Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy the Young Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. There's no other topic to cover in the world right now than what's going on in Iran. In the Bible, there are several biblical prophecies of the end times that mention Iran, called Persia or Elam, in the Bible.
Given the fact that Iran is often in the news as a nation sinking armaments, potentially nuclear, and repeatedly issuing threats against Israel, students of the Bible prophecy are taking note. The conflict with Israel in June of 2025 definitely brought Iran to the forefront of Bible prophecy conversations. And it's something that we've been talking about for a long time. Rick, we've got a lot to cover today with Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, Sharam Hadian, and R. C.
Merle. Let's get started with our first, Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have our good friend Ken Timmerman with us. 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 pleasure. Ken, we have got a lot of stuff to get to today, a lot of things that happened in this past week, including developing situations like what is taking place in Iran. But before we get to all that, let's go to what happened earlier in the week and the United States' operation to arrest Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela that started this week off. Could you give us your thoughts on that situation?
Well, Rick, we saw an absolutely amazing military operation, and I think we're going to learn more about that in the coming weeks and see just how amazing it was, where we got in and got out with no U.S. casualties, no U.S. equipment loss, and apparently killing 32 Cuban bodyguards of Maduro in the process. But look, the president has shown that when he talks about a threat, when he talks about his intentions, he actually means it. He's going to do something about it.
He issued his national security strategy in November. And as I told our listeners a couple of weeks ago, I had worked on a draft of this a year ago at the America First Policy Institute. And there's nothing from our draft that is in the final product. The final product is all Donald Trump, and it's in his voice and it's his priorities. Nobody could have predicted that he would shift the way he did to the Western Hemisphere.
That is all Donald Trump. That's his priority. It's our nation's priority. It's so obvious, you kind of want to scratch. Your head now when you look at it, but nobody could have made that shift except for the President of the United States himself.
Remember, everybody was talking about the shift to Asia before during the Biden administration.
Well, now Trump has said we're going to take care of China a different way. We don't need to go to war with them over Taiwan. We can resolve that in another way, but we do have to secure the Western Hemisphere. We have to close our border. We have to keep drugs from coming in, drug traffickers and child traffickers from coming in, and we have to defeat those threats, primary of which was Nicolas Maduro, the head of the Cartel of the Sons.
They are the ones who've been running both the drugs and the child trafficking into the United States.
So, an amazing, amazing military operation with far-reaching consequences. We don't even know yet what it's going to mean for the United States to, quote, run Venezuela, as the President says we're going to do. Nobody can quite answer that question. It looks as if we are going to simply. Tell the current president, she was the vice president before.
We're going to tell her what we want, and she's going to execute, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Every other president who's engaged our military to Overthrow or to take a leader out. Has put troops on the ground for years and years in forever wars, and it's cost us tremendously in both in terms of blood and treasure. This president goes in, goes out, and then through the power of his words, of his personality, of his prestige, and of course the prestige of the U.S. military.
He commands respect and commands obedience. Wow, what a different way of running this country.
Well, it certainly was an incredible operation, and it remains to be seen what the impact is going to be on America and Venezuela, but I want to focus on the international impact, the geopolitical impact. Let's start with Iran. This could have consequences for sure, especially when you take into consideration what is going on there. You know, in June of 2022, Venezuela and the Iranian regime signed a 20-year cooperation agreement that covered oil, industrial projects, defense. We talked about this at the time, Rick, because we've been tracking this for many years.
The Iranian regime was a big ally of Maduro. They helped him get his oil to market. They helped him by sending technicians to the oil fields.
Now, those technicians didn't do such a great job since their oil production has gone way, way down. They plundered it and they haven't had the supplies that they needed to rebuild. But, you know, Iran was in bed with Maduro's regime. Hezbollah was embedded in the Maduro regime. And it's going to take, I think, a number of weeks, if not months, to see how the U.S.
influence now. In the running of Venezuela, it gets both the Iranians and Hezbollah out of that country. Hezbollah was using it as a base. The Iranians were using it as a base. They were building defense factories in Venezuela.
They were producing missiles. They were delivering gunboats to Venezuela.
So all of this is still a work in progress. But my prediction here is that you will see both Hezbollah and Iran run out of Venezuela in the coming weeks and months.
Well, and it can't be overestimated that this wasn't something that was happening halfway around the world. This was essentially in our backyard, wasn't it? Absolutely. And we know that they were running terrorists into the United States because even during the Biden administration, the Border Patrol caught a number of them coming in and released them into the United States. Known terrorists were caught and released into the United States under the presidency of Joe Biden.
Absolutely unbelievable that that could happen.
Well, that's not happening any longer, and it's definitely not going to happen now that Maduro is gone and the cartel of the Suns is no longer going to be running Venezuela.
Some of the other world actors that we often talk about on this program, China and Russia, they also had an influence there. In fact, I think there was a Chinese delegation waiting to meet with President Maduro the day he was captured. Can you talk a little bit about what this is going to do for Russia and China's attempt to have influence in the Western Hemisphere? Both Russia and China are going to pay a price from the takedown of Maduro. We're seeing it just this week.
The U.S. has captured two Venezuelan tankers. One of them was reflagged by the Russians as it was at sea. The Russians have protested, saying, You can't do that. We are a sovereign nation.
You don't have the right to do it. And Trump has said, you know, to heck with that. You just reflag an illegal ship. The ship was part of the ghost fleet helping both Russia and Iran to break international sanctions. That's why the U.S.
seized the ships, and it was legal for us to do so.
So Russia is going to lose that ally that it's had in the Western Hemisphere. The Chinese, now, the Chinese are a slightly different case. The Chinese were getting Venezuelan oil, and they were getting the vast majority of it. It's heavy oil. It needs to be refined down with distillate.
And they were getting the distillate from the Iranians, by the way. And now they're going to get it from us. But they're getting the distillate. From the Iranians and then sending the oil to China. The Chinese are still going to get the oil.
President Trump made that clear this week. But here's the kicker it: they're not going to get the $20 per barrel discount that Maduro has been giving them. They're going to have to pay full freight for that oil.
So we'll see how much Venezuela and oil they're going to be buying in the future. Very interesting, Kennon. And we're going to talk about that oil situation a little bit later in the program. We are also going to talk to Sharam Haydian on the Iran situation. But if I could, let me get your thoughts, especially going ahead this week, a very important week.
What do you anticipate happening?
Well, I think there's going to be a big crackdown in Iran against the protests, and that's going to be the big news. I think it's going to dominate the headlines for quite some time. These protests are not going away. Today is already the fourteenth day of protests. There are fits of violence.
