Point of View November 19, 2024 – Hour 2 : Iran Alive Ministries

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:20] Second hour today and we're going to spend some time talking about Iran and about the opportunity for ministry in Iran through the organization Iran Alive Ministries.

[00:00:30] Yesterday we talked about Israel, later this hour we'll get into the issue of Ukraine and it seems like all we do is talk about some of these hot spots around the world.

[00:00:39] But we bring back to the microphone Dr. Hamo Shariat who is the founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries,

[00:00:47] oftentimes has been referred to as the Billy Graham of Iran and our good friend Joe Rosenberg calls him the most influential Iranian American

[00:00:55] and has an individual, has a PhD in artificial intelligence from the University of Southern California.

[00:01:01] By the way as a program note, tomorrow we're going to talk about AI and the church and a new book that's on this issue of artificial intelligence.

[00:01:08] Also graduated from Jessup University.

[00:01:11] His book probably best known, Iran's Great Awakening.

[00:01:15] It is a great source for what is happening there.

[00:01:18] You've seen him no doubt on the 700 Club, TBN, Daystar.

[00:01:21] Of course he's been a speaker at Voice of Martyrs conferences.

[00:01:25] And Dr. Shariat, once again welcome to Point of View.

[00:01:29] Well thank you so much Kirby for allowing me to share.

[00:01:32] Well I'd love to have you talk about all the different elements that we are going to give to people.

[00:01:38] We have a link to IranAlive.org.

[00:01:41] We also have a link to your website, HermosShariat.com.

[00:01:45] Don't even have to know how to spell it because the link is there.

[00:01:48] But it does seem to me right now that the regime in Iran is facing some real problems.

[00:01:54] A bad economy.

[00:01:55] Of course a corrupt government.

[00:01:57] I think an incoming president, Donald Trump is going to be less favorable towards Iran.

[00:02:04] And some of the benefits that Iran's government had under Joe Biden probably will not happen under Donald Trump.

[00:02:13] But give us a feel for what is happening in that country right now.

[00:02:18] Well you want the good news first or the bad news?

[00:02:21] Good news is you're bringing more people to the Lord than any time we can imagine.

[00:02:25] But go ahead with that first of all.

[00:02:28] Yeah, you know with all the bad news of the threats of Iran in the Middle East.

[00:02:35] The nuclear bomb which I believe they have it or they're close to having.

[00:02:40] But despite all the negative news you hear from the Middle East, the Lord is working in a major way.

[00:02:47] Especially in Iran.

[00:02:49] Iran is the first Islamic nation that's turning away from Islam and becoming a Christian.

[00:02:55] And it will be a Christian nation.

[00:02:58] And people tell me, hey, what is your good idea?

[00:03:01] Are you crazy?

[00:03:02] Iran, a Christian nation?

[00:03:03] I say I stole it.

[00:03:05] I stole that idea.

[00:03:07] Where did you steal it from?

[00:03:08] I stole it from Jeremiah 49 verse 38.

[00:03:12] Because God says he will set his throne.

[00:03:14] So, in brief, there is a revival in Iran.

[00:03:19] You shouldn't be surprised.

[00:03:20] It was prophesied in Jeremiah 49.

[00:03:22] And the people of Iran are moving towards the fulfillment of Jeremiah 49.

[00:03:28] The government of Iran, on the other hand, is moving towards the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38.

[00:03:34] The war, the attack on Israel.

[00:03:36] So, the good news, bad news in Iran.

[00:03:39] The good news, Iran has the fastest growing evangelical population in the world.

[00:03:46] Well, again, since we're talking about the attack, of course, Israel has been able to take out some of the leaders when they thought they were safely in Iran.

[00:03:57] And we've talked about that before.

[00:03:59] And so, there is a sense in which people wonder, are we headed towards a full-fledged war between Israel and Iran or ultimately between the United States and Iran?

[00:04:12] How do we think about that first from a foreign policy point of view?

[00:04:16] That could happen in the future, but not now.

[00:04:20] Neither side want that kind of war.

[00:04:22] The government of Iran is in the survival mode.

[00:04:25] It will do anything to survive.

[00:04:28] Because they don't have the support of the people.

[00:04:31] As you mentioned, the economy is bad.

[00:04:33] And it's going to get worse.

[00:04:36] Under Trump, there are going to be sanctions.

[00:04:38] And the government of Iran will be in trouble.

[00:04:41] So, they are not in a strong position to enter a war.

[00:04:45] They are in a survival mode.

[00:04:47] They may even talk to Trump, maybe behind closed doors.

[00:04:52] But they will.

[00:04:53] They will try to come to an agreement with Trump so they can survive.

[00:04:59] And Trump knows that.

[00:05:00] So, he's going to put much more pressure on them and get some advantages over them.

[00:05:05] Well, again, we want to talk about some of the good news.

[00:05:07] And one of those is, I've seen on your website the fact that you were really predicting that over these next coming months,

[00:05:14] you may even see an accelerated number of Iranian Muslims come to Christ.

[00:05:20] Yesterday, I mentioned the statistic which you have mentioned and others have as well,

[00:05:24] Joel Rosenberg and the rest, that we've seen more Muslims come to the Lord in the last couple of months than in the 14 years previously.

[00:05:32] And I see that happening even more so in Iran.

[00:05:36] What do you find happening right now in that country?

[00:05:40] Yes.

[00:05:42] You know, you'll find openness among Muslims in pockets in different areas, in different nations.

[00:05:51] But Iran is different.

