American Family Association offers an in depth worldview training course called Activate

>> Chris Woodward: Every day, AFA offers biblical insight on issues that others aren't willing to touch

>> Tim Wildmon: in the hopes that you'll become a world changer. That's why we're offering an in depth

>> Chris Woodward: worldview training course called Activate. Thirteen different professors teaching 18 sessions, all available online, including a printed workbook to help you apply what you've learned and

>> Tim Wildmon: one year access to AFA streaming content

>> Chris Woodward: to give you even more resources. Find out more about Acctivate and sign

>> Tim Wildmon: up today at Acctivate.AFA.net

>> Chris Woodward: welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to

>> Tim Wildmon: the issues of the day.

>> Chris Woodward: Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.

This is Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network

>> Tim Wildmon: Good morning everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR. Today's Thursday, February 26, 2026. So 2626. It'll only be that day, one day. There you go. Good morning. Fred Jackson.

>> Fred Jackson: Good morning to you.

>> Tim Wildmon: Krish Woodward.

>> Chris Woodward: Good morning.

>> Tim Wildmon: Ray Pritchard.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, Tim, how you doing?

>> Tim Wildmon: Did you know it's 2626 today?

>> Tim Wildmon: I know.

>> Fred Jackson: No.

>> Tim Wildmon: And this is not going to happen, because next year would be have to be what, 27. 27, right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, that's true.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: We'll have a 27. 2027 if we make it to the end. If the Lord, Terri, the human race.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: If the Lord tarries. That what you always say.

>> Chris Woodward: Oh, man. Yeah. Now sayest it.

>> Tim Wildmon: You ever, you ever use the word terry? Any other time, Krish, I stow it

>> Chris Woodward: away for good occasions.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, you stow it away. Yeah. So you're on to me. Yeah. I always joke say nobody, nobody uses the word stow unless you get on a airplane. Right, right, right.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're.

>> Fred Jackson: Then you're, you're at a buffet and you say I Terri at the buffet too long.

>> Tim Wildmon: I just want to hear one Flight att, formerly known as stewardesses.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Say, hey, put your stuff up. Everybody, put your stuff up. and, so, stow. Stow is a, is the word we use. We get on the airplane. All right, lot to talk about today. Thank you for joining us, everybody. if you want to, you know, watch, the show, you can do that. We have live video streaming at Facebook and YouTube and, and our own streaming service which is stream.afa.net stream.afa.net just type in today's issues. Stream.aca.net we thank you for listening wherever you may be joining us across the country or we have some people who listen internationally yeah.

Son and daughter in law stranded in Puerto Vallarta following terror attack

To American Family Radio. I met a couple the other night and I, was. Had the opportunity to be out in Oklahoma City and there, was talking to this couple and they were grandparents and I think it was their son and daughter in law. So the grandparents were watching the kids. The son and daughter in law were stranded in Puerto Vallarta. Oh, yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: not a good thing right now.

>> Tim Wildmon: Did those people ever get out? Does anybody know?

>> Fred Jackson: Some of them are still there. Fox did an interview yesterday with an organization that has expertise in going in and rescuing people, and they are already rescued, I think about a dozen people. Can you imagine, people going on vacation, but they need to be rescued to get home. It's. It's been horrible.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, Puerto Vallarta especially. Have you ever been there, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: I have not, but we have some missionary friends who are serving there and we've been reading their updates.

>> Tim Wildmon: What do they say?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, on Sunday, it was really, really scary where they went to church with their people and, the local congregation. And then everybody, I mean, everybody went home, closed the doors, locked everything up. And in the, in the update yesterday, they were thanking the Lord that whatever this trouble is had not come to their particular neighborhood, had not come that close. And they said that there are now some flights out of port.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, okay. Yeah, I heard the airport was reopened.

>> Chris Woodward: But anyway, I heard a related story to this on the way in today. It's an ABC story, out of the Chicago area. and it's because a Chicago couple, Katy and Robbie, they were going to get married in Guadalajara. they had 150 people coming to their destination near Puerto Vallarta. Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Chris Woodward: And they had 150 people confirmed for their wedding, which they've now had to cancel because people don't want to come to their wedding.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, yeah. You know, I don't think people realize just how bad the cartel is in Mexico, how widespread. We're talking not small groups of terrorists. We're talking thousands, thousands of them.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And they have tribes, sometimes they're fighting between them. And these are terrorists. That's what they are. We have to remember that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, they make their money, primarily off drugs. M. I guess drugs going, all over the Central America, primarily. Probably North America, probably Canada and, oh, yes, central, Mexico. fentanyl especially, you know, big business. okay, well, listen, hope everybody gets out of there safe and sound. I don't think there were any murders, you know, that took place, after the initial attacks. So I don't. The people Just stayed in their resorts, in their hotels, ah, there in, Mexico. But you're right, Fred. This will be a vacation that people will never forget. Right. Got stuck and stranded.

