Hi, everybody. This is Jimmy Young Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, it's almost Christmas time, a couple weeks away. Are you ready? We are certainly not ready for Christmas here, Jimmy, with this family, these three young children who are super excited about Christmas.
And we are excited about celebrating the reason for the season, too, but we are not ready yet.
Well, we're going to talk about the reason for this season today on the program. And I do hope that you will have the time to get ready along with the rest of us.
Well, we've got a great program today. And again, I say that, but we really do. It's an educational program. Lots of information today. Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, Paul Scharf talking about Hanukkah.
Rick, the landscape of the Middle East, the landscape of the world is changing politically and strategically, militarily, just about every which way we could see. Who would have imagined it in our lifetime?
Well, let's get started with the program with Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I'm joined by Ken Timmerman today. He's our expert in geopolitical affairs. He's an author and an analyst. You can find out more about him by going to his website at kentimmerman.com.
Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a blessing.
Well, Ken, we often have you on the program to explain what is going on this week. The National Security Strategy was released by the White House. A kind of a glimpse into President Trump's mind. Can you tell us what it said?
Well, it is a glimpse into his mind. We discussed this a bit last week. The first thing that struck me was that this was written in Trump's voice. This was President Trump talking. And I don't mean just that couple-of-page letter at the beginning of it that's signed by the president.
I mean, actually, all through the document. Let me just take you to the second page, Rick. He asked this: He says, The questions now before us are: one, what should the United States want? Two, what are our available means to get it? And three, how can we connect ends and means into a viable national security strategy?
Let me tell you something. That's not how policy wonks think. That is not how national security strategists think. National Security Council members don't think in such clear-cut terms. This is the President of the United States.
His vision permeates this whole thing. And what we've seen, Rick, is it is a pivot to our own hemisphere. And it is the Trump doctrine that he is spelling out in this document. It's a 20. 21st century version of the Monroe Doctrine, which says we rule in our backyard and don't mess with us.
The rest of the world, eh, we can deal with it, but don't mess with us in our backyard. The people who are really worried about this, of course, are Venezuela and some of the communist countries in Latin America, and they deserve to be worried about it. People said also that it's a pivot away from China. And in a way, it is a pivot away from China because, unlike his 2017 national security strategy and that of Biden's, which put the focus on China as a strategic competitor, this one just talks about economic competition and then quickly goes on to other things.
So it's a huge pivot away from our Europe-centric and Asia-centric national security policies of the past. It's also a huge shift away from the confrontation with Russia. Trump looks to resolving our differences with Russia, to living peacefully, coexisting peacefully with Russia, not trying to get rid of Putin, as Biden liked to say publicly.
So it's a big shift. It's not isolationist. It keeps us in the world, but it focuses on our backyard.
Well, Ken, accompanying the release of this document were some leaks.
Now, leaks were something you talked about last week and how that is a problem in the White House now. But these leaks actually focused on President Trump's plan for Europe. Can you talk about that?
Well, the leak was apparently an earlier draft written probably by National Security Council staffers who were upset that their really good idea didn't make it into the final document. And that draft said that the U.S. should make Europe great again by helping Poland, Hungary, Italy, and Austria to break out of the European Union.
Now, that might be a wish list, something that eventually even Trump might support. But it didn't make it into the final draft. Why? Because the president didn't want to highlight that.
So some disgruntled staffer. Leaked it to Axios, to a left-wing news outlet, to make it appear like there's a secret national security strategy document that hasn't been released to the public. And look what it says. No, no, this was a draft that didn't make it past the cutting room floor.
Well, we know that the United States is still the world's superpower, both militarily and economically. We look at the way that this document maybe says that we're going to deal with the other world's superpowers, China, Russia, a move away from trying to compete with them militarily and, again, stepping up on the economic front. Is that the way you see this? Absolutely. There's not a single mention here of the great power competition with China.
Instead, China is seen as an economic competitor, which is exactly what they are. Trump is using the art of the deal with China. He says, look, we can work together. We can cooperate together. Making money is better than making war.
And I think President Xi is halfway convinced of that as well. Even my friend Dove Zakheim, who's a former Bush 43 Defense Department official, and full disclosure, he was one of many people who endorsed me when I ran for Congress in 2012. Even Dove Zachheim in The Hill this week said that this pivot from China, there's nothing that Taiwan has to quibble about it because the document assigns priority to, quote, deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch. This is tremendously important, and it is what Trump wants to do. Let's not go to war with our competitors.
Let's see if we can compete with our competitors, make money with our competitors, make deals with our competitors, and leave war for less brilliant politics. politicians.
Well, we look at this situation and I just want to ask you, is there a risk to this strategy? We look at these strongmen and these military powers that are continuing to grow, continuing to expand their nuclear arsenals and different things like that. Is there a risk to this strategy moving away from the military front, competing on the economic front? There would be a risk, Rick, if the President was not also increasing our defense expenditures, if he was not also increasing our nuclear arsenal. Remember, he's talked about withdrawing from the test ban treaty of testing nuclear weapons or possibly just nuclear-capable weapons again.
He's telling our national nuclear laboratories, Rick, that it's game on for developing new warheads.
So, this president understands peace through strength, and he understands both sides of that equation. It's great to have peace and to make money, but you only get there if you are strong.
So he's spending the money, our own treasure, to keep us strong and stronger than any potential adversary. Ken, you mentioned earlier in this report that those that might have a reason to worry about this doctrine are those bad actors in our own hemisphere. You look at Venezuela, they had an oil tanker seized this week. Can you tell us about that? It just warmed the cockles of my heart, Rick, I've got to say.
Seeing that video that Pam Bondi, our attorney general, released publicly of U.S. troops rappelling down from helicopters over a big supertanker. This is a super tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil. I mean, it's absolutely enormous from Venezuela.
Now, it was in theory headed to Cuba, but Cuba doesn't normally take super tankers from Venezuela. Their oil gets delivered on much, much smaller ships.
So it appears that it was really destined for China because China actually is buying 80% of Venezuela's oil and it's going to these tinpot refiners, these so-called private refiners. Look, this particular tanker, Rick, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2022 because it was carrying Iranian oil. At the time, it was claimed that the ship, which was then called Adisa, was controlled by the Russian oligarch Viktor Artimov, and it was engaging in smuggling oil to Iran and smuggling. Green oil for Russia as well.
So, look, I think this is a great thing to be doing. The U.S. has not just seized the oil on the ship, but actually the ship itself.
So that means that the company that owns the ship is going to take a big financial hit because the contract was a free onboard contract for the oil, meaning that as soon as the oil was on left Venezuela, the buyer takes responsibility for it.
So he loses not only the oil, but the ship too. It's probably a $250 million to $300 million hit for that company.
