Two years have passed since the terrible Hamas attacks of october seventh, twenty twenty three. why do we still need to clarify what actually happened? We'll discuss it. On October 7th, two years ago, about 3,500 Israelis were at a Nova music festival in the Negev Desert. Early in the morning, more than 100 Hamas terrorists attacked the event.
Killing 378 people and kidnapping 44. Welcome to Understanding the Times Radio with Pastor Josh Schwartz and Ken Michael. Radio for the remnant. Brought to you by Olive Preministries. The ministry founded by Jan Markell.
In our program, Pastor Josh and Ken talk to Justin Crohn, the founding director of the Kesher Project and the co-creator and producer of October 7, the documentary. The truth must still be told. In the extended version, Pastor Josh and Ken talk to Lee Brainerd of Soothkeep Ministries. about the major events in the end of the book of Revelation. You can find the extended version on our website, olivetreeviews.org.
or on our YouTube and Rumble channels. On the other side is the Gaza Strip. home to nearly 2.4 million people. Many of them are refugees or descendants of refugees from at least six wars fought between Arabs and Israelis. Since 1948.
The Gaza Strip is tightly controlled by Hamas. a political and military movement. Elected in 2006, It has ruled the territory with dictatorial powers ever since. Its declared enemy is the State of Israel. which they regard an illegitimate occupying power.
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by 61 countries. At regular intervals, Hamas militants fire rockets into Israel. Most of them are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile shield. Welcome to Understanding the Times. I'm Ken Michael, along with my co-host, Pastor Josh Schwartz.
Well, today we're going to look back at one of the darkest days in the history for the state of Israel. And our guest today, he's the founder of the Kesher Project and the producer of the documentary October 7th. We'd like to welcome Justin Crohn. Justin, thank you so much for joining us today. Real pleasure to be with you guys.
So Justin, for those that don't know you and your ministry, give us a brief overview of what you're doing and the documentary you made October 7th. Yeah, so the Kesher Project is a ministry that I founded a few years ago. That aims to focus on connecting Christians to the Jewish foundations of the Christian faith.
So, that they can better understand who Jesus is and what our mission is as his followers. And then, part of that, of course, is his heart for the nation of Israel, for the Jewish people. We not only want to connect people to the foundations of our faith, but we want to encourage them. to connect with their Jewish friends and neighbors. to build bridges and and to demonstrate the love of Jesus to the Jewish people.
And one of the ways that we do that is through the films that we Produce in partnership with Grafted Ministries, which is led by Todd Moorhead, who is the face and narrator. uh of the films. Uh and so Let's see, back in 2021, we released our first film, which was called Hope in the Holy Land. Delving beneath the surface of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is really aimed at helping people understand. The background and the history.
of this decades-long conflict, hearing people from both sides. and letting the viewer decide. Where they stand, and hopefully they end up standing with Israel's right to exist. Part of our motivation in making the film was because so many people Over the last several years, have been challenging Israel's right to exist. Which really flows into this next film.
that we produced called October 7, Bearing Witness to the massacre. And we were in the midst of a Docu series, a follow-up docuseries to the Hope in the Holy Land film that was supposed to be six episodes. We released the first episode of that series on September 1st. of twenty three. And then of course, as we know, thirty-seven days later, October 7th.
occurred. Uh we knew as a team that we needed to Basically, pivot. You can't do a series about the Uh Israeli uh Arab Palestinian conflict. Without covering those events.
So then it was a matter of just deciding when we will go back. And so we return in May of Uh 24. uh to capture the content for this film. which I know we'll be talking a bit more about. That's a bit of the background and really kind of what we're focused on.
Uh as an organization.
Well, thanks for that, Justin.
Now, just uh to set the stage, how can people get a hold of this new documentary on October 7th? Yeah, so it released on October 3rd to most streaming platforms, including Prime Video. Uh Apple T V. a Google Play, YouTube, et cetera. Uh and and so if they want to watch, it's also on Salem now for those who are familiar with that platform.