>> Fred Jackson: What this is going to do to the tourism industry there, I know in Mexico because these are beautiful resorts, and people it's a cheap vacation because of the difference in the dollar value, that sort of thing. But, no, the Mexican authorities have a lot of, of work to do to try to regain the confidence of folks.

We will spend a few minutes talking about the history of the Jews

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's Issues on American Family Radio at the bottom of the hour. Dr. Alex McFarland will be with us. We're going to spend a few minutes during that segment talking about the history of the Jews because, you know, so much of what's going on in the world today in the Middle east, has to do with the history of the Jewish people. Ah, as well. Historical books, sure, secular historical books, but also what the Bible says about the history of the Jewish people, also known as the Hebrew people. So we will talk to Alex about that. I found that fascinating in terms of, as we look at world events today in light of what the Bible says and Bible prophecy. We will talk with, Alex about that coming up at the bottom of the hour. Krish, what's your first story?

The US and Iran are holding another round of nuclear talks in Geneva

>> Chris Woodward: Well, you know, one of the things that the Bible tells us is to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and we should pray for Jerusalem and Israel today because the US And Iran are holding another round of nuclear talks in Geneva. This as we have put a ton of warships and jets and, people in uniform and boots, near Iran, to try to, get them to come around to, our side of things here with these, nuclear talks. Fred posted a story today on our website. So we have been covering that. We'll continue to cover that. In the meantime, here is a little bit of something from Vice President J.D. vance on Iran. Clip 2 the principle is very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If they try to rebuild their nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us.

>> Alex McFarland: In fact, we've seen evidence that they

>> Tim Wildmon: have tried to do exactly that.

>> Chris Woodward: So the President sending those negotiators to

>> Alex McFarland: try to address that problem.

>> Chris Woodward: As the President has said repeatedly, he wants to address that problem diplomatically. But of course, the President has other options as well.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, they get this figured out because we're going to Israel in a couple weeks, right? we have a group going to Israel.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: And we're looking forward to that trip. We're not canceling that trip. We don't know what tomorrow holds. You know, the news may change tomorrow. But, anyway, I just know that, a lot of people in Israel, a lot of people in the US A lot of people in Iran.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: you know, the. Not all the Iranian people are. Are. You know, a lot of them are good people who want freedom and liberty.

>> Fred Jackson: And the vast majority of them, they

>> Tim Wildmon: want a different way of life and then living under this oppressive, regime. Let me ask you this, Ray. How does. Well, this is kind of a stupid question, I guess, because I kind of know the answer to it. But. But the Israelian Ayatollah. An ayatollah, that's like the supreme leader, right? In Iran.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's exactly right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. And he is a religious leader.

>> Tim Wildmon: He is a religious leader. He is steeped all the way in the Shia, Islamic doctrine. The 12th Imam coming back, the Great Satan, the little Satan. The whole thing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, the whole thing. Okay. So it's a different situation than, say, dealing with Vladimir, Putin or the Communist, leader of China, for example, who, while they are, have enemies in many respects, they also are halfway rational people, if not fully rational in terms of. We may not agree with their politics or their worldview or anything like that, but, you can reason with them to a certain extent. Does that make sense?

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: It's different. Russians versus the Iranians.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. So that's what I want to ask you. When you're dealing with the Iranians, you're at least at the top. You're dealing with these mullahs, mullahs being religious leaders.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: And the ayatollah, being the top one. they have a, as you say, they eat, drink and sleep this, Shia Islamic religious, viewpoint.

>> Tim Wildmon: And so they write this fundamentalist Islamic doctrine. Right. They believe it.

>> Tim Wildmon: So you can't reason or, use, normal rational decisions to factory in. Right. Not necessarily.

>> Tim Wildmon: One part of that ideology is they're serving Allah even by giving their own life.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right?

>> Tim Wildmon: That's what motivates these suicide bombers right there. They're serving God in some way. So how do you. Around the table in Geneva, talk reasonably, or let's suppose you have reasonable people on both sides in Geneva. And I know that's a big stretch, but let's suppose you do. How. How do you get the mullahs back home to go along with whatever you've agreed in Geneva? That's really a big part of the problem here.

>> Tim Wildmon: And you know what the American delegation is doing, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, of course, he gets his walking marching orders from President Trump, and Vice President Vance is heavily involved here, and they're meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to try to, get Iran to come to some kind of agreement so we can avoid war. Basically, that's what they're doing right now. It's a very, very, tense, very volatile situation. However, basically what Vice President Bance was saying while ago was, listen, Iran has to say we're not going to build nuclear weapons. And then anything short of that, he said, he phrased it this way. We're going to have problems. We be in the United States going to have problems. So what I'm wondering is, again, back to the, irrationality, of the Islamic teachings, if you look at it from a Western point of view, is why Iran doesn't just say, okay, fine, man, we won't, build any nuclear weapons. You can verify that. All we want nuclear power, for is energy. And so if you can check that out, no problem. And we're not here to, go to war with the US or with Israel or anybody else. We want to be a peaceful news. Fred, you're smiling. Why didn't Iran say that, Fred? Why don't they just say that and that would end all this?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, kind of putting together what you and Ray have just been saying, the leadership of Iran right now is an Islamic regime. They are driven by their religious beliefs, which include, we want to rule the world. All right? They're not happy to stay within their borders.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: All right.

