Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy De Young Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, you were in Israel. You came home and now you're in the land of Turkey.
Tell us all about it.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I am in Turkey, and we're here with a group. We're visiting the seven churches of Revelation. I'm going to be going to Ephesus and Smyrna today, and then continuing on tomorrow in the remaining time here, visiting all the churches in the order in which they appear in the book of Revelation. After this, we're going to head to Rome.
But here in Turkey, they call it the land of the Bible, Jimmy.
So many things that took place in the scripture, especially in the New Testament, took place here in Turkey.
So it's a good time of study and a good time to rehearse what took place in the Bible in the places where it actually happened.
Well, we'll certainly keep you in our prayers in the group there as you travel throughout the land of the Bible. We've got a great program today: Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, Dr. Richard Schmidt, a pastor, former sheriff of Milwaukee County, will be on the program today talking about issues concerning the body of Christ, Dr. Jimmy DeYoungen Legacy Series, all coming up right here. Let's get ready, Rick.
We've got a lot to cover, so let's get started with our first, Ken Timmerman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have our expert in geopolitical affairs, Ken Timmerman, with us. He's an author and an analyst. His latest book, The Iran House, Tales of Revolution, Persecution, War, and Intrigue, is especially relevant considering what's going on in the world right now. Ken, thanks for taking the time to be with us today.
It's always a pleasure to be with you, Rick. Thanks for having me.
Well, a lot to get updated on this week, Ken. We'll start with the situation in Iran. And it looks like for now things are on hold. That's the way President Trump sees it. How do you see it?
Well, Rick, you know, we have all become Trump whisperers. We're all trying to figure out what the president is going to do. We listen to what he says, and then we look at what he does and what he has done in the past. We look for patterns in his behavior.
So he meets with Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, this week at the White House, and the meeting is off camera. Normally, Trump has these meetings on camera, especially if he wants to nudge his foreign partner in some way publicly.
Well, he didn't want to nudge Bibi, nor did he want to be nudged by him. He wanted to have a frank, off-the-record discussion without the press. Trump later said what he certainly told Bibi Netanyahu, which is that he prefers negotiations with Iran. But if the Iranians don't negotiate in good faith, well, then they will see what the sharp end of the U.S. spear is.
actually looks like. Rick, here's the bottom line. The Iranians do not want to negotiate away their nuclear weapons program. They say it every day. They mean it.
They're very serious. They've given up hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, in oil revenues that are placed under sanctions, in order to maintain a nuclear weapons program. They allowed themselves to be bombed to smithereens in June, at least some of their nuclear facilities to be obliterated in June. They are willing to pay a very, very high price. The Iranian leadership, the Islamic Republic leadership, is looking forward to war with the United States.
They think that by dying, or at least some of their citizenry dying, they win. Remember, they had no hesitation to murder probably thirty thousand of their own citizens just a couple of weeks ago. They have no hesitation to condemn more of them to death at the wrong ended American bombs either.
Okay, and very interesting, the situation that is going on in the Middle East right now. I am here in Turkey, and Erdogan is one of those characters, and this is one of those countries that is maybe fine with Iran being in the situation they're in, especially because they receive all the negative attention. And even though these other countries have issues of their own, Iran gets all the negative attention. Is that something that you see here also in the Middle East?
Well, Turkey and Qatar, their main ally in supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, in supporting Hamas, in opposing Israel, in opposing the United States, they could lose big, actually, if the United States moves on Iran militarily. It would expose their jihad supporting policies, their jihad exporting policies. It would leave them kind of hanging out to dry, if you wish. Remember, Trump has tried to be friendly, very friendly, to both Qatar and Turkey, but a strike on Iran could leave the two of them exposed. What I find intriguing, Rick, is that we're seeing a shakeout, if you wish, of really who's who in the Middle East, who is on our side and who isn't.
Netanyahu just joined the Board of Peace while he was in Washington. Turkey has not yet committed to whether they're going to join the Gaza peace meetings that are going to take place next week. Erdogan Doesn't look like he's going to come. He might send an underling, but he doesn't look like he's going to come himself. Instead, you have the only leader in the region who's providing strategic clarity.
It's Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates. He is decidedly pro-Western. He's pro-Israel. He's anti-jihad. And he's a founding member of the Abraham Accords and wants to expand his commercial relations with the Jewish state.
So you have such a tremendous contrast between Turkey and some of its nearby neighbors. I think that will become more accentuated should the U.S. attack Iran, as I think President Trump is increasingly becoming likely to do. Just as a quick aside, you talked about Turkey not accepting that invitation to attend the Gaza summit. You have mentioned in the past on this program that you don't think Turkey and Israel should probably believe that Turkey shouldn't be anywhere near that situation.
Do you agree? Yeah, I certainly agree. The Israelis don't want the Turks in there, especially not Turkish troops, who they believe will simply allow Hamas to hide their weapons to fight another day. And Turkey is not on the side of peace here. Turkey is on the side of the jihadis.
Everybody knows it now. It's really very hard for them to hide. And I just hope that Erdogan is completely sidelined from that process. Even in the European Union, Rick, the EU, they are starting to blast Turkey for their behavior recently, in particular the expulsion of foreign Christians, missionaries and activists, and also their crackdown on journalists. They adopted a resolution on Thursday condemning Turkey for those behaviors.
So when the EU starts to get involved condemning Turkey, which is a European Union wannabe, then you know the Turks are really outliers.
Well, that is certainly true, Ken.
Well let's continue to talk about the EU then. They had a meeting this week. The leaders there saying that they need to create what they're calling Fortress Europe, Europe taking responsible more for their defense. Can you talk about this meeting and what it signifies? You know, Rick, when the going gets tough, the EU leaders get going.
And here they get going to a nice fancy castle where they can hide behind fortified walls and eight-course dinners and champagne and caviar and all the rest. This week, they went to a place in Belgium called Aldenbiesen in Flanders, a beautiful castle that no press were allowed to visit, at least not openly during the meetings.
So, unlike Davos recently, this is where the Euros go for their leadership club without the outsiders who came to Davos. They've done it many, many times in the past. They do it when they're in trouble. Their ostensible purpose was to try to forge a fortress Europe, a European unity against the United States. They could stand up to the United States.
I don't think they're going to be very successful at this. They never have been. You had a former Italian prime minister. Minister Enrico Letta saying that this particular retreat would show whether, quote, Europe can turn around and become truly united, fully mature, and independent. I'm not going to hold my breath on that one, Rick.
I think I might pass out.
