The Eric Metaxas Show - Erick Stackelbeck

Episode Date: March 1, 2021

Erick Stackelbeck discusses current events, news from Israel and the Middle East, and his new role with TBN producing daily news segments.

Folks, you are listening to an encore presentation of the Eric Mattaxas show. We only played the greatest stuff for our encores. Here it is. Hey there, folks. Welcome back. This is the Eric Mtaxas show. This is the show where I get to have amazing conversations with amazing guests. One of them is here now.

I'm continuing my conversation with Casey Diaz. He's the author of The Shot Caller, A Latino Gangbanger's Miraculous Escape from a Life of Violence to a New Life in Christ. Casey, this story is crazy. beautiful, amazing, and it's true. So you're telling me now, the guy comes in there to kill you, and he can't do it, and you lead him to faith right there, the man with the shank in his hand. Now, I would think that in the prison world, they're going to put a hit out on his life, and they're going to put somebody else to kill you. So, I mean, what happens that day, the next day? Well, for several years, two years, actually, there's these little notes that we used to write

when we were put a hit or we needed something to be moved from one prison yard to another. They were called kites. And so I started to use that system to witness to other gang leaders in there. And shortly after that, one of the founding members of MS-13 came to Christ through one of those kites. And then another gang leader from a gang in South Central, Los Angeles, came to Christ. So there was about four or five of us that started to really witness. out there and we were going through the ringer for two years but after those two years over 200 inmates at New Folsom State Prison came to Christ and there was a big celebration

that took place in that prison this is just amazing I'm amazed I have not heard this story because this is like to me this is national news if the news were not crazy and avoiding this kind of stuff but let me ask you you talked about hard candy whatever what was What happened? You said that there's a... Well, we would get jumped. You know, we'd be walking to whatever, an appointment or on the yard or to chow. And the next thing you know, there's 20, 40 inmates on top of you beating you or the walk into your cell and do that.

And when did this happen to you? Oh, countless amount of times throughout those two years. And did you feel the freedom to defend yourself? I kept, I tried to keep, well, I try to keep my promise of not doing anything. So, and there's some details on that in the book that I go into, but for the most part, I just, you know, we just took it. Because you certainly could have killed a few more people. Yeah, absolutely. And the temptation came at one point.

Well, because they're sort of trying to kill you. Yeah. And, you know, and it's, it's overbearing and you think, and I remember, having this conversation with God, and I said this to him, I said, you know, I gave everything up for you. I gave it all up for you, and this is what I get. And if you ever tell the Lord something like that, you're going to get a response. And his response to me was, you didn't give it anything for me. I gave it all. I gave it all up for you. He said that to you. And that was a calming moment for me that I came to understand that it was him that gave it all.

for me. I didn't know Jesus could be sassy. That's like a, that's an amazing response. Yeah. Yeah. That's an amazing thing. But it was, it was, it was, it was truth that, you know, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, he's right, you know, he gave it all of for me. Wasn't the other way around. So, you said this goes on for a couple of years and a lot of people come to faith in Jesus as a result. Yeah. of you're standing on that table and being willing to risk your life. I mean, you risk your life. You basically at that point gave your life, except God gave it back to you. Yeah. And it's by God's grace that I ever made it out for parole and made it out here. So what happened at this point? You said you go before a parole board. I mean, you're going through living hell for a few years there, although you're so on fire in your faith that you are converting others in the midst of this.

situation, how do you come up for parole at this point? Came up for parole on this particular morning. I didn't know that, you know, it was just, to me, it was just another parole date. You know, you go every year. Some of us go every three years. Some of us every seven years. So to me, you know, I had no expectations of getting out anytime soon. but at the moment that I got paroled, it was a sure surprise. In fact, one of the questions that one of the members said was, you know, why should we let you out? And my response was, you shouldn't. I deserve every minute that I have in here, ordered by the court.