The belief is that since we attacked their nuclear facilities last year,

That is why they refer to Israel as the little Satan. They refer to the United States as the big Satan. What I've heard from people who, are familiar with how these Islamic regime thinks, they don't have a problem lying. The belief is that since we attacked their nuclear facilities last year, that they've gone right ahead and they're developing their uranium to the point where it can be used for a nuclear weapon. In other words, you can't trust these people.

>> Tim Wildmon: And they would use it.

>> Fred Jackson: And they would use it.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: And which is why Israel, remember Netanyahu, came to the, Washington back two or three weeks ago, had a three hour meeting with President Trump, and then left through the back door.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: Normally they have a news conference. He left through the back door. Marco Rubio, I think, has been in conversation with Netanyahu. we have in the last several days, we have sent a squadron of F22 fighter jets who are now parked in Israel. They also parked in Jordan.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Everything is showing that President Trump really doesn't trust these guys either m the regime. And what we've been hearing from the experts, it's not a case of weeks away possibilities, but just days away. Now we will see. But from the experts, the military experts, you can't trust a word that this is.

Ray: The big story right now is what's going to happen next

>> Tim Wildmon: That's why you have to verify one other question, then we could move on to the next topic. But this is the big story the world's watching, right now is what's going to happen next between the US And Iran. I want to ask you, Ray, why Fred mentioned this. Why does the Ayatollah Khomeini, we already mentioned he's a supreme leader of, dictator Islamic ruler in Iran. Why does he refer to, the United States as the Great Satan and Israel as the Little Satan? Why, why, why, why do they, why do they view us in this way?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, let, let's be real frank about this, okay? The whole goal of the Shia Islamic, movement is that worldwide caliphate where, where Shia, Islam rules the whole world. The US As a nation is a block in the way of that. But the truth of the matter is the real problem is Christianity that they understand when they look at, I mean, the Shias understand something that the liberals don't get correctly. At least the Shias understand that America has roots in what we, we around here call it the Judeo Christian heritage. So they understand that the US Was built, broadly speaking, on biblical or Christian principles. Not perfectly, of course, but they understand the same way with Israel. Israel, Israel is a Jewish nation state. There can be no worldwide caliphate until the Jews are wiped from the face of the earth. And there can be no worldwide caliphate as long as you have a nation like America, which at least still gives some degree of credence to our biblical heritage.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know, I hope that President Trump and Vice President, some of the others will articulate what you said right now in a way that the American people understand and the world, because when they speak about this issue, because this is important. This isn't a fight over land, this isn't a fight over oil. This isn't a fight over, you know, trade, negotiations or anything like this. This is the Islamic Shia religion wanting to take out, they would like to take out America because it's the largest Christian country in the world and take out Israel because it's the largest Jewish population in the world for no other reason than they just hate us because we are viewed as the enemy of Allah. Am I Right. Because Israel is like 1500 miles from Iran. There's no, there's no border dispute. they just hate the Jews. And, and of course they do. That's why they'll even fund Iran, will even fund Hamas. In Hamas is a Sunni based, which is a rival of the Shia. the Shia and the Sunni being the largest two, if you want to call them denominations of the Islamic faith there. So it's just like back to my original point. You just have a hard time reasoning with these people. And the only language they understand is, are they going to be taken out in their leadership role over there in Iran by the American military? That's what they're, that's what they're having to factor in, in so much as they do use reason and logic. Is their survival, are they going to survive as the leaders of Iran if America starts and launches, an all out military campaign, short up, boots on the ground in Iran. That makes sense.

>> Fred Jackson: Yep. And let's not forget the Iranian people.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: The Iranian people, a whole, do not support that Islamic regime. That is why thousands of them have died as martyrs. They have died. They're either shot to death in the street or they're arrested and then they're executed. And remember what President Trump said, Help is on the way.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. And this is it.

>> Fred Jackson: I guess, if for nothing else, M. We have to make good on that commitment.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. we are soliciting answers to what we need to have world peace. So if you have some answers, we would like to hear from [email protected], commentsfr.net I'm only teasing. we know that Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, ultimately is the solution, for the world. And one day there will be peace on earth because the Prince of Peace will reign. We know that.

>> Fred Jackson: Amen.

