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A
Foreign. Welcome to the Prophecy Recon podcast. Strategic Intelligence. In the last days, therefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober first. Thessalonians 5, 6. Stay awake, keep watch. And now your host, Joe Hawkins.
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Welcome to the program. Joe Hawkins here now. Throughout Scripture, God speaks repeatedly about bringing the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, back to their land after being dispersed amongst the nations. In Ezekiel 36, God says that he'll gather Israel after being dispersed among the nations and bring them back to their land, and he'll spiritually cleanse and renew them. In Ezekiel 37, the vision of the valley of dry bones symbolizes Israel coming back to life as a people. God says that he will open the graves, bring his people back into the land, and place them there again. Jeremiah 30:31 continues this theme. God promises that he would restore the fortunes of Israel and Judah and bring them back to the land and establish a new Covenant. In Isaiah 11, the prophet says that the Lord will gather the dispersed of Judah and assemble the outcast of Israel from the four corners of the earth. Now this worldwide regathering is one of the clearest prophetic pictures that we have in scripture today. And in Amos 9, God promises to plant his people in Israel again in their land, never again to be uprooted. Now, today, after centuries of dispersion, the Jewish people have returned from all over the place, from all over the nations, back to their land. But at the same time, the world has seen a troubling increase in antisemitism. This hatred toward Jewish communities has appeared across many regions and across many political movements. And this should grieve every believer. Is this hostility that we're seeing toward the Jews, is this what's pressuring them back to their land? Historically, persecution has often pushed the Jewish communities to seek refuge in return. There's also a discussion to be had around theology, namely, this growing movement of people that subscribe to replacement theology. They believe that God is finished with Israel and that they've replaced Israel and the Jews with the church. Now, of course, scripture disputes this demonic theology or this demonic ideology. I mean, just read Romans 9:11. Well, today, our good friend Mike Spalding, he's going to help us unpack this and he's going to help us think biblically about this topic. But before we go any further, one quick announcement.
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C
For over 2,000 years, believers have been told to watch. Here at Prophecy Watchers, we believe that as Scripture continues to unfold, the rapture is right around the corner. Nearly 800 fellow believers from across the Nation will gather in Colorado Springs this June for the world's premier prophecy event, Rapture in the Rockies, for one focused purpose, to hear from 16 of the most trusted Bible experts and speakers committed to teaching prophecy with clarity, accuracy and conviction, covering a wide range of topics, everything from Israel, the Dead Sea Scrolls, UFO disclosure, AI and the coming Antichrist, the fast approaching Rapture, and so much more. Don't wait. Register today at raptureintherockies.com and be a part of this life changing event.
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B
Well, all right, we've got our good friend Mike Spalding here and today we're going to discuss the global rise in antisemitism leading, that's leading the Jews from around the world back to Israel and how replacement theology factors into this. So how's everything going, Mike?
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Joe, thank you so very much for having me on. First of all, things are going very well. Spring has finally hit here in Ohio. Sun is shining today and you know, that cheers you right up immediately when it's 75 degrees and sunny.
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B
Oh yeah, I know exactly where you're coming from. It's, it seems like here in Mississippi we've, we've skipped spring and went straight to summer. It's been pretty hot. We've had a couple of days of, of, of some, I guess, fairly nice weather. It's been a little bit cooler than it normally is. But it seems a couple of weeks ago we were straight up into the summer. So definitely not looking forward to that summer humidity that we get here.
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Yeah, not, not this, not this soon.
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B
Right, Absolutely. So you were on, you, you wrote a couple of books recently and one of them was on replacement theology. And I thought that you would be the perfect guest to bring on to talk about this, this rising antisemitism that we've seen globally and how replacement theology is playing into it. So I just really just want to ask you this first question. Do you think that this growing hostility toward the Jewish communities worldwide is part of the prophetic stage setting for the final regathering of Israel?