Uh so anyone who wants to see it can go and rent or or purchase it. And uh and it's readily available and really many, many people are starting to watch it and giving us really encouraging feedback on it. Praise God.
So, Justin, this event didn't happen overnight. Let's take a look back in history because I think it's so important for people to understand, especially young people that we see protesting all over the world against Israel. Let's go back to 2005 and even before when Israel gave Gaza to the Palestinians. Can you just give a brief historical background? Yeah, this is really important to cover, and it's covered extensively in our film.
In fact, I would say it's what's unique about the October 7 film. Is that we cover the history of Gaza and the ideological roots of Hamas? to give a proper historical context. which so many people were distorting, After October 7. In fact, they've been distorting it for years.
We're in fact on the day of October 7th. while the bodies of Israelis were still literally warm. There was a statement that was put out by I know it. 30-some organizations that sign on to a statement at Harvard University. claiming that Gaza had been under brutal occupation for seventy-five years.
Well, as you just mentioned, In 2005, Israel completely withdrew. From Gaza. that not only the 9,000 or so Israelis who are living there, but even the ones who had died and were buried there, they were moved out too. We we know that Gaza has not been quote unquote occupied. Since at least 2005.
Now, before 2005, what you had was in the early 2000s, you had what was known as the second intifada, which was. uh a jihadist terrorist campaign uh against A nation of Israel. Many of those terrorists were Hamas terrorists who came out of Gaza. The result of that was for Israel to increase its security. uh building a security barrier around Gaza as well as um Around the West Bank that separates uh the Palestinian territories from The state of Israel.
And so This is what preceded 2005. I think it's very important to note. That after Israel withdrew. from Gaza. In August of 2005, within 24 hours of that disengagement.
Hamas started firing rockets. Over the next few months, there were Israeli civilians who were killed and injured. Early 2006, you had an election in Gaza. In fact, within the Palestinian territories. Uh Who won that legislative election?
Well, it was Hamas who won. And then they weren't satisfied with just partial. control within Gaza. They wanted complete control. And so There was a bloody coup that occurred in 2007.
Which got rid of, or they killed or removed all of the both, actually, killed and removed. Uh the fata Um part of the Palestinian Authority. And so they had ultimate control. In Gaza, and over the next several years. Fired thousands and thousands of rockets into Israel at civilians.
There were a few. uh significant uh attacks which Israel responded to. And so this is what's been happening. in Gaza, and this is the history that so many people seem to forget. Uh, preceding October 7th.
Yeah, and I think there are some important things that we really need to zone in on. Uh, first and foremost, uh, the second intifada that you mentioned there, that was. brutal. And then secondarily, when Israel pulled out in 2005, it was that you can no longer say that they're occupiers. And then thirdly, Hamas was elected as the governing authority over the Gaza Strip.
And so this is all just culminating together and building to what we see in October 7th, 2023, right? Absolutely. And Hamas was being supported by Iran. That's where most of their funding. and weapons come from.
Uh funneled through most likely what we believe is the Egyptian border. And so Hamas was receiving a lot of What you could call international support. A lot of money was coming in under the guise of humanitarian aid. And what was Hamas? doing with that aid.
They weren't building schools. They weren't building hospitals or doing things to benefit the Palestinian people, but maybe a little bit. but most of it was going to build a terrorist infrastructure. in a sense, an underground fortress. that left its civilian population exposed.
And this is part of Hamas's strategy. Whenever Israel responds, sadly, unfortunately, You have civilians that are killed in the crossfire. And then Hamas uses that as as propaganda. to demonize Israel. And sadly, the International community, which and amplified through mainstream media platforms.
Go along with that and make Israel look as they're the ones who are being the aggressor. Uh When in fact all Israel is trying to do is trying to minimize or if they can to completely eliminate Uh the threat. uh to their country, to their civilians. Yeah, Josh, you and I have talked about this several times. The nations around the world, especially the United States, have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into Gaza.
And what Justin said is absolutely true. What did they do with that money?
