Welcome to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr. Along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. We use God's Word and the understanding of how we look at prophetic events to help us to understand what is taking place in the world and why the world is acting as it is. Have you ever wondered what other ministries think about prophetic events and what they focus on?
Well, Dr. Richard Schmidt has a ministry, Prophecy Focus. And in his ministry, he focuses on certain events like we do. As a matter of fact, today on the program, he's going to give us the top 10. That he focuses on that will help us and help you to understand God's prophetic word.
Again, that is our role to help educate and edify the body of Christ. Ken Timmerman, David Dolan, and Inamar Marcus from palwatch.org. Itamar watches what the Palestinians are saying to the rest of the world and to their people. And it's not always the same thing. On today's program, we'll focus on these events and others.
Rick, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get started with our first. Ken Terriman.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Ken Timmerman with us. He is our frequent guest contributor on geopolitics. He's an author and analyst. You can find out more about him by going to his website at kentimmerman dot com.
Ken, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me on, Rick. It's always a pleasure.
Well, Ken, I know we find you in your traditional home in the south of France there, and you've been working in the olive groves today, haven't you? Uh I have indeed. Uh lots of brush to cut and damage from the bore over the winter.
Well, don't work too hard, but we appreciate you taking a break to be with us. And let's start with the situation in Iran.
Now the leader Khomeini is saying that the US and Israel have been dealt a decisive blow.
Some mixed signals coming out of the Trump administration about how exactly these negotiations are going. Could you give us the latest? You know, Rick, the Iranians, the Revolutionary Guard, they're a little bit like the boar in my garden. You know, they can't read the signs to stay out, insist on tearing everything up. They live in a different universe, these Iranians, than we do.
You would think after having lost most of their conventional military, most of their missile force, all of their Air Force, their Navy, the rest of it, you would think that would be a bit humbling. But you would think wrong. Not if you're the Islamic Republic of Iran.
So both Mushtaba, who issues decrees from some hidey hole, probably in Mashhad, is what most people think. He never appears in public. He's convinced that if he does, the CIA will be able to interpret his background and find him.
So he issued this statement. He said that the US and Israel had been hit decisive blows by Iran. Notably, he put this out on Thursday, which is June 4th, the anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's death in 1988. Usually, his successor would actually deliver a speech, but Moshtaba did not follow in his father's footsteps, and he had a statement read by somebody else. Ken, if these negotiations fail, do you believe renewed military strikes against Iran are essentially inevitable?
Absolutely. And the president has been really bending over backwards. I said this last week. He has shown incredible patience.
Now he's telling the Iranians he has sent them the final memorandum of understanding, the MOU, and he wants them to sign it with him or. Perhaps J.D. Vance next week in Geneva. I really doubt this is going to happen, Rick. We had Mohsen Razai, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who is now the military advisor to the Ayatollah.
He said, Well, not so sure about this agreement. It looks pretty ambiguous to me. The Americans have not committed to do the things that we want them to do.
Well, of course not. They want us to leave the Middle East, but especially they want us to leave the Persian Gulf. They want us to turn over the Strait of Hormuz to the Iranians, and those things are not going to happen.
So I really doubt this agreement is going to come off, but who Who knows?
Well, Ken, given what you know about Iran, it is certainly possible that it's going to take more military activity to curb their nuclear ambition, isn't it?
Well, I happen to believe that it will be necessary. President Trump likes to say that there has been regime change because. The top two tiers of leadership have been eliminated, have been killed.
So now you have the third level. But that's just not true because that third level has been around since the early 1980s. The strongman today, Wahidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, has been a top revolutionary commander for over 25 years. He was the head of the Quds force before Qasem Suleimani, and he was involved in helping the al-Qaeda terrorists train for the 9-11 attack.
So, this guy, he does not represent regime change. And I just suspect, Rick, the way I look at it, the Iranians are going to do what they always do when they sign a deal. They cheat on it. And they will cheat sooner or they will cheat later, but they will not respect the deal. And at some point, I think President Trump is just going to draw the line and say enough is enough.
Well Ken, let's move on from the Middle East and let's talk about the Russia Ukraine crisis. President Zelensky has publicly called for a face-to-face meeting. Is this an opportunity for peace or a diplomatic maneuver?
Well, I think the Russians are genuinely tired of the war. They've been suffering extraordinary casualties. Putin went on Al Jazeera on Thursday and said that he thought that Russia pretty much accomplished most of its war aims, which is the first time we've heard him say that.
So that shows that Putin himself may be inching towards an agreement. Zelensky wrote him a letter on Thursday asking for a meeting between the two. Putin blew that off. The letter was a little bit disrespectful, as you could imagine. Zelensky taunted him.
He said, half of your 26 years in power, you've been at war. And certainly war fatigue does set in at some point. Putin said, I'm not sure we need a meeting, not now. Let the experts work out the deal first, and then we sign. I think they are creeping closer to a negotiated settlement, but again, this could take some more time.
If this war ended right now, who would be the winner, Ken?
Well, you know, it's in a funny way, both of them, the Russians solidified their territorial gains in Ukraine, while the Ukrainians have shown that they are strong and they did not collapse face with the might of the Russian army. And the Ukrainians have also shown they have been capable of building up a military-industrial complex in record time. It's a bit like what we did during World War II, the Arsenal of Democracy.
Well, the Ukrainians have been doing the same thing. They're now making millions and millions of drones every year. Before the war, they were making none. As we continue our look around the world, let's move to Turkey and let's talk about what certainly seems like Turkey is making moves, putting them in this adversarial position with Israel. We know about President Erdogan and what his desires are.
Can you talk a little bit about this? Erdogan put out a presidential decree about two and a half weeks ago on May 21st, changing the rules for mobilization of both the military and civilians. And there's a lot of speculation around this. The new regulation introduces a doctrine of, quote, total national defense, placing virtual state control over all sectors of society. The obligations, for example, extend to individuals.
Reservists not only have to report within 48 hours of a mobilization effort, but even civilians who own vehicles may be required to surrender those vehicles to the military in as little as six hours.
So, this is a pretty sweeping mobilization preparation, if you wish. The question is, what is Erdogan going to do with it? There are two flashpoints right now. One is northern Cyprus, where they have been holding military exercises and Turkey has been reinforcing their positions there in Northern Cyprus, which, by the way, they claim as an independent country. And the other one is Syria, where they could come head-to-head with the Israelis at some point.
You know, Erdogan has had his eyes on attacking Israel for years. In 2010, during the Mavi Maveri, the Gaza flotilla, remember, that was organized by Turkey, by a so-called NGO that was run by Erdogan's wife. He has been wanting to go head to head with the Israelis for years. This new mobilization order, I think, is perhaps a step in that direction. Very interesting development there in Turkey.
