Jenna Ellis: U.S. constitution guarantees rights that come from God
: Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: I love talking about the things of God because of truth and the biblical worldview. The U.S. constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect the rights that our founders recognize come from God, our creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear that God is the one that raised up each of you. And God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time.
: This is Jenna Ellis in the Morning.
FBI reportedly subpoenaed private citizens' phone records as part of Trump probe
Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Friday, March 6, and you know, with everything going on in Iran, with, some of the primaries in Texas, you know, there's been a lot of news that we've had to cover this week. one of the stories that really deserves a fair amount of attention, that we're going to cover, this morning is what's going on with the FBI and, the subpoenas of private citizens records as part of the federal probe into President Trump in the aftermath of 2020. So after he left office and before he was reelected. And Fox News had reported, back on February 25th, and it was new at the time, the FBI subpoenaed Cash Patel and Susie Wiles phone records in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens, as part of a federal probe into President Trump. Fox News confirmed. And Patel called the move, outrageous, deeply alarming. And, my friend Will Chamberlain, who is an attorney and who also is senior counsel at the Article 3 project, posted this on social media. And this is what I want to focus on this morning. Everyone's buried the lead here. It's not just that the FBI subpoenaed Cash and Susie's phone records. The FBI surreptitiously recorded a phone call between Wiles and her lawyer. Even worse, the lawyer knew the FBI recorded the conversation and didn't tell Wiles. This is coming from the same article that says, from Fox's reporting that says in 2023, the FBI recorded a phone call between Wells and her attorney. According to two FBI officials. While's attorney was aware the call was being recorded and consented to it, but Susie Wiles, was not. And so then the lawyer went back to Fox News and denied approving the FBI recording, saying he's, he would lose his license over, that kind of stunt. Well, you think, but this raises some serious questions about, attorney client privilege, about what, Biden's FBI and DOJ were actually doing in terms of targeting Trump and his associates. I've been targeted and I'm, You know, really frustrated with how much of my private information was, obtained by the, Biden administration without my consent, as well as formerly a lawyer who was, at the time, you know, representing the sitting President of the United States. I mean, these types of things just really shouldn't happen in America, especially where we have, constitutional protections for, for, private citizens especially, but even more heightened protections for professionals like attorneys. So what's going on? Well, Will Chamberlain joins us now. And Will, I think you're right that everybody buried the lead. I'm not really sure that I believe Wiles's lawyer here, but, you know, what do you make of all of this?
Will Chamberlain: I don't know. I mean, I, I actually kind of do believe Wiles is lawyer. Oddly enough, like he said, the thing where it's like, if I did that, I would be lose my license and I deserve to lose my license. And it's sort of like, as a lawyer. Yeah, I couldn't even conceive of it, and I. The only circumstance where I get, you know, you could theoretically get inside the mind of a lawyer who do something like that is if that lawyer is criminally liable themselves and needs to sort of figure out a way to make a deal with the government and plead out. But outside of a circumstance like that, I can't imagine it. And given that, you know, we don't even know who the. We don't have the identity of this lawyer, I'm tempted to think it take him at their word. And it also, you know, if the FBI was being squirrely enough to surreptitiously record a phone call, they're also probably being squirrely enough to lie about the lawyer knowing about it. Maybe for some reason in terms of, like, that would have given them some in legally to record the phone call if the lawyer had consented. but in any event, the news that the lawyer denies it almost opens up more of a scandal here because if the FBI, you know, first off, obviously, it's, it's, should be unlawful, and I'm pretty sure it is. For the FBI to be recording this phone call between an attorney and their client when there's no reason to assume that the crime fraud exception to attorney client privilege would apply. Like, what crime is Susie Wiles committing using her attorney in relation to President Trump's potential alleged disclosure of classified information? It's inconceivable. So that should be unlawful. First, because federal authorities and federal law enforcement under, are under an obligation to minimize the extent to which they are accessing Privileged information. And here they weren't just not minimizing their access to it, they were actively seeking it out. And then second, if the FBI is lying about it. So which of these FBI agents said that this, that the lawyer, consented, they need to be brought in for an investigation, because then if they lied about this sort of thing, I mean, we're talking more in the realm of criminal activity here, like, abuse of power, abuse of process. I can't, you know, I haven't deeply studied what criminal statutes might apply. But, you know, as a lawyer, I'm sure for you feel the same way when you hear about FBI agent lies in order to obtain a warrant to access privileged information. Just alarm bells go off in your head in terms of like, I don't know which criminal statute applies here, but probably one does.