[00:05:53] Iran, as a nation, has rejected Islam and opened to the Gospel.

[00:05:58] So, it's not surprising that the number of salvations that we are experiencing is exploding.

[00:06:05] It's growing exponentially because there is a desperation in Iran.

[00:06:10] There is a hopelessness in Iran.

[00:06:12] I hope I can describe the situation that the people of Iran are so you will understand why they're open to the Gospel,

[00:06:20] the miserable life they have.

[00:06:22] They have no resources.

[00:06:24] Did you know over 55% of Iranians are under the poverty line?

[00:06:30] Which means they're worried about their next meal.

[00:06:32] Yes.

[00:06:33] And then if they speak up, if they protest, what happens?

[00:06:37] The government of Iran kills them.

[00:06:39] Two years ago, they were on the streets with the Women's Life Freedom Movement.

[00:06:43] They came on the streets just protesting, saying we're miserable.

[00:06:46] We don't have jobs.

[00:06:47] We don't have money.

[00:06:48] What was the answer of the Islamic government?

[00:06:51] Kill them.

[00:06:53] Thousands of them on the streets.

[00:06:54] And over 20,000, according to their own statistics, over 20,000 of them were arrested.

[00:07:01] Many of them were tortured, killed, raped.

[00:07:05] And now, the last two years, just think of it.

[00:07:08] The whole nation, they're hiding in their homes.

[00:07:11] They don't dare to even protest.

[00:07:14] They have no hope.

[00:07:15] There is no future for them.

[00:07:19] And now, let me share one idea.

[00:07:23] Now that makes sense.

[00:07:24] Now, you will understand.

[00:07:26] When the people of Iran speak up and say,

[00:07:28] Hey, Israel, would you attack us?

[00:07:31] Would you attack our mullahs, our leaders?

[00:07:35] Would you do what you did with Hezbollah?

[00:07:37] You eliminated, you killed 17 of their top leaders,

[00:07:43] and then you took out Hassan Nasrullah, the top leader.

[00:07:48] Please, please, Israel, would you do that to us?

[00:07:52] That comes from the depth of hopelessness that they have that they would ask another nation.

[00:07:58] Would you attack us?

[00:08:00] So there is a miserable life, oppressive life, no hope in Iran, no savior except Jesus Christ.

[00:08:08] No hope except Jesus Christ.

[00:08:10] And I've been on a satellite channel.

[00:08:12] You have a 24-7 satellite channel.

[00:08:14] Since Trump was elected, my message is this.

[00:08:18] Trump is not your savior.

[00:08:21] Jesus is your savior.

[00:08:22] That's right.

[00:08:23] Let's take a break real quickly.

[00:08:24] We'll come back and get into more of this because this is an opportunity for Christians there to be salt and light.

[00:08:29] But we also want to talk about what you can do.

[00:08:32] And there are some very good action items that we're going to be talking about.

[00:08:36] So first of all, you might want to go in this break to some of the material we've posted on Iran Alive and HermozSheriat.com.

[00:08:44] All available at our website.

[00:08:45] And we'll be right back.

[00:08:46] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:02] The election of Donald Trump will advance the cause of religious liberty.

[00:09:05] That is a conclusion of First Liberty President Kelly Shackelford.

[00:09:09] On my radio program, he talked about Trump policies in his first term that offer hope for the future of religious liberty and then quoted from the speech Trump gave at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.

[00:09:19] We provide a link to an article with a complete list of policies along with a link to a video by Kelly Shackelford.

[00:09:26] Here are just a few reasons why the future of religious liberty in this country looks bright.

[00:09:30] Former President Trump's executive orders on religious liberty made a difference when he was in office.

[00:09:35] His 2017 executive order on protecting religious liberty was able to advance religious freedom across all federal executive agencies.

[00:09:43] His 2019 executive order on combating anti-Semitism prohibited discrimination against Jewish communities and believers.

[00:09:51] Kelly Shackelford also talked about the establishment of the HHS Conscious and Religious Freedom Division.

[00:09:57] One of his former employees was able to direct the agency's efforts to protect religious freedom and people of faith in the health care industry.

[00:10:05] What will the Trump administration do in the future?

[00:10:07] Well, Trump's speech at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention delineated seven major actions.

[00:10:13] One was the development of a religious liberty task force.

[00:10:16] Trump explained that he would create a new federal task force to fight anti-Christian bias

[00:10:22] and would investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment and persecution against Christians in America.

[00:10:28] He also promised that he would protect Christians, religious symbols and religious expression and speech.

[00:10:34] The election of Donald Trump is good news for those of us concerned about the future of religious liberty in America.

[00:10:40] I'm Kirby Anderson and that's my point of view.

[00:10:46] For a free booklet on a biblical view on big data, go to viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:53] That's viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener supported source for truth.

[00:11:03] Continue our conversation today with Dr. Homo Shariot.

[00:11:06] By the way, if you'd like to join us, 1-800-351-1212.

[00:11:09] But if nothing else, you might want to sit back and take some notes because you might just do a Bible study for a second because you were talking about Jeremiah 49.

[00:11:17] And I think it's important to really help people understand that passage because anybody that watched TBN this week and watched Joel Rosenberg,

[00:11:27] he actually showed a video of teaching that he did in Philadelphia on Jeremiah 29.

[00:11:34] And I think it was really interesting, 49, excuse me.

[00:11:38] And Jeremiah 49, 38, it says, I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials.

[00:11:45] In the latter days, I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.