We're going to have to keep an eye on that for the future. But before I let you go today, I want to go on to my last subject, and that is NATO. President Trump is agreed to attend the NATO summit. That's very significant, isn't it? And it's significant that that summit will be in Turkey.
So we'll have to see whether Erdogan puts those cards on the table because, after all, he is a NATO ally. And if he attacks Israel, he's going to be in a lot of trouble with the other allies in NATO. Look, President Trump has been talking about right-sizing U.S. forces in Europe. He's been talking about kind of weaning the Europeans away from the U.S.
umbrella. This effort is being led by Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby. He is well known as somebody who, before the Iran War, was opposed to wars in the Middle East. He thinks that we should be pivoting to the Far East and China.
So he is in charge of, if you wish, of moving our assets around, of resizing our forces in Europe. The commander of European command is Air Force General Alexis Rinkiewicz. He said this week that President Trump, Secretary Hakeseth, and others, quote, have Been clear that this needs to change and it will change. The potential reality of simultaneous conflict in multiple theaters demands that we resize our forces.
So they had a meeting this week at the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers Europe, that SHAPE, in Mons, Belgium. That's the beginning. I think we will see the final results of this in July in that Ankara summit. One other note on this, Rick. The Germans have been asking for us to sell them tomahawk missiles, and Trump has turned them down.
I saw that and I said, wow, why would the Germans want tomahawk missiles? Are they going to attack Russia? They're certainly not going to attack Iran with them. I think the President was right. That is a tremendously powerful weapon.
And also, we don't have an awful lot of them. There's no reason to give them to the Germans. They could provoke Russia to a fight and then call on the United States to bail them out. Ken Timmerman reporting for Prophecy Today. Ken, as always, you provide insight, and you've taken a break this week from battling the boars there in your Olive Tree Grove to help us understand this.
Thanks so much. Go get some rest now, and we'll talk to you again next week. 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. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News.
Recent Iranian strikes on a Kuwait airport injured over 60 people and killed one as the ceasefire grows increasingly fragile. Plus, Edwin Abnus with Heartfire Iran says reports about Iran's political leadership are difficult to verify. Iran International reported that Iranian President Pezesh Kian has sent his resignation to Mustafa Khamenei, the supreme leader. But there is no way to verify this. It seems like there is an anonymous source.
Sharing this information with Iran International, and we do not know who this source is. After that, a few Western media outlets also picked it up and repeated it. But as of now, no one has been able to independently verify it. Yet as the Internet slowly returns to Iran, believers are sharing gospel hope with Iranians. Continue to pray for Christ's peace.
And finally, Uganda is experiencing an active outbreak of Ebola. As of early June, there are at least 15 confirmed cases and one reported death. Brian Dennett with AMG International says life remains largely unchanged for now. Still, the outbreak highlights the importance of the ministry's medical outreach. We have a nursing college with a capacity of about 400 nursing students.
Students receive both professional and vocational training. We are training up medical professionals who are also called as medical missionaries.
So they're learning not just to heal physical bodies, but also to heal people's souls. As AMG International celebrates 30 years in Uganda, pray for its ministry. Pray too for wisdom as officials work to contain the Ebola outbreak. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. This month, Keys for Kids is offering free devotionals for kids and teens.
Each story applies to the truth of God's Word in ways that are understandable for your young person. Get yours free when you click on the banner ad at missionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Ah. Welcome back to Prophecy Today Radio.
This is Rick DeYoung and I'm joined by journalist Dave Dolan for our Middle East News Update. Dave, thanks for being with us today. As I've recognized a blessing. There's certainly a lot going on in the Middle East as we look at the war in Iran and the negotiations there focused on Israel and their relationship with Lebanon in the north. This is all something that you can help us to understand.
Give us the latest.
Well, Rick, tomorrow's Sunday will be the hundredth day of this war that began on february twenty eighth. Of course, originally, the President Trump had said it would be four to six weeks. It's now three months and counting. And of course, most of that Wartime has been a ceasefire. Two of the three months have been a ceasefire.
That continues to be officially in place, but again this week we had a lot of kinetic activity. In particular, the US shooting at an empty Iranian oil tanker that was trying to evade the blockade. And then Iran responding very, very powerfully with a missile attack on the airport in Kuwait that left one person dead and many others wounded. Enric, they tried to hit the US air base in Qatar They also tried to hit the naval base in Bahrain. and they struck nearby.
So it was very big responses. And there was a lot of rhetoric from the Iranian leadership and they're winning and they want twenty four billion of war reparations Frozen money, basically Iranian money in different places, released immediately, half immediately, and the rest within a month or so. And of course, the President announces very frequently that a deal is. Imminent or soon that talks are going well. The Iranian government said this week they're not talking at all.
it's not clear what's going on, but the main action, of course, Rick was in Lebanon, where heavy fighting continued all week. And that was after President Trump surprised many by announcing Monday evening That he had spoken to Hezbollah, which, of course, is a US-designated terror group. And no president or American leader has ever spoken to any of their officials.
Well, it turned out later it wasn't exactly Hezbollah, it was the speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. Who's a Shiite Muslim, and he's allied somewhat with Hezbollah, but he has his own. Force called the Amal Militia or the Amal Force, which is Arabic for hope. It's been around for decades. They were fighting when I worked in Lebanon in the early 80s.
They were already around and very active. They're also especially powerful in the south. He has good relations with them, but he isn't Hezwallah. He doesn't represent them. And of course, on Thursday, two days later, the leader of Hezbollah, Naim Kassam, formally said, No, we reject this ceasefire.
There's no part that we have in it. We demand that Israeli forces immediately be withdrawn from all Lebanese territory, and we won't give up our weapons. We won't go give up our fight until that happens.
Well, the accord that was signed between the Israeli government and Lebanon, it wasn't exactly an accord, but a preliminary agreement. Said that the Lebanese army will again try to disarm Hezbollah, and if they do, then Israel will pull out completely and will cease all operations. What the President announced Monday night was that Israel would immediately, he said, quote, turn back its troops. From uh that were heading towards Beirut.
Well, there were no Israeli ground forces heading towards South Beirut, which is, as I said, a Shiite stronghold. That is a kill zone, heavily built up. Area, there's no reason to go in on the ground, but they were going to do some airstrikes. And the Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that in advance, which was heavily criticized by many even of his own party, but certainly the opposition in Israel. And so those were called up at President Trump's insistence, basically.
And then Netanyahu issued a text that said, no, we're ready to go back at any moment. And we didn't say we wouldn't ever strike Beirut. Just for now, we will hold back on this.
Well, that angered the President, and another phone call followed that included some very harsh language. And the President confirmed on Wednesday that he had said that the Prime Minister is crazy Pretty negative comments. And the main problem with that in Israel, Rick, is that they feel this as further emboldened Hezbollah. And just proving that there's no ceasefire, we had an Israeli soldier killed on Thursday, still over a million people out of their homes in Lebanon, about half a million out of their homes in northern Israel. Life is nowhere normal, and we still have rocket exchanges, et cetera, and that threat at any moment.
that Iran will rebomb Israel, will that the full war will restart and Israeli pilots will be not only operating in the northern area, but up in Iran again.
