Welcome to Turning Point. It can be challenging and intimidating at times, which may sadly be why so many Christians, even churches, don't study it. Prophecy is the focus as Dr. David Jeremiah considers the importance of biblical prophecy and his next series, Where Do We Go From Here? To interview Dr.
Jeremiah on the connection between prophecy and current events, here's special guest Sheila Walsh. Thank you so much. Dr. David Jeremiah has been studying and teaching from God's Word for more than 40 years. His practical manner of explaining what Scripture says, what it means, and what it means for us, has been life transforming for millions, and I am one of those millions.
One particular feature of David Jeremiah's ministry is that through the years, he's dedicated a portion of his teaching to explain Bible prophecy, which for many people is often confusing and daunting to understand. but it doesn't have to be. In Dr. Jeremiah's new teaching series, Where Do We Go From Here?, he points to the prophecies that reveal insight into the problems that you and I are currently experiencing. Won't you help me welcome Dr.
David Jeremiah?
Well, this is fun that we get to do this again. Before we dive into your new teaching series, which, by the way, I have to tell you, it is one of the best I have ever. I mean, I've read all your books. This one had a huge impact on my life. But before we dive into this, let me ask another question.
What in the world? Is going on. Have you ever seen such a chaotic time as the one we're living in now? No, it seems like something happens, and before you can totally respond to it, something else happens right on top of it. And it's just one thing after the other.
And most of them are unprecedented. They're not things that, oh, well, that happened before. No, this never happened before. What is this? You almost don't want to turn on the television because what's going to happen today that's never happened before.
I mean, especially in our schools and what's happening in culture.
So yeah, we're in unprecedented times, no question about it. You have always devoted some of your time in teaching and writing to biblical prophecy. Why is that so important for you?
Well, first of all, it's a fourth of the Bible. You know, a lot of guys don't do this, and so they just cut out a fourth of the scripture. There's a wonderful blessing that awaits those who will dig into what God has in store for us in the future.
So many promises. And I think if all you do is live in the present and you don't see what God has in store for us in the future, you can get pretty bleak because if this is all there is, this isn't all that great. God has some great things ahead of us, and to know that and to look forward to that. And the Bible says, set your affections on things above. That's a good thing to do.
Yeah. The title of your new book, Where Do We Go From Here? Why did you choose this title? Everything that we hold dear is up for grabs. And I wondered if If there was some way to find out what was behind all of this, and was prophecy involved, and so I began to.
Do some digging, and that's where We came up with the title, and I decided this wasn't going to be the normal. Prophecy book. No. Because most prophecy books are. This is what's going to happen.
Deal with it. You know? And there's no hope in that.
So we came up with this idea that we would write these chapters like this. Where are we now? What does that mean? And where do we go from here? And the last part of every chapter is the takeaways from this.
They're the action items. Is there something we can do based on what we have learned in this study?
So that's how that happened. But I love the subtitle. It's How Tomorrow's Prophecies Foreshadow Today's Prophecy. Problems. Is that what you mean by that?
That we can look at what's happening here. You know, we think that what's going on right now is isolated and doesn't have any. connection but You know, if you take all of these issues that we're dealing with, and we're going to talk about some of them. and you trace them, they have a hook in the future. God says, this is what's going to happen.
There's an old adage when you study prophecy that says, future events cast their shadows before them. In other words, if there's an event out there that's going to happen, it's not just going to pop on you one day, it's going to cast its shadow before us. We're living in those shadows right now. And you address problems or phenomenon happening in our world today that are directly tied to events that will transpire in the last days.
So let's just begin with something we're all very familiar with, and that is pandemic. Is a pandemic part of biblical prophecy?
Well, you all know when COVID-19 happened, everybody wanted to know: okay, is this in prophecy? Are we at the end of the world? Because in the Bible, there's a lot of times in the tribulation period where pestilences happen. And the Bible says that in the end times there will be pestilences. In Matthew 24, when Jesus was setting the stage for the beginning of trouble, That's one of the signs.
One of the six signs was pestilences.
So I had a lot of people ask me. In fact, one of my favorite stories is: my son Daniel works for the NFL. And he knows a lot of NFL players, and if I told you this guy's name, you'd all know it, but I won't do that. This guy came to Daniel and he said, Hey, when you get a chance, ask your dad, is COVID-19 in prophecy?
So I get this call from Daniel, and he says, He told me who it was. I said, well, I better look into that.
So I ended up preaching a whole message on it. I think What we learn from that is a number of things, Sheila. When I first started studying prophecy, and I would read about worldwide plagues. I believed it, but only because it was in the Bible. I couldn't imagine that.
