Prophecy Today Weekend - Christian Persecution

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. There is no doubt that persecution is a stark reality of living the Christian life. Christian persecution is to be expected. The Apostle Paul warned that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

2 Timothy 3:12.

Well, on today's program, we're going to examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word, the nations, the people, and the events that are happening around the world. And on today's program, along with our usual broadcast partners, Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, and Winky Medad, Doug Burton will be on the program today talking to us about persecution that's taking place in the country of Nigeria. Rick, we've got a lot to cover today, so let's get going with our first, Ken Timmerman.

Well, that's right, Jimmy. We have our broadcast partner, Ken Timmerman, with us. He's Our expert on geopolitical affairs. He's an author and analyst. You can find out more about him by going to his website at kentimman.com.

Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure.

Well, Ken, we'll start our look around the world going to Russia.

Now, from what I understand, there's not a whole lot going on in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but there is news, and not the least of which is Russia looking to open up a Red Sea naval base.

Well, Rick, if anybody thought that Putin had been marginalized because of the war in Ukraine and of the European anxiety over his encroachment into Western Europe, they'd better think again. This week, Putin, after talking to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. negotiator who had been there and then flew back to Miami to speak with Ukrainians, Putin himself flew to India.

So he was in India to talk to Prime Minister Modi to revive a long-standing alliance that Russia has had with India and also to make sure that the U.S. is put on notice that all of Trump's overtures towards India could be swept away by a single stroke of a pen by Putin in India.

Meanwhile, he Also, negotiated a deal with Sudan to have a naval base, a Russian naval base in the Red Sea. This is something that the Russians have actually negotiated five years ago under the previous government, but that was a coalition government. And since then, we've had a civil war in Sudan, and that coalition government has split into two parts: the Islamist government in Khartoum, which is the one that signed the deal with Russia, and what they call the rapid support forces, which have been fighting them and have swept into Darfur in recent months, massacring civilians. It is not a pretty state. It's not a pretty war that's going on.

So, Russia is now going to have a naval base, up to four ships. In the Red Sea.

Well, Rick, let me just put a fine point on this. If you thought the Houthis were doing damage to us and doing damage to U.S. military ships, U.S. military operations, to the flow of oil and goods through the Suez Canal and through the Red Sea, well, just imagine what would happen if the Russians decided to do the same thing now with their warships in Port Sudan, directly on the Red Sea.

So this is a big strategic move by Russia, coupled with their move to India. Putin really doesn't need to end the Ukraine war. We think he does. The American public opinion thinks he does. But Putin is telling us, forget it, a million casualties doesn't make any difference to me.

I'm on a roll.

So just to follow up on that, the thought that Russia was failing, that they couldn't do what they wanted to do in Ukraine, they're as strong as ever. They're continuing their influence around the world. And it would really be hard pressed to talk about how important this naval base was on the Red Sea as far as global trade and just influence in that region, isn't it?

Well, that's right. And you have already. The Wagner Group has been mining gold in Sudan for a number of years. This deal will expand Russia's access to natural resources in Sudan. It's a gateway to Africa, obviously.

And it really puts Russia in a place we don't want them to be. Remember, Rick, for hundreds of years, the Russians have sought an outlet to the warm seas. The Red Sea is a really warm sea, Rick, and it gives Russia a base of operations right in the middle of an area that we thought. Had been the U.S. sphere of influence.

Very concerning for sure, Ken, but we'll move away from that situation and let's talk about China. They are also flexing their naval muscle. The Chinese this week held what are really annual naval exercises in and around the Taiwan Strait, but much bigger than the ones that they normally hold. We're told there were over 100 ships that took part in these exercises. They went all the way up to the disputed Senjaku Islands in the East China Sea.

These are islands that the Japanese claim are theirs.

So the Chinese and the Japanese are potentially in an aggressive situation with each other over those islands. The Japanese are very worried about China. They have expressed their support for Taiwan. This has angered the Chinese. The Chinese are trying to put pressure on the new Japanese prime minister.

We talked about this last week. And she has said, no, no, no. Believe that Taiwan has the right to be independent, and we will support them in the event of a Chinese attack.

So this is China trying to kind of strike back. It's a demonstration of force. They're trying to show the Japanese and the United States that they have the ability to project power throughout Asia.

So this is the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Western Pacific, as well as the Strait of Taiwan. At the same time that this was going on, the French President Emmanuel Macrone had a meeting with Chinese President Xi. Can you tell us what happened there?

Well, whenever there's a a back door open a crack In creeps the French president. This is what French presidents always do, Rick. They are the salesman-in-chief for failing French industry. You know, I love what the French produce. They produce great wine, fantastic agricultural products.

High-tech, which is amazing, amazing stuff. Most of it, unfortunately, is state-sponsored. And the best of it is either nuclear technology or defense technology. And Macron is trying to find new markets for French goods. He went to China saying, okay, I'm going to be the statesman here and try to find a solution for the Ukraine war.

Forget about that. That's just window dressing. That is Macron predating as he loves to do. He really went there to sell French goods. And I can tell you, even though they inked the deal and President Xi said he wanted high-tech from France, it's going to be more wine.

The Chinese love French wine. It's going to be more French fatted duck, coffee de ganard and foie gras. They love that as well. And agricultural products. But nothing.

of strategic importance, Macron is a bit player. On the world scene. But, Rick, the real news this week with China was secret documents leaked from the Russian military that came out in the Kiev Observer about the Russia-China military pipeline. The Chinese don't want the Ukraine war to end for two reasons. One, they are getting Access to the best of Russian military technology.

There's state-of-the-art fifth-generation fighter planes, and the fact that the Chinese want them from Russia suggests to me that their industry is not quite as advanced as they claim that it is. And the Chinese also would like that war to continue because it distracts the United States. While the U.S. is focused on Ukraine, the war in Ukraine, along with the Europeans, the Chinese are building up their military, they're gathering strength, and they are preparing to take over Taiwan. Very interesting how all these parts are moving together, both Russia and China hurtling towards their destiny, it would seem, doing what they're doing on the world stage right now.

Well, my final question for you as we wrap up this program. We have been talking about the country of Venezuela. This is us here in the United States. There have been efforts by the Trump administration to curtail the narco-terrorism or the drug running that's coming out of that country. That's been in the news this week for a variety of reasons.

If you could, before I let you go today, could I get your take on that and really Venezuela's global impact as well?

Well, Rick, all of us have watched the news this week and the attacks on Pete Hegseth and the dispute over whether the U.S. military has the right to conduct second or third or fourth strikes on these drug boats. Look, these are acts of war, and war is not a pretty thing. The president said this during his cabinet meeting on Tuesday. It's not a pretty thing.

