Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Today, we're going to start off the program with a verse, 2 Peter 1:19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arises in your heart.
That more sure word of prophecy is the Bible itself. We must only study the prophetic passages found between Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21. This is the inspired word of God. Any other prophecy from man today is of another spirit, not the Holy Spirit. And Peter exhorted the first century church to study God's prophetic scriptures.
On today's program, every event that we cover, every news item, pertains to future events and Bible prophecy. The first prophecy to be fulfilled for the future is the rapture of the church. And then after that, everything starts to fall into place. All remaining 500 prophecies.
Well, we've got Ken Temmerman, David. David Dolan, Winky Medad, and the Legacy series, where we're talking about a more sure word of prophecy and starting in the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis with Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. 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 when it comes to geopolitical affairs. He's an author. And an analyst, you can find out more about him and sign up for his newsletter by going to his website, kentimmerman.com.
Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always pleasure. Let's get to the main story this week. The lead story is President Trump meeting with President Xi of China.
Can you tell us what we need to know about this highly anticipated event?
Well, it was on again, off again, but Trump used the opportunity of a meeting with Asian allies in South Korea. She made the trip to Busan, South Korea to meet with President Trump.
So he actually came and met on the U.S. President's turf, so to speak, and gave Trump actually quite significant concessions.
Well, Ken, depending on where you get your news from, there are many takes on whether this was a good or bad meeting for President Trump, but from what I'm hearing from you, this was a positive outcome for the President in the United States' relationship with Xi and China. Absolutely. And again, I just look at the facts. I look at the concessions that President Trump got from President Xi, and I look at what President Trump offered him. And it looks to me like the U.S.
side got a lot more than the Chinese side did in this meeting.
Now, look, the Chinese are talking about multilateralism, and they're talking about ending U.S. domination. By the way, multilateralism is just a code word for ending U.S. domination. And Xi says the people of Asia should run the affairs of Asia.
Well, what he really means is China will dominate Asia without the United States. But look, all of this is hocus-pocus. It's just stuff that Xi needs to spout. Remember, he just got through this party plenum where there was some challenge to his leadership. As we talked last week, we mentioned this last week.
22 of the generals who were on the Central Committee were suddenly retired. I don't think they even knew that they were going to be retired before they were.
So China's a bit in an uproar. President Trump came out very well from this summit. One thing that I'm not sure if it came up, but it will probably be an issue between the United States and China in the future, is the fact that there are re intelligence reports saying that China is helping Iran to rearm and redevelop their nuclear program. What do you know about this?
Well, it's very significant that these reports are coming out now under President Trump. It's not new. The Chinese have been shipping sodium perchlorate, which is an oxidizer used in solid rocket fuel. And remember, Rick, it's the Chinese who helped Iran develop solid-fuel missiles to begin with. But those exports were going on during the Biden administration.
Nobody said a word about them. They didn't seem to think they were much of a problem. Iran shooting missiles at Israel for President Biden didn't seem to be that big a problem. It is for President Trump. This information is coming out.
There are 2,000 tons of this sodium perchlorate that recently reached Iran. That's enough to build 500 missiles. I suspect that this is something that President Trump discussed with President Xi. Officially, the Chinese are saying they are not aware of these shipments. And don't forget, they violate the snapback sanctions on Iran, which were the last bit of the Nuclear deal from 2015.
If Iran did not uphold its side of the bargain, the Western powers had the capability of going back to the UN and reimposing international sanctions, including on solid rocket fuel like this stuff.
So the Chinese are in violation of the international sanctions. We'll see how long this keeps going.
Well, Ken, while we are talking about China helping Iran with their nuclear program, at the same time a little bit of nuclear saber rattling is going on between President Putin of Russia and President Trump.
Well, the Russians have tested two new nuclear-capable missiles, long-range missiles. One is called the Vuryvestnik. It seems to be a copy of a program the United States had developed in the late 50s, early 60s that had a small nuclear reactor to power this missile. The Russian version of this is said to have flown 8,700 miles, and that is. Got to be the longest missile test, I think, in history.
I've never heard of a missile going 8,700 miles in a test. Maybe it was a typo in the press reports that I saw. But Putin is claiming this cannot be stopped by any existing U.S. air defense. And President Trump said: look, if you're going to be testing these new nuclear vectors, We're going to resume testing of nuclear weapons as well.
Now, what's unclear? President Trump used the term nuclear weapons, and he said testing nuclear weapons. It's not clear yet. whether he actually means we are going to test our warheads Or whether he means we will be testing new nuclear-capable missiles as Russia has recently done. I tend to suspect he means the latter, in other words, new missiles.
We have a huge facility, Rick, at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory called the National Ignition Facility. I visited it. 39 years ago when it was almost new. Its whole purpose is to simulate nuclear weapons and nuclear explosions so we can model new weapons and so we can determine whether our existing stockpile of nuclear warheads are still in operational order. Very, very important, obviously, to know that your dukes would work should, God forbid, you ever need to call on them.
It adds to U.S. credibility and to U.S. deterrence, and we have not tested a nuclear weapon since the early 1990s. In fact, the last test after the comprehensive test ban went into effect in 1996 was by the French, not the Americans, and not the Russians. Ken, we looked at Russia, we looked at China and Iran, but let's turn our attention and focus on the European Union.
And there was an election this week in the Netherlands.
Now we look at these elections because they signify which way the political winds are blowing. This election had a surprise outcome. Can you tell us about it?
Well, this election was actually a setback for Gert Wilders. He is the so-called far-right politician in the Netherlands. I've met Wilders several times at the David Horowitz Restoration weekends in the United States. He's a very charismatic figure. He rocketed into international renown when he made a, I think, seven-minute movie called Fitna about Islam and about Islam's war on non-Muslims.
Quite an interesting person, a brilliant politician as well. But he lost 11 seats in the parliament. Let me see if I can just make this very simple. It's 150-seat parliament, Rick. Wilders party and the center-left parties each got 26.
Okay? That's 52 out of 150. There are 15 political parties in that parliament. And the next one has got 22 seats. Whoever is appointed prime minister, and it won't be Wilders, because the Dutch do what the Germans do.
They do what the French do, they do what the Brits do. They try to sideline, to ostracize any political leader who is identified with an anti-immigrant policy, because that's what Wilders is all about. How long for Dutch people? Let us stop this illegal immigration into our country, especially stop the immigration of Muslims who do not want to become Dutch citizens and who are not respecting all of the good things that we offer them. And they are not respecting our women either.
So, Wilders is a lightning rod, if you wish. He went down substantially in this election, and now you're going to have an openly gay prime minister, a guy called Rob Jeffen, and he's going to cobble together some kind of coalition amongst those 15 parties. The big news, though, is that Wilders went down in the election.
