end up in Iran, some may end up in Yemen, and that would be a far worse situation than we have right now.
So that battle goes on, but it's so sad to me, Rick, to see the country so divided and to see all this death and destruction and just funeral after funeral. And it's definitely we're getting close to the days of Jacob's trouble, is all I can say. It's getting darker and darker and more and more serious. And Israel's very existence is clearly on the line.
Well, it certainly is, and we can see, as you are saying, the way that this is heading towards setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Now, we look at what took place this week in Israel. We look at the hostage situation. Very emotional. You and I were emotional about it. We were talking and texting throughout the week.
And, of course, the people of Israel were psychologically and emotionally drained by this whole ordeal. Can you talk a little bit about the stress that this is putting on the country of Israel and especially the government? Prime Minister Netanyahu leading. But, of course, as you said many times in the past, the country is very polarized politically.
So, this is a very tough situation for the Prime Minister to be in. Can he hold the government together? Can he pull the country through this?
Well, the opinion poll published on Friday still shows that Netanyahu is the second. Most popular candidate for prime minister, the first being Naftali Bennett, who, of course. Briefly served as prime minister, an American Israeli citizen himself, his parents from San Francisco.
So Netanyahu still has a lot of support, but of course, Galant, this is his defense minister, that's taking a different view. And you can make that argument: you know, a temporary pullout and then we can go back. But Netanyahu's view is equally valid, and I think more so that it will be very difficult to go back, the world will scream. And this Hamas document said that world pressure on Israel to stay out of Gaza will be increased. Very much once they pull out even it temporarily.
So his arguments, I think, are shared by a lot of military leaders. Others are tired of the war, and like Gallant and the chiefs of staff are arguing we need to start focusing now on Lebanon more than on Gaza. But of course, as long as those hostages are still there, this is going to be a major issue always. and a major pressure point on the government. And like I've said before, Rick, I certainly wouldn't want the job of Prime Minister in Israel, even in the best of times.
Well, it certainly is a tough situation, and I urge our listeners to pray. Pray for the leadership in Israel, pray for the Jewish people, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. David, as always, we appreciate your insight. We look forward to talking to you again soon. You're welcome, Mick Coblet.
We're going to take a break right now, but we'll be back with more of Prophecy Today Radio. Mm-hmm. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Caught behind the mounting hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah are 1.3 million children in Lebanon. An April report from UNICEF said that education, healthcare, water access, and more had deteriorated for these kids.
Nuna with Triumph for Mercy Lebanon says their team strives to give kids a sense of normalcy. Summer camps this year offered kids a safe space to be with friends and learn about God, despite fear and hopelessness. Pray for the gospel to continue to spread in Lebanon. And the Slavic Gospel Association recently met in Armenia with church leaders and teachers from a variety of countries. This training refreshed their hearts with the gospel.
It also was an encouragement to Armenian pastors who face the constant threat of war with Azerbaijan, as well as pressure from many of the predominantly Islamic national neighbors. Pray that these pastors will stand resolute in their commitment to their churches and for peace in Armenia. Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries, I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we're examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
This coming half hour, I have RC Murrow and Colonel Bob McGinnis coming up. You know, and at the beginning of the program, I talked about people are saying that the world is getting darker. And as Christians, we believe the world is getting darker, but it all depends on your perspective. And I think it's getting brighter as you're looking forward to the blessed appearing. That's what makes me think that I am excited about the times in which we're living.
Well, can we? Kind of on that stage of darkness. I wanted to bring back in my good friend R.C. Murle. R.C., welcome back to the program.
It's really good to be with you, Jimmy. Yes, sir. Arcee, you sent me now, you know, we are following, and media sites are now reporting on this BRICS issue, the BRICS nations. You sent me an interesting headline this week: 126 nations to attend the BRICS summit to discuss leaving the U.S. dollar.
That really expands what you and I have been talking about since June of 2024, when Saudi Arabia failed to renew the petro-dollar agreement. You know, it sure does, Jimmy. It was actually June 9th, 2024, that the Saudis chose to let the 50-year-old petro-dollar agreement expire. You know, that agreement provided the Saudis with U.S. protection weapons, and the agreement strengthened the dollar's position as World Reserve currency as nations were forced to pay for oil purchases in U.S.
dollars.
Now the new transition This will allow the kingdom, the Saudi kingdom, to sell oil in various currencies. And as a welcome sign for those countries looking at options other than the dollar, like the BRICS plus 10 nations are. Remind us again, RC, who are the BRICS nations? The original BRICS nations, Jimmy, were Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, B-R-I-C-S. And in 2024, January, Saudi Arabia was joined in the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Iran, making 10 nations, very big oil producers also in those nations.