But when the order to the military is take out the boat, take out the drug runs, you take them out. I mean, and if you don't get them the first time, you don't go back and send medics to pick up survivors. I mean, we didn't do that with Osama bin Laden. We didn't do it in Afghanistan or Iraq. If your first shot goes wide of the mark, you shoot again.

That's kind of normal. What we're seeing here is typical politics in Washington. The Democrats, mainly the Democrats on one side, talking about war crimes, talking about limiting Trump's power. They've introduced several bills in Congress that would require congressional authorization and predictably Rand Paul. The senator from Kentucky, who says he's a Republican, is going along with the Democrats on this.

Look, let me tell you what the real big news here is. It's not the shell game that you're seeing in Congress. The big news, Rick, is that the U.S. has shifted our national security strategy. It has gone from concern about Asia, China, from the Middle East, to right here in our backyard.

Let me tell you what happened this week that not a lot of people are talking about. The White House released its national security policy. This is a document I can now reveal to you because it's out. This is a document I worked on with a small group of people at the America First Policy Institute a year ago. And let me tell you something: it bears zero.

Resemblance to that document we worked on a year ago. Why? Because the President has come back to the White House and he came back with better ideas than any of his policy advisors had. And he is the one who has single-handedly shifted our strategy from the Middle East to Latin America. Why?

Because as he says in the document himself, once we took out Iran's nuclear weapons program, we removed a huge threat to the flow of Middle Eastern oil. Once we signed the Abraham Accords, we also reduced a huge source of instability in the Middle East. We're going to continue to make sure that that oil flows, but the threats to the flow of oil are far fewer than they were just one year ago.

So now we can focus on the threats to the homeland and the 100,000 people who are dying every year, or 80,000 people dying every year from fentanyl and drug overdoses. Those drugs are coming in from Venezuela and elsewhere. The President has shifted our strategy to go after those threats, and that is what is The big news here. It certainly is. Ken Timmerman for Prophecy Today, reporting on all these things taking place around the world that are shaping our world today.

Ken, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless. Thanks so much, Ken.

And I think we all know that there's a systematic process out there of Satan's program to defeat God and the believers of Jesus Christ. Let's take a break when we come back. Our Middle East News Update with David Dolan right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Steve O'Dell from Mission Network News. We start in Nigeria.

A rise in attacks from armed groups prompted President Tinubu to declare a nationwide security emergency. Todd Nettleton from The Voice of Martyrs USA says: The government has said they're going to recruit 20,000 more police officers and get them trained and get them involved in helping against these kinds of attacks. Several hundred people have been kidnapped in the past two weeks, including children. It's not all localized to one specific area. It is across sort of the northern and even central part of Nigeria.

That's a concern. While the government has secured a few rescues, many remain captive. The Voice of Martyrs USA is helping local believers endure the challenges. Pray for strength for Nigerian Christians and their endurance. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org.

Then, next week, the Meena Leadership Center will help ministry leaders tackle a topic that some might consider taboo conflict. Dr. Jen Murph with the Meena Leadership Center explains. In a ministry context, we often have these unspoken expectations that spiritual people, godly people, Christians should not have conflict. But that's just a farce.

Truly, it really is. Christ-like conflict actually strengthens ministry relationships. It's also one way God changes us to be more like Jesus. Murph says that in the honor-shame cultures prevalent in the MENA region, respect toward the person you're talking with is even more critical. How about you?

Are you facing a conflict in your church or ministry relationships? Pray for God's perspective and read more of this conversation at missionnews.org. Thank you for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We are listener-supported by people like you. By giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming.

Join us here on Facebook, X, or Instagram. You can also find us on Alexa, iTunes, or TWR360. Together, the Great Commission happens. Look for the links at missionnews.org. That's missionnews.org.

I'm Steve Odell. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.

Well, this is the portion of our program. We call it our Middle East News Update. We look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but we focus on Israel in particular. To do that, we have with us Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today.

Always a blessing, Rick.

Well, Dave, typically you give us an update on what has been taking place, and if we could, I'd like to start with a military update. We know Israel is facing hostilities on several fronts, including in the south with Hamas, in the north with Hezbollah. What's the latest?

Well, there was more of action in the Gaza Strip during the week. Israeli strikes yesterday on Friday after there's another Hamas attempt to uh attack Israeli soldiers in the north of the Strip. the IDF responded and they said one terrorist was killed and others were wounded. And earlier in the week, Rick, we had the death of several Hamas connected leaders or the sons of leaders, a senior Hamas leader was killed when he emerged in. The Rafah area from a tunnel with six others who'd been hiding there.

Israel's killed over 30 Rick. Of these guys that were down there, and they try to come out, and Israel gives them a chance to surrender. They mostly come out with their weapons wanting to fight.

So he was killed. Rick, we also had hostages. One more hostage remains released. Turned out to be a forty two year old Thai Worker. That's the last of the 31 ties that were kidnapped on November 7th.

So that leaves one more body to be returned, Rick, before we can go into Phase two, supposedly, of President Trump's peace plan. That's Ron Gavili, very well known policeman who was twenty four years old when he was killed the day of the attack defending Kibbutz Alumin.

Now he wasn't from there. He was from another part of the country, but he was sent there as a policeman to help guard that. Keyboards. And uh on Friday he His mother issued a statement. She said he was the first to go, he's the last to leave.

And he was one of the first to be kidnapped into his remains into the Gaza Strip. And then she and her husband asked the government not to proceed to phase two of this peace plan until His remains are returned, so we'll see. what happens there in the coming days. And then, Rick, we had some more action up in Lebanon. Actually, one positive thing, we had Israeli officials, a member of the Security National Security Council, met in the town of Nekura on Wednesday with He's actually a Lebanese attorney, but he's the former ambassador to the United States, well known to the Trump administration representing Lebanon.

It was the first direct meeting Between a Israeli official and a Lebanese representative of the government since nineteen ninety one, Rick. The Madrid Peace Conference of that year. I covered it. I remember it well.

So there's some progress there. And they were meeting in the Kura with civilians to be involved in these talks that are about the ceasefire, basically, and how to maintain that. And then, Rick, we had the head of CENTCOM, Bradley Cooper, the U.S. commander. He issued a statement congratulating the Syrian government for intercepting yet another attempted weapon shipment to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

They said it was a large amount of landmines. These, of course, coming via Iran, still coming into Shiite forces apparently getting them smuggled into Syria, who are trying to overland smuggle them into. Lebanon.

So that was uh that was stopped.

Well, Dave, that's an update as we look at what's going on on the military fronts with Israel. But there was also some stories coming out of the internal politics. One of them was the the thoughts around the controversial pardon for Prime Minister Netanyahu. also a song contest, the Eurovision Song Contest, which is much more than song contest, but it also kind of reveals an anti Semitic bent of several European nations. Can you tell us about these stories?