In fact, I think that I should have been dealt stronger and a bigger sentence should have been given to me. So I don't deserve freedom at all. And I'm okay with that. And that is the moment that I was granted parole. Did they know your story? I guess they had been watching what's happening. They had watched. They had seen, you know, prison guards had seen,

there was riots that happened. I mean, there's so many stories that I share in there. They're in the book. Yeah, that God just, his supernatural hand upon my life, it was just one miracle after the other. Apart from your book, has anyone told these stories of this revival in this gang prison? No, I've been sharing it since the book release. I've been all over the country sharing it.

Because this happened. How many years ago? Over two decades. And we've never heard this story until now. Yeah. I mean, as I said, to me, this is national news. This is big stuff. And it's kind of amazing that nobody knows about it.

This, all these guys. Now, so you get out, and now what? You get out to what? What's your life? I get out to nothing because I have nothing on it. So I moved out to a little town in California where I didn't know anybody and nobody knew me. I looked out for a church. I saw the church. I finally found one and got plugged in. Francis Proctor was still with me. See, that's amazing. This woman is the hero. She's going to have a big mansion. Yes. When we're in heaven, we won't have jealousy, so we're not going to be jealous because she deserves it. I mean, can you imagine that this woman, it was her prayers?

I mean, it's that simple. Like, that's the power of prayer. That's an encouragement to me. Wow. So you stayed in touch with her. Yeah. In fact, that whole prison ministry that would go there was at my wedding when I got married. They were all invited.

They were all. Yeah, well, I would think they should be. Yeah, that's pretty amazing. So how long were you out? What did you do for a living once you get out? My uncle owned a hardwood floor company. So he hired me. I worked there for, you know, minimum wage. But I'll tell you this, my first paycheck, I had never made a dollar honestly. So this was my first paycheck where I had worked a 40-hour week. And it was one of the best feelings that I ever had. And you, how old were you when you got out? I was, I think, 24 or 25 somewhere on there. Man, you lived like three lifetimes before that age. Yeah.

That's just unbelievable. So, and how long were you in that situation? Because now you're going to this church. You're in touch with this woman who had been coming into the prison. And how long you got married, obviously. I got married, yeah. So I'm surprised to. You got married.

And where were you at that point? How did you meet your wife? I met my wife at church. She's Lebanese. She comes from a Muslim background. She was the first one to convert to a Christian faith in her family. From the Muslim background. Yeah, from a Muslim background.

And we met at church, and we started to work together in the youth ministry. And after that, we ended up getting married. and we've just finished celebrating our 20th year anniversary and three kids later. Three kids later. Yeah, I have two daughters and one son. One daughter that's at Azusa Pacific and the other one at Biola. We're going to do another segment, folks. So hang on.

We'll be right back with Casey Diaz. The book is The Shot Caller. Folks, you've been listening to an encore presentation of the Eric Mataxis show. There will be no extra charge. for that. These are the best shows. Stay tuned. Hey there, folks. Eric Metax is here with a message for anyone struggling with pain like I struggled with for years. Of course, I want you to know about relief factor, the 100% drug-free supplement that tens of thousands are now taking every day. Obviously, I'm taking it every day

because I like being out of pain. If I forget to take it for like a week, I go on vacation, the pain comes back. So, you know, at first, yes, I was skeptical, but I kept hearing about all the people that were no longer in pain friends of mine. So I decided to give it a try. In fact, here's one of the stories I heard. I've been in back pants since my early 20s. Now I'm 51. In my early 20s, I worked for the state prison. I got injured and I was off work for about a year. I'm now a train engineer. I basically sit all day long. My wife making me take relief factor literally changed my life. I don't feel like I'm 20 again, but my back does. Everyone knows you You want something drug-free.

You want something that will help your own body deal with the inflammation that can cause the pain in your neck, back, shoulder, hip, knee, or foot pain, actually even general aches in pains from just getting older from exercise, everyday living. All of these can be a real problem, even to the extent of keeping you from sleeping through the night. So here's what I'm suggesting. Pete and Seth Talbot, that's the father, son, owners of relief factor. They created what they call a three-week quick start pack.

