Israel Looking to God, Not America: Is the World Witnessing a Shift?

Israel Looking to God, Not America: Is the World Witnessing a Shift?

Host: Hon. Sam Rohrer

Guest: Steve Herzig

Note: This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program aired on 6/17/26. To listen to the podcast, click HERE.

Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate transcription, the following is a representation of a mechanical transcription and as such, may not be a word for word transcript. Please listen to the audio version for any questions concerning the following dialogue.

Sam Rohrer:

Hello and welcome to this Wednesday edition of Stand in the Gap today. Today’s also another in our bi-monthly focuses that we do on Israel, the Middle East and Biblical Prophecy. It’s a commitment that we’ve honored since the program began nearly a decade ago. And I’ve said before, but if you’re just joining us for the first time, the question might be, well, why do we do this? Why do we prioritize this emphasis every other week? Well, it’s because this program, our ministry here at American Pastors Network and the Stand in the Gap Radio and TV are all designed to emphasize the authority of scripture to the glory of God. That’s the bottom line. We highlight the character of God, his unfolding plan of redemption and the nation at the center of that plan, Israel, God’s chosen people, the Jews, and God’s holy city, Jerusalem. Why? Well, that’s because those are God’s choices and he emphasizes those things.

And given that biblical prophecy comprises roughly 30% of scripture, we simply emphasize what God emphasizes. So that’s it. Now, joining me today for the first time on this program is Steve Herzig. Steve served for many years as the vice president of North American Ministries for the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. And though recently retired, he remains an active consultant and contributor to the Friends of Israel’s Israel My Glory Magazine. Now on Monday’s program, two days ago, Monday’s program of this week with guest J.R. McGee, JR and I discussed a number of things, but one of them was President Donald Trump’s recent announcement via tweet that as he said, “The deal is done oil and trade flow immediately restored.” And as I noted then in that program, much of that statement is not accurate. For instance, the deal is not finalized. The details remain undisclosed even as of in its entirety of this program and Israel, among other things, was never consulted.

All right, now that being established, I also shared comments from Israeli commentator Avi Abelo who captured a sentiment shared, I think by many in Israel and I believe in the United States, as he said, a profound sense of betrayal and disappointment over this deal in what is being viewed as a surrender to Iran and a sellout of Israel. Now that’s a broad perspective shared by many people, but I shared that on Monday. Yet Abilo, this individual expressed a vital perspective noting that this moment forces Israelis to confront a long ignored truth. As he said, “Israel’s future cannot depend on any foreign leader or nation but must rest entirely in Hashem.” And that core observation that those who trust in God must look to him rather than to man will drive my conversation with Steve Herzig here today in segment two in particular when we go on this theme.

But it’s also the inspiration behind today’s title that I’ve framed today’s conversation in this way, Israel looking to God not America is the world witnessing a shift. So that’s a question I’m going to be asking my guest today among other things. But with that, welcome to the program, Steve. It’s great to have you a part of it today.

Steve Herzig:

Sam, I really appreciate the invitation. I’m looking forward to our time together.

Sam Rohrer:

And I am as well. So let’s get right into it, Steve. Share, if you don’t mind, just a bit about your faith in Yeshua to help our listeners understand a bit of the perspective that you bring, as I often say, a completed Jew.

Steve Herzig:

Yeah. I’ve been called a lot of things, completed Jew, Messianic Jew, all kinds of names that describe the faith that I have. And it was 1975 that I actually came to know Christ Yeshua, Hamashia as my savior, but the journey began when God placed me in an Orthodox Jewish home. So I was raised going to synagogue, Hebrew school four days a week, synagogue on Friday night and Saturday and then Sunday school. I always believed in the Bible minus the New Testament, of course. I always believed that there would be a Messiah. I looked forward to Messiah coming and even though I lived during the time of Leave It to Beaver and Donna Reed and all those old shows where everything in the 50s and 60s was wonderful, boy, I’ll tell you, when we were in synagogue, we wanted Messiah now Israel had been a new entity.

We used to collect dimes each week, really each day in Hebrew school to collect $2, which bought a tree in Israel. So Israel, the Jewish people were part of my life, but by the time I was in high school and junior high, I was unsatisfied in the fact that I didn’t feel holy. I knew there were 613 laws. I didn’t live up to them and it wasn’t until 1975 that my sister invited me to a Bible study in California while on vacation that I was confronted with prophecy and fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah that in fact, yes, he is coming, but he’s coming again. I didn’t believe in the first coming, but through the reading of scripture that happened for me and I received Jesus as my savior back then.