They are not violent in general, but there are Fits of localized extreme violence. Protesters set fire to the national TV and broadcasting buildings in Isfahan and Mashhad. These are two major cities in Iran. They did that this week. And the regime is not sure what it is going to do.
The key, Rick, is to see whether the Supreme Leader sticks around or whether he does actually flee. There's been rumors that he's preparing to flee to Russia. There's no substance to those rumors so far that we know of. But at some point, if he flees, the regime crumbles. And then.
Nobody knows is what's going to happen. There is no mechanism for peaceful transition in Iran. The people who thought you could reform the regime, well, they learned a lesson in 2009 when the Green Movement was taking place. There was the election of a so-called reformer to the presidency. That election was stolen by the regime.
You had millions of people in the streets. Your dad and I talked about this many, many times as it was going on. And the whole notion at that time was that you could reform the regime by electing somebody president who would change their behavior and the way they acted towards the people and towards the rest of the world.
Well, we've learned that that's not possible. The violent suppression of the green movement showed it wasn't possible. Today, the regime is going to violently put down these protests despite what President Trump has said. He has said that we are locked and loaded and ready to go if they use violence against the protesters. They are using violence against.
The protesters. They even went into a hospital rick last week and rounded up wounded protesters. They didn't shoot them on spot, but they did arrest them, and we don't know what's happened to them since. There have been about 45 people killed so far, about 2,500 arrests, and I think that is going to intensify.
So, for me, the key is going to be: does the leadership of the regime stick around? Or do they flee? Many of them, and we've known this for years, many of them have children who are permanent residents, green card holders in the United States, permanent residents in Canada, many of them in Europe.
Some of them just recently have been seeking residence cards in France, I've been told.
So we know that the families of top regime leaders have placed assets outside of the country for the eventuality of losing power. They're not going down with a ship. I think I can affirm that to our listeners. The regime leadership is not going down with the ship. When they see things are out of control, that they can no longer bring it back, they're out of there.
And then chaos breaks out, and we don't know what the next steps after that chaos will be. Military dictatorship, the return of the son of the Shah, we don't know. But it will be unprecedented. I can say that. One thing I know for sure, we'll have plenty to talk about next week as we continue to follow this situation.
Well, Ken, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks so much, Freaky. God bless. We've got to take a break, and when we come back, our Middle East News Update with David Dolan right here on Prophecy Today weekend.
Uh I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is facing narco-terrorism charges in the U.S. after a targeted military strike led to his capture on January 3rd. Maduro's socialist policies in Venezuela led to hyperinflation, food shortages, drug trafficking, and gang violence. Greg Yoda with Keys for Kids Ministries shares from a Christian contact in Venezuela.
He says: No Venezuelan wants chaos, but what they do celebrate is a ray of hope after decades of darkness. He says the deepest suffering now is physical hyperinflation. It's crushed salaries to about one hundred and thirty bolivars, which is about forty cents. Food prices rise daily. Families often eat only once a day in tiny, poor quality portions.
Pray Christ peace over Venezuela. And even in the most desolate places and hardest circumstances, God knows each person and cares deeply. That's the message Mission Aviation Fellowship brings through its planes. President David Holston says 2025 marked MAF's 80th anniversary, and it was a fruitful one. Just from a statistical standpoint, our airplanes were able to serve people in about 12 different countries.
They also flew up to 50,000 passengers. These are hard-to-reach places that we fly to. There could be war and unrest. Their flights delivered medical aid, Bibles, and evacuation support. But tragedy struck in Indonesia.
A remote area Christian teacher was attacked and died during an air evacuation, leaving the team grieving. The tragedy underscored how vital the gospel is and why their work must continue. Pray that God would provide the people, resources, and permissions to keep the work moving. 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. Look for links at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, this is the portion of our program we call it our Middle East news update. We look at news around the Middle East, but focusing on the nation of Israel. To do that, we have with us journalist Dave Dolan. Dave, thanks for being with us today. Blessed to be with you, Rick.
Well, Dave, as you know, no shortage of news around the Middle East. Israel, relatively calm, but that's a relative statement. Can you tell us what took place in Israel this week?
Well, relatively calm, as you say, inside the country, but there were more military strikes, IDF strikes in the Gaza Strip. during the week on several occasions after there were more roadside bombs put up against Israeli forces by the terrorist groups that are there and that sort of thing. We had a very big setback rip for President Trump's proposed international stabilization force. The main country, the main Muslim country that Israel expected to be involved in that. Announced that they won't join.
That's Azerbaijan. Of course, they're right next to Iran. And so obviously rather nervous about what's going on in their immediate neighborhood. But again, it's because Hamas is saying we will not disarm. And so it becomes clearer every day that this international force would be tasked probably with trying to do that.
And it's just not something that anybody thinks Will happen. Turkey again said it wants to send some forces in. Israel again said no, that's not going to happen. Of course, the main news in Israel all week wasn't in Israel. It was the growing unrest, say the least unrest in Iran.
The Bajij forces, those are the secret service forces, have stepped up their activities against the massively growing protests. 51 cities were involved by the end of the week. Of course, we had scores of people killed. A Norwegian group said over 50 had been killed by government forces, protesters. Nine of them, they said, were children under the age of 18.
We've had more and more violence involved in this. And of course, on Thursday, we had the government close down the internet, the international internet to Iran. Only about 1% of the people were getting anything at all. And then they closed international phones. Phone communications and internal phone communications, Rick.
So they are obviously quite desperate. We had reports that Khomeini, the overall supreme leader, is. Has contingency plans to be whisked off to Moscow, Russia, if the violence continues to grow. And he feels he has to abandon the country. We had other reports that other officials are looking at France.
From where the Iranian Revolution began in 1979, after Jimmy Carter had strongly condemned the Shah of Iran and his government, human rights violations, et cetera. There was some truth to that, but of course, we got in. Return a much worse government now for decades. And of course, the son of the Shah, Reva Pallavi, is heading this rebellion, Rick, from afar, from the Washington DC area. He's been issuing daily communiques.
Of course, harder to get through now that the Internet is down and the phone service is there, but there's still Starlink. in the area, Elon Musk's Internet satellite service, some people have that.
So news is still getting around. But Palavi urged on Friday President Trump to intervene Of course, Trump said in the initial hours of these rebellions a week ago that he might defend the people of Iran if they're being shot and killed, as has happened before. But during assessments during the week, Rick, were that this is increasingly unlikely. Why? Because the U.
S., the President, has his hands rather full with the Venezuela five Republican senators joining with all Democratic senators calling for special investigations and basically saying they question that whole operation, Maduro's capture and all of that. And there's concern over that, Rick. But basically, we had Trump also involved now with the growing domestic of violence in the country, radical left wing groups stepping up their anti Trump activities in several cities, and that's expected to keep growing.