- [05:39]
A
Yes, I absolutely do, Joe, and that's a very keen observation on your part. God will use people who are in error. We know that he's used in the past pagans to judge his people, Israel. Now he's using people that are in error, theologically speaking, to motivate Jewish people to return to the land, to make aliyah. Now there's something about the Jewish people and this is hard for American Westernized Christians to, to comprehend. I'm thankful to be American. I'm, I'm Grateful that I was born in this, in this land. And, and I'm part of what God has done here over the years. But I don't have this deep seated yearning to or, or not being satisfied spiritually by being an American. The same thing can't, can't be said about, about Jewish people because they do have this, this yearning to be in the land, the land that God has given them, the land that's called Israel. And making that, that journey back. It just does. I've seen so many pictures, Joe, over the years of people, Jewish people from other nations, all over Europe, certainly South America, Africa, making aliyah and, and when they land in Israel and, and deboard and they touch the ground of Israel, there's just something emotionally that, that they experience being there in the land. And so yes, I believe that the Lord is using all sorts of motivating factors and one of them is the grievous error of replacement theology to show his people it's time to return to the land. And of course, as you mentioned, that is a prophetic fulfillment. I think all of this is happening in preparation for what the scripture has to say about what is, what is happening. And it's, I don't want to run too far down the road here, Joe, but it's very interesting to me to watch what is happening in the Middle east with the United States, Iran, Turkey especially. I've said for a long time that our eyes should, should be on Turkey and watch what Turkey is doing. And it seems as if they've got the leader of Turkey in place for this particular time because the things he's beginning to say now directly threatening Israel is very interesting to me. And so, and these things of course, as, as you know, Joe, fit very nicely into a type of Ezekiel 38, 39 scenario. I'm not saying that is, I'm saying this looks very much like that. And so it's giving us, could we call it a glimpse. Yeah. Of what the, the possibility is that this is coming. So I don't believe it's happened in the past. Never seen an array of nations all together at one time coming against Israel. So I think it's yet future, but it's not that far in the future. I, I will say this. I may see it in my lifetime. It's, it's, it's possible, which is very exciting to me because that's, that's, that's biblical prophecy being rolled out right in front of our eyes. We should be very excited about that. And it is a great testimony Trust the word of God.
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Absolutely. And we, we certainly see the stage setting for Ezekiel 38. I mean, being played out right before the nations that are referenced there. They're on the news every day. They're the key players in what's happening right now in the Middle East. I mean, you have Russia, you have Turkey, you have Iran. Each, all three of those nations are key players in that Ezekiel 38 prophecy. And what do we see? Well, we see each one of them playing a, a significant role today. And I would just encourage everybody to go check out the video that, that was posted just today on or that was posted on April 21st with Mike Spalding, with Bondo Gonzalez and Gary Stearman where they talked about Ezekiel 38. And I'll link up to that in the show notes so everybody can easily access that. But it was a wonderful video, very great detailed explanation of, of what we see happening today and, and how that ties into the prophecy there in Ezekiel 38.
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But, and I wonder, Joe, just as a side note to what you just said, I wonder if these world leaders, I see God just moving things into place. And, and that's one of the things that sticks out for me in Ezekiel 38, where Yahweh says that I'm going to put hooks and draw you. The Lord is orchestrating this. And I wonder if some of these world leaders, they, they're clueless. They're just completely clueless and they're just responding to things that. Well, let me, let me put it this way, too. I hesitate to bring up President Trump because so many love him or hating. And it seems to be it's either that there's nobody really that's, you know, take him or leave him. He is a, a brilliant strategist. And I'm not giving him credit for that as much as I'm giving God credit for that, because I think God is, is in the process of revealing some things to people, waking them up to the value of understanding the prophetic scriptures. Because as you well know, Joe, so many Christians have just completely walked away from any understanding or study of the prophetic scriptures. They act like it, it's, it's unimportant. It doesn't matter. And exactly the opposite is true. If we want to make sense of the things that we're seeing today, we need to understand the Scriptures, especially the special. The prophetic scriptures.