So it was a defeat for him. Just two years ago, he had 36 seats. Very interesting and very confusing as well, but you help explain that situation. And so we kind of have an idea what's going on there.
Well, my final question for you before I let you go. We've been focusing on Christians being persecuted around the world. We've talked about Nigeria in the past. New information coming out of there this week.
Well, what's interesting here is an old friend of mine, Doug Burton, has set up a new organization called Truth Nigeria. He's got 12 freelance reporters in Nigeria on the ground where bad things are happening to Christians. Doug and I used to work together at the Washington Times in the early 2000s, and he's a very, very he's a good reporter. For a while, he worked for the State Department in Iraq, and he is a committed Christian, and he's committed to finally shedding light on what's going on in Nigeria. This is one of the world's biggest underreported massacres, Rick, of the past 20 years.
I think I gave the figures a couple of weeks ago. There's 200,000 people who have been killed over the past 20 years and 59,000 in just the past five or six years. I mean, the level of the killing is absolutely phenomenal, and it's all being done by the so-called Fulani tribesmen and Boko Haram. These are armed Islamic groups trying to impose Sharia law. By the way, just as certain Muslim groups in Britain would like to impose Sharia law.
This is what it looks like when it's on the ground and the people doing it are armed.
Well, it certainly is a heartbreaking situation there, and we will continue to monitor it for you.
Well, that's all the time we have for today, Ken. As always, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us. Look forward to talking to you again soon. My pleasure, Rick. God bless.
Great job as always, Ken. And I'm always reminded the world is going to get worse, not better. And I always have that prayer on my tongue, even today, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Got to take a break and when we come back, David Dolan with our Middle East news update right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News.
Sudan's war reaches a tipping point as rapid support forces take El Fasher, the last army stronghold, in Darfur. The United Nations and regional actors call for an immediate ceasefire. Civilians in El Fasher have no access to food, water, or medical supplies, and aid workers can't reach them. A Sudanese pastor tells Amin. Things are beyond.
Government control is a mist everywhere and so done. And there is a lot of pressure. Believers throughout Sudan suffer alongside their Muslim neighbors. In some cases, the church is at the top of the hit list, and yet hope remains. We can testify and tell.
the number of and rich people. who are responding to the Gospel today, comparing it to the times of peace. And there's a Christian mom not too far from you who doesn't have the same church community or faith-based resources that other women have. That's because she's serving a prison sentence. There are many incarcerated moms, and it is a whole tragic thing to think about, you know, even kids of various ages.
Dee Peterson manages the literature distribution department at Prisoners for Christ. They supply hundreds of prison chaplains with biblical resources for inmates. And this summer, they secured permission to distribute The Forge, a 2024 faith-based motion picture produced by a firm films. One of the focal points is the power of prayer. As well as the redemption and forgiveness.
You can partner with PFC to distribute more gospel-centered resources to inmates, including moms. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We're listeners supported by people just like you. By giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming.
And together, the Great Commission happens. Look for links at missionnews.org. I'm youth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, this is the portion of our program where we focus on news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. We call it our Middle East News Update. To do that with us today, we have journalist Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us. A blessing to be with you, Rick.
Dave, every week there's so much going on in Israel. You help keep us updated. What's the latest?
Well, mostly to do with Gaza, but there's also a little bit of activity in Lebanon. We had a huge ultra Orthodox rally on Thursday. The week began on a sad note, Rick. We hadn't had a handover of another hostage body by Hamasya in a week. And President Trump again issued a warning to the group that it would face dire consequences if it didn't get going.
And so on Monday, We got an announcement that they were handing over another body, and they did that in the evening.
Well, it turned out to be just some body parts, some bones. That belonged to Ofird Sarfati. He had been released almost two years ago, right after the war started. I mean, his body had been, he was murdered. uh in the uh attack By the way, he's not related to Amir Safardi, the well-known Israeli messianic.
Speaker.
So the forensic department found that out. They were extremely upset. The government was. The Sarfati family was grieved. The mother said, now, for a third time, because this had happened once before.
Will have to dig up his grave because that's under Jewish law. You have to have a full funeral for any part even of a body that appears.
So that was very, very sad. And the next day, well, later that same day, I should say, Tuesday it was, not Monday. Israel went to war again. Basically, the Prime Minister issued a very strong. Statements saying we will launch a wave of powerful attacks now in retaliation for this.
And it's a game, it's a macabre. Game, he said that they're playing with our minds and that they knew this.
Well, and an Israeli drone actually filmed Rick. them taking these body parts out from a nearby building. Putting them in a hole, then calling the Red Cross, and then digging them up in their presence.
So the whole thing was staged. Deliberate, Israel said.
So they struck dozens of targets on Tuesday, Rick, up and down the Gaza Strip, as it happened once before. And the main thing is they were able to hit areas where these. Live hostages had been, and they knew they'd been there, so they had refrained. And so they were able to hit a lot of targets, Rick. And in fact, they said that over two dozen.
Hamas fighters. Three battalion commanders, two deputy commanders, sixteen company commanders. Four who had participated in the October 7th massacre were all killed. in just a few hours in targeted strikes throughout the strip rick. quite something.
And then in the evening, the Prime Minister said, okay, that's enough. That came after strong pressure from the White House to okay, you've answered, now stop. We want this ceasefire to continue, as Vice President Vance made very, very clear in statements he made, he called them little skirmishes.
Well, I didn't mention all this was set off, Rick, by the that killing of an Israeli soldier. uh earlier on tuesday a dual american israeli citizen Who was again operating heavy machinery? He was in the engineering corps, 37 years old. From Samaria, five children. He was shot dead in an unprovoked attack.
So that's what set the whole thing off. As well as, of course, the false transfer of another body.
Well, on Thursday night, we finally got. Two more. a hostage remains out, including an eighty four year old man who was the founder. of kibbutz near Oz that was uh destroyed basically. He was killed immediately after being taken hostage, but they finally got his body back and another younger.
Israeli from a nearby settlement down near Gaza as well.
So Rick, this is all happening as the U. S. is trying to put together the so called stabilization force outside forces that can come in and disarm. Hamas, a former Israeli head of the research at IDF intelligence, said that Hamas now controls once again almost all of the Arab population of Gaza. They've taken over all of the coastal areas that Israel withdrew from.
Their forces came out of the tunnels, 12,000 to 15,000, and they now effectively run the place once again.
So it's going to take a forced to disarm them if that's ever going to happen. Several papers said on Friday, Rick, that it would only be a Muslim force if it's able to be put together, but several Arab countries have already said no way. President Trump, we appreciate what you're doing, but we're not sending our men Into that quagmire.