Well, Kennon, my final follow-up question to you. On Venezuela, I'd like to talk about two allies of Venezuela, Russia and Vladimir Putin, who came to their support during this time, and also Iran. Very interesting. Can you talk about this?
Well, first, let me take Putin. Putin called Maduro this week and he said, We're going to support you. We're backing you. We're behind you. We got your back and everything else.
Horsebucky. Putin can't do squat any longer in our hemisphere. He does not have a blue water navy. He cannot project power even into Ukraine.
Sorry. His power projection into Ukraine. Has taken him three years to take a very small bit of territory in that country. He can't get out in the Black Sea. The Ukrainians sunk the flagship of the fleet, the Moscova, and it's now at the bottom of the sea, of the Black Sea.
So, Putin is speaking a lot of brave words, but he doesn't have the stick to back it up. The Iranians are a different picture. The Iranians are true strategic partners with Venezuela. They've been invested there for two decades. Losing Maduro, because that's what we're ultimately talking about, the U.S.
forcing Maduro out, losing Maduro will be a huge loss for Tehran. They have been able to base themselves right in our backyard in Venezuela, bringing agents into the United States, having an economic partnership. When Iranian oil is sanctioned, Venezuela helps them to export it. When Venezuela's oil is sanctioned, they help to export it. When Venezuela's refineries had problems, the Iranians send technical teams to them.
They're doing gold for fuel swaps. They're manufacturing weapons in Venezuela.
So for the Iranians, this will be a big, big loss. It's interesting to see Trump kind of playing billiards here. You know, it's a side pocket shot. He hits Maduro, but ultimately he also hits Teheran. Just emphasizing the interconnected nature of all these things taking place around the world.
Well, Ken, as always, we appreciate you helping to explain them to us. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Rick. God bless. Great job, as always, Ken.
And when you look at the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 9, Daniel chapter 10, you understand that world leaders, there's a world leader coming that's going to take control and control everything. Let's take a break and we come back. Our Middle East News Update with David Dolan, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Steve O'Dell with Mission Network News. The United States deported a second flight of Iranians back to Iran this week.
Transform Iran's Lana Silk says uncertainty awaits these 55 people under the Iranian regime. And someone who has chosen to leave Iran and live in another country, particularly an enemy state, for any amount of time, will absolutely be under suspicion. Since Iran's 12-day war with Israel last June, arrests and executions have sharply increased. 2025 has been a year like no other in Iran's history, Silk says. More conflict is likely ahead, yet, even in the urgent physical, spiritual, and emotional needs, there's hope.
God is still on his throne. Let's be praying with faith. Let's be praying with hope. We, as a ministry, do that. We constantly declare the righteousness and the joy and the peace of God, you know, the kingdom of God in Iran.
Also, it shows the true measure of love for people when Christians remain in dangerous places to be the light. The president of Bethlehem. Bible College Dr. Jack Sarah says many graduates choose to stay and serve in Palestine. Even if it's a small light or a little bit of salt, it's going to change our nation for Jesus.
The college offers theological education through individual courses and full bachelor's and master of arts programs. While most students are local, some come from abroad. We are trusting the Lord that He will use their lives so that they will be kingdom expanders, people who will plant churches, people who will serve the church, people who will teach in schools, and they will serve in parachurch ministries. Pray for these students to remain faithful to their calling and be a light to their nations. 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.
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. I'm Steve O'Dell. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, this is the portion of our program. We call it our Middle East news update. We look at news coming out of the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. To do that, we have with us journalist Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today.
It's always a blessing, Rick.
Well, David, we'll start off with an update of news coming out of Israel. Of course, there was a storm. Byron brought huge rains to the land of Israel. But also, if you could give us an update, what's taking place in Gaza, situation with Hamas.
Well, Rick, really the storm was the big news in Gaza during the week because eleven Palestinians were said to have been killed by flooding. Of course, many are living in tents, and they knew that the winter would be bad, but this is one of the strongest storms Israel has received in some time. It also left an Israeli teenager dead in the Tel Aviv area in a flooding there. And in Jerusalem, there was also. More activity there.
But the biggest news with Gazarik actually happened last week while we were on the air, last Saturday, when in Turkey a video made by Khaled Mashal, he's the overall leader of the Hamas movement. He has been for some years. Called the political leader, but he is the final say. And he gave a speech about Al-Quds Jerusalem. Basically, he said, We won't disarm, we won't give up any of our weapons.
He said we will not surrender our rule over the Gaza Strip. He said we will not permit external oversight in Gaza, including President Trump's proposed international stabilization force that's supposed to be taking shape right now. There's trouble forming that. And basically he said this is it. And the Foreign Ministry of Israel actually got a copy of the speech, and they released it.
And they had a statement saying Hamas is making a mockery of U.S. President Trump's. peace plan. It's a real dilemma, Rick. The Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, has met with his senior cabinet leaders, and on Thursday they had an emergency meeting all to discuss this.
How will Hamas be disarmed? And they repeated that Hamas will be disarmed, that that is the main goal of this whole Phase two, that it will take place one way or the other. But the consensus is growing, Rick, it's going to have to be Israel that will go in again militarily and have to do this. As I said, the countries that said they might participate in this international force are now backing away, realizing that Hamas is very much still there and very much determined, obviously, to hold on to as much power as they can.
Well, of course, Rick, Phase two can't begin without the final Israeli hostage remains being turned over. Ran Gavili, I mentioned last week, he was a policeman that was killed on October 7th during the massacre. But Channel twelve in Israel says that Islamic Jihad Group, they know where his remains are. They have Information from mediators that that's the case.
So they're saying it's another stalling tactic on behalf of. Hamas. And then we had a report on Thursday, Rick, from an Israeli security think tank that said more than half, sixty percent of the slain Palestinian journalists killed during the war, that's two hundred and sixty-six so the Palestinian leaders say. Over sixty percent were working directly with one of the two main terrorist organizations. They weren't independent journalists at all.
Now Israel has been saying this for some time, but they actually went this group and looked at each one individually and did research and found that A good majority of them were terrorists. And finally, Rick, we had the United Nations Work Relief Agency, UNRWA, their headquarters in Jerusalem. I'm sure you know where that is, near the promenade in South Jerusalem, Southeast Jerusalem. It was raided by the Jerusalem police during the week. Israel is making clear it will not allow that group to operate inside of Israel at all.
And of course, it wants it not to return to the Gaza Strip again because so many UNRWA workers. are actually dual members of these terror groups.
Well, David, while all this is taking place in the south and we look at that situation there, let's focus on the north now. And a top diplomat, a top Lebanese diplomat, says that there is the possibility of a large-scale Israeli attack on Hezbollah. Can you talk about this developing situation? Yes, Rick, on Friday, just yesterday, the Lebanese Foreign Minister Yusuf Raji told the Al Jazeera network that they're receiving many warnings from Arab states of a pending large-scale IDF operation in Lebanon. There's been reports in Israeli media about that as well.