[00:11:50] Now, some people say, well, what does that have to do with Iran?

[00:11:52] Well, Elam was the son of Shem or the grandson of Noah, I guess you could say.

[00:11:57] But Elam is the region which I guess you could identify as that southern part of Iran or what was Persia.

[00:12:06] So what you are saying is that we have a promise in Jeremiah 49 that actually says that in the latter days,

[00:12:15] and we're certainly closer to the latter days than we've ever been before,

[00:12:18] there will be a throne in Elam and there will be a restoring of the fortunes.

[00:12:25] Can you help us out with that?

[00:12:28] Yes.

[00:12:29] You know, Iran and Israel, they have been friends.

[00:12:33] According to the Bible, they have been great friends.

[00:12:35] Cyrus set the captives free.

[00:12:37] Not only set them free, they gave them money to go and build the temple.

[00:12:42] Sometimes I tease my Jewish friends.

[00:12:46] I tell them, hey, you know that wall in Jerusalem you go and pray to?

[00:12:49] Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's still there.

[00:12:51] Did you know if Persians paid for it?

[00:12:54] He paid for it.

[00:12:54] So it was built by Cyrus.

[00:12:58] And so now what is happening in the future?

[00:13:02] You see that Iran and Israel will be also, again, friends.

[00:13:06] And we are moving in that direction.

[00:13:09] Now, with Jeremiah 49, you ask about the last two verses.

[00:13:14] He says, I will set my throne and I will restore the fortunes.

[00:13:17] I will return the captives.

[00:13:19] The words, the phrases the Lord uses in Jeremiah 49 in multiple places is exactly the same words he uses for the Israel, for the return of Israel.

[00:13:33] Right.

[00:13:35] And so, again, I think what we're talking about here is that all of this culminates.

[00:13:40] And so when we talk about looking forward to the return of the Lord, we look forward to the establishment of those kind of principles.

[00:13:48] That is the case.

[00:13:49] We've lost Hermoz Shariat.

[00:13:51] We'll try to get him back on in just a minute.

[00:13:53] But if nothing else, I wanted to help you recognize that when he mentions just in passing Jeremiah 49, you might want to look at Jeremiah 49 versus 38 and then 39, because there you have a real opportunity to understand that.

[00:14:08] I think we lost you, but Dr. Shariat, I think we're back again, aren't we?

[00:14:12] Yes, yes.

[00:14:13] I'm glad they could reconnect.

[00:14:16] Yeah, the future of Iran and Israel is also in the Bible.

[00:14:20] Both God says, I will set my throne in Jerusalem.

[00:14:23] I will set my throne in Elam, which is completely inside the land of Iran.

[00:14:28] So what we see in the future, maybe soon, because of the Islamic government will come down, that Iran and Israel will be very close friends.

[00:14:36] Because at the end times, they both will have God's throne there.

[00:14:41] Both will be sending nations.

[00:14:43] Both will impact the world in a positive way.

[00:14:46] That's the future of Iran and Israel.

[00:14:48] Now, the Islamic government wants to wipe Israel off the map.

[00:14:52] They're developing a nuclear bomb.

[00:14:54] They say, once we have the nuclear bomb, we're going to attack Israel.

[00:14:58] And one of the mullahs actually said, when we have it, we'll attack Israel.

[00:15:04] What a good deal.

[00:15:05] They say.

[00:15:07] He says, one million of them will be killed.

[00:15:10] And then, of course, they retaliate.

[00:15:12] And one million of us Muslims in Iran will die.

[00:15:15] But what a good deal.

[00:15:16] One million of them go to hell.

[00:15:18] One million of us are martyrs.

[00:15:20] We go to heaven.

[00:15:21] One million of us is martyrs.

[00:15:22] The most dangerous part right now, and we need to pray, is that the government of Iran, those clerics, they may come to a point of desperation.

[00:15:35] Because they're losing power.

[00:15:36] They are under sanction.

[00:15:38] They don't have money.

[00:15:39] They don't have the support of any nation.

[00:15:41] They don't have support of its own people.

[00:15:43] The most dangerous point is that they come in the corner.

[00:15:47] They have no choice except to use the nuclear bomb.

[00:15:51] So let's pray against that.

[00:15:53] Well, again, one of the things that we've done here at Point of View is we have the Pray for America outreach.

[00:15:59] And I suspect that now that the election is over, we're going to probably focus a lot of our time and attention overseas.

[00:16:06] One of those is to pray about what is happening in Iran.

[00:16:09] After we let you go, I'm going to talk about the need to pray for what has happened in Ukraine with these long-range missiles.

[00:16:16] Because these are really key prayer targets.

[00:16:18] But let's, if we can, talk about how people can join with you.

[00:16:22] You're broadcasting the gospel 24-7 across the Middle East.

[00:16:25] You're pastoring basically an online church with at least a million Iranians.

[00:16:31] You're training leaders.

[00:16:32] You certainly are encouraging people to learn more about how they can pray for you, but also how they can support you.

[00:16:39] So tell us how that can take place and what we can do to be an encouragement and maybe even a blessing to people in Iran.

[00:16:48] Wonderful.

[00:16:49] There is an open heaven in Iran.

[00:16:51] And this is a historical moment.

[00:16:52] We know open doors do not last forever.

[00:16:56] This is the time to move.

[00:16:58] This is the time to serve.

[00:17:00] Millions of Iranians have come to Christ, but millions more are very open to the gospel.

[00:17:05] The harvest is ready.

[00:17:07] My personal prayer, God, give us partners that we can, together we can make history in Iran.