So that's uh so far, but it does look like Someri. Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia, non-Arab of Muslim countries uh will participate, probably Egypt and the UAE. But Israel made clear it would not accept Turkey or Qatar forces from both of those countries, of course, Turkey's. Leader saying he wants to reconstitute the Ottoman Empire and including Israel and Gaza.
So they don't want. Those forces there. The U.S., as reports said, has asked Singapore, a non-a-Muslim country in Asia, to Participate as well.
So we'll see what happens there. And then, Rick, all week we had in Lebanon rising tensions, we had more IDF airstrikes, several locations. We had more Hezbollah activity uncovered. We had the President of Lebanon saying, well, we agreed to disarm them, but you're still here, IDF. You shouldn't be here, and we may fire back at you now.
So tensions are rising in the year. speculation that we may be going back to a Hot war there, Rick. In the coming days is going on. And then finally, I'll just say we had a massive protest on Thursday, 200,000, the police estimated, ultra-Orthodox men only, no women, who came up to the entrance of Jerusalem or those that already live there, gathered at the entrance of Jerusalem, closed down the highway to Tel Aviv, and all the. surrounding streets And some of the young men were climbing up scaffolding, and one went up a crane next to a tall skyscraper going up there, and he fell off and died from way up there.
Dozens of people were nearby where he landed. Of course, hundreds saw it happening. And that caused some trouble. The police had to come in and there was some Some violence there. And what were they there for?
They were protesting the drafting of ultra-Orthodox men into the army, which, of course, the government has been trying to do for decades, but really with this. War and the heavy burden it's put on the reserve soldiers of Israel. There's increased Increased pressure in Israel for this to happen, and the ultra-Orthodox leaders and the young men are saying. No way. And that's something that, David, that we will follow up with Winky on as we talk a little bit about that draft bill.
But I want to go back to something you mentioned early on in your report. And you said that things may be heating up in the north. And I know this is an area where you have a lot of experience, a lot of expertise there, an area that's near and dear to your own heart. Can you tell us what you see going on there in Lebanon?
Well, Rick, we had right after the um major attack there. The Israeli amazing Attack against Hezbollah leadership that killed hundreds of people, but I did get rid of some senior leaders, and then the further actions that came there during the Hot war up there. Hezbollah was pretty well decimated by the end of it. But it turns out not nearly as much as it first appeared. And again, the fervor of these Muslim fundamentalist fighters and the Shiite ones, unlike the Sunni.
jihad fighters in Gaza, et cetera, are really devout and really, I mean, deeply convicted of their beliefs, and that includes that Israel shouldn't exist.
So they are reconstituting. All the experts are saying that. The U.S. has a full-time force on the ground there, the U.S. government, Rick.
That's trying to prevent Hezbollah from reconstituting itself, but it says now that it's going to. Its leaders said a week ago, we will not disarm, just as the Hamas leaders have said. And again, this comes as Iran. is once again starting up its nuclear program. The experts are saying is once again making all sorts of stern statements So it looks like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran were both stunned.
By the Israeli military successes against them, just amazing. quick, unexpected in many cases, an attack right on Tehran, at the Pager explosions, all these other things that have happened. The top leadership of all three places, not the Iranian political leadership, but some of the military, killed. in this war.
So, you know, they were stunned, but they're all quickly reconstituting, and that is at the heart of Islamic fundamentalist jihad. Yeah. They believe in it very deeply. They believe it's their right to destroy Israel. It's their duty.
It's what Allah wants them to do.
So I think we will see Resume fighting in Lebanon. And that is very, very sad because they've had so many decades. Of trouble there, but you've got this Shiite minority, but a powerful minority. backed still by a regional superpower, Iran. simply has not disappeared.
They certainly haven't, and even though they were had many setbacks since October seventh, we do see them kind of reconstituting, rebuilding slowly but surely.
Well, David, we appreciate your insight into this part of the world and to what is going on in the Middle East and Israel. Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Glad to do it Rick. God bless.
Great job as always, David. And at the end of today's program, at the very end, look at the book section. We're going to ask David to come back and the bonus section really, if you will, on Iran and a prophetic perspective that we can look at. But I always want to remind you that Ezekiel 37 talks about two Jewish states that will be here in the future. And we're seeing the beginnings of it again.
Everything that we look at is about prophecy to be fulfilled in the future after the rapture of the church. We're going to take a break, and when we come back, Winky Madad and Dr. Donde Young, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. rooted in God's Word. This is Ken Ham, whose ministry has produced Answers Bible curriculum for churches and homeschooled.
We're looking at 10 reasons every Christian should be a creationist. Number three, we need to be rooted in the Word of God. The New Testament warns against being blown around by every wind of doctrine. If we accept man's word as truth, Then every time we turn on the news, we must re-evaluate what God's Word says and modify it to fit the newest claim. But if we start with the Bible, knowing that God's Word is true, we can be firmly rooted in truth, and the godless ideas of man are blown away.
Instead of allowing man to be our authority, we need to put our faith in the word of the eyewitness creator who never changes. AnswersRadio.com is the place to go for solid apologetics content that honors and exalts God's Word. Go to AnswersRadio dot com. Uh Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.
Along with my brother Rick, we are examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. I started off the program today talking about a more sure word of prophecy from 2 Peter chapter 1. You know, a part of that verse talks about a lamp shining until the dawn, until the day dawns. In 2 Peter, that lamp metaphor is used to describe the function of Bible prophecy and the written word of Christ until his return. It's a temporary but a necessary light.
The world is described as a dark place, and we know that, signifying a realm of ignorance, sin, and spiritual blindness. And without God, scripture serves as the essential source of truth in this environment. And we always want to anticipate the full revelation which will be fulfilled in the future. But we encourage you always to the urgency of The hour to pay attention, Peter. And the first sitting, you know, to the first church urges believers to pay attention to this lamp, the lamp of God's word, the light of God's word, because it is the most reliable source of truth available in the present darkness.
And it confirms the reality of Christ's coming kingdom and guiding them towards salvation, which is the key to all of what we do as a ministry, to all of God's word from Genesis to Revelation, as we'll see today in our legacy series. And then the whole reason that God put us on this earth is to tell others about God's plan of restoration, restoring them in a rightful relationship to God Himself, the Creator.
Well We're going to continue talking about Israel with our good friend Winky Medad, and so much is happening as we watch. And we want you to always be aware and alert of what's going on in Israel on a daily basis, on a weekly basis. We cover it because that is the one tangible thing that God has given to us to understand. If you watch the Jewish people, the land of Israel, what is taking place, the city of Jerusalem, that helps us to have a timepiece and an understanding of how close that we are getting to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Rick, how about let's bring you back Winky Medad, the mayor of Shiloh?