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. Well, I mean, and this is the whole, this is shades of all of the FISA warrants, right, where it's like, well, there's probably something going on. And so, you know, you better let us surveil because what happens if there is criminal activity and we don't uncover it? And it's rather than actually the burden having to be on the government to, to prove that standard before they can go in and actually surveil American citizens. But, you know, you raise a really good point, Will, Chamberlain, the crime fraud exception. Because, you know, this is, you, know, for, for those who are listening who maybe haven't heard of this before, it's a legal rule that, basically is an exception to attorney client privilege, where the client is seeking legal advice basically to further ongoing criminal activity or use the lawyer in course of that criminal activity. Like you can think of. The example would be like a mob lawyer saying, okay, conduct your business in my presence so that we have privilege. Well, no, the lawyer can't just be a shield to criminal activity. Right. But, you know, so, so what the left though, has been trying to do, and with their targeting of Trump's lawyers, including me, I mean, this was the whole basis of their case that they basically said, you are part and parcel to criminal activity, you are an active participant in criminal activity simply by virtue of representing Donald Trump. I mean, that's, that's basically their argument for why they can go after Trump's lawyers. And I would guess that similarly this is their argument in saying, well, it doesn't matter that wiles lawyer is, is present, you know, whether or not he actually consented. Let's, let's say that we believe him for this hypothetical, him or her, we don't know the identity but that, you know, it doesn't matter that it's a lawyer present because in their view not only does Trump and his associates not they think that he shouldn't have the benefit of legal representation at all. And they've come after so many of us for disbarment simply for representing Donald Trump. but they really think that just by virtue of that representation somehow you're participating in criminal activity. I mean that, that's utterly nonsense.
Will Chamberlain: Yeah, I think that's exactly right. you know, it's, there's no way the crime fraud exception makes sense here. It's just, it's. I can't imagine a set of facts where it would because I think, you know, Susie Wiles was not involved in 2020 at all. That's the other thing to understand. Like she wasn't even, I think she was working for Desantis at that point maybe. But she certainly wasn't working for Trump until after Trump was out of office. And so then there's nothing. The only thing that, you know, the only charge, conduct that was post 2020 was, or post post January 6 rather was the classified information issue then the classified information indictment. Well, how the crime fraud exception could apply to classified information disclosure is just mind boggling to me. Like what is the argument that Susie Wiles herself disclosed classified to her lawyer or something, even though she wouldn't have had that classified information to begin with? Because it's like what none of the, and this is all after, I would assume after these indictments dropped or during the process. I don't know. I mean it's pretty clear that what's going on here is that Jack Smith abused his power dramatically and the FBI was a willing accomplice in all this. and that there needs to be a thorough investigation. I'm sure Cash Patel is undertaking a thorough investigation because he was also a target of, of these subpoenas.
Jenna Ellis: I hope he is and I hope that there are ah, there are some measure of accountability, not only for what happened, but then ah, legislation that, that is actually enacted to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Because you know, not only were, were these lawyers targeted, but you know, there were in order to obtain what was, what would have otherwise been, privileged information and being able to use it. I mean that, that was the whole point of trying to target attorneys was because they couldn't access certain information without having lawyers, be part of this kind of crime, fraud exception. And so that was, you know, really their entire argument, the whole time. And that undermines not only the profession of attorneys, but it also undermines the confidence that a client should have when they're being represented. I mean, the whole point of privilege is so that you can have honesty between a client and their lawyer. Not obviously to, you know, cover up crime, but when that's not going on. And it's just that the people in power are trying to find this exception and wield it to their advantage just because the person they're targeting is their political opponent, that makes a mockery of the system and the protections that, even do process, protections that our Constitution specifically, textually embeds so that the government can't abuse these types of things. And this is such an important story, that, you know, either way, like you mentioned Wilt Chamberlain, you know, either way, whatever the truth is about Wiles lawyer, either side of that, there's some serious, accountability that really deserves to happen. And I just don't know if there's enough time because Democrats, you know, love to run out the clock, and if there's enough time for, you know, Cash Patel and, you know, maybe Pam Bonnie at the DOJ or, you know, maybe some kind of, you know, congressional oversight hearing. but it seems like a lot of this because, okay, Trump won in 2024. Now it's almost like everything that happened in those, interim four years where Biden was President Trump almost seems to have forgotten that. And it's like the base has sort of forgotten that. And, and everybody's sort of content to just move on and say, well, we won, and that makes everything okay again. I disagree.
