The Back to Jerusalem Podcast

BTJ has been working inside North Korea for years, and this year the team reached a major milestone: a Bible distribution center set up inside the country. With rumors swirling about Kim Jong Un’s health, BTJ keeps getting the same question: what is really happening on the ground? In this episode, Eugene shares a direct update from the team inside North Korea. Is the supreme leader dead?

Eugene Bach reports from the U.S. at the start of his October coast-to-coast tour, fresh from the Voice of the Persecuted gathering held in the heart of Oxford University – 500 years after William Tyndale completed the first printed English Bible in 1526, a work he paid for with his life.

At Oxford, believers who have been imprisoned for their faith in China, North Korea, Pakistan and Turkey shared what the persecuted church can teach the West. Among them was Pastor Andrew Brunson, imprisoned in Turkey for preaching the gospel and recently appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. His warning to Western Christians was blunt: persecution is coming, and in many ways it is already here.

Eugene also shares the story of Shagufta Kausar, sentenced to death in Pakistan over a blasphemy accusation, and explains why she was unable to attend the Oxford meeting after her UK visa was denied.

From there, Eugene walks through Scripture on the end times – Matthew 24:14, Romans 11 and Revelation 7 – and explains why he believes the completion of the Great Commission, the salvation of the Jewish people, the East Gate of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are central to the spiritual battle of our day, and why the region between Xi'an and Jerusalem is the final frontier of missions.

He closes with his take on the Flydubai Flight 1073 incident, the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after one pilot stabbed the other in the cockpit – an event Israeli officials have described as an attempted terror attack – and on how parts of the media framed it.

Eugene Bach delivers an update from inside southern China on a story Back to Jerusalem has been tracking for years: the Chinese Communist Party's project to produce its own translation of the Bible.

While the world has heard about flooding in Nepal and southern Tibet, a separate and possibly more devastating flood hit North Korea at the beginning of this month, destroying roads, bridges, railways, and thousands of homes. Eugene explains the two reasons this disaster has stayed hidden from the outside world: North Korea's track record of executing officials blamed for past disasters, and the fact that these floods struck near a sensitive naval base in Chongjin — the same base where a North Korean warship launch famously capsized in 2025.

In Brazil, BTJ joins a Christian hackers conference focused on using technology for missions. Hackers attending the conference work on solutions for moving funds to missionaries, getting Bibles into closed countries, and using AI, software, and other skills to help spread the Gospel.

What if there were two Jesuses to choose from? Eugene explores the story of Pastor Jing Dianying and the Jesus Family in China, revealing how Jing was forced to choose between a kingdom built through force and one built through love, sacrifice, and faith. He connects this choice to the surprising story of Jesus Barabbas and asks which Jesus we are choosing today.

Eugene examines how China’s 2017 restrictions on NGOs drove most foreign organizations out of the country. He argues that the loss of these organizations, many of them Christian, has left China with fewer resources to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian needs, while persecution of Christians continues