Sam Rohrer:

That’s great, Steven. We could go so much deeper, but I wanted you to share that so our listeners get a perspective of your perspective and I think it’s a valuable one. Let’s complete with this segment. You only have about a couple minutes left here at the most. Now let’s move to this Iran deal based on what is known at this point about the Iran deal, which is more accurately a framework for something maybe it’s a memorandum of understanding technically, but what is the general view of Jews to this and Israeli specifically? What do they think about this based on what we know at this point?

Steve Herzig:

Well, Sam, I’m sure glad we have another segment because you’re right, this is a memorandum of understanding and basically we’re told that it’s going to take 60 days, even though we don’t know what’s in it’s going to take 60 days to see if indeed Iran fulfills its part and how are people responding? It’s hard to be critical. There’s leaks and we don’t know if the leaks are accurate. I would say this in our next segment, when we get back, we want to talk about what was the purpose of the whole thing to begin with. I think there are some concrete things when Israel and the United States work together and I’d like to go through them real quick. Number one, prevent Iran from a nuclear weapon, make sure the stockpile that they have of enriched uranium is not made into bombs. They have 2000 pounds reportedly to delete their intercontinental missile system to stop support of terror and to open the strait of Hormuz.

So does this memorandum cover those things? We don’t really know, but I can tell you, you get two Jewish people together, you get three opinions, that’s conservative estimate. There’s a lot of disappointment and we’ll be able to talk about that.

Sam Rohrer:

And ladies and gentlemen, we will. So if you’re just joining us today, our theme today is this, Israel looking to God, not America. That’s kind of a question, but we’re going to talk about it. Is the world witnessing a shift? Are we witnessing a shift of what’s happening being driven in part by what the president is doing with this Iran quote unquote deal and all the things unfolding about it. We’ll cover a number of those things in the balance of this program. Stay with us…At Christ’s first coming, though many individual Jews, as we know, believed in Yeshua as the Messiah, the first believers were Jewish Israel’s religious and political leaders, Pharisees, Sadducees, the Herodians, the scribes, all of them collectively rejected him, even attributing his power to the devil. And before his crucifixion by Roman authorities at the behest of these leaders, Jesus declared to the nation in Matthew 23:39, he said this, “You shall see me no more till you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And that’s what was a direct invocation or a response of Psalm 118: 26.

Now following this rejection because the leaders of that day, the nation of Israel that day and their religious leaders, though they rejected this and they did because of it, Christ also said that judgment would fall and it fell. In 70 AD, Israel was dismantled as a nation. The Jerusalem temple was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered across the globe, but not by accident. It was a fulfillment of warnings first occurring in Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 33 and then in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and 62, where God said that that would happen yet God also promised a miraculous regathering that a nation would be born in a day as prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah in chapter 66 and verse eight of his book. The modern fulfillment of these, well now 3,500 year old prophecies places us squarely in the momentous latter years of the end days as described by Christ.

Those are the days in which we now live. So very significant and very significant to take note. Steve, in our first segment, I noted that Israeli journalist Avi Abelo sees a major shift in how Israelis view foreign leaders, specifically Donald Trump. I find it interesting that once hailed by many as a modern day Cyrus, the president’s favorability has plummeted according to polling I saw yesterday, dragging down support even for Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Likud Party affecting perhaps the future of the Israeli government. So there’s a lot of things happening. Here’s my question. Do you agree with what Avi said that we are perhaps witnessing an awakening within the Jewish community generally? And if so, how broad and how significant is this shift that people are saying, “Wait a minute, we can’t trust in man, any man including a Donald Trump. We have to trust in God.” To me, it was significant when he said that.

What do you think?

Steve Herzig:

Well, I think what he’s saying is conceptually true. I’m not sure how far the shift has gone as we watch the reaction to what Donald Trump is saying, there’s a lot of disappointment and people and countries seem to be abandoning Israel. Over the last couple of years before President Trump under the Biden administration, antisemitism in Canada and Australia and the United States, we’ve never seen that kind of thing. And so individually, Jewish people were losing hope terribly. Then Donald Trump came and as already said, and Avi and you, which I agree, Donald Trump was hailed. This is definitely something that has given them pause and the population based on what they’re hearing of this memorandum is viewing that Bibi has compromised and that Donald Trump has abandoned them. I think it’s fair to say from a human point of view, we’ve got to wait and see what happens on Friday if indeed we get the details of this memorandum.