Jack Smith subpoenaed senators' information, breaching their privileged conversations
Will Chamberlain: Yeah, no, this is something that definitely can't be forgotten about, and might actually provide the best into going after Jack Smith legally. Like, the breach of privilege here is dramatic. I mean, there's also the other big problem, which is, the. What is the other big problem? The other big problem is obviously the fact that he subpoenaed a bunch of senators and got their information despite statutes saying that that had to be revealed to. And it was never was. you know, he's got a lot of problems. I think, you know, that's. This is where there really does need to be accountability. Guys intentionally invading privileged conversations, making a mockery of our system on the pursuit of President Trump. He needs to be held accountable.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah. And, you know, so you're with, you are with the, Article 3 project. And, you know, you guys have, you know, you and Mike Davis as well, you know, have been ardent advocates for this type of accountability. Where do you think this needs to go next?
Will Chamberlain: I mean, I think you start with, you know, simultaneously a congressional investigation, which is already ongoing. There have been hearings on judges and hearings on Arctic Frost. They just need to keep those up, get more testimony. And then, also I think there's. There's enough here for FBI and DOJ to do first their own internal investigation to figure out exactly what happened, maybe through the Office of the Inspector General. And then if they actually find reason to think that criminal activity here, a formal DOJ, FBI investigation to that could potentially lead to prosecutions.
Jenna Ellis: And do you think that there's enough time, to get that done? I mean, it seems like, you know, like I've said there, the Democrats are really content to run out the clock and then especially, depending on how midterms end up.
Will Chamberlain: Yeah, I think there is also they should probably try and do it down in Florida, get, away from the D.C. grand jury, which is a huge problem. But I think there is enough time. I mean, remember, you know, we may have a midterm issue, but we still have two and a half years of the federal, you know, controlling at least two and a half years, more like almost three, of controlling the executive branch. So there's enough time to go forward here, especially if they bring it in the right place.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah.
Will Chamberlain: Democrats want to go after Trump just because he won
All right, well, we'll. Chamberlain really appreciate your time this morning. you know, and this is something that we shouldn't just, you know, put aside and say, ah, ah, well, it's in the past, Trump won, you know, because what's to stop the, Democrats if they get back into power in 2028? they've already said that they want to go after Trump and target him, with consequences and with lawfare, just because he won. I mean, they, they are so, completely antithetical to the rule of law. They don't care about it. They want to impose lawfare. And Trump won't have another election after that. he won't have, you know, the ability to come back into office and issue pardons and, you know, all of those things. So it's incredibly important that for future precedent value, especially not just justice for actually what happened and that, you know, the victims involved, but also, ah, for precedent for the future, that this kind of thing never can happen again in America. But, will Chamberlain really appreciate it and you, can follow him on X as well as the Article 3 project. We'll be right back with.
