Watchman on the Wall

Southwest Radio Ministries: 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 and remind everyone who tunes in that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

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Opposition to Christianity increases globally. Today's program pulls back the curtain on Christians facing hostility for their faith, including a Christian grandmother from Finland who is appealing her hate speech case to Europe's highest court, a 78-year-old retired pastor in Ireland convicted for preaching John 3:16, and a Ugandan convert from Islam to Christianity whose family maimed him for following Jesus. Josh Davis details these stories, plus encourages Christians to avoid fake prophetic headlines in today's edition of Headlines from the End Times.

Josh Davis: Greetings, fellow Watchman on the Wall, and welcome to another Headlines from the End Times as we bring you information that shows how the pieces of the puzzle are coming together just as God predicted in His unchanging and timeless eternal Word.

We begin today's stories with an update on something I've reported to you previously, and this goes back to March. I'll explain the details in just a moment, but a long-serving Finnish parliamentarian, medical doctor, and grandmother of 12—over in Finland—has been criminally prosecuted for nearly seven years just for simply sharing her Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

It all started back in 2019 with a tweet. That’s still when X was called Twitter. And then that sparked some investigation into her background, and they discovered along the way that she had co-authored a 2004 church booklet on sexuality and God's design for marriage and human sexuality. So she was criminally convicted in March for insulting a group by Finland's Supreme Court. She's just recently announced that she's going to appeal this case to the European Court of Human Rights.

That's the final legal junction in this critical case, which is battling for free speech in Europe. For those of us in the United States of America, that's similar to coming before the U.S. Supreme Court. It doesn't get any higher than that for her legal appeals process. Now, this appeal comes after the former Interior Minister's nearly seven-year prosecution and unanimous acquittal by two lower courts in Finland. They did not find her guilty, but this higher court did.

In March of 2024, a mixed Supreme Court ruling acquitted her of her 2019 Bible verse tweet, but it convicted her for making and keeping available to the public a text that insults the group, they said. And that's referring to that 2004 church booklet on sexual ethics. It was a narrow margin. The vote was three to two in that decision to convict her for making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group of people.

Commenting on her decision to appeal, she said, "The failure of the Finnish Supreme Court to uphold freedom of speech has set a dangerous precedent in my country and across Europe. I feel it is my duty to appeal this decision to reinstate respect for the basic human right that all are free to peacefully express their views in the public square."

She went on to say, "I know I'm not alone in facing unjust persecution under hate speech laws that make sharing Christian beliefs a criminal offense. I make my appeal in the hope that the European Court of Human Rights will recognize that peacefully expressing one's beliefs is never a crime and ensure that this basic freedom is protected for all."

Well, it's not just happening in Finland or in some of the European countries. We see this happening across the world, especially in the Western world. It's happening in North America as well. I'll share some more stories about that as we continue in today's episode.

Here's another one from Northern Ireland: a pastor convicted for preaching John 3:16. It was where he preached that message that got him landed in hot water with the officials. It truly is, as he says, a dark day for Christian freedom. According to reports, a district judge in Northern Ireland has convicted an elderly pastor of breaking the country's abortion buffer zone laws. He was preaching a sermon on John 3:16, standing on a public sidewalk across from a hospital where they perform abortions.

If you aren't aware, they have established these buffer zone laws in different parts of the UK where you have to be so many feet or so many meters away from the facility itself. You can't even pray close to those places. They have barred any kind of religious expression that could be deemed to go against the abortion narrative.

This retired pastor, his name is Clive Johnston, he's 78 years old. He's the former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland. He was convicted on two criminal counts and fined 450 British pounds, that's over $500 US dollars, for a July 2024 sermon that he delivered on the fringes of a buffer zone near this particular hospital. He's charged with conducting a protest that could influence a protected person and failing to comply with orders to leave, according to reports.

Pastor Johnston called this conviction a dark day for Christian freedom. His legal representation stated that he had no banners or placards and made no mention of or allusion to abortion during his preaching. He was simply preaching on John 3:16.

He continued to say, "We held a small open-air Sunday service near this hospital. We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion, and yet the buffer zone law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offense. At 78 years of age, I find myself for the very first time convicted of a crime."

He went on to say, "If someone is out there causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them. But I wasn't doing any of those things, as the police video shows and everyone involved in this case accepts." In calling this ruling "creeping censorship," one expert said that the options for an appeal are being considered. "Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalize gospel preaching."

So, friends, we understand what is happening across this world as attempts to restrict and control the spread of the gospel and the spread of God's truth is happening all across Europe and in the UK. Soon it's coming to North America. We know to the north, as we've reported stories recently about Canada and some of the legislation being considered there, that would make it more European in style with some of these kinds of laws that have been passed, making it illegal for some of these practices to take place.