Well that's right, Jimmy. I have Winky Madad with us. He's a pup. Politician, historian, and also a columnist for many different outlets. Winky, thanks for being with us today.
Thank you. Once again for having me on.
Well, Winky, just a few questions for you today. The first one is: as we look at the situation with the ceasefire in Gaza, overall, the The Hamas did release the the live hostages, but they have been uh s somewhat backtracking on releasing the remains of hostages, and it's an uneasy piece. Can you tell us what do you think the status is here? What is going to happen? Maybe even more importantly, what should Israel do?
Well let me that I don't know, and I don't think too many other people know except For a few people called Mr. President Trump and Mr. Prime Minister Binyin Min Netanyahu. what I understand and I think is a reasonable presentation Is that Mr. Trump really wants to have quiet all around the world.
and is willing to use His uh I would even say overbearing personality. American strength, America's economic power, Probably a few threats here and there. And we've seen that with tariffs, we've seen that with all sorts of other issues that are nonpolitical, that he is a different type of President. And I I'm not going to go into American politics, whether the American public loves him or loathes him, but that's the situation. And here it seems to have worked very well with Qatar.
and Turkey and a few other countries that probably pressed Hamas to make an agreement.
Now the the problem is Did they honestly make the agreement? Or did they say, well, let's duck a little bit? And then when mister Trump is busy somewhere else, like South Korea or Japan or whatever. We just keep on doing what we've been doing for the past fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty years. which is begin our terror campaign on a low scale Maybe rebuild For exam I'll give you just one example for you in the in the audience.
I mean, everybody said, well, look at that. They're they're joining up with the Red Cross to look for the bodies. And then, of course, we see this Film that shows how they're faking the retrieval of the bodies. And Israel is saying we have information that they're not looking really for bodies, They're looking for all the weapons stores they left behind. Mm.
Can you trust commerce? And I think I made this comment, and this will be my last comment. Uh to the question. a couple of weeks ago, and I hope that you and some other people will remember, That Hamas Will try. Try to subvert the situation as much as possible.
And Mr. Trump either knows this or will learn this lesson. And so we'll pre Vice President Vance I think Mark Rubio knows it. And Israel will just have to wait till it's justified itself and its policies once again.
Well, that is certainly true, and they will find out because as we look at the situation, Hamas has not been an honest broker.
Well, another question I had for you. Scenes coming from Jerusalem. over two hundred thousand ultra Orthodox men block entry into Jerusalem and to protest against serving in the IDF.
Now we've talked about this before, but this has certainly reached a head. Can you give our listeners some context here about this situation?
Okay, just like every other country probably around the world, those who are studying either in university or in religious studies. We'll get the firmaments. Unfortunately for the Army, There's recently been a war. And a situation that was on the back burner is now on the front burner. We need more soldiers.
And the amount of ultra orthodox, what we call here in Israel Haredi. students, whether from This or that type of yeshiva, or this or type of outlook with a Hasidim or otherwise, have been growing in numbers. And the feeling is that they are not participating in the civic responsibilities to their ability. And in fact uh are probably to a good number. Not a lot, but a good number, a good enough number.
are taking advantage of the situation. That's not to say, of course, that nonreligious Israelis, especially in the Tel Aviv area, are also not going into the Army as very well, but no one's looking at direction And you're well aware of how the media acts in this country. It's sort of pinpoints and highlights one type of the sector of Israel's uh politics, usually on the religious and right wing side. But but the feeling is that We have to solve the situation because otherwise From year to year, the numbers are growing and we can't afford it. I'm talking about forwarding it in blood and third and fourth of it of Shared responses.
Yeah. And uh I think y you quoted prop I think about a year and a half ago. But my article was pointed out. In the Bible, outstanding religious figures were also warriors. King David.
Uh Giddon, some of the judges, of course, I can go through the whole list. And you probably know them as well as I do. And other Jewish figures in history did not shy away from taking up weapons if they had to. And to say that religious people should be able to do that. should not be part of the army or the military effort.
Is really not Judaism and as a bad feeling going all around. Certainly is, and you help us to provide context to that situation. I appreciate it. That's why I asked you, and that's why we have you on the program. Another story, and this one controversial.
Potentially as well. The Israeli Defense Force is investigating a situation where troops in Gaza basically adorned heavy machinery with flags that are calling for the rebuilding of the Third Temple. Do you know anything about this situation? The only thing I know was probably the same thing. picture that perhaps you saw.
And of course, this follows everybody thinks news is really news, when it's really old news. over the past year or so, There have been a lot of soldiers wearing these patches. are on their uniforms. which say we're facing the temple, or you know, s uh rebuild the the the the temple And uh so I I'm of a a different type of mind here. And I I I think that Your listeners should understand that.
Israel has a standing army, which is relatively not large. And within thirty six hours or to seventy two hours, We can Yeah, yeah. in the hundreds of thousands. And reserves they sort of they come from home. And you know Israelis also, they're not the best disciplined people in the world and very lackadaisical sometimes and laid back sometimes.
They're good fighters. Right, but you know, when they're not on duty, they sort of just hang around and eat hot dogs.
So uh They do these things, and everybody gets upset. You're making the Army political.
So I would like all Political ensigns or patches or flags. not to be shown. It's not well I again, I grew up in America, so perhaps my attitude to the Army is a little bit more rigorous and disciplined than other people. But I don't think it doesn't have a place. On the other hand, It it's a you know, overwhelming civilians that are in the army for three weeks to five months.
So they act like civilians with with uniforms on. And unfortunately for the left wing, A lot more people are now right wing or nationalist or religious. than it used to be. And so Uh these things are coming out. It's also because in every single home, as we've heard, In Gaza, there's pictures of the Temple Mount.
And El Axo or The uh Haram The dome is Iraq. And some People are people. Not everybody's got a a IQ of one hundred and fifty five or something like that. They want to be proud. They want to share.
Show off who they are and say, Well, if the Arabs can think that they can invade Israel because they've got. wall posters of their temple mount. We also have a temple mount And it's really the temple, not just the mount.
So that's what's happening on the ground here. Very interesting as we look at this situation. A citizen army, not necessarily a professional army, because everybody in Israel of a certain age, anyways, is involved.
Well, final question that I have for you, and you mentioned previously that you you're originally from the United States, New York City, I believe. Yeah, you've been in Israel for I think over fifty or sixty years somewhere in that neighborhood, so you've been there for quite some time. But your original home, New York City, has an election coming up. A mayor, now forget about his politics. He seems to be he calls himself a Democratic Socialist, but he's also a Muslim and pretty anti-Semitic in his statements.
