Watchman on the Wall

Announcer: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. Today, Josh Davis shares the latest headlines from the end times. Watchman on the Wall is here each day to bring clarity to the chaos. Don't miss out on any of the important topics and information shared on Watchman on the Wall. Make sure you subscribe to our free email newsletter. Get the latest insight and analysis from our speakers and access to our latest resources.

Sign up today for the free email newsletter at swrc.com or just give us a call at 1-800-652-1144. Don't forget to visit our website, swrc.com. There, you'll find the latest episode of Prophecy in the News television, as well as this program, our Watchman on the Wall program. You'll also find resources and articles that will strengthen and encourage your faith. It is time for the latest headlines from the end times. Here is Josh Davis.

Josh Davis: Greetings, fellow watchman on the wall, and welcome to another Headlines from the End Times. We are helping you to connect the dots between what's happening in today's world and what God has prophesied in His word. You see, God's plan for the ages is coming together piece by piece, step by step, with each passing week. We are going to highlight some of the recent stories and connect them with God's timeless word to help you stay abreast of what God is doing.

Let's go to our first headline from the end times. Let's look and consider what it all means when the UAE leaves OPEC. As we have seen within the last couple of weeks, the United Arab Emirates left OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil producer's group as an unprecedented energy crisis caused by the Iran war exposes discord among the Gulf nations. According to reports, the exit of the UAE, one of OPEC's biggest oil and petroleum producers, weakens OPEC's control over global oil supplies and widens a rift between the UAE and its neighbor, Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is effectively the leader of this organization of the petroleum exporting countries, otherwise known as OPEC. There is a widening rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over this departure. Once firm allies, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have developed a simmering rivalry, according to reports, clashing on issues from oil policy and regional geopolitics to the race for foreign talent and capital. In other words, they're looking for foreign investors and foreign workers who can come in and help them develop this, help them make the big bucks, and help them raise the funds that they need to be successful and to win in this oil competition.

The UAE is a regional business and financial hub, and it's one of Washington D.C.'s most important allies. I found that very interesting, and that is going to tie into some of the dots with God's word. It has pursued an assertive foreign policy and carved its own sphere of influence across the Middle East and Africa. Especially after coming under attack during the Iran war, the UAE has strengthened its relationships with the United States and, get this, not just with the United States but also with Israel.

It was a part of the 2020 Abraham Accords. The UAE was right there with the United States of America, Israel, and others as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords. It views the relationship with Israel as a lever for regional influence and a unique channel to Washington D.C. Some of the Gulf leaders met in person recently in Saudi Arabia at a summit that Gulf officials say is aimed to craft a response to the thousands of Iranian missile and drone strikes their nations have faced since the U.S. and Israel launched their war with Iran in late February.

Part of the OPEC agreement that goes back to the 1970s is that the U.S. is going to provide military protection for the OPEC nations in agreement with pricing everything in U.S. dollars. That is the petrodollar system. Let's think about this from a prophetic standpoint, thinking about the petrodollar, thinking about the global economy, and thinking about how this could set the stage for a push towards a different system, a different based system other than U.S. dollars.

The OPEC oil pricing, again, is based on the petrodollar. The U.S. promised, back in the 1970s, to give military protection to OPEC nations if they would price the oil exclusively in U.S. dollars. That's why we always hear them say oil is so many dollars per barrel. That is all based off this negotiated agreement between the U.S. and the OPEC nations back in the 1970s. This petrodollar system could be in the balance and could be ready for some shakeup.

Could this shakeup create the need for a new international pricing structure? If the U.S. stays tied with the UAE and builds a special partnership there, can they play both sides of this? What is going to happen? How are these pieces going to come together? There are a lot of question marks. Some are saying China is poised to get involved and issue their currency to be the new foundation. Others say there could be a call for a more globalized kind of standard economic system.

It is fascinating to see how these pieces of the puzzle could tie together. There are other parts of this that we need to consider that could set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. When we were in Kansas just a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Rob Lindstead did a whole presentation. I think he spoke for about an hour long, and it was a wonderful, information-packed session talking about just what I am revealing to you today. That presentation will be included in an upcoming video release from Southwest Radio Ministries, and we will let you know down the road when that project is edited and it's ready to be released.

It is amazing to consider how this move from the UAE pulling out of OPEC could signal a broader realignment of Middle East powers. Could this leverage Israel to become more powerful in the region with their ties with the UAE and with the money that is now going to come into both countries? By the way, Israel has a lot of oil of its own that's been discovered in recent years. Some people believe, like Dr. Rob Lindstead, and I agree with him on this, that we could see the stage being set for security to come at last to Israel.