Well, and it also highlights a fact that they are saying they want to become less dependent on President Trump and the United States. Ironically, that's also what President Trump wants, isn't it? He does not want to be responsible for Europe, or at least he wants them to pay their fair share. And that's one of the reasons why we pulled back in Ukraine. President Trump considers Ukraine to be mainly a European problem.
The Europeans have not upheld their promises.
Now, we didn't either, made to Ukraine starting in 1992. But, you know, this is a war on European soil, in the European heartland. And it's the Europeans who've been trying to suck us into a war with Russia. President Trump does not want a war with Russia. He does not see any need for a war with Russia, any provocation by the Russians of the United States into a war.
He sees this mainly as a European problem. You know, Rick, I think we're going back in many ways to the 19th century where you had these middle-ranked powers all vying amongst themselves for power on the European heartland. Russia is again important. France is again important. Germany is again important.
Poland and Hungary are once again important. That's what we're seeing. We're seeing a change in the strategic landscape, and the United States, under President. President Trump, and I think future leaders as well, wants to disengage a little bit. We don't want to get sucked into a European war that they started and that they can't finish.
Ken Timmerman for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, you keep us updated on what is going on around the world, whether it be in Europe or the Middle East or wherever. We appreciate what you do. Thanks so much. Look forward to talking to you again soon.
Thanks so much for having me, Rick. God bless. Great job, as always, Ken. And I'm reminded of the prophet Daniel. When I hear the talk about the European Union, remember the prophecy that the Lord gave Daniel in a vision.
This is 50 years after Daniel is carried into the city of Babylon. and the Gentile world. And he says and let me remind you, this is apocalyptic literature. And apocalyptic literature, the author uses symbols to convey an absolute truth. That being said, When you look at Daniel chapter 7, the lion with the eagle's wings is relating to the Babylonian Empire in verse 4.
the bear with three ribs in its mouth, verse five, is the Medo Persian Empire, and verse six the leopard with four wings and four heads, is the Grecian Empire. The awesome beast in verse seven is the Roman Empire. And notice the ten horns of this awesome beast in verse seven and verse eight, the little horn that comes out of the ten horns. The ten horns represents the revived Roman Empire. The little horn represents and is one of the names, 27 names for the Antichrist.
But as we look at everything that's taken place, we know that the ultimate fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy will be in the future after the rapture of the church. But we've got to take a break. And when we come back, David Dolan with our Middle East news update right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. Last week, one question led to the abrupt end of a meeting between the U.S.
and Lebanon in Washington, D.C. Is the militant group Hezbollah a terrorist organization? Lebanon's army chief reportedly said no, not in the context of Lebanon. This stands in stark contrast, though, with over two decades of U.S. policy towards Hezbollah.
Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says the general statement has sparked contention in Lebanon. Because some people, of course, from Hezbollah area are just praising this general for his stand, but all the others are just saying that he's bringing the ruin of Lebanon because of that. The issue comes down to Lebanon's yet incomplete pledge to disarm Hezbollah.
Now, U.S. support may be in question. Nuna says the uncertainties are crippling many in Lebanon. Pray for hope in Christ to go. Guard people against fear.
And a new U.S. federal initiative aims to combat the national addiction crisis. Launched in January, it's called the White House Great American Recovery Initiative. Brandon Bauer from the Lighthouse says. But anytime the government's focused on addiction, I think it's a really good thing because our community members, our family members, our loved ones are struggling.
Bauer says addiction goes beyond alcohol or drugs. It's anything that takes precedence over Jesus, including pornography, food, codependence. That's central to their approach and recovery stories. We are just proclaiming the gospel to everyone who walks in these doors. The Lighthouse has 28 beds for people seeking freedom from addiction and a deeper walk with their Savior.
Pray for their ministry and the resources needed to provide strong care. Pray the new federal initiative mobilizes help across the country. 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.
Look for links at missionnews.org on this great week. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio, the program that looks at current events in the light of Bible prophecy.
Well, my name is Richt Young, and I'm in Turkey right now hosting a tour visiting the seven churches of Revelation. But I've got Dave Dolan on the line, and Dave Dolan typically gives us a Middle East news update focusing on what is going on in the Middle East in general, but Israel in particular. Dave, thanks for being with us today. Blessed to be with you, but it'd be fun to be in Turkey too. It certainly is, David.
Well, you typically start off with an update. What's the latest? What's happened this week?
Well, Rick, of course, the main news was the Prime Minister's visit to the White House, which I'll talk about in a second. But it was announced during the week by the White House that the Board of Peace. that now includes over twenty heads of state from around the world, including Netanyahu, will be coming to Washington on february nineteenth for the first official meeting of that board. Others will be added later, it's said, to it. The President will there announce the details of the reconstruction plan, the multi-billion dollar plan that's being developed.
He'll reveal the details of the military force that is expected to come from several countries. And it was announced earlier in the week, Rick, that Indonesia is definitely sending forces to this international peacekeeping force that has been approved by the UN in advance. And the Israelis are fairly happy with that. They like the Asians. They know the ties even better.
But even though they're Muslims, they're comfortable with that, unlike Turkey or Qatar, as we talked about before. And it was fairly quiet during the week in the Gaza Strip and in the north, although there were some more actions. Everyone was following the Prime Minister's surprise visit to the White House on Wednesday. He was supposed to go later in the month. as I said for this Board of Peace meeting probably and other meetings.
He asked for it to be moved up, Rick, to talk directly with the President about, of course, the situation in Iran, the prospects of war, the nuclear negotiations going on over that. And they met for several hours. It was with their top aides, but without the press involved, no questions or anything like he usually does, the President, after those meetings. But he released a statement, and so did Netanyahu, that it was a good meeting, an honest meeting, an in-depth meeting. And the press reports in Israel afterwards, Rick, indicated that, well, the President said so out loud, but indicated that he focused.
On trying to get a deal with Iran over the nuclear program and stressed. to Vivi that he much prefers a diplomatic solution. Netanyahu apparently responded, of course, we do too. We don't want to see another war. We don't want to see more missiles, but it has to be more broad than just the nuclear program.
We have to discuss their hugely moving forward ballistic missile program. He didn't use those words. I'm using it. They're saying they're now producing hundreds of new ballistic missiles every day, Rick.
So production's been ramped up very, very high. They're trying to get back up to the two thousand number that they had before the June war last June. But the Israelis are afraid they'll just keep going and there'll be no limits.