Well, he just said it. They built terror tunnels. Just think of the commerce they could have built, the tourism. And they could have had tourism coming there, people coming there to enjoy. They're on one of the most beautiful spots in the world, right there on the Mediterranean.
And like Justin said, they chose to build a terror infrastructure instead to kill Jews because they don't want a two-state solution. They want a one-state solution with the Jews eliminated. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And Justin, thank you for working through that because it just helps us understand more and more what's happened behind the scenes and why everything exploded the way that it did on October 7th, 2023.
Now, we want to play a quick clip of the trailer for your documentary. October 7th, and then we want to dive into why you made the film and a few other topics.
So let's listen to this and come back in a minute. The events of October 7th. Mm-hmm. sent a shockwave across the world. But most people still don't have a clear picture of what happened.
Or why? Hamas It's an Islamist jihadist movement. That is not a national movement for the liberation of Palestine. But actually, a religious movement that is seeking to Establish an Islamic State in the Middle East and in the entire world. This is the weaponization.
of an entire urban landscape. for the purpose of waging war. Exactly what Israel had promised Israelis would never happen to them. happen to them. I came here to see?
to listen. and to share the stories of many. who lived through the darkest day, in Israel's history. You're listening to Understand the Times Radio, the program founded by Jan Markell.
Now we are promoting a new book that just came out this week by our good friend Olivier Melnick. That's Anti-Semitism in the End Times. You can find that in our online store at olivetreeviews.org. That's olivetreeviews.org. Today we have with us Justin Crohn and we're dealing with his documentary October 7th.
Ken, bring us into this.
So, Justin, you kind of went over in the beginning, but why did you make this film? Yeah, it was so important to tell the history. of october seventh. Hold on. similar to what happened with the Holocaust.
You had many people who denied it, who still do deny it, or at least distort what actually happened. And we saw that happening. uh within uh days, in fact within hours of the massacre that uh happened on october 7th and And so we felt it was incredibly important to document. History. that people would have an opportunity to Uh to to see what what really occurred.
Yeah. And so We've we've really we found it To be sacred work that we were doing to capture this, to help. advocate for the nation of Israel. And so we, our team. Uh we went back to speak with survivors to to go on site to the kibbutz scene.
that were attacked. uh to the Nova Festival. And to let people see the devastation that occurred there. And And so that's that's why we made the film I we we hope too that You know, as filmmakers, you always have kind of hopes or dreams when you make your film. And we thought.
Well, maybe there's going to be 10 or 20 years down the road, and there's going to be people who are asking. What happened on October 7th? And uh we wanted to make a film that would Okay. Not only do we answer the questions on what happened on October 7th, but why it happened. And so that's why we made the sale.
I think another important point to give to our audience is when you talk to these victims, did they tell you that they actually invited some of these Palestinians into their home? Didn't some of them actually work for them under various responsibilities? Yeah, I think that's I'm glad you bring that up. You know, along the Gaza, what's known as the Gaza envelope, so along the border of Gaza, you have several. Kibbutzim.
So villages, Jewish villages. Which are really in the middle of farmland. Many of these people are farmers. And so a lot of Palestinians, so they had work permits, the Palestinians within Gaza. to enter into Israel to work at home.
Many of these Keep it saying. And so Uh these Gazans, uh they We're in the homes of These Israelis. They ate with them. And many of these Gazans are the ones who brought Intel back to Hamas. about who had guns, who didn't have guns.
Who had served in the IDF, who hadn't served in the IDF? I mean, all of that type of vital information. uh was brought back to the terrorists by uh Gazans who had work permits uh and who knew these Israelis by name. And so It it's it's one of the The tragedies of this. Many of the Israelis there in these Yeah.
They're what you would consider to be some of the biggest peace activists in all of Israel. And listen, these are the people who were attacked. by Hamas. And I think it's very important to make this clear and this is brought up In our film, is that it wasn't just Hamas There were civilians who actively participated, who murdered, brutally murdered. Israelis Uh on that day.