Well, David, the world is focussed on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Could you give us a little background on the situation there?
Well, as I've shared before, Rick, Hezbollah was formed in nineteen eighty two. I was in Lebanon at the time as a reporter, so covering that story. It was formed by Iran. Iranian agents were from the very beginning. the creators of that Shiite force.
They weren't with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. That's a Sunni Muslim group. This is a Shiite Muslim group.
Now Lebanon is very unique, Rick. It's about a third Shiite Muslims, a third, a little bit more than that, of Maronite and other Christians. and about a third Sunni Muslims.
So it's got three major different religions. Of course, Sunnis and Shiites are both Muslims, but they have very different views. They fought each other over the years, etc. The Shiite Muslims number about 32% of the population, but they mostly live in the south, right along the Israeli border, unfortunately. They've got villages and towns and cities there, Nabatiyah, etc.
You go up the coast into Tyre and Sidon, there's still a lot of Shiites there. But the further north you go, there's almost none until you get to that little suburb of South Beirut, Dahia neighborhood, which is Shiite-dominated. And then they also live in groups up in the northern Beka Valley. The Sunnis live in the central Beka Valley and in Beirut and to the area around there. The Maronite Catholics and the other two large Christian groups, which are the Assyrian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox, and there's some Protestants and a few others, they're mostly in the north, from Beirut north to Tripoli in that area.
So they don't intermix that much. And they made an accord, the government did amongst the three different groups decades ago, a civil accord, in which the President is always a Maronite Catholic by law, The Speaker of the House is always a Shiite Muslim, as is the case now. And the Prime Minister, who has the main power actually, the Presidential role is more symbolic actually. Prime Minister is always a Sunni Muslim.
Well, of course, these groups have fought fierce wars over the decades, and Israel was involved in that, and Syria was involved, and many other people were involved. And of course, Iran came in And basically created this new militia, armed it, funded it. And we found out, Rick, after the IDF went further north of the Latani River in recent months, that they were much more deeply entrenched than we thought. they didn't look like they'd suffered any setbacks in the previous battles that had gone on. We found they had military equipment, Rick, in almost every village and town in the south, And certainly in the cities.
they uncovered two underground cities, basically. They call them tunnels, but they were large areas.
Now these were all staging grounds for the Radwan force, Hezbollah's attack force, That was clearly, and Israel's uncovered the plans during all of this, planning a Gaza style attack upon northern Israel, a Hamas-style attack. They would slaughter Israelis all along the border. They would go into Kiriat Shmona, the biggest city. They would try to get down into Haifa and other coastal cities, etc.
So the Israelis feel, especially since they've uncovered all that, they have to fight until this group is really decimated. And of course, that's what they felt in Iran. And I can tell you that there is a lot of disappointment In Israel, that this ceasefire has gone on for two months with very little sign of any movement, with Iran just increasing its demands and now declaring just because it survived that it is the victor in this war, which emboldens Hezbollah, etc.
So the Israelis are not very happy with the situation right now, but it is what it is. Wars are always very complicated, and we all found out that indeed Iran can not only close the Straits of Hormuz, but basically send the whole world economy everywhere into a tailspin, and they know it. And so this makes ending this conflict very difficult unless it's ended militarily. And President Trump again said on Friday, we have that option, we may have to do that. And the Israelis feel, frankly, Rick, that that's the only way with Iran, the Iranian regime, I should say, not the people, and with not Lebanon, but with the Hezbollah group.
that operates in Lebanon. The only way to halt this. And the President of Lebanon said on Friday, we are tired of Iran's interference here. This is not their country. He said that in so many words.
It's our country, and we don't want them to continue to meddle in our internal affairs. And all the polls show, Rick, That even half the Shites don't support Hezbollah, and none of the Sunnis hardly, and none of the Christians support this group fighting its own independent war from their southern areas and then getting military retribution, of course, from the very powerful, very excellent Israeli Air Force in particular. Dave Dolan reporting for us. Dave, thanks for being with us today. Glad to do it, Rick.
God bless. We've got to take a break, and when we come back, Itamar Marcus and Dr. Richard Schmidt, right here on Prophecy Today weekend. The sanctity of unborn life. This is Ken Ham inviting you to Fearfully and Wonderfully Made at the Creation Museum.
In far too many places, including here in America, it's legal to kill the unborn in the name of women's rights or healthcare. But we need to call it what it is, murder. God's word gives personhood to the unborn. God told the prophet Jeremiah that he was known before he was formed in the womb. And Psalms tell us that God knits us together fearfully and wonderfully made.
Scripture is clear. The unborn are persons. It's also clear that every person is made in God's image. And in Genesis, we read that killing someone made in God's image is murder. Killing the unborn is murder.
We need to uphold the value of every life. Learn more about the sanctity of every human life at answersradio.com and subscribe for daily insights at answersradio.com. Welcome back to Prophecy Today. I'm Jimmy the Young Jr., along with my brother Rick, we're examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. This next half hour is going to be very enlightening.
Itamar Marcus with Palwatch dot org will be here in just a moment. And Doctor Richard Schmidt with his top ten events that he looks at with his ministry as to the most important prophetic events that are taking place right now. But first let's go to Itmar Marcus.
Well, that's right, Jimmy. I have Itemar Markis from Palestinian Media Watch. He's been on the program before, a good friend of ours. You can find out more about him. Go to the website of the organization he works for at palwatch dot org.
Itemar, thanks for being with us today. Thank you for inviting me, Rick.
Well, Itamar, you and your team at Palestinian Media Watch monitor the official Palestinian Authority channels to find out what they are actually saying to their people. One of those stories that is on your website right now is the fact that an official Palestinian Authority religious leader is calling for the extermination of every Jew. Can you talk about this? Yes, the the Palestinian Authority tells its people that Jews or the enemy of humanity, the Jews in danger of humanity. And so much so that they they even blame All the anti-Semitism and massacres and pogroms that Jews have experienced throughout history.
They blame that on the Jews' behavior. Uh, Mahmoud Abbas himself, the head of the Palestinian Authority, its president. Has said a number of times that The Jews didn't suffer these massacres because they were Jews. They suffered because of their social role. And then even went so far as to say Hitler fought against the Jews because he believed they were causing ruin.
So the Jews are responsible for. The non-Jews Hayden. The Jews are endangering humanity. And therefore, Allah's solution, Islam's God's solution, is the extermination of the Jews. And what they've been praying for repeatedly over eight times now on Palestinian Authority television.
Uh count the Jews one by one, kill them one by one. Don't leave even one. Literally, exterminate the Jews. This is a prayer on official Palestinian television. Another story you could find on your website, Itamar, The Palestinian Media Watch, has been documenting instances of blood libels appearing in the Palestinian media.