It's like a trial pack. they've discounted it drastically to 1995. That's about a dollar a day. And after that period of time, three weeks, it's about the cost of a cup of coffee a day to stay out of pain. That's the three-week quick start for just 1995. And you should know this. About 70% of the people who order the three-week quick start for 1995 go on to order

more. In other words, it works. So do what many others have already done. Take Pete and Seth Talbot up on the offer. Go to relieffactor.com. Order the three-week quick start. That's relieffactor. Reliefbactor.com or call 800,500, 8384.

Folks, it's here from Texas show. Final segment with Casey Diaz. The book is The Shot Caller. What an unbelievable story. It's very humbling Casey to hear a story like this on so many levels. And it must be humbling for you. You say, why would God come to me in such a dramatic way? I mean, so many people wish God would speak to them and they even say, God, please speak

to me. And they don't hear voices. They don't see, you know, films projected on the wall. I mean, you, it's like God lavished his attention on you. And here you are. Yeah. It's definitely God's mercy and His grace. And the word that you just used, that just, because that's exactly what he did.

And I don't know why. Yeah. I really don't. Yeah. Well, it's, you know, I feel. Logically speaking, it's always for his purposes that he uses us. He knows he can use you and he's using you right now. I mean, there are people listening to the story that they've never heard a story like this. And if they have a brain, they're listening and they say that that's meaningful. That's, you know, what does that mean to me today? I mean, the woman that came and visited you and prayed for you, how did you track her down? I, you know, I didn't know I was getting paroled at that time. Yeah. And so I looked them up. and I went to their Sunday service.

I surprised them. So she had no clue. I walked in. It's a predominantly, well, it's not a predominant. It's a Black Baptist church. So when I walked in, I stood out. Yeah. And I walked in when the service was in full gear.

And so when I walk in, I mean, from the back row to the front row, everybody's, you know, turning around looking to see who's just walked in. And she was sitting in the front row with the prison ministry. that were all leaders in that particular church. And where's this church? On Adams in South Central. South Central. Yeah, South Central Los Angeles.

So I walk in there and, I mean, the church just exploded in tears. They realized who you were. She, I mean, unbelievable. So you met your wife in your church and you now, You have three kids. Your life really couldn't be more different. What have you been doing all this time now? It's been over 20 years since you got out.

I've been pastoring for the most part. I started as a youth pastor. Then as a young adults pastor. And then I planted a church. And then I merged that church with a four-square church in Burbank. And so I'm a community pastor there right now. And what kind of a church is it? A four-square.

In Burbank. Yeah. Burbank, California. Yeah. Beautiful Burbank. Okay, so in the book, you give a chapter on how parents can keep their kids out of gang life. Tell us about that. I think it's important.

You know, we look at the news, we watch the news. I mean, just recently, right, in Maryland, I believe, a gang stabbing where lives were lost. It's a problem. It's a continual problem. And I think that, you know, and I'm looked at even until now there's gang members that, will post things on, you know, and I see them, stop talking or, you know, get off of Fox News. And, you know, I've been there quite a couple of times. And they don't want me to expose that kind of stuff.

But I have a duty, I believe, and a calling from God to step up and to do whatever it is to expose that kind of darkness. It exists in our society. It's dangerous. and I think the church and every Christian needs to be aware that these activities can be at least stopped if but for moments. And the most obvious thing, I mean, if someone says, hey, what's the answer to all the violence? Here's the answer. Jesus and fathers. That's right.

Fathers and families and marriages staying together. Like, that's the answer. I don't know how we get it, but if you want to know the answer, that's the answer. It seems so obvious. And it is. I mean, it's men being men, staying put in the family, not, you know, going outside of their marriage, being committed to Christ, number one. And then bringing up leaders in these kids, mentoring them, being part of them, not just providing, but being part of their life. I enjoy my kids. And I've had, God has been so good to me. I've been able to be at every, rehearsal, every team sport that my girls and my son are involved in. And I mean, and my girls and my boy are all believers. You know, I haven't forced it upon them. I think that as a Christian father, across America, across the world, if we, if we're really Christians,

those kids are going to see it, and they're going to follow. They're going to truly follow the Lord. and I've seen it. I'm an eyewitness. I mean, my daughters, for instance, I have a 20-year-old daughter, 19, I'm sorry. And she's following the Lord. She's out of the house. She's in college. She chose a Christian university.