Yes, Rick. On Sunday, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netsanyahu formally requested in a letter a pardon. For charges against him, corruption charges against him that have been going on for 10 years, Rick. Ten years ago, they started investigations. Five years ago, in November 2019, he was indicted.

Trials began in May 2020 and they've been ongoing on and off ever since. But in recent months, really since the end of the kinetic fighting, the courts have stepped up their activity on this, requiring the Prime Minister three times a week to go to court and sit for hours and hours, sometimes it's gone all day, listening to the latest arguments and the latest things. And in his letter to the president requesting the pardon, Herzog, President Herzog. He said I really need to be focusing on getting this peace deal with well, ceasefire deal with Hamas on track and making sure it takes place, that we do get to the next phase. And of course, he has other serious issues.

He didn't mention these, but the main one being that Haredi or ultra Orthodox men not being drafted into the army. A bill was introduced in the Knesset on Thursday that would prevent them being drafted. It has strong opposition from, frankly, the polls show most Israelis who feel that they're not doing their share to defend the country. The charges against the Prime Minister are fairly thin, Rick. There's three cases.

One was that he received cigars and champagne. Two hundred thousand dollars is the charge worth of gifts from a Hollywood Jewish producer and others. I won't go into the details. The second was a little more serious that um He tried to sway the rules for several publishers, including the publisher of one of the biggest newspapers in the country, in exchange for fair coverage from them. And the third is the most serious, That he promised regulatory favors to the Bezik Phone Company, that's Israel's largest.

phone company, as you know, telecommunications. That owns a website, Walla, which is very popular with his radius, and again, for more favorable coverage. Critics of these charges all along have said, how can you prove These things. It was years ago, and the coverage wasn't any more favorable. Nothing actually happened.

So those are. Those are the main things that are going on there. The Eurovision contest is definitely the big topic of the week, Rick. You've been to Europe and the Middle East. You know how popular that annual a song contest is where all the countries put up one nominee that they voted on in their own country and all the national media outposts are involved in this sort of thing, the European Broadcasting Union.

Well, they met in Geneva on Thursday after several countries had asked that Israel, which came in second place last year, Rick, Had it been first place, they would have been the host. of the next Eurovision, but there was already huge Blast against that.

Well, the announcement from Geneva was that Israel could participate this year, this next year. and that prompted four countries to immediately pull out. of this very popular contest. Including Ireland, that's the country that's won it the most, Rick, of any. European country or area countries over the years.

Spain also pulled out. The Netherlands pulled out, where of course the European Court of Justice is headquartered and other things, very much against Israel. That's where the indictment against Netanyahu from them was issued during the war. And then Slovenia also. Germany, though, defended Israel, said we will not participate if Israel is banned.

So that was a big story in Israel this week. And finally, Rick, a story from the United States, Senator Bernie Marino. On Tuesday of Ohio, from Columbia originally, has introduced a bill in the Senate to outlaw duo citizenship for all Americans.

Well, that would affect several million Americans, but the largest single group would be Israeli Americans or American Israelis, both groups. believe there are 600,000, Rick. People in Israel now that are Americans by birth still hold the citizenship, but are also Israeli duo citizenships, and two hundred thousand estimated Israeli citizens in the U. S. with the same situation.

So it would markedly affect those people. Of course, the Americans don't want to renounce their citizenship to the United States if they don't have to. If this bill went to pass, then they would have to do that. And of course, many other countries already ban duo citizenship, India, China and many others, but most European and Western countries do allow it. Dave Dolan reporting for Prophecy Today.

Dave, as you tell us about the physical, the military, the kinetic threats that are facing Israel, but also these political threats that are targeting the Jewish people, Israel, but they continue to soldier on, they continue to make their way, and they are blessed in the land because we know, as Bible prophecy says, that God has brought them back into this land for a purpose, and we know that they will continue to be there and be there when God's end time scenario begins. We do indeed. And we can thank God that He's keeping His word. And we know there's going to be anti-Semitism because it's. More than that, it's anti-Israel's God, as we've discussed many, many times.

Again, we know these things are going to happen in the last days and these rays are Soldiering through and actually very resilient. And Rick, they also announced in August the largest single number of American Jews moved to Israel in modern times. It still signals that Jews around the world want to go back to their homeland. And God said He would facilitate that. Dave Dolan for Prophecy Today.

Dave, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Welcome, Rick. God bless. Great job, as always, David.

And we have Israel Madad, who's going to continue the updates on Israel. Right after we return, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Pakistan intensifies deportation efforts amid clashes with Afghanistan, arguing that all Afghan refugees are a threat to national security. Military tensions escalated last week as both nations closed their borders, with fallout hitting refugees the hardest.

Yet, hope follows on the heels of hardship. Afghan gospel workers trained in Pakistan were part of the refugee purge, but they're carrying hope to their people. Consider partnering with unknown nations to send audiobooks into these Muslim nations.

Meanwhile, as we prepare for Christmas, the headlines we see daily are anything but festive. Yet Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries reminds us that Jesus too was born amid chaos. While persecution, war, and disaster fill the news, the persecuted church continues to cling to the gospel. Our response is to stand with them in prayer and trusting that God is at work. Look for this story online at missionnews.org.

Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy De Young Jr. along with Rick.

We're examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. I started out the program today talking about Christian persecution. And later on in this half hour, we're going to be talking with Doug Burton about the situation in Nigeria. What's happening there is an atrocity that the world has just glossed over and has not even touched. But we're going to focus on it.

And Doug brings a very important point to the program today, and we'll be focusing on that in just a moment. But, you know, we have focused on the people and the nations of Bible prophecy. We want to continue our conversation with Israel Mediat, affectionately known as Winky. He lives out in Shiloh. He is our man on the ground there in Israel.

He gives us political, historical, and religious insight from his home in Shiloh. Thanks for being with us today, Winky. Thank you again for having me on.

Well, Winky, I want to start with a big picture question. We look at the ceasefire that took place not too long ago, and maybe some renewed hope for war-wear Israelis. But as you look at the signs on the horizon right now, we look at things taking place in the north of Lebanon, Syria, Hamas has not been disbanded. There's still a force, and Iran is now talking again and seemingly trying to threaten Israel. Could you tell us what's the feeling?

For the average Israeli, what's the feeling on the ground there? What do you think is on the horizon for Israel? Could there be the possibility that Israel will have to go and defend itself again?

Well, let me say this. I think the most relevant opinion or feeling that people have is that we told you so. In other words, We've been through this before. I know there are new presidents and there are new secretaries of state. You know, America is a very nice democracy and every couple of years you have elections and your administration changes and stuff like that.

Unfortunately for us, Not to say that Mr. Netanyahu has been in power for almost 20 years. Uh in and out, but the point is most of it know that The Arab opposition To Israel. Which causes it to go to war or to engage in terror. is not something that is a rational Western oriented idea of let's get some more territory, let's get some more open water, let's do this, let's get some oil, things that you can placate your enemy with.