Can you first of all tell us what a blood libel is and then tell us about these reports?
Well, the blood libels are the libels that are connected to literally blood and killing. Often, sometimes during the Middle Ages, Jews were accused of murdering Christian children to use their blood to make matzah, that's the bread that we eat on Passover. Uh and Tens of thousands or maybe more. Where Jews were murdered because of that accusation. There was another blood libel that we were poisoning the wells.
And the Palestinian Authority today has its own brand of blood libels.
Sometimes they actually repeat those old blood libels. Believe it or not, there was a preacher in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. And he filmed it and he put it on his website. And he said that exactly the same thing. He said that the Jews have this barrel, and the barrel has knives in it, and they put a little infant in it, and then the blood comes out, and then they catch the blood, and then they make matzah.
This was just a few years ago in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the center of Jerusalem.
So these are the blood libels, the libels that are basically calling for people to that are depicting the Jews as bloodthirsty, and therefore you have to go and kill them as an act of self-defense. There's a history of this, but this is also very recent. It was just over the past Jewish holiday of Shevuot. They were saying that the Jewish people were bringing blood stained bread used for religious rituals onto the Temple Mount. Exactly.
This is happening, like you say, just now, just literally two weeks ago. And in the temple that was in Jerusalem on the holiday of the Pentecost, which was the Shebuot, which we just celebrated, There was a grain offering. There was two bread. There was bread that was brought with the new grain. It was celebrating.
It was the spring. It was the harvest of the wheat. And the first bread of the wheat harvest was brought to the temple as a thank you to God for giving the harvest. It obviously had no blood in it. It just had grain in it.
It was just bread. And some Jews decided on that holiday to actually go up and bring some bread. I mean, there was obviously there's no altar, there's no real sacrifice, but just symbolically to bring up some bread made the same way as those sacrifice. And the Palestinian Authority decided to call it bread soaked in blood. And again, it's the idea of it soaked in blood, this evil, evil depiction of Jews.
Was another libel which is unbelievable this week. They said that the Jewish rabbis wrote a book which they called the Tanakh.
Now, the Tanakh. I used that word tanach, tanach is the Hebrew word for Bible. And they said, and in this Bible that they said was written, it says that Jews have to kill Palestinians. It's all intended to make the Palestinians feel justified in killing Jews. Jews believe if Jewish rabbis are teaching their people that the Torah says and the Bible says we have to kill Palestinians, well, of course, they're going to feel justified in going and killing us.
They're going to feel angry. This is the kind of atmosphere that's going on there now. I'll just give you another fascinating example of the way they create hatred of Jews and to justify the killing of Jews. There's a very, very bad outbreak of or problem, I should say, of rats right now in the Gaza Strip. The Western countries, probably to spite Israel, have sent in so much food.
They've sent in, since the ceasefire in Gaza, they've sent in four times the amount of food that people could possibly have eaten.
So that the storehouses are filled with food, and they keep sending more in because they feel like they wanna just despite Israel, they're gonna keep sending food in.
Well, Israel's never prevented food, and now they're sending in too many. And the Gaza Strip has turned into mouse and rat heaven because there's so much food there. They're just going in and they're just multiplying and getting big and getting strong. And then they leave and then they go out and then they're Roaming through the places where the people are.
So, the Palestinian Authority has said, you won't believe this, that these large rats that they see have been genetically engineered. By Israel for the sole purpose of they've been genetically engineered to be gigantic, they're as big as cats. And They specifically are taught to target children and the elderly and the weak. And people with diabetes in addition. And then they go and describe how a woman had her.
Had a rat come and ate off her foot, and she didn't even realize it was eating up her toes until she looked down and saw it was missing. All of this by genetically engineered rats that know how to go after people with diabetes. It is. Unimaginable that people can make up these lies. But when Palestinians hear these over and over and over again, they feel, oh my God, we must kill these Jews, because look what they're doing to us.
They're engineering rats to come and attack us in Gaza. And that's the situation that we have now. And these messages, by the way, of the engineering of rats in Gaza are not coming from Hamas, they're coming from the Palestinian Authority. In Judea and Samaria, to the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, said they should also be angry at Israel for the supposed behavior of the Jews. Itemar, as you talk about monitoring the official Palestinian Authority media, you're talking about the supposedly more moderate political organization, the Palestinian Authority, and not the terrorist organization Hamas.
There is a difference there. Could you maybe give us the history behind this and explain the situation? Hamas rules in Gaza and openly says they want to destroy Israel. Palestinian Authority rules in Judea and Samaria and Lies and says that they recognize Israel's right to exist. And in exchange for that, the Western world gives them.
hundreds, many, many hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Which they use to promote hatred, terror, finance their security forces, which are filled with terror.
So it ends up that the Western governments and the United States somewhat as well are supporting a terror organization called the Palestinian Authority. Idamar Marcus from Palestinian Media Watch. Let me give the website one more time: palwatch.org. Itemar, as always, we appreciate your insight. Thanks so much.
Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thank you very much, Rick.
Well, Inamar Marcus always gives us an update. And I think it's very important that we understand what the Palestinian people are saying. And so that's very, very key. to what's happening and we are very thankful For Palestinian Media Watch.
Well, so this last week I was, as I always go to, I have a few close friends that I go to see what they're doing constantly, and I went to. A prophecy focused global update, which is done by my good friend, who I affectionately call America's pastor, Dr. Richard Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt, welcome to the program.
Well, thanks so much for having me. Yes, and uh so this last week I was looking at your prophecy focus update and uh people could go to your website, prophecyfocus.org. To see and now watch, they can either listen to it or watch it. But they can go there to watch your prophecy-focused global update. And this last week, you gave the top 10 items that we are focusing on, that you are focusing on, and consequently, they coincide with our program as we have been doing our program.
And my father always had the four major trends of Bible prophecy, which was the Aliyah, the return of the Jewish people. We had the anticipation for peace, which is really the arrangement for the Antichrist to come on the scene. And then we had the alignment of nations, those nations that would align against Israel. And then the arrangements for the temple and the preparations to rebuild the third temple. But you have 10 here.
These are issues that are currently shaping international politics, economics, security, technology, and public policy across much of the world.
So let's go through them. Let's start with number 10 and we're going to work our way to number one. But I do think that this is so very important. Number 10, what's number 10 on your list?
Well, as we go through all the news stories that are current, the number 10 one is stated as climate and extreme weather changes. Again, this has been a huge issue. And of course, global warming was a major factor for a bit. And then, of course, the media got off of global warming and they went to climate change. But what's very interesting is these stories, in fact, all 10 that we're going to look at that are in the news today, every single one has a major Prophetic nexus, and quite frankly, is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, as you often state.