>> Tim Wildmon: So that's our eschatology, that's our apocalyptic view of the world. And it's a good one, ultimately, in the end when, Jesus Christ returns. All right, Krish, since the Lord has tarried.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: In the last 20 minutes, then you can continue now with your news.

Cuban authorities claim four people were killed in shootout with Florida speedboat

>> Chris Woodward: Thank you very much. you guys mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio a moment ago. he's, busy today investigating a situation between the Cuban Coast Guard people on a boat registered in the state of Florida. we have this on our website as well. I'll post it on our Today's Issues Facebook page. Cuba claims it has killed at least four people and injured another six, in what is being described as a shootout with people on a Florida registered speedboat. According to Cuba, a couple of these individuals may have been involved in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, supporting, or commissioning of acts carried out in the national territory in connection with acts of terrorism. I do have a little bit of audio here. It's about 25 seconds of Secretary Rubio talking about this incident. Clip four.

>> Tim Wildmon: Suffice it to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that. It's not something that happens every day. It's something, frankly, that hasn't happened with Cuba, in a very long time. and, But, But we're going to find out. We're not going to base our conclusions on what they've told us, and I'm very, very confident that we will know the full story of what happened here, and we will know it soon. And then, you know, we'll respond appropriately based on what that information tells us.

>> Chris Woodward: To be clear, this does not appear to have been a US Government sanctioned event. It might have been individuals, vigilantes, we don't know, Fred.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, here's what the Cuban government is saying. This vessel, registered in Florida, came within one mile of the coastline of Cuba.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: the Cubans say there were people aboard that vessel from Florida that shot at what I'll call the Cuban Coast Guard vessel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: All right. The Cuban Coast Guard vessel returned fire. Four of those 10 people aboard the vessel, were killed in that gunfire. The other six have been taken to Cuba. They've been arrested, and I think a few of them are being treated. What it appears at this point is that this group of. We don't know if they're American citizens, but they have been described by some as Cubans living in Florida who are interested in overturning the Communist government of Cuba.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right?

>> Fred Jackson: That's what we know at this point. And, there's Marco Rubio and his team are investigating this. I heard an interview just before coming into the studio with a Republican member of Congress from that area of Florida where these men are from, and he doesn't trust a word the Cubans are saying, and he says, we have to do something about this. We can't allow these people, their lives to be taken by the Cuban government.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so that's where we are. Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: Yep.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. I tell you what, let's go ahead and take our break. Just a minute or two. Early and Then we will come back. Dr. Alex McFarland will be joining us in a few minutes. Krish has got more stories.

>> Chris Woodward: Some of them are positive.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Chris Woodward: So stick around.

>> Tim Wildmon: So Krish has got, some more stories that he stowed away.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: For the remainder, of the next half hour. We also talked about to, Alex, as I mentioned earlier, I want to. I was reading this morning. Well, you know what? I'll save that. I'll tell you. I was reading this morning and I'll tell you what I was reading and why have a why it relates to what we're going to be talking about. So that's coming up.

>> Fred Jackson: All right.

>> Tim Wildmon: We hope you, Terri and you join us in, three minutes.

Listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app

>> Fred Jackson: All right.

>> Chris Woodward: The AFR app is a powerful tool,

>> Tim Wildmon: but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. It won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device or Roku.

>> Chris Woodward: Just go to your app store or

>> Tim Wildmon: visit afr.net listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app.

>> Fred Jackson: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial £250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com afr

>> Tim Wildmon: this is today's issues.

>> Chris Woodward: Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening

>> Tim Wildmon: and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of, Today's Issues.

According to Dr. Google, popcorn has 106 calories per 1 ounce

Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. I'm Tim with Fred, Krish and Ray. Fellas, we have the best popcorn in America.

>> Chris Woodward: There it is.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's, right back there. I can't resist. I go back there during the break, get some.

>> Fred Jackson: Sure. Smells good.

>> Tim Wildmon: Popcorn. You gotta have popcorn when the world's on fire, don't you, Fred?

>> Fred Jackson: That's right. It helps you relax, you know.

>> Tim Wildmon: Ray, you ever had our popcorn here?

>> Tim Wildmon: You know, when I was there in, December for the Christmas thing?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: For the first time I tried the popcorn. It's amazing, Fred. It was not exaggerating at all. I don't know what they do or how. What makes it great.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't make. I just partake of it. What are you going to say, Krish?

>> Chris Woodward: I was going to say fun fact. Popcorn, since it's technically a whole grain, could be considered a cereal.

>> Tim Wildmon: Really?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, have some cereal, Tim.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I've never thought of it that way, Krish.

>> Fred Jackson: I don't think I want to pour milk on.

>> Tim Wildmon: How much nutritional value am I taking?

>> Chris Woodward: Hold on now. I'll see what Dr. Google says.

>> Tim Wildmon: Surely this is like a fiber or something, right? That's helping me somewhere.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, well, and, and you need salt, right? We're supposed to be salt and light, by the way.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so it's a stretch.