I can imagine it now, can't you? I mean, this wasn't just United States of America and a few American colonies. This was the whole world, 114 different countries. that were plagued by this terrible virus. But the question then is: was this a sign?
And I can't say that it was. It may not have been a sign for the future, but it was a sign for today. It showed us how vulnerable we all are. You know, nobody was exempt from it. I made a list of all of the important people who got COVID right up front.
And it was NBA players and politicians, and by the way, the President of the United States.
So the idea that maybe because you have enough money, you can secure yourself, you can't buy your way out of this. Everybody's vulnerable. Let's move on to the next issue to discuss is globalism, which you call an international prophecy. You know, we're definitely way more in touch as a world now, and some people think that's a good thing. What does the Bible say about a global society?
The first globalist was a guy named Nimrod in the Old Testament who built the Tower of Babel. We found out in the very beginning that when all the people get together and try to build something to show God up, God doesn't put up with that. And so He, as you know, He confused the languages, and that project sort of didn't do so well. The problem with globalism, Sheila, is it's the one thing that has to happen. For the end of the world events to take place.
Because, as you know, the scripture tells us that at the end of the world there will be a world leader. Who will galvanize people behind him, and he will be a very evil man who will take the world down. But he has to have the following of the world.
So what we're seeing today are This world becomes more and more integrated. Even during the pandemic, they were talking about having. Not just a national czar, but a world czar who would help know what to do. Galvanizing the power behind one person is just a setup for what's going to happen in the future. As believers, How do we deal with that kind of world when we see this?
I mean, we all see it happening around us. How do we live in days like this?
Well, one of the things I really believe I've learned from the study of this book is that. We cannot live in lies. Let's be honest, sometimes, even as Christians, we know. What everybody's telling us isn't true, and we live in the midst of it like it's okay. And we cannot do that.
We have got to learn how to live in the truth.
So It seems to me like most of what we hear today, most of what we see, most of what's on television. is untrue. It's just not true. And if you stop and think about it, you say, you know what? Wait a minute, that's not true.
But we allow it to affect our lives to the extent that It changes our daily behavior and We as Christians have got to ask God to help us. Be set free by the truth and follow the truth. One of the things I loved about the book, because I read it from the first word to the last, I had the privilege of getting an early copy, is the way that you direct God's family back to knowing the Word of God. Absolutely. And how many of us don't really know the Word of God.
And you know something about the Word of God that's really interesting is that God is not a globalist. God is a nationalist. God created the nations. It says in Acts, He created the nations so that they would know God. Because when it's big like that and it's under the one person, that person becomes the God.
But look at all the nations that are in the Bible.
So many nations, and God created it that way, He wants it that way. Let's move in and talk about the nation that God shows for his people. Because whether it's in the news or political debate, Israel has a constant spotlight on it. Small country, constant spotlight. And so you dedicate a whole chapter to this, and you call it a geographical prophecy.
Why is Jerusalem so important?
Well, what got our attention about Jerusalem for all of us was when they moved the embassy back to Jerusalem, that was a big deal. created a lot of controversy and That was an important event. Most people don't realize how important it was because If Jerusalem isn't what it is now, If it isn't the main issue in Israel Jesus can't come back. I mean Where does Jesus come back to? He comes back to.
Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives. From whence he left. Yes. And when he sets up his kingdom, where does he rule?
in Jerusalem. And what happens after the old Jerusalem? You get a new Jerusalem.
So Jerusalem is really important. And she I gotta tell you, I had kind of like a really special moment. When I was working on this chapter, I love the people of Israel and I love studying. I learned a lot about Jerusalem that I didn't know before. But one of the things that I learned was this.
The Bible says numerous times that God chose Jerusalem. to put his name on it. In other words, he chose Jerusalem as his own special city. That's not said about any other city in history. God chose Jerusalem as his very own city.
Jerusalem's mentioned in the Bible Way more than any other city. It's the most important city, but I've always wondered why Don and I have talked about this. When we go to Israel and I am in Jerusalem, I have this sort of like, unreal feeling about everything. And I thought, well, maybe it's because that's where the Bible took place, that's where Jesus walked. All those things are true, but now I understand it more than ever before.
I have that feeling because this is God's city. It's a very special place. God has set his name upon it. In the book of Deuteronomy, there's a chapter where that is mentioned five times in one chapter. This is God's city.
When you go to Jerusalem the next time, just realize this isn't just like. going from city to city, no, this is God's city. It's a very special place. Yes, it is.
Next in your series you discuss economic chaos. You call it a financial prophecy. Why does money play such a central role in end times? You know, it is a really big deal. Did you know that Babylon, which is in the New Testament, Is the financial headquarters in the future, and the Bible describes its.