And she's walking the walk. And my other one is at Biola. It was her desire to continue in the faith, to continue a Christian education. So I see that, you know, and I think it has everything to do with one, putting Christ first in my life, in my household. You mentioned that this book already, people are talking about a film, that has to excite you, the idea that the suffering and the beautiful hand of God in your life that more people can hear about this. Yeah, you know, from the beginning of even drawing out the book, our desire, the whole, the whole, team that's on board of this book. And in my heart was, let's, let's tell the world what Jesus can do.

That's the message. Jesus is still the answer. He's still the way, the truth and the life. And no one can come to the father except through him. That's plain and simple. And if we could do that through this book and through a film, that we have won. Well, I'm just thrilled that you finally wrote this book, because your story is unlike any I've really heard, and it needs to be told. I mean, there's so many people today debating what do we do about this and this and this and this. And, you know, your book is a big part of the answer. No, I have to ask you, you know, as somebody who came from Guatemala, how do you feel living in L.A. now about the idea of a border wall or do you have anything to say about that situation?

Absolutely. I'm all for it. I mean, I think that, you know, here's the thing. I don't think that America is telling people, we don't want you here. That is not what America is doing. What America is saying, we'd love for you to come, but those are the turnstiles. You need to come through them so we could check you out so we could do some vetting. And then once the process has happened and taking place in your life, then you're more than welcome to come in here, and we're going to support you,

and you can follow that American dream. America is the only country, the only nation that allows people to come from anywhere and build a dream here. So, I mean, we are a blessed place to be at. I'm evidence that, you know, God gave me a second chance, and it would be wrong for me to not state the obvious. This is a beautiful place. It is a merciful place, and it's a place that God's hand is upon still. So, yeah, we have our kings here and there, but there's no better place than America to build a dream. Well, I mean, you're a living example of that.

I know you also have a business, so you're not just pastoring, and your business is what? It's a sign company. A sign company? Yeah. And what is the name? Samia signs. Samia. I'm Greek.

I know what that means. Samia. So, yeah, we've been doing that. But where did you get that from the Bible? No, I found it there, but that's not how I purposely named it because my first daughter is, her name is Sam, and my other daughter is Mia. So I just kind of joined him and went Samia. That's how that happened. Actually, that sounds like a miracle because I don't know people are paying attention, but the Greek word Sima means flag or symbol or sign.

Oh, wow, I had no clue. You didn't know that? I didn't know that. I'm telling you that now on this program. Wow. That's breaking news. People, that's the most hilarious thing that has ever happened on this program. You're serious. I did see.

I did not know. So the name is Samaya Sign company. The Greek word simaya, okay? It means the flag, the sign, the symbol. Wow. That's unbelievable. That's awesome. That's a miracle right there.

That's pretty cool. You named one kid Sam and one Mia? Mia. I'm speechless on my own program. I can't even. Casey, that's just straight up. nuts. All right. The book is called the shot caller. It sounds like God is the shot caller at this point. Absolutely. Is that true? Is that at the end of the book? I mean, yes, that's the reason why the real name is, is ultimately God is the ultimate shot caller. He's the one that decides, you know, he's a life giver, man, and he's the one that directs our path. Absolutely.