Again, we've had special cabinet meetings during the week. And this, of course, is like Hamas saying we won't disarm Hezbollah, now making clear they have no plans to carry on the ceasefire with Israel and disarm.
So as a result, on Friday morning, Israel struck over 16 targets throughout South Lebanon and some in the north, Rick, in the Bekov Valley. Again, all Hezbollah targets. The Lebanese foreign minister repeated in that interview that they want to see Hezbollah disarmed. And he made some pretty questionable statements as far as Iran was concerned, saying that Iranian influence has been too great over our country, and we really don't want to go back to that. That came after he was invited to Tehran for talks, and the Lebanese foreign minister refused to go.
But he said, if the Iranian foreign minister wants to come here, that's fine. We'll sit down and talk. But obviously, relations are souring there between the government, the Christian Sunni majority in Lebanon, and the Shiite minority. But we can see some Israeli action up there, I would think. And then, Rick, we had the Prime Minister's office denying that Netanyahu had refused to sign a A preliminary peace accord with Syria, with Syria's al-Shara, when they met at the UN in September.
He said that's nonsense. We are still talking to them. But the Israeli foreign minister, Saar, said during the week that talks are going backwards with the Syrians, that they had more progress two weeks ago, and that they are strengthening their demands from Israel, this sort of thing. And we also had the Egyptian president, El-Sisi, say that he will not meet with Bibi when he comes to Cairo. That's expected soon to sign a natural gas deal between the two countries.
So relations are still strained with Egypt and, of course, obviously with Lebanon as well.
Well, David, that's an update on the situation in the north and the south. But I'd like to get your thoughts on a video that came out this week, widely publicized in Israel, about young hostages celebrating Hanukkah. It was a heartbreaking video. Can you tell us about this?
Well, it was meant to be another. Hamas propaganda video that they were planning to release right away. After it was taken, supposedly showing Rick that the hostages are being treated fairly well and are relaxing and et cetera. And as you say, it was. Two women, four men, including Hirsch Goldberg-Poland, the American Israeli that was killed.
And they were celebrating. They were lighting Hanukkah candles that they had made with paper cups. They asked the guards, and they did get them the candles at least. And they were singing and saying prayers and smiling and laughing and playing cards. And several of them spoke to the camera and said, you know, we're being treated okay, etc.
Well, that was Hanukkah of two years ago, 23. And by August of 24, Rick, they were all killed. They were down in a tunnel in Rafah in the south. And Israeli forces were nearing, and Hamas shot them all dead.
So, yes, it's a bittersweet video to watch, but it's, of course, been played throughout Israel, and it reminds Everyone, that you know, it's not just in ancient times that Israel was facing enemies that wanted to see its destruction. In that case, of course, the Greeks, but we still need the miracles today. We still need the light of the world today. We certainly do, David, now more than ever.
Well, for my final question, if I could, we're going to talk about Hanukkah throughout the program. But if I could get your thoughts, your remembrances on celebrating Hanukkah in Israel.
Well, Rick, this Hanukkah is really special for me in that it was 45 years ago, this week, that I first set foot in Jerusalem. And it was the first Friday of Hanukkah that year. It was also in early December, like this year. And we had arrived in mid-November with I had arrived with a Christian group, young people, 30 of us. And one of my teammates was from Denmark, and he had lived in Jerusalem for a year, and he still had stuff up there, his bike and clothes and other things, and he needed help getting them.
So he got permission to go up early. We were all going the end of December, but to go up early during Hanukkah, he asked me to go with him. I said yes right away. We entered the city on a bus. We went to some friends' house.
They were just lighting the Sabbath candles. And we enjoyed that. Then we walked over to the western wall of the old city. There was no traffic at all. No cars, etc.
When we got there, there were, I think, four of the seven of the eight lights were already lit. It was the fourth day of Hanukkah, and there was just one person in the whole huge plaza, one Orthodox Jew, down near the wall. He was davening, praying, going up and down. We left him alone and went to the other end and prayed. And it was a marvelous reminder that the light of the world has come.
Israel is the source of light for the world through their God. And the Bible said that would be the case. And her enemies will be defeated. And though they may be slain, some of them, and many have died in the last two years, we still see that God is. In control, and we have hopes for the future, and hope that the eternal light, Jesus Yeshua.
Our king will be coming soon. Dave Dolan for Prophecy Today. Dave, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. I'm blessed to do it, Rick, and Hansamayak.
Happy holiday. Great story, David. We've got more on Hanukkah coming up with Steve Herzig and Paul Sharp right here on Prophecy Today Weekend. I'm Steve O'Dell with Mission Network News. The United States deported a second flight of Iranians back to Iran this week.
Transform Iran's Lana Silk says uncertainty awaits these 55 people under the regime. Since the regime's 12-day war with Israel last June, arrests and executions have sharply increased. More conflict is likely ahead. Yet, even in the urgent physical, spiritual, and emotional needs, there's hope. God is still on his throne.
Pray with faith for what God can do in Iran.
Meanwhile, it shows the true measure of love for people when Christians remain in dangerous places to be the light. Dr. Jack Sarah, Bethlehem Bible College president, says many graduates choose to stay and serve in Palestine. They plant churches, serve local communities, and follow personal callings from God.
Some feel called to minister abroad. The college offers theological education to prepare students to be kingdom expanders. Pray for these students to remain faithful to their calling. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. I'm Steve O'Dell.
Welcome back 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. This is the month of December. We've established that.
We established it last week, and I'm sure everybody knows if you're like me. Rick, we're we are still kind of trying to get everything together in order to enjoy the season. And sometimes the busyness of the holidays gets the best of us and we really forget about The birth of Jesus Christ, and we forget about the reason for the season, and understanding that.
Well, another person that we go to is a friend of ours, Steve Herzig. If you've been with us through the years, Steve Herzig was always the one that we would go to about the time of the Jewish holidays. And Steve, it is a Jewish holiday, and you're back with us. We do have a holiday coming up, and it's Hanukkah. I love Hanukkah.
You know, the saying is that whenever there's a Jewish holiday, it usually means that there was bad time for Israel. They had a fight. We won, and let's eat. Here's some of the questions that we're going to talk about today, Steve.
So, when does Hanukkah start? What is the significance of the festival, and how is it celebrated?
Now, despite not being mentioned in the Torah, Hanukkah is one of the most highly anticipated and joyous Jewish festivals of the entire year. What is the significance of the festival? Oh, Jimmy, the significance is amazing. I could take you to Jeremiah chapter 31, starting in verse 35. And it really has the formula to destroy the Jews.