But prophetically, Sam, I see for sure that Israel is going to be abandoned. That doesn’t surprise the Bible reader. They are going to be left alone completely. The Bible is filled with places that tells us about that in Daniel chapter nine and Zechariah, other passages as well. So yes, even the United States at some point in time will abandon Israel. That hasn’t happened. Donald Trump has been wonderful to Israel, but this is definitely a chink in his armor. And so I would agree conceptually, I would agree.

Sam Rohrer:

Okay. Stay with us as we go further into this, because Steve, adding to this shift and we may be on the front end of this, but we know prophetically it has to get to the point where Jewish people, Israel themself have no place to look except up and that is to God above. And that’s what I thought was in that comment and things I’m saying, wow, are we beginning to see that? It’s interesting. But Israeli leaders as a part of this, there are other things that are happening politically. They ask for the details of this deal, but the Trump administration prevented them from doing that. They were blind to its details and on top of that, demanding that Israel withdraw all forces from Lebanon, Donald Trump told Netanyahu just the other day and I heard him say that if Israel wants to continue fighting its neighbors, they’ll have to do it alone, basically that the United States would not be there to help.

So that kind of contributes to this whole thing. That was just made, that statement. But it was a statement made by the president yesterday that in my opinion was so brazen and so reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar from the Book of Daniel that you decided to me that should ring alarm bells for anyone, Jew or Christian who claims to fear God. And the exact words with this, I’m going to play, ladies and gentlemen, the president’s words, you need to hear this and we’ll comment further on that in the next segment as well. But he said this, “Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel.” And I recoil at that, frankly, because the comment is so profoundly arrogant that I want to play this clip for you right now. Listen to this and then I want to ask you, Steve, for your response again, it goes to this part of Israel looking to no man but looking to God.

Tim, would you play this?

Donald Trump:

Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did.

Sam Rohrer:

Okay. Play that one more time, Tim.

Donald Trump:

Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did.

Sam Rohrer:

Okay. Steve, I don’t know how that struck you, but that was quite a statement and what do you think was being said? How did it strike you? And do you think that that may end up playing into this move and shift perhaps of Israel saying, “Wow, we really must begin looking to God, not to any man.”

Steve Herzig:

I agree, Sam, with what you’re saying. There’s so many emotions that run through my mind when I hear him talk that way. There’s no question that God has used President Trump, but Donald Trump isn’t the only one that has been used through the history of Israel and the Jewish people. I would be very cautious if I was him in the way he speaks, but I will say this, God gave a promise and I’ve been preaching about this since I’ve been saved, so we’re talking about 50 years. Jeremiah gave the formula to destroy the Jewish people. I’ve preached this message many times. Let me just read two verses if I can. Is that okay, Sam?

Sam Rohrer:

Sure, absolutely. Go ahead, Steve.

Steve Herzig:

Jeremiah writes in chapter 31 and verse 35, he says, “Thus say if the Lord who gives the son for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night who disturbs the sea and its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, says the Lord, then the seat of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before me forever thus says the Lord, if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” says the Lord. Look, the promise that God is giving is that there’ll always be a nation of people called the Jewish people, Israel, the Hebrews, and the reason is not because of Donald Trump or any other leader that you might have.

Harry Truman was the first person United States to recognize Israel, countless presidents going all the way to George Washington have been wonderful on and on it goes, but God is the one that puts Israel on the map and God will be the on to make sure that he accomplishes promise. It’s interesting before the United States helped Israel back in 1967 it was the French, believe it or not. They got most of their Jets, et cetera, from the French and there’s other nations that have been used. I thank God for America, I thank God for its commitment, but it’s not shocking as we already said to me that we are at least seemingly at the beginning as we think about this memorandum and find out more, will Donald Trump abandon the Jewish people? If he does, we’re in trouble, Sam, as a country in the United States.

Sam Rohrer:

Don’t have much time left, but it was interesting that right after the president made that statement, our ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, he was there in Israel and Jerusalem and he made commentary. I’m not sure who the group was, but I listened to him and he was very careful. He didn’t directly say what the president said, I don’t agree with. But by his words, he absolutely said that and he said, “I am here as an ambassador from America, United States to Israel, and I want you all to know that America is because of the input and the help of all of Jewish people and he went the other way. We exist because of you, ” he said, “Not you exist because of us.” And I thought that was interesting, ladies and gentlemen. In the end, we all exist because of God’s sovereign will and that is certainly an afflation of Israel.