If the war in Iran dies down and things begin to return to a more peaceful surrounding, could this lead to the peace, the stability, and the security that's mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39? Prior to the attack, the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39, it talks about Israel dwelling safely and Israel dwelling with security before those attacks take place. Could this set the stage for that environment, which could then set the stage for what is to come with the coalition of nations? I have talked about that at length here on recent Headlines from the End Times episodes, so I won't go back and repeat all those things.

It is just amazing to see the alignment and how God is moving and shaping and putting prophecy into exactly the place that it needs to be for His plans and His purposes to be fulfilled precisely and exactly as He has decreed it and declared it. Another piece of this puzzle that is very interesting is the regathering of Israel into its homeland. A regathering of Jewish people into the land of Israel. Across the world, places that seem to be safe harbors for Jewish residents are turning into anything but, and that includes in the Western world, in Europe, and in North America.

The Jewish people are feeling greater persecution and greater acts of violence against them. they feel less safe to tell anyone that they are Jewish. They are considering moving back to Israel, and we see a similar story that came out of a recent report from France. In fact, some Jewish people go so far as to say there is no future for Jews in France. Scores of French Jewish doctors are preparing to immigrate to Israel. Now, there is a medical doctor shortage in Israel, and there has been a move for many years now to try to encourage Jewish physicians in particular to move back to Israel to help their healthcare system to improve.

Nearly four out of five French Jews say they feel unsafe, according to a recent survey. According to reports, a couple hundred French Jewish doctors are interested in moving to Israel, and they gathered in Paris recently in a major immigration fair for medical professionals. There is a lot of global turbulence among Jewish people all around the world, especially noticeable in the 450,000-strong Jewish people who live in France. France is also home to the largest Muslim population in Europe.

A recent survey showed that nearly four out of five Jewish people living in France feel unsafe now because of what is happening. One 26-year-old medical doctor attended this event with his wife. He said, "It is becoming more and more difficult to live here because of anti-Semitism." Another physician said, "The majority of young people are thinking a lot about how they can live in Israel before it's too late." Speaking about no future in France, another medical doctor, a 37-year-old father of three, says that he's planning to move to Jerusalem within the next ten years for the benefit of his children. He said, "There is always anti-Semitism, but I am a proud Jew. There is no future in France."

Nearly four out of five of the French Jewish population say they feel unsafe now in France with what is happening. It's not just in France. We understand that in Canada, and with the large Jewish populations in New York City, for instance, there is a move and a consideration to where they can be more safe and more secure, especially as they consider the future for their kids and grandkids that will be coming down the line. It is amazing to see how the people of Israel are regathering back into the land and how this anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish persecution is causing many to look long and hard at considering a move, even where their family has laid down roots for the last two, three, or four generations. They are considering leaving all of that to go back to Israel.

It's just amazing to see how God is regathering His people here at this moment. There are some connections to the events of October 7th in the medical sphere, and they are saying we want to be back to help our people. It is not just the anti-Semitism that is propelling them to go, but it is also a sense of calling and a sense of duty to help their own fellow Jewish people in Israel who need medical help. They say, "Over here in these other nations, we feel useless for the Jewish nation and useless to Israel." But as they move back, they feel that they are helping their people back in the land.

Friends, we see the connections here. It is interesting to note, and this is something a lot of students of Bible prophecy trip up on at times, that the book of Ezekiel in particular mentions that there's going to be a regathering first in unbelief. A regathering into the land in unbelief. But then secondly, it will be a regathering of belief into a relationship with the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Ezekiel 36 and Ezekiel 37 speak so well to this point.

Consider a couple of verses for the sake of time today. Ezekiel 36, verse 24, for instance, says, "For I will take you," speaking to the Jewish people, "from among the heathen and gather you out of all the countries and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you." So, there is a gathering back into the land. It's a regathering in unbelief, as the context would make clear, and there are other verses that speak to this as well. But then would come a spiritual cleansing. I believe that is indicative of the tribulation period, as Jeremiah calls it, the time of Jacob's trouble.

He doesn't say the time of Israel's trouble, but he says the time of Jacob's trouble. If you study that differentiation between the two names, Jacob is often referred to as that rebellious, spiritual side of the person who was formerly called Jacob but was named Israel by Almighty God. We see that when God referred to him as his old man, as that rebellious, sinful person, He often said Jacob. I find it fascinating that Jeremiah would say the time of Jacob's trouble. The unbelieving remnant would go through this time of tribulation that focuses primarily on the house of Israel.