Before I let you go today, can I get your thoughts on the election for mayor in New York City?
Well Let me teach you another Hebrew term to our audience. You probably know it. In in Judaism after a person has passed on, is a special prayer called Kadish. which a son or brother or even a father, depending on the case, they're the closest relative. will say for a period of time.
I'm not going to go into the details.
So my immediate action is If he does win, which I understand looks probable, but I'll leave it up to God in another week. To wait. Uh if he does win It'll be cottish for New York. You have no idea what's going to happen in New York.
So I just want to make one point because I don't want to overwhelm our audience. with with historical analysis. Antisemitism has always been facilitated by social or economic disorder. In the countries all over the world. And In New York City, If Mamdani gets in, everybody's talking about either the rich leaving.
and or his economic and or his economic policies failing. the buses, the transportation, the housing, The grocery. whatever whatever Democratic Socialists think is is is enough Marxism to get past the polling post. if that happens and it begins to go downhill, There's a large amount of poor people in New York City of minorities And a minority under economic or social pressure We'll take it out. On the lowest minority of the totem poll.
And The Jews are that target. Get very visible. They're very successful. and they're different. most Jews act differently, and religious Jews, as we know, uh Saturday is their day of rest and they eat kosher and all sorts of little things that make them stand out.
In good times, you know, that's diversity. But in bad times, it'll be taken out on them, and I'm really fearful We've seen it over the past two to three years. A tax on Jews, physical tax on their institutions, Okay. I don't want to be too much of a prophet of doom. But at least I want to go down on your program as alerting people to the possibility It's not the probability of this happening.
if these factors come into play.
Well, I tend to agree with your assessment of that situation, and I agree it is an area of concern that we will continue to keep an eye on.
Well, Winky Madat, as always, we appreciate your insight into the situation, both in Israel but also here in the United States. Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you once again for having me on. Goodbye to you.
And our list is Winky Medon always does a great job, Rick.
Well, another topic that's on the table lately would be climate change. And this is something that we always want to bring in our good friend, longtime friend of the show, and our program with our father, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, Dr. Don DeYoung. Rick, Dr.
Don DeYoung. Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Dr. Don DeYoung. He chaired the science and mathematics department at Gray's College.
He's been on this program many times, including with our father, no relations, same last name. Dr. DeYoung, thanks for being with us today. Stay glad to join you.
Well, Doctor DeYoung, I know I find you traveling, so I had to get you on your mobile phone. And when I was setting this interview up, you said that reminded you of a time when our father, Doctor Jimmy DeYoung, interviewed you at the Kansas City Zoo. Do you remember that? That was a lot of fun. I was traveling, and we worked out that call.
So I was able to describe what we were seeing there in the zoo as well as some good creation evidence. Good memories that we have with our father. And so we are certainly glad to have you back on the program. I wanted to have you on today because there's a couple of things that have been in the news, and I thought no person better to help us explain what is going on. The first one is this comet, I guess it is, 3i/slash/atlas.
Now, that's the name of it, but it's got scientists around the world excited, and some of these scientists are even speculating that it's an alien spaceship. Can you tell us about this?
Well, yes, it's an interesting name, the three is the idea that it's the third comet that we've seen which is not captured by the sun. It's interstellar, so that's where the little I comes from. And then Atlas is just the name of a program.
So um this is a high speed. comet that's coming passing through the solar system. Um uh uh and and then it'll go on to perhaps to to you know into deep space.
So When you have something unusual like that, that's not in a stable orbit around the sun, then speculation sometimes begins that it could be. Alien operated, something like that. But of course, those are just ideas to popularize the whole thing. The fact is, there are a lot of comets. There are hundreds of them as far as we know that we've identified, and most of them are orbiting the sun.
But once in a while, a stray one will come through from distant space. And this one is acting a little bit different, correct? Like you said, it was uh it's not necessarily captured by our sun. That's why people may have been saying an alien spaceship, which you're saying that is not what it is, but th that's why this kind of I guess this hype has been extended here. Yes.
The way they describe it, it's a high speed comet. And it does not have the usual ellipse-shaped orbit like all of our solar system members have. It's called a hyperbolic orbit. Which is almost a straight line in this vicinity of space.
So it's come through and then off it'll go beyond the solar system. Uh so it's it's not that large a comet. It's not easy to see. Even with binoculars, you wouldn't see it. It takes a larger telescope.
But it was picked up. They're keeping a close eye on the heavens these days, looking for objects which might come close to the earth. This one does not. This won't come anywhere near us. it'll be at its nearest, much further away even than the moon is.
Very interesting, for sure.
Well, we appreciate you explaining that to us. For my final question for you, I want to talk about a subject that I know you talked about with Dad occasionally, and I've talked about it with you on this program as well, and that is climate change.
Now, news was made this week as the billionaire, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, said, you know, listen, I'm going to dial back my climate change rhetoric. It's not necessarily the doomsday that many people are saying, and this is kind of a shift in tactic from one of the leading climate change advocates, I guess you would say. If you could, could you tell us what this means and why he's saying this right now? Uh yes. Of course, Bill Gates has a major influence because of his wealth, and he's also a major donor.
So when he speaks, people listen. And what he's done recently is he's kind of He's he's not politically correct. And so people have jumped down on him. In fact, what he said tends to agree with some of the current administration. And so people get up at at arms about that.
What Bill is saying is that the whole idea of um a d the doomsday scenario that uh climate change could end humanity. He's saying that that's overdone. He says that technology, engineering is coming up with solutions to carbon dioxide and climate change. And he's correct on that. A lot of good work is being done.
And he goes on further and says, climate change is important. But we need to look in other directions as well. And especially brings up the idea of hunger. And disease around the world. And he's correct there as well, that they are all serious issues.
But the very fact that he's kind of knocked climate change off the pedestal is number one. That seems to irritate a lot of the secular science world because climate change is where they're getting their funds, it's where all their business is.
So, yes, Bill Gates is just trying to broaden the issue, and there's certainly some truth to what he says.
Now he will certainly say that climate change is still very important. And in the creation world, we we we kind of qualify that. We we realize that Climate. is always changing. There are warmer times, there are cooler times And uh the f the the effect that uh mankind is having on climate change.
we're not sure about that. There are so many different factors.
So balance is needed. And yes, that's kind of what Bill Gates is saying.
Some balance is needed. And he said the science world kind of came down on him because of that. Very interesting.
So, if what I'm hearing you're saying is correct, critics are coming at him. There are those that might use the idea of climate change and maybe the doomsday scenario: that we only have 10 years, we have five years. We've heard all of these kind of estimates: life will no longer be inhabitable on our planet, the oceans are rising, all these different things. Of course, you say there are changes in the world, but it seems like he's coming at it now from maybe a more scientific and correct position instead of the hysteria that maybe some people are trying to push and use as a way to social engineer. Exactly.