They don't want us around at all. And unfortunately, the past two or three years especially, we've seen A lot of people who claim to be intelligent and intellectual And even liberal and progressive have adopted the most negative aspect of Israel as a colonial state, as a genocide state, and all this is coming together that The terror groups that I'm talking about, Hamas, I'm talking about Hezbollah. I'm even talking about Iran. Right? say, all right, well, we lost that round.

Let's gear up again and let's see what we can do next time and out with the President of the United States and out with the European Union, and we'll get UNRWA back and we'll do this and we'll stay in charge in Lebanon and stuff like that. And then people turn around to us and say, You're much too negative, Israel. You know, you're not optimistic enough. And we say what actually we're very realistic. About what the situation is.

And we're not going to end this until we have enough help. and understanding from the Western countries exactly what we're involved in. And what is the danger for them? in their own countries from some of the things that we've been seeing also most recently in terms of Muslim Brotherhood and Somalis and all sorts of other things going around. Prime Minister Netanyahu has been called back to the White House or asked to come to the White House by President Trump.

Now we don't know exactly what's going to be discussed here. Is this an alarming prospect to you? What do you think about this impending trip of Prime Minister Netanyahu to the United States?

Well, I want to be very honest. It depends how much patience mister Trump has. If mister Nutaniao says, listen, We made an agreement through you basically, mister Trump. With certain terms. That would mean all the hostages get freed, and then we pull back, there's a ceasefire, we begin to move on.

And here we are about a month and a half later at least And we're down now at least to one last hostage.

Now, in in the end, you could say, listen, they've they've given them all back, yeah, but why couldn't they do that like Three weeks ago, or something like that, and they still have some people shooting and wounding and injuring Israeli soldiers on the ground. And we hear reports that Hezbollah in the north is rearming, and the Lebanese army is not really disarming them. And Israel sits around and says, Listen, we agreed to terms. Don't look at us. Get them to do something.

But of course, Israel is only one state. It's not the richest state in terms of oil or other things like that. We have a lot of brains. which can get move things moving economically and otherwise, but we don't have the oil that Qatar has or that Saudi Arabia has, and we don't have enough votes in the United Nations like twenty ardent Arab nations have.

So it's kind of difficult playing geopolitics on a global scale. One of the things they might be discussing when he goes there is the situation in the quote-unquote West Bank.

Now that is an area that is up for dispute amongst some, not amongst all Israelis, full disclosure, you live in the area of the West Bank. We call it Judea and Samaria because that's what the Bible calls it. But Prime Minister Netanyahu is looking to possibly annex some villages there. Can you talk about this? Can you kind of maybe just give our listeners a primer on the situation?

Well, we know that at the present moment, President Trump, advised, I think, most specifically by Jared Kushner. who I would call the independent diplomat of the White House. together with Steve Witkoff, who actually has an official position, are debt set against annexation. Even though as I think we've discussed in the past, His father Peace plan, I think, or peace with prosperity or something like that. back in twenty sixteen, if I'm not mistaken.

Spoke about partial annexation or what we call in Israel, extending Israel's sovereignty builders' areas because we don't actually view those as part of another state, which is what annexation is.

So I I'm not going to say, oh, it's going to happen tomorrow. And I know this student from Yellow. And he's not in favor of an outright declaration. He wants to continue to build up Judea and Samaria, Both economically, demographically, in terms of population, and all sorts of other things like that. He's in it for the long game, if I can phrase it that way.

So I don't think we're going to see that soon. Unless Mr. Mahmoud Abbas sitting in Ramallah. Besides to start up a third or fourth in the fata, I've lost track how many they've had. uh which might upset the entire Applecot.

Well, would it be fair to say, and Prime Minister Netanyahu, he's somewhat of a polarizing figure. He's been in power a long time in Israel.

Now, we've talked about him a lot on this show, and we think although he does deserve some of the blame for what happened on October 7th, he also has done a great job providing security, having a great relationship with President Trump, and protecting Israel. But looking forward, he's not going to be Prime Minister forever, at least I don't think he is. And as we look towards the future, there's so many people, and especially here, some of these liberal types like you talk about in the United States, they push the two-state solution. But October 7th, and the fact that an attack was launched right next door from Israel's neighbors, that's changed the security tolerance that the average Israeli has had.

So, the West Bank, that situation is going to be a political football going forward in Israel. And could change. Is that the way you look at the situation? The short answer is yes. And to explain it a little bit, ah I think I might have mentioned on your program A couple of years ago some wild idea some of us had of floating I don't think we had drones then, but we floating large balloons over Some of the cities that actually border what you would call the former Green Line.

Kfarsaba, Ranana, Petachtikva, and other towns. And dropping white pieces of paper saying If we have a Palestinian state next door, these could be mortars or rockets. And then someone said, no, it would scare everybody, and we'd probably get arrested. Even though there was nothing, you know, violent about the thing. But the point I'm trying to make.

is a lot of people follow your thinking, saying if it happened alongside the border with Gaza, Right. Alongside all sorts of towns And even cities. that are on the eastern edge of the former so-called nineteen sixty seven border.

So a lot more people are very wary of two state solutions or any other element that would give the Arabs residing in Judea and Samaria any form of ability to control arms, weapons and to look down from the hills of Judea and most Importantly, Sumeria, and you've been on these hills, I know. And look right down into Tel Aviv and other places on the coast. It just won't work.

Well, as we look at this situation, you comment on basically a bi-weekly basis about how life is in Israel and what you're doing to survive. And just to finish on a positive note, you continue on. We were talking a little bit before you came on the air, your family is traveling around the world, working on causes that they believe in. You have been there as a spokesman for your nation. And no matter what they're faced with, the Jewish people and the nation of Israel continue to persevere in their ancient homeland, don't they?

I think we're doing very good for a people that's been held up to all sorts of. charges and castigations and demonization. Our economy is very good despite the war, because, of course, anybody knows when you Conduct a war, you throw money out the window. And from the reports I've seen and read, economy is very strong. We managed to stave off on the cultural side an attempt to ban us from the Eurovision song contest.

And in fact, I understand now chances to win it are growing as several countries are dropping out in protest. But and as you said, we have an ability to come up with all sorts of ideas that could benefit the world. has just sold billions of dollar deal to Germany And we're creating this laser air defence system, which will you know, when you and I were much younger and reading Superman and other comics, these Death rays flying out and stuff like that. It's working now. We've got it working.

And uh all sorts of ideas for sustainability and and uh social contract ideas of people getting together were a positive force. We bring with us three thousand five hundred or so years of history and understanding and tradition We have ethics, I think, that have benefited all of mankind. Religions stem from Abraham. And just people let up with all their wild ideas in order to justify their own bad position. and the world will be a much safer place and a much better place.