Jenna Ellis: US Troops reportedly told Iran war intended to trigger Armageddon
: Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the
: Morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And turning now to the conflict in Iran, there is this whole kind of narrative that has been framed over this last week from particularly left wing outlets, in the United States as well as those who are of course sympathetic, more to Iran and to you know, anti American interests, particularly Al Jazeera, that network. And their headline is why are the US And Israel framing the ongoing conflict as a religious war? The subhead is US Troops reportedly told the war in Iran is intended to bring about biblical end times, Armageddon. So you know, this is a classic headline that is is begging the question. And it's presuming that that the US And Israel actually are framing the ongoing conflict as a religious war, which is false. I think that's, that's completely inaccurate and it's already been reasonably debunked. This report that I first saw in Huffington Post, I don't know if other outlets besides them are reporting that the U.S. troops were told that the war was intended to try to you know, trigger Armageddon or trigger the, the end times. anyone who knows anything about the book of Revelation, or actually believes in biblical prophecy and that revelation is prophetic, in terms of the actual end of all things, as I do, I think it's a, it is a book that is meant to be interpreted literally, even though there's a lot of, you know, allegory obviously in it. the author of all things, the Lord told us how he created. He told us the beginning. And as the author of all things, he also told us how things will end and a literal second coming of Christ. But for those of us who have read, the beginning and the end also know that no one knows the day, the time or the hour of Christ's return. We can see signs and warnings and what the Bible describes as birth pangs of the end times. but to suggest that somehow we could intentionally manufacture circumstances to trigger the second coming of Christ is to put again human, beings above God and his sovereignty, which Christians, would never do. So, you know, this is a headline that I think is really more intended to undermine what President Trump is doing, undermine Israel and falsely suggest that the US And Israel is framing the ongoing conflict as a religious war. but what should we think then about biblical prophecy, the signs of the times and not, not that Trump may intentionally be trying to trigger Armageddon. But the fact that the signs of the times, eventually a, world events will unfold to bring about the beginning of the end of all things.
Alex McFarland discusses biblical prophecy as it relates to current world events
So to discuss all of this, let's welcome in Alex McFarland, who is the co host of Exploring the Word here on American Family Radio Network and is an author and Christian apologist. And so, Alex, I love talking about biblical prophecy because I think it's something that a lot of Christians either, go, they kind of fall off one side or the other. You know, it's like they either are too scared of it because they don't want to misinterpret, which is a wise caution, but then, you know, maybe aren't as attuned to, well, biblical prophecy is there and we need to understand it rightfully discern it, you know, or they fall off on the side that they're so intent and myopically focused on biblical prophecy that everything seems to be kind of this prophetic interpretation. They kind of go outside the clear, meats and bounds of scripture, with respect to prophecy, particularly at the end times. So how should Christians think, about prophecy in general and then, as it relates to, world events currently?
Alex McFarland: Well, Jenna, thank you for having me on. It's always a privilege. And you set that up just wonderfully. I agree with you that the Bible is literal truth and it does predict, that the world system will become increasingly godless and secular. But one day Jesus Christ literally will return. You know, in Acts 1, verse 11, Christ had ascended to heaven. The Great Commission was given. We're in the church age and we're to go into all the world and spread the gospel. But in Acts 1:11, it says this same Jesus will one day return in like manner. And so it's a diversion or a red herring perhaps for the propaganda ministry of Iran to say, oh, those Christian evangelicals in America, they're just trying to force God's hand and cause the end of the world. That's crazy. And I hope, nobody would be misled by that. Look, Israel and America attacked Iran, to make the world a safer place. I mean, this is a rogue nation that, sadly, thanks to Barack Obama, and the Biden administration were increasingly close to developing nuclear bombs. We know they would use them. And Jenna, let me say this. several days ago I, on exploring the Word, Bert Harper and I had a college exchange student from Iran. her brother was shot and attempted to be killed because he was in a peaceful protest against Allie Khamenei. and a bomb was detonated near her family's house in Iran. And she was on exploring the Word, asking people to pray for the Christians. She said, there are so many believers in the Middle east and specifically Iran, and many, many people are leaving Islam and becoming born again Christians. And it was interesting, Jenna, because we didn't prompt her at all. We just wanted to have her on to express solidarity and to pray. But she said that many, many, many of the people in Iran are so grateful for Trump and Israel, liberating them from the clutches of this dictator. So, you know, let's not be misled by the accusations of, you know, Holocaust or Armageddon fever or something like that. No, no, it's just the right thing to do. If ever there were a just war. I think this fits the definition. And, these are murderous dictators that needed to be taken down.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, really well said. And, you know, I think that there is a lot of intentional distraction going on, from those who oppose, the Iran conflict and who oppose just President Trump in general. I mean, he could literally order a pizza and they would find some reason to impeach him. Right. So, you know, these aren't people who are having serious debates and discussion over policy. They're people who are just, opposition, political actors. And so, you know, in, in this whole context of current events, Christians need to walk circumspectly, Alex. And so, you know, when it comes to things like, I was, I was talking to, Pastor Jack Hibbs, you know, good friend, and was asking him about, you know, Iran and a possible indication of the signs of the times. And he was talking about, Jeremiah chapter 49 and verses 34 through 39, and talking about, you know, but it'll. It shall come to pass in the latter days. I will bring back the captives of Elam, says the Lord. And, you know, this prophecy, from Jeremiah, and the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah and, and how, you know, we can see the span of biblical prophecy as it relates to the end times. I mean, not even just in the book of Revelation, but there are still things from Old Testament prophets that, that are still, yet to come. And so, you know, how should Christians think about end times prophecy and, you know, the signs of the times?