He's the one that writes our names down someplace. Wow. Casey Diaz, just really a privilege to sit with you. Thank you so much. much. And thank you for your obedience and writing this book because we know that all this happened to you in part so that many others could hear it and their lives could be changed. So thank you. Thank you so much for having me on your show. Let there be no doubt, big tech and the far left have joined forces to purge America of conservative views. But even if you keep your accounts, you don't have to give big tech websites access to your data. That's why I choose to protect my online activity by using ExpressVPN. Ever wondered how free to access social media companies make all their money? Well, by tracking your searches,

video history and everything you click on, and then selling your valuable data. When you use ExpressVPN, you anonymize much of your online presence by hiding your IP address. That makes your activity more difficult to trace and sell to advertisers. What's more, ExpressVPN encrypts 100,000, percent of your data to protect you from eavesdroppers on your network. And the ExpressVPN app couldn't be easier to use. You just tap one button on your phone or computer and you're protected. Take back your online privacy with the VPN I trust at ExpressVPN.com slash Metaxus. By visiting my link, you'll get an extra three months of ExpressVPN service for free on a one-year

package. Again, that's ExpressVPN.com slash Metaxus, E-X-P-R-E-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-E-S-S-S-E. VPN.com slash metaxus express.com slash metaxus to protect your data today. Hey there, folks. Welcome back. This is the Eric Metaxus show. And you know, I'd love to tell you that I don't have a guest today, but I do have a

guest today. His name is Eric Stacklbeck. Eric, can you please tell me how do we pronounce your last name? As a good German, Eric, you just said it. Stacklebeck. You nailed it. Actually, a German would say Stacklebeck. It's true.

Or maybe Von Stachlbeck. Yeah, from Eric Stacklebeck. Yeah. Okay, so Eric Stacklbeck. Now, you're in Philly. You're not in Israel. Normally when I see you on TBN, when I see you on TV, not just TBN, you seem to be in Israel a lot. You are Jewish by birth.

Is Stacklebeck Jewish? No, it's actually German. But if I want to go the Jewish route, I can always use Stackleberg. I've considered it while I'm in Israel, but I still roll with Stacklebeck. But, hey, Eric, I can't wait to get back to Israel. as a matter of fact, as soon as these restrictions are lifted. But as you mentioned, in the meantime, I actually, it's a homecoming for me. I grew up in Northeast Philadelphia, my wife and I, and we lived outside of the D.C.

Swamp for about 17 years. We just moved home to the Philadelphia area over the summer, background family and good friends, so we're really enjoying it. Good for you. Now, you've got several shows. I get confused. Number one, you have a show called The Watchman, which is on TV, and tell us about that. Yeah, the Watchman is.

is basically, Eric, all about the Middle East and why it matters to you if you're an American, really no matter where you live. What happens in the world's most chaotic and most pivotal region will affect us. I like to say that the Middle East never sleeps, and events happening over there affect all of us. So the main thrust of the show is getting on the ground in the Middle East and bringing you that on the ground first-hand perspective. I'm in Israel, Eric, usually five to six times a year of filming. obviously over the past year COVID has affected that in a major way but we do hope to get back very soon some signs are encouraging that maybe Israel will open up in the spring maybe summertime and we'll get back

but in the meantime we continue to interview American officials Israeli officials newsmakers from the Middle East over Zoom and Skype and in any way that we can so we have the watchman TV show on tbn and every day now with tbn we are doing a daily watchman newscast Monday through friday every day you're doing a daily thing. Now, if you didn't do it every day, you know this already. It wouldn't be a daily thing. Did you know that? Well, I'm learning.

I'm not the greatest at math, but I've learned. When you're in show business, you get to let you know these things. Daily, technically, that means, it just means every day. But seriously, how in the world are you doing so much? You're doing a daily show. What's in the daily show? What's in the daily? It's not a show.

It's like a spot, right? It's like a spot, Eric. you know, it's an eight to 12 minute commentary on all the latest news out of the Middle East. So we're hitting a lot lately, actually, on the Biden administration, and what I believe is shaping up to be a disastrous foreign policy in particular regarding Israel. We've been hitting that a lot. Obviously, the Iran threat, Hamas, Hezbollah, all that light and fluffy stuff. We're hitting on a daily basis. But also the amazing biblical archaeology, the way God has been.