[00:17:14] So I'm looking and I'm praying for people who have faith in the Bible that Iran will be a Christian nation, who are pioneers, who want to be history makers.

[00:17:26] And I ask them to join us.

[00:17:29] Join us in ministry because we have a 24-7 satellite broadcast.

[00:17:33] We could broadcast their programs.

[00:17:35] We could do it with their programs.

[00:17:36] And also financial support.

[00:17:39] We are stretched in such a way.

[00:17:41] So many are coming to Christ in an exponential way.

[00:17:44] We need to take care of them.

[00:17:46] They're converts, but we need to take care of them.

[00:17:49] We need to teach them how to be disciples of Christ.

[00:17:52] So we have problems, but it's a good problem.

[00:17:54] It's a growth problem.

[00:17:56] And again, I'm inviting people.

[00:17:58] Let's join together to make history in Iran and through Iran impact the Middle East and maybe even the whole world.

[00:18:06] Let's again encourage you to go to the website.

[00:18:08] It's iranalive.org.

[00:18:10] What we do, who we are, ambassadors.

[00:18:13] That's a free download, which is a resource there as well.

[00:18:15] All sorts of great stories, but how to partner and how to connect.

[00:18:19] And it seems to me that you have open doors.

[00:18:23] And the doors are open more than I think any of us have ever seen.

[00:18:27] We want to claim the promise there in Jeremiah 49.

[00:18:30] Seems to me that that is a great way to encourage others to begin to pray for Iran.

[00:18:37] We always see Iran as an enemy, and it certainly has been an enemy, both directly with Israel but also through its proxies.

[00:18:44] Hezbollah to the north, Hamas to the south.

[00:18:47] But at the same time, there are more individuals coming to Christ in Iran.

[00:18:53] One of the questions I oftentimes have, Dr. Sariad, I'll say, what's the fastest growing church in the world?

[00:18:59] And they all go, I don't know.

[00:19:00] I say Iran.

[00:19:01] They go, you've got to be kidding.

[00:19:02] But that's really true, isn't it?

[00:19:05] It is true.

[00:19:06] It is true.

[00:19:07] There was a survey a couple of years ago by two university professors in Europe.

[00:19:13] And they asked 50,000 Iranians.

[00:19:15] So it's a very solid research.

[00:19:17] They asked them, what do you believe?

[00:19:19] And they published that research.

[00:19:23] The results of that survey.

[00:19:25] Less than, are you ready to be shocked?

[00:19:28] Less than one-third of the Iranians said, we believe in Islam.

[00:19:33] Less than one-third believe in Islam.

[00:19:36] Another one-third, they said, we don't care about God or there's no God.

[00:19:40] And the last one-third were all over the place.

[00:19:42] They were open to the gospel.

[00:19:44] They're open to everything.

[00:19:45] Cults, Eastern religion, but it's our job to share the gospel with them.

[00:19:50] Well, again, I just mentioned we had those individuals on with you.

[00:19:54] And we talked about that.

[00:19:55] And so, again, you can go and find some of those interviews we've done in the past because I think it would be just a great encouragement to begin to understand what is happening.

[00:20:04] But, Dr. Sheriot, it's always great to have you on the program.

[00:20:07] I appreciate your enthusiasm.

[00:20:09] And what a great parallel for those people that maybe had a chance to hear Joel Rosenberg preach on Jeremiah 49.

[00:20:15] And then you bring that passage up as we talk about what will happen in Elam, which, of course, is the ancient name of what today we would call Iran.

[00:20:24] So thank you for being with us here on Point of View.

[00:20:27] God bless you, Kirby.

[00:20:28] We're going to take a break.

[00:20:30] And let me just mention that some of those interviews that we've done in the past, I, as a matter of fact, just even typed in there some of the research that was done on some of these others in terms of his Orion's Great Awakening book.

[00:20:43] And you can type in his name and find out a little bit more.

[00:20:47] I know it's hard to figure out how to spell his name.

[00:20:49] It's H-O-R-M-O-Z, Hermoz Sheriat, S-H-A-R-I-A-T.

[00:20:54] But the good news is we have all those links on our website at pointofview.net.

[00:21:00] It is worthy of your prayers and financial support.

[00:21:03] I suspect those of you that have signed up for our Pray for America distribution, we send out a letter about once a week, an email, giving you some prayer targets.

[00:21:13] And if you would want to subscribe to that, there's a button that you can click on there to find out more.

[00:21:18] I think we'll be encouraging you, as we've encouraged you to pray for the election, now to pray for Iran.

[00:21:25] And when we come back from the break, pray for Ukraine.

[00:21:28] We'll be right back.

[00:21:31] Many years ago, they began saying that we live in the information age.

[00:21:35] Well, today there is so much information coming at us from every direction.

[00:21:40] The hardest thing is to discern which issues are really important and how can I make a positive impact without wasting my time trying to figure out accurate information.

[00:21:52] Let me give you a suggestion to help with that.

[00:21:55] Visit pointofview.net.

[00:21:57] Look at the tabs across the top.

[00:22:00] Find the one named Viewpoints.

[00:22:02] Kirby Anderson and others on our team are constantly watching for news to identify those issues that you really need to know about.

[00:22:10] They boil things down in a brief summary.

[00:22:12] And then you can decide if it's something on which you want to learn more and get involved.

[00:22:17] Again, when you go to pointofview.net, click on Viewpoints, you'll see exactly what I mean.

[00:22:23] You'll see the issues that we are covering right now.