And then If they didn't participate in it, Many of them celebrated it. And that's captured in the film, too. I am This is the reality of what Israel has been. dealing with and and many Israelis were uh awoken to that reality. on October 7th.
And it's just fascinating to me that we are two years now removed from this attack. And still, Israel is the enemy. Israel is the bad guy. Israel is the one who's in the media Lins committing genocide, but they were not the aggressors in the beginning and the the the whole story is continually being spun.
Now, Justin, I recently uh read an article where you're quoted as saying as immediately following the events of October seventh, we started seeing many on social media say that it didn't happen in a vacuum. and that what Hamas did was merely the logical result of 75 years of brutal occupation or because the Gazans were being held in open-air prisons.
So why would you state that quote, and how does that relate to you making this documentary?
Well, I think it's important that people know what the other side is saying, of course. I don't know. I and I would guess that uh most of your listeners These are the things that they've been hearing, especially if they go onto social media. But it's important that people understand the historical context. Uh after nineteen sixty seven Israel did take control of what is known as Gaza.
And who did they take control of it from? They took control of it from Egypt. who had been occupying that territory after the war in 1948. Between 1948 In 1967, you had Egypt that was in control of that territory. You had Jordan that was in control.
Of the territory that they called the West Bank, Judea, and Samaria. And at no time. When they were under control of those territories, Did they ever offer? The Arabs refer to as the Palestinians living in those territories, the opportunity for them to have an independent state. That was never their objective.
Their objective was always and continues. To be particularly the Palestinians living within the Palestinian territories and their allies. You could say Hezbollah. Um The Hooties. The Islamic regime in Iran, especially What is their ultimate goal?
Their ultimate goal is the eradication of Israel, to wipe Israel off the map. It's very clear, too, within the Hamas Charter, Which I think it's important to bring out here that Hamas. They're a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. that originated in in Egypt. And it's very clear in their charter.
They do not want a two-state solution. They what Israel gone. They want an Islamic state run by Sharia law in place of Israel. And not only that, they want a caliphate. not just in the Middle East, but they want an Islamic caliphate in the entire world.
And so Israel's on the front lines of this battle. uh between uh essentially Two ideologies, and maybe you could call it even two civilizations. The West, versus The Islamic Middle East. Yeah. Can you define for our audience what you mean by the word caliphate?
So uh caliphate uh is an Islamic Term, I'm going to forget the exact meaning of it, but it essentially means territory. And so within that territory, it is to be governed. Uh under Islam, under Sharia law. uh it's important to for people to know uh that In Islam, it's considered that once a territory has been under Islamic control, that it is forever. are sanctified.
or consecrated to Allah. And that no non-Muslim Qian. control it, control in it. And so no Jews, no Christians. Have the right to control territory that had once been under Islamic control.
And so first and foremost, What the Islamists are attempting to do is to reclaim the territory that they had once controlled. And then to move beyond that. Their goal is to control the world. And uh we see that uh Sadly, that infiltration with Islamic ideology, even here within the United States. There are communities here in the United States that are having to confront.
The desires and aspirations of their Muslim neighbors. That sadly, in many ways, do not align with Western values. Yeah, that's a great point, Justin. In fact, I just returned from Europe here about a month ago. They've got 900 no-go zones, which you refer to as if you are a Christian or non-Muslim, you don't dare go into those zones.
And unfortunately, you're absolutely right. That is what's taking place right here in the United States. They told us they were going to do this, they were going to go city by city, and unfortunately, that's what's happening.
So, real quick here, as time is running out, just give us a brief description of what's governing over in Gaza right now. We know Hamas is the authority, but there's actually two factions that we're dealing with over there. Yeah, so you have Hamas and you have also what's known as the Islamic Jihad. And so they're they're Um grilly. connected at the hip.
I mean they they share the same uh radical ideology And they work together. Uh Hamas has been uh greatly uh I'd like to say Neutralized, but significantly minimized as far as their control. It's really Gaza City that is their. their last stronghold, And the hope right now is that they would be completely eradicated. Uh I know they've been given the opportunity to leave Gaza.