It's so astonishing to think about how abortion has been protected with this invisible perimeter set up around it. If you're even silently praying, if you're sharing the message of John 3:16 and you are close enough to the facility doors, you are breaking the law. How dangerous this is. It's exactly what the Bible says would happen: In the last days, perilous times will come, for men will be lovers of their own selves. Abortion is the height of self-love. It truly is, dear friends. That's something for you to meditate on, something for you to ponder as you consider what that truly is in that action.

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You can also check out our website for a lot of great resources, including some of the featured resources that have been on our broadcast this week: swrc.com. Also, friends, don't forget about some of our upcoming events, including our Israel tour 2026. That's coming up November 1st through the 12th. We're going to spend 10 days in the land of Israel. It's going to be wonderful as we focus on Bible prophecy, as we focus on apologetics and strengthening and affirming your faith in the Lord.

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Now let's get to some more Headlines from the End Times. I want to go back to religious persecution. The next story I want to share with you is somewhat sensitive, and so I want to give you that information now. I'm not going to be overtly graphic, but some of the events that have occurred in this next story are very sensitive. With that in mind, I'm proceeding with caution and using language just to give you a heads-up on what is to come.

The story details how following Jesus carries a heavy price in some parts of our world. Relatives of a man in eastern Uganda chopped off his hands after he converted from Islam to Christianity. I know that's gory, and we don't like to think about that, but think about the price this man was willing to pay to follow Jesus, to leave his family, who are Muslim, and to convert to Christianity. It cost him a very high price.

This man is 40 years old. He's been recovering from these severe injuries after being maimed in the attack at his family home. Get that. This is what he had to say in testimony: "I gave my life to Jesus in early March. My family members were not happy. They became very angry, started sending me threatening messages about taking my life."

He returned home briefly on the evening of April 17th to collect some personal belongings before relocating to a safer place. He'd intended to travel to another town where a friend who had shared the gospel with him lives. But relatives ambushed him on his arrival. He said, "I found my brothers waiting for me, as if they had been informed of my location." He went on to say, "My elder brother approached me and pretended to ask about my whereabouts. Suddenly, he grabbed me. Others surrounded me."

So then they took him into the house and just maimed him. As it says, they cut off his hands while reciting Islamic scripture. The relatives later transported him about three miles away and abandoned him near a crossroads, severely injured.

He went on to say, "I thank God that a stranger found me and raised an alarm. People came and rushed me to a nearby clinic for medical attention." So there's an assistant pastor at an evangelical church in the district who said this man had been attending worship services there for some time. They have withdrawn the names of the church and the pastor just to keep them safe from any kind of attack.

But this man's father justified this attack, justified what happened to his own son. Understand what his father says: "This is what Sharia instructs us to do." Now, he's talking about the Islamic law, Sharia law. "This is what Sharia law instructs us to do to those who deny the religion of Allah." And that's according to the pastor quoting the father and the reasons behind this, defending and justifying this attack on his son.

Do you see the dangerous side of these things? Police have not released a statement at the time that I'm recording this about this incident. It's remained unclear whether they're going to arrest anyone regarding this. In eastern Uganda, where this happened, there is a large portion of the citizens who are Muslim. But we see that converting to Christianity is very difficult and cost this man dearly. And yet he's willing to do it because he's seen the truth. He has seen the light.

Let's be praying for this brother in Christ and for those who are under severe persecution around the world. This is a good reminder that our brothers and sisters around the world, just by naming the name of Jesus, can sometimes put their lives on the line. For those of us in the Western world, for those of us in the United States of America, we find that hard to fathom sometimes. We have it so relatively easy compared to what some of these people are experiencing. So let's keep our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church in prayer.

As we move on to another story, I've reported on Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying. They call it MAiD—M-A-I-D. It's anything but helpful, Medical Assistance in Dying. Well, it was raised in Vancouver recently with a Catholic priest during a hospital stay. He said he's morally opposed to this, but notice the story and notice how these things were presented to him. That's right, a Vancouver priest was recovering from a hip fracture.

I know hip fractures can be a very terrible and extended time of suffering and pain and recovery. It's slow and painful, yes. But typically, a hip fracture itself is not a life-threatening injury. And so he was recovering from that at a hospital in Vancouver, and he was twice offered assisted death by healthcare staff. Even though they knew that he was morally opposed to euthanasia, they still had those conversations with him about that.