So, when you look at climate and extreme weather changes, what's interesting is that because it's a major story around the world, actually, it's actually setting the stage for what's going to be taking place during the tribulation period. And in fact, in Revelation chapter 8, starting at verse 7, it talks about that all the trees are going to be burned up, and all inclusive green grass will be burned up around the world. A third of the sea is stated to become blood, which, of course, is another major issue. And in addition to that, it says a third of the living creatures in the sea will die, and a third of the ships will be destroyed.
So, it's very interesting when we see why these things are ending up in the news today. Once the prophetic fulfillment comes, which will happen during the seven-year tribulation period, people aren't going to be looking and saying, Well, let's take a look and see what God is doing, what the Bible says. They're just going to be accustomed to it, and quite frankly, I think they'll be dismissive of it.
So, that's the number 10 story. And when you look at Revelation 16 and you look at all of these, of course, and we've had Dr. Don De Young on here talking about these, this is a very important item. Number nine.
Well, number nine, a major news story is artificial intelligence is basically majorly affecting the labor markets. Why is that important to us from a prophetic standpoint?
Well, again, one of the huge things the scriptures talk about is that in the last days, perilous, dangerous times, and season will come, according to 2 Timothy 3:1. And you could also look at Revelation chapter 6, the fourth seal judgment, where the economy is literally going to be destroyed when the tribulation hits. People are going to be fighting just to find enough money to, if you will, get enough food for a day's supply of family food. This AI-driven labor issue has become a major news story. People all over the country and actually all over the world are concerned about whether they're going to have jobs, whether they're going to be able to eat.
And this is a major story. And again, when we look at the prophetic nexus, it basically tells us that in those latter days, people literally are going to be killing each other just to try and get enough food to eat. And is this story setting the stage for that? It very well could be.
Well, that's something that you've written a book on. You've done extensive work on it, and I know AI Colonel Bob McGinnis was on here talking about it. It is becoming an issue all over the United States, and the data that they're collecting setting up, certainly, the infrastructure for the Antichrist to use that And I believe really to throughout the tribulation period that's how they will monitor. Those that have not received the mark of the beast. All right, number eight.
Eight right now on the national media in the global stage is inflation and interest rate concerns.
Well, again, you look at this, this is a major issue. Our president, and again, I try to be very supportive of him. But when we take a look at just simple things like the gas prices, the food prices, and even though we'd like to say the economy is booming, in a sense, the American people are, quite frankly, at the pocketbooks, aren't necessarily seeing more money in the bank.
So there are inflation and interest rate concerns that are taking place on a basis, if you will, in our country. And if you look around the world, the inflation rates are somewhere astronomically high.
So, again, how does this fit in from a prophetic nexus?
Well, again, Revelation chapter 6 reminds us. That it talks about the four seal judgment, known as the black horse, the fourth horse of the apocalypse. And he's talking about that a quart of wheat will basically cost a day's wage, or three quarts of barley, which is used to feed one animal, will take a day's wage.
So, again, things are happening which are setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, and inflation and interest rates are definitely one of those issues. Yes, and that's a topic that our good friend R. C. Murrell has covered many times, and so that is definitely in our top ten list. Number seven.
Number seven is we're looking at China and the Taiwan tensions.
Now, to be specific, the reason this is hitting our list is mainly not because of Taiwan, but because of the relationship they're having and the issues they're having with China. China, of course, is a major player in the global picture right now. And what's even more interesting, of course, is you brought up many times in your program, is China in Revelation chapter 16, specifically verses 12 to 16. The Bible talks about that China, which is part of the kings of the East, are going to rear up at the end of the seven-year tribulation. And they indeed will be coming towards Israel to fight there.
And the Bible, actually, the only time the word Armageddon is used is in that passage, Revelation 16:16, which refers to the kings of the East that, of course, will be coming to the East. To Armageddon to try and defeat Israel, which of course will not happen. But China, again, is a major player, a major player in the prophetic picture.
So, of course, them being in the news certainly gets our attention as. Those that are interested in Bible prophecy. Yes. And, you know, I support the president and watch him every day. And, you know, just his trips to China.
And Bible prophecy is beginning to unfold. And of course, we understand that the rapture is the next event to happen on God's calendar. But when we see all these other things taking place, we know that we're getting closer to the rapture of the church. I mean, that's what our good friend Meno. Kalashir said last week, this should motivate us to be very prepared and pure and productive in these last days.
Number six.
Well, number six, we're looking at the NATO security and nuclear deployment. When you look at all the countries that are involved in NATO, when you look at all the nuclear issues, again, these are things that are in the news constantly, and it certainly is setting the stage for what's to come in Bible prophecy. Many folks are very familiar with Matthew chapter 24, the Alabama Discourse. And Jesus made it very clear that during the tribulation time, he said you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. He talked about nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
So when we look at not only, as we just discussed, China, when we look at the Iran issues, when we look at the Middle East, when we look at all the other major things that are taking place from a security and potentially a nuclear development, Development issue. NATO and what they're doing certainly comes to our minds: as is this also, which I believe it is, setting the stage for the fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse, and it certainly is pointing in that direction. Yes, and NATO is in the European region of the world, and we realize what the revived Roman Empire or the European Union, which is at least the infrastructure for the revived Roman Empire, what role that plays in the next world government that's going to come along after the rapture of the church. Number five. Number five, which is a major thing in the news right now, is the United States-Iran negotiations.
Again, boy, you folks have stressed that on prophecy today with so many different news clips that you've gone through and speakers that you've had. Iran, of course, is part of the Ezekiel 38-39 coalition of anti-Israeli nations that either, as some say, maybe right at the beginning of the tribulation or maybe at the beginning part of the tribulation, when the Gog-Magog war fires up, Iran, which is basically known as Persia in Ezekiel 38, they will be a major player coming up against Israel as part of that anti-Israeli coalition.
So, this is taking place as we speak, and it's just amazing that these prophecies that are spoken about, we're seeing the beginning stages that are going to set the stage. For Iran to basically come against Israel when we get to that Gogmak war in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Yes, and you see all the major players that are involved in that alignment of nations with Iran. It would be Russia, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, the king out of the north, Syria, the king out of the south, Egypt, and of course the nations of Psalm 83, I believe, which would be those nations that are involved in the Abraham Accords.
So, yes, that's a very important one to keep our eyes on. Number four. Number four, we're looking at global energy and oil price surging, which is definitely in the news. And definitely when I filled up my tank today at $4 a gallon, which is what's happening in Wisconsin, and it's much higher in some other places. These things are really, really coming to light now.
Why does that matter to us?