So what do you see happening with this October BRICS meeting? I think they already told us what the agenda would be. And in addition to possibly doubling its membership like they did in twenty twenty four, the genie's out of the bottle that the BRICS plus ten nations want a currency to trade amongst themselves, avoiding the U. S. dollar.
You know, what is still unsaid is that the ultimate goal of the block of nations called BRICS Plus is to create a second world reserve currency. Wow, R.C., with such monumental events being discussed that could change the economies of the world, how can it be that Western nations remain quiet? You know, and that's the most amazing part. I've been saying that since June. Instead of a call to action by the U.S.
administration, the Biden economic team. Acts like the king dollar mantra will continue forever. Didn't you tell me on a previous broadcast that the Federal Reserve Chief Jay Powell acknowledged that there could be a second world reserve currency? I did indeed. He stunned the the the the nations when he said that.
And what is curious is that when I went to YouTube to find the video of Paolo of Powell acknowledging the possibility of the second reserve currency, it was gone. I couldn't find it.
So fortunately I was able to find the video in our archives and posted it up on the blog. But who knows for how long it'll be up there? Yes. RC, with what we know about BRICS and BRICS Plus now, what can you tell us that is certain? We know that the Brix Plus wants out of the U.
S. dollar and is creating a common currency for trade amongst themselves. That's no secret. We also know that Jay Powell said in april twenty twenty three that he could see a second reserve currency. And no secret again.
We know that China, the most powerful of the BRICS nations, has instituted a digital yuan and made cryptocurrencies illegal We know that the Mises Institute has said that central bank digital currencies could bring hyperinflation. And we know from a biblical perspective that hyperinflation It lines up with Revelation 6, 5, and 6, the fourth judgment of the apocalypse. All of that is now open for us all to see, right? It certainly is. It certainly is.
If all of the above come to pass and BRICS Plus creates a second world reserve currency, what would happen to the dollar and to the U.S. way of life? You know, I've thought a lot about this. And since this is kind of a potential assault on the dollar's World Reserve currency status, it has never really happened before. I can only speculate.
That nations hostile to the US would sell dollars to purchase whatever the second reserve currency is, which would cause a drop in the dollar, making everything more expensive, kind of a stealth inflation. We just need more dollars to buy the same thing. What we do not know is whether all this happens before or after the rapture when Jesus comes in the clouds to take his church.
So I figured it this way. If the fall of the dollar happens before the rapture, We better be ready for some difficult times. The three percent inflation rate will seem like nothing in comparison to the drop in the buying power of the dollar. It will simply take more money, more dollars to buy the same goods and services. Therefore, it would be a good idea to prepare for emergencies like people on the Gulf and Southeast states of the United States do for hurricane season.
If the fall of the dollar happens after the rapture, when store shelves are empty and prices are sky high, Those reserve supplies will be a help to friends and loved ones who rejected Jesus' pardon for sin and are left behind.
So for now, Jimmy, we wait and we watch to get more clues from the outcome of the BRICS Plus october twenty two to twenty four summit. RC, thank you for keeping us aware of this. I do think it's something that we need to focus on, but it helps us to be prepared. Not prepared in a sense of, you know, for tomorrow or next week or next month, but today we need to be prepared because, as you said, that rapture could happen at any moment. But if it doesn't, we need to be prepared for a world that really is getting into much more of a darker state of mind.
RC, give us your website once again. Thank you, Jimmy. It's prophecytracker.org. Thanks, RC. Appreciate it.
We'll talk to you again. Thanks, Jimmy. God bless. Rick, I think this is something we want to continue on, and I thought it would be very good to get Lieutenant Colonel Bob McGinnis on the program today. Let's continue this thought with the BRICS nations and Russia, China, Iran, and all of those.
That's right, Jimmy. I have retired Lieutenant Colonel Bob McGinnis with us. He is a frequent guest on the program. We are lucky to have him on when we get a chance to help us explain what is going on in the world. He is retired from Army Intelligence.
He's worked in the Pentagon. He's also an author and a student of Bible prophecy. Colonel McGinnis, thanks for joining us.
Well, thanks for having me.
Well, when we have you on the program, we like to get an update on things that are taking place around the world. We talk about these things often on this program, but you bring your own unique perspective. Let's start this week with the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Two and a half years going to be three years soon that this crisis has been going on. Seems like lately there has been some back and forth that both sides are somewhat claiming to have made progress.
Could you give us a status update? Where does this stand right now, this seemingly long-term war that is taking place? Yeah, it is a long-term war and it does seem to be somewhat of a stalemate. Yes, the Ukrainians have made incursions into Mother Russia, which of course has upset the Kremlin. But that's to keep the Kremlin off balance.