And so, what needs to happen is that a new government comes in. uh that de-radicalizes the population. And so This is the hope and this is the goal. And it's not going to happen overnight. If it's going to happen, it's going to, you know, it could take.
10 to 20 years. Uh But we need to root out that ideology. And we need to educate the people. to accept Israel's right to exist. As the nation state of the Jewish people.
Yes, you're absolutely right. And we'll see how this. President Trump and Bibi Netanyahu plan unfolds and what that all looks like in the upcoming days, weeks, and months.
Now, Justin, thank you so much for coming on with us. Thank you so much for putting the time, the effort, and the energy into this new October 7th documentary.
Now, again, can you let our audience know where they can watch it and why, why they must watch it?
So uh you can watch it on Prime Video. Apple TV, YouTube. Salem now, and there's a couple other streaming platforms as well. And listen. But No matter what happens here in Gaza over the next few months or years, the fact of the matter is that the Islamic jihad, the desire to Bring Sharia law to bring everyone under the knee of Allah.
That mission for fundamentalist Muslims is going to continue. Our film October 7 brings that loud and clear.
So it's not just about covering the events of October 7th. That is the outcome. their mission. And so this film will educate you. about who Hamas and Fu their allies.
Within the Islamic world, they are and what they're trying to do. And so if you think it's important. to understand that, if you think it's important for your friends and neighbors to understand that. I would encourage you to watch it. and to share it.
And as well to honor the victims of October 7. made their memory. Be a blessing. And may that blessing help us all to come to a clear understanding. Of the spiritual war that is waging.
in our world. Yeah, I couldn't agree more, Justin. And Josh, we also have to remember that everything we're seeing here and over there is biblical. If you're reading your Bible, you know exactly what's going to happen. Eventually, all the nations are going to come against Israel.
And the Bible is going to play out exactly like it's told. It absolutely is, and this is important. Bible prophecy tells us history in advance because God is the sovereign God of all creation, and he knows exactly how things are going to lay out, and it's all for his glory and his sovereign plan. And so, Justin, thank you again for doing this, and it's been great to talk with you today. Thank you guys.
It's been really good to be with you. Welcome to the extended version of Understanding the Times. I'm Ken Michael, along with Pastor Josh Schwartz, and we're just coming off a wonderful week of gathering pastors for our. Biannual pastors huddle. And I got to tell you, it was an amazing time, amazing teachings for our guest today, Lee Brainerd, founder of Sooth Keep Ministries.
Lee, Thanks for joining us. Ken, it's a pleasure to be here with you and Josh and with the opportunity for the pastors huddle. I'm just amazed. By the quality of men that are gathered here. Men that are strong in the pastoral gift, strong in the teaching ministry.
What an opportunity for men to get together, standing for the truth of God in the last days. Yeah, it's been an amazing event and to gather dozens of pastors from all over the country with like-minded pastors. Talking about these issues, you went over the book of Revelation, and we're going to talk about that a little bit. Yeah, absolutely.
So Lee, you've covered the last four chapters of the book of Revelation, chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22. And it's just been fascinating to just do a deep dive in there and really just. Stick into the literal, grammatical, historical hermeneutic. And what you brought up on Wednesday was just so important. And I think it's what's dividing evangelicalism as a whole right now, especially when it comes to the millennium, whether we need to view that as literal or allegorical.
Can you walk us through some of the pitfalls of an allegorical hermeneutic when it comes to the millennial kingdom?
Well that to use the allegorical hermeneutic is really kind of Arbitrary. Sure. to take the first coming passages of the Bible literally. and take the second coming passages figuratively. It just makes no sense.
And when you interpret the second coming passages allegorically, You're ending up on the same ground as the rationalists who interpret the miracles and the judgments in the Old Testament. allegorically. That's bad bound to be on. It really is. And why is it so important then for with the first coming and the second coming and everything before and in between to stay in a literal hermeneutic?
Well, if we take it at face value, we approach the Scriptures as simple children. Daddy said it, I believe it. We take the plain statements of Scripture at face value, interpreted by plain statements of Scripture. It you very quickly come to the core teachings. Everyone is on the same page.