moving right now in his land for such a time as this. It's astounding, Eric. Every day, it seems, the Israeli Antiquities Authority is making an announcement of some groundbreaking new archaeological discovery from the time of Jesus or from the time of the First Temple, from the time of King David, King Hezekiah. So we're highlighting that as well. I have a book coming out in October, which is called Is Atheism Dead? And part of my argument has to be. to do with biblical archaeology. So I have gotten intensely into biblical archaeology in the last number of months. And I have noticed as well that the finds coming out of Israel, it seems to be accelerating. It's like we're in the end times and it's all coming out now. I don't know that we're

exactly in the end times. But I guess what are some of the things for people who aren't tracking any of this? What are some of the big things that or small things that are coming out, archaeologically speaking? Number one, real quick, Eric, I'm so glad that you're writing about this because I think this is a witness. It's a testimony when you combine this irrefutable scientific, archaeological evidence with the truth of the Bible. You have an unbeatable combination in my view. Okay, in terms of the discoveries, my favorite place in all of Jerusalem, and that is saying something, is the city of David, ancient Jerusalem. Now, this was the seat of King David's kingdom when he basically established that kingdom. in Jerusalem some 3,000 years ago.

And at the City of David, they are uncovering on a regular basis, coins, number one, shekels, half shekels from 2,600 years ago, even further back from the times of the Prophet Isaiah, there have been many fines along those lines. Also, very interesting, Eric, recently we have the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem right now, where it belongs. President Trump made that move in 2018. Well, right next to the U.S. Embassy recently, archaeologists, found an ancient diplomatic building dating back some 2,700 years. It would have been a large

diplomatic building at the time of the kingdom of Judah shortly after the reign of King Solomon. That's two recent discoveries and a fun one real quick, Eric, around Christmastime, the Garden of Gephsemini. They found the remains of an ancient church, and not only that, an ancient Jewish ritual bath or mikvei from the time of Jesus. So it's really fun to monitor all of this. I want to talk to you about that. We're going to go to a break in a minute. But when I read about the mikva bath or however you pronounced it, how did you say it? Mickvay. Mikvei. It could be mikva, Mickva, but that's my Philly accent. The point is that New York, the New York Jewish accent is really the accepted one. But I just want to say.

say that when I read about that, part of me thought, what's the big deal? And then I looked into it, because I'm putting it in my book. When we come back, I will say what I discovered. It's absolutely extraordinary. We'll be right back, folks. Talking to Eric Stackleback. People often ask me the question, can you tell me why Relief Factor is so successful in lowering or eliminating pain? Well, Pete and Seth Talbot, the father-son, owners of Relief Factor, tell me they believe our bodies were designed to heal. That's right. Designed. to heal and I agree with them. The doctors who formulated a relief factor for them selected the four best ingredients. Yes, 100% drug-free ingredients that each help your body deal with inflammation.

That's right. Each of the four ingredients deal with inflammation from a different metabolic pathway. That right there, approaching from four different angles may very well be why so many people find such wonderful relief. It's my guess. If you have back, pain, shoulder, neck, hip, knee, or foot pain from exercise or even just getting older, you should order the three-week quick start pack two discounted to only 1995 to see if it will work for you as it works for me. I think it could give your body what it needs to heal itself. Go to Relieffactor.com. Relieffactor.com or call 800-500-8384. Hey, folks, welcome back. It's the Eric Metaxis radio show coming to you today because of technical difficulties on TV. Hey, listen, I happen to have Eric Stocklebeck on the show. I didn't mention this earlier.

He's the director of TBN's News Division. Eric, welcome back. Eric, great to be with you. Okay, so you are, you know, because we're friends. You can call me, Eric. I'll call you, Eric. I'll call you Eric the greater. I am Eric the lesser. You're very nice.