They've paid a very heavy price for the two-plus years of war that they've launched into Ukraine. Arguably 300,000 battle casualties, many tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars of equipment and other resources spent. And then of course when you compare that with the losses in Ukraine, it's been very heavy on their population in terms of not only military losses but civilian losses and equip losses.
So this war does appear to be somewhat of a stalemate. It's back and forth. The Russians aren't making headway toward Kyiv. And of course I don't expect that you're going to see a major incursion into Russia. what they've done of late is to keep the Russians off balance.
Hopefully, at some point in the not too distant future, there's going to be an acknowledgment by both sides that You know, headway is not going to be made, and therefore they should sue for some sort of peace agreement. And I think contention upon that will be Russia will want to have you know, control over those four provinces that it's already seized and Parliament says they're legitimate uh Russian Federation. Provinces, and of course, Kyiv is going to push back against that.
So there's a lot yet. to happen and hopefully though that the killing will stop uh before you know much longer.
Well, Bob, you know that Ukraine is so reliant on the West and the United States for funding and for armaments. Is there a way that because of that the West could pressure Ukraine to come to the table to to bring about a negotiation and an end to this?
Well I think a lot depends upon uh the next next administration in the U. S. After all, uh we've provided a lion's share, arguably, of uh munitions and the other aid that has gone in to sustain the the fight that Kyiv and Zelensky have waged against uh Putin and the Russian forces. If in fact Mr. Trump is elected, I suspect that there will be pressure on both parties.
to come to some uh Revolution of sorts, some peaceful outcome at a faster pace. For us to sustain that battle, It is not only robbing from our own arsenals, then arguably we should be. you know, prepping for a confrontation with China in the Far East. But to sustain this is nothing short of inviting, I think, a larger conflict because mistakes can be made. And of course, Vladimir Putin on many occasions and his Surrogates.
have threatened to escalate to a nuclear exchange.
So I think that, that's more talk than substance.
However, we have to recognize that the longer this thing lasts, the more likely I think something of a broader scope can emerge, and that's the real concern.
Well, on Prophecy Today, we look at the political because it sets the stage for the prophetic to be fulfilled. We know that from Ezekiel 38, Russia has a role to play in God's end time scenario. Another nation from that same passage, Iran, is often in the news. Let's move there. Talk about them just a little bit.
Now, we know earlier this year, they had that barrage that they sent towards Israel in an attack on Israel.
Now, we look at they have said that they are going to respond to Israel for the killing of the Hamas chief there in Tehran.
Now, they said that, but it's been over a month now, I believe. And so, we're looking at this situation. Can you tell me what Iran is thinking? I know they've had not cooled on their vow to get Israel. Has deterrence been restored?
Can you talk about that a little bit? Yeah, I don't think we've done anything to deter Iran. We've done just the opposite. Certainly by lifting the embargoes and the sanctions. Uh and of course though Biden has tried to reimpose JCPOA.
We're just not there yet.
So with plenty of funds in their pockets, thanks to the lifting of sanctions and the sale of Yeah. Petroleum every day, mostly to the Chinese, that they're rolling in cash. And of course, that has allowed them to fund the likes of Hamas, Hezbollah, Utis and others, as well as their own IRGC and KUSForce.
So Well, Israel is going to act in its own best interests, and I think If in fact it it hasn't acknowledged the assassination there in Tehran of of the Hamas leader, but they had every right to do that. And then of course they did acknowledge going after the deputy in Beirut. And of course that has invited the threats Now I would recognize that the Persians have long been very, very patient. They're waiting for the right opportunity. The fact that they haven't shot back instantaneously maybe in our mind is Thinking that, meh, they're not going to.
No, I don't think that that's a proper assessment. They will eventually. They know revenge and they know it's important for their own standing in the thug world. And so they will respond and will know very clearly that this is a response for those incursions. But they're waiting for the right opportunity.
So, you know, what Israel needs to do is continue to defend itself to finish up the Hamas war so that they destroy that terrorist group. And of course, they're having issues with Hezbollah, which continue given their arsenal up there. I'm surprised that it hasn't accelerated as yet, but Hopefully, and it won't because of the danger that it poses to mostly northern Israel and all those tens of thousands of people that have had to evacuate. But then you have the problem with the Houthis, and you have other problems in the region as well. It's a continues to be a convoluted mess, but one that Israel has every right to defend itself.
Well, let's continue on. We'll move away from the Middle East and we'll talk about China.
Now, China is another country, at least from that area of the world, that has a role to play in Bible prophecy from the book of Revelation and the Kings of the East. You have a book about that, Colonel McGinnis. But we look at China right now, they are preparing for war. I saw some news stories recently that the U.S. is changing their nuclear strategy, and they're not saying because of one specific country, but it certainly seems like that may be the case.