So, in other words, he's got his own domestic problems growing and probably won't be willing to take on Iran at this time. And Prime Minister Netanyahuk, finally, I'll say, did give an interview on Thursday in which he said we're not planning to intervene. He encouraged the people of Iran to rise up, but he said these things are best done internally, and we don't intend to interpose our thoughts or feelings on this. And he said, again, we're not going to attack Iran unless. they attack us, and Rick, that still remains in the Israeli security establishment's mind, a real possibility that they will lash out at their shared enemy, Israel, although the Israeli public is not opposed to the Iranians and the street scenes would seem to say that the Iranian people overwhelmingly are not anti Israel and do not support their government's holy war, jihad war that's robbed them of so much finance.
And then the main reason for the weakness of their currency, the real.
Well, David, as I said, we look at the Middle East in general but focus on the nation of Israel in particular.
So let's focus in on what this means for Israel, especially because Israel, through the proxies of Iran, they have supported financially, been the lifelines for Hamas, for Hezbollah in Syria before it fell, the government there, the Assad regime. What does this mean for Israel and these proxies that they have to continually battle with? Is this going to make it worse or is it going to make it better? What do you think?
Well, Rick, you can imagine that privately in the Prime Minister's office, And other Israeli officials, they are delighted by this revolt against the regime in Iran. Obviously, if it were to be overthrown, if its officials were to flee, and I mentioned last week. That's not going to be that easy. They have close allies in Russia, in China. North Korea, none of them are going to want to see this very major change.
It was one thing to see Assad go in Syria. He didn't have that much control of the country anyway. He was a social ally of Russia. But Iran, of course, is deeply embedded with Vladimir Putin and supplying these heavy heavy uh drone weapons to them in great amounts.
So obviously, Israel would be thrilled to see this regime gone, and obviously, it would greatly weaken, if not end, Hezbollah and And Hamas. In other words, they would realize finally, nobody's going to rescue them, nobody's going to fund them. From outside, maybe Turkey, but apart from that, not many, and that they are now at a great disadvantage. And possibly the Lebanese government could succeed. Fully in disarming Hezbollah.
But with Iran still around, with the regime still there, and its ideology still very strong. That's a real hindrance to getting rid of Hezbollah entirely. And it again gives Hamas. that hope that maybe they're going to get some outside rescue here.
So but it it'll in the end probably be the stick and not the carrot if there is any change here. Israel's I said this for over a month now, they really don't expect this international force to be set up successfully any time soon? And if it is, they don't expect it will have any more courage than the UN has in Lebanon, has had, UNIFIL, to disarm the terrorists up there. In other words, Israel will have to go in again and do it itself and in Lebanon the same, but they certainly don't want to be the ones to have to go from outside into Iran, and they don't plan to do that. They're hoping that the revolution, as it were, that's taking place there now, that Pahlavi can succeed and that it can revert to being a Western ally.
But again, Rick, There's an alliance, an axis of evil, that's very much involved not only with Iran, but with Venezuela. We have a third of the U. S. A naval fleet is tied up now in the Caribbean, and most of them have come from the Pacific. Will that encourage China to take Taiwan?
These are all big question marks. In other words, the situation is very unclear and very unsettled with all sorts of potential trouble ahead. And prayfully, it won't be as bad as it could be, but the Israelis are certainly watching things very, very closely. One final comment in the time that we have left, David, as we look at all these things taking place, one of the things we do here on prophecy today is we realize that events around the world are setting the stage for what Scripture says is going to happen in the future. And we see these chess pieces moving around the board, all getting ready for what the Bible says is going to happen in the end times, don't we?
We do, Rick, and I s I think we can say that this new year we have a continuing move Toward world conflict. The situation with China, as I say, has not been resolved. Russia launched what they one of their new missiles on Friday Rick that is designed to carry nuclear warheads. It's a new missile, and they launched it near the Polish border, NATO border in the west of Ukraine. Things are not coming down on the international stage.
And again, Iran, let's see, let's see what these outside forces, both Washington and the West. but more importantly, Iran's allies. in Russia and China uh what they might do and We need to pray, but we need to be aware that all of this birth pangs of the Messianic kingdom are predicted by the Lord himself, and we do seem to see them growing around the world. Dave Dolan for Prophecy Today. Dave, as always, we appreciate your insight not only from a news, political, journalistic perspective, but also from a prophetic perspective as well.
Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon. I'm glad to do it, Rich. God bless. Do you have a biblical worldview?
This is Ken Ham, an author and speaker defending the Bible's authority and reliability. A few years ago, a study found only 10% of Christians and only 4% of young people in America have a biblical worldview. What can we do about this?
Well, parents need to be intentional in imparting a biblical worldview to their kids. Many assume the church is doing it. but it's their God-given responsibility. And pastors must recognise the need to equip parents and others in their congregation by teaching the basics of our Christian worldview. and they have to stop ignoring Genesis.
Those first chapters are the foundation for our worldview for the gospel, for all doctrine, for everything. There's so much more to learn about the biblical worldview and how to teach it when you go to answersradio.com. 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.
Iran does have a role to play in the end times, but first, a little history of Iran and its neighborhood as it relates to biblical history. Jeremiah prophesied that Elam, a nation east of Babylon, west of Persia, and south of Media, would be conquered and then rise to power again. That's Jeremiah 49, 34 through 39. True to that prophecy, Babylon conquered Elam in 596 BC, but then Persia under Cyrus the Great. Took control of that area, and the Elamites and the Medes became part of the Persian Empire.
The Medo Persian Empire ascended to power and conquered Babylon in five thirty nine BC, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah twenty one two. This happened during the time of Daniel. Daniel chapter five, in fact, is Daniel later resided in the providence of Elam and in Persia Daniel eight two. Persia is a setting. for the book of Esther and then part of Nehemiah.
Well, we're going to bring in Rick, a good friend of ours, Sharam Hadian, to tell us more about what's going on in the country.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. As promised, we have Sharam Haydian with us today. He's the director of Truth in Love Ministry. You can find out more about them by going to the website tilministry dot com. Sharam, thanks for being with us today.
It's great to be back with you again. Thank you.
Well, Srom, I know these are exciting times for you, but as I saw on your web program last night, you also said you are kind of exhausted because all that is going on right now. We're going to talk to you about what is taking place in Iran. But before we do that, if you could just tell our listeners very quickly, who some of them may not have heard about you, tell them just a little bit about yourself and your background in Iran. Yes.
Well, I originally was born there. My family fled there right before the government was overthrown in nineteen seventy nine. Um the the so-called Islamic revolution, which True history, I think, would show that it was really an overthrow, it was a coup. But um yeah, I was born there, you know, raised in a Muslim family. Um but we fled.