So they want a limit placed. They want the proxy forces discussed. And he made that Bibi made that clear in their discussions apparently. But again said, we obviously are going to give the President as much time as he needs or wants to try to get some sort of a negotiated agreement. But the President said, these are my terms.
It has to be a complete end to the nuclear program and other things that the Iranian leaders have already stated quite publicly they will not do and they won't discuss the ballistic missiles. They made that clear again during the week.
So very little expectation that there'll be a diplomatic solution to this, Rick. We also had the news during the week that a second U. S. aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships are on the way to the Middle East.
So another indication that we might be seeing, probably will be seeing some sort of military action, but the consensus is it's not right at the moment. It certainly won't be imminently, but it would be probably after this board of peace meeting and after U. S. forces are at their maximum strength in the region.
Well, David, we'll continue to monitor the situation in Iran and President Trump's response, but one thing this visit from Netanyahu highlights, and you've always mentioned to us, the most important ally that Israel has is the United States. And it certainly seems, after looking at these conversations, these talks and what they put out in the news, that the relationship between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump is very strong, isn't it? It is, it definitely is. And the President had right at his side Secretary of State Marco Rubio, all during the talks, a very strong ally of Israel, as you know. Pete Heckseth also there and other top U.S.
officials, and Bibi had his top contingent with him.
So there's a real deep relationship between them, of course. It helps that Beebe is fluent in American English since he went to a school in Massachusetts for a number of years. His father and mother are from there, and they spoke English at home.
So, you know, he can talk at a very deep level with the president and the other officials, and there'll be no mistakes and translation or anything like with other world leaders.
So they are close, and they've both made that clear. And I think it is the case that Israel would like to see the regime gone. There's no question about that. And that Trump would like to see the regime gone. But how big a cost the president is willing to pay, especially in light of the criticism he's still getting over Venezuela and other members of his base saying, hey, you talked about focusing on the U.S., not solving everybody else's problems around the world.
But the polls show amongst his party, the Republican Party wit large, there is is strong support still for Israel and certainly in the Congress of the United States Republican members and many Democratic members still are supportive, of course, others going completely the opposite way on in that party.
Well, David, one other thing that I want to get you to talk about is a large protest in Australia because of the visit of the Israeli President, President Herzog, to that region. And these demonstrations certainly seemed very anti Semitic, anti Jewish. Can you talk about this visit? Burik, yes. And while he was leaving Australia, he was actually rebuked by President Trump on Thursday at a press conference for not pardoning Bibi Netanyahu already.
He said he's innocent and he should be pardoned, et cetera. But yes, it was a four-day visit by the President in solidarity with the Jewish community after the horrendous massacre on Bandi Beach in Sydney during the Hanukkah celebration, Rick. And he was in several cities. And as you said, there were major protests organized in all of them. The last day, he held a large rally in Sydney, 4,000 people.
You could hear the shouts of the protesters outside. Everybody had to go through heavy police security. And he said to the crowd there, He said, tell them to go to the Iranian embassy. Tell them to protest Iran's mass slaughter of thousands of its own citizens in recent weeks and stop harassing us, basically, is what he said. He said it's a shame and a disgrace to have to have so much security for the president of a friendly country visiting members of his own people, as it were, in solidarity, but of course all of Australia as well, after the terrible attack that really affected everybody in the country.
And as you say, I've been there eight times, really, and have spoken in front of the parliament and have spoken as the guest of the Jewish community in Sydney and in Melbourne. And it's not a large community. And Rick, in those days, the protests, I had one at the University of Melbourne.
Some Iranian students actually broke up the meeting for a few minutes and they were escorted out. But mostly it was peaceful. Of course, I'm not. The president of Israel, but now we have so many more Muslims in Australia that have immigrated there since I was there in the 90s and 2000s. And many Jews, frankly, are getting out as they are from England, as they are from France, as they are from all these other countries and the United States.
As anti-Semitism completely gets out. Out of hand, it seems. But again, it's mostly being led by very left-wing and Muslim groups who have united together around the world, it seems. to oppose Israel and to demand its destruction. Of course anti Semitism in general, just a sign of the end times, a sign that Satan is looking to dis defeat God's plans.
To do that, he defeats the Jewish people. We know that's not going to happen, but it is certainly present in the world today, isn't it? It is, Rick, but it's another good moment to remember the phrase, Am Ishael Hai, the people of Israel live. Herzog, he's one of the better presidents Israel's ever had. He's a moderate man, a very well.
Red man to treat him like that is just disgusting, and really it is a sign of the end, though.
So, in that sense, We can be glad that, as the Bible said, it would be in the end days, so it is. Dave Dolan for Prophecy Today. Dave, as always, we appreciate your insight. Look forward to talking to you next week. And you as well, Rick.
God bless. Great job as always, David.
Well, we've got to take a break, and when we come back, Dr. Richard Schmidt talking about issues concerning the body of Christ. That's all ahead right here on Prophecy Today Weekend. An unchanging framework. This is Ken Ham, CEO of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and Arc Encounter.
Uh Yes, wait. We've been looking at why we should be thankful God didn't use evolution.
Well here's number five. With God's Word, we have an unchanging framework through which we can interpret the world. The evolutionary worldview changes constantly as new evidence is found and interpreted in ways that overturn previous ideas. Evolution is built on shifting sand. But God's Word provides an unchanging framework we can use to interpret the evidence.
Though the models we build based on scripture change, the fact of a recent creation and global flood doesn't change. We have a firm foundation on which to base our thinking. Want to learn more about the history and genesis and how to interpret the world through that lens? Visit us at AnswersRadio.com. 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. And Rick is in Turkey right now with his group. And another friend of mine is heading over to Israel tomorrow, but I thought it would be good to get him on because, as America's pastor, that's what I affectionately refer to, Dr. Richard Schmidt. He's a great friend, former sheriff of Milwaukee County, has a church in Union Grove, Wisconsin.
Great ministry that he has. And, Dr. Schmidt, welcome to the program.
Well, thanks so much for having me. Yes, sir. And I just wanted to kind of Talk to you and have a conversation because sometimes we get, you know, we are and we examine current events, we're watching events in the Middle East. You have a prophecy program that you do. Every Wednesday night.
And I do want you to tell our folks how. They can watch that because they can watch it live in a live stream. But I know that we and I want to have a conversation with you today about some things that are concerning the body of Christ. But first, let's talk about tell me first of all about your Your program that you do where you teach Bible prophecy to your church, and how can our folks get that? All right, well, I appreciate that.
Program is called Prophecy Focus Global Update. We usually start right at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings. And you can go to Union Grove Baptist Church on Facebook and do Facebook Live. We also put it on sermonaudio.com.