He's broadened the view.
Now, for some time, there's been what's called the tipping point. If the world's average temperature increases by about one point five centigrade, that'd be about two Fahrenheit, then it's all over and we'll be past the point of no return. And Bill is saying, you know, we may well pass that point. But again, we are attacking that problem and taking steps to modify that.
So it's not. It's important to him, but not all important. There are other issues. I kinda I kind of like his approach. still overdoing the climate change area.
And and very secular, the idea that we can ourselves overcome hunger and poverty and disease, but it certainly does need to be looked at. And I think that's all good science.
Well, Dr. DeYoung, as I mentioned, we have the same last name, but not related, but we are fellow believers of Christ. We are brothers in that way. And so for my last question for you, if you could, I know you're a believer, a Christian perspective, but you're also a scientist. If we look at climate change, and it's an important issue, it's something we need to understand in our world today.
Could you give us a Christian perspective on climate change?
Well, yes. Climate change is certainly the big topic. Although it may be replaced by artificial intelligence, but these issues kind of come and go. And climate change. Change would be a long-term modification of the world's temperature and the weather.
And even in 6,000 years of history, which in the young earth creation we stand by, there has been. changes in the climate. It's always making adjustments. We know that about the first 1500 years of history between Adam and Noah. The world was a warmer place.
The whole world was tropical. We can see evidence for that in the fossil record. Along comes the flood. When people turn their back on God. And uh in the centuries following Noah and the flood, Then the earth got cooler for a while.
The flood had kind of put the earth out of out of balance, and so then we had this thing called the ice age. And that was a cooler period. And the Earth may still be recovering from that episode.
So that's our whole history, even when the younger few, the climate. Has changed. The temperature has all gone up, it's gone down. But I'll tell you what really amazes us. You know, even during our lifetimes, the world's population continues to increase from.
from one billion to four billion. Today, we're up to eight billion people. And yet the temperature, even during these episodes I just described, only changes by a few degrees. It's amazing the integrity, the strength that God has built into the climate, into the earth. That it can sustain and make adjustments with this increasing population.
That's what's impressive, how little it changes. It just shows, again, the strength of creation that was kind of put in place in store in preparation for today's population. Very interesting, as always. It's just great to talk to you, Dr. De Young, because as you explain these things, it makes us appreciate the wonder of the world that God has made for us and helps explain what's coming across in the news.
Well, you mentioned artificial intelligence. We'll have you back in the future to talk about that because that is something we're dealing with. We've already been talking about it a little bit, and I'm sure we're going to have you back on then. But we appreciate you taking the time out while you're on the road to be with us. Look forward to talking to you again soon.
Well thank you. Glad to join you. Dr. Don DeYoung, and I'm always reminded, Colossians 1:16, for by him were all things created that are in heaven. That are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by Him. and for him. We're going to take a break and when we come back, a new series with Dr. Jimmy D. Young in the Legacy series right here on Prophecy Today, weekend.
Welcome back to Prophecy Today. This is Jimmy the Young Jr., and as we start a new series entitled Alpha and Omega. the beginning and the end. We will spend some time looking at the Biblical account of creation as recorded in Genesis 1. This programme has a focus on Bible prophecy, and as we teach Bible prophecy we do so by taking the prophetic passages literally.
Therefore, if studying Bible prophecy literally, we must also take the account of creation literally as well. You will see how this all fits together in our study to day.
Now take your Bibles and turn to the Book of Second Peter as we begin our series, Alpha and Omega. Are we not living in unbelievable times? I mean, you cannot pick up the paper, listen to a newscast, or watch a television news report without realizing where we are in God's time if you've studied Bible prophecy. You need to understand the prophetic scenario laid out in God's Word to understand the times in which we're living. And if you have some idea of Bible prophecy, it'll just amaze you.
I can't imagine ever waking up in the morning because of the fact that what is going on just is in so much alignment with the prophetic scenario found in God's Word. But these are troublesome times as well, and in particular in the church. I'm very much concerned about the way the church is moving. And I'm talking about the church, the body of Christ, and some of the decisions they're making, some of the beliefs that they are appropriating for what they try to believe is the way to live in the days in which we're living. Go to 2 Peter chapter 3 with me, if you will.
2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter is the swan song for the Apostle Peter. And especially chapter 3. It's almost like he's writing a third epistle, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, almost a third epistle. It's part of the second book of Peter's epistles there.
But it's a very interesting concept. Couple of chapters that are dealing with something that Peter wants to make certain that we have as he has to depart. He's almost to depart. You know that Peter traditionally was crucified upside down on a cross. And they were going to crucify him, and he said, I do not want to be crucified the way my Savior Jesus was.
Instead, crucify me upside down on a cross. I said, chapter 3. Let's look at chapter 1 first. Let me show you something. Verse 15, chapter 1.
Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease. See, he was recognizing the times. He knew he's going to be dying soon, to have these things always in remembrance. And he's continually in this epistle talking about remembering and causing you to have remembrance of something that has been taught. Verse 16: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
And he talks about here the 17th chapter of the book of Matthew. After he had pronounced Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the living God, then it says, six days later, they were at Caesarea Philippi in that region. Peter and James and John, the inner circle, were taken by Jesus Christ. The last verse in chapter 16 of Matthew, Jesus gives a prophecy basically. He said, There are some of you here gathered with me that shall not die till you see me come in my kingdom.
And then in the 17th chapter, six days later, they went up the slopes of Mount Hermon, and there the transfiguration took place. Peter, James, and John were able to witness Jesus in his glorified, resurrected body. They saw Moses in his resurrected, glorified body, and they saw Elijah. He did not resurrect because he never had died, so he was not there in a resurrected body, but his glorified body looking to the future and what was going to take place. And he was an eyewitness.
He heard God the Father say, This is my Son, hear ye him. Phrase that was when God said, Listen to what Jesus has to say. But I want you to notice something. He was an eyewitness, he saw all this happening.
Now, look at verse 19. But we have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star, that's Jesus Christ, arise in your heart. He said, We have a more sure word of prophecy. Better than an eyewitness account, Peter? Absolutely, a more sure word of prophecy.
What is it? It's this book right here. That's the more sure word of prophecy. From Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 to chapter 22 of Revelation, verse 21, a more sure word of prophecy. This book is packed with prophecy, prophetic passages that will help us understand what's going to happen.