And then I've also seen some other news reports where they're saying that if the United States had to fight a war against China, we would be woefully unprepared. Can you talk about those stories? Yeah, well. The Heritage Foundation earlier this year published a a fairly comprehensive report that looked at all the military services and you know basically concluded that the United States is weak and would potentially lose fights against the Chinese given our underresourcing. And they go into great detail, which we don't have time for now.
That should be alarming to anyone. And in fact, a US senator has proposed fixing that, but it's going to be rather expensive. Right now we spend about three percent of GDP on defense, and he's saying we have to spend about five percent, which I think is correct. because what we've done over the last couple of decades Is we've abandoned the requirement for the armed forces to be manned and equipped to fight at least two regional wars. What we've gone down to is one regional war.
And so if you look across the world today, you see a potential fight in Europe with Russia, certainly a potential fight against China in the Far East. And then, of course, the ongoing operations that we are being drained to a certain degree by what's going on in the Middle East. And then you throw into that many of the other threats that are and based on nonkinetic operations like cyber threats, and of course, space threats that are emerging from the likes of China and Russia and other entities.
So it becomes a rather complex world. China is investing its defense budget Uh you know, people just don't understand how the Chinese invest in their defense establishment. Their expenditures are in excess of $700 billion, but that's only A part of what they're spending. A lot of it's hidden. And of course, they don't have a professional force.
They have a conscription force, which means they pay less for their personnel.
So their advances in their Air Force, their Navy is the largest in the world. They have three aircraft carriers and building more. We have 11 by comparison. They have a very sophisticated missile force. I know nuclear wise, the latest Pentagon report indicates we expect by twenty thirty they'll have at least A thousand nuclear weapons.
Now we have more than that, but we haven't been modernizing our Arsenal for a long time. And the longer they sit in silos or in arsenals themselves, The more unreliable they become for a variety of deterioration reasons. Uh and unfortunately the Yeah, the current administration is Kicking the can to the next administration in that regard.
So when you look at all the domains, whether it's in space or at sea. are are in the Earth's atmosphere or in cyberspace. or on the ground, we are just not keeping pace with what the Chinese are investing in, and much less in the future technologies of artificial intelligence uh quantum computing, uh hypersonics, You name the technology, the Chinese are aggressively pursuing it, and it's going to outpace us because we have not been serious. about maintaining an edge over our adversaries, much less in terms of quantity and capability.
So I would argue that in the certainly in the next couple of years, We could not only lose the edge, but there would be no edge, and then we're Potentially fighting an adversary that is as capable or more capable than we are. And that doesn't account for the fact that they're aligned with the Russians and they have other helpers like the North Koreans, the Iranians, and a growing cadre of totalitarian governments across the world.
So this is serious. We have an election coming up. You've mentioned it many times. We're either going to have President Trump in another presidency, or we're going to have Vice President Kamala Harris as president.
Now, we know how. Basically, we know how President Trump is going to operate because he was President for four years. We know what he's done for as far as Vice President Harris. We don't really know what she's going to do, whether she's in lockstep with the Biden administration or not. From your vantage point, from your v viewpoint, could you compare and contrast our choices for President come November?
Yeah, well. I've written about Ms. Harris in the past years before she became uh the vice president. And you know, sh her background, of course, she grew up in in Berkeley, California, the daughter of two professors who eventually divorced and she moved with her mother to Canada and grew up with a silver spoon, uh but surrounded by socialists and Marxists. And I document the Marxists in a book Give me liberty, not Marxism.
And of course, after Howard University and her graduation there, she went back to San Francisco and she elevated herself by becoming the girlfriend of Willie Brown, who was the mayor, and a man that was associated with the communist Chinese leadership. And then some of the other associations that she has are pretty well documented, left political. Far left to center. And then when she gets in the US Senate, uh she's left of Everyone, you know, Elizabeth Warren and others in the Senate. She was the most liberal senator.
Yeah, w what did she have to do with the Biden administration's uh You know, policies with regard to national security and the like. I suspect that, if anything, uh, she'll be much worse than Biden. Uh as the the president.
Now, you know, I I don't think she is uh the sharpest Knife in the drawer in terms of understanding the complexities of the current world. Certainly, she has failed dismally, in my opinion, on the issues that have been identified as in her portfolio, whether it's the space launches or it's the border or it's any number of things that she was supposed to be in charge of, that she has not demonstrated much capability.
So I I'm frankly very scared given the Situation in the world today, and how dangerous. the world is her You know, sh she seems to Laugh when she doesn't know what to do, and when she's overseas. Trying to discern her diplomatic skills, they just don't seem to be present, especially in dealing with. rogue leaders like President Qi of China or Putin, much less the Grand Ayatollah and the Moolahs of Iran and North Korea's Kim Jong un. I we need Somebody that's really strong, somebody that thinks of America.
first and not as a weak leftist that she seems to present herself.