So again, if you go to Union Grove Baptist Church and just scroll through, we have hundreds of messages, but that program is on every week. YouTube is also, it's on there.
So pretty much any social media outlets you can pick it up on. Yes. And, you know, we play a lot of your, I play those on our Prophecy Today radio network, which people, if you go to our website, you can hear that and see those messages, plus some of Pastor Schmidt's Sunday messages and great messages for the body of Christ, along with other great teachers like Chuck Swindahl and Dr. J. Vernon McGee and gentlemen like that.
But so tomorrow, you leave for Israel. Tell us about that trip real quick.
Well, it's uh going to be a twelve day trip. Actually, we're going with uh a group called Faith Baptist Bible College out of Ankeny, Iowa. A wonderful school. And actually, uh, we're tagging along. We're going to be in Greece for three days and uh Israel for about ten days.
So Looking forward to it. And we'll pray for your safe journeys during that time. And I know you're looking forward to it. No, no safer place in my mind for us to be is in the will of the Lord, but also in the Holy Land. And I always tell people that if I can get you through New York City or Atlanta or wherever, through you're going to be safe once you get to the Holy Land.
Well, let's talk about some things, Dr. Schmidt, that are concerning to the body of Christ. And I know something that's been on your mind lately is the situation. And some people don't get a pastor's perspective from it, but not only do I get a pastor's perspective, a former lawman perspective on it, but the situation that took place in Minnesota with the protesters coming into the church there in Minneapolis.
Well, this is one of the most horrific things that has happened in our country from a constitutional aspect, from a Christian. Liberty and freedom perspective. It's a small incident, but yet it has major repercussions from what took place.
So, just as a recap, if people aren't familiar with it, in St. Paul, Minnesota, there was a Southern Baptist church, and the pastor, one of the pastors at the church, is also part of Immigration Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.
Well, somehow, some folks that didn't appreciate ICE, some protesters got hold of that information.
So, this group of, and again, the numbers I've seen are between 20 and 40 protesters. push themselves into this church. They start disrupting the church, shutting down the service, literally scaring the people half to death because they didn't know what was taking place. And they start yelling out basically that ICE needs to be stopped and that This particular pastor, who is also employed by ICE, that he needs to step down based on a conflict of interest.
So, the issue being, from a constitutional standpoint and from a legal standpoint, the issue is: do protesters have the right to walk into a church, disrupt it, stop a service? And basically cause people to be scared and intimidated and so forth.
Well, the First Amendment of the Constitution, first of all, gives us the right of freedom of religion, and it also has the concept of freedom of press.
Well, does that mean that the individual, and again, I hesitate to use his name, but his name is really out there now, Don Lemon, a former broadcaster with CNN. He came in and claims that he was coming in as a journalist and with the protest group.
So this ended up going to the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi actually indicted eleven different people now for. coming into this church. The thing is, a pastor that I need to remind people of is a church is not public property, a church is private property.
Now, some people may meet in a public place, but if you own If you have a specific church, that church belongs to the members or whoever on the board or however that's put together.
So, when they broke into the Southern Baptist Church, if you will, they were coming onto private property, and not only that, they were disrupting a church service.
So, there's two federal statutes that were implemented by Pambondi, basically, where the individuals were charged with criminal activity. And it's really interesting. I find this interesting. One of the two statutes that they're using, one is called the FACE, F-A-C-E Act, and that actually was put in place to stop Christians, for the most part, of going into abortion clinics.
Well, now it's kind of a complete turn of events where the Christians are now being protected by this FACE Act. And the other statute basically is just a normal federal statute, which protects, if you will, our freedom to assemble without harassment.
So, again, from a pastor's perspective, this is a horrible, horrible thing that took place from a constitutional standpoint. There was no violence, which is fortunate. But we've just got to stand firm, and God's people, pastors, in my opinion, need to stand very firm on this. I've told our people last point here. If this would happen at our church, which it's unlikely because we're a church out in the country, but first thing that people should do is get on their cell phones.
Everybody's got one. Dial 911, get the police there. Don't try and get violent. Just stand down, sit down, let law enforcement come and do their thing.
Well, that's good advice, and I think that's great.
So, one of the questions that I've seen on social media. And pastors are taking a stand on ICE.
So in a short amount of time, and I've got a lot of couple other subjects to c to cover with you. What would you say should be our position as believers as we see ICE agents?
Okay.
So it's I mean, it's difficult because you've got A couple of incidents, of course, that happened in Minnesota. Two people were shot and killed by ICE officers.
So obviously, people are up. Literally at arms about that situation. They didn't like some of the people. Of course, there's controversy on it, but they didn't like the particular acts of the law enforcement. And I'm not going to get into that.
I'll let the judicial system determine what was right or wrong. But the bottom line is, there's a very, very strong opinion, liberal versus conservative, that ICE is. Disrupting families, they're taking people out of their homes, and the conservative view is that ICE is. Literally taking out people that are illegal, which, of course, is another word the liberals don't like to hear undocumented, they prefer. But here's the issue.
When over the last, not this past year, but the four years before that, when millions of terrorists have come into our country, we don't know who many of them are. We know they're not citizens of our country. And we know there's been crime associated with these individuals. ICE's job is to take those who are of the criminal element and get them out of our country and send them back to where they came from.
So if ICE is doing the job that they are Literally employed to do. It's a safety factor for all of us. It protects the American citizen. It takes potential terrorists and rapists and murderers and other criminals and gets them out of here.
So on its face, it's a wonderful federal organization. But unfortunately, due to some of the tactics that ICE has used, of course, they've gotten themselves in a little bit of hot water.
So the bottom line is, from a conservative law enforcement standpoint, from a rule of law standpoint, ICE is there to do a job that is going to protect American citizens. And again, having been in law enforcement for three decades. Do sometimes law enforcement do things or use tactics that may not be the best? The answer is yes.
So the concept is they've got to be trained well. They need to be well protected, if you will, to do the right thing at the right time. And then again, to avoid those things which are going to cause public disruption. I know you know this off the top of your head. What should, you know, according to scripture, what scripture do we have that backs up that the government is there to protect us?
Oh, that's a great question. Genesis chapter 9 and verse 6. is the verse that um in fact your dad is probably the one that Taught me this years and years ago, Genesis 9:6. Basically, after the universal flood took place. When they got off the ark, God made it very clear that if you take man's blood, that by man's blood you should be taken.
In other words, human government was put in place to protect God's people.