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Absolutely. And we see. I've seen it in my lifetime. I've seen some of my friends even have these conversations. I know that you've seen it and people that are watching here, they've had the same things said to them. They, they look at the prophetic, especially the end time Bible prophecies that we read. They look at it so far into the future that it's not ever going to happen in their lifetime. So why are they even concerned about it? And then they always come up with, well, you know, they've been saying this for 2,000 years. This is going to happen for 2,000. Well, one of these days it's going to happen. And I personally believe that we are part of that generation. We're part of that, that time frame that's going to witness these events happen. And I, I personally believe that the Rapture is going to happen in my lifetime. I mean, I certainly hope that it happens in my lifetime. Now I'm not a date setter by any stretch, but I mean, I hope it is. That's what we're, we're called to look for the blessed hope of Jesus Christ. And that's something that, that I don't take lightly. I mean, I'm looking every single day. And part of that looking is watching at what's happening around us. When we see the pieces start falling into place, I mean, it's up to us to really pay attention. I mean, Jesus, he excoriated the Sadducees and the Pharisees of his days because they could not discern the signs of the times that they were in when they were looking at the Messiah right dead in his face. They couldn't even discern that because they were so concerned with themselves. They were more concerned with their religious, you know, ideology as opposed to what scripture actually had to say. And when we see people saying that very thing, oh well, it's been 2,000 years. I mean you're, you're doing exactly what the Sadducees and the Pharisees of Jesus this day did. And we're called to be watchful. And that's what we're doing here today. We're being watchful. And when we, you know, going back to the, the rising level of anti Semitism that we see in today, this is something that was prophesied. We know that this was going to happen because it's, it's a pattern that Satan has repeated throughout history. And this pattern is going to continue on until the end of time. And you know, and I'm just wanted to, I want to share a couple of articles right here. The 2025 toll of, of diaspora Jews killed in anti Semitic attacks was the highest in three decades. That's, that's an article there from the Times of Israel. There's an article from All Israel News. A survey finds that 2/3 of American Jews view Israel as the safest place for Jews to live. Back in December of 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the safest place in the world for Jewish people is Israel. And just, just this week, just 22% of French Jews are, feel that they're safe in France. And less than half of all EU Jews feel safe. So Jews across the world, they don't feel safe if they're not in Israel. If they're in anywhere else other than Israel, they don't feel safe. And it's, and I found it very telling that the, the Jew, the, the article that referenced the American Jews that 2/3 of American Jews view Israel as the safest place for, for Jews to live. That's very telling. But we're starting to see a rising level of antisemitism even here in our own country.
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A
We are and that is unfortunately a byproduct of bowing down, accepting under the banner of pluralism, equality, diversity, inclusion. All of these, these woke philosophies and ideologies are are, they are the advance team for Islam, for Islamic Jihad, the, the, the eu. The reason why the Jewish people in Europe are, are leading the way in, in aliyah back to Israel is because conquered by Islam. Nobody with a modicum of intelligence even argues that today. They're toast. And some of those nations are outright anti Spain, for example, very anti Semitic. And they make no bones about it. And that's coming here to America. And so it's not surprising to me that American Jewish people are beginning to think, yeah, maybe we need to get back to our land. And I cover that in the book, by the way. Joe, my, my most recent on replacement theology. How has all this happened? I give numerous examples of what's going on around the world. And, and the fact is that for a, for a, a, a Muslim to even have a friend who is Jewish, that is absolutely forbidden by Islam. Muslims are not permitted to be friends with, with Christians or Jewish people. We're, we are less than they are. And their, their behaviors elsewhere demonstrate that. So Americans need to wake up, the church needs to wake up to the threat that Islam poses for us, our freedoms and our liberties and, and the Jewish people, because they're the first target. It's, it's obvious they're attacks on synagogues right here in America and, and other Jewish activity centers. It's very dangerous these days and becoming increasingly dangerous to be Jewish and to, to congregate with your Jewish brothers and sisters without the threat of violence. And that is not biblical. And for Christians to support that or to turn, to turn a blind eye to that, I think God's going to deal with, with, with his sons and daughters in the faith. He's going to deal with them when they have this attitude and especially if that kind of nonsense. I think the Lord's going to deal with them and it's not going to be pretty.
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Joe I agree 100 with that. And we're seeing figures such as Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens. You know, these are big proponents of why a lot of American is a lot of the American youth especially because that's who they turn to, to listen to on, on these types of topics, especially the young one, Nick Fuentes there. And, and I really do believe that they're playing a huge role in replacement theology just here in America. And on that note, do you see how replacement theology has blinded parts of the church to God's ongoing covenant promises to Israel? And, and do you think that this theological error is one of the reasons that many people fail to recognize the prophetic significance of the, the increase and anti Semitism that we see today?