[00:22:27] And when you like what you see, I honestly think you will, you can slide on over, enter your email, and get them automatically sent to your inbox each day.

[00:22:37] That's it.

[00:22:38] Take a minute now.

[00:22:39] Be informed.

[00:22:40] Visit pointofview.net.

[00:22:42] Click on Viewpoints.

[00:22:48] Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:57] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:02] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:10] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:13] Back once again if you'd like to join the conversation, 1-800-351-1212.

[00:23:18] Let's, if we can, talk about Ukraine.

[00:23:20] And if you have not heard, let me then mention the fact that the administration, that would be the Biden administration, which, of course, is a lame duck administration.

[00:23:29] It's important to mention that.

[00:23:31] It's important to mention that.

[00:23:32] Has made sort of a last-minute decision to authorize the use of the ATA CMS missile system.

[00:23:38] Those are called ATACOMs.

[00:23:40] The ATACOM missile system is one that would allow Ukraine to target those facilities on Russian soil.

[00:23:50] The implication of that is, is that now when you provide long-range strikes in Russia, could that be provocative?

[00:23:59] I think the answer is, yes, it will be.

[00:24:02] And that is the case.

[00:24:04] Really, since early September, Ukraine has sought permission to use the ATACOMs and other long-range missiles against targets in the actual sovereign state of Russia.

[00:24:15] No matter what you think about Russia, no matter what you think about Ukraine, I think you need to step back for just a minute and just realize that this could be provocative because you are launching missiles into Russian territory.

[00:24:29] And, again, the original response from the president, that would be President Joe Biden, was that this would not be allowed.

[00:24:41] This would be something that would be an escalation.

[00:24:45] And so President Biden, I doubt he's making that decision, but his advisors were actually denying the Ukrainian request.

[00:24:55] Now that has changed.

[00:24:57] And so you have the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who said, quote,

[00:25:03] President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th.

[00:25:11] You would hope that at a time when we've had a very significant election, after all, Donald Trump has been able to win not only the Electoral College vote,

[00:25:22] although that has not been finalized yet, but the Republican vote, and you also have enough evidence that Republicans have the Senate and will hold the House.

[00:25:35] And so you have a very different administration coming in January 20th, in terms of the White House and the executive branch,

[00:25:45] and you have a very different Congress coming in basically that first few days in January.

[00:25:51] I don't know if they get together on January 3rd or not, but if not, certainly by the 8th they will be in session.

[00:25:57] So, again, this is not the kind of thing you would expect an outgoing president to do.

[00:26:05] The other day I had people sending me texts saying, is this going to lead to World War III?

[00:26:11] Well, I want to set that aside for just a minute.

[00:26:12] Why is he doing that?

[00:26:14] Well, who can figure?

[00:26:16] One possibility is, is the idea that I want to leave as my legacy the fact that we were able to drive Russia back,

[00:26:24] or that Ukraine was able to win the war, there could be another mindset that is not necessarily as even honorable as that,

[00:26:33] not that that's terribly honorable, and that is I want to just mess this situation so badly

[00:26:38] that when Donald Trump takes power, he won't be able to enact any of his domestic agenda

[00:26:43] because he'll be too preoccupied trying to sort out a major conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

[00:26:50] Now, lest you think that this just came out of the blue, there is at least one justification for that,

[00:26:59] and that it turns out that there are about 50,000 extra troops that Russia has,

[00:27:06] and 10,000 of those 50,000 are troops from North Korea.

[00:27:11] So now we're getting into something that's starting to look a little bit more like a world war

[00:27:17] because you have not only Russian troops but North Korean troops on one side.

[00:27:23] Of course, you have Ukraine, and you have, of course, the arming that has been taking place

[00:27:27] through various groups including NATO and the United States.

[00:27:34] Of course, the United States is part of NATO, but other European countries in NATO.

[00:27:38] And so some people believe this may be a change in Joe Biden's calculus.

[00:27:44] Again, I don't honestly believe he's making some of those decisions,

[00:27:48] but whatever you want to believe, those decisions are being made either by him or his advisors.

[00:27:55] Well, what will be the response from the Russian President Vladimir Putin?

[00:28:00] We already know what that is.

[00:28:03] Read this particular article.

[00:28:04] The Russian President Vladimir Putin revised Russia's nuclear doctrine,

[00:28:10] reducing its threshold for using nuclear weapons,

[00:28:13] just as the Russian military announced that Ukraine has launched long-range missiles

[00:28:19] actually supplied by the United States into Russian territory.

[00:28:23] This new nuclear doctrine proclaims that Russia will use nuclear weapons

[00:28:30] in response to an attack from a non-nuclear state with support from a nuclear state,

[00:28:36] which, of course, is just a clear reference to the fact that we are a nuclear state,

[00:28:41] the United States, and a non-nuclear state is Ukraine.

[00:28:44] And, of course, he actually had started that policy all the way back in September

[00:28:50] and announced it there.

[00:28:51] And so this nuclear doctrine stipulates that a Ukrainian attack with Western missiles

[00:28:59] could trigger a nuclear response.

[00:29:02] And throughout the Russia's war with Ukraine,

[00:29:05] Putin has threatened to escalate the war into a nuclear conflict against Ukraine

[00:29:10] and its Western allies.

[00:29:12] It brings me back to a conversation we've had a while back based upon this book.

[00:29:17] This is a book by Annie Jacobson.

[00:29:19] I'll hold it up for those of you watching online.

[00:29:22] And it's a book called Nuclear War.