Well, again, Revelation chapter 6 talks about tremendous inflation that's going to take place once the tribulation hits. In Revelation 13, when we're talking about global energy and the global oil price surge, Revelation 13 reminds us that one day there is going to be a one world government, a one world economy, and a one world religion. And we're seeing, I mean, this really is the global issue when it comes to oil right now is just strikingly showing how important. Important the global issue is going to become, and how one day, when the Antichrist takes over, that the entire spectrum of the economy is going to be run by that Antichrist, according to Revelation chapter 13. Yes, and you know, sometimes when we're in Israel, and you've been there with me a couple of times, you've been there many a time, but we take people down to the Dead Sea, and the Israeli national oil company, INOC, has been drilling for oil there, and it is really pulling that deep stick oil that they call from the Saudi Arabia and that those nations that use oil to give them power in the world.
So, really, this could be that spoil that's talked about in Ezekiel: that the world comes to take a spoil of that and that oil that's potentially there at the Dead Sea. Number three, AI appears again. On the list, it does, and what's interesting when we're looking at artificial intelligence, the massive investment and infrastructure that's being built, this has got a lot of people in our country as well as around the world are concerned about how it's being used and where it's going to go. And I strongly believe, and you already hinted at this in Revelation chapter 13: one day the Bible makes it clear that there's going to be an image made to the beast or to the Antichrist, and it's going to be able to determine every single person whether they're worshiping the Antichrist or not. And the beast, I believe this is definitely setting the stage from the artificial intelligence world.
It's able to track people, it's able to do facial recognition, body recognition. China has two camera, one camera, for every two people, and they know what people are doing. And it appears right now that AI is definitely setting the stage for. For these Bible prophecies to be filled, and how the Antichrist will control the world again with his one world government, one world religion, and one world economy. Number two.
Number two, Russia Ukraine war. And again, the interesting thing is Russia. And this goes right back to what when you recited the various parties that are part of the anti Israeli group Russia being that Magog in the King James Version definitely points out Magog in Ezekiel thirty eight.
So again, Russia is a major player, and they are definitely going to be a huge player when it comes to the future in the Gog Magog war. Yes, and I've seen that Vladimir Zelensky has asked and requested an audience with Putin.
So we'll see where that all goes in the days ahead. Number one. Number one story basically that's being touted in the media is the Israeli, Iran, Lebanon issues that are taking place. And of course, again, we go right back to Ezekiel 38, where Persia certainly is the name, the Old Testament name, used for Iran. Why is this important?
Well, as we've been watching the news and Hezbollah, which is coming out of Lebanon, still attacking Israel, the alleged peace treaties and ceasefires that are taking place, I watch every single day. There's still missiles going back and forth between Hezbollah, which is in Lebanon, and Israel. And of course, Iran is making it very clear that they're supporting. Lebanon, and if there's going to be a ceasefire, Israel must stop firing at Lebanon.
So, again, the key thing is these different countries, which are talked about in prophecy, every single major story, we just went through the top 10 stories, every single one is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. Dr. Richard Schmidt. He's a pastor at Union Grove Baptist Church. He's a former sheriff of Milwaukee County and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He's in the know. He's very much aware. His connections go all the way to the White House. Let's just put it that way. But, Dr.
Schmidt, I've asked you to stick around just for a second. When we come back after the Legacy Series, I'd like you to give us the latest information that you're giving to your church, those that you minister to on a weekly basis, not just on TV, but those that sit in the pew. What words are you giving to them, charge, in these days in which we're living? And we hope to have you. Would you come back with us for a look at the book?
Absolutely. Folks, we're going to take a break, and when we come back after the legacy series, Dr. Richard Schmidt will be giving us his charge on how we can survive in these last days. Right here on Prophecy Today weekend. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy D. Young Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we examine current events in the light of God's prophetic word. We have a DVD that we would like to offer. It's called Ready to Rebuild, Revisited. It's the revisiting of our very first video, Ready to Rebuild, 20 years later, looking at what's been done to rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem by the Jewish people, the Temple Institute, and all those that are interested in the temple being rebuilt.
So, if you would like to get that DVD for a gift of any amount, we will gladly send that to you. Just call our ministry at 423-825-6247 and ask for the special offer and that you have a gift that you would like to give Prophecy Today. And we will give you, in return, for a donation of any amount, we will give you our DVD, Ready to Rebuild, Revisited.
Well, on today's legacy study, we come to a study of the prophetic book of. Daniel, which is actually a timeline for the Gentile people of this world. Also in our study we'll see that Daniel ten gives us the real reason that for studying Bible prophecy. We are going to give you the order to read and study the book of Daniel, and you can't read it from chapters one through twelve. We'll give you that in just a moment.
However, before we give you these helps in studying Daniel, Doctor de Young needs to give you some background of world events at the time the prophecy of Daniel was written. Doctor Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy Series.
Now what was going on just prior to the book of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar, who was the crown prince, his father was the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was given the responsibility of going out to try to defeat the Assyrians. You remember, the Assyrians had defeated and taken into captivity the ten tribes in the north, which was known as Israel. And so, as the crown prince, he led the army of the Babylonians, and he went up and he defeated the Assyrians. The Egyptians had come up this land bridge, which is known as Israel, came up to this location and tried to assist the Assyrians in defeating the Babylonians.
But Nebuchadnezzar prevailed and he defeated not only the Assyrians, he started to push the Egyptians. They were retreating, going back into the Sinai and on back into Egypt and northern Africa. While this was all going on, his father died. And he was the crown prince, means you're the heir appearance, so he was made the king of Babylon. He hears this news, so he starts back up the Via Maris, which is the way of the sea.
That's the travel route he was traveling. He got about to where we know Tel Aviv is today, it wasn't then, and he starts across making the quickest route that he can take over to Babylon. It comes through Jerusalem. and he sees an unbelievably beautiful building. It's the temple that King Solomon had built as a first installment for the Davidic covenant.
That God said, I will let your son build a temple, and then his kingdom will be set up forever.
So he starts across. He comes into Jerusalem. He doesn't understand what's going on in this temple. He sees all these priests. He sees them sacrificing animals.
He says, Man, something's different than I've ever seen. And if I'm going to be the ruler of the world now, because he would then rule the entire known world as king of Babylon, he said, I've got to deal with this situation.
So he took four young men, all from royal families, there in Jerusalem. Daniel. What were their names? No, their names are Ananiah, Hezariah, and Mishael. When they got to Babylon, they were given ungodly names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Anani, Hazariah, Michel, and Daniel. They are taken into the Babylonian captivity, and they are And this then begins chapter one of the book of Daniel. Before I get started, I'm going to go through the entire 12 chapters of the book to give you an overview of the book of Daniel. And let me tell you why. Remember, we talked about there were three members of the human family: Gentiles, Jews, and Christians.
We focused on the Jewish people, but there are three members of the human family: Gentiles, Jews, and Christians. And each of these members of the human family has a timeline for that member of the family. The book of Daniel is a timeline for the Gentiles. It brings into existence what we know in prophetic terms used in the Bible, the times of the Gentiles. You remember in the Elevet Discourse, Luke chapter 21, verse 24, Jesus Christ said, and Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
But this establishes the times of the Gentiles. There would be. Eight. Gentile world powers. Revelation chapter 17 tells us that.