Stay with us. We’ll unpack this more in the next second. If you’re just joining us today, welcome aboard. We’re right in the middle of the program. Theme today is this. It’s an Israel Middle East and biblical prophecy focus, which we do every other Wednesday on the program. My theme today is this kind of like is Israel looking to God, not America and is the world. Are we witnessing a shift? And that’s kind of what we’re talking about. My special guest today, first time being with us here and Stand on a Gap today is Steve Hertzik. He’s retired vice president for North American Ministries Division of Friends of Israel. In the first segment, Steve shared his testimony having been raised in an Orthodox home Judaism that we taught in Hebrew school and all, but he trusted Yeshua after graduation from high school and he spent a lot of his life, most of his working life working with friends of Israel.

So he brings a very, very good perspective to this topic and theme we’re talking about here today. Going into that further, let me give this before I go on. If you want to find out more about, excuse me, friends of Israel, you can go foi.org. You can find it standing for friends of Israel, foi.org. You can find that and a lot of information. All right, this whole matter of this deal, this memorandum of understanding, this framework, much of which is yet to come out, but certainly something that is caught to the attention of all of the world right now for lots of different reasons. But into the middle of this, driven by the shifting relationship between Donald Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu and some would say that it’s pure theater, it’s for effect, it’s not real. I don’t know whether it is or not. As my guest, Steve Herzig said time will tell.

And I think that that’s probably the way we take it. But nonetheless, there appears to be a rift. The United States, our president, has made a series of extraordinary demands prior to but coming into this quote unquote deal, including, and this is a big one, including that Israel completely withdraws the IDF troops and all of that withdraws from Lebanon and warning, and I heard the president make this statement a couple days ago that if they, if Netanyahu, if Israel leadership choose to continue the war, as he put it, they must do it alone suggesting that America is not going to be with them in the future. Big deal, that’s a big deal. Okay, that’s one thing. Now in an article today on watch.org, that’s Bill Koenig’s cite and Bill’s with me many times on this program, but the top of the page right now, it says this.

There’s an article there. The title says this, “When a president says, Without me there would be no Israel.” That article, as I read it, rightly observes that these words cannot be dismissed as mere political exaggeration. I encourage you to go and read that article and others that are on that watch.org cite. But in that article, the writer emphasizes and says this, “These words that Israel wouldn’t exist without me. These words cross a line no ruler should ever approach. Israel does not exist because of a president and empire, a military alliance or a diplomatic achievement. Israel exists because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob keeps his covenant. The rebirth of Israel in 1948 was not the product of one man’s ego or an administration’s generosity. It was the historical fulfillment of the word of God. Leaders and nations are merely instruments. No man can claim the glory for what God alone has performed because I’m saying this article, the timing makes this rhetoric that Israel doesn’t exist except for one man.

This timing makes this rhetoric even more grave. It comes as Israel faces intense pressure over Lebanon. Netanyahu battles public criticism. Hezbollah remains armed and a new MOU grants Tehran extraordinary freedom without resolving the core Iranian threat. While the public language promises peace, stability and nuclear restraint, the substance points in the exact opposite direction. Steve, I thought that that was well stated. So let’s talk Israel and her neighbors right now. Start in Lebanon. Why is Israel’s efforts in Lebanon so important and how likely is it that Israel will bow to our president’s demand that they remove all troops from Lebanon because this is a big point, isn’t it?

Steve Herzig:

Well, Sam, I’m so happy that you briefed us up to the point because I couldn’t agree more with what you said since we started the segment. Let me tell you that Israel is in Lebanon, not because she wants to be, but because Northern Israel is still under attack. No one is really talking about that. They certainly are in Israel and you can access websites all around and go on social media and find that those who are living north spend an inordinate amount of time in bomb shelters because Hezbollah is still bombing them. And so the demand on the part of the president for Israel to pull out of there is reminiscent by the way of the early 80s when the same thing happened.

The purpose of a government, a secular government is to protect its citizens. If a president of any country is telling Israel, “You can’t protect your citizens, we’re in major trouble.” And I am telling you that when you look at the Bible, forget individual interpretations, just a plain sense of scripture we find in Zechariah 14, “I’ll gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem.” We’re not there yet, but I’m telling you that Jewish people who have any sense of the scripture and the prophets particularly are saying that this seems to be the beginning where we are going to be completely alone. Israel needs to be in Lebanon just to protect the northern border and how Prime Minister Netanyahu handles this is going to be really important. So it’s a demand that I would fear if I was President Trump for what he said. You’re right, it is reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar and he certainly had trouble after he had such a puffed up heart.