Everyone's going to be premillennial. Everyone's going to be pre-tribulational. Everyone's going to believe in a literal Antichrist, a literal tribulation. We're going to have some variations on secondary points, but we all believe the same things. As soon as you go to allegorical methodology.
You're going to be all over the map. Sure. There's no agreement. What are we supposed to believe? What are we supposed to be excited about?
What's supposed to animate us? What's our mission? Just go out and tell fairy tales, yeah.
So, why do you think pastors would feel hesitant to teach on Daniel and the revelation of Jesus Christ? I mean, you go through the book of Revelation, it gives it God's judgment. He opens up the sealed trumpet, bold judgments on the earth. I mean, that's his judgment.
So, you've got specific numbers of days from the beginning to the midpoint to the end.
So why wouldn't pastors want to teach the end of the story?
Well, I think we're running into the same problem we had in the first century with the first coming of Christ. When Jesus came, the Pharisees Had their preconceived idea of what they wanted. They wanted to see the second coming. They didn't understand they didn't want the first coming. And so, when the true Messiah came, according to the first coming prophecies.
fulfilled exactly and literally. They rejected it. We've got this reversed in the last days. The Pharisees today. Um they they're taking the first coming literally, which And the second coming figuratively, they don't want the second coming literally.
They don't want the Jesus of the Bible to come bringing the tribulation of the Bible and the second coming of the Bible in their lifetime or in their kids' lifetime. They want that to be.
Something way off in the future. Right. And I think it's also important to pull this together, Lee, because you have often talked about the importance of the full gospel message being both first coming and secondcoming. Can you walk our listeners through that? Yes.
The message of redemption in the Bible has got a South Pole and a North Pole. The South Pole is the first coming, which is the payment for redemption. The second coming, the North Pole, is the God giving that redemption that Christ paid for. That's going to be the resurrection, the kingdom, the eternal rewards. It's the whole nine yards.
So, when people say, I want the first coming and I don't want the second coming, you're taking half of the package of redemption. That's half the package of the gospel, and saying we don't want it. You got a half a gospel. What is the salvation plan for Israel and the Jews there? In traditional replacement theology, a Jew can be saved by being born again and added to the church.
But there is no national promises for Israel. There's no national redemption.
Now, all of a sudden, instead of all the promises that were focused on a particular People, the Jews, and a particular chunk of land, Israel, with a particular mountain with a temple on it.
Now you just kind of A scrap that or you spiritualize it, and now you're talking about the whole world in general, you're talking about the whole earth in general. And you're talking about, I don't know, what's the center of gravity for the church? You don't have a temple. It's true. And replacement theology is just going.
Crazy right now. There are so many people that are holding on to that and saying that this is the way that we ought to interpret everything when it comes to the church and the church age and the new Israel. But that is not consistent with the literal, grammatical, historical hermeneutic, not only with the Old Testament, but also with the eschatology of the New Testament and the Old Testament.
So it's really important to be consistent with the way that you interpret the scriptures with the New Testament, the Old Testament, and everything in between.
So, Lee, uh, We're just so thankful to have you here at the Huddle. How would you encourage pastors in the future in attending a huddle?
Well, I would tell them that you're going to gain two benefits from this. First of all, in your busy life, you don't actually have time to sit down usually and just spend a few days just studying the Word of God.
So, you're going to get this opportunity. It's like getting a refresher course from seminary. And you get to sit here and you get the blessing of that. Ministry, but at the same time, there's plenty of free time, and you are going to be rubbing shoulders and networking and fellowshipping with pastors in the same battles for the same gospel and the same glorious Lord as you are. Amen.
Yeah, it's so wonderful getting the remnant together, especially remnant pastors, like-minded pastors, and going all through this. And your teachings have been just absolutely a benefit. I think not only to these pastors, but our ministry as well. Yeah, we absolutely love you, Lee. We're so thankful for the opportunity to have you here at this, our sixth huddle.