My dad was a military officer under the Shah of Iran, saw things kind of coming about before They really exploded and then got us out just a few weeks before. And of course, Iran fell and has now been under the governance Of an Islamic theocracy for the last forty-seven years, by the grace of God. 26 and a half years ago, God put some bold Christians into my life. Who then shared the gospel with me, and the power of the gospel is true, it's real. The Holy Spirit worked in my heart, in my mind.
I uh came to believe. I came to believe that uh indeed The Bible is the Word of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. He is the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And so that was 26.5 years ago, and I've been prayerfully serving the Lord ever since.
Well, what a wonderful testimony, and we are so excited to hear that. And again, we appreciate being partners in your ministry, and we have done many things together over the years. But as I said, right now, we're going to focus on Iran. And I know you have your background, like you just mentioned, but you're also in touch with many people, both in Iran, both from Iran ministries, other people. From your perspective, what do you know how can you best explain what is going on in Iran right now?
Well, what started out back at the end of December, right before the New Year, what started out as basically more of an economic strike. You know, the store owners, the Grand Bazaar, which is a major, major shopping area within Tehran, the capital of Iran. very quickly, within a matter of two or three days. Turned into the anti-regime movement that has now been happening. throughout Iran.
As of just yesterday.
So again, obviously, as you can imagine, it's hard to get information because Thursday, the government shut down the Internet. The son of the Shah, who is called the Crown Prince, Reza Pallavi.
So my s my dad served under the shaw. His son, that he's a little bit older than I am. many of the Iranian people are shouting his name. They're actually shouting the term Javid Shah. which in Farsi means Long live the King.
And they're Now, this anti-regime movement, which is like and I'm sure you've seen if people have seen any videos online that were coming out. People were shouting down with the dictators, down with Khomeini, who's the supreme leader, down with the Islamic regime.
So they are done. They have had enough of Islam. They have had enough of this tyranny.
So, again, what started as an economic strike has now turned into probably the most massive anti-regime movement since 1979. And many are calling for the return of the son of the Shah. But the brutal Islamic dictatorship. Is not going to go away without a fight, and they are desperate. We already have I mean, this is gone now.
There's thirty-one provinces. In Scotland, you know how we have states, there's 31 provinces inside Iran. The protests, the uprisings are in every province. It is over one hundred cities Now As of the latest. But the Iranian regime cut off the Internet, cut off the electricity, cut off the water.
Now these are people Brother, that are already suffering. The currency in Iran has been devalued so much in the last forty seven years A day's wage to buy food is the equivalent of us buying two dozen cars. Just to give just get that perspective, that one day's food, if we were to convert that into dollars, would be the equivalent of us going and buying about twenty or so brand new cars from a dealership. twenty something thousand dollar cars.
So people are already suffering. And now this desperate, evil Islamic regime Is importing Arab militias from Iraq to try to kill the people. And thank God for Starlink because there is some information coming out through Starlink. But the greatest concern is the blackout right now, is the fact that we were trying to make sure that we continue to get accurate information because blackouts are dangerous for the people because that's when the regime starts mass killing everybody.
Well, we have seen these protests before and that's the playbook that the regime has used. Do you think this time will be different? We really believe so. I really believe so.
Now obviously, I believe that in June, of this of twenty twenty five, last year. That had there not been that sort of intervention from the US government, in trying to give a lifeline. That's one of the problems is diplomatically, there seems to be these lifelines that European governments and the American government gives to this Islamic regime. Why? Why are they doing that?
Why are they not just leaving it alone and letting the people decide themselves inside Iran and outside Iran.
So we're praying that what should have happened, in my opinion, in June of twenty twenty five, when Israel carried out Operation Rising Lion, their twelve day war, in my opinion, that it should have ended there if it hadn't been for that lifeline.
So now we're praying no lifeline, leave them be. President Trump, don't get involved as far as giving a lifeline to this regime. Don't cut deals, but also don't try to have regime change. Don't try to pick your people who the State Department is telling you to pick. Just let the people rise up.
And the people are saying they want the Crown Prince. He has a transitional plan.
So we really believe this is different. We really believe this is it. I believe in fact, one of the songs that they're chanting is this is the final battle, Pallavi will return. That's his name.
So there's actually a song that's out there now. This is the final battle.
So we believe this is it. We believe that this regime has already collapsed. There's already a handful of cities where the people are basically taking over some of those cities. What is different about this time is there are provinces and cities where the police and the military are siding with the people. And so let's pray That freedom would come to the Iranian people.
And brother, let's also not forget, Iran is the fastest-growing church. numerically on the planet. There are potentially three to five million believers in Iran, our brothers and sisters in Christ. We got to pray for them and pray. They're praying right now.
They're fasting. They're Uh wanting an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Well, that's what I was going to ask you about. And I know you're very involved in well, you're a pastor here in the United States, and you have a ministry as well, but you follow very closely that movement, the believers at the growing church, amazing under the most severe persecution that you could probably think of, maybe anywhere in the entire world. That church is growing. You tell us we should pray for the believers in Iran. I certainly will be doing that, and I'm sure many of our listeners will as well.
But just tell us a little bit: how is that church growing there in Iran under that type of pressure?
Well, we see through our the history of the church. that wherever persecution has come, The Lord seems to use it to refine his church, purify his bride and really put conviction in the hearts and minds of his people. And so the church in Iran, the believers in Iran have just grown since nineteen seventy nine when there was only estimated a few thousand born again believers. Today, it's in the millionth, and we can't even measure. We can't even measure because The church is operating underground.
The church is operating in house churches.
Now, that's foreign to American Christians because we have our buildings and we go on Sundays. But the way, the only way that the true church is operating in Iran is underground, in-house churches. And so they've been growing, they've been multiplying. Persecution seems to fire up the church. But now, given the economic situation, given the hardship situation of just basic daily life.
The Iranian churches, we've been told, are praying and fasting right now. They're asking, would the Lord intervene and come and tear down this tree? Islamic regime. I commented on on my Facebook page just recently I said, my prayer is. That the Lord will allow us, who are former Muslims, One day soon, to be able to go back to Iran, go on the streets, and openly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and openly worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In the streets of Iran.
So that's our prayer. And here's the crazy thing. there seems to be a movement within the U. S. government and within Western governments That they don't seem to want to have a free Iran.
Because a free Iran means an Islamic free Iran. That is a threat to the Arab Muslim nations. That is a threat to the Saudis. That is a threat to the Qataris. That is a threat to the Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Egypt.