There are critics who say that medical professionals are increasingly encouraged to initiate these kinds of conversations. And of course, Canada was recently in the news for crossing over the 100,000-person mark. Over 100,000 people in Canada had chosen to end their life through this so-called Medical Assistance in Dying. Isn't it amazing how they just tweak the terms? It's Medical Assistance in Dying. It's not euthanasia. It's not ending your life. It just puts you in control of when you want to die. You can make that decision yourself.

Again, friends, do you see the authority power at work? That you are the one who gets to decide between life and death? That's why abortion and euthanasia are so closely linked together, because it puts the individual as the ultimate authority. I am the one who decides when and how I want to die. Sadly, there's been all kinds of sad stories, including one I shared with you a few weeks ago about a young man in his 20s who had diabetes and he had suffered some impacts related to diabetes, and he chose to end his life. His parents were devastated to lose their son at such a young age and that he had made that choice.

This Catholic priest, recovering from a hip fracture, said that the doctor came in and began to try to sell him on the fact of Medical Assistance in Dying. He said that the doctor said, "It's something that you have to discuss if you've been given a terminal diagnosis." I didn't realize—maybe it's just my lack of medical knowledge—but since when is a hip fracture a terminal diagnosis?

Weeks later, while he's still recovering, a second offer came from a nurse. The priest said that she seemed really uncomfortable to bring up the conversation in the first place, but maybe she felt like she was doing the compassionate and caring thing because he was suffering so much pain. The priest added, "It's a false compassion."

And that's true. I do agree with him on that statement. They think that it's a loving thing to do to put somebody out of their misery, to take away pain. But in reality, as you've heard recently here on Watchman on the Wall, pain is not always a bad thing. Pastor Chad Roberts joined us recently talking about blind faith and all that he has experienced through blindness and how the joy of the Lord is his strength and how God has helped him through that season. So we understand that God has a good purpose to our pain.

For those who say we've got to avoid pain and suffering at all costs, they misunderstand the good that God can bring out of seasons of suffering. We understand that there is a theology behind euthanasia. There's a theology behind all of this. And this secular theology that we see happening in our world today is going to be the hallmark of the biblical end times scenario, dear friend. It's going to win the day, in my opinion, and according to the scriptures that talk about the reign of the Antichrist and how that people will be lovers of their own selves and how that system will emerge during those days.

Now I want to turn to another story that I recently came across in preparation for this one. I think it's a good opportunity for us to learn some biblical discernment. I want to share with you some of the words from this story, not as if I agree with this story, and I want to add my commentary to show you why this story is dangerous and why students of Bible prophecy, fellow Watchmen on the Wall, need to have some spiritual discernment and practice biblical wisdom as we go forth.

This is what the headline said: "Dying River in the Cradle of Civilization Sparks Fears Biblical Prophecy Could Be Coming True." That's a catchy headline, that's for sure. But let's exercise some proper biblical discernment as we go through some of this article.

Here's what the article says: "The Bible warns that when a river flowing through the cradle of civilization dries up, it could mark the start of events long tied to end-times prophecy. The Euphrates River, the longest river in Western Asia, is mentioned in the Book of Revelation as destined to run dry to make way for the final battle often called the Battle of Armageddon."

Up to this point, this is correct. This is true. The Book of Revelation does talk about the Euphrates River drying up as it talks about some of the impacts during the tribulation period. And so this report continues: "A recent report has warned that the river could disappear by 2040 due to declining water levels and droughts driven by climate change. Satellite data have shown that the Euphrates basin has lost more than 34 cubic miles of freshwater since 2003, roughly 13 million Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water, highlighting the scale of the decline."

Now, that is true, the Euphrates River is drying up. But now the story connects it over to Revelation 16:12. But that's a future event. There's going to be all kinds of cataclysmic events that will happen between now and this future drying up of the Euphrates River. Multiple things could happen to shift the flow of the water—earthquakes that will happen during the tribulation, lots of other natural phenomenon, and even wartime scenarios. Could atomic bombs be dropped into the region and that would influence the flow of the water or siphon the water away from where it currently flows? Certainly. All these things could be possible during the tribulation period.

But I'm just trying to urge you, use biblical discernment. When you come across certain headlines, not everything is as it appears to be. Use caution. Stay in the Word of God. First and foremost, we're not looking at the signs of the times to find a verse that it fits to. No, we're understanding what God's Word clearly says first, and then we're showing you things that line up with what His Word clearly says.

So friends, as we say here at Southwest Radio Ministries, please keep in mind that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

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Lord willing, we'll be back here Monday, ready to once again bring clarity to the chaos. So head into the weekend with the encouragement that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful friends just like you. To learn more, visit swrc.com. That's swrc.com.