A lot of people don't know that, but God put in in His word, in through the prophet Jeremiah, the formula to wipe us all out. And that formula is rather simple to understand. God said that if you can go up into the heavens and turn the light out to the sun, so find that light switch, and once you turn the light off to the sun, The moon won't reflect its light.
So that's step number one. Step number two is to take the foundation of the earth, get your Stanley tape measure, give us the measurement of the foundation of the earth. And oh, by the way, give us the dimensions of the universe, that is the sky, the whole dimensions.
So the reply is going to be, wait a minute, no one can possibly do that. That's exactly right. And so the formula to destroy the Jewish people is to become God, and there's only one of Him. and man can never duplicate what God does, which means that Jewish people aren't going away. Unfortunately, none of the people who've tried to wipe us out through history and even currently got that memo.
I wish Antiochus Epiphanes would have gotten that memo back in one hundred sixty five BC, Assyrian general who took o one of the four who took over for Alexander And he was on his way to attack Egypt, but they had a pact with Rome. And when Rome found out that he wanted to take over, they warned him and he better stay away or they would he would meet their wrath. They were coming power. And so as he went back through Israel, Jimmy, he got angry. He was like a child, spoiled child, angry.
And he decided to legislate Through force, a removal of Judaism to assimilate the Jews or kill them.
So he went to the temple mount. And he killed a pig. On the altar and threw its blood and juice all over the place and declared Jerusalem. unJewish, that if they if they celebrated any holiday, followed any law, had circumcisions for their eight day old baby boys, all that was outlawed. And as a result, Was trying to eliminate the Jewish people, anti-Semitism at its best.
Well, what happened is he sent garrisons of soldiers throughout Israel, and he sent one of those garrisons to a place called Modin. You've probably been to the modern Modin. I know I have. And when they got there, they wanted to ask Hellenist Jews, that is, those Jews who weren't keeping the law, who were pretty comfortable with being secular, to kill a pig and to eat it in front of the people.
Well, when that they asked the high priest, whose name was Mattathias, he refused to do it. And in fact, when a Hellenist Jew volunteered to do it, He killed him. And he had five sons. There was a riot that broke out. Mattathias and his sons killed that garrison, wiped them out, fled to the mountains and started guerrilla warfare.
Now the Jewish people were mostly farmers. They weren't fighters. And once battle after battle was won, they gained more and more confidence until three years later, The Maccabees and the Jewish people were able to go back to the Temple Mount, go up that Temple Mount and cleanse that temple. They defeated Antiochus, who thought he was God, defeated him. And the story is, Jimmy, that they only could find one flask of oil.
enough that would burn only twenty four hours. But The story, and it's a tradition, is that it lasted eight days, enough for the Uh the high priest to get kosher or fit oil. For the lamp. The seven-branched menorah, which was in the holy place.
So it's a memorial to the miracle that took place. It's a great story, Jimmy, and you were right when you said that Jewish people celebrate this day. They really do. It's a kids' day because they play Dreidel, which has four letters on it, which stand for a Hebrew sentence, which says a great Miracle happened there. That's certainly for the diaspora Jews, those of us who are scattered outside of Israel.
When they're in Israel, they play dreidel, and it says a great miracle happened here. And there are numbers of miracles, obviously, Jimmy, that happened in Israel.
So that's the basic story of Hanukkah.
Now, how is Hanukkah celebrated today as far as if you're in your family when you were growing up? Can you just kind of talk us through that first night and then what happened night after night after night? Oh, Jimmy, yeah, it's a great time. As I said before, whenever there's persecution, Jewish people are in trouble, they call onto God, He delivers them, and we eat, just as we do on Hanukkah. And at Hanukkah, we have anything with oil as a reminder of the great miracle that took place.
So donuts are a big deal. Potato pancakes are a big deal. Anything with oil is eaten in the The way we celebrate, we have a menorah. It's called a Hanakia. And you know, Jimmy, you've been in Israel enough to know that when you go to a store to get you know, if the tourists go to get some sort of gift, they see two different kinds of menorahs.
There's the seven branch menorah and the nine branch menorah. The seven branch menorah is the one that models what the temple had, seven branches outlined in Leviticus and Exodus. But then there's the nine branch menorah, and that's for Hanukkah. And so the question would be, wait a minute, I just thought you said it was an eight day miracle, not a nine day miracle. But the key is, Jimmy, that one of the candles is usually higher than the other eight.
And that's called the Shammus candle, the servant candle. And according to tradition, again, when I was growing up, You always lit the shamas candle with a match. And then that candle was the one that lit each of the days.
So the first day, there'll be two candles in the menorah. One will be the shamus candle, and then that candle will light the first day. And then there'll be three candles for the second day, and four candles. Every time you light the shamus, and it serves the other candle by providing the light. and we give gifts as well.
We celebrate what happened, that Antiochus was defeated. We rededicated the temple, and we were able to worship have temple worship Once again, which begs the question, Jimmy. I know later you'll be talking about Christmas. I could tell you, Jimmy, there would be no Christmas. Unless there was Hanukkah.
That's significant. That's why it's so important to us as believers. And that's the promise that Jeremiah had back in Jeremiah 31. And so through the saving of the Jewish people, of course, would come the promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah. That, of course, would be the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so celebrating Hanukkah is significant for Jewish people. It coincides with Christmas. I was growing up. I used to be jealous of all the Gentile Christian people I knew. They'd get all these presents, tons of presents under their tree.
Well, we get eight presents. My mother would buy little trinkets. And each day give us a new present. And that kind of tradition still goes on as presents are shared and lights are lit, and it's a joyous, wonderful day. How can, and I started off this by saying that it's not mentioned in the Torah, but it is mentioned in the scriptures.
Daniel prophesied that Antiochus would come. Jesus even went to Jerusalem and he proclaimed that I am the light of the world right after or during the festival of lights. How can we today use this as a way to evangelize to the Jewish people, to our Jewish friends?
Well, you know, it it you're you're correct when you say that Hanukkah is not mentioned in the in the scriptures, in the Old Testament scripture. But you're also correct. In John chapter ten, it's very significant because in John chapter ten and verse twenty two, it says, Now it was the feast of dedication, another name For Hanukkah, and it was in Jerusalem, and it was winter, and Jesus walked in the Temple of Solomon's porch. And from verse 22 to verse 30, you have a little account of what was taking place. And the Jewish leadership was having trouble with him being The Messiah, the Son of God.
In chapter 8, he forgave a woman caught in adultery. In chapter 9, he. the blind man, he restored his sight. And so he is he is he is demonstrating who he is, and they're rejecting him. And so it's here that he says, using Hanukkah, the feast of dedication as the background, he says, I and my father are one.