That is a threat. Because a free Iran people are done with Islam. They've rejected Islam. Um uh when we talk to Iranian believers, They say inside Iran, it doesn't even look like an Islamic country. Other than this very small percentage of the elite that are governing by force and by tyranny.
So Iran is so unique. in inside the Middle East compared to these other other nations. and a free Iran would be an ally of Israel. would be an ally of the United States of America. And rejects Islam.
It would change the dynamics of the Middle East.
Well, that is certainly something to work towards and something to be excited about as we look at the situation. We're going to pray for the church there. But you talk about an Iran that can be entirely different than what it is right now. But we look at Iran. They have been a major exporter of terrorism.
Their proxies throughout the Middle East have been persecuting Israel and going after what they call the little Satan Israel and the big Satan, the United States.
So there is certainly a force there that has got to be reckoned with, and that is something that is going to be something that the Middle East, Iran, Persians, the Christians there in Iran, that's something that they're going to be dealing with for quite some time, isn't it? I believe so, but I also believe something incredibly positive. And I think we've talked about it before. I've mentioned it before when I've been on with you, but I go back to a prophecy in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 49. that talks about a future.
and a future that specifically mentions the last days and the latter days. And it's an incredible prophecy about Elam. And Elam E-L-A-M, right, Elam is the ancient name for Persia. Elam is before there was the Persia or the Medes in the Bible. And the southwestern part of modern-day Iran is where Elam is.
That's geographically where it is. And of course, we know there's great biblical history to that part of the world because the Babylonian captivity, when the Persians took over from the Babylonians, they took the Jews to Susa. Susa is modern-day Shushan, where the story of Esther happens, the story of Daniel happens when he is praying outside his window towards Jerusalem. All of that happened.
So this prophecy says that God will break the bow of Elam and their might, but then in the latter days, and the people will be scattered. And in the latter days, he's going to regather the people of Elam, and he's going to then set up his throne. in Elon. I encourage people to go read that. Brother, that's the only place in the Bible that God talks about setting up his throne Other than Jerusalem.
We know, of course, Jesus is returning to Jerusalem to set up his throne. But this prophecy about Elam, very specifically, it says in the latter days, This prophecy Is About The end times. And so we as Iranian believers, Christians, we are holding hope that God's going to fulfill his word very soon. that as we believe we're in the last days, as we believe we're getting closer To We see this rise of this B system, we see this rise of this global system, we see the foundation being set for the Antichrist. We also believe God's obviously redeeming, right?
He's going to renew all things, and so. This is incredible. That is it possible that he's going to one day also have a throne? Inside Elam, as he is going to have in Jerusalem. And this speaks to the beautiful.
Symbiotic relationship between the Persian people and the Jewish people. It's prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes.
So we are holding hope. Yes.
This regime is going to come down. This evil that Iran has fostered for decades, as you said, Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, all of these different entities, Venezuela, obviously, in South America, all these entities that Iran has partnered with to bring evil into the world, the government, that is. God is going to restore.
So sorry for that long answer, but I just want to give people hope that we are excited because we believe prophecy is literally being fulfilled before our very eyes. I'm speaking with Sharam Haydian from the Truth in Love Ministry, Til Ministry.com. If you want to find out more about them online, and in fact, if you go to tilministry.com, there's all kinds of resources there. I'm looking at one right now: Your Truth Today show. You had a kind of a panel interview yesterday that I watched, and it was excellent.
Lots of believers from Iran, most of them formerly from Iran.
So that's certainly a resource that we can use. How can we best pray for you, and how can we best support your ministry and support the people of Iran as they are involved in what is taking place there right now?
Well, thank you for that question. Thank you for letting people know how they can connect with us. Yeah, on Truth Today, on Rumble, there, it's right on our website.
Well, number one, again, please just pray right now for the courage and the boldness and the stamina of the people of Iran, but also for the believers. Because, again, the believers, I believe their prayers in Iran are are what is fueling This time in this movement.
So we just got to pray, Lord, your will be done. I don't know the timing. I don't know how much more suffering or what even that transition is going to look like because we've got to also pray that evil forces will not come in in the vacuum. Even if this regime collapses, now you have a vacuum. And that's why we do believe, I do believe that Reza Pallavi, the son of the Shah, would be the right person for the transition.
But I want to, if I can ask for prayer for one thing, pray for America. Because I said brother earlier. The Iranian people have rejected Islam. But look at what Islam is doing in America. Look at the likes of Zoran Mamdani in New York.
Where he put his hand on a Quran. and he took an oath of office, and he's avowing that he's going to bring in collectivism and communism. Using the words of Mao and Stalin and Hugo Chavez and these tyrannical Communist Marxist dictators.
So we need in America, the American church needs to rise up and say, we're done. We are done. We are not going to import this evil ideology. We're not going to tolerate it. It cannot coexist With our foundation, our faith.
and a nation that is governed by a constitutional republic.
So that's my prayer for Iran, but that's also my prayer for here in America. Because I guarantee you, if you ask the Iranian believers, what is the message for America? They'd say, wake up, look what we've lived through. You don't want that. You better stop it now before it gets to the point where you're under that tyranny.
Sharam Haydian from Truth and Love Ministry. Sharam, as always, we appreciate your insight. We look forward to talking to you again, hopefully, with more good news, Lord willing, as we see what progresses in Iran. Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon.
Brother, thank you so much. As always, it's always a blessing. And thank you, everybody, for praying. And until next time, I can't wait.
Well, we're talking about Iran this week, and we're focusing on it. And as I said, since June 2025, Many prophecy or students of the Bible have been focusing on Iran and its role in the future in Bible prophecy.
So I thought it would be good to get my good friend R. C. Merle back on the program. Welcome back, RC.
Well, Jimmy, it's really good to be back with you. Yes, sir. You and I have been having discussions over the news that broke last Saturday. When President Trump authorized a dramatic operation to free Venezuela and the U.S. from Nicolas Maduro.
Now, a lot has happened since Saturday. What can you tell our listeners about it? You know, correct, Jimmy. And since then, there's a lot of speculation that these events could be tied to Bible prophecy. Yes.
And I've been reading that on prophecy news sites, but since. There does not appear to be a prophetic basis for the USA to dominate the global economy or remove and appoint world leaders in the very last days before the return of Christ. We can surmise that either Bible prophecy is not in view here. Or we are seeing a shadow of future prophecy. As you so often say.