We’ll see what happens, but I can tell you that Northern Israel is facing a threat twenty four seven and it has at least been dealt with or they’re dealing with it to keep that northern border as a rim of protection for the Israelis in the northern part of the country.

Sam Rohrer:

Okay, that’s excellent. Let me go to another aspect of it as we consider Israel and her neighbors in this segment and that is this. Recently there was a statement that Prime Minister Netanyahu made that I heard it was about 10 days ago maybe now, but he said that Israel was prepared to take on Turkey and Egypt together. Now that was before this quote unquote deal that we’re talking about. And here’s my question to you, why do you think that statement was even made or need to be made and what do you think that that signifies in light of even in what you were just talking about nations around Israel being gathered together?

Steve Herzig:

Sam, when you look at Ezekiel 38 and 39, you find that there’s a regional battle that has never taken place yet. It’s described by the prophet but it’s never happened and that’s why we believe it’s a future battle. The Jewish people believe it’s a future battle. We as believers believe it’s a future battle and it involves the geography of where there’s trouble right now and part of that is Russia and part of that is Turkey and part of that is Iran as well. Those nations are prophetically going to attack Israel and they’re going to attack hard and God, not President Trump, but God is the one that’s going to intercede when that happens. And as you think about Turkey and Russia and the Ukraine war, all these nations that we read about and hear about on our news are nations, the geography at least, are the nations involved as enemies to Israel.

And currently right now the leader in Turkey has been hot and cold against Israel for several years. Right now it’s running cold and there’s danger and I think Bibi is aware of that and wants to make sure that his country is secure.

Sam Rohrer:

All right and just a little bit more time left here, but talk about Egypt because Egypt, there is somewhat of a peace treaty that’s kind of gone on, but Egypt over the last many, many months, couple years anyways, have had tanks that have come up on the border of Israel so it’s not like that Egypt can be fully trusted. They have attacked Israel in the past, haven’t they? Where do they sit?

Steve Herzig:

Yeah, you’re right. Egypt and Israel are not bosom buddies, but They had some trouble with the border between Gaza and Israel and Israel had to do some military activities during that Gaza war and to some extent Egypt did cooperate, but at the same time as I said, they’re not biz and buddies so they have to be able to monitor Egypt. In fact, Sam, truth be known, I always say Israel is a good country and a bad neighborhood. And what we’ve been discussing and what you’ve been discussing is really the neighbors of Israel that are unstable as it relates to the only democracy in the Middle East. Whether that’s Egypt, whether that’s Lebanon, whether that’s Syria, which had its own civil war.

Sam Rohrer:

Okay. And with that, Steve, we got a break away. Ladies and gentlemen, stay with us in the next segment, the last segment. Steve and I will talk and kind of put all this together and bring in more so. Well, Steve, as we go into the final segment, let me say it’s been really wonderful to have you on the program today to represent Friends of Israel ministry. Chris Katulka, your contemporary that works there with you is often with me here and it’s a thrill to have you on. So I just want to say that to you right now and to repeat again for those of you who are listening that if you want to find out more about their ministry, I would encourage you to go and visit their site, friendsofisrael.org. It’s foi.org. Easy to remember foi.org. But Steve, as I said at the beginning, it’s not possible to talk about Israel, the Middle East or the city of Jerusalem, all of which God has said throughout the Old Testament and various places are of his choosing.

He chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. He chose the nation of Italy. He chose that their seed would bring forth the promised Messiah. He chose them to be a light to the Gentile nations of old. That’s the Old Testament. And what we’ve gone through so far, they failed in that obligation to do so. Christ came the first coming. The leadership, as I said, repeat it earlier, rejected Yeshua, Messiah, even though prophesied fully in the Old Testament. They knew and they should have the leadership rejected. God scattered the nation, but has recalled all of which is throughout the Old Testament and the Jewish people of today know that. They can read that as well as all Gentile, the entire world. It’s all there for us to view. And now it brings us to a point where we’re seeing unfold all of the things that we’re talking about. And you’ve referred to a number of times prophetically and use that word as I use that word to talk about what we’re seeing unfold because it’s not a surprise.