Remember, he says, There have been five.
Now, who were the five? The Egyptian, the Assyrian, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, and the Grecian. There is one now, the sixth, the Roman Empire. That's what was in power when John the Revelator wrote the book. There will be a seventh.
That will be the revived Roman Empire. And then out of the seventh will come the eighth. He will be a part of the seventh. And that's talking about the rule and reign of the Gentile world leader known as the Antichrist. And so it is that this begins basically the times of the Gentiles when Daniel and his buddies are taken into captivity.
And Daniel is a timeline of how that is going to unfold. We'll look at the book of Ezekiel. That's a timeline for the Jewish people. And then we'll look at the book of Revelation, which is a timeline for the Christian people. If you're going to know what God is doing, unlock his plans for the future, you've got to look at the three members of the human family, watch each of these members of the human family, see where they are on the timeline that God gave these ancient Jewish prophets, and then you can make some determination as to what's going to happen in the future.
Now, of course, I'm just not wanting you to know this for that knowledge. I'm wanting you to know it. I want to know it for the purpose of appropriating these truths and then living in light. Of this whole thing. Let me just show you an interesting phrase here in Daniel chapter 10.
What happened in Daniel chapter 10? Daniel wanted to know more about what God was giving him. And in this time, he prayed and actually fasted for a three-week, 21-day period of time. When I believe the heavenly visitor that was sent, Jesus Christ, came to him, he comes and he says a very interesting thing unto Daniel. Look here at verse 12.
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand. To understand what God's going to do, we need to understand. Daniel set the example. We must understand, and God has graciously given us the Word of God to understand the times in which we're living. In fact, back in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 2, Daniel reading the book of Jeremiah was to determine where he was in God's time.
And Daniel, who never had one negative statement made about him, What did he do once he understood where he was? See, Jeremiah, he was reading chapter 25, verse 11, chapter 29, verse 10, where it says, Jerusalem shall be in desolation for a 70-year period of time. Daniel was taken out of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon when he was 15 years old. At that time, he was 85 years old when he was reading Jeremiah for his quiet time. And he was able to subtract, hey, subtract 15 from 85, that's 70.
Man, we are now at that time when everybody's going to be going back to Jerusalem.
So, what did Daniel do? He had the knowledge, he set his heart to understand. But he fell on his knees, he fell on his face, he confessed his sins. Nothing that's ever negative stated about him. Yet Daniel fell upon his knees.
That's what it says here. Jesus said to him, Since you set your heart to understand now notice the second phrase and the second purpose for studying Bible prophecy, to chasten thyself before thy God. I've been teaching prophecy. And as I teach prophecy, I overlap with some of the things I say. I could read every book of the Bible.
For example, now I'm going to be talking about Babylon. The word Babylon is used 292 times in the scriptures. It's used in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Michael in the Old Testament. It's used in Matthew, Acts, 1 Peter, and Revelation in the New Testament.
So, if I'm going to teach the Bible, I'm going to overlap. But may I just say something? I don't see the world changing. If you understand the times in which we're living, there ought to be some change. And that's what Daniel is told by Jesus.
You've set your heart to understand. But then to chasten yourself. That's the whole purpose for studying Bible prophecy. That's the whole purpose. For understanding God's plan for the future.
Not just so you can go away and brag about the knowledge you have. That's not why I want to teach it. I didn't come here to teach that purpose. For studying Bible prophecy. I don't study Bible prophecy myself for that purpose.
I want to stay pure. What did Paul say to Titus? He said, Titus, lay aside ungodliness and worldly lust, Titus chapter 2. Live soberly, godly, and righteously. I can almost hear Titus say to Paul: Paul, how do I lay aside that which is wrong?
How do I live that which is right? Paul answered immediately. Looking. For the blessed hope. And the glorious appearing of our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ.
He that hath, I told you the other day, he that hath this hope within him, purifying himself.
So please forgive me if I am redundant in some of the things, but as you take the scriptures and open them, you see these things over and over. I believe I need to be reminded of them. Possibly you do too, so that we go out in this world and live in light of that. As I travel from church to church, and I don't know your church, I don't know if I've ever been in any of your churches, but as I travel church to church, I don't see. A real understanding of the coming of the Lord.
I don't see it in their service. I see the pastors having services at eight o'clock in the morning. Why in the world do you have a service at 8 o'clock in the morning, Pastor? Oh, my people like to play golf on Sunday afternoon. I am not against golf.
But I don't think you arrange your study of the Word of God so you can go out and play a golf game. I don't believe that is the right priority. Not if we understand Jesus Christ is coming again. And when I see some of the attire, I see some of the attire on women. and their husbands and their fathers allowing them to dress like that.
Folks? I don't see the purity. Like I see in Daniel. Falling upon his face And seeing. I'm sorry.
I confess my sins. I've confessed the sins of my people. That's what Bible prophecy is all about. And so if I can continue to remind you of where it is. Daniel.
Let me tell you about Daniel. Daniel It is a specific plan of God laid out in his book. If you have a piece of paper and a pencil, jot down the way you read through Daniel. You do not read, there's 12 chapters in the book of Daniel, you do not read through them numerically. Chapters 1 through 3.
Chapter 12. That's not the other way you read the book of Daniel. You read the book of Daniel this way. Here are the chapter orders: 1, 2, 3, 4. Seven eight five six.
9, 10, 11, and 12. Did you get that? If you're going to study Daniel, let me give it to you again: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Now, why is that the case? Look over here at chapter 5, just a moment. Chapter 5 of the book of Daniel. Chapter 5 is the record of the destruction of the Babylonian Empire by the Medo-Persian Empire. Look here in verse 30.
In that night was Belshazzar, I believe he was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, who was now the leader of the Babylonian Empire. In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain.
Okay, that's chapter 5. Look at chapter 7, verse 1. In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, chapter 8, verse 1. in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar. I think it's pretty hard to be killed one day and then to start reigning as the king of Babylon days later and for the next three years.
So that's why you read in that order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12. There are a number of chapters in the book of Daniel that are practical, and there are four main chapters that are prophetic. A number of chapters practical, and a number of chapters that are prophetic. As you stop to reflect on our study of Daniel today, please remember that Daniel 10, verse 12, says there are two reasons for studying Bible prophecy. We, as Daniel, must set our hearts to understand the times in which we're living.
And as we understand these times according to the end of time scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy, we must chasten our hearts and determine to live pure lives as we await the shout by Jesus Christ to join Him in the heavens at the Rapture. By the way, the Rapture could happen even to day. Should the rapture not happen to day, next week on the broadcast, we'll study the two sections of Daniel, one very practical and the other prophetic. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and the Legacy Series.