So obviously, I don't think that she's the right person for the job. mister Trump has four years of service Uh he invested heavily in our military, and I think that he would do the same. But at the same time, he's going to, I think, ramp up deterrence. And not create new wars. Under Biden, arguably you Ukraine happened because of our weakness demonstrated three years ago in Afghanistan.
And the Chinese have taken a lesson on that too. And I think, to a large degree, the Biden administration's policy vis-à-vis Iran has only spurred the proxy wars that have inflicted themselves on Israel and the likes of other parts of the world.
So I see nothing good coming from a Harris administration, and I'm rather upbeat if Mr. Trump returns to the White House. Colonel Bob McGinnis, we appreciate your insight. We certainly do have a decision to make. We appreciate you giving us your thoughts.
Well, one final question I have for you: we've talked about many things: Russia, China, Iran. We've talked about America's role and what is taking place in the world today. And we look at all these things, these events that are taking place are setting the stage for God's prophetic scenario. As I said, not only were you an author and an analyst, but you are also a student of Bible prophecy. As we look at what's taking place in the world today, we see all these things coming together.
Could you let our listeners know, whether they are believers or not believers, what they need to do to be prepared for what is going to happen in the future?
Well, I think accepting Christ as Savior is the number one thing that any person needs to do, recognize that he came for our sins, and it's only through acknowledging our personal sin and accepting him as Savior do we have eternity in mind and something hopeful to look for in the future. I don't know that the current situation is necessarily going to lead immediately to the prophetic end times. That's possible. I do believe that we're inching ever so close to a global war, and it well could be that end times is right on our doorstep. Or it could be that we're going to have to suffer a little more here on this.
Uh blue uh ball and uh Great galaxies of the world. I don't know. But I well, what I do know is that we're called to acknowledge Christ. And if And for those that do, there's a bright future. For those that don't, well, if not so bright.
Colonel Bob McGinnis, as I said, he's an author. You can find out more about him. You can go to Amazon. You've got many books there on sale. We appreciate that.
We appreciate your words at the end of the program. Bob McGinnis, thank you so much. We look forward to talking to you again soon. Well, thanks for having me.
Lieutenant Colonel Bob McGinnis, you know, this last half hour, Rick, we're talking about the dark days in which we're living, and the world is getting darker. We're going to focus on that later when we take a look at the book. But although the days are dark and we are focusing on world events and how they're leading up to future prophecies that will be fulfilled, we need to be about God's work for us. We need to walk pure each day by laying aside that which is ungodly and evil and living that which is godly and righteous as we look up for him to take us home to be with him at the rapture of the church. But we're going to take a break and when we come back, we'll have the legacy series right here on Prophecy Today weekend.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy De Young Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we have been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. You know, Rick, we on our website, we try to provide enough material or items, at least, for people to grow in their knowledge of Bible prophecy. There are other places where people can go to find our videos, isn't there?
Well, there certainly is, Jimmy. And we are trying, and when we put our videos together, we are trying to share the good news of God's prophetic word, and we're trying to get it out to as many people as possible. At one time, that was VHS tapes, Jimmy. I know you remember those, and then DVDs. And now we're on places like Tubi, T-U-B-I, Tubi.com.
You can get it on most smart TVs or on your phone or computer. And you just search for Jimmy DeYoung. Most of our videos will come up. You can watch those. That's one way that if you would like to get more information in your study of Bible prophecy, it's a search.
That we offer, and we would love for you to go there and watch those. And our main objective for doing this program is to edify and educate the body of Christ. And that's what we're trying to do.
Well, Rick, as you know, we have been studying the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And I mean the first coming of Jesus, where all the prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus some 2,000 years ago. This is how we've recognized that Jesus was who He said He was as the Son of God, the Messiah. Today, as we continue our study in the Legacy series in the book of Zachariah, Dr. De Young will show what is meant by that.
Please turn to one of these Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ that is found in our study of Zachariah. Open your Bibles, Zachariah chapter 9 and verse 9. Dr. Jimmy De Young and the Legacy Series. Let's look at those two verses just for a moment.
Chapter nine, verse nine. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just in having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a coat, the foal of an ass.
Hey, wait a minute. Let's look at that. You got your Bibles open? You got them in Zechariah. Keep there.
We're coming back. But go over to the book of Mark, chapter 11. The book of Mark, chapter 11, I want to show you something. I want to show you. Here's a prophecy 500 years before it ever happens.
Now, I want to show you exactly how it unfolded. You got your Bibles to Mark chapter 11? Mark chapter 11. You would have to look if you did have time, not only at Mark chapter 11, but as well look at Luke chapter 19. Because Luke chapter 19 is a parallel passage with Mark 11.