So again, I know there's also controversy on Genesis 9, 6 in today's world regarding capital punishment, but the bottom line is government was instituted by God to protect God's people. And therefore, if government is doing the right thing in the right way, it is to the benefit of the citizens of any country. And that's something we support strongly. And I think, you know, we've always talked about the three criteria for how to vote when you vote. One, how they stand on the sanctity of life, how a politician who is running for office stands on the sanctity of life.
The sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and then also how a person stands on Israel. And I think that's a key aspect, and that the government is there to protect and provide for us. And thanks. Yeah, beginning all the way back in the book of Genesis.
So let's talk about another incident and things that seem to be happening more and more frequent now, Pastor Schmidt. And I'm changing you from your law enforcement role and government and how you know that. As a pastor, we're seeing more and more people. Pastors having to step down out of the pulpit, not only pastors, but many people on their staff. for various reasons, and mostly for sexual misconduct.
What's happening with the church in our world today?
Well, unfortunately, immorality, sexual promiscuity, lewd and lascivious behavior has been an unfortunate mainstay in since the earl earliest times of biblical history. And what we're seeing is, and I mean, you can go right back to the book of Corinth or of Corinthians. And even in the church, there was much immorality that was taking place. And the epistles make it very clear, and specifically to those in pastoral leadership, as well as deacons and so forth, and all of God's people, that immorality is to be avoided at all costs. And what are we seeing?
Well, we're seeing our society, unfortunately. The promiscuity, the internet issues, the pornography that's running rampant, the shows that are on constant TV, the things that are said in songs and modern-day music. It's, I mean, immorality is just going off the charts once again. I'm actually working on a project going back to Corinth, basically. Unfortunate move towards the Christian church to go back to, if you will, immorality.
So it is a problem. I see it in our church. I'm seeing it in many other churches: pastors, Christian leaders, deacons. Sunday school teachers, adultery, and fornication is, and unfortunately, it's becoming rampant again.
So it's very unfortunate. I know we've seen some high-profile individuals recently step down after they've been found out having long affairs, but it's wrong. And again, God's people need to stand up. They need to read Romans chapter 1. They need to read the Pauline epistles and get back to the stance that God made it very clear.
And this is very unpopular, what I'm going to say right now, but there is no place in the Bible for sex outside of marriage, period. And that is a big, giant period. That is not popular. The people are going to push back, they're going to rebel against it, but there is no place in the Bible whatsoever that allows for sex outside of a married couple.
So, one man, one woman, that's been God's design ever since Genesis, which you had brought up earlier in the show. But that's pretty much it. We got to get back to biblical morality, a biblical worldview, or we're just going to keep going down this horrible rabbit pit.
So, as we talk about current events in the light of God's prophetic word, and you've written a book on AI, so you have that down. And I know that there are many things that we could talk about AI and how it pertains to the world. But also, you know. We now have Gen Zers, which are really stepping into the role of a lot of us older generation that are coming to the end of our years. We're still involved in ministry.
You're still preaching. I'm still teaching and traveling. We're doing stuff. We still have our ministries. But the next generation that's coming up, which would be Gen Zers, there's a whole different Mindset With these folks, and they're being inundated, for instance, with, you know, like you said, TV.
Um They're not. Their attention span is short. They don't study God's word. They don't. Spend a lot of time, and if it lasts longer than a minute, then they're moving on to the next thing.
So, we almost have to give like these happy meals to people. If you're a pastor and you want to feed today's generation, you got to give them a quick happy meal, or else they're moving on. And how do you deal with that?
Well, again, and I kind of like the way you said that. It's like we look at a happy meal. It's a quick thing. It's instantaneous. And that is our culture today.
And unfortunately, what we're seeing with artificial intelligence is that literally many schools, many homeschoolers are now getting away from the classroom. And instead of being instructed by a human, everything is getting digitized or being part of the, if you will, the artificial intelligence system.
So how do we gain the attention of young people?
Well, I'm going to be straightforward. It's getting harder and harder and harder to do that.
So, what is it that's going to attract young people and teenagers and even young adults I'm finding this issue with that are so inundated by the television and the Internet and by the artificial intelligence sources that they use that Getting them to sit down in a Sunday school class or a church service and listen and even stay off their phones while they're in those classes is getting To be extremely challenging.
So it really is. We're in a cultural war right now. Uh again, AI is It's been around a long time, but it's really just recently in the last year to become a major, major force. And now, the Christian church, we really, we're going to have to as pastors and Christian leaders, how are we going to get back? The minds of the young people, especially, when they're not used to, and quite frankly, the churches aren't used to dealing with this mindset.
So getting the Gen Z mindset, we've got to get like these quick little videos out, five, ten minute YouTube videos using the various forms of social media to try and attract them. And then just have to pray it through. And it's like, okay, can we get them to church? Can we get them to sit through a one-hour service without them going crazy without their digitized things?
So it's a new culture. It's something we definitely have to figure out how to advance the gospel in this new digitized world. There's a news statistic that's out. Gen Zers identifying as Catholic jumped. Uh 15%, 21% in one year.
They're searching for truth. They want order. They want ritual. They want stability. That seems to be like they're done with the being entertained aspect of what a lot of our mega churches do.
And it just seems like you know they're going back to much more of a liturgical. Um Setting, and that's what they want to be a part of. And we're seeing, we're almost kind of losing that battle. With this age group, because a lot of megachurches try to become relevant. And if we don't, if we're not relevant, people won't come to our churches.
But a lot of the young people now are shifting. Those that do want to go to church. Are not going to our strong biblically based foundational churches. They're going and they're chasing after something that. Is totally anti-God, correct?
Yeah, so that's an interesting thing because we were looking at two different major issues that we're trying to overcome. The one is those that are into the digitized world and trying to reach them. And now this other issue, which actually at our deacon board in the last week, We have several young deacons on the board, and they're like, you know, our generation, and I'm speaking, those in their 20s and early 30s. They're like, listen, we want to get back to, if you will, more solid. And they even use more of the term of an old-fashioned way of doing business, which really some of the older guys were actually different, and the younger guys were like, you know, we want to get back to more formalized things.
So there is that issue. I think one of the major issues, again, and we've seen that recently with Turning Point. When We're pushing the concept of getting young people, young adults back into church. The good concept is: yes, get back into what is being named as a good Bible-believing church. The problem is, the young people, the young adults, if they haven't grown up in a literal Christian environment where they know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they're looking at, okay, well, I'm thinking a denominational church, maybe the Catholic Church or others that are major denominations, that must be what we should be looking for.
