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GUEST: Todd Hampson, author, Non-Prophets Guide Series

Consider this: Nearly 30% of the Bible deals with prophetic or future events. A majority of the prophecies in Scripture have already come to pass but there is plenty of prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled.

Fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest evidences that God is trustworthy and His Word is true.

Consider Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ—that He would be born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, make an escape to Egypt, be rejected by His own people, betrayed by a friend, crucified with sinners, no bones broken, have His side pierced, and rise from the dead, to name just a few that have were precisely fulfilled.

Realizing this should strengthen the believer’s faith in the sovereign God who controls the past, present, and future according to His perfect plan.

And yet with the high number and perfect accuracy of fulfilled prophecies, it is odd that many churches tend to avoid the subject. It is said that addressing prophecy is complicated and not concrete, that there are many different interpretations, that prophecy is a secondary and potentially divisive issue, or that people have more relevant needs in the here and now.

God intentionally filled His Word with prophecy so that believers would know what is coming, yes, but even more, so that we would praise and worship God for His power and plan. While God’s Word doesn’t include every detail we may want about the future, it reveals plenty for the one who diligently studies the Bible and learns under a preacher who “accurately handles the word of truth.”

We are living in a time when some of the yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecies are taking shape. The nation of Israel, after being scattered from their promised homeland for nearly 2000 years, is now living there again. That in itself is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy (Isaiah 11:11; Ezekiel 11:17).

But there is more to come—a seven-year period of world tribulation, the rise of a world leader called the Antichrist, the rapture of church-age believers, and the return of Jesus Christ to judge and reign on earth for 1000 years.

Now, some believers would dispute this “pre-millennial” view of biblical prophecy. They don’t see ethnic Israel as significant in the future. They don’t see a 1000-year literal reign of Christ on earth but rather a spiritual reign right now or in the future. So how can we know what is to come?

This weekend in part one of our two-week series, Todd Hampson, co-host of the Prophecy Pros Podcast and author of many books on prophecy, will join to us to lay the groundwork on understanding biblical prophecy. We’ll discuss the three main views—amillennialism, postmillennialism, and premillennialism—and a number of future events that Scripture details.

Then, next weekend in part two, we will look at current events in the Middle East—the intractable war with Iran, the rise of Turkey, and the turning against Israel—all of which are nations with immense prophetic significance in the lead up to the great hope of believers—the return of Jesus Christ!

We hope you join us for two weeks of Understanding Current Events in the Middle East through the Lens of Biblical Prophecy.

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• A Visual Guide to the End Times
• The Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times
• Prophecy Pros Podcast
• The Prophecy Pros Academy

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Guest: Ed Vitagliano, Executive Vice President, American Family Association

America as an independent, sovereign nation is now 250 years old. The founders of our nation, who were mostly Christians or were in large measure influenced by Christianity, brilliantly wrote and adopted our nation’s founding and guiding documents—the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 and the US Constitution, the supreme law of our land on Sept 17, 1789.

The founders understood from studying Scripture and history that separation of power is necessary to avoid tyranny and individual liberties, bound by personal restraint, are God’s intent for a flourishing society.

They were right. For about 200 years, America grew, developed, and course-corrected into one of the greatest empires in human history—militarily, economically, culturally, and yes, spiritually. The pulpit of Christian churches influenced the majority of our citizens through proclaiming biblical truth and the gospel. Generally speaking, our people and institutions largely revered God and His Word.

But as with all nations throughout history before us, including God’s own people the Jews, the hearts of our people began to wander and be seduced from reverence of the Creator. The Christian worldview that pervaded our land now has been replaced by a man-centered ethic where “every man does what is right in his own eyes.” We are now at the point where right is called wrong and wrong is called right.

So where will America go from its 250 anniversary—deeper into sin and societal collapse or repentance and revival? What do Christians need to understand about our situation and what should they be doing?

Ed Vitagliano is our guest this weekend to help answer these questions. Ed is the executive vice president of American Family Association (AFA) and the longtime co-host of Today’s Issues radio program on American Family Radio Network. An award-winning writer, Ed wrote a column titled Foundations from the Past in AFA’s The Stand magazine, which also appears in the July-August issue of The Christian Worldview Journal to be released soon.

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A nation and world altering event took place on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia when 56 representatives of 13 British colonies signed the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The Declaration is America’s original founding document and is “the most consequential enumeration of the fundamental and unalienable Rights of Mankind as irrevocably endowed by our Creator.”

Today in a special Independence Day program, we’re going to commemorate this bold act that altered our nation from being yet another British colony under the King and Church of England. Instead, America became a Constitutional Republic that separates power from the dictates of one king into branches of government and elected representatives of the people. We will examine what led to the Declaration of Independence and the impact it made on America, even to this day.

The Bible says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33).

While this specifically refers to Israel, there is general blessing for any nation that reveres and obeys God. God has greatly blessed America. The question going forward as we increasingly rebel against Him is: Will America repent and honor God?