Luke 19 talks about Jesus Christ coming down from out of Galilee, down through the Jordan Valley, through Jericho, comes across the Judean wilderness, comes up behind the Mount of Olives through Bethany and Bethpage, and comes up to the Mount of Olives. He looks over the city in Luke 19:40 and following, and he starts to weep. Interesting thought there. There's two places in Scripture it says Jesus wept. John 11.35.
The shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept. You know why he's weeping there? Lazarus, his friend, had died. But if you exegete that word wept there, it's just a little trickle of a tear here on his cheek. You go to Luke chapter 19, it says, And Jesus wept as he looked over the city.
And you exeche that word whip. and it's talking about Uncontrollable emotion. He was looking over the city of Jerusalem. He's looking over the people. He knows what's going to happen.
In fact, he said if you'd have read Daniel chapter 9. You'd have known I was to be here. He got there on the exact day. Daniel 9 said it would be 69 of the 70 weeks, 483 years of the 490 years, or 173,880 days on the dot, and Jesus would be there. And he stepped on the Mount of Olives that day.
for his special anointment. The presentation of the triumphal entry. Chapter 11 of the book of Mark unfolds it. I want you to notice something. Chapter 11, verse 1.
And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and he said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you, and as soon as ye be entered in, ye shall find a colt. Tied up. Whereupon never man sat before. A colt that had never been ridden. I want you to loose him and bring him to me.
Verse 4 says, They found one, just like they could today. They found a colt. Look down in verse 7, and they brought the colt to Jesus, and they cast their garments on him, and he sat on him.
Now here's a donkey that'd never been ridden before. And he sat on him. And many spread their garments in the way, and they started to cut down branches of the trees, and they started to just throw them down. By the way, somebody said, Boy, that sure shows how meek and mild Jesus was riding on the colt coming into the city of Jerusalem. No, it doesn't show how meek and mild he was.
It shows him as the king of kings. You see the white horse which he's going to ride into the city of Jerusalem on at a later date. is the horse of battle. The horse are the animal. of victory.
It's the colt, the little ass, the little donkey. And every conqueror rides into the city on A colt, a little donkey. And so the king of kings and the lord of lords comes riding into the city. He was lowly and meek because he, as king of kings, was going to follow through. He comes riding in, and the people cut the branches down.
They take their clothes off, they throw them, Hosanna! Blessed be the son of David, the king of kings, and he comes riding in.
Now, notice what he does. Verse 11. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. And when he had looked around about upon all things, and now the evening time was come, and he went unto Bethany with the twelve. He goes unto Jerusalem on whatever day this is.
He goes in the temple and he looks around. He gets finished and he goes out of the temple and he goes up to Bethany with the twelve. They're going to spend the night up there. They're bibwacking. This is the time of Passover and the city of Jerusalem has expanded to over two million people.
There's no place for him to stay in the city, so they go back to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house to stay. They go back up to Bethany with the 12. Look at verse 12. And on the morrow, the next day, after the triumphal entry, the next day. Look what it says in verse 15.
They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple, and he began to cast them out that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and set them out that sold the doves. He came into the temple this next day, whatever that day is, and he throws the money changers out of the temple. He turns over their tables, and he says, You get out of here. This is my father's house. This is a house of prayer.
You're not supposed to be commercializing this place. Then look what it says. Verse 19, and when evening was come, he went out of the city again. Verse 20, and in the morning, the third day, Look at what it says in verse 27. And they came again to Jerusalem, and as he walked in the temple, and if you read the rest of that, he was going into the temple to start to teach.
Listen to me. The first day King Jesus came as the potentate. Riding on that donkey into the city. goes into the temple. looks around.
Everything's all right. Comes out, goes up to Bethany, and spends the night.
Next morning, The potentate comes down as the priest. Rides into the city. Walks into the city, looks in the temple. They're the money changers! Get them out of there!
And he gets angry and he takes these money changers, overturns their tables, throws them out. Goes back to Bethany that night. Third day, He comes down as the Profit. and goes into the temple and starts to teach. By the way.
We celebrate Palm Sunday. for the first day. Wrong. There's no such thing as Palm Sunday. You know how I know?
If it had been Sunday, Those money changers would have been in the temple. There's only one day a week those money changers weren't in the temple. The Sabbath. Saturday. You have been propagated and wrong.
Thought on biblical Truth. by a false religion. On Saturday, As the potentate, he walked in, the temple looked around, everything was okay. The money changers weren't there. Oh, he'd have thrown them out that day.
Sunday he comes down as the priest. He throws the money changers out. Monday he comes down as the property, he starts to teach. Until he's crucified on Thursday. The Anointed One comes.