Winky Madad reporting from his home in Shiloh for Prophecy today. Winky, as always, we appreciate coming on our program, bringing your thoughts. We so value them. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you very much, and goodbye to you.

And our listeners. Thank you, Winky. Great job, as always.

Well, we started off the program today talking about Christian persecution. And there's no doubt that persecution is a stark reality of living the Christian life, especially in The last days.

Now, Peter and Paul spoke to the early church and their letters, their epistles to the early church about the persecution that they were suffering.

So it's been going on. Paul told Timothy that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And Jesus said that if they persecuted him, they will also persecute his followers. And Jesus made it very clear that those of the world will hate Christians because the world hates Christ. If Christians were like the world, vain, earthly, sensual, and given to pleasure, wealth, and ambition, the world would not oppose us.

But Christians do not belong to the world, which is why the world engages in Christian persecution. Christians are influenced by different principles from those of the world. We are motivated by the love of God and holiness, while the world is driven by the love of sin. It is our very separation from the world that arouses the world's animosity.

Well, we're bringing on a new partner on the program today, Doug Burton. Rick, let's go to Doug and let's. look a little bit more into what's going on in Nigeria.

Well that's right, Jimmy. We've got Doug Burton from TruthNigeria dot com. He's an investigative reporter, friend of the programs, friend of a good friend of ours, Ken Timmerman. Doug, thanks for being with us today.

Well always an honor, Rick.

Well, Doug, I find you uh as I was making this call. You're at the mu you're on a cellphone at the Museum of the Bible. If it's uh if it's okay, could I ask what you're doing there?

Well, sure. I mean, the Museum of the Bible has conference space. and frequently host groups of congressmen. Who are concerned about religious issues like persecution of Christians in Nigeria, which is Why are a group of congressmen expected to be here at the Museum of the Bible for an event at 6 p.m. Eastern Time?

And my boss, who's the founder of Equipping the Persecuted, which is the funder of Truth Nigeria, he's going to be one of the speakers.

So I'm helping to set up a display table and we're we're just We're just getting going. It's going to be a great event. The event sponsor is called the Washington Policy Institute.

Well, very interesting, and I certainly appreciate the efforts that you have made to bring this subject to light. And I guess that leads me into my first question because there's a story on your website talking about a group of U.S. lawnmakers who have warned Nigerian authorities that they will hold them responsible for Christian killings in Nigeria. This was a very powerful statement. Could you tell us about this?

Well, it's it's one of the most revealing Capitol Hill conferences that's ever been held about the Nigerian issue because For years.

Some in Congress have been swayed by the false narrative of government spokesmen and apologists who say, well, no, there's no targeted Christian persecution, no, there's violence. committed by insurgents and criminals. It exacts revenge and victimizes Christians and Muslims.

So, no, there's no Christian genocide. But recently, the consistent messaging of Truth Nigeria and other independent media, such as Sahara Reporters, has come to the attention of leaders in the US Congress and the administration. And so, at the event that was two days ago at the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Diaz-Ballart, I think, of Florida. And where several congressmen spoke, oh, well, the message was very consistent. They all the congressmen all agreed.

That there is a definite genocide against Christians, and the Nigerian government has been complicit. and has uh been at fault. To stop this terrible persecution.

So we're hearing a completely new message, and it's really music to the ears of the persecuted Christians in the Middle Belt. Who are the sources for Truth Nigeria?

Well, Doug, we've talked about this before, and you are quick to say that it's a very complicated situation. There's a lot going on there, but it does seem to be, and you are emphasizing the fact that the jihadist networks like Boca, Haram, and the Islamic legal system, those wanting to impart Sharia law and the Hizbah morality police, those are what essentially is fueling the majority of the persecution, isn't it? Totally right. In fact, a volunteer group called Save the Persecuted Christians reports that. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today, and as many as 212 Christians worldwide.

are victims of persecution. And they're in in countries from China to Pakistan, India, as well as several countries in Western Africa. Nigeria just happens to be the hottest place where the most brutal and frequent killing of Christians happens. But it's it's really good news that the U. S.

Congress is getting on the right sheet of music, and they are making a determination. They're showing consensus that they want to help President Trump to hold Nigeria accountable and to help Nigeria do what its constitution indicates it has to do, which is to protect citizens of any religious background.

Well, I know you've been working on this for a while, and then the persecution has been taking place for a while, but you mentioned President Trump there. And one of the things we've talked about, you and I have talked about before, is the fact that President Trump brought attention to this, seemingly at some the way he does sometimes things coming out of the blue. That was a very amazing way that came about. Could you tell our listeners a little bit about that and what impact it's had on the situation in Nigeria?

Well, President Trump has known about the persecution problem in Nigeria from early in his first administration, and he spoke out. In a public meeting with the President of Nigeria back in 2018, in May. And it did a lot of good because after he criticized the behavior of Nigerian leaders, then the persecution of Christians, the attacks on Christians in Nigeria, it sort of disappeared for about six months. And many, many Nigerian Christian leaders will tell you this. Since the second administration, we haven't heard anything from President Trump until october thirty first.

And on Trick-or-Treat Night, he went on to Truth Social and he said the crisis of persecution in Nigeria is An existential threat to Christians, and we won't stand for it. And then the next day, he went even further. He he demanded that the Nigerian government execute it its responsibility. And he said if they don't, then the United States is coming in with guns blazing.

Now he didn't specify how that would happen, but it was clear that he was very sincere and definitely was going to lean in on this issue, which is welcome news because the Biden administration was completely on the other side. Biden administration and the Obama administration really just sided with the government and did more harm than good. Talk a little bit more about the persecution. One of the kind of more horrific ways that it has manifested itself is kidnappings. Kidnappings of young people, students being held for ransom, some still not returned.

Can you talk a little bit about this and what is going on there with these kidnappings? Rick, it's such a profound problem. I mean, it's hard to even hear about it. In fact, that there has been mass kidnappings in Nigeria for years, and often student bodies, the whole student body will be kidnapped. Like just fourteen days ago, the whole student body and the staff of a Catholic girls' school in Niger State was kidnapped at like two in the morning.

That was 313 people. About 50 of the students escaped when the kidnappers were taking them into the forest. But currently, after 14 days, 253 Of these students and staff are somewhere in the forest, held as hostages and possibly tortured. by these jihadist bandits. And we've heard nothing about any ransom demanded.

The federal government claims that it's doing everything that it can. To find them and to bring these folks back home. But it's very, very concerning. This is a case where the intelligence apparatus and the tools of the United States government married with the Nigerian government army. Could possibly bring all of these people back.

So, this is a widespread problem in recent weeks. We've seen mass kidnappings. in other parts of the country in the Middle Belt. It's a huge industry. The the jihadist gangs are making tens of millions of dollars gathering these ransoms from helpless families who are in most of the cases they're 95% Christian.