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Yeah, absolutely. And, and the biggest reason for that, Joe, that in, in my mind, as I've researched and studied and written on this subject, one of the, one of the primary reasons that what you just described is the case is because so many Christians have, have unhitched themselves from the Old Testament. They've been told there's nothing in the Old Testament for a modern day Christian, there's nothing of value, there's nothing to learn. That just shocks me. Even though I've heard it a dozen times over the years, it still shocks me when I hear that because what they're doing is they're, well, Jesus called them blind guides who are leading other blind people into judgment. And that's exactly what it reminds me of. Blind guides of the blind. The new covenant that that is spoken of in, in Jeremiah 31. The context is this, Joe. And this, this may rattle some cages. I hope it does. If people haven't considered this or understood, context is king. First of all, we need to read the Scriptures in the context in which it was given. The New Covenant in Jeremiah 31 was given to the Jewish people, to the nation of Israel. And, and that new covenant is redemptive. So it, it focuses on salvation. God says he's going to put his law, his Torah on the hearts of his People, he's going to write that on the hearts of his people. Now what that means is, and, and, and by the way, that's, that's all part of the, the Abrahamic covenant, The, the, the blessings that are coming. Those that adhere to replacement theology and they make just seriously erroneous statements like, well, the church has replaced Israel. They have no biblical foundation to stand on. They're just parroting talking points that they've heard somebody else say because the scripture certainly does not support that statement in any fashion. The Church has not replaced Israel. The New Covenant was given to Israel. It was the Gentiles who were grafted in. They're the wild branches that were grafted in. The natural branches are the Jewish people. And, and I don't want to go too far down this, this, this trail, Joe, but this bears, this bears stating for people to understand something. The same people that are arrogantly and boastfully delegitimizing and putting down the nation of Israel and the Jewish people saying God's done with them and, and, and so on and so forth, and we're now the new Israel, we're now the God's chosen people. And, and all of that is nonsense, demonstrably false. When you, when you take those claims to the Scriptures, what they fail to understand is. And you talked about scoffers earlier. Well, they're the boasters and they're the arrogant ones now who have been grafted in, but they have no assurance that they're grafting in is permanent now. And I, I don't want to get too complicated for people, but Reformed theology, replacement theology, most of it is based on Calvinism. And if you understand Calvinism, there is no assurance of your salvation in Calvinism. That's what the P and tulip is for, perseverance of the saints. So what Calvinism actually teaches, what form theology actually teaches, is if you do not persevere to the end, you are not saved. Now, when you consider that that's their theology, and yet they're boasting about the branches that have been broken off, whom God says he can graft them back in through the New Covenant. So through faith, there's coming a day when all Israel will be saved. Romans 11:26, and we know that is spoken of in Zechariah chapter 10. So these people that are denouncing, trying to delegitimize and saying the church has replaced, they have no assurance that any of that is true by their own theology. Am I making sense, Joe?
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Oh, yeah, absolutely.
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I'm Trying to point out here the absolute nonsense that's coming from replacement theology concerning the people of Israel. And it, and it bears understanding for us that when we're talking to people that have that attitude that we remind them of certain things and take them back to the scriptures and show them what the scriptures actually say concerning Israel because the lies that they are, are repeating is going to get them in a whole bunch of trouble one day if they don't repent of that stuff.
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B
And you know, and one thing that I do find interesting, you know, throughout the world in synagogues, they don't read from Isaiah 53, but it seems like these people that subscribe to replacement theology, you know, where, where do they take Romans 9 through 11, right? I mean they, they obviously don't read that because it, it speaks explicitly about what you just talked about. I mean, do you see that this, I guess, this surge of, this surge of anti Semitic behavior, do you see that it represents an early warning and you know, to us as the church and, and how should the remnant, like I would consider myself and you and those that are watching here today, you know, part of the remnant church, how should we respond to this?