And then he says, no one, that is talking about his sheep. He uses that as an analogy. He's the great shepherd. He's the chief shepherd. And so he says, no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
We know that Hanukkah demonstrates that God's promise is true. The Jewish people as a nation, as a people, are not going to be wiped out. And we can apply that in our Christian walk once we truly trust Christ as our Savior. And that is a personal decision. And really, the only two persons who know is that person and God.
But once we do that, we are locked in. There is no power on earth that can snatch them out of his hand. And that's a verse of eternal security, Jimmy, that's so important to you and I that we know that, hey, it's by grace we're saved through faith, not of ourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
So that means when we're in Christ, we're locked in. And he uses. Yeah. Holiday, that holy day, that special day of Hanukkah to drive home that point. How could we?
Apply that, and how could we reach out to our Jewish friends? Hey, get them a gift at Hanukkah. I say it doesn't have to be a huge gift.
Something to acknowledge. If you have a Jewish friend, a neighbor, walk it over to their home, give it to them at their workstation, and just say, Hey, I know Hanukkah is coming. Have a happy Hanukkah. I love the Jewish people. I'm thankful if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have my Jewish Savior or my Jewish scripture.
So have a great holiday. And I am telling you, Jewish people are so thrilled when they are acknowledged by a people, quite frankly, Christians, who they have perceived for years as being enemies of the Jewish people. Enemies. But we're not enemies. We love them.
Your father loved them. You love them. I love them. And any Bible-believing Christian who knows his or her word of God knows that they should love the Jewish people as well. God loves them, and we should love what God loves.
So we should love the Jewish people too. Steve, thank you so much again with Friends of Israel. A big supporter. We love their ministry and what they do. Steve, Hakzamayak to you.
This holiday season, the holy days, and we'll talk to you again on the next Jewish holiday. Looking forward to it, Jimmy. Thanks a lot. Lord bless. Lord bless.
Thank you, buddy.
Well, this week, the time of the season, the time of Christmas, and it's also the time of the Jewish holiday of the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah. And our good friend Paul Scharf, church ministries representative with the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry serving in the Midwest. He's coming to the program today. Paul, welcome to the program again. Thank you, Jimmy.
It's great to be back with you. Paul, we've covered a lot during the Jewish holidays. Always, when we look at the Jewish holidays, Holy Days, Holidays, the Jewish Feast, With either you or Steve Herzig, with Friends of Israel, you guys, you enlighten us as to why the feasts are so important. For us to understand as Christians, not necessarily to take part in them as bringing them back in, but really to understand them, correct? Right.
It's so important for us to understand this background to our biblical faith, which comes, of course, to us really from the Jewish people. And it's also so important that we can understand and relate to our Jewish friends, especially at this most festive season of the year. For them, as it is for us as Christians. Paul, why, as we start to talk about Hanukkah and we are considering those pages in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament, what we call the black hole, why do so many Christians know so little about that? And why is it important to the holiday of Hanukkah?
Right. Well, Jimmy, it's so important because. During those four hundred silent years, as we often refer to them, we know that God was working all things after the counsel of his will, as he works throughout history to Bring all things to fulfilment for his glory. But he was working specifically during that time, we might say setting the stage for the coming of Christ, his first coming. I think that's why Hanukkah is also so vitally important for us today as we live at the time we believe we're seeing the stage being set for Christ's second coming.
And for the fulfillment of those prophetic events, But back in this time, God was directing all things to bring the world to that precise moment when in the fullness of the time, he would send forth his son at the exact precise time that he had determined And when the world conditions were in the place that God wanted them for that marvelous event to to occur and for the life of Christ and his ministry to take place on the earth. Yes, you know what I love about it, it was exactly right on time. When you look at the years mentioned in the book of Daniel, we know when Christ would appear in the city of Jerusalem. And Really? You know, the Jewish people should have, and that's what Christ said.
If you'd only read the prophets, you would know that I was supposed to be here at this very moment.
So, you know, that's a, I love the fact that he's always on time, never early, never late. And so, that's a, I think that is so very important.
Well, we are talking about Hanukkah, it's the Jewish festival, the feast of dedication, also known as the Festival of Lights. It is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislav. And I think that's important.
So let's talk about Hanukkah again and just bring us up to speed. And then I have a few other questions I'd like to ask you pertaining to Hanukkah.
Well. Jimmy Hanke, of course, uh Celebrates these events that happened in the one hundred and sixties BC in between. the Old Testament and the New Testament. And thus, it cannot be a biblically mandated festival. It's not in the Mosaic law, it's not in Leviticus twenty-three.
But it it commemorates what happened when the Jewish people rose up in the most astounding way and overcame The tyranny of a man named Antiochus IV or Antiochus Epiphanes. Who came out of the Greek Empire, one of the four offshoots of Alexander the Great. and he took over the kingship of the Seleucid Empire, the Syrians. He's the king of the north biblically as opposed to the king of the south in Egypt. who he had tried to attack three times, And he had really set his sights on world domination, being the next Alexander, And the key, he believed, to implementing that kind of reign was to subjugate everyone in the empire, including the Jewish people, whom he had overtaken, And he wanted to remove all of their culture.
All of their religion, everything, all of their traditions, everything that they knew and loved, and make them fully Greek. the technical term is Hellenistic. Mm. And by the way, Jimmy, we see traces of The results of this all through the Gospels, all the way into the book of Acts in the early church. Remember in Acts chapter six, you had a group of widows that were concerned.
of the treatment they were receiving because they were Hellenistic Jews and not the traditional Jewish. People that like the rest, and so we have this remnant of this time all the way down there into the New Testament church. Sure, do. And really, that Hellenistic really begins with the Greek time period. And when you think about it, and I hope I'm not stealing your thunder a little bit, Paul, but when you think about it, the times of the Gentiles, this is that dream that Nebuchadnezzar had in Daniel chapter 2.
Daniel had a dream pertaining to the times of the Gentiles, beginning with the Babylonian Empire being overtaken by the Medes and the Persians. And then the Greeks, Alexander the Great, and that's who you're referring to when you say Alexander. Alexander the Great, with the speed that he came from Greece across the European continent, all the way to ended up dying in Babylon at the age of 32. But really, then his Greek empire, his Grecian empire, was split into fours. In order for the four generals, Alexander the Great's four generals, to kind of take and have that area, which, I mean, it's laid out in Bible prophecy.
So, I mean, here we're talking about this is the time period that the Seleucids were in control and, you know, they overtook the Holy Land, really going into the temple.
Well, we could talk about that. How do we see this in the Old Testament, Paul?
Well, Jimmy, you've hit the nail on the head. It's all based in the book of Daniel. We have Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the four kingdoms that will rule the world. From the time that Nebuchadnezzar began to overtake Jerusalem. Uh and his rule Followed by his successors through the end of the Babylonian kingdom.
would be followed by Medo Persia, Greece and Rome. And then finally, a revived Roman Empire at the end of time. In the future Time of Fulfillment of prophecy we believe before the second coming of Christ. This is described in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. In Daniel chapter two, it's in the form of this Magnificent rule of man that glimmers in the sun, this amazing statue, gold, silver, bronze, and iron.