So they are bankrupting the Nigerian Christian families. They're terrorizing people, forcing them out of lands that then get taken over. by the ethnic group, which is 100% Muslim.

So that has been happening for many years. There is need For US in engagement and the engagement of the European Union.

So we can pray for these folks, but there needs to be action. By the authorities in Nigeria.

Well, I want to talk about those next action steps in just a second. But before I do, you have a long history. I know you're friends with Ken Terraman. You were a former State Department official in Iraq. You've been a long time journalist around the world.

How did you get involved with Truth Nigeria? Why has that become your mission? Why is this so important to you? Rick, it was kind of an accident. After health crisis in twenty seventeen, I d determined I wanted to spend the remainder of my journalistic efforts into an area where I could do some real substantial good for the world.

I'd done a lot of reporting about the war on Christians in northern Iraq, but the ISIS war came to an end in early 2017. And in 2019, I discovered there was this Christian genocide going on in Nigeria, and I started to report about that. And uh what I discovered just shocked me that Uh it was a topic that had been pretty much ignored by mainstream media in the West. And yet there were atrocities going on on a regular basis that the world wasn't hearing about.

So I just got deeper and deeper into it and became kind of like a personal Christian calling for me. And I A few years after I got started doing freelance articles, Mr. Judd Saul. Please Really, one of the great missionary saints of the 21st century, he contacted me and said, Look, we need. We need more.

Stories about Nigeria, why don't you set up a new website I have in mind called truthnigeria.com and from there, Uh it was just It was just a a stroke of luck from heaven. I gathered together about eight or nine of the my Nigerian reporter friends who had helped me do freelance articles, and we started working together as a team. And since then, we have broken dozens of stories that Nigerian media haven't touched. And I think that's one of the reasons that we're having this event today with the Museum of the Bible, that The folks in Congress have started reading reports from Truth Nigeria, according to inside sources I have. And I realized that this is a neglected area of diplomacy.

That needs to be addressed immediately.

Well, certainly shedding some light on this persecution is what you're doing, you and your work with Truth Nigeria. That is so very important. Our listeners, we want to know what we can do. Of course, we can pray, but do you have, aside from maybe continuing to follow and supporting Truth Nigeria, what can we do to help to continue to shed a light, but maybe even to take some positive action steps to help the Christians there in trouble? Oh, thanks, Rick.

Actually, just praying is important. Prayer, I'm a great believer in prayer, and I believe in praying with people. overseas. I started My reporting mission by just calling up Nigerian Christians, just out of the blue, just cold calling, and I would. interview them, but also I would pray with them using WhatsApp messaging service.

And this actually brought results immediately because I started getting stories that I could write up and publish in mainstream uh newspapers like, you know, the uh like the Washington Free Beacon and The Washington Examiner.

Well, but there's more. Money is needed. You know, to fight the war of ideas, you can't go very far without money. Without money, your ideas don't have any power.

So please go to. to if you'd like to help us in this Christmas season, Go to equipping the persecuted. That's our sponsor. And the the f this is Judge Saul's organization. Go to Equipping the Persecuted and go to the last page, to the Donate page, and become a monthly donor.

Give whatever you can, twenty dollars, thirty dollars, fifty dollars, whatever you can. It will enable us to hire more. reporters who need the money for for to provide for their families and go and to find out about the latest news that you'll never get from mainstream media, go to truthnigeria dot com. Just keep that in mind, truthnigeria dot com. Uh Judd was inspired by heaven to choose the perfect name TruthNigeria.com because by Exposing the truth.

government authorities anywhere in the world, they get exposed, they get em embarrassed, And they stop doing the bad stuff that they're doing. It's been sh proven time and time again. the truth is setting Christians in Nigeria free. This is Doug Burton from Truth Nigeria, and I love that idea. Today's world with the phones that we have in our hands, we're so connected to everyone else.

If you could connect with someone in Nigeria to pray with them, to let them know you're there with them, to hear and listen to their stories, but you can also go to equippingthepersecuted.org or to Doug's website at truthnigeria.com. Doug, we appreciate so much the work that you're doing. We look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks, Rick. Carry on, my friend.

You got to take a break. And when we come back, the Legacy Series, where the Christmas story continues, right here on Prophecy Today Weekend. Mm-hmm. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr.

Along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. We've started this series on Christmas, Rick. And if someone were interested in getting something in a video form, where would they go?

Well, Jimmy, you could certainly go to our website and we have a video entitled Bethlehem Beyond the Christmas Story, which basically is a video teaching what you're going to be hearing coming up soon on the radio. But also, if you call our office at 423-825-6247 for a donation of any amount around this Christmas time, we'd love to give you that video, get it in your hands so you can see this teaching that you're going to hear from dad in just a second. On the legacy series today, we're going to continue with interesting details and facts as they relate to the Christmas story. And today we're going to be looking at what about the day that we celebrate his birthday, December 25th. Is that?

Truly, the day that Christ was born on. We'll look first at Luke chapter 1.

So take your Bible, go to Luke chapter 1. We'll begin to study some of those interesting details and facts related to the Christmas story. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series.

Today we're going to continue our study of interesting facts and details related to the Christmas story, the first coming of Jesus Christ, which took place almost 2,000 years ago. I'm going to answer the question that many, many people ask all the time: was it really December the 25th that Jesus Christ was born on? You know, I've heard sermon after sermon, and you probably have as well, heard sermons and preachers telling us that no way was Jesus Christ born on December the 25th. That would be in the middle of the winter. And in those fields in Bethlehem, it would be a terrible time out there in the cold winter night with rain and sleet and snow.

Listen, I lived in Jerusalem for the last 20 years, and I know exactly how it is in December there in those shepherds' fields. And I've seen six inches of snow on those shepherds' fields. It was a beautiful Christmas scene because so often we relate Christmas to snow. Those same sermons have talked about the shepherds not being able to be in the shepherd's fields at that point in time. I want to tell you, they had to be in those fields.

But again, we have to go back to the question: how can we know if it was December the 25th, the true day of the birth of Jesus Christ? We're going to look today at the text, what God's word has to say about it, the tyrant connected with this event of Christmas, and the theologians, and how did they come to the conclusion of accepting the 25th of December as the birth date for Jesus Christ. Let's go first to the text, and we'll go to the book of Luke chapter 1, where we have one of the chapters that's dealing with the first coming of Jesus Christ, his birth. Let's go to verse 5, because in this verse, we're going to find out actually information helping us to determine the actual month that Jesus Christ would have been born. Remember, we're talking about Zacharias, who is a priest.

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, and he was of the course of Abia.

Now, let me stop right there. The course of Abia, what's that talking about?

Well, remember King David was not allowed to build the temple because of sin in his life. His son Solomon would actually build the temple. In 1 Chronicles chapter 24, King David sets in place 24 courses for the 28,000 priests to work at the temple during the year. They would only work about a two-week period of time. Zacharias was of the course of Abia.