So I think a lot of this cultural Christianity, a lot of the large groups that have big influence over young people, They're pushing the concept of going to a Bible-believing church, but unfortunately, unless. People understand that the gospel, basically about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and receiving Jesus as their Savior, they're more looking for, well, maybe it's the formalistic thing or the liturgy or going to, if you will, a Catholic-type church in order to get that relationship with God.
So there's, again, to close out the idea, the main issue is cultural Christianity versus a biblical Christianity with a biblical worldview. And I think that's where true Christians need to up the game a little bit and do a better job in. On getting the word to people of what is true biblical Christianity.
Well, that's a great point to end on. And as we come to a close in this. How, as a pastor and understanding all these things, and you understand them very well, as most pastors do, and what would be your message to the body of Christ, parents, young people that are listening, looking for the way, you know, what would be your message to them? All right. The simplistic message is The greatest advertising for the Lord is word of mouth.
In other words, if you're a Christian, you know Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. God will use 80% of people that show up at church come because they've been invited by someone else.
So if the Christians would be active, if they'd invite them to church, another thing I highly encourage people to do, don't just invite them to church, say, Hey, I'd love to take you out for a meal afterwards, or come over to my home for coffee and start a relationship with people. Talk to their children, talk to the teens, talk to the young adults and the senior citizens, and say, Hey, you know, we'd just love you to come and share the gospel with them if they feel comfortable doing that. But at least get them to church, build a relationship with people. That is the best thing God's people can do. Yes, and that's a great challenge to our folks today as they're listening.
Pastor Schmidt, on the horizon, and we've talked about it. We're a month and a few days into 2026. Prophetically, there's a new movie coming out. It's called Apocalypse Revealed. I don't know if you've heard about it.
Talking about the prophecies in the book of Revelation as they were given to John. What should we be careful? Because I do know that deception is. Very prominent in these last days in which we're living. How can we combat that?
Well, the simplest thing is the Word of God tells us to study, to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen or workwomen that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, 2 Timothy 2:15.
So, again, you need to be in, and again, we're going to use that cultural word. You need to be in a good Bible-believing church that honestly preaches salvation by faith in Christ alone, that believes that the Bible is the literal word of God, and then to read the word of God, not allegorize and spiritualize it, but take it in its historical, contextual, grammatical, and literal form, which is called dispensational hermeneutics, which is a big word. But if you don't understand that, if you're not getting taught from that perspective, in all likelihood, you're getting error. Yes, you're getting there. Exactly.
Hey, have a great trip. And we'll call you when you're in Israel because I want to get your point of view of what's taking place over there. And we're praying for you. And again, you can go to sermonaudio.com, look up Dr. Richard Schmidt, and you'll find all of his teachings on the website there.
Dr. Schmidt, thank you so much today for sharing with us, for taking the time before you leave to help us address some things that are concerning to the body of Christ.
Well, thank you so much for having me. God bless. The great thing about the Word of God is that it is for everyone. Dr. Schmidt said, Hey, get in the word.
We all need to get in the word so that we can understand the times in which we're living. We're going to take a break, and when we come back, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung in the Legacy Series right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy D.
Young Jr., along with my brother Rick. We examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. Rick, this week you're in Turkey.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I am in Turkey, and we're here with a group. We're visiting the seven churches of Revelation. I'm going to be going to Ephesus and Smyrna today, and then continuing on tomorrow in the remaining time here, visiting all the churches in the order in which they appear in the book of Revelation. After this, we're going to head to Rome.
But here in Turkey, they call it the land of the Bible, Jimmy.
So many things that took place in the scripture, especially in the New Testament, took place here in Turkey.
So it's a good time of study and a good time to rehearse what took place in the Bible in the places where it actually happened.
We would love for you to go with us to the land of the Bible. We have many trips. Go to prophecytoday. com. You'll find out more about our trips to Israel.
Well, this week on our study of God's Word we'll see how the Lord saved the lives of eight people during the world wide flood forty five hundred years ago. It's a flood that was a judgment on humankind for fornication with evil angels, having sexual relations with human women. This was Satan's subtle strategy For keeping a Messiah from coming to the earth. Please take your Bibles and let's go to Genesis chapter 6. Dr.
Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series. Let's see what the word says. Chapter 6. Verse 1.
And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them. That the sons of God, let me define that phrase, sons of God. It's defined over in the book of Job, chapter 38, verse 7, as an angel. It's defined in Job chapters 1 and 2 as angels. The Son of God here is an angel, not the Son of Seth.
The Son of God. An angel. To be consistent with your hermeneutic, okay? That the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that's flesh women. That they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose, given unto marriage.
That's what Jesus said, Matthew 24, Luke 17. Let's go over here to verse 4. There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, and were of old men of renown. Satan's malicious contamination was that he would contaminate the bloodline.
So a pure Virgin woman could not bring forth a Messiah. And so he sent his angels to have sexual relationship with women. If you've read the book of Genesis chapter 18, Jesus Christ appears to Abraham in a pre-incarnate appearance, spends time with him. There's a couple of angels with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ goes back to heaven.
Those two angels go over to Sodom. When they walk into Sodom, as they walk into Sodom, out comes Lot and say, hey, you men, come here with me. Come to my house. I want to wash your feet. That's a Middle East tradition.
Come here, come into my home. I'll wash your feet, and my wife will fix us a delicious meal. Those were angels, and the text called them men. angels in the forms of men. Those were two men.
Who came? Went into the house of Lot, had their feet washed, had a meal, and those Sodomites in Sodom came and said, Hey, can those two men come out? We want to deal with them. Sexually. Those were men.
In angels in the forms of men. who ate food who appropriated a capability of being honored by their feet being washed. Don't you remember what Jesus Christ said to the lady who had seven husbands? And one of the disciples said, Well, which one's going to be our husband in heaven? And Jesus said to Her and the disciples.
There's not going to be a relationship between husband and wife in heaven. They'll be like the angels in heaven. Yeah, I remember that statement. But what does that have to do with what I'm talking about? He's talking about in heaven.
I'm talking about on earth. You don't use that text to prove that a man and a woman can't have a sexual relationship on earth, do you? Just in heaven.
So why say the angels can't have a sexual relationship? on earth.
So don't use that text.
Well, God put him in prison. 200 million of them in prison for having sex with women. Where do you get that from? 2 Peter chapter 2. Go back to 2 Peter.