We're going to have to take a break, and when we come back, I promised Dr. Richard Schmidt that he would come back and give you. A charge, a pastoral charge, as to how we should be living and how to survive in these last days. That's all ahead right here on Prophecy Today weekend. I'm Ruth Kramer with Mission Network News.
Israel and Lebanon are still pursuing talks to end the conflict. But yesterday, Hezbollah rejected a U.S.-backed ceasefire framework.
Meanwhile, fighting continues along Lebanon's southern border. For many Lebanese families, it means more confusion and displacement. Nuna with Triumph for Mercy Lebanon says they're helping those displaced.
Somebody called me with 55 families arriving yesterday. These are Christian villages that have to move. They stayed as much as they could in the south to protect their village, to protect their homes. But at the end of the day, they had to move out. The ministry also prays with displaced families and encourages them in Christ.
We pray a lot for those people and that God will find a solution, that God will hasten the time. Join us in praying with them for peace. And back in March, Keys for Kids Ministries needed help raising funds to send 500 storytellers to Albania. Keys for Kids Greg Yoder says, God just blessed, used people to come forward and not only hit the goal, we went past it, which we needed. The Lord had a plan for these storytellers.
First, a short-term missions team from West Michigan went to Albania in May to distribute them. They actually beat the team that was heading there, but customs said, no, now you're going to have to pay a tariff. And it was not cheap. It was in the thousands of dollars. Thankfully, God saw fit to raise more than enough money.
And so we actually had money in the bank to pay the tariff to get them out of customs so that they could be used. More than 30 children have come to Jesus through the storytellers so far. Find your place in the story at missionnews.org. Thanks for listening to Mission Network News, a service of one-way ministries. This month, Keys for Kids is offering free devotionals for kids and teens.
Each story applies to the truth of God's word in ways that are understandable for. Your young person. Get yours free when you click on the banner at admissionnews.org. I'm Ruth Kramer. Welcome back to Prophecy Today.
I'm Jimmy DeYoung Jr., and along with my brother Rick, we've been examining current events in the light of God's prophetic word. And it's our understanding of God's word, how we are able to be prepared to live. In these days, the last days, as both Peter and Paul said that we have been living in, and we've been living in the last days for two thousand years.
So earlier in the program, I'd ask my good friend Dr. Richard Schmidt to come back and to give us a pastor's charge.
So, Pastor Schmidt Dr. Richard Schmidt, welcome back again to the program. All right.
Well, I appreciate you having me. And of course, the most important part of I believe your broadcast is every single thing you do has a biblical nexus, a prophetic nexus. And what you provide for the listening audience is just so critical in these last days.
So, what we're really pressing with our folks at the church, there's three major things that we are pressing. Number one is biblical literacy. And that's again why I so much enjoy prophecy today because you stress biblical literacy. You look at the scriptures, you look at them from the historical, contextual, literal background, which, of course, is what we know as the dispensational hermeneutic in how to properly interpret scripture.
So, again, this is a key thing. If people do not understand how to properly interpret the Bible, there's a problem. Today, about 50% of all Christian churches, I mean, churches that literally believe the Bible is the Word of God, about 50% are now embracing covenant theology, which basically spiritualizes and allegorizes the scriptures instead of taking It literally, like you do on prophecy today.
So, that is a major thing that we do at our church. We constantly are stressing what does the Bible say? What does it mean? What is the context? What is its stake grammatically?
And this is just a key, key issue.
So, I very much encourage our folks, as I do anyone that's willing to listen, is when we study the scriptures, as 2 Timothy 2:15 directs us, we need to study the Bible in its historical, contextual, grammatical, and literal form. Second major thing that we are pushing with our folks, which I think is very strong in many Christian churches, but to be quite frank, many are not doing this piece, which is evangelism. The most important thing, Luke chapter 19, verse 10, Jesus made it very clear that he came to seek and to save. Those who are lost, so not only do we need to be biblically literate, we must be evangelistic. God made it very clear that Jesus had one mission, and He made that mission clear.
Again, Luke 19:10, Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Paul reiterates that in First Timothy chapter 1, verse 15, where he made it very clear that this is a faithful saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
So, again, that is the major mission of the Lord. It's a major mission that I believe the Christian church needs to be involved in today. A third thing that we are really pressing with our folks. Is the importance of loving other Christians of loving the believers. There's so much fighting among God's people today, which is just really unfortunate.
Families are fighting, churches are fighting. All of this type of thing is just consistently getting worse, which is what God said would take place in the last days. These perilous, dangerous times would come. 2 Timothy chapter 3 speaks to these issues.
So loving people, that's the goal. Are we loving people? Are they feeling at home?
So many churches, people are leaving because they feel disrespected or they're not loved.
So loving people is huge. Finally, I guess I'll circle back. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 20 is really a key thing for our church, and I trust other Bible-believing churches. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 20 states this, don't you know, Christians, that you are my ambassadors and prophecy today, other churches that are like-minded, that enjoy your programming and enjoy what you put out. The key thing is: are we being good ambassadors for Christ?
So, that really has two points. Number one is: are we reaching the unsaved for Jesus Christ? Are we getting the gospel message out there that we've all sinned, that because we've sinned, we don't deserve heaven, but yet Jesus Christ, God's Son, came down from heaven, died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and three days later rose again? Everybody listening probably knows that beautiful verse, John 3:16. For God, so what?
He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him in Jesus and his what? His death, burial, and resurrection should not perish or go to hell, but have everlasting life.
So, again, it's getting the gospel message out there and then doing exactly what Prophecy Today and other like-minded ministries are doing. Disciple Christians, getting them the prophetic word. Not allegorizing and spiritualizing God's word, but giving it literally as it was stated. Jim, this is one of the things that your dad, when I went to his classes, when me and you were studying together, This is critical. And that's why, again, and I keep stating it, but I mean it.
It's why I love prophecy today, because you take the word of God, you teach it from its literal standpoint. You're not afraid of teaching on prophecy. In fact, prophecy is virtually your ministry, and you make it known to the people, you give them the truth, and that is the things that we need in our churches today. Dr. Richard Schmidt, great, great word.
Thank you so much. This is a great encouragement. And we have the hope because we're looking forward to the rapture of the church and that. Really keeps us pure, productive, and living a holy life, doesn't it? Absolutely.
Thanks so much for again for having me on, and we'll just keep looking up until that wonderful rapture takes place, which could be at any moment. Dr. Richard Schmidt, great job, Doc, and I always thank you for being a part of this. You're a great friend of my father, and you're a great friend of our ministry. And we want to thank all of our partners, our contributors to the program, because we're always trying to help you.
We're trying to educate and edify the body of Christ. Because with all that we have seen every single week, The rapture of the church can't be far away. Let's keep looking up. Until. Thank you so much for joining us today.
This is Jay Johnson, inviting you to join us again next week for more of Prophecy Today.