Yes, Jimmy, prophecy tells us that global power in the very last days will come from the revived Roman Empire, which we identify as the European Union. Therefore the current rate of Venezuela and possible global dominance of America does not line up with prophecy. You know, Jimmy, Venezuela holds three hundred three billion barrels of oil. At fifty-seven dollars per barrel, that equates to seventeen point three trillion in reserves. That could give the U.S.
control of oil worth more than the GDP of every country except for the U.S. and China. RC, that leaves us with the age-old question: where is America in prophecy? Yeah, we're going to look for clues, Jimmy. I'm wondering here if Putin, who needs a distraction after Venezuela, will use this embarrassment as an excuse for attacking Israel to take her oil or plunder in retaliation that would fulfill Ezekiel 38 and 39.
And I'm willing to bet the ranch that China, with an insatiable need for oil, would support that attack. Two recent headlines support this possibility, and I'm going to do this like a courtroom, Jimmy. Exhibit A. The UK Express january fifth, twenty twenty six. The headline reads: Putin on the brink, as furious Russians call for regime change after Venezuela humiliation.
Under the headline, it reads, Donald Trump's overthrow of Putin's close ally Maduro has shown the limits of Russian power and the failure of the Kremlin's foreign policy agenda. Russian nationalists have furiously criticized the Kremlin for its failure to defend Venezuela, with one of them calling for Vladimir Putin's execution. Can you imagine? And Jimmy, Exhibit B, CNBC News, January 5th, 2026. The headline reads: China decries U.S.
action in Venezuela, even as it guards billions at stake. Underneath it reads this: China reacted swiftly to the military strike on Saturday night, expressing shock and condemnation. Beijing subsequently called on the U.S. to release the ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and urged Washington to resolve the crisis through dialogue. Chinese companies, mostly state-owned, have invested $4.8 billion in Venezuela over the last two decades, according to the data compiled by the U.S.
Lastly, Jimmy, it's reported that the mullahs of Iran are planning to flee to Russia in the event of the collapse of the Iranian government. I see where you're going with this, RC.
So let's go over Ezekiel's prophecy for our listeners to see if we can find the United States. The war of Gagme Gog, which is a Russian-led invasion of Israel, is found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. In verses 1 through 6, we see a list of the invaders. That's correct, Darcy. We have Gog, a prince of Rosh, or Russia, a title of a strong leader.
We have Magog, the second son of Japh, a son of Noah, who settled in what is today Russia. They're joined by Persia, modern-day Iran, Kush, the eldest son of Noah's son Ham, the area of Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia. Put the third son of Ham, the area of Libya, possibly Tunisia and Algeria. Gomer, Beth, Tagarma, Meshech, Kantubal, all ancient names for Turkey, and many nations with you, which possibly means additional North African Islamic allies. And the motive for this war, RC?
The motive is found in Ezekiel 38, 12. And I'm going to read from the NIV: I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, which rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land. The nations found in Ezekiel 38, 13 are Saudi Arabia, Britain, and the USA, and appear to be bystanders, seemingly unable to fight. Israel braces if no nation comes to her side, answering the question: where is the United States in prophecy?
So let's look at the verse carefully, 38:13. Sheba and the Dan, which we we agree will be Saudi Arabia. The merchants of Tarshis, most likely Britain, and all of her villagers, that would be the USA who will say to you, Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, and to seize must plunder? And it is the God of Israel who will bring an end to the God-may-God war in Ezekiel thirty eight, twenty one, and it reads, I will summon a sword against God on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord.
Every man's sword will be against his brother.
So Jimmy, it's that plunder, possibly oil. That could be the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that is hiding in plain sight. You know, R.C., we always talk about the fact that oil, which gives the Saudis their Control in the world and their amount of it. really could be uh and this domino effect of Uh, Donald Trump going to Venezuela to take away the petro dollar to this, could be the domino that starts the effect that brings all the nations of Ezekiel 38. Into a situation, and when you look at the rioting in Iran right now.
This really could be the beginning. Of a situation where war is brought onto the table to distract everyone from what's going on. RC, very good. Thank you so much. Thanks for keeping us up on and we can find this article on your website, correct?
Yes, Jimmy, at prophecytracker.org. Excellent. Thanks, RC. God bless Jimmy. Thank you.
We need to take a break when we come back, the legacy series with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung as he teaches from the book of Psalms, chapter 83, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Uh 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. Rick, in 2026, you and I have a lot to be thankful for, don't we?
We certainly do, Jimmy, and 2025 just ended. And one of the things that I wanted to make sure I did, you and I both appreciate the ability to do what we feel the Lord wants us to do and sharing these prophetic truths. And of course, we could not do that without the support of our followers.
So many people in their year-end giving gave to Prophecy Today. That's what allows us to keep this program on the air. We are so grateful. We are so thankful, thankful not only for your financial support, but even more importantly, your prayer. We are very thankful.
You know, and all of everything that you give goes to having this program and our website be what it is. We do conferences and everything like that, but we're so thankful that people have. Taking the time to give to our ministry.
Well, the legacy series today, we're going to keep studying on Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the world. We will show how the Muslim faith plays a key role in the end time scenario that could be found in Bible prophecy. We will list the nations that will form a coalition to try and destroy the Jewish state. You will see that the lowest common denominator is that they're all Islamic. the psalmist wrote thousands of years ago that these nations were pledging to wipe out Israel off the face of the earth, that her name be forgotten for ever.
And what better time to study Psalm eighty three. And that's where we'll begin to day with Doctor Jimmy D. Young, and the Legacy series. Psalm 83 is a psalmist prayer, praying that the Lord would intercede in a time of great trouble for the Jewish people. Let me just read a little bit of Psalm 83 to you.
Verse 1: Keep not thou silence, O God. Hold not thy peace. Be not still, O God. For lo, thine enemies make a tubal, and they that hate thee have lifted up my head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people and consulted against thy hidden ones.
In other words, here is this enemy of yours, God, who are coming up against us, the Jewish people, your chosen people. They've gone into meetings. They have crafty council coming together. They're going to come out of the meeting. Here's what they're going to say, verse 4.
And they have said, come and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
Now, that's almost a direct quote from Hamadinijad on July the 9th, 2008. 2008, July the 9th, he stood in Tehran, Iran, among 4,000 Islamic radical leaders. He said, We must wipe Israel off the face of the earth and her name be forgotten forever. That was the 9th. On the 12th, Hezbollah attacked from southern Lebanon, attacking northern Israel.
And there ensued a sixty-day war. It did not break into a full Middle Eastern war. But they were trying to move Hezbollah. Are they surrogates? Put in southern Lebanon in 1982 by Ayatollah Khomeini.
They're the ones that killed 252 Marines. In the barracks there in Lebanon. They have a desire, one desire, to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. I could stay here for probably the next couple of hours telling you how the Iranian influence is taking over the entire Middle East. What has happened in Egypt is now they have renewed ties with Iran and they're following the Iranian pattern for a purpose of setting up an Islamic republic.