I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but you can take your thumb and put it on Lamentations chapter 1. That's over after Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. And then you can put your index finger on the last chapter of Revelation. Pinch between that thumb and index finger those pages between Lamentations 1, Revelation 22. If you pinch those pages there, that is 42 books of the Bible.
27 books in the Old Testament, 15 books in the New Testament. That's of 1,188 chapters of the Bible, 392 chapters. That's one-third of God's word pinched between your fingers. That's one in every three pages. And that's all Bible prophecy.
And the Apostle Peter said, we have a more sure word of prophecy.
Now go to chapter 3. He's going to now lay out, in light of that foundational thought, what the situation is going to be and what he would like to see happen. Look at verse 1. One of chapter three. The second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stirred up your pure minds.
How? By way of remembrance. And then he tells us what he wants us to remember, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken of by the holy prophets. That's the number one thing he wants you to hear and remember. And our minds will be stirred up, our pure minds will be stirred up.
What the holy prophets had to say, and then of the commandment of us that are apostles of the Lord, what the apostles had to say. God breathed into them, not by their choice, but by the Holy Spirit of God, sovereignly selecting them to breathe into them prophetic truth for us, okay? By the prophets, by the apostles, and by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so those three, He wants us to remember what they said about prophetic truth, what is going to happen in the future. That will stir up our pure mind.
Then notice what he says. This is describing the days that we are living in and what he believed would be the last days. Verse 3: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days. Days, now notice this phrase, scoffers walking after their own lust and saying, Where is the promise of his kingdom? We're not talking about lost people here.
We're not talking about Those people in the churches out there that are modernistic and have no idea the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're talking about the church, the body of Christ. People that he wants to stir up their pure minds. People who have come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. And they'll be saying, where is the promise of his coming?
Notice what he says. Jesus Christ is not slack concerning his promise. Verse 9. And the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come unto repentance. And so he's telling us here, Jesus Christ is coming.
Those who are scoffers walking after their own lust are going to deny that truth of the coming of Jesus Christ. But I want you to know that Jesus Christ, Peter says, is not slack concerning his promise. The only reason he has not come is he wants others to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I want to tell you, friend, there's going to be a great train wreck one of these days, pretty soon. Coming down one track, headed towards the other train, is all of the prophetic truth in God's Word.
And everything, every single thing that has to happen before the rapture of the church has been fulfilled and it's about to come to fulfillment completely. And then there is those group of people that are coming to know Christ as Lord and Savior. We're living in a time, and Peter gave testimony of it, Acts 15, the council at Jerusalem, when James the pastor asked Peter and Paul to give their testimony about leading Gentiles to Jesus Christ. And then James concluded, hey, what you men have testified, leading Gentiles to Christ, Peter the first to lead a Gentile to Jesus, Cornelius and Caesarea. He said, this agrees with the word of God.
And we're living in a time now, the times of the Gentiles that will come to know Christ as Savior. There's going to be the last Gentile who comes to know Christ, and then Jesus Christ is going to come back. That's Romans chapter 11, verse 25. And so these two trains are running, splickety splitting each other. And when the last Gentile comes to know Christ that God knows will happen, then the fulfillment of prophecy will take place, and Jesus Christ will rapture us out of here.
That train collision is going to happen. But before there are going to be those in the church, in the body of Christ, Believers. That's who 2 Peter was written to that are going to deny the coming of the Lord, walking after their own desires. May I say this? If the number one attraction, the number one ambition The number one event that you're looking forward to is not.
The second coming of Christ, the rapture of the church, you better check out your life. because he said Those people deny his coming. are walking after their own lust, I'm not making, I'm not chastising you. I'm telling you what the Word of God says. The Word of God should convict all of us.
We need to be focused on him coming back. But notice what else he says will be, and the times before this all happens. Look here in verse 4, and they're saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. And that is a total contradiction to what is going on in our world.
All things do not remain the same from that time. Look at verse 5. For this they are willfully ignorant. But notice what they're going to be willfully ignorant of here. Verse five.
5, they're going to be willfully ignorant that by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. God created everything. That's what they're going to be willfully ignorant of. The second thing, verse 6, whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. That's talking about the flood, a worldwide flood that will take place.
And then verse 7: And by the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Judgment, they deny three things. Three things are willfully ignorant of. First of all, God's creation, secondly, the worldwide flood, and thirdly, judgment is coming. Judgment is coming.
By the way, uh my translation for that phrase there not willfully ignorant. I'm going to say that it should have been translated Dumb on purpose. Much better than willfully ignorant, they're going to be dumb on purpose at a time of the end. As the Bible does say, people will be, as I refer to it, dumb on purpose at the time of the end. But here's the good news you can, as I have done, take God's Word by faith and live forever.
However, we can also know how to live today as we take God's prophetic word, the words of the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Himself, and find out how to live in the days before Jesus Christ comes back.
Next week on the broadcast we'll continue our study on Living in the Last Days. Thank you so much for joining with us today. This is Jimmy De Young Jr. And if you would like the series Alpha and Omega in its entirety, you can go to our website prophecytoday.com and order that series. When you go to our website at prophecytoday.com, you will also find our devotions.
We have gone through every book in the Bible and we have found the prophetic passages in the Scripture and we will send those to you on a daily basis. Just sign up for our daily devotions on our website at prophecytoday.com. It's one of those things that you could start your day off right by understanding Bible prophecy. This is a good time of the year to start a new tradition.
So, please go to our website, prophecytoday.com.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. If you would like to get this series, or we've got other series, we've got books, we've got PDFs, we've got CDs, DVDs, we've got all kinds of information. We've got a bookstore. You can find all of this stuff at prophecytoday.com. You could also listen to some of our other materials that we have put out throughout the year, and you can go read our devotionals.
We strongly encourage you to do that as we look at prophecy all the way from Genesis to Revelation throughout the Bible, going book by book. And of course, if you would like to support our ministry, we always appreciate that. We are a listener-supported ministry, and we appreciate all that you do. Thanks so much for being involved with Prophecy Today. We look forward to serving you in the future.
Thanks, Rick, and thanks to all of you who pray for us, and especially to the radio stations that carry us on their programs for people all around the world that. Send us notes and send us things. We are trying to edify and educate the body of Christ. In the times in which we're living, we'll take a break in just a moment. David Dolan will be here to answer some questions on Iran and a biblical.
Prophetic perspective. Right here on Propsey Today Weekend. I'm Matthew Scott with Mission Network News. After 30 years of conflict, it's no surprise that peace talks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have many layers. One is with its neighbor Rwanda, another is with the rebel group M23, one of more than 100 militant groups in the Eastern DRC.
This month, M23 and the government took another step toward implementing their stalled July peace agreement. But Ilya Zadi with Open Doors International warns about another layer. What we are saying, pay attention. This is not enough to bring peace in the Eastern DRC. We need to consider the activity of Islamic State there.