It’s coming right off the pages of scripture. So that’s a tremendously exciting thing. But that brings me back into the one part you mentioned in the last segment and that is you mentioned Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39. There is a war that the Bible says will happen. It says in the Old Testament and throughout it’s there. But here’s a question I want to go to you first and get your perspective because over the last weeks, maybe month or so, I have seen a number of respected Israeli rabbis who are stating insisting that they believe that we are presently, that they are Israel is that the world is presently in at least the beginning of the Ezekiel 38, 39 war. And that’s because of the involvement of Iran specifically and connection to Russia helping them and so forth. But before I ask you for your perspective on these rabbis view, how are you seeing the increased interest in sensitivity to Old Testament prophecy by those within religious Jewish community?

Is there a move that you can note a sensitivity and increased awareness perhaps of some within the Jewish community who are realizing that we are in biblical times?

Steve Herzig:

Well, Sam, you’ve got a large population of Jewish Israelis, obviously, and they’re thinking a lot different than Western minded Jewish people. You’ve got the United States, Canada, Australia, France. And what’s happening is that in Israel there is a genuine seeking of answer question, what is going on? How is this play? Does God have anything to say? And I know that our workers in Israel are telling us about this all the time. There’s an interest. What’s happening here in this country amongst the Jewish people is there’s a remnant, a small remnant who have not certainly have not made these … There’s a remnant of believers, but there’s a remnant of others who are saying it’s not safe to be here. They are saying, “I’ve got to get out of here. Something is happening and the only safe place for me to be is in Israel.” And that’s happened in France, it’s happening in Canada, it’s happening in the United States, not 100%, but I think as the clock continues to tick and as antisemitism increases, you are going to find Ezekiel 37, the bones coming together, continuing to come together at a faster pace in order to accomplish what Ezekiel 38 and 39 is going to be a demonstration of God’s power of him alone saving his nation.

But yes, I believe that all these events orchestrated under the sovereign will of God is accomplishing his purpose in the plan and program that he has for the Jewish people and for Israel.

Sam Rohrer:

Let me ask you this quick follow up question. Do you think that this increasing sensitivity, as we’re talking about now, is it a sensitivity that is being led by rabbis when people gather in synagogues and they’re telling people be alert, something’s happening or is it something that we would say God himself is moving in the hearts of people to bring this awareness about?

Steve Herzig:

Well, I’m no expert on all the leadership, especially in the West, but I could tell you typically the rabbis that are certainly smart, they know the Bible, they know the holidays. I think this is a grassroots thing and it’s always been that way as God does these things. It’s grassroots people looking for answers and I’m finding that they’re not getting, at least in Western countries, they’re not getting the spiritual answers that they’re looking for because most of the Jewish people in Western culture are not observant Jewish people. They’re not looking to the word. They’re looking to man and they find continually failure on the part of man to give them any hope. This is sad from a secular point of view, but it’s wonderful because God is orchestrating, I believe, a call that will physically bring the Jewish people back to Israel and ultimately spiritually as well.

Sam Rohrer:

I find that to be the case even within the quote unquote church in America and beyond is that the average person continues to look to man much idolatry rather than look to God, but there is a remnant that is increasingly being moved in their heart to seek the truth and if someone does, scripture tells us they will find it. Now we don’t have about a couple minutes left and that’s all here, but your thoughts on Ezekiel 38, 39, could we be in that timeframe already? If so, why so? If not, why not?

Steve Herzig:

The whole question of Ezekiel 38 and 39 amongst Jewish and Christians scholars is that they believe it’s a future battle. They believe the description, they believe that God is going to intercede. The question is always the timing. My personal opinion is I believe in the 70th week of Daniel, a yet future week ahead of tribulation. I believe that in the beginning of that tribulation, and I’m speculating here because no one knows the timing, but it seems to me this is yet future and I believe the rapture of the church will take place and once Antichrist comes, signs a covenant, I believe in the early part of that week, this battle will take place. However, the staging of it, the mentality of it, you and I are seeing it right now. It is becoming crystal clear that these nations are going to be involved in harassing Israel and the outcome is not going to be

Sam Rohrer:

Good for them. We’re at the end, Steve, wonderful. I have to say that is my perspective as well and I’ve shared it this way. It’s kind of like the stage, the props are being set for the final act and that final act being the seven years. But anyway, so much we could go further, but Steve Herzig from Friends of Israel, thank you so much for being with us today. Ladies and gentlemen, their website, again, if you want to find out more information is FOI short for friendsofisrael.org and thank you for being with us. The Lord willing, we’ll be back here tomorrow and on Friday, an important program scheduled so plan on joining us each day, the balance of this week.