According to additional Jewish literature, the Talmud, we know the time of the course of Abia. That would be the last week of July and the first week of August. He was serving in that period of time and after his two weeks of responsibility as a priest of the temple, verse 23 tells us that when it came to pass as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, what's that talking about?

Well, Zacharias, like every priest, had responsibilities after their two weeks of service in the temple as a priest, and that And they had to go through the ritual baths. They had to go through many activities that would keep them from returning home until all these activities were finished.

Well, it says in verse 23, when they were accomplished, he departed to his own house, which was located in Incharim, about seven miles from the Temple Mount. Notice verse 24. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, as the angel Gabriel had told Zacharias the priest, his wife Elizabeth, who had had a barren womb until this time and up in age, was going to give birth to a child. He returns to his home after his ministration which follows his two weeks of service. We're talking about the first week of September when Zacharias would actually get home, and his wife conceived, and then the text tells us that she hid herself for a five month period of time.

Look at verse 26. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. And you've read this story before. You can read through it now or later after the broadcast is over. But you will see that the angel Gabriel came to Mary the Virgin and said she would conceive of the Holy Spirit and she would give birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Now let's think just for a moment. Zacharias goes home. He gets there the first of September. His wife conceives.

So let's check it out. She was six months before Mary would hear that she was going to conceive by the Holy Spirit to bring forth the man-child, Jesus Christ. October, November, December, January, February, March. That's the sixth month. That's when Mary conceives.

Let's start in March. April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. December And so we have the conclusion that indeed Jesus Christ would be born in the month of December.

Now that does not zero in on the exact day, but we've now locked in according to the text The month of December would be the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. I want to look now at the tyrant. And let me remind you of the story of the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes. In order to be able to do that, we've got to go back over to the book of Daniel, chapter 11. The prophet Daniel in chapter 11, a very prophetic passage of scripture, gives us five personalities, five political leaders that he prophesies and foretells will come on the scene many years before that ever happens.

Let's go to verse twenty one now, and we read about the madman, Antiochus Epiphanes. It talks about three hundred and sixty years before the fact, a Grecian ruler who would come into Jerusalem and commit the abomination of desolation. Look at verse thirty-one. And arms shall stand on his part. In other words, he was going to be a military leader, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Mm-hmm. There is going to be an abomination of desolation in the future. We'll get to that in just a moment. But this was the prototype when Antiochus Epiphanes on Keslov 25, 168 BC, and Keslov is a Jewish month that corresponds with our month of December.

So on december twenty fifth, one hundred sixty eight BC, Antiochus Epiphanes walks into the temple, takes a pig, slaughters the pig on the altar, and throws his innards all over the holy temple. That was the abomination of desolation that Daniel wrote would happen, and it took place Keslov 25, 168 BC. On Keslov 25, 165 BC, that's December the 25th, three years to the day after Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple, the Maccabees came in and ran Antiochus Epiphanes out of the temple. They cleaned it up. They reconsecrated the temple.

During the clean up of the temple, they had found a flask of virgin olive oil. That's how you fuel the seven-branched candle opera, the menorah. And so they lighted the menorah with that flask of virgin olive oil, and that was enough to keep the menorah lighted for one day.

However, it stayed lighted for eight days. Thus the Jewish holy day of Hanukkah, the feast of dedication, or the feast of lights. Remember Jesus Christ celebrated the feast of Hanukkah in John chapter ten and verse twenty two. And that's what the menorah in the holy place in the temple represents: the light of the world, that light Jesus Christ. While Hanukkah is celebrated today, the Jewish people gather with their family, and for eight days straight, they light an additional candle and talk about the activities of the Maccabees when they ran Antiochus Epiphanes out of the temple, out of Jerusalem, reconsecrated the temple, and brought it to a place where it could then serve as the worship center for the Jewish people to worship God.

Now, your next question may be: well, what does this have to do with December the 25th?

Well, that's a great question. I'm going to answer it right now. We've looked at the text in Luke chapter 1, and that indicates that Jesus Christ was indeed born in December there in the shepherds' fields. The story about the tyrant and Tiochus Epiphanes gives us a date, December 25th. And I want you to know that the theologians selected December the twenty fifth to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ.

It was first selected by the Western Church early in the fourth century. Actually, there was a sermon that was preached on December the twenty fifth, three hundred eighty six AD, in Antioch. There's a very interesting connection, by the way, to Antiochus Epiphanes and the future. Antiochus performed the abomination of desolation, which was a prototype of an end of times prophecy that will be fulfilled. In order for that to happen, there must be another madman, a world dictator, or maybe you know him better as the Antichrist, who shall come on the scene.

Now, in addition to this world, the dictator will need a temple standing on the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem. Again, the Bible tells us in Daniel 9:27, there will be a temple to be desecrated with the abomination of desolation at the midway point of the seven-year tribulation. 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the Apostle Paul tells us how the abomination will take place as the Antichrist walks into the Holy of Holies on the temple in Jerusalem at the midway point of the tribulation period and claims to be God, the abomination of desolation. The Bible does tell us about this event that looks to the future, a connection with the first coming of Jesus Christ and the way we get the day, December the 25th, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Every single prophecy that will be fulfilled in that seven-year period of time is at the point of being fulfilled.

But before that happens, before any of the prophecies of the future will be fulfilled, the next prophecy on God's calendar is the rapture of the church. When Jesus shouts, the archangel shouts, the trumpet God sounds, and we leave this place to go to be with him in the heavenlies forevermore. That rapture could happen, by the way, at any moment. How does this connect to the Christmas story? It's a very significant connection.

If Jesus Christ did not fulfill all of the prophecies for the Messiah at his first coming, as he did, then we would have no assurance of the second coming. But the truth be known, the Christmas story is evidence that Jesus Christ did fulfill every one of those prophecies pertaining to His first coming. That gives us the basis upon which we then can be assured that Jesus Christ will fulfill those prophecies pertaining to His second coming. And every one of those prophecies are about to be fulfilled. As the ones for his first coming, which took place at Christmas almost two thousand years ago.

What a profound thought. The prophecies fulfilled related to the first coming of Jesus Christ give us a basis upon which then we can have assurance that Jesus Christ will fulfill every single prophecy found in the Word of God related to His second coming of I have to say if you have any idea of those prophecies that will be fulfilled during that seven year tribulation period, you're aware of the fact we're at that point in history when they well could be fulfilled and very, very soon now. I hope and pray that you have looked back to that first coming of Jesus Christ in order to be prepared for the second coming by having put your trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation.

Next week on the broadcast, we'll be looking at those shepherds that were in the shepherd's fields at the time of the birth of Christ and received the announcement of his birth from the angels above the shepherd's fields. You'll find out some very interesting details and facts about the Christmas story related to the shepherds if you can join us next week. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series.