[00:29:24] It is a sobering look at the current state of nuclear war.

[00:29:29] And it's a reminder, as I've pointed out not only in this book,

[00:29:33] but also in my booklet, which I would make available to any of you

[00:29:37] if you'd like to write and get it.

[00:29:39] It's a booklet called Nuclear War,

[00:29:41] that there are really no good scenarios once a nuclear conflict takes place.

[00:29:47] They have war-gamed this, and Annie Jacobson,

[00:29:51] who wouldn't necessarily agree with a lot of things we talk about here on Point of View,

[00:29:56] nevertheless takes us through the various kinds of war scenarios,

[00:30:00] the nuclear game scenarios, and they never end where?

[00:30:04] Well, once one power fires a nuclear weapon,

[00:30:09] there's almost always an instantaneous response.

[00:30:13] And so, again, in my booklet on nuclear war, we talk about that.

[00:30:18] And, again, if you would like to get the booklet, it's free.

[00:30:21] I might also mention that I have two chapters in my new book on discerning the future

[00:30:26] at the very end on just war and nuclear war,

[00:30:29] because I recognize that these are issues we as individuals are going to have to think through.

[00:30:35] The idea of just war is how do Christians think about this idea

[00:30:40] of what happens when we are in a situation where there are significant threats.

[00:30:47] And recognize right now we're talking about nuclear threats from a nuclear power, Russia.

[00:30:54] Add to this the conversation we had just a few minutes ago with Dr. Homoz Shariot,

[00:30:59] in which Iran wants to be a nuclear power.

[00:31:03] They've already, that is the Mullahs and the leadership in Iran have already said

[00:31:06] they want to try to stockpile nuclear fissionable material,

[00:31:11] because once Trump comes into power, they are well aware of the fact

[00:31:16] that some of the benefits that Iran was able to glean

[00:31:20] and be able to manipulate out of the Biden administration will end.

[00:31:26] And we'll see where that takes us.

[00:31:28] But again, I've said the need for us as we pray for America to pray for wisdom,

[00:31:33] first of all, to pray right now in this very kind of dangerous time

[00:31:38] in which we have one president who isn't even necessarily paying attention

[00:31:45] to some of these issues every single day,

[00:31:47] and then the need for the right people to be in power.

[00:31:52] We, of course, believe that it is quite likely that the Senate will quickly confirm Marco Rubio

[00:32:01] and the State Department and replace Anthony Binkin.

[00:32:06] The question is, would they also replace the Secretary of Defense with Pete Hegseth?

[00:32:12] I'm not so sure about that one.

[00:32:13] We'll see how that unfolds.

[00:32:15] But nevertheless, we are once again in a time in which there are a lot of very encouraging things

[00:32:21] that are happening, including the whole political realignment.

[00:32:25] So domestically, we are looking at, I think, some very positive turns of phrases

[00:32:31] and actual changes in administration and maybe a removal, maybe back to the idea of normalcy.

[00:32:39] But at the world, we are facing some very significant hotspots.

[00:32:45] We've talked about China.

[00:32:47] Yesterday, we also talked about Israel.

[00:32:50] Today, we've talked about Iran and, of course, also talked about Ukraine.

[00:32:54] Those are certainly matters of prayer.

[00:32:56] We'll certainly give you some prayer targets.

[00:32:58] But most importantly, I think we need to be praying for the incoming administration

[00:33:03] and some very difficult foreign policy decisions that were going to have to be made

[00:33:09] in the next couple of weeks and months.

[00:33:12] And so, again, a dangerous time in the world,

[00:33:14] but a very significant possibility of changing some things

[00:33:19] that have been taking place in America for some time

[00:33:22] and a return back to normalcy,

[00:33:24] back to that very good article written by Gerald Butler,

[00:33:28] or Baker, I should say.

[00:33:30] And so when we come back, a couple other short comments

[00:33:33] before we wind down for this Tuesday.

[00:33:36] Let's take a break.

[00:33:37] We'll be back right after this.

[00:33:55] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:34:01] Back once again, let me just mention tomorrow,

[00:34:02] we're going to talk about artificial intelligence, the first hour,

[00:34:06] because there's a new book out on that.

[00:34:08] And then the next hour, we're going to spend some time talking about,

[00:34:11] again, a pregnancy resource center.

[00:34:12] We had a chance to visit that when we were in Savannah, Georgia.

[00:34:15] I thought it would be an encouragement to you to once again find out

[00:34:18] about what is happening on the front lines of some of the pro-life issues.

[00:34:22] But, of course, we'll get back to these issues in the news.

[00:34:25] Let me just mention that I started the program today with this piece by Gerald Baker,

[00:34:31] again, talking about the fact that the next four years might bring America back to normal.

[00:34:36] I don't think it's going to take four years.

[00:34:37] I think almost immediately we're going to have some of the bizarre ideas and silly ideas,

[00:34:44] and frankly, sometimes dangerous ideas, go away.

[00:34:48] But we will see.

[00:34:49] But I thought it would be good to end by looking at another example of that.

[00:34:54] And this is a piece written by the mayor of Dallas.

[00:34:59] Now, again, you have to recognize that most of the mayors of the major cities are Democrats.

[00:35:04] And, of course, Dallas has been a little different because a while back,

[00:35:09] one of the Republican mayors was Tom Leppert,

[00:35:12] who, by the way, served on the board of Point of View for a while.

[00:35:15] And, of course, if you go to Fort Worth next door,

[00:35:18] Matty Parker is a Republican.