Chapter 11 of Zachariah, verses 12 and 13. And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price. And if not, forbear.
So they weighed for my price, thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
Now there's the prophecy. the prophecy of the rejection of the king, Look over to Matthew. Matthew 26. I'm closing out, so just don't get too excited. Matthew 26.
Look over there. I want to show you something. Matthew 26, verse 14. Have you got Matthew 26, 14? Here's the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Then, Matthew 26, 14. Then one of the twelve called Tudors Ascariat. Went unto the chief priest, and he said unto them. What will you give me? and I will deliver him unto you.
And they coveted with him for Thirty. Pieces. A silpher. Isn't that interesting? The priest gave Judas Exactly what Zachariah 500 years before would say would be the price.
You know what thirty pieces of silver was equivalent to? the compensation that was given to to a Man who was a husband who owned an ox that had gored the servant of another man. And for whatever that servant that was gored They would give thirty pieces of silver. And here. Judas sells out the Messiah for 30 pieces of silver.
But that's not the end of the story. Look over in chapter 27. Chapter 27, verse 3. Chapter 27, verse 3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.
And he said in verse 4, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is it to us? See thou do to it? And he cast down, look at here, he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple. And he departed, and went out and hanged himself.
And the chief priests took the silver and said, It is not lawful for us to put it in the treasury because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel and they bought with them the potter's fill to bury strangers. Therein. Fulfilling The 500-year-old prophecy. of Zachariah.
What have I said to you? I've said that the Creator Are the vast heavens of this earth of you and me. That Creator said The anointed King. is coming. He's anointed because I've anointed him.
He's coming. But he was rejected. You know what? You've got all the facts. You see all of these prophecies fulfilled that were miraculously put together, even the place where he'd be born.
In what you must not do. You must not reject The Anointed King. All the evidence. is there. He is the Messiah.
Listen to me. You must not reject. the anointed king. The Jews did it. When they rejected They followed a false Messiah.
Satan. That's what will happen to you as well. Are you here without Jesus Christ? I've just reported to you that the Profit prophesied 500 years before and that every detail came true. Exactly.
Even throwing 30 pieces of silver down in the temple. Like Zacharias said. Please don't reject. the anointed king. He's the Messiah of the Jews.
He's your Messiah. And he's coming again. Father. Bless. and use this time for your honor and for your glory.
to lift up the anointed king. who's coming again. In thy precious name we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. As I just said, you cannot reject.
The anointed king Jesus. Jesus Christ. you must accept him as your Saviour. The way you do that is to admit you are a sinner, Believe that Jesus Christ will save you. and call upon him to do that.
to give you eternal life. You know, we have much more to teach on the rejected king anointed. That will take place beginning next week. Please join us at that time. I'm Ruce Kramer with Mission Network News.
Lebanon's former central bank governor, Riyadh Salome, was arrested this week in Beirut after a lengthy interrogation. Salome is facing domestic and international charges for allegedly embezzling over $40 million. Poverty more than tripled over the past decade in Lebanon, affecting nearly half the population. And yet, hope remains. Heart for Lebanon's Camille Melkey says: God has put us in a position to engage the world with a positive change.
So I see great hope in the country of Lebanon only if we continue to work diligently in raising a new generation of God-fearing, compassionate leaders that would replace the current leaders. Connect with us online to learn how you can foster transformative change through Heart for Lebanon. And Spanish-speaking mentors from Chase Oaks Church in Texas are meeting a crucial need by writing letters with prisoners through Crossroads Prison Ministries. Pastor Iran Vega of Chase Oaks Church explains: When people hear about going to prison or peace prison ministry, they think, oh, it may take a lot of time. Fears combined with ignorance, it's a lot of trouble.
But in this case, knowing that anybody could do it, because anybody is a Christian and knows how to read and write, could be a mentor, I was excited about the possibility of opening up something that my church could do. And we could serve at the same time our community, which is Latinos or Spanish-speaking people. Crossroads still needs more Spanish-speaking mentors. Pastor Vega urges more Christians, especially Spanish speakers, to get involved. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org.
Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of One Way Ministries. Keys for Kids Ministries, exists to ignite a passion for Christ in kids and families worldwide. This month, they're offering free devotionals designed to help your kids spend time in God's Word every day of the year with the 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. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we have been examining current events. In the light of God's prophetic word, we are looking and examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word.
So, we don't believe there are any prophecies to be fulfilled before the rapture of the church takes place. We are looking at events that are setting up prophetic events in the future, and so that's why we focus on these events.
So, understanding that and kind of reminding everyone as we focus. Think back over today's program. What theme or what major event that you're looking at that kind of piqued your attention?