>> Chris Woodward: According to Dr. Google, popcorn, has 106 calories, per 1 ounce, which is 20, 28.4 grams, whatever that means.

>> Tim Wildmon: 126 what? Of what?

>> Chris Woodward: 1, hundred. 106 calories per.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't care about that. I'm talking about.

>> Tim Wildmon: Don't even think it. Don't even worry about that. It's got nutrients. Nutrients.

>> Chris Woodward: Oh my goodness. Hold on now.

>> Tim Wildmon: It's mostly air.

>> Chris Woodward: WebMD says it has 3 grams of protein.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, that's what I'm talking about.

>> Tim Wildmon: Gotta have a lot bulk up. Gotta have a lot of antioxidants too, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh yes, I'm sure.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. I think it's no sugar.

>> Chris Woodward: One gram of fat.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right up there with spinach probably.

>> Tim Wildmon: Don't you got a little butter on it? Got some salt.

>> Chris Woodward: Secretary Kennedy may still tell you don't

>> Tim Wildmon: eat it, but you know, whoever invented popcorn, I salute you. That's what I got to say.

>> Chris Woodward: Orville Redenbacher, Valparaiso, Indiana. I don't know that he.

>> Tim Wildmon: Did he invent popcorn?

>> Chris Woodward: No, but he was the the popcorn.

>> Tim Wildmon: He was an amazing guy with that bow tie.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, he was. Yeah, he was.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. Valparaiso, Indiana. That's where he's from.

>> Tim Wildmon: That where he's from. Okay. I have in laws history. Don't you, Krish?

>> Chris Woodward: I have in laws from that same area. Orville Redenbacher is to them what Elvis is to us.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, is that right?

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's great.

American Family Radio welcomes Dr. Alex McFarland on today's show

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio. Tim, Fred, Krish and Ray. We're joined now by Dr. Alex McFarland, our colleague and good friend. He's joining us from, the beautiful Tar Heel state of North Carolina, where and Alex is the host of. The co host of Exploring the Word each Afternoon. Right here on AF from 3 to 4 o' clock central time with, brother Bert Harper. How you doing, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: I am blessed.

January 19th is National Popcorn Day, so next year we should celebrate

And, greetings from rainy North Carolina.

>> Tim Wildmon: Rain in there today, huh?

>> Alex McFarland: Big time.

>> Tim Wildmon: Do you live in the mountains or mountainous area?

>> Alex McFarland: they call it the Piedmont area. We're, halfway between the mountains and the ocean.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so are you almost in South Carolina then?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, hour and a half.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Because I know there's a section of South Carolina known in the northern part known as the Piedmont. So that stretches on up into where you are.

>> Alex McFarland: Mm, Hey, I have to reign in and join in on the popcorn, please. Sixteen years ago, when I came to AFR for the first time.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Alex McFarland: I, was very happy to see there's a popcorn machine there. And, I think several people told me that it was your dad who put that in or something. Is that right?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah. Well, the, one of the, one of the local Presbyterian churches here loaned it to us, the machine. And you know, it kind of, we, we sort of, adopted it. And so when they would, they would come and get it once a year for Reform days, that would you call it Reformation Day, we were a little bit offended, that they would.

>> Chris Woodward: They had 99 reasons to take it.

>> Tim Wildmon: But yeah, my dad entered. My dad did like popcorn, so he introduced the idea of having it for staff here.

>> Alex McFarland: The popcorn is just amazing. Now I think if, January 19th is national popcorn Day, so we should acknowledge that next year I missed that.

>> Tim Wildmon: January 19th. Yeah, I'm all right.

>> Alex McFarland: So next year we have got to observe National Popcorn Day.

>> Tim Wildmon: Absolutely. Yes, absolutely.

Tim Ferriss: My year through the Bible never works

All right, now let's, on a more serious note, I want to turn to the Bible for a minute.

>> Alex McFarland: Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: Or a few minutes. Okay. So. And so I was reading Alex. And this morning, my year through the Bible never works. So I quit doing that because I always felt bad about it. You know, in March or whenever I made it to then I just, Judge me if you want to, and that's fine. I do read the Bible, but I don't have a get through the Bible one year schedule because I fail so many times to do that. So I do try. Most days I read a few scripts, a few chapters. Okay.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: M. Every once in a while something happens, schedule something. But. But most days I do read a few chapters in the Scripture. Old Testament, NewSong Testament, whatever the case may be. So I'm reading in Genesis this morning. Right. Okay, Alex. And I'm reading about, Abraham.

>> Alex McFarland: Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: At this time he's called Abram.

>> Alex McFarland: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. He comes after Noah. If you. If you want to be following the, timeline in the Bible, because not all the Bible, is the Old Testament, is, Is,

>> Alex McFarland: Sequential.