[00:35:19] But when he was elected as mayor of Dallas, Eric Johnson then became a Republican.

[00:35:27] And in case you are not familiar with that,

[00:35:30] you might have even saw him speak at the Republican convention.

[00:35:34] But here's what Eric Johnson, the mayor of Dallas, said.

[00:35:39] A little over a year ago, I made the decision to become a Republican.

[00:35:43] As the mayor of Dallas, Texas, I knew this defection would put a target on my back

[00:35:48] for Democratic leaders who tried to mock, ridicule, and minimize my rationale.

[00:35:53] But I knew I was making the right choice because Democrats' priorities were all wrong.

[00:35:59] Looking back, Democrats should have taken my shift as a wake-up call.

[00:36:03] After all, I left the Democratic Party for the same reasons many people of color

[00:36:08] have left and continue to leave.

[00:36:11] The chaos, the financial hardship, and the cultural rot that Democratic policies

[00:36:17] have spread across our nation.

[00:36:19] Now, you've got to understand that Eric Johnson served as a Democrat

[00:36:22] in the Texas House of Representatives

[00:36:24] and then served as a Democrat in mayor's office in Dallas.

[00:36:29] So these are pretty strong words from him.

[00:36:31] But he says,

[00:36:33] President-elect Donald J. Trump understands these concerns,

[00:36:36] which is why Democrats lost and why he won.

[00:36:39] So it didn't surprise me when Trump was re-elected president

[00:36:44] with unprecedented support from young Hispanic and black voters.

[00:36:49] You see, my former colleagues in the Democratic Party just don't get it.

[00:36:55] Trump speaks to our hopes and aspirations,

[00:36:58] not just our fears of liberal mismanagement.

[00:37:01] Like most Americans, we aspire to wealth, home ownership, quality education.

[00:37:07] He goes on to talk about the fact that we also look for freedom to our lives

[00:37:12] and to live our lives.

[00:37:13] We want law and order.

[00:37:15] We want lower taxes.

[00:37:17] We want peace through strength.

[00:37:18] We want leaders with resolve.

[00:37:21] And so we can begin to see that we're not anti-immigrant,

[00:37:24] but we do oppose open borders and illegal immigration

[00:37:28] that strains our social services

[00:37:31] and allows a criminal element into our communities.

[00:37:34] So, again, Eric Johnson says,

[00:37:36] this is because more than anything,

[00:37:38] the citizens of our cities desire to live in safe neighborhoods.

[00:37:42] That was what we cared about in the working-class black

[00:37:46] and, yes, Democratic community that raised me.

[00:37:49] As a mayor, I began truly questioning my political alignment

[00:37:53] when Democrats embraced the defund the police movement.

[00:37:57] Democrat leaders and Democrats,

[00:38:00] leaders in Dallas stood silent when liberal protesters came to my home

[00:38:05] while my children were inside

[00:38:07] and demanded I stop supporting our police department.

[00:38:12] I stood firm and called for even more investment in public safety

[00:38:16] with a goal of becoming the safest major city in America.

[00:38:20] As a result,

[00:38:22] Dallas is now in its fourth straight year of violent crime reduction.

[00:38:28] Again, you can see why they got his attention.

[00:38:30] It's one thing to talk about defund the police.

[00:38:33] It's another thing protesting outside of his home

[00:38:35] because he supports the police.

[00:38:38] I think that was one of the straws

[00:38:40] that maybe broke the camel's back,

[00:38:42] but let's get back to what Eric Johnson had to say.

[00:38:45] He says,

[00:38:46] This is part of why elections are not an anomaly.

[00:38:49] Trump made history by breaking the Democrats' real blue wall,

[00:38:53] their grip on racial identity politics,

[00:38:56] which they used to maintain power for decades.

[00:38:59] But we all saw clearly what the Democratic Party has become in the last four years.

[00:39:04] Under President Joe Biden, borders opened,

[00:39:08] inflation surged,

[00:39:09] and disorder flourished in Democrat-led cities.

[00:39:12] Democrat leaders indulged wealthy liberal activists' excesses

[00:39:16] at the expense of hardworking families wanting an efficient government

[00:39:20] that protects but does not burden them.

[00:39:23] He goes on to say,

[00:39:25] Americans expressed their frustration with the status quo,

[00:39:28] not just in rural communities, but urban centers too.

[00:39:32] Trump made efforts to engage voters

[00:39:34] in places Republicans of the past decades had written off,

[00:39:38] like the Bronx,

[00:39:39] the metropolitan Detroit area,

[00:39:41] and Milwaukee.

[00:39:43] Unlike Democrats who took these communities for granted

[00:39:45] and merely paid lip service to inclusivity,

[00:39:49] Trump assured these communities they were integral

[00:39:51] to a stronger America.

[00:39:52] The consequences were clear.

[00:39:55] A noticeable shift from Democrats towards Trump

[00:39:57] in traditionally blue areas.

[00:40:00] Trump improved his performance in places like Chicago

[00:40:03] and Philadelphia

[00:40:04] and was the first GOP presidential candidate

[00:40:07] to win Miami-Dade County since 1988.

[00:40:11] His support also grew in New York,

[00:40:13] even in the Democratic stronghold of New York City.

[00:40:16] Trump's movement impact extended to other contests as well.

[00:40:20] In California, voters supported propositions

[00:40:24] to increase penalties for theft and drug crimes.

[00:40:27] Even in liberal San Francisco,

[00:40:29] voters rejected chaos and chose a new path.