So, thank you so much for coming out.
Now, for those of you listening, we do record these huddles. We won't live stream them, but we do record them.
So, if you would be interested in hearing what Lee had to teach or any of our previous five huddles, you can contact me at Josh at Olive Tree Views and let me know that you're interested in those huddles, and I will add you to the list to receive those recordings. Lee, again, thank you so much. Any final words?
Well, I'd just like to encourage the listeners out there. You might not be a pastor that's going to want to attend the pastor's huddle or be able to attend the pastor's huddle. But the believers are facing the exact same battle.
So if you're If you need some encouragement, folks. The battles of the last days, the battle for revelation, the battle for premillennialism, the battle for pre-tribulationism. I want to encourage you to make full use of the Olive Tree website and to make sure you watch the videos from the Pastor's Huddles, not just this one, but all of them. Lee Brainer's been our guest today. Lee, how can people get in touch with you?
Well, they can go to soothkeep.info for my website or my YouTube channel, Soothkeep, or you can find me on. Other channels like Te uh social media outlets like Telegram. And Facebook And Twitter, well, they call it X now. And you can find me there as Soothkeep. Hey, friends, Pastor Josh here, and with my co-host Ken Michael, and we've got an attendee here of the Pastor's Huddle, Pastor Isaac Karpinski of Journey Church in Amory, Wisconsin.
Isaac's come to two huddles now, and we just were talking and thought it would be very important for you to see his face and to understand what your prayers and your financial gifts have done for pastors literally all around the country. Because you know, what's happening even in Isaac's church is just a microcosm of the things that are happening really everywhere. And we're so thankful for the opportunity to train pastors, to encourage pastors, to equip pastors to do the frontline work of ministry.
So, Isaac, this is your second huddle. What are your thoughts?
Well, my thoughts are that You know, I want to say first, this is an incredible opportunity to be a part of this, to have the world-class scholarship with Dr. Lee Brainerd. I know we had David Tall at the last huddle with Trevor Rubinstein. It's been an absolute privilege to sit under. Just the teaching of these faithful, godly men.
And to maybe take a little bit of a tangent to reflect on my testimony, I grew up or I was saved in a church at seven years old, in a Baptist church in Richmond, Wisconsin. And I felt the call to pastoral ministry when I was a junior in high school. And when I was a sophomore, I met my wife and a little bit of context because you'll know why. uh this matter she grew up listening to jan and Olive Tree Ministry. Since she was a little girl, her mom has supported her ministry.
uh for several decades And they also grew up listening to Tim Moore with Lamb and Lion Ministries. I know, friends with Jan and your guys's ministry. And as we were vetting each other with the dating process. We talked about several important topics like politics, theology, because we were very serious and intentional about the. relationship we had because we were looking to marry eventually.
And one of the things that came up was the doctrine of end times and the rapture, and me growing up actually covenant Amil. Said, well, I don't believe in the rapture. it kind of took her aback and she said, well, what about the millennium? And then I said, Well, I don't really believe it's a literal thing. I believe it's a symbolic thing.
And so then that Prompted her with her well-equipped theology that she had growing up as a kid under Jan and Tim. David Raiden with Lyman Laiam Ministries. Uh to confront me on my challenges on my beliefs and um Also with the classes I had in college under dispensational professors. I came to embrace dispensationalism when I was in college pursuing pastoral ministry. And the big switch for me especially was looking at the Abrahamic covenant.
And looking at God's unconditional promise to Israel, it's still valid for today. And everything included in that promise: the land, the people, the blessings, and also the seed, the promised Messiah, Jesus. And so with all of that in mind then. Thinking about this. It's so important, and I've been so blessed, and I know others have, with Solidifying the beliefs that we already hold true and being able to give a defense for the hope that's within us, which I would say is the blessed hope of the rapture.
and the blessed hope of the return of Christ. Uh to establish this millennial kingdom. And just an encouragement for all of you: if you're listening, and with all the work that you've been doing and the financial privileges that you You've blessed us with as pastors. I would encourage you: don't be discouraged with the anti-Semitism and maybe the false, or maybe error teachings like amillennialism or post-millennialism making a big shift in our country. There's still hope.