>> Tim Wildmon: Sequential. Okay. So you. Sometimes books jump around in terms of time. That's what I understood. So. But we have the introduction of a man called Abram. Okay. He later became Abraham. Right, Right. Did God change his name?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. God changed his name. Yeah. So who is this man called Abraham Abram that becomes Abraham? That he, becomes that. We're talking about him today. Okay, go ahead, talk about that.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, I, think this is just, proof positive of the divine origin of scripture and the uniqueness of the Jewish people. And really, you can't understand world history or frankly, even life itself without looking at God's word. So, in Genesis 17, there was a man named Abram. And that meant exalted father. But God changed his name to Abraham, which means father of a multitude, or really father of a multitude of nations. Because, 99 years old, Abram and Sarai, his wife, they don't have children. Right. And now there's a lot we could say. For one thing, Abraham and Sarah ran ahead of God. God promised them an heir. They're gonna have a child. And they ran ahead of God. And, by the way, Abraham, I don't think Dr. Dobson would have given him husband of the year award ever, because, they had a child with Hagar the Egyptian, and that became the Ishmaelites, from whom ultimately would come the Islamic religion, sadly. But, through Abraham and Sarah, God did give Isaac. And thus began the Jewish people. And, God made Abraham basically a threefold promise which I would call soil, seed and savior, that everywhere your foot treads, I'm going to give you this land. And you know, this is 3000 B.C. the land of Israel belongs to the seed of Abraham. But then, look at the stars. Your descendants will outnumber the stars of the heavens, hence, father of a multitude of nations. But, and here's the key thing. For each one of us, God told Abraham through you, all the families of the earth would be blessed. And it's through the lineage of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac that was born Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior. So, Tim, to your question, Abraham, the Jewish people, and specifically Jesus. I mean, you can't even understand history at all until you acknowledge what God did through the life of Abraham in raising up the Jewish nation, through which came Christ.

Ray: Are Jews the bloodline descendants of Abraham going back thousands of years

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, Ray, I want to ask You a question related to what Alex just said. And I know Fred, you are a student of, this subject, that we're talking about, Ray, is what, Alex is talking about. So the modern day or today's Jews, Okay, Are they the bloodline descendants of Abraham going back how many thousands of years was that?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it would be going back 4,000 years. And we know the Jews were, incredibly careful about genealogy. That's why genealogies show up so much in the Old Testament. I mean, it was important. If you were from the tribe of Asher, if you're from Naphtali, if you're from Dan, you had to be able to prove it, had to be able to trace it back over all the generations. Now it's quite true that genealogy became scrambled after AD 70 when the Roman army came in and sacked and destroyed the, basically destroyed the temple and laid waste to the city of Jerusalem. And the Jewish people were scattered around the world. But it is still true that the Jewish people, as an ethnic identity, they are directly connected over thousands of years all the way back to Abraham. All the way back to Abraham and Sarah in exactly the way that Alex laid out for us.

>> Fred Jackson: Fred, isn't it interesting? just going back to where Alex started there, Abraham and Sarah, his wife were promised a baby. Remember Sarah kind of laughed about that, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: Because she was so old.

>> Fred Jackson: I'm past that time. And so they, she got, basically got Abe, have a baby with Hagar. And when Hagar had had her baby, Sarah was a little bit upset. And that created tension to the point that, Hagar and her son Ishmael had left the camp. All right? Now God went on and took care of them, but said it's going to be a great nation coming from you as well. But that tension is evident today between these people.

>> Tim Wildmon: Are, you talking about between the Jews and the Arabs?

>> Fred Jackson: Between the Jews and what we would call the radical Islamic.

>> Tim Wildmon: But Islam didn't come along though, until several hundred years later about 610

>> Fred Jackson: A.D. but there are bloodlines that connect all of this. And so we have that tension today, follows all the way down. You know, I was reading, from, Genesis 15, you know, remember, Abraham, the covenant that m. God made with Abraham about the land. This came up the other day in the Tucker Carlsen, Mike Huckabee interview. Remember Mike Huckabee said at one point, the Jews ought to have all the land. What was he referring to? Well, it refers to Genesis 15 because God said the Land that I'm giving you is going to be between basically the Nile and the Euphrates. So that's what Mike Huckabee was referring to. So, you know, the Bible is always current because what is taught in Scripture has been passed along and the tensions that we see today. You can go right back to Genesis.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. You're listening to today's issues. Tim here with Fred, Krish, and. And Ray. And then Alex is joining us as well. We're talking about the history of the Jews. Alex, where. Do you know where the, where the term Jews comes from?

>> Alex McFarland: from Judah.

>> Tim Wildmon: From Judah. Okay, explain that one.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, Judah was a son of Jacob. Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: And, you mean as in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then Judah.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, gotcha.