Alex McFarland: Great question. and I do think, Jenna, that we're very, let me say this carefully. I think we are very likely near the time of Christ's return, I would not set a date. The Bible tells us not to do that. But the signs of the time, some of the things that do seem to portend, the time of the rapture. And Jenna, I believe in the Rapture, the catching away of the Church, I believe there will be a seven year tribulation that will be, the Bible calls it the time of Jacob's trouble. And the tribulation will coalesce and culminate with the, battle of Armageddon, where a minimum of 200 million troops will assemble, not just to fight Israel and the church, but really, minions of Satan gathered at the valley of Megiddo to kill off God. And Christ returns. the devil and his emissaries are vanquished in a blink. And thus begins a thousand years of peace on earth called the millennium. you know, it's interesting, Jenna, the Reformers 500 years ago, Luther and Calvin, and then later 200 plus years ago, the Wesleys, many of the people during the post Reformation years believed that just before the return of Christ, there would be the rise of what they call Mohammedism. And that was, kind of a, in that era, the way of referring to Muslims. And, we could do a whole show on that. but near the end of time, there would be a rise of Islam, there would be violence in parts of the world, there would be globally kind of the loss of a moral code. And I would say, Jenna, with the, fight to, promote abortion and then the mainstreaming of homosexuality and transgenderism and the idea, the insistence, if you will, that gender is not objective but fluid. I really think with what the Human rights campaign and 50 years of the LGBTQ trans lobby, I mean, globally there has been a suppression of morality. I think another sign of the times, Jenna, is really the wiring of the planet. Now think about this. 200 years ago there was a French atheist named Voltaire. And, in Europe, there were a lot of atheists in the aftermath of Charles Darwin. And they liked to mock and they would say, oh, you know, the Bible talks about Jerusalem and Israel. Well, there is no Israel since March of 70 AD. And then, you know, the whole wide world sees two witnesses dead in Jerusalem. How could the whole wide world see something all, in one day? Well, Jenna, oh my goodness. Even as you and I do this radio program, we know there are people around the world listening in real time. And so there is the Internet, the wiring of the planet, the possibility for a global police state. But, Jenna, I would say the super sign of the lateness of the hour is the rebirth of the nation of Israel. you know, 78 years ago, May 14, 1948. I'm very grateful to God that 12 minutes into the existence of the modern state of Israel, then President Harry Truman said, the United States recognizes the sovereign nation of Israel. So one, last thing, the growth of the Christian church. And Jesus said, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a witness to all nations and the end will come. Now our job is to be ready, be faithful, you know, we are to know Christ and make him known. And I certainly pray that everybody listening is in that posture. But Christ is coming. And Jenna, it very, very well may be in our lifetime.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I could not agree more. And I think that we are, you know, just logically, we are definitely getting to, closer to the the end of all things and to Christ coming, just because of the passage of time. and you know, every day that passes that Christ doesn't return makes it closer to his coming. But with the signs of the times, I think we can rightly say, well we, you know, we obviously can't say the hour, or the day for sure. And no one should want to predict that, it is close. I believe that as well. but even a more threshold question, for those who are listening and who may be a different view than a literal rapture, or they may be, you know, amillennialist to say that, you know, we're currently in the midst of the thousand years or that that's just a, that's just an allegory. And there, there are some who don't believe in a literal revelation. there are different interpretations, eschatology or which is the study of the end of all things, theologically, what would you argue, Alex? Ah, to support our position that there is a literal second coming of Christ and that ah, revelation does document as well as, I mean and this is why the Old Testament is so important. It's not just passe like some of these, these modern Christians suggest that, you know, only the NewSong Testament is relevant. but you know, the Old Testament prophecy and all of these things that make a, literal rapture a literal second coming.