They have sent all kinds of grad missiles. The Katusha rockets are coming into Israel, but I've seen personally stood and touched Grad missiles with the name manufactured in Iran. from the Gaza Strip into modern day Israel. They have an influence in what's happening in Lebanon. Sheikh Nasrallah, who is head of Hezbollah.
This terrorist organization, sponsored, paid for, equipped by Iran and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Nasrallah, has taken control of the country of Lebanon. They are no longer a sovereign state. Read the news. It's there in the news as plain as the notes on your face. These nations are moving to take control.
Notice here two states that are going to be included in addition to the states I've already talked about. Notice here in verse 6, it says, And the Ishmaelites.
Now, where did Ishmael go to live? I told you, Arabia.
So he establishes Saudi Arabia. They'll be a part of this mix, of this coalition of nations. Look here at the last one in verse 7: Tyre, in the land of Tyre. That's modern-day Lebanon. And so now we see the picture.
Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia. These nations form a coalition to come to wipe out the Jewish. Let us wipe them out, that their name be forgotten forever. Go back to chapter 38 of the book of Ezekiel just a moment. Chapter 38 of the book of Ezekiel.
In chapter 38, It tells us the time when they're going to attack. Look at verse 8. And after many days, thou shalt be visited, and in the latter years, thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword and is gathered out of many people against the mountains of Israel, which have always been waste, but is brought forth out of the nations. That's talking about the Jewish people. Out of 108 nations of the world, over the last 100 years, Jews have come to live in the land of Israel.
Now, notice what it says. And they are going to come and they're going to dwell safely, all of them in the land. Look up here in verse 11. And thou shalt say, Oh, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go up to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates.
That's a military terminology. The land are the cities of unwalled villages. You see, when Ezekiel wrote this book, he didn't know anything about F-16 fighter jets. He didn't know anything about the Markfa tank, the most sophisticated tank in the world. He didn't know anything about the Apache attack helicopter that could maneuver unbelievably any place in a war zone.
Ezekiel didn't understand that. He knew that the only defense the Jewish people had was a wall around the city.
So all he could say was: when they live in unwalled villages. They've laid down their defenses. They no longer are defending themselves. When is that?
Well I told you last time we got together. The rapture takes place. The Antichrist appears and he confirms a peace treaty. The Jewish people duped By the devil, believe He's their Messiah. Peace has come.
The kingdom is in place. They laid down their weapons. They live in unwalled villages. And these nations Attack. They attack.
Joel chapter 2 and verse 3 says, The mightiest militia to ever be formed on the face of the earth. comes Two. Jerusalem. To wipe them out. Because that worldwide colliphot must be set up.
in Jerusalem. The Mod D Most likely the twelfth Imam. Hamadanijad says he's alive. He's about to appear. We're living in the apocalyptic age.
I am the forerunner. I am the one leading the way. For the Mahdi, Mahdi. Arabic Messiah. He will appear.
He will bring all the world together. and go to Jerusalem. Not Mecca and Medina. Jerusalem. to set up The Worldwide Caliphate.
This militia The largest one ever on the face of the earth can only be formed by one people, the 1.5 billion Islamic people. Who, if they are dictated to by their Quran and the Hadith, their holy books, must wipe the Jews. off the face of the earth. The house of Islam requires it. Nobody.
can live in that land. Except Muslims. What happens? Go back to Ezekiel 38. Let me close with this, starting in verse 18.
Notice what it says, Ezekiel 38, verse 18. And it shall come to pass in that same time when God shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face, for in my jealousy, in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Look here in verse 21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all of the mountains, saith the Lord God. Look at verse 22.
And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood. And I will rain upon him and upon his bands and upon the many people that are with him, upon his bands. That's including all of the people that live in their home countries. The military operation is going to be there in the Middle East to take out the nation of Israel. But all of his bands is referring to all of their nation from which they come.
Now notice he said, I'll rain hellfire and brimstone upon them. Chapter 39, verse 1. Therefore, thou son of God, prophesy against God and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Now, I'm reading from the King James Bible. If you have another translation, you may not have this. But here's what the King James says in the Hebrew word: look it up. And I will turn thee back and leave but a sixth part of thee. Turn thee back and wipe out five sixths of all these people.
Let's just keep reading. The rest of verse 2. And will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause the arrows to fall out of thy right hand. And thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all of thy bands, and the people that is with thee.
And I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beast of the field, to devour. All of these nations Syria, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan. Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Russia, they all come against Israel. And they're wiped out by five, six. They're wiped out.
They're rendered. In a Operative. And the Muslim world has Has no longer that power. on the world. Thus, God's planned prophetic scenario unfolds.
with the Antichrist. ruling over A false religion in Rome. Islam must be wiped out because Islam. is an exclusive religion. Mine eleven.
What's the beginning? of the inn. It started to unravel. Up to the rapture, Islam. major player in this world.
Boom! Rapture. Islam continues on until they form the coalition. And go. against God's people.
And they are wiped out. It's never in the history of of the world. It's never been just like this. Stages set. Every.
Actor. Our nation. in place to attack the Jewish state. Curtain is about to go up. on the final drama as foretold.
in God's prophetic word. One thing. Holes. the fulfillment of these prophecies back. One thing, the rapture.
of the church, and then these prophecies are fulfilled. That's where we are in history. This. Moment. How do we deal with it?
How? Then Ought we to live? Father, thank you again for this divine description of the days of destiny. seemingly describing the days in which we are living. It's unbelievable to simply open the pages of Bible prophecy, read.
from the text. And allow ourselves to see this prophetic passage as a spotlight. On current events. Dr. Walvord used to say: This is indeed setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Let us realize where we are in your time. Allow this to make an impact. On our lives, so then we can live expectingly. for you to come. and the urgency of the moment.
Thank you for what you're going to do because we've studied. your word this day. Thy precious name we pray with thanksgiving. Amen. Indeed.
A study of the prophetic scenario found in God's Word for the last days reveals that an alignment of nations will form a coalition to go to Israel with the intent to wipe the Jewish State off the face of the earth. Current events indicate that the stage is set for these prophecies given by the ancient Jewish prophets to be fulfilled, and seemingly in the very near future. The Islamic faith is the fastest growing religion in our world to day, and its holy book, the Koran, does call for a holy war in the future. The world today seems ready for these prophecies to be fulfilled. Please join us next week as we continue to learn how current events are setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy Series. Gotta take a break, but when we come back, we'll take a look at the book right here on Prophecy Today Weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Iran's exiled Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, called for Iranians to chant together against the government at 8 p.m.
last night and today. Online monitoring group NetBlocks reported that last night Iran fell under a nationwide internet blackout. Heart for Iran's Edwin Abnus says: There's still a shadow hanging over the region from 2025 escalation between Israel and Iran and the United States when they bombed the nuclear facilities. Another international factor has lent significance to the protests. That was when U.S.