Dismantling. Babylon is fallen, is fallen, says, and it talks about how In that day when God gets control, the financial enterprise of this world, which is so important to everybody, will just be gone. But the chapter that I wrote on that has to do with what's happening in our world today. to universalize monetary transfer. There's a country in Europe right now where they're actually embedding chips underneath the skin.
Of people's hands, and it's more than just a few thousand people. And this chip. is radio controlled, so you can do all your business from this chip. You can walk in a store and just run your chip by the scanner, picks up all your information. You can do business with this.
You can transfer money from your hand to somebody else who may have this. Everybody's lauding it as all it's going to do is it's preparing the way for the mark of the beast. Because in the book of Revelation, in the 13th chapter, it talks about how when the Antichrist comes to rule, You will have to take the mark. And if you don't take the mark, you won't be able to buy or sell.
So, if you aren't loyal to the Antichrist, you will be starved out of existence. You will go to the store, collect all your groceries, but when you go to check out, if you don't have the mark of the beast, you won't be able to do any business. That's the way the Antichrist will control his population. Does that sound kind of familiar? I mean, some of the parts of that are happening.
And what's going on now with all of the. Electronic stuff that's happening. All the crypto coin, all the stuff. Oh, yeah. I'm not sure what to think about all that, but.
It's changing. It's rapidly changing, and it's not hard to understand that. Read Revelation 13. And Revelation 13. cast a shadow before it and we're living in that shadow right now.
What would you say to us who might be afraid that they might accidentally take the mark of the beast? Is that something that we as believers should be afraid of? I don't think anybody will ever take that accidentally. You will either take it or you won't.
Well, first of all, I don't plan to be here when that happens. Me either. Me either. Get me out of there. That's going to take place during the tribulation.
There will be some people who become Christians during the tribulation, but I doubt very many of them will take the mark. It will be a tremendously. challenging time on this earth when that happens. And we're just getting a little glimpse of it by what's happening now and what's happening in our world. I think a lot of believers are concerned about finances and about money.
How do we find the peace of Christ? In the midst of things that are changing so rapidly in our culture. I believe with all my heart that if you don't understand what money is, it will ruin your life. Money is nothing else but a tool. That's all it is.
And it's not to be hoarded, it's to be invested and used. What I believe about money is that we have that money to use for the kingdom of God, to take care of our families. The Bible tells us to do that. But if money becomes your God, and interestingly enough, in the Bible, there is this. contest between God and mammon.
And what the Bible's telling us is, you better get your mind right about money because it's the number one competitor to God in your life. If you don't get it right, you will become an idolater. You move on to talk then about spiritual. Famine, which you've identified as a spiritual prophecy. What do you mean by spiritual famine?
Well, let me tell you about that. Amos, he was a really interesting prophet. In Amos chapter 8, I think it's verse 11. He said, I want to tell you, there's coming a day when there's going to be a famine on this earth. Not a famine of bread and water.
But a famine of the hearing of the Word of God. And let me tell you how that works. First of all, The devil tries to take you away from the Word of God. In the parable of the soils, it talks about how. You know, Satan can steal the word out of your heart.
The word can be marginalized in your life because of the cares that you have for life, so your busyness, your distractions.
So what that is, it's Satan taking you away from the Word of God. But Satan also takes the word of God away from you. And how he does that is He gets you in situations where you think you're being in a church, but nobody ever opens the Bible. Or if they do, it's a lick and a promise and nothing else. You know, I say to everybody, and I mean this sincerely, you need to be in a church where Christ is lifted up and where the Word of God is taught.
Is spiritual famine an indicator of the last days? Yeah, absolutely. Like Amos said, there's going to be a time when the Word of God will be. missing Terrifying. Yeah, and it's happening now.
There's some charts in this book on what's happened. Just with Church. Attendance. That's not the same as the word of God, but it's kind of a an indicator And church attendance and church membership in this country has been going down since 1950, 1960. Every year, less and less and less.
When they first started keeping statistics, 73% of the people who were polled went to church. Today, it's less than 50. It's 47% of the people go to church. That's a symptom of the. lack of influence of the churches and churches are closing.
But that's typical from across the country. We've talked about a lot of things which technically really are happening outside of the church, but this. Chapter, heartbreaking, you call it the falling away, a theological prophecy. What is the falling away. Thessalonians say that before Jesus can return, There must be The falling away.
And so what is that?
Well, the word itself is the word apostasy. It's from two Greek words which means to stand apart. to have stood in one place and then to stand apart. I use some illustrations in that chapter that are pretty sad. I love the way that you finish the series, tying prophecy back to the gospel, the final prophecy, the triumph of the gospel.