I want to remind you of the offer that Rick made at the beginning of this segment. You can get the DVD Bethlehem Beyond the Christmas Story. You know, people continue to be drawn from all over the world to the little town of Bethlehem, the place where Christ was born. Although the birth of Jesus Christ took place more than two thousand years ago, the message of God's love will go on forever. Join Dr.

Jimmy DeYoung and Bonnie Keene as they take a look at the key locations throughout Bethlehem. Gain a better understanding of the compassion God had for the world by giving us the gift of His Son and see the impact of Emmanuel, God with us. Get your DVD for a gift of any amount. our ministry. We're going to take a break, and when we come back, we'll wrap up the program today.

Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Steve O'Dell for Mission Network News. For the first time in decades, diplomats from Lebanon and Israel met to discuss a ceasefire and the future of both countries. The meeting was a historic moment for two nations technically still at war. Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says: for those in Lebanon who long for peace, the diplomatic meeting brings a mix of emotions.

It has been a long, long time since we had any communication with Israel at all.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah reacted with outrage. We have all the Hezbollah people who are in the streets and just saying we will not allow this. And it's something that is now creating even a Division between the governments and between the Hezbollah people. Pray for God's will and peace in the region. And despair crosses all borders, capturing people young and old from every creed and caste, yet hope remains.

The main thing that we do at SetFree is freedom appointments and helping people define their freedom in Christ. We do that all over the world, but we do it in a variety of settings. SetFree's Jason Taylor says, Despair is easy to find in a place like India. Millions of discarded kids fill orphanages to overflowing, while petty crime and corruption crowd prison cells. An army of volunteers trained by SetFree is helping people in both settings leave despair behind.

A big part of what we're doing is training both church leaders and lay leaders to actually lead others through a freedom appointment. And so we are taking the Steps to Freedom model and replicating that in as many languages as possible so that people can have it in their own language. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We are listener-supported by people just like you.

So by giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming. And together, the great commission happens. Look for the links at missionnews.org. That's missionnews.org. I'm Steve O'Dell.

Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung 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: How should a Christian respond to persecution? And we know that if you're living a godly life in Christ Jesus, you will be persecuted.

That's one of the ways that you can tell that you're living a godly life. And Jesus made it very clear that those of the world will hate Christians because the world hates Christ. So, Christians must learn to recognize the value of persecution and even to rejoice in it. And I'm not talking about. And I know it's a very difficult situation of what's going on in Nigeria, and we focused on that.

But. All of the events of Bible prophecy are given to us so that we can We know the end times in which we're living, and we are not going to suffer the persecution in the tribulation period. That is a totally different level. Of judgment on the earth, but as believers, We need to be able to understand the value because persecution has great spiritual value. First, the persecution of Christians allows them to share in a unique Fellowship with the Lord.

Paul outlined a number of things he had surrendered for the cause of Christ. Such losses he viewed as rubbish in Philippians three eight, or dung, that he might share in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. Philippians three ten. The noble apostle even Paul even counted his chains as a grace A favor that God had bestowed upon him. And that's in the book of Philippians chapter 1 of verse 7.

Second, In all truth, Christian persecution is good for believers. And I really think that this is something that in the end times we're going to see. As we are going to suffer persecution for being followers of His. It promises that. But it's going to weed out those that are just followers at a distance.

James argues that the trials test The Christian's faith. It develops endurance in his life and helps develop maturity. James 1, James chapter 1, verses 2 to 4. As steel is tempered in the forge, as you put that steel in that forge, trials and persecutions serve. To strengthen the character of believers, a Christian yielding graciously to persecution demonstrates that he is of superior quality as compared to his adversaries.

And when you look at Hebrews chapter 11, verse 38, it's easy to be hateful, but Christ-likeness produces kindness and blessing in the face of evil. Uh Peter says of Jesus, when they hurled their insults at him, He did not retaliate, when he suffered, he made no threats, and he Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. First Peter chapter two, verse twenty three. Third, Christian persecution enables believers to better value the support of true friends. Conflict can bring faithful children of God together in such a way, in an encouraging and supportive way, that they might not have known otherwise.

I think that is so true. Hardship. No matter what it is. Can stimulate the Lord's people toward a greater resolve to love one another. And comfort one another and lift one another to the throne of grace in prayer.

There's nothing. Like an unpleasant incident to help us reach a greater level. Of brotherly love. And we talked about that today as we talked with Doug and the situation in Nigeria and being able to, you know, in these days, we get so caught up. But we can pray for those there.

We can pray for Christians suffering in Ukraine, in Russia, in China. Around the world, in Israel, even Christians, believers that are there in the United States and South America and different areas of the world, persecution is going to come and it's going to get worse. And so this helps us bring us in a worldwide Togetherness, that a greater level of brotherly love. Even in the face of Christian persecution, we can press on. We can thank God for His grace.

Impatience with us, we could even express. Gratitude for those whom we love in the Lord and who stand with us in the times of distress. And we can pray for those who would accuse, misuse, or abuse us. You go to Second Corinthians. In chapter 11, verse 24, it talks plenty of times about forgiveness.

In Romans chapter 10, verse 1, brothers, my heart desire and prayer. to God for them. Is that they might be saved, those people that persecute us. Rick, on the program today, as we have done this and we've talked about these events, it is to educate and edify the body of Christ, to help us to understand what we're doing, why we're doing it. Why we are doing the radio program.

You know, a lot of times we are pushing other ministries. We push others to that you might be able to support them. We're wanting to continue to, you know, as holding up the arms of Moses, you know, as Aaron and her did. We want to do that so that others can continue this fight, to continue pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling, to educate. To help us to understand, to prioritize in our life the things that we should do.

And I always end up telling folks: you know, the most important event in all of history is we look at Bible prophecy, we laid out the rapture is the next thing to take place. Then the tribulation period, that seven-year period of time, Christ returns to the earth, He judges those that have accepted. Him in the tribulation period, and those that have rejected him during that period of time. And it's not everybody that can accept him. But then you have the millennial period, and at the end of that thousand-year period of time where Christ rules and reigns on the earth.

Is the great white throne judgment, the most solemn event in all of history? And those people that rejected Jesus Christ, those that persecuted Christians around the world, will be there and will be sentenced eternally for what they have done, for their lack of accepting Christ as their personal Savior. And this program, on a weekly basis, we try to educate and edify the body of Christ in the things of the future.

So that you can be prepared and understand the times in which we're living. You know, at the end of every program we always say that the rapture of the church can't be that far away. With looking at the events that we've looked at today, That is so true, and we will say it after every program. With everything that we've seen today, folks, the rapture can't be that far away. Let's keep looking up.

Until. Thank you so much for joining us today. This is Jay Johnson, inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today.