Anyone reading these paragraphs who is slightly shy or withdrawn will identify with a few lines here! That describes me—all of my life. I was an only child. I never married, and to this day, I consider myself just a bit of a loner—introspective and even insecure.  I am happy in the shadows rather than the spotlight.

But apparently God exercised his sense of humor with me. In the late 1990s, Salem Media came to Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. I began hearing Christian talk radio and was totally captivated. They were talking about issues that were so relevant, but with a biblical twist.

Rush Limbaugh had gotten my attention in 1988, but now I was hearing “Christian talk”—a medium much different than secular talk. This was important, I knew. It analyzed issues and interviewed important people who were in the know. It also was a good tool to get the gospel out, to debate atheists, and to sharpen people’s faith. It focused on a biblical worldview.

But how could I do this? An introvert doesn’t take to the airwaves! But wasn’t it worth a try? Wasn’t taking a stand worth the risk? So few people wanted to stand for anything, and so the church was falling for everything.

Our World Was About to Change!

And thus, in the Fall of 2000, I decided to buy time on that local Christian station in St. Paul, MN, and see if it was a fit for me—and for them. Zola Levitt was my first radio guest. The studio equipment failed, and Zola was impatient and wanted to hang up and end the interview! What a way to start this new endeavor. We got through it—somehow.

I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that that was 25 years ago. But the dawn of the new millennium brought so many things to discuss and debate that I knew this had been the right thing to do! And just a few months later, on 9/11, America experienced its worst terrorist attack in history.

Our world changed. We needed to talk about it. Islam was going to want to take over the world. Israel was going to become the world’s “burdensome stone.” (Zechariah 12:3) Would anybody be around to defend her?

Doesn’t the Bible command us to “Comfort ye my people”? (Isaiah 40:1) Was I being called to do that on air? I think so. She was rapidly losing support, even though her buses and restaurants were being blown up in the early 2000s.

Your Church Teaches What??

I knew that the church was a mess. Of course, not all, but too many pulpits were majoring in minors, were avoiding current events and politics, were teaching false doctrine, and were insisting that they—the church—was Israel! How nuts is that? Replacement Theology was gaining traction.

So, I talked about it—and talked about it some more! Many denominations came against me. Another major Christian network headquartered in the Twin Cities—the station almost everyone listened to and that was attached to a prominent college—called me a heretic, but why? I was only speaking the truth.

Bible Prophecy a Waste of Time??

I spoke against the “church growth movement.” I wasn’t fond of The Purpose Driven Life. I publicly questioned Pastor Rick Warren for calling Bible prophecy a waste of time that would distract you from your purpose. I came against contemplative prayer and so-called Christian Yoga.

And plenty of people got mad at me! That other network I referenced melted down, probably because I dared to name names.

But church apostasy was in full bloom! We talked about it. Over and over. Yes, the Bible predicts an end-time falling away, not a revival. That comes in the Tribulation.

Where Does the Time Go?

So, where has the time gone? Twenty-five years goes by quickly. The time lapse is stunning. But in the spring of 2025, I felt I needed to focus on other ministry projects, including writing, and let go of that radio experience now spanning a quarter-century.  On August 1, I finished my journey on one thousand Christian radio stations. It started on one station where my first guest was angry at me because he was cut off! Despise not small beginnings.

Pastor Josh Schwartz and Ken Mikle had begun an online outreach a year earlier, and I offered the radio time to them. My hope is that you’ll grow to appreciate their insights and interviews—and style. No, it’s not me, but they offer cutting-edge and even urgent information being given out on what remains Understanding the Times Radio. I will be their guest on frequent occasions. 

You can still hear it on air and online on all previous outlets. The issues that surfaced 25 years ago are even more urgent and complicated. Our new hosts bring on the best guests to help you continue to be excellent watchmen on the wall.

The same conclusion is being drawn twenty-five years later: Things are not falling apart—they are all falling into place. Let Understanding the Times Radio continue to guide you on this end-time journey as we all await His return.

www.olivetreeviews.org

Amid the Unimaginable Violence and Atrocities, Be Assured That Our Rescue Is Coming

Have you had enough yet? Violence and lawlessness seem out of control. Senseless violence. Snipers unleashing bullets carved with evil messages on them! Who thinks this way?

The line-up of atrocities never ends. An innocent Ukrainian woman coming home from her pizza job, casually scrolling on her phone on a train in North Carolina, is stabbed to death by a demonized thug. She had left war-torn Ukraine for the supposed safety of America. Yet a monster lurked in the shadows and ended her young life. And it was all captured on camera.

Beyond Our Imagination

My hometown made notoriety again in a horrific manner—a school massacre. Children in a Catholic school five miles from where I grew up in south Minneapolis were mowed down by a lunatic. The shooter blocked the church doors so that the children could not escape before he began shooting through the church windows. Can you imagine? I can’t.

Sure, the Bible says that evil is to get worse in the end-times (II Timothy 3:13), but who can comprehend such barbarism?

They said that about 9/11, which we recently observed and remembered as well. Even our national leaders admitted they didn’t have the imagination to anticipate the evil of Islam flying planes into buildings. More PTSD as we reflected back on that fateful day a week ago.

Don’t forget earlier this year, two Jewish believers were gunned down in Washington, D.C., and in June, an Egyptian terrorist set Jews on fire in Colorado a few days later. If we dared look, the Colorado event was also filmed and aired.

Good-Bye Charlie

Then, on September 10, we had a flashback to July 13, 2024, when there was an assassination attempt on President Trump. This time, the target was Charlie Kirk, and this time, the shooter was successful.

What adds to the PTSD trauma is that 21^st Century communications allow us to watch these horrors in real time—as it happens. Or, minutes later. We are viewing true horror show dramas that are unimaginable.

The assassination of conservative Christian Charlie Kirk was another shot heard around the world. But the bullet that killed Charlie didn’t kill a movement. It ignited many people to press on with truth-telling, love of country, and honoring God.

As one observer suggested, it is a reminder that speaking truth, particularly Biblical truth, is inherently dangerous in a world where truth sounds like hate to those who hate the truth. When leftists rejoice at the death of godly people, as they are doing with Kirk’s death, it is a foreshadowing of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. The world will rejoice over their demise as well.

Very often, the perpetrators of the carnage are deeply involved in alternative lifestyles, and so they view conservatives, Christians, and the biblical worldview as the enemy. We become their prime target just as the early martyrs of the church. Constantly accusing righteous or conservative people of being fascists and Nazis has deadly consequences.

Charlie has now finished his race, his earthly course, and we celebrate his graduation into the presence of Jesus Christ and the glories of eternity.

Demonic!

The New York Post, not known as a spiritual publication, had an appropriate one-word headline—“Demonic.” That accurately summarized the end-time fight we are in. Satan is making his last stand before the church is taken in the rapture, which removes believers from this sin-wracked, violent world.

But this is today’s progressive movement: twisted and evil. What a reminder that the last days will be as the days of Noah!

Romans One on Display

And to add to the lunacy, and what should convince us we are in a Romans one society, is that the deranged Left celebrates some of this. Again, this stretches credulity and is beyond our imagination. It is last days delusion. The prophet Isaiah told us that evil would be called good by some (Isaiah 5:20). So, watchmen suffering from PTSD is a pretty normal reaction!

Take these daily evil reminders with the assurance that they are a sign that Jesus is coming again. Our rescue is coming. Soon. Perhaps today.

www.olivetreeviews.org