President Donald Trump threatened military action if the Iranian regime fired on demonstrators. Also significant was the U.S. removal from power of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a close ally of Iran. Abnew says Iranian Christians continue to be in danger of accusation and arrest under the regime.
So pray for their protection and for the hope in Christ to spread. A new technology emerges on the heels of a global Bible translation summit. Dane with Unfolding Words says. We announced a AI assisted tool called B T Servant. This promises to be a highly effective tool.
Everybody that heard about it was excited. Unfolding Word partners with church planting networks all around the world. These believers translate God's word into their heart languages using tools and training from Unfolding Word. The new app helps translators check their work. Typically, highly trained consultants review translation work and answer questions.
However, we're just not creating PhD-level Bible translation consultants fast enough anymore. The traditional systems of Bible translation just cannot meet the demand. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. We're listeners supported by people just like you. By giving to Mission Network News, you enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming.
And together, the Great Commission happens. Look for links at missionnews.org. I'm Nick Framer. Yeah. 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. Rick, this is the portion of the program where we take a look back at the things that we've talked about, and it seems like today, well, it doesn't seem, it is, we talked about Iran because Iran is so much in the news, but. It does have a lot to do with a lot of other things that world leaders are doing that have made Iran in the news today. Wouldn't you say so?
I certainly would, Jimmy. And we look at all these things. We often talk about many different nations. Of course, we talk about the nation of Israel, but we look at Russia and China, but especially Iran and what they are doing. They're an Islamic republic, they are trying to be the leader of the Islamic world, and they go after the great Satan, which is the United States, and then the little Satan, which is Israel.
But, you know, we focused on Iran, and it's just very interesting, Jimmy, as we look at all these things that are taking place and the way things progress. We never know from week to week what is going to happen, but everything that happens from week to week further sets the stage, further puts things in a position where we can see God's prophetic plan beginning to unfold, or at least the stage being set for that. And, you know, we don't even know what we're going to see next week. As we look at the nation of Iran. But of course, as Sharam Hadian said, we want to be praying for Iran and praying for the people of Iran.
But this is all just setting the stage for what the Bible says is going to take place in the future, isn't it? Yes.
You know, when you talked to David Dolan, you talked about it being kind of a quiet week in Israel. And that it's kind of an understatement. But when you do look at Hezbollah in the north and Lebanon, you've got Syria, which is trying to establish a peace process with Israel, with a former ISIS terrorist. That's crazy when you think about that. But then when you look at the board members of this board of peace that.
President Trump is trying to put together to oversee the Gaza Strip. And I've seen a lot of prophecy teachers talk about this as being maybe the ten kings that are talked about in the book of Revelation. Daniel 7 talks about that ten-headed beast. Um I I don't think that that plays into a role here. But all of these things taking place.
And then you go back, as I said at the end of R. C. Murle, when he was talking about. Ezekiel 38 and 39, and what it all goes back to is oil. And what gives the power to Saudi Arabia and Iran and what Russia needs, and how Venezuela has so much of it.
And it just seems like the geopolitical shift in what Donald Trump did and setting the dominoes in place really could. Besetting the stage for Bible prophecy to unfold because I truly believe that when you look at the events of the The world taking place. Uh and and Russia With its many missing men, millions probably. I think that number is in. When you look at Iran and needing to, with unrest there now, what happens?
They all need to start a war so that everybody forgets all their woes that they're in. And, you know, we're right on the cusp of the Ezekiel 38 war. We are, Jimmy, and we're not sensationalizing because we look at all these things, and you look at it, and these things are setting the stage. And we are very careful to say that. We are not saying necessarily that this is happening, but you can certainly see the scenario that's laid out in scripture.
You can certainly see that coming to that coming quickly based on what we see happening around the world. And Dave Dolan mentioned it. It's the chaos. It's the things that are taking place. It's the way things happen so quickly.
The way maybe something has been some way all of our lives or all of our, you know, the lives that we, all of the time that we have followed these countries and all of the Thing, all of a sudden it changes on a dime. It changes just like that. That's how quickly, especially in this day and age, of information moving so quickly, things happening so quickly, you know, the internet bringing essentially we can watch things happen in real time. And that part of it is as much as anything else, that part of the way things are happening so quickly, this chaos, it certainly seems to be escalating, to be reaching a breaking point. And of course, we know before all these things that are going to happen in the end times take place, the rapture of the church must take place, and we certainly can't be very far from that.
Right. I think that's the key thing. No matter what happens, and we were watching all day today to see if. If uh and and before this program airs, uh you know, in the future of the of next week, uh no one knows uh what President Donald Trump has been planning, is planning. Along with Israel, I mean, Iran is a threat with the axis of evil.
When you look at Russia, China, Iran. And Pakistan, you look at all the nations that are involved that are definitely getting Turkey. I mean, there's word out that even the Turks might be in the planning or encouraging to be in the planning of kidnapping the Prime Minister of Israel. I mean, when you look at all these things, yes, we are, things can happen so quick. And it's very important that we understand.
the role that Bible prophecy plays in our lives. It is, Jimmy, and one of the roles, and we talk about it all the time, and this is something that we talked about with Sharam Hayden, is the fact that we must be sharing the gospel. He talked about the church, and it's growing in Iran. It's growing in Iran under extreme pressure and persecution. But that church is growing, and they're sharing the gospel.
People are coming to know Christ. If we can tell you anything about this program, we need to look at all these things taking place and realize that it needs to create a sense of urgency in each and every one of us. Yeah. You know, God has plans, and there are plans in place, and He's going to protect Jerusalem. And God will send a strong message to the world.
I will make my. Holy name known among my people, Israel, and I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I am the Lord, and I am the Holy One in Israel. That's verse 7 of Ezekiel 39. I think it's worth looking at, and we do need to be studying God's Word. Dr.
Richard Schmidt last week encouraged us to be in the Word. Every pastor that you would talk to, including Rick and I, would tell you, you've got to be studying the Word. There certainly is. These are exciting times, and that's why I'm happy to be able to be here and be on this program with you as we share it with our listeners. Rick, thanks so much for doing the program today.
And there's so much more that we need to keep our eyes on. Folks, with everything that we've seen today, we can't help but say that the rapture of the church cannot be that far away. Could even be in the next moment. Let's keep looking up. I'm Del.
Thank you so much for joining us today. This is Jay Johnson, inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today. Prophecy Today is a listener-supported production of Shofar Communications in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Yeah.