- [26:41]
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Yeah, so we need to be very clear and we need to be, I, I think outspoken, not just, not just talking about it occasionally. The, the ecclesiasts, the, the churches that understand the reality of what the scripture actually says concerning the Jewish people and the nation of Israel when they understand. And, and I've got 11 Romans 11 pulled up here, Joe. And, and, and I want people to understand this. When Paul says this, he says, I don't want you to be, I don't want you brethren to be uninformed of this mystery so that you will not be wise in your own estimation. Here's the mystery that a partial hardening has happened to Israel. But it has a time stamp on it, doesn't it, Joe? Oh yeah, that's a time stamp. It says this partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, until the age of grace runs its course. And that's when Paul says this. And so all Israel will be saved. Because right now it's just a partial harden. And that's why we see there are many Jewish people coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's a partial hardening, not a complete hardening. And then Paul says this, so all Israel will be saved when it gives us the time. Here in verses 26 and 27, it says the deliverer will come from Zion. Well, who is that? Well, that's the Lord Jesus. It says that he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. Jacob, Israel. He remove ungodly. That's Daniel, chapter nine. It says that he's going to do all of these things prophesied Daniel, against your people and against your holy city. That, that I'm going to do these things. Well, that's, that's a reference to daniel9. And, and what's going to happen as a result of Daniel 9, the tribulation period. This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. That's Zechariah, chapter 12. He's going to take away their sins. From the standpoint of the gospel, they're enemies for your sake. Here's where people that adhere to replacement theology need to pay attention. Sit up and listen to this. From the standpoint of the gospel, they're enemies for your sake. But from the standpoint of God's choice, which is more important than your attitude or opinion. From the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. There is a future restoration nationally for Israel individually and part of the nation. For Jewish people. The day is coming. It's getting close, Joe.
- [29:38]
B
Amen to all of that. And I 100 agree. And Mike, I just want to thank you so much for sharing everything that you shared with us today. Do you have any final thoughts or. Feel free to let everybody know where they can find your. I know you have a podcast. I believe that you do. Feel free to let everybody know where they can find that.
- [29:52]
A
Yeah. Well, thank you, Joe, for having me on. Anytime, brother. I'm happy to come on and discuss anything with you. I appreciate you and your ministry. What the Lord is, is doing there. YouTube Dr. Mike Spalding Dr. Mike Spalding. Find the podcasts there. My website is DrMike Spalding.com Dr. Mike Spalding.com the books are all over Amazon. You can, you can look there. And, and just as a final word of encouragement, don't let any of this, any of this. What's going on, the Middle east wars, Trump, hate him, love him, doesn't matter. Stay focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the key to everything. He is the key to our joy daily and key to our staying focused on stuff. We can have disagreements about things, folks, but here's the one thing we cannot disagree on. Jesus is the ultimate reality, the ultimate truth. He deserves our worship and our praise and our humble service. Let's not forget about Christ in the, in the midst of all this stuff that we talk about going on in the world today, he's the one truth that remains.
- [31:17]
B
Amen. And, and I get asked often by people where they can find good churches at. Now you pastor a church there in, in Ohio, would you mind telling everybody where you pastor at just in case they're in your area and they would love to come and visit.
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A
Well, thank you very much, Joe. So Calvary Chapel of Lima. We're in Lima, Ohio, about two hours south of Detroit, two hours north of Cincinnati, two hours east of Indianapolis, in about an hour and a half west of Columbus. So smack dab in the middle of all these things. Calvary Chapel of Lima, been there for over 21 years now and, and have been blessed to, to pastor in the Calvary chapels for over 28 years total. So just. Yeah. Join us Wednesdays, Sundays, look at, look us up online. We have a YouTube channel cover Chapel of Lyme, Ohio on YouTube and stop in if you're in the area. Stop in. We talk about stuff like this all the time, Joe. We have these conversations all the time from the pulpit. What's going on in our world today. We should know. Christians should be equipped with this information.
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B
And I'm always tickled and thrilled to define pastors such as yourself because it's, it's few and far in between that that's brave enough to take on the role that you take on by being a pastor and standing in the pulpit against all the hatred and everything that you get thrown your way. So I certainly want to thank you for, for having the bravery to do that and just want to thank everybody for joining us today and feel free to like and share this video. You know, it really does help us glorify the Lord, to reach the loss and to awaken the believer by that simple action. And until next week, stay awake and keep watch.
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If you haven't heard yet, Prophecy Watchers has taken a major step in bringing you all the latest news from the fascinating world of bible prophecy. On January 1st, we launched our first Substack page, a one stop shop where you can go for all the latest news, articles, videos, prophecy conferences, q&as and special prophecy presentations. Much of the content on our substack page is completely free, allowing you to join Mondo, Gary, Joe and many of our friends in becoming a Bible prophecy expert. Support the important End Times mission today by becoming a prophecy partner@propcywatchers.substack.com
- [33:45]
A
thank you for tuning in to today's podcast. If you'd like to find out more about Prophecy Recon, please visit prophecyrecon.com or prophecyrecon.substack.com Remember to stay awake and keep keep watching.