There are many that are coming to the knowledge of what we are convinced of the truth of the preacher of pre-male position. How is your congregation? Uh, taking all this and from what you've learned and your experience over the years, how they Are they accepting it? Are there any pushback? Are you Are you like we talked to pastors all over the country?
And when you start teaching this, they find that all of a sudden people start leaving the churches. Have you experienced any of that? Or what's the temperature in the area you're at? Are there other churches like yours that are teaching the full counsel of God?
Well, that's a great question, Ken. I would say that there are churches that. Teach the counsel of God, but they don't necessarily lean on millennial or they lean on millennial and sometimes even post-millennial. Very few are premillennial, and if they are premillennial, they're not necessarily dispensational premillennial.
So for me in our church, Um because I've Preached the whole counsel of God's word with the literal, grammatical, historical, hermeneutic in its proper context. Our church has been blessed immensely by it, and we've actually had believers come to our church. And they constantly say, Pastor Isaac, thank you so much for preaching the whole counsel or God's word. We just don't know of any other churches in our area that do. And we've actually seen a great increase.
Not just physically, but spiritually in the maturity of our believers. We have several Bible studies going on in our church because I preach verse by verse, passage by passage, through the whole council of God's word. In fact, one of the sermon series I did was on the book of Obadiah. I spent five weeks opening up that little book. full of powerful gems pertaining to the reign of Christ and the millennial kingdom to come.
And his plan and promise for the people of Israel that we will see at the end of the tribulation. Yeah, praise God. I'm glad you brought that up, Josh, because when we travel, that's what we're hearing. You get those that won't accept this message, they'll leave. But then, when others hear about, hey, this Pastor Isaac is telling the truth, then they come.
That's what we're seeing all over the country.
So, Even though you may be on an island by yourself. What he just said is so encouraging. You never stop preaching the truth. You never stop preaching the full counsel of God. Yeah, because this is where the word of God really lifts us up, encourages us.
It's not that God is a God of chaos, but he's a God of order. He's not a God of secret. He's a God of revealing himself to us. And he communicates consistently with us, clearly with us, so that we can understand his word and proclaim his word.
So thank you for faithfully standing, for faithfully proclaiming.
Now, how can people get in touch with your ministry? Say they live in rural western Wisconsin. How can they find you? You can find us at journeychurch.city. That's journeychurch.city for our website, or you can contact our office phone number at 715-268-2223.
Or you can get a hold of me with my personal email or pastoral email, I should say, at pastor Isaac, I-S-A-A-C, just like in the Bible, at journeychurch.city. That's how you can get a hold of us. And if you have any other questions, Josh, you should be able to. relay that information to me as well. If you're a pastor and you want to join us, get a hold of Pastor Josh, Josh at olivetreeviews.org.
Or if you know a pastor that could benefit from that, Please get a hold of us. We'd love to be a blessing and encouragement to you and your church. Thank you. God bless.
Well, we are just coming off our Understanding the Times night with Pastor Barry Stagner. Check out our online store early next week for a DVD of this event or watch it at no cost. On our website, olivetreeviews.org, that's olivetreeviews.org. or you can check us out on our YouTube channel or Rumble channel. We had a tremendous night reaching over 30 nations and encouraging them to look up.
Before our redemption draws near. Contact us through our website, olivetreeviews.org. That's Olive Tree Views. Yeah. Call us Central Time at 763-559-45.
4444. That's 763-559-459. 4444. We get our mail when you write to Allah Pri Ministries in Jan Markel. Box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311.
That's box 1452, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311. All gifts are tax-deductible. The atrocities of October 7, 2023 must not be overlooked or forgotten. We are less than 100 years removed from the Holocaust. You must not be the generation and allows it to happen again.
We are God's ambassadors on earth. Speak truth and look up. because everything is falling into place. His honor and glory be unto your name. Be unto your name.