What does the gospel message mean for us today? The gospel is What we must never forget about. Because the gospel is what really changes the world. I can't fix all the problems that we have in this book. I preach the gospel.
And the gospel changes people one person at a time, two people at a time. Here's what the Bible says about the gospel: it is the power of God unto salvation. It's the only other thing, except for God. that is described that way. The power of God.
the power of the gospel. Why wouldn't you want to make that your main thing?
Now that doesn't mean you preach John 3.16 every Sunday. That means... The gospel is at the really core of your life. The gospel is what will change lives. It will change culture.
It will change everything. Over all the things that are written in this book, there's one thing that's above them all: it's the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, it's interesting because some people might say, you know, when we talk about all these things, it's kind of doom and gloom, but I have to say, personally, I found the past year really discouraging, but when I got to the end of your book, I wanted to shout hallelujah, because it wasn't a book of doom and gloom, it was a book of hope. Was that your prayer? That's what I said before, that I wanted this book to be not only where are we now?
What does that mean? But what do we do? And there's always something to do. For instance, In the chapter on COVID, when you're going through something like that, I don't know if this happened to you, but For a while, when that first happened, we couldn't go anywhere. We had to stay at home and we...
Just kinda didn't do anything. And we were so tired at the end of the day we couldn't figure out what was wrong. That's true. We didn't do a blessed thing today, and we're just. You guys are laughing because it's what happened, right?
And when you don't have a plan, At that time I had read this little book. Written My young lady who had found this poem, and the poem was entitled Do The next right thing. And the poem was written in Old English, and actually, the title of it was spelled in Old English. And the idea was. When you don't know what to do, which many of us didn't know what to do then, just do the next right thing.
And we started to practice that, and we still do. I mean, we still do today, because even today, there's so much confusion.
So, if you don't learn how to do that, you will just be overwhelmed with all of the things that aren't done, and you'll sit there, and it's like the paralysis of analysis. You know, you sit there and you've got all this stuff to do, and you don't know what to do next. Just do the next thing. And here's the interesting thing that I found. When Jesus healed people, He would say to them, Go home and tell your family.
Every time he heals somebody, he gave them one thing to do. It was like, it was amazing to me when I saw it. There's like eight illustrations of that. Go home and do this. Go do that.
Go tell your brother, I hear Jesus saying that to us. Get up in the morning and say, even if you don't know for sure what to do, do the next right thing. My father used to tell me the Holy Spirit can never steer a car that's stopped. It's not moving. If you're not moving, you're not going anywhere.
So Do the next right thing, God will show you what the next right thing is, and before you know it, you'll look back on a productive day. When we walk out of these doors or turn off the television set, Where do we go? How do we approach the world we're living in now?
Well, first thing I hope people will do is realize we have so much to be positive about, so much to be thankful for. We have the message. We have the real message of what life is all about. We know what to do. Most of us have come to Christ, we're Christians.
Is life challenging? Yes, but we're not alone. God has not forgotten us, and we are on our way to be with Him forever.
So the journey can sometimes be challenging, but it's always exciting. I'll tell you the truth. I've been here in this church for 40 years. I've been discouraged sometimes. I've been triumphant sometimes, but one thing I've never been: I've never been bored.
I'm sure.
Well, Dr. Jeremiah, I just want to thank you for putting the hope in these days, the hope in end times prophecy, for giving us encouragement one more time, for putting peace. into the problems that we see. Would you help me thank Dr. Jeremiah?
And let me thank Sheila for her. An incredible job of interviewing. She studies the material, she reads the book, she comes prepared, and we have great discussions. Please join us throughout this month as we talk about where do we go from here, tomorrow's prophecies, today's problems. And during the month of March, we will make available to you a very special project that we have just finished called Understanding Biblical Prophecy, a 30-day Bible study on how to understand prophecy in the Bible.
We think this will be valuable to you and help you in this series and in the future study of the Bible going forward. This series is called Where Do We Go From Here. There's a study guide, a DVD, and CD messages available from Turning Point at davidjeremiah.org. And don't forget when you Send your gift to the ministry during the month of March. We'll send you this book, Understanding Biblical Prophecy, a 30-day Bible study for your own personal use and enjoyment.
Ask for it when you send your gift to Turning Point today. Have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series, Where Do We Go From Here, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected.
Our monthly Turning Points magazine and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio. Or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's new book, Understanding Biblical Prophecy, a 30-day Bible study.
It's a powerful resource and it's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English standard New International and New King James Versions, available in a variety of handsome cover options. Get all the details when you visit our website, davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we begin Where Do We Go From Here on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah. I'm going to use a bottle of the same method.