>> Alex McFarland: so in the book of Genesis, Judah was a son of Jacob and Leah, the tribe of Judah of the Israelites. And so the name is really Yehudah, which means thanksgiving or praise. and so, when Leah exclaims, this is in Genesis 29, I will praise the Lord. Yahweh. and Yehuda is the Hebrew word. It means to praise. So really, the, the name, the Jewish people, it's from Judah to praise God. But, guys, you know, here's the thing. It's interesting. Well, sadly, so. But there is no people, group in history that have suffered as much marginalization and persecution as the Jewish people. And I believe, and Bert and I write about this in our book on prophecy, that, the serpent, the devil, has made war on the woman Israel that delivered the man child. Satan has persecuted the Jewish people because it was through the Jewish people that came Jesus. Tim, I don't even know that many Jewish people, unless they believe in Messiah, Jesus. I don't know that they realize that they have been the brunt of so much Satanic attack. The devil hates the nation of Israel. That's why antisemitism is really demonic. But Satan has made war on Israel because his demise comes through the Jewish people, as in the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent.

>> Tim Wildmon: So, Ray, what Alex is talking about Here we are 2026 on the world calendar, right? And we're looking thousands of years back. And the headlines today that we're dealing with, let's say, for example, between Israel and Iran, America's relationship to Israel, this has biblical history. right. I mean, this is.

>> Tim Wildmon: There's a direct line from Genesis 12 all the way through the rest of the Bible all the way across the centuries to what's happening in the Middle east today. And there's a direct line, as Alex said, from the hatred of the Jewish people, in the Old Testament, the fact that God still has a plan for ethnic Israel into the future. Satan hates that. And it's a big part of the explanation of the anti Semitism that, you know, Tim, and we've said this before, before October 7th, I guess that's the right date. When Hamas.

>> Tim Wildmon: The massacre, the massacre of 1200.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. That what happened is a stone was turned over and suddenly the anti Semitic roaches started crawling everywhere and we discovered anti Semitism which we, I think had hoped had mostly gone away. Unfortunately, Tim, it's alive and well and there's a direct connection between this and what Alex was saying earlier stretches all the way back to Genesis 12.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I so appreciate Alex and Ray because they are the experts in this field.

Tim Ferriss: The left is very cagey about how they use language

So guys, we should talk about what's going on right now. There are discussions in Geneva about trying to come to a peace agreement with Iran. Iran a couple of weeks ago had, military exercises with Russia. We also understand that maybe there's some Chinese, missile launchers in Iran. China, Russia and Iran. Does the Bible say anything about that, guys?

>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely, absolutely. That in the last days they're going to attack Israel. And hey, I got to throw something in there because, Tim, I'm always looking at words and how the way the left uses words, it's very, you know, the left conservatives and certainly Christian conservatives are forthright people. We say what we mean, we mean what we say, and there's very little subtext. We try to be just truthful and forthright. The left is very cagey about how they use language. But, guys, and especially have you been seeing more and more, the word Levantine? L E V A N T I N E. The Levantine people. I'm going to come back to that. But like when the left repeatedly uses words like democracy, there's an existential threat to democracy. My little antennae go up when I see people on the left using some brand new phrase. Well, Ray or Tim or any. I've been noticing that references to, you know, Arabs and Palestinians and Jews, they'll say, the Levantine people. Anybody at the table?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. What does that mean?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it's a couple. It's an ancient word that really means, the area of the east or the area where the sun rises. Now here's the thing. All of a sudden, just in the last. I'm going to say month. I've Been seeing, they would talk about Jewish people, Israelites, Arabs, Palestinian Arabs, Gazans. Suddenly I'm seeing the term Levantine. And I understand that the Levant, or the Levant, however you say it, is generally the eastern Mediterranean region. Israel, Lebanon, Syria. I would submit, and maybe time will prove me wrong, but suddenly this blanket term of Levantine people is really leftist speak to try to undermine the uniqueness and significance of the Jewish people.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, maybe conclude this topic right now, but, let me just say this and then. Well, this may lead to eight more minutes of conversation, but we'll just see how this goes.

How do you explain the survival of a people mentioned way back in Genesis

For, for those who question the historical accuracy of the Bible, I would just ask this question. How in the world do you explain the survival of a people mentioned way back in the book of Genesis, Abram, who became Abraham. And that's where the father of his father of the nation of Israel, the. And those people, those same people, the Jews, the Hebrews, the Israelites are still around today. Now maybe there are other people that are still around today that we don't know about. I don't know. But I do know that's, that's remarkable with the capital R. That is almost unbelievable. Especially when as Ray referenced earlier, the temple. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD in Jerusalem. And basically the Jews were then scattered around the world. They didn't have a homeland until 1948 again. So how does that, how. What are the chances, I guess I would ask you of a survival of a, of a group of people. How many years was that? Right? You said they survived from Abraham.

>> Tim Wildmon: 4,000 years.