But then when Daniel receives another vision about this in chapter seven, he sees the four kingdoms like Peter calls Some people, natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed. Oh, wow. He sees them as these horrendous. Just strange creatures. A lion, a bear, a leopard.
and finally, an indescribably horrible beast, And then Daniel sees them again in Chapter eight as a ram and a he goat, this time only though Medo Persia and Greece. And that's where we zero in on Greece And the Greek Empire that you've mentioned under Alexander the Great and then his successors, as they're broken up and over. Many decades we get down to this time around 175 when Antiochus comes to power. As the king of the north, the king of the Seleucids, the king of Syria. And he's the man we were talking about who had this vision of ruling the world like Alexander.
And in the process of ruling over the Jewish people, he desecrates The temple and does just unimaginably horrendous things to the people. And to show his power over them and just to demoralize them within. the temple in Jerusalem. and he brings an end to temple sacrifice And in fact, he sacrifices a pig on the altar in honor of the god Greek god Zeus. And he's actually insane enough to believe that perhaps he's the manifestation the uh Antiochus And uh Epiphanes is his name.
He's the manifestation, he believes Theos Epiphanes, of God and the God Zeus. And so he carries out all these abominable works in Jerusalem and on the Jewish people And it's all laid out, Jimmy, in biblical prophecy. That's where we go back again to the book of Daniel. This story is told in Daniel chapter eight initially. As Daniel is describing, this he goat.
which is Alexander, who's going to come across the world so quickly, not even touching the ground. He's described In uh Daniel. Uh chapter eight. Verse five. And his successors after that great horn is broken, the horn of Alexander there come up these four Uh little horns And they are including The King of the North that we're talking about and Titus Eupiphanes.
Wow. That's how Hanukkah relates to Bible prophecy. How do you see it relating in the future to Bible prophecy?
Well, yes, Jimmy, because we're talking here about the book of Daniel chapter eight, verses nine through fourteen. Daniel receives this vision and then Gabriel, interestingly, the first time in all of Scripture that an angel is named, Gabriel describes the the Vision that Daniel has received, he gives him an Inspired interpretation, if you will. In verses twenty three through twenty six, as Daniel records this, And it's interesting. And then we go we would have to go further, Jimmy, in Daniel chapter eleven, verses twenty one through thirty five. They lay out this whole scenario.
And a couple of things about that. You ask if it relates to Bible prophecy. It's actually. We believe Antiochus is a type of the future Antichrist. They're both they both have this unique They share this unique connection in that they're both going to commit an abomination of desolation in the temple in Jerusalem.
And proclaim themselves to be God in the Temple in Jerusalem. And sometimes the descriptions about them are so intertwined and match so closely that even uh Bible students in our pre-trib uh movement will interpret a particular passage, some will interpret it as being talking about Antiochus and others will interpret it as talking about the future Antichrist. That's how closely these two men are interconnected on the pages of Biblical prophecy.
Well, Paul, thank you so much for joining with us today and giving us a better understanding of Hanukkah. We look forward to having you back in the future during a holiday or a holy day, one of the feasts of the Bible. And give us again your website, Paul.
Well, thank you, Jimmy. People can find all my Resources for our ministry within the Friends of Israel on sermonaudio.com. At sermonaudio.com slash P Sharf. That's P S-C-H-A-R-F. Excellent.
Thank you, Paul, for joining with us this week. We look forward to joining with you again. God bless you. Thank you so much, Jimmy.
Well, we've got to take a break. And when we come back, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung in the Legacy series talking about those shepherds in the shepherds' fields the night that Christ was born. That's all ahead, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. 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. I really love the legacy series that we've been doing all the month of December, Rick. And it is looking at the interesting events that took place around Christmas time. We looked at the month.
Of December. We looked at the date of December 25th. This week we're going to be looking at the shepherds in Shepherd's Fields. Rick, it's a great series, isn't it? It sure is, Jimmy.
And we've talked about it many times. And half of the prophecies that were in the Bible point towards that event that took place, the most important event in all of history, the arrival of Jesus Christ to the earth. And we've been in Shepherd's Fields and rehearsed that many times, haven't we? We sure have. And we're going to have a special offer.
That's right, Jimmy. We have the DVD called The Bethlehem Beyond the Christmas story, and we talk about what took place at the Shepherd's Fields during that time, the arrival of Christ's birth. If that's something that you would like, if you call our office at 423-2323. 825-6247. We would love to give that DVD to you for a donation of any amount.
And, Jimmy, this last two weeks, the end of the year, this is when we receive a large amount of our support. And we greatly appreciate the support of our listeners. It's what keeps this ministry going. If you appreciate this ministry and the ministry of Prophecy Today overall, if you would consider giving to us at this time of the year, we would greatly appreciate it. You go to our website, prophecytoday.com.
And like I said, Jimmy, if you call our office, 423-825-6247, let us show our appreciation by giving you Bethlehem Beyond the Christmas story or any DVD that you might like for your gift of any amount. Prophecytoday.com, and we thank you in advance for you prayerfully considering giving to our ministry. In our past studies we studied how Zacharias and Elizabeth would have John, John the Baptist, who Who would be the forerunner to the Messiah Jesus Christ? And then we looked at December 25th. Was that the day, the true day, that Jesus Christ was born?
This week we want to focus on the shepherds. There were shepherds there in the shepherds' fields just outside the little village of Bethlehem, but Who were they? And what is the significance of where they were there in the shepherd's fields? And by the way, why were they there in the shepherds' fields?
Well, we will look at all of that as we continue our study today, and we're going to be looking at the book of Luke 2, verse 8. As we continue our study of interesting details and facts about the Christmas story, I want to focus in on the shepherds. They were key players in the Christmas story. I want to talk about the shepherds, who they were, where they were located, and why were they there? Naturally you expect to find shepherds in the shepherds' fields where the sheep are being kept.
Most of the time these were Bedouins or Nomads. That's the case throughout the Middle East to day. These shepherds, these Bedouins and Nomads, will wander from place to place, mostly in the desert, in search of grass for their sheep. You know, that's still the case to day. You can travel throughout the land of the Bible and see shepherds in field after field across the countryside.
It is amazing to do a study on these shepherds. They know how to care for lambs. Lambs are very dumb animals. In fact, there's a wonderful story told about how one shepherd had to break the leg of one of his lambs in order to teach him discipline, so that he would be able to keep the flock together and keep them from going into harm's way. There's an interesting parallel that Jesus Christ has with the shepherds, and that is told in the book of Psalm, chapter twenty three.