Alex McFarland: There are different Christian views on biblical prophecy
And that happens pre, seven years of tribulation, that doctrinal standpoint. What is your argument for holding that position?
Alex McFarland: Ah, great, great question. And let me say, you know, within the body of Christ, you're quite correct. I mean there are different People that hold different views about the fine print, the minutiae of biblical prophecy. It's you know, estimated that 30% of the Bible is predictive prophecy. And the point of orthodoxy on which we all agree is that Christ is coming back. Jenna, I grew up from a long line of Presbyterians and I went rogue when I was in college. I became a Baptist. And anyway, God's been so good to allow me to preach in churches of every stripe and strata. More than 2,000 churches throughout the world, and I give God the glory. and while I am not an amillennialist, amillennialism would say that the thousand year reign of Revelation 20 is a symbolic representation of Christ's current reign. and I respectfully disagree with that. But I love them as brothers and sisters in Christ. And so I want to be very clear. While my eschatology is what would be called premillennialism, rapture, tribulation, return, thousand year millennium, new heavens and new earth, the point of orthodoxy on which we all agree is that the Lord Jesus is literally coming back. And I really do pray for unity in the body of Christ because I think there's a, of strength in Christians pulling together even those. And perhaps Jenna we could do another show on this that there are the theological non negotiables on which we all agree. Jesus is deity, the Son of God. He shed his blood on the cross to pay for our sin debt. He literally rose from the dead. And by faith in Jesus we are born again and he is coming back. And Jesus will rule and reign forever, so shall we ever be with the Lord. But Jenna, you're going to love this. I was on a program in Greenville, South Carolina with a Scottish minister, a Presbyterian minister from he was originally from Scotland and he was at a major, major Presbyterian church in South Carolina. And I appreciated his honesty because guess what, this man with a ah, very reformed, Calvinistic, non premillennial background, we were on a show talking about events in the world. And this was after 10-7-23 Israel was attacked. We've seen the rebirth of Israel. So many things that do seem to comport with rapture, tribulation, premillennialism. And this Presbyterian minister, he said to read the newspaper and see the status of the world. Evil men wax worse and worse. He said the state of the world. And I'm quoting he said it leads me to believe premillennialism is almost certainly true. Now coming from a reformed Presbyterian That's a pretty big statement, isn't Is?
Jenna Ellis: Wow. And you know, I think it just. Well, well you rightly say, Alex, that you know, there are different views and interpretations of the end times. And this is what Christians would call an in house debate because obviously, you know, we haven't reached that point in history yet. And so we're all doing our most educated interpretation of Scripture. And it should be educated, it should be informed and we should have convictions on this. it is what we would characterize as an in house debate. It's not something that should divide or separate Christians. I think there are more ah, reasonable interpretations than others. and you know, that's where obviously the debate lies. but just because we haven't gotten there yet doesn't mean that eschatology isn't a part of theology that we can just ignore. And we have to take a break here, but I want to come back and talk about you know, really that, that key question because I think the aspects of theology that a lot of churches avoid, maybe because there are so many divergent views, really I think does Christians a disservice. So my special guest, Alex is McFarland. And we'll be right back with more.
A lot of churches avoid discussing eschatology because we don't know
: Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the Morning on American Family Radio.