You're the nicer, Eric, the nicer. I want to ask you, I mean, I get so thrilled by biblical archaeology, and you were just saying that you get to Israel and you do the show, The Watchmen, and then you're doing these daily updates. now, very significant. I mean, eight to 10 minutes or 12 minutes, that's like a show. That's really significant. When we were talking about biblical archaeology, when I read that they had discovered something in the Garden of Gethsemeni, the Mikva Baths, I thought, what's the big deal? Why does that mean anything? And I don't know if you looked into this and saw this, but what amazed me,

and I'm actually going to put it in my book, I said, I never knew in my whole life what Gethsemini meant. You know, you hear a word and you go, garden and get somebody, fine. But it really has to do with the olive trees or the olive press. And then you think, oh, yeah, it's the Mount of Olives. That makes sense. And it says that mikva baths would be installed because they're purifying baths. Obviously, religious Jews would wash in the mikva bath. But they would particularly be installed in places where they would make wine or make olive oil

because people would get dirty. They would need to do that. And I just thought, this is amazing. So Gephsemini, even back in Jesus time, was a place of olive oil production. The olive trees were there. They would create the olive oil there. And they had the mikvabath so that those who were working in making olive oil would be able to be ritually purified. I just thought, this is, it's amazing to think that over 2,000 years ago, this really was a place where that was going on.

and that's why even in New Testament times, they call it Gatsemite and Mount DeVolves. Yes, Eric, this is so crucial. You're making a crucial point here because the UN has, over the past few years, past resolutions basically denying any historical Jewish claim in the city of Jerusalem. So what you have with this mikva is you're saying, hey, look, obviously a Jewish ritual bath dating back 2,000 years means that, yes, there were Jews living in this city and in this land. So, again, it's that irrefutable evidence because the United Nations, they have passed resolutions, Eric, referring to the Temple Mount where Herod's Temple once stood, where Solomon's Temple

once stood, where Jesus taught and chased out the money changers. Resolutions have been passed referring to the Temple Mount as Haram al-Sharif, by its Muslim name, and denying any Jewish claim to the Western Wall also. So it's so important that we have this evidence to hit back against the lies. Well, I mean, again, even just in doing the research for my upcoming book, I have noticed there's tons of evidence that the temple was there, that Herod's Temple, the Second Temple, that it was there. They found a stone that's called the Place of Trumpeting.

It's written in the Hebrews, the place where, the temple priests would blow the trumpet to signal the beginning of the Sabbath and then to signal the end of the Sabbath. I mean, they know exactly where it happened. It's on the parapet of where the temple was, and it fell down, obviously, at some point after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. But there's tons of evidence. But how is it possible that the UN would have anything to say about what is happening in Israel? This is an unpleasant bit of news. Yeah, I think number one, Eric, there is an obsession.

Really, I think at its essence, Eric, we live in Bible times. We live in the times that the prophet Isaiah talked about, times where good is considered evil and evil is considered good. Yet just yesterday, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. is seeking to reenter the U.N. Human Rights Council. Now, this is a great example of these Bible times, Eric, a world turned upside down. This is a body at the UN that is ostensibly committed to advancing the cause of human rights around the world. Yet some of the world's worst human rights violators like Russia, China, Cuba, and Venezuela actually have a seat on this human rights council. So President Trump pulled the U.S. out of this council in 2018. Now President Biden wants to reenter it.

He says, hey, we want a seat at the table. We can help fight back against the anti-Israel bias there. good luck because it's not only at the Human Rights Council, it's at the very upper echelon of the United Nations. It's so bizarre. The Biden administration is undoing so much of the pro-Israel work that was done by the Trump administration. And it's a little creepy. I think that we know that there is real anti-Semitism. It's not just anti-Zionism, but this actual anti-Semitism on the left around the world, they take their cues from the PLO. It's very very important. It's very, strange, but I guess I shouldn't be so shocked when you're talking about a city like this

that has all of this dispute going on. You know, it is an amazing thing, Eric, when we're talking about the Temple Mount, the idea that it is the holiest place for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, or at least it's one of the holiest places for Muslims. But what a bizarre, absolutely bizarre development that the temple, that there's this mosque at the top of it, it's just something that you couldn't make it up. It's like a bad end times novel, except it's all true. Yeah, you know, during Islamic history, Eric, many times when Muslims will seize a territory in the West or elsewhere, they will build a mosque on that territory as kind of a victory arch. obviously the Jewish temple stood on the temple mount. Muslims conquered that area in the 7th century