After that, we see the words of Jesus and passages like Matthew 24 and 25 coming into fruition. Matthew 25, the parable of the ten virgins, is a parable describing the separation of the believing remnant of Israel who survive the tribulation, those who turn to Christ through the ministry of the 144,000 evangelists who are raised up during the tribulation. As those believing remnants survive the tribulation, there's also an unbelieving remnant of Israel that survives the tribulation. I know I'm throwing a lot at you and trying to give you a bird's eye perspective on how all of this is going to fit into God's prophetic scenario.

I just find it so fascinating to see the regathering of the people back into the land. In Ezekiel 37, he talks about that valley of dry bones. One of the most famous prophecies. Even people who are not Christians have heard about that. They know about the valley of dry bones and how the bones would all be in seemingly a wasteland. The bones start rattling and they start coming together, and tissue and flesh begin to develop on these bones until whole entire bodies are there.

There is one major problem: there is no breath, no life in the bodies that have reassembled in such a miraculous way. That again is a visual description, a picture, a type of what God is promising in chapter 36. A regathering, but there is no spiritual life, no spiritual vitality within those bodies. They are regathered, they are back, and they are made whole again, but it's in unbelief. Then God asks, "Can these bones live?" We understand that He would eventually breathe the breath of life back into them and they would reanimate and they would stand on their feet again, alive. God is doing exactly what He has prophesied, and this story coming out of the Jewish population in France reveals what is at work in the world today to bring us to this place.

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Previously, I was talking about the regathering of Israel back into the land in unbelief. It is shocking to include this next story, and it saddens me to see the level of unbelief that's part of modern-day Israel in some corners and some pockets. It's like we are seeing another Bible prophecy be fulfilled, as Jesus said in His Olivet Discourse as recorded in Luke chapter 17, that we would see the re-emergence of the days of Lot. Israel is preparing the largest-ever Middle East Pride Festival to be held in the same location as biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, in the region of the Dead Sea.

Our friend, Dr. David Bowen, has written about this and asked the question, "Are we witnessing Sodom and Gomorrah 2.0 re-emerge?" It is going to be in June of this year. A massive four-day festival called Pride Land is scheduled to take place in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea in southern Israel, which is in the region of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. My goodness, how shocking this really is. This event is being promoted as the largest LGBTQ gathering ever held in the Middle East.

The organizers plan to construct a temporary, as they call it, Pride City, that would include lodging, beach venues, performances, and continuous entertainment, day and night, 24/7 for four straight days. For many people, this just seems like another cultural event. But to those of us who are watchmen on the wall and are spiritually discerning, we understand this location is not incidental. It is not just because it's a cool place with nice weather in the month of June.

There is Bible prophecy at work here. The Dead Sea region is the biblical location of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those cities were destroyed by God due to their persistent rebellion and their moral corruption. What happens when this modern celebration rises in the very shadow of ancient judgment, Dr. Bowen asks? We understand it is the days of Lot revisited. Jesus Himself said in Luke 17, "As it was in the days of Lot, even so shall it be in the days the Son of Man is revealed."

In Lot's day, they had normalized sin to such a degree that the judgment came while the people were still eating, drinking, buying, selling, and celebrating. The Bible tells us that Sodom was immoral and defiant in the face of God. The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly, the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 13. Ezekiel describes the sin of Sodom, and I find this so very interesting in Ezekiel 16, verses 49 and 50. I encourage you to read those verses and contemplate them on your own.

It talks about diagnosing the sins of Sodom: pride, prosperity, comfort, and ease. They became self-centered and arrogant. They committed abomination. All of that nauseous mixture led to their judgment from Almighty God. Dr. Bowen points out this repeated progression: prosperity, pride, moral rebellion, and then the hand of God's judgment fell upon them. We are witnessing the exact same pattern and the exact same rebellion repeat itself, not just in this one region but across the whole world.

The Pride Land festival itself is being advertised as a symbol of openness, unity, and identity. Yet we understand the Bible repeatedly warns that what man celebrates, God will judge when it stands in opposition to His desire. Romans 1 speaks so very clearly about those things. Friends, what we are witnessing is an astonishing celebration of what God has called wicked. For us as the church, we need to know that God is keeping the timeline. He understands where prophecy is moving and how it is all going to be fulfilled.

Remember what the words of 2 Peter 3:9 tell us, that God is long-suffering. He isn't willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He is giving our generation, as wicked as it may be, an opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel, to repent from its iniquity, and to turn to Christ in faith. As believers and as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, this window of grace is open, and it is our responsibility to carry forth God's truth and to carry forth the gospel message in this generation.

There is going to come a day when that door will shut. When the church is raptured up and we are with the Lord, then we will see the tribulation commence as God begins to unleash His judgment here on this earth for its wickedness. Until the rapture, may we as the church be found faithful proclaiming the message that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

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