[00:40:32] To put it plainly,

[00:40:34] voters are sick of the Democratic Party

[00:40:35] that prioritizes pandering over policy,

[00:40:38] political correctness over political action,

[00:40:41] and concern with personal identity

[00:40:43] over individuals' real needs.

[00:40:45] He concludes by saying,

[00:40:47] President Trump's mission is easy to understand.

[00:40:49] He wants to make America great again,

[00:40:52] and he's a leader who understands

[00:40:53] that to achieve this goal,

[00:40:55] we must have great cities.

[00:40:57] He has shown that he cares about solving problems

[00:41:00] in urban America,

[00:41:01] and as president,

[00:41:02] his policies will help lead a revival

[00:41:05] of our country's great cities,

[00:41:06] making them safe and prosperous again.

[00:41:09] And through the new administration,

[00:41:12] working class individuals

[00:41:13] will again feel at home in America's cities

[00:41:16] and in the Republican Party.

[00:41:18] He says,

[00:41:19] I know I do.

[00:41:20] That's a pretty incredible statement

[00:41:23] from a man that served as a Democrat

[00:41:25] in the Texas House of Representatives,

[00:41:28] served as a Democrat as mayor of Dallas,

[00:41:31] and then against all sorts of advice,

[00:41:34] to the contrary,

[00:41:35] said,

[00:41:36] I'm going to declare myself a Republican,

[00:41:38] and did so,

[00:41:39] and even then supported Donald Trump.

[00:41:43] I don't know if that's a one-off

[00:41:44] or whether there are others

[00:41:45] that are going to follow along,

[00:41:47] but it's an illustration,

[00:41:48] as we've said before,

[00:41:49] maybe we're trying to return

[00:41:51] to what used to be called normal,

[00:41:55] and whether you read the piece

[00:41:56] that I started with,

[00:41:57] Gerald Baker,

[00:41:58] or the piece I ended with,

[00:42:00] by Eric Johnson,

[00:42:02] maybe there's some hope for this country,

[00:42:03] and we'll certainly find out

[00:42:05] over these next few weeks and months.

[00:42:08] Pray for this country,

[00:42:10] pray for foreign policy,

[00:42:11] pray for the current president,

[00:42:13] Joe Biden,

[00:42:13] pray for the incoming president,

[00:42:15] Donald Trump,

[00:42:16] as well as his vice president,

[00:42:17] J.D. Vance,

[00:42:18] who will be out there

[00:42:19] trying to make the case

[00:42:20] for some of these policies,

[00:42:21] and if you find yourself

[00:42:22] wanting to know some more

[00:42:24] about some of these things

[00:42:25] we've mentioned,

[00:42:26] especially if you'd like to read

[00:42:27] some of these articles

[00:42:28] or pass them on to your friends,

[00:42:30] simply go to pointofview.net,

[00:42:32] click on that button

[00:42:33] that says see more,

[00:42:34] scroll down,

[00:42:35] and you will find

[00:42:36] all the articles

[00:42:37] I've quoted from today,

[00:42:38] and you'll also,

[00:42:39] of course,

[00:42:40] find my commentary

[00:42:41] about religious liberty,

[00:42:42] which, of course,

[00:42:43] is a callback

[00:42:44] to some interviews

[00:42:45] we've done with

[00:42:46] our friend Kelly Shackelford,

[00:42:47] who, by the way,

[00:42:48] will be with us on Friday

[00:42:49] along with Penna Dexter,

[00:42:50] so we've got a very good week ahead,

[00:42:53] got a lot more to cover,

[00:42:54] but we're out of time for today.

[00:42:56] I want to thank Megan

[00:42:57] for help engineering the program,

[00:42:59] Steve,

[00:42:59] thank you for producing the program,

[00:43:01] we look forward to seeing you

[00:43:02] tomorrow on Wednesday

[00:43:03] right here,

[00:43:04] from Point of View.

[00:43:10] It almost seems like we live

[00:43:12] in a different world

[00:43:13] from many people

[00:43:15] in positions of authority.

[00:43:16] They say men can be women,

[00:43:18] and women men.

[00:43:20] People are prosecuted differently,

[00:43:22] or not at all,

[00:43:23] depending on their politics.

[00:43:25] Criminals are more valued

[00:43:26] and rewarded

[00:43:27] than law-abiding citizens.

[00:43:30] It's so overwhelming,

[00:43:31] so demoralizing.

[00:43:33] You feel like giving up,

[00:43:34] but we can't.

[00:43:36] We shouldn't.

[00:43:37] We must not.

[00:43:38] As Winston Churchill said to Britain

[00:43:40] in the darkest days of World War II,

[00:43:43] never give in.

[00:43:44] Never give in.

[00:43:45] Never,

[00:43:46] never,

[00:43:46] never.

[00:43:47] Never yield to force.

[00:43:48] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming

[00:43:51] might of the enemy.

[00:43:52] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:43:55] This is not a time to give in,

[00:43:57] but to step up

[00:43:59] and join Point of View

[00:44:00] in providing clarity

[00:44:02] in the chaos.

[00:44:03] We can't do it alone,

[00:44:04] but together,

[00:44:05] with God's help,

[00:44:07] we will overcome the darkness.

[00:44:10] Invest in biblical clarity today

[00:44:12] at pointofview.net

[00:44:14] or call 1-800-347-5151

[00:44:18] pointofview.net

[00:44:20] and 800-347-5151

[00:44:27] Point of View is produced

[00:44:29] by Point of View Ministries.