and they swiftly built the Al-Aksa mosque and the dome of the rock, that golden dome that is so become so iconic. They built those there immediately. That's why look, after 9-11, quite frankly, the World Trade Center, the site where the World Trade Center formerly stood, there was talk of building a mosque at that site. You might remember that controversy. But I think you make a good point, Eric, as well, about the Biden administration pretty much overturning what President Trump rightly did in the Middle East. And I think chief among those initiatives is the Iran nuclear deal. We're going to hear a lot about that in the weeks and months to come. The Biden administration is hell-bent on re-entering that deal. It's stunning. We're going to go to a break. But folks, I'm talking to Eric

Stackleback. We're going to be right back talking to him. He is on TBN. He's their direct of the news division at TBN, and he's the host of The Watchman on TBN. We'll be right back with Eric Stocklebeck. Folks, welcome back. I'm talking to Eric Stocklebeck, who is the director of TBN News Division. Eric, we were just talking about the Iran nuclear deal. You were saying that the Biden administration wants to get back with Iran and to re-up the deal that Trump undid. It's kind of horrifying. How what, I mean, after all we have learned,

how is it possible that there could be people in the Biden administration who are for something like this? Because the optics of it from somebody, from the position of somebody like me is that they are basically anti-Israel. Trump was pro-Israel. Most Americans would be pro-Israel, but that in a funny way, they don't come out and say it, but they seem more. more inclined to want to make a deal with Iran than they do with Israel. What do you suppose they're thinking? They do, Eric. And remember, in terms of their line of thinking, this should come as no surprise because

we have several holdovers from the Obama administration working now in the upper echelons of Joe Biden's administration. And these were the architects of that Iran nuclear deal in 2015. So naturally they are rushing headlong to reenter it. Eric, here's three reasons why that Iran deal is such a disaster. Number one, Iran's ballistic missile program was not even mentioned in that deal. Great job, John Kerry, the former Secretary of State. Iran has the largest ballistic missile stockpile in the Middle East, but not even on the table in the Iran nuclear deal.

Number two, Iran's sponsorship and support of terror throughout the region, whether it's Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, None of that mentioned. And third, Eric, these sunset clauses in the Iran nuclear deal, what that means is, hey, the sunsets on the deal after 10 years. After the sunsets, Iran can do whatever it wants. So at best, we're just kicking the can down the road and delaying the inevitable. That's why Israel says, and Israeli officials are saying, basically, if the U.S. reenters this deal, it practically guarantees war because Israel will feel forced to. to act and take out those Iranian nuclear facilities, which pose an existential threat to the state of Israel and America, I might add. Oh, there's no question about it. We just got a minute or so left. Tell us about the TBN News Division and what you guys have planned. Yeah, Eric, this is exciting.

The Watchman is one end of it, but the other end is this great new initiative we have at TBN. Number one, right now, I am doing news updates three times a day on TBN, with all the latest news going on in the U.S. and around the world, kind of in an anchor role. And also we have some special programming, a lot of one-hour specials planned. We just did a special, actually, on the rise of the Iranian church, which was fascinating. And we'll see. Maybe we have a daily news program coming, a weekly program. We're talking about a lot of good stuff at TBN. We think there's a vacuum for Christians in terms of getting their news from a Christian perspective, and we think we can fill that vacuum.

I would love to be involved with what TBN does in terms of news. unfortunately TBN can't afford me anymore. It's sad. We'll see if we can swing something. Not going to happen. It can't happen. It can't happen. I told Matt it can't happen.

Listen, I joke around. I love you guys. And I'm thrilled that you're getting into all of this stuff, Eric. It's really important. If people want to find you online, where can they go? Go to watchmantiv.com. M.A.N.WatchmanTV.com. Watchmantvee.com.

Terrific getting an update from you. Eric Stocklebeck. Keep up the good work. God bless you, my friend. You too, Eric. Thank you. God bless.