The Lord is my shepherd. In fact, there are a number of passages in the Bible where you can read about shepherds. But on that night of the birth of Jesus Christ the shepherds were in the shepherds' fields, there just outside the little village of Bethlehem. When we go to the text, Luke chapter two now this is one of four chapters in the Bible, Psalm one hundred and sixty eight verses, that give us the details and the facts about that Christmas night some two thousand years ago. Here in Luke two and verse eight, we read that there were indeed in that same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the LORD came unto them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which is which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Now notice verse twelve here in Luke chapter two. And the angel said unto the shepherds, And this shall be a sign unto you.
Now let me stop right there just for a moment. For many years I had difficulty understanding what the sign was. The text reads following that statement by the angel, that ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.
Now, you know, I really don't understand how that could be a sign.
However, these shepherds, after receiving the announcement of the birth of Jesus Christ, went with haste to find Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. That's verse sixteen of Luke chapter two. This was indeed a sign that is a key component of understanding how Bible prophecy laid out every single detail for the birth of the Messiah, the true Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Next week we'll get more into the study of how this was a sign to those shepherds there in the shepherds' fields. Let me think with you just a few moments about who were these shepherds. First of all, they were not little boys, or they weren't even teenagers. You might think as you travel through the Middle East and you see all the shepherds as little boys, maybe in their early or late teens, these are the shepherds that would have been in the fields there that night of the birth of Jesus Christ. You see, these shepherds were also trained as priests that would operate in the temple.
Every one of these men had to study for twenty-eight years. They would study from two years of age all the way to thirty when they would qualify to be the priest, and they would study the book of Leviticus. In the book of Leviticus, they would learn how to do the sacrificial activities at the temple. That's the first seven chapters of Leviticus. Then they would learn the standard that they would have to meet to be a priest in the temple.
That was chapters eight, nine, ten, and eleven of the book of Leviticus. Finally, from chapters twelve through twenty-seven, they would understand how to worship in a temple, which was a key responsibility for all of these priests.
However, the priests that were out there in the shepherd's fields that night, they were priestly shepherds with a different responsibility than operating the temple there three miles away from the shepherds' fields. These priestly shepherds were there to watch over the sheep that had a destiny at the temple. Mm-hmm. Before I get to that, let's think a moment. Where were these shepherds' fields?
The shepherd's fields were just outside the little town of Bethlehem in the area of Bethlehem Euphrida.
Now, that's required by the book of Micah, chapter 5, and verse 2, because the birth of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, had to take place in the little town of Bethlehem.
So these shepherds' fields were right outside the little village of Bethlehem. I myself have stood right there in those shepherds' fields in the nighttime, looking across those fields over to the lights of the little village of Bethlehem, and had my mind go back some 2,000 years as if I was a shepherd, one of those priestly shepherds there in the shepherd's fields. By the way, these shepherds' fields are the same location where Jacob pitched his tent after he buried his wife Rachel, who had just given birth to their last son Benjamin, there in Bethlehem Euphrata. The text tells us in the book of Genesis chapter thirty five that Jacob left the burial site, went back towards Jerusalem, and on the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, which is only a three mile trip, there Jacob pitched his tent at a place called Migdal Mikdal Adar, or translated from the Hebrew, the Tower of the Flock, is a very important location in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy as it relates to the first coming of Jesus Christ. This will also be a part of our study next time we get together.
You know, as you read the book of Ruth, you'll find out that these were also the fields of Boaz. Boaz was the kinsman redeemer who actually redeemed Ruth and made her a part of the lineage to the Messiah Jesus Christ. Ruth was the great grandmother of David, the son of Jesse, who was a shepherd in these same fields. A lot of activity had taken place in this location before that eventful night of the birth of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Let me remind you who these shepherds were.
They were priestly shepherds there in the shepherds' fields in the area of the little town of Bethlehem. But the question still remains, why were these priestly shepherds in these fields? Priestly shepherds had the responsibility of watching over the lambs. You may recall I Samuel seventeen, which is a record of David the little shepherd boy, who would actually become one day a king of Israel. And the record indicates that he had to watch over his father's sheep there in the shepherd's fields, and one day he went out and had to kill a bear and a lion in order to protect his sheep.
Well, these priestly shepherds had that same responsibility to protect these sheep because they were very special sheep. they were lambs that would be sacrificed at the temple some three miles away. You see, these priestly shepherds were serving there in the shepherds' fields because the shepherds' fields were the holding pin for the sacrificial lambs to be offered at the temple. They had to be without blemish and without spot. They must be protected so they could be presented as a pure sacrifice at the temple.
In addition to watching over these lambs that were destined to be sacrificed at the temple, the These priestly shepherds would give birth to the newborn lambs as well, and they would do that at Migdal Adar.
Now, I'm getting ahead of myself in the story, and I need to wait next week to see how Migdal Adar plays into the Christmas story as we look at the interesting details and facts about the birth of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Let me just remind you that these priestly shepherds had the responsibility of watching over these lambs that would be indeed sacrificed at the temple. It was on that Christmas night, over two thousand years ago, when these priestly shepherds in the fields just outside the little village of Bethlehem would receive the announcement from the angels that would announce the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Again, let me go to the text, Luke chapter two, and this time verse nine. And lo, the angel of the LORD came upon these shepherds, and the glory of the LORD shone around about them, and these shepherds were sore afraid.
The angel said unto them, Fear not For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. These angels then announced to the shepherds, And this shall be a sign unto you. And with haste these shepherds went to find the new born babe, the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us, the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, let me remind you that these shepherds' fields were the holding pin for the sacrificial lambs, and on that night the shepherds' fields would become the holding pin for the sacrificial lamb.
Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. He gave his life for you and for me. Jesus indeed is the reason for the season. He brings to all of us the gift of salvation, which is a free gift, in fact, the best gift that any of us could ever receive. You know, you can receive that gift of eternal life, that gift of salvation from Jesus Christ, and you can do it today.
All that is needed is for you, as I did when I was eleven years old, to admit that we're sinners and we are in the need of a Saviour. Then we need to believe that Jesus Christ, who was born some two thousand years ago, came to this earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for all of sin. He died, he was buried but three days later He rose from the dead to give us eternal life. All we need to do is call upon Him to save us. Romans ten thirteen says Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
What a gift we can receive at this Christmastime Thank you, Dr. DeYoung. And if you did make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior this Christmas, Please send us an email at jimmyjunior at prophecytoday.com. We would love to hear from you, and we have a special gift for you as you start to grow as a newborn Christian.
Next week on the broadcast, we'll find out more about what that sign was all about that the angels gave to the shepherds there in the shepherd's fields. Hope you can join us next week as we study more interesting details and facts that are related to the Christmas story. We have to take a break. We'll be right back, right here on Proxy Today weekend. I'm Steve O'Dell with Mission Network News.