Well, Jimmy, having Colonel Bob McGinnis on the program is always great for us when we can have him on and he gives us an update and he does it in such a kind of a folksy down-home way and he explains it to us. And we know that he's so knowledgeable. It helps us to understand. But we look at, you know, we talk about it all the time on this program, but it bears repeating because it's on the news every day: the Ezekiel 38 connection. What is taking place in Russia right now?
What is taking place in Iran? These things are happening right before our very eyes. And I know dad always used to say, and when we look at Bible prophecy, they were pre-written headlines because those headlines are now coming to us right now as we examine the news and we see the stage being set. Yeah, I like that. Pre-written headlines.
That is awesome. You know, I was thinking about this too, because we. Colonel McGuinness focuses a lot on China, and China is very much involved. As a matter of fact, because of the United States and our inability to. Come to some sort of conclusion in the Middle East.
China is jumping in, and President Xi is getting involved and really in supporting not only Hamas, but Iran. And as we learned from Colonel McGinnis, you know, and R.C. Murrow brought up the fact that the BRICS nations, these nations, the original seven, which would be Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, are involved in shaping the currency of the world. And so to me, it's an indication that, man, we are moving in a darker place, but it's interesting when you know God's word and those headlines that were pre-written, there's nothing for us to fear. There certainly isn't.
And we have that great hope that is presented for those that accept the gospel. Jimmy, we talked about with Ken Timmerman those executions taking place in Iran. Even with all the persecution in Iran, the church still grows.
So, no matter how dark it gets, we still have hope. And the rapture of the church has not happened yet. And it's our job to get out there and reach those who we can. As a matter of fact, Mission Network News, an organization that we support, and we play their news items on our program. And they had something that came up, and I thought it was interesting.
From the people of Lebanon, in a world becoming darker by the day, Lebanese believers intentionally shine the light of Christ at a recent staff meeting. We asked ourselves: now, these are people that are living in a country that Hezbollah has taken over their country. They're losing everything that is theirs. And the Christian community that is there is looking not about their own needs. They're looking at the needs of the people around them.
We asked ourselves, what is the role of Heart for Lebanon in times of crisis? And they came up with five items that I think and that. That we should have in our vocabulary on a daily basis. Number one, form a community of prayer. Rick, that is so very important.
And when we think about that, Hebrews 14 says, Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. That's right, Jimmy. Prayer changes hearts, prayer changes people. And, you know, we look at this. God commands us to pray.
God commands us to talk to them. And this is what we need to do, encouraging our brothers and sisters to pray for each other and pray for our Christian community, especially in places that face heavy persecution. Yes. So that's number one: form a community of prayer. Number two, be messengers of hope.
And, you know, I mentioned this verse earlier in the program, teaching us Titus 2:12 and 13. Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope in the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's so very important to present hope to people that have no hope. It is, Jimmy, and what's the ultimate hope? The gospel, the presentation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the free gift that is offered to each one of us, the hope that each one of us have.
Yes. Be messengers of hope. The third, live as the hands and feet of Jesus, serving those in need. And I know, Rick, you have talked about this. In fact, you have a study group and men that you study with.
And you've talked about that to me: we are the hands and feet of Jesus serving those around us in need. We certainly are. And this is, we're called and commanded to live as Christ lived, to live as Jesus lived, and to use that as our example. And when we're in that role, when we're fulfilling the role that we're supposed to be fulfilling, there's happiness and there's joy, which is something that is, you know, is at a premium, especially as you look at all the things that are taking place in politics and in the world. We get in God's will, we get in the center of God's will, and we live as Jesus lived, as we're called to live.
It puts us in a great position. Yes. Form a community of prayer, be messengers of hope, live. As the hands and feet of Jesus, serving those in need. Be heralds of peace.
I like this. Isaiah 26:3, you keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you because he trusts in you. I think this is so very important. We need to be those that are peace lovers, and not just in the world sense of peace, but in only the peace that Jesus Christ gives. That's right, Jimmy.
And, you know, we've always talked about it. We talk about peace negotiations, and that's not necessarily what we're talking about here, but we're talking about there won't be no peace until the Prince of Peace comes, but we can live in peace when we are in the center of God's will. And the last thing, provide an alternative community. You know, the world's telling us that we should be focused on things that seem to bring us down, a dark world. And that's what we seem to focus our eyes on.
If we just lift our eyes and be willing to provide an alternative community for people to have. A new life in Jesus Christ. And that's what we really should be doing each and every day as we're on this earth until the rapture of the church takes place. Rick, great program today. Thank you for doing all the hard work.
I look forward to being back with you again next week. Jimmy, we do have a task before us. We're living in exciting times and we need to be busy about God's work. Exactly right. And everything that we've seen today, the rapture of the church cannot be far away.
Folks, 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.