2 Peter 2.4. For God spared not the angels that sin, but cast them into hell, the abyss, the bottomless pit, the Tatorus, which is the Greek here, the Totorus. And he delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. And he spared not the old world, but saved Noah and the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness. In connection, he's taking these evil angels, putting them in the Tertorus.
The lowest part of hell. The abyss, I believe, someplace in outer space, and I'll show that to you in just a moment. You say What are you talking about? I thought angels were out. They're not bounded.
Well, there are evil angels out. I'm not talking about that. Evil angels are attacking all the time. We better be aware of that. Remember, in the times of Jesus Christ, what was most of his ministry?
Casting out demons. Much of his ministry, you know what a demon is? An evil angel who takes up habitation in a human body. That's a demon! And so he was dealing with that.
Those are evil angels. But these are a group of 200 million evil angels that were put aside, waiting for that day of judgment to come. Go to the book of Jude, the book just before the book of Revelation. The book of Jude, look at verse 6 with me. And the angels, which kept not their first estate, that was around the throne of God.
likely in the Garden of Eden, but left their own habitation, that would have been the heavenlies, he hath reserved in everlasting chains unto darkness, unto the judgment of that great day. Notice verse 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, in like manner. In like manner to what?
Well, how they acted in Sodom and Gomorrah is exactly what the evil angels did, in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh and setting forth an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Okay.
If this didn't happen in Genesis 6, tell me when evil angels had fornication. as a part of their activities. Fornication, we call fornication today. When a couple, man and a woman who are not married, have a sexual relationship. We call adultery when married people, maybe not with their same mate, their mate, but they with another person's mate, have a sexual relationship.
God calls it fornication. And fornication is any sexual activity that God forbids.
Now when did angels do that? In Genesis chapter 6. And God said, I'm going to wipe out. One billion of you. Everybody.
except eight souls. Are going to be left on the earth. Everybody else. will be wiped out.
So the reason for the flood, evil angelic activity. Satan's Malicious contamination. Go back to chapter 6. I want to show you one more thing. Look at the ark, starting here in verse 14 of chapter 6.
Make thee an ark of gopher wood, rooms that shall thou make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of. The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, that's 450 feet. The breadth of it shall be 50 cubits, that's 75 feet. And the height of it shall be 30 cubits, that's 45 feet.
That's how large the ark was. 57,000 square feet. 1.5 million cubic feet. the size of 20 basketball courts. The size of 337 boxcars on a train.
I think you can put a couple of animals in there. How about two of each kind?
Well, let's see, let's talk about the animals. Go here. And let's see what it says about the animals, starting in verse 19. And every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort, shall thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee. And they shall be male and female, of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing on the earth after his kind.
Now that phrase, after his kind, is very interesting. They did not have 37 varieties of dogs. They had two dogs, a male and a female. And you go with two dogs, you know, you can... Interact and get all kinds of Heinz 57 dogs are the best dogs anyway, so two of every sort shall come.
Unto thee to keep them alive. They're going to come in the ark.
Now, notice what's going to happen, verse 21. And thou shalt take them enough food to feed them and yourself. It says, And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it unto thee, and it shall be food for thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he. And so he gathers up food.
Now he didn't have to gather up a lot of food. He had to gather up food. By the way, the time, as you study chapter 7 and chapter 8, put all the numbers together, 377 days, one year and 12 days. It's how long they would be in the ark. And so he got enough food in there to feed his family.
377 days, and he got enough food in there to feed the animals. About two days.
Well, how do you know that? Why would they not eat for the next 375 days?
Well, let me tell you why. They had a delicious meal. He fed them as much as they could take. They pigged out, not to use a pun, they pigged out. with all they could eat.
And then they went to sleep. And they hibernated. for that more than a year. How do you know that, man? I read the eighth chapter.
All those that were going in two by two, came out when the door opened after everything was dry two by two. If they hadn't have gone in there, had a delicious meal, and gone to sleep, when that door to the ark opened up, 10,000 rabbits would have come out. You have to read in between the lines of course, but read it. You see what was going on. Read it.
It's dynamite. It was a worldwide flood. Have you got chapter 7? Go here to verse twenty. Start in 19.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and all the high hills that were before the whole heaven. Under the whole heaven, you get that? Under the whole heaven, all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 15 cubits, that's 22 and a half feet. 15 cubits upward did the water prevail and the mountains were covered.
Every high hill, the highest hill on the earth, whatever it was at that time, and I don't believe there were a lot of high hills, but whatever the highest hill was at that time, the water was 22 and a half feet above it. It was a worldwide flood. That's the flood, the reality of the flood, the reason for the flood, angelic sexual activity. With women. Let me show you the retribution from the flood.
Go to the book of Revelation. Let me remind you over here, this first microphone stand represents the rapture of the church. Jesus shouts, the archangel shouts, trumpet God sounds, and we're out of here to be with Him. The rapture of the next activity to take place. And then, after that, is going to be a seven-year period of time.
Seven years of terrible Holocaust. Holocaust on the face of the earth. Half of the Earth's population, 3.5 billion people, are going to be killed, plus many, many more will come to death. The Bible talks about in the book of Zechariah, chapter 13 and verse 8. Two out of every three Jews will be killed.
Listen, the worst Holocaust yet to take place on the earth happened 65 years ago in World War II, when Adolf Hitler killed six million people, six Jewish million people. Because he was trying to set up a kingdom, false doctrine leading to that. By the way, that was one-third of the Earth's Jewish population at that time. In World War II, there were 18 million Jews. He killed 6 million of them, that left 12 million.
We have today approximately 12.5 million Jews. The earth. The next Holocaust will kill two out of every three. That's eight million plus Jews yet to be killed. And it's all a result and what happens from that flood activity.
The retribution from the flood. Evil angels. playing a cab roll to kill Jewish people. Uh The judgment of the flood was because of evil angels committing fornication. God did preserve eight people, Noah and his family, in order for the Messiah to be born to a young Jewish girl.
However, those evil angels will be kept in prison until released upon the earth to kill the Jewish people. The worst holocaust yet to come and as recorded in Revelation chapters nine and twelve.
Next week, we'll see how God will keep these evil angels from annihilating all the Jewish people on the earth. This is a very important study that you do not want to miss. Dr. Jimmy D. Young and the Legacy Series.
Well, we've got to take a break, and when we come back, Rick and I are going to talk about the importance of having a biblical worldview. Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News. The death toll from Iran's protest crackdown is officially over 7,000 people, according to a U.S.-based human rights agency, but the real number may be much higher. Denise Godwin with International Media Ministry says for their Persian expatriate film crew, the loss is personal.