In particular, the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF. Like the Islamic State, ADF wants to set up Sharia law. It targets Christians as part of its strategy. One attack September 8th left at least 70 Christians killed and 100 kidnapped in one DRC village. Pray for peace, for resilience for the church, and for international attention to the DRC's long crisis.
And millions of people in the Middle East North Africa region do not know or follow Christ. The Bible is available in modern standard Arabic, a dominant trade language for the MENA region. But Dane with Unfolding Word says, Many of them have a tribal language or a heart language which is not Arabic. Unfolding Word is working to change this by helping believers in the MENA region translate God's Word for themselves. Learn how you can help at missionnews.org.
This massive project, only a few years old, is already having a tremendous impact. The Sydney young man was telling the Bible Society of Jordan guys, thank you for the book packages that you translated. My people group has never ever had this. People are coming to Christ. We are planting churches in Sudan, South Sudan, because of your work.
Thank you for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries, where listeners are supported by people like you. Together, the great commission happens. Look for the links at missionnews.org. I'm Matthew Scott. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy the Young Jr., along with my brother Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. I started out the program today talking about a more sure word of prophecy. And we're going to finish up on that in just a moment. But we do have kind of that little extra today that we got. And David Dolan has agreed to come back to talk to us about Iran.
Now, when you look at Bible prophecy, we have mentioned many times that the rapture is the next thing to take place on God's timetable. And that's an imminent event. It can happen at any moment. First talked about in John chapter 14. And then Paul talked about it in 1 Thessalonians 4.
John talked about it, and we look at it and we place it in the book of Revelation at Revelation chapter 4, verses 1 and 2.
So, when you look at these things, that's the next thing to take place. Then, after that, and there's a period of time, no one knows how many years, days, months, whatever it's going to take before the tribulation period begins. But what begins that seven-year period of tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, it's talked about from Revelation, basically from Revelation chapter 6 to Revelation chapter 19. It's what's talked about in Matthew chapter 24, Luke chapter 21. What begins all of that is the confirmation of a peace treaty by the Antichrist with the nation of Israel.
So as we are focusing on so many of the items that Pertain to the future, we want to keep you in mind of what is going to take place in the future. David's going to be talking in a moment about Iran, but Iran is a part of the nations that are going to come against Israel. And I believe that that is the second seal. And I think that it happens within the first two or three months of that tribulation period.
So let's bring back in David, Rick, and let's talk to him about Iran and what his prophetic perspective is on the future.
Well, David, during our Middle East news update, you brought up Iran, and we talked about how they are rebuilding. After the defeats of the 12-day war and everything else that's happened since October 7th, Iran lost a lot of influence, a lot of prestige, but they are slowly rebuilding. Hezbollah is coming back. Hamas is not gone, even though that was a stated aim of the war. Can you talk a little bit about Iran and how they are rebuilding right now?
Well, Rick, the experts have all said that the weakest part of President Trump's 20-point peace plan, ceasefire plan, whatever you want to call it. Yeah. was that it didn't really have much planning. Regarding what would follow the end of hostilities and who would take over. And Who would enforce this disarmament that Hamas supposedly agreed to, but has been saying ever since they did not.
And they're surely Showing no evidence that they are disarming in any way. And in fact, I didn't mention, Rick, earlier that. after Israel stopped the bombardment of Gaza this week, The next morning, they had one more short blast in the north.
Well, they said there was a hang glider being prepared to launch a terror attack imminently into Israel. Hamas, once again repeating something they did october seventh.
So You know, these people are deeply dedicated to their jihad, et cetera, and They're not giving that up. And Rick, I understand the reluctance of many Arab countries to put their forces in there because it King Abdullah of Jordan, for instance. What if some of his soldiers are killed by Hamas spiders? What are they going to do then? Would that trigger an internal civil Unrest in Jordan amongst the majority Palestinian citizens there.
Etc. Saudis, other countries, you know, Egypt, they're all. This amounts of fundamentalist undercurrent is everywhere. And it's accepted by some of the governments, Turkey and Qatar, And Iran, of course, is the grandfather of it. But others, the Saudis and UAE and others, are trying to be more moderate, trying to become more westernized, trying to do business with Israel and you know, just settle things down.
But that's not the goal of Iran and Hamas and these others.
So You know, it's a Going to be a dicey, dicey thing on the ground. And Indonesian and Malaysian forces, maybe. Wonderful, but they don't speak English, most of them. They don't speak Arabic, and they don't know the culture or the region, and the Israelis, frankly, doubt. That anybody but themselves or the US and its allies.
can disarm actually Hamas, but America's allies are not interested in that, it doesn't seem. President Trump has said, no, we won't be doing that. Final thoughts, David. As we look at this situation, we know that the Bible says that in the end times these nations, including Iran and Turkey, are going to come against Israel. These things that we're seeing taking place right now are just setting the stage for those prophecies to be fulfilled, aren't they?
They absolutely are. And I think we can all say anybody that studies prophecy, even lightly, has got to see that so many things are falling into place so many things are signaling. And I used to say, Rick, that The signs are flashing, and the neon sign, the warning signs are flashing. You know, the end is coming, and get right with the Lord, and these things.
Now I see they're just screaming it out. They're just. It's so you have to have your head in the sand completely or just be tuned out entirely not to see it.
So We see it, and we rejoice in that because, again, the end of the book is a very good one. We have an eternity ahead of us with the Lord. if we accept him and walk with him. And that's That's what we need to be doing now. in this life is getting right with God.
Dave, as always, we appreciate not only your political insight, but also your prophetic insight and your biblical insight as well. Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon. I bless the Lord for it. God bless you.
I love the analogy of the flashing lights, David. The metaphor, you know, in Scripture, a lamp in the darkness, found in what we referred to today in 2 Peter 1, verse 19 and Psalm 119:105. It vividly illustrates its role, the Word of God, as a divine guidance and clarity in a world often characterized by spiritual, moral, and intellectual confusion. And that's where we are in our world today and why it's so very important that we use the Word of God as a guidance for each step in our life, really getting rid of all the confusion and ignorance in our lives. A reliable, objective standard in 2 Peter 1:19, that the lamp is a more Sure, the word of prophecy, pointing to Jesus Christ as the salvation for all of mankind and helping us to get to where we understand what it is that God wants us to do.
Thank you so much for joining us today on Prophecy Today. And, folks, With all that we have seen, the rapture of the church could take place at any moment. Let's keep looking up. Until Thank you so much for joining us today. This is Jay Johnson inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today.
Prophecy Today is a listener-supported production of Shofar Communications in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