Rebel forces killed more than 100 people at a kindergarten in Sudan this week. Drone attacks targeted first responders as they tried to move victims to a nearby hospital. Two years of civil war have left 80% of Sudan's health facilities useless. Sudanese church planners recently partnered with doctors and nurses from South Sudan to hold pop-up clinics in displacement camps. As medical teams meet desperate needs with donated medicine, church planners address spiritual needs.
A gospel worker we'll call John says: So, every time we have a clinic, we have an open-air presentation of the gospel. And these are all Muslims, primarily. 1,750 asked for individual trauma counseling. Approximately 1,200 people put faith in Christ. Ask the Lord to strengthen teams as they receive a third round of donated medicine.
Then, A three is working with pastors in Armenia to develop Christian character through fellowship, encouragement, and accountability. Pastor Artur Sarkisyan with A three says that ninety five percent of people in Armenia are traditional Orthodox Christians, but there needs to be a continued revival of born again believers. Pastor Sarkisyan says, We have a moving God on. People open for religion, open, really, open for gospel, really, open for Jesus, everyone have spiritual. Everyone is hungry.
Listen is Gospel listen is about Jesus. Please pray that Armenians in the diaspora will reach the world with the gospel. Pray also for Armenia's neighboring Muslim countries that they will hear about this revival. 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 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. I'm Steve O'Dell. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, we've had a lot to digest today again, and some of it has to do with some of the same countries that we always talk about.
Some of the same topics, but that is Bible prophecy, isn't it? It sure is, Jimmy. And we're looking at these things. We're monitoring these situations. We've been doing this for quite a few years now, but as things continue to go, it just certainly seems like every year it gets closer and closer, obviously, to the time where events could be setting.
Into motion. For instance, what Ken Timmerman was talking about, the alliance between Russia, Iran, Turkey, and China, that seems to be coming together more than it has ever in history, doesn't it? It sure does. And we do focus on it often. These are the nations that are mentioned in Bible prophecy.
That's why we look at them. I like what Ken said.
Sometimes they squabble with one another, but really they are all working together. In that portion, and there's reasons why they work together. Very interesting at this time of the year, when we look at Hanukkah, we're talking about the nations that are mentioned first in the book of Daniel. This group that are coming together, that are mentioned in the book of Daniel, that are also mentioned in Ezekiel and Psalm 83. The passages that we always talk about, which is the alignment of nations that will come against Israel.
Their common denominator is that they don't like Israel. In fact, they want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, and they're all Islamic. And so, as we focus on these nations, it does give us, you know, on a weekly basis, it gives us an understanding of how close, remember. All the things that we focus on. Are happening after the rapture of the church.
But if we're getting so much closer to these events taking place, it seems like that time clock, if you will, to when it strikes midnight, when that's when the rapture happens after that. Is when we start to see the events of the tribulation period unfold. That's right, Jimmy. And even though we're looking at these events and we are constantly reminded of what's going on in Iran and the role that they might play in the end times in all these other Middle Eastern nations, we need to remember that there is a situation on the ground there with those protests and a growing Christian community in Iran. And we need to remember to keep them in prayer as the Lord tarries before the rapture.
We want to keep our Christian brethren in prayer, don't we? You sure do. You know, and especially keep in mind, these are humans just like us that are trying to survive in an authoritarian society, cracking down, trying to implement a religion. You know, you could go back through history. This has happened so many times.
This is not the first time in history. It just seems to be getting worse. And we need to remember these folks at this time of the year: the growing Christian community in Iran, the growing Christian community in Turkey, the growing Christian community in China. All around the world, we do see that the church is growing, and we are trying to help those. And we need to remember them in prayer at this time of the year.
Jimmy, you just brought up the book of Daniel, and as I was talking with Dave Dolan, we talked about the Abraham Accords, which began with so much promise, but it looks like they are slowly beginning to unravel as the Palestinian situation escalates. But the book of Daniel says that these peace treaties will be on the table, but not normalized, right? Right. They will be on the table. In fact, when it does talk in Daniel chapter 9, it talks about the Antichrist will come and confirm a peace treaty.
That Hebrew word is Gabar, and he will confirm one. That means that there has to be one on the table. We've talked about the ones, the Camp David Accords, the Oslo Accords, the peace treaty with Jordan, and the Abrahamic Accords that President Donald Trump brought into existence. Yes, it does seem that there are situations that are taking place that looks like it could be breaking up, which would set the pace, at least for the peace of the world. The Antichrist to come on the scene to confirm for the first three and a half years.
In fact, Rick. I'm glad you brought that up too, because that's what starts the tribulation period. We talk about the rapture. We don't know the time period between the rapture and the tribulation, but what does start the tribulation is the confirmation of a peace agreement with that charismatic leader, the Antichrist, as he comes on the world scene to bring world order on the world after the rapture of the church. Jimmy, what I'd like to focus on is what we talked with Paul Scharf about and the fact that we are looking at prophecy yet to happen, but Paul was talking about fulfilled prophecy with basically the most important event in all of history, wasn't he?
Yes. And he, you know, I like what he says. Friends of Israel say it. We say it without Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. There's 400 years in between the intertestamental period, the dark hole that we always talk about from the end of Malachi to the beginning of Matthew in your Bible.
It's just the pages. But, you know, we don't talk about that. But that's the time period when Hanukkah took place that was first talked about in the book of Daniel. The very people that were involved in this process came about, and along with mentioning Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus the Great, the Antichrist is mentioned, and they were all. more or less types of Antichrist that were coming on the scene.
Daniel prophesied these events way in the future. And that's why sometimes people don't understand how could, in fact, Jewish people, if you want to witness to a Jewish person, the best book to use in the Bible is the book of Daniel. Because the book of Daniel talks about these events and it does talk about who. Whomever the Messiah was going to be, he had to come into place and onto the earth at a certain point in time. Galatians 4:4 talks about that in the fullness of time.
God brought forth his son, born of a woman. Yes, that did take place. exactly as it was foretold, in the exact time. I like how, as we talked about Hanukkah today, and Dr. Jimmy DeYoung talked about the timing of his birth.
This all fits very well, Rick, with what we talk about today. And as we're talking about the events that are taking place, it does help us to understand we're living in history past History Present and We are looking forward to history, his story, future. Rick, thanks so much. I do hope you get ready for Christmas as we all are trying to do that. We'll look forward to being on the program again next week.
We'll talk about the best way to communicate with a Jewish person during this time period of Hanukkah. We'll continue the legacy series, and of course, we'll update everyone on geopolitical events that are happening around the world. See you next week, Rick. Looking forward to it. Folks, in light of what we look at on a weekly basis, the time for the rapture is coming very quickly.
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.