Speaking to one of the actors and key members of her crew, she said, you know, there's nobody who doesn't know someone that's been killed. IMM will soon release a Persian-language dramatization of Esther from the Bible, a story of faith under a destructive regime. It's pretty parallel to the situation going on in Iran. I mean, now there's way more than one person risking their life. They're just done with abuse, and they need hope.
Pray Iranians receive the hope and comfort of Christ. Finally, a handheld solar-powered MP3 player is opening doors for the gospel in a former Hindu kingdom. Greg Yoder with Keys for Kids explains why church planters request the storyteller. In Nepal, reading is not on the top of the agenda, it's listening. They're oral learners.
And so, with the Keys for Kids storytellers, they can have God's word speaking to them every day, all day if they want to. Entire families hear the gospel as children and adults often listen together. Local pastors see these storytellers as a game changer, but demand has quickly outpaced supply. For $20,000, we're going to distribute 1,000 Keys for Kids storytellers to people who desperately need it in crazy places like the Himalayan mountains, where you can't even get by car. Want to help?
You can find your place in the story at missionnews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries, where listeners are supported by people just like you. You enable us to keep the stories of God's kingdom coming. Look for links at missionnews.org on Miss Grammy. 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. Rick, I started off the program today with talking about a biblical worldview and how it is so very important to have a biblical worldview. A biblical worldview is one's total conception of the world from a biblical standpoint. It's a Christian's basic belief system about the meaning of life, the nature of God, the source of truth, and other foundational concepts.
Yet many Christians' world view is not biblically consistent. They may approach some issues from a biblical viewpoint, but not every issue, Rick.
Well, there are many possible reasons why some Christians fail to have a consistent biblical worldview. I think, number one, they lack knowledge of what the Bible says. They do not know the Word of God. If someone doesn't know what the Bible says about the sanctity of human life, for example, it will be difficult for him or her to form a biblical view on the subject. For the uninformed, education is the key.
It is, Jimmy. And again, I mean, this program, Prophecy Today, as we look at things, we are not necessarily just a current events program or not totally a Bible prophecy, but we are about studying Scripture, studying the Word to see what it has to say. Another reason, Jimmy, that people fail to have a consistent biblical worldview is that they reject what the Bible says on certain issues. I heard of a study recently, Jimmy, where people were asked if they believe what the Bible says. Only 4% of people did, Jimmy.
And if you look further, Jimmy, and people who are saying they are Christians, it's not that much better. And if you are a professed Christian and you do not believe what the Bible says, it'll be impossible for you to have an authentic biblical worldview. For those who are contrary, repentance is the key. There's only one way to the Father. Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
There's no way to the Father except through me, God. Mm-hmm.
So loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You know, when you look at this, Rick, some other reasons, they are more concerned with what the world thinks of them than what God thinks. Fear of man will prove to be a snare. Proverbs 29:25, the fear of man lays a snare, but whosoever trusts in the Lord is safe. A believer who views the The world, from a biblical standpoint, recognizes that he is not of the world.
Jesus said, If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. as it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of this world. That is why the world hates you. John fifteen, nine. When a believer starts making compromises with the world's ways of thinking, He loses focus on God's perspective.
For those who are fearful, Courage is the key. I love that, Jimmy. And if you remember what Sharam Hadian said when he talked about boldly sharing, that's something courage, bold commitment to share. And I mean, another thing he said is loving other people enough in order to be willing to share.
Well, another reason that people fail to have a consistent worldview, Jimmy, is that they are lukewarm in their commitment to Christ. We talk about Revelation a lot. Revelation 3, the church of Laodicea, they are neither hot nor cold, unwilling to take a stand for Christ. For the lukewarm, commitment is the key. Yes, and Rick, you and I have talked about this a lot on this program.
We encourage people, we're trying to edify the body of Christ, educating them, because we have an understanding of Bible prophecy and what God's word. says is going to take place in the end times. And we might not be one hundred percent correct, and you might not those people out there might not agree with us, but at least we are trying to get people to be Understanding of the times in which we're living and to live a pure, productive, holy life in this unholy world. And commitment is the only way that you can do that. Another reason Christians don't have a consistent biblical worldview is they are influenced by the lies of this world.
From the time of Adam and Eve, Satan has used his ability to deceive and confuse. That took place in Genesis chapter three with the fall of man. And it has been going throughout history until Jesus Christ comes back to this earth and establishes a theocratic kingdom on this earth when sin will be no more. A powerful tool in Satan's arsenal is the idea that the Bible is a book of myths. that it is full of errors and not to be trusted.
Satan's wish to convince people that the Bible is no longer relevant, Rick. Its laws and principles are obsolete. Many in the church have been influenced by such thinking. And according to what Heath said, when wokeism comes into the church, many are deceived. And I do think that today we need to be praying.
For discernment, discernment is the key, discourse. To have a biblical worldview. It is, Jimmy. It makes me think of what Dad used to say when he was preaching. He would say, Listen, if you disagree with me, come to me with your Bible in hand.
He said, Don't come with your experience, don't come with stories that you have. Don't tell me about a book that you read that says this. Come to me with your Bible in hand. And I believe that rigorous test. Taking everything back to scripture is the key to discernment.
Well, another reason, Jimmy, that people fail to have a consistent biblical worldview is that they are swayed by their circumstances and doubt God's promises. Understandable, Jimmy, we all sometimes face doubts. In Matthew 14, when Peter stepped out of the boat there on the Sea of Galilee to walk on the water, he was demonstrating a biblical worldview. But what happened, Jimmy, when he focused on the storm-tossed sea around him and took his eyes off Jesus, his worldview shifted. Maybe the waves were more powerful than Jesus.
He was doubting, Jimmy. For the doubting, faith is the key. Faith is the key in understanding and completely trusting and believing in what the Lord says. To have a consistent biblical worldview. We must go back to the Bible and take hold of the promises of God, Rick.
The promises that God has made to us. And that the world offers us nothing. Luke chapter nine, John twelve, Matthew six, all of these are chapters that bring this Biblical truth to life. Rick. We've tried today to help our listeners to have a world view.
A biblical world view is very important, and a prophetic biblical worldview is the most important view that you can have in understanding why the world is acting as it is. Rick, thanks so much for doing the hard work today, and I look forward to us continuing to edify and educate the body of Christ. Folks, today, as I always close out the program, Rick and I firmly believe. that the rapture of the church could happen at any moment. Let's keep looking up.
Until. Thank you so much for joining us today. This is Jay Johnson inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today.