Jenna Ellis: Welcome back. And I'm here with my special guest Alex McFarland M. Who is part of our AFA board. He is also the co host of Exploring the Word right here on American Family Radio Network and is an author and a Christian apologist. And we're talking about the subject of eschatology or the portion of theology, the study and knowledge of God as it relates to what he has told us about the end of all things or the end times. And before we went to break, we were talking about the fact that a lot of churches unfortunately tend to avoid this topic because we simply don't know for sure. Right. we can, we can with confidence, know for certain, other aspects of theology. like soteriology, for example, the study of salvation, how to come into a saving knowledge of the Lord. Right. our relationship with Christ. The Bible is very explicit and clear on that. And those are things that are non negotiables, for the Christian. Those are things that we would call the fundamental tenets of the faith. when it gets to something like eschatology though, as we've mentioned, there are a few different viewpoints that all fall within reasonable interpretations of Scripture. And because we don't know for sure simply because we haven't gotten to that point yet. We, A lot of churches, tend to not take positions, or they tend to simply avoid the topic altogether. And I think that's doing a disservice to the robust theological education that every Christian should have the knowledge of God and be convinced in his or her own mind, to study the Scriptures and then study what, the, greats. The greats and the great preachers and expositors of Scripture, have argued and have said, been convinced, but this also in understanding that there will be a literal second coming of Christ. And even if that doesn't happen in our lifetimes, eventually it is appointed unto man once, once to die, eventually we will encounter eternity. And so that whether, we're talking about the end of all things being, you know, the end of the world, or whether we're talking about the end of all things being our own personal, a life experience here on earth, the end of all things as it relates to. To us, we need to be concerned about eternity. And so the question, Alex, then becomes, how should that change that truth? How should that change how Christians live today?
Alex McFarland: Oh, great question. Great. do you know the NewSong Testament, tells us that we, like First John 2:28, it says that we are to abide in him, that when he shall. Jesus, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence before him and not be ashamed at his coming. And the verb abide there, the way it's rendered, means continual, uninterrupted action. And the Bible also calls the return of Christ the blessed hope. And, do you know, Jenna, there's an old hymn. When I was a young Christian, it just. I was in church one Sunday, I'd never heard it, and it moved me to tears. It said, is this the crowning day? Glad day, glad day, when I will see my friend when Christ appears. And so, I know a lot of my fellow clergy, they don't preach on prophecy. Maybe they think it's too complex or it's. People don't have the attention span sufficient to follow it. I would disagree. because we are, well, first of all Christians and certainly ministers are to teach the full counsel of God. And, you know, I think a lot of people, maybe they. They think prophecy is symbolic and not really propositional truth or doctrine. I would disagree. I believe it really is. I will say, you know, if you look at, like, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, revelation, it can be complex. Bert Harper and I, if I may humbly offer this, we wrote a book on 100 questions about prophecy in the end times. And these are from our AFR listeners. And it's, I think it would be a good primer to get people up to speed on what the Bible says and how to teach it. And I just want to challenge my fellow ministers to preach about end times. People are hungry. George Barna, a colleague and friend I'm sure you've probably interviewed George Barna. Among the things that people go to church for is, you know, they're looking for answers about the world. Just seems like it's unraveling. Does the church maybe have some insight? And so I would say you could, do a prophecy series and do a great service that would bring in people that are trying to find out answers about what's going on in the world. But I'll say this, Jenna, I think, the prospect of Christ's return, the end of the world, this is an evangelistic tool and we're not trying to scare people or manipulate people. But look, let's be real. either by death or Christ's return, we're all going to stand before God one day. And we need to be prepared. And we are prepared by putting our faith in Jesus and being saved. The Bible calls it being born again, converted. And I guess I would just say to everybody listening, God loves you. Christ died for you. Jesus. Right now, even this moment, Christ is calling and saying, come to me. Or maybe if you're away, come back to me. And Jenna, I think the state of the world and the prophecies of scripture are quite the motivator to make sure our house is in order and whenever we see Jesus, as we certainly will, that we're ready to meet God and we're prepared for eternity.