>> Tim Wildmon: 4,000 years, yeah. without a homeland. you know, maybe the Japanese have been around a few thousand years, I don't know. But, but they had a homeland. See what I'm saying? They had a place where they settled, and they prospered from. So to me that, to me, that alone says that what's going on with the Jewish people is supernatural. That's just because the, the chances of them surviving as a people over this many thousands of years is just without. Without God being involved to me is impossible. So that makes sense.

>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely. It is a miracle bird and I in our brand new book. And by the way, I gotta say

>> Tim Wildmon: I'll be glad to come on Exploring the Word.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: And talk about that.

>> Fred Jackson: Amen.

>> Tim Wildmon: Popcorn? I haven't been invited, so it's such a.

>> Alex McFarland: We need to get you on Exploring the Word. It is such a great honor. I opened up the brand new the stand, the AFA Journal. It came Saturday and I Give God the glory. Tim, what an honor. You open the COVID and right there is, coverage of our three books that Bert and I have done.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: but in the most recent, the red cover book of 100 Bible questions and Answers on Prophecy in the end times, we say the rebirth of the nation of Israel, May 14, 1948. That is a super sign of the miraculous nature of the Bible, the providence of God, but the divine calling and preservation of the Jewish people.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right, Alex, we look for you going to be on with Burt this afternoon. Y' all gonna be together?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, sir. We're in Isaiah 59.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, well, wonderful. Thank you, Alex. Appreciate.

>> Alex McFarland: Thanks everybody.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, next doc, Dr. Alex McFarland. by the way, Alex is going to be teaching at the COVID this summer. Next time he comes on, we'll ask him about that. Nice. You can go there and attend the conference that he's hosting.

AFN is hosting a global day of prayer tonight for 250 million college students

All right, you're listening to today's issue. We got about three minutes. Krish, what do you got?

>> Chris Woodward: Well, I've got a one minute clip of audio here from a guy named Ty Lamb who is an organizer for the Collegiate Day of Prayer. this is an event we cover every year at afn. But here's Ty Lamb of Collegiate Day of Prayer talking about today's events. Clip 14.

>> Fred Jackson: We are hosting a global day of

>> Alex McFarland: prayer, to mobilize the global church

>> Fred Jackson: to adopt every college campus around the globe.

>> Alex McFarland: There's some 30,000 campuses and we are believing God that local churches, ministries,

>> Fred Jackson: campus groups, moms groups, would be

>> Alex McFarland: adopting the college campuses that are down

>> Fred Jackson: the street from them. And we're praying for 250 million college students globally. Collegiatedayofprayer.org is our website.

>> Alex McFarland: Tonight we have a global broadcast, from Liberty university. There'll be 10,000 students gathered here,

>> Fred Jackson: and we'll be broadcasting on eight networks globally.

>> Alex McFarland: but that will be 8 to 10pm tonight. Seven 30 will be the start of worship.

>> Fred Jackson: but that will be a two

>> Alex McFarland: hour global prayer broadcast that you can tune in on our website, collegiate day

>> Fred Jackson: of prayer.org or on YouTube as well.

>> Chris Woodward: Now after this show, if the Lord tarries, I'm going to put together a story featuring Ty talking more about this event. And tonight I'm going to roll on the prayer event. So stick with AFN because we'll have more on this.

>> Tim Wildmon: So his name is Ty. L A M B, Lamb. L A M M. I bet he gets called Thailand all the time, you know, mistakenly. Well, good for him. and so is he a student there at Liberty?

>> Chris Woodward: He's actually, he's around my age. so he's. He may be a senior fellow, but, yeah, he's, he's been an organizer with this event for years. We've had him on the show before. I called him right before the show began today.

>> Tim Wildmon: What's the name of the event now?

>> Chris Woodward: Day of Prayer.

>> Tim Wildmon: What?

>> Chris Woodward: Collegiate Day of Prayer.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Chris Woodward: And the, event tonight is at Liberty University in Lynchburg, but it's going

>> Tim Wildmon: to be simulcast M around the world to different places.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes. And they do need prayer and pray for students on campus.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.

>> Chris Woodward: They need it.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. All right, Ray, you're gonna stick around, right?

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm gonna be here.

We'll take a four minute break for news. We'll be talking to Steve coming up

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so we're gonna take a, four minute, four to five minute break here for news. And then Steve Paisley Jordan will come in and brighten our day. That's what Steve lives for.

>> Fred Jackson: There you, go.

>> Tim Wildmon: He's always got great news. We'll be talking to Steve coming up. Thank you, Krish.

>> Chris Woodward: Thank you.

>> Tim Wildmon: Your contributions, to, to the show. We'll be back in a minute. Stay with.

>> Alex McFarland: M. The views and opinions expressed in

>> Tim Wildmon: this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Tim, Fred and Ray talk with Chris on top news headlines of the day including a discussion on the U.S. and Iran nuclear peace talks. Also, Dr. Alex McFarland joins the program to discuss the history of the Jewish people.