Part One: Presidents, Politics, and Prophecy
Lesson Overview
Presidents, Politics, and Prophecy with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung
This standalone message is built on a single verse, Revelation 17:17, which says God puts it into the hearts of rulers to accomplish His purpose. DeYoung, a journalist who covered the Middle East for decades, argues that political leaders make decisions they believe are their own while actually setting the stage for Bible prophecy. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.
The Framing Idea
DeYoung opens with the word Maranatha, meaning the Lord is coming, and recalls John Walvoord’s habit of concluding conferences by saying that the stage is being set for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled. He argues Christians need more than a biblical worldview; they need a biblical prophetic worldview, because current events only make sense inside God’s revealed plan. He is careful to add that current events do not drive prophecy. Scripture drives prophecy, and events simply help us recognize the times.
Reading Revelation 17
DeYoung explains that Revelation, along with Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, uses apocalyptic literature, from the Greek apokalypsis, meaning to reveal. In this genre a symbol stands for a literal truth.
He reads Revelation 17 as describing the first half of the tribulation, centered on a false religious system he identifies with Rome, in contrast to the commercial and political Babylon of chapter 18, which he places at the literal site near Baghdad. He notes the chapter refers to the woman ten times using words like harlot, presenting her as the opposite of the pure bride Paul wishes to present to Christ.
He also stresses that Revelation should be read chronologically rather than merely in chapter order, taking Revelation 4:1, where John hears “come up hither,” as a picture of the rapture, followed by the seven-year tribulation, and then chapter 19, where Christ returns with His people on white horses. He emphasizes that no prophecy must be fulfilled before the rapture, which could occur at any moment.
Within the chapter he identifies the seven hills of verse 9 with Rome and the ten horns of verse 12 with a revived Roman Empire, drawing on Daniel 7, and suggests the European Union provides at least the infrastructure for it. At verse 16, those same powers turn on the false religious system and destroy it at the midpoint of the tribulation.
The Key Verse
Everything turns on Revelation 17:17, which says God put it into their hearts to execute His purpose until the words of God are fulfilled. DeYoung says he read past this verse for years before it arrested him. His conclusion is that political leaders think they are making their own decisions, but Scripture teaches they are appointed by God (Romans 13) and are carrying out His purposes.
The Biblical Pattern
He grounds this in the history of human government. God instituted government after the flood in Genesis 9:6, and the nations descended from Noah’s sons appear in Genesis 10, where DeYoung identifies names like Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah with the region of modern Turkey, Mizraim with Egypt, and Put with Libya.
He then gives two examples of God directing rulers. In 2 Chronicles 36, Nebuchadnezzar destroys the temple and carries Judah into captivity, which the text says happened to fulfill the word of Jeremiah and to let the land enjoy its sabbaths, the rest commanded in Leviticus 25. In Ezra 1, the Persian king Cyrus releases the Jewish people to return and rebuild, a man Isaiah had named roughly 150 years before he was born.
Modern Examples
DeYoung then applies the principle to recent history, drawing on his own work as a journalist.
He recounts Jimmy Carter’s 1979 meeting with the Shah of Iran, after which American support was withdrawn, the Shah fell, and the Ayatollah returned to establish the Islamic Republic. DeYoung was outside the White House covering the demonstration that night, and he argues this decision awakened the Islamic world and positioned Iran as a major end-times player.
He credits Carter with the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, the first peace treaty Israel signed with a neighbor. He then describes Bill Clinton hosting Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat in September 1993 for the Oslo Accords, which DeYoung watched by live feed from the government press office in Jerusalem, and the 1994 treaty between Israel and Jordan, which he attended in person.
His point about these three agreements rests on Daniel 9:27, which says the coming ruler will “confirm a covenant with many for one week.” He stresses the Hebrew word gabar means to strengthen or make stronger, not to sign. So the Antichrist does not create a new treaty but confirms agreements already on the table, and DeYoung argues those agreements now exist and are not working.
Finally he points to Donald Trump’s December 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the subsequent embassy move, which he calls a profound decision that elevates Jerusalem’s prophetic significance. He mentions a commemorative half shekel issued with images of Cyrus and Trump alongside a depiction of a future temple. These are DeYoung’s interpretations of contested political history, and other readings of these events exist.
The Temple, the Tyrant, and the Theocracy
DeYoung then lays out the sequence he sees ahead.
Revelation 11:1-2 describes a temple being measured in the holy city, which Nehemiah identifies as Jerusalem. He reports that preparations are well advanced, including the reconstituted Sanhedrin, a designated high priest, trained priests, harps, temple implements including a gold menorah, and efforts regarding a red heifer. Some of these reports are contested and should be verified independently.
Revelation 13 describes the tyrant. After confirming the covenant and later desecrating the temple, the Antichrist and the false prophet set up an image of the beast and compel worship on pain of death.
Revelation 19 describes the theocracy. Christ returns on a white horse with His people, and only then receives the title King of kings and Lord of lords. DeYoung is emphatic that the kingdom is not currently in operation, citing Matthew 24:29-31 and Daniel 7:13-14, since no one has yet seen Christ coming in the clouds with power and great glory.
“The Regeneration”
DeYoung closes his exposition with Matthew 19:28, where Jesus speaks of “the regeneration” when the Son of Man sits on His throne. He notes the Greek behind the word combines terms meaning again and genesis, and reads it as Christ restoring the world to its original condition. From there he argues that the site of the Garden of Eden is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, appealing to Genesis 2:10, where one river flows out of Eden and divides into four, and to the Gihon spring in Jerusalem, where Solomon was anointed in 1 Kings 1. This identification is his own view and is not widely held.
The Point of It All
His summary is a sequence: a tyrant, a temple, and a theocracy. But before any of it, one thing happens first, the rapture. To illustrate how sudden and startling that will be, he uses an unexpected teaching device that jolts the audience, then explains that the rapture will come faster than that moment took. He closes as he began, leading the room in shouting Maranatha.
Key Terms
Apokalypsis: the Greek word behind “apocalyptic,” meaning to reveal or make known.
Gabar: the Hebrew word in Daniel 9:27 meaning to strengthen or confirm, rather than to sign.
Revived Roman Empire: the ten-horn confederacy of Daniel 7 and Revelation 17, which DeYoung links to the European Union as infrastructure.
Abomination of desolation: the Antichrist’s desecration of the temple at the midpoint of the tribulation.
The regeneration: the term in Matthew 19:28 that DeYoung reads as the restoration of the world to its original state.
Verses to Know
Revelation 17:17, God puts it into rulers’ hearts to fulfill His purpose. Revelation 17:9 and 17:12, the seven hills and the ten horns. Romans 13, governing authorities appointed by God. Genesis 9:6, the institution of human government. Daniel 9:27, confirming a covenant for one week. Revelation 11:1-2, the temple measured in the holy city. Matthew 24:29-31 and Daniel 7:13-14, when Christ receives the kingdom. Matthew 19:28, the regeneration.
Takeaway
Rulers make decisions they believe are entirely their own, but Revelation 17:17 says God is directing those decisions toward His purposes, so believers can watch world events without anxiety, knowing the stage is being set and the rapture comes first.