Jenna Ellis: Yeah, absolutely. that, that is so well said and can't be emphasized enough that we often are so focused on the temporal and what we're doing with our day to day lives and the plans that we have and the goals and the hopes and the dreams and those are all good things. But sometimes we forget that we are truly preparing for eternity. there was a quotation that I saw that I love that said, you know, so many people say life is short, enjoy it. Where we should be saying eternity is long, prepare for it. And what a great description. And this is why I love doing these, some of these programs kind of getting away from the political and the news of the day and being so focused on, focus just on the day today. Because these are the discussions that I love, Alex, and I always love when you join, because these are the things that truly should be the most important to Christians. And obviously, because these things are so important and we're preparing for eternity, we need to be concerned about our government system. We need to be concerned about our church. We need to be concerned about our family. We need to be concerned about, teaching and having a society that is the best, the best forum and venue to be able to talk about these things, together without fear of government reprisal, being able to educate our kids without government intervention. you know, all of those things are important, but first and foremost, we need to have a knowledge of God and we need to have Christian priorities and also stewardship. you know, we tend to use that word just as it relates, relates to, you know, tithing and money and all of that. But really it's about all of the things that God has blessed us with, including time, including our sphere of influence. And you know, one of the things that just through, the, the circumstances that God brought about in my life, I am so grateful that Alex, that I'm not in D.C. anymore.
Alex Mosier: Christian should pay more attention to God, not materialism
Well, that was, you know, a wonderful position for a couple of years, you know, and it's, it's a wonderful privilege to, ah, a work for sitting president. you know, I appreciated that opportunity from President Trump, what God has given me now being able to speak about these things that really matter for eternity. I love this. And this is where, you know, these conversations are just, it overflows my heart to, to be able to have these conversations and to talk about where Christians should be investing our time and energy as we live our daily lives. But we prepare for eternity. And, you know, what advice would you give to the Christian listening to, maybe pay less attention to, you know, the Fox News headlines and, you know, the Huffington Post and all of this, and pay more attention to the things of God. Wow.
Alex McFarland: Great, great question. Well, the things that are internal are eternal, and the things that are external are temporary or as you said, temporal. really, you know, what we have in Jesus, who we are in Jesus, and what our purpose is as followers of Jesus. That's really what matters most. And I just would challenge, I would humbly challenge all Christians to just prayerfully look at their priorities in life. And look, I mean, life is just not about stuff. And here in the west, we're very blessed, and that's wonderful. But, we just get immersed in materialism and stuff and just busyness and, oh, my goodness, you know, movies and entertainment and things like that. and let's remember, if we're a born again Christian, whomever that if you're a born again Christian, our life assignments, we're ambassadors for the Lord, you know, and part of why we do all that we do with AFA and AFR is we're trying to. Not only are we engaged in discipleship and worldview and, equipping the church, but we ourselves are disciples. I mean, I happen to know you're one of the most, diligent students of the Word that I know. And it's because this is real, folks. This is really real. Jenna, I gotta say something. You know, even as you and I are doing this show, there is, the war going on with Iran. what's amazing is, and I was on the phone a couple of days ago with a friend of mine from the National Jewish Federation. And by the way, in Israel and in America, I've got literally dozens of Jewish friends who are profoundly grateful for America's evangelical Christians that we stand with Israel, we support Israel. But you know what, what's really wild is as that war began, Jews around the world were observing Purim. Ah, or Purim, which commemorates the events of the Book of Esther. Right? And, there was a Persian king, Artaxerxes, and Persia is modern day Iran. And, you know, in the event of the book of Esther, Haman, who was like the Ayatollah of the Book of Esther or the Hitler of the Old Testament, Haman wanted to kill all the Jews, but Mordecai worked. And then, of course, young Esther was bold and courageous and went before Artaxerxes. And then what happened was that, 70 years later, Cyrus, issued the edict of, the edict of return, so that they could, fortify and rebuild Jerusalem. What is so amazing. This is really amazing. They call many Jews in Israel called Trump the modern day Cyrus. The name Cyrus means kosher, by the way. Interesting, how the parallels of today mirror events of centuries ago.
Jenna Ellis: Absolutely. And Alex, I always wish that we had more time, but such a great conversation. And this is why, we should be students of the Word. And I love what first Thessalonians 4 says that making at your ambition to lead a quiet life, you should mind your own business and work with your hands as we told you. So your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and you will not be dependent on others. We should make that our ambition. Live a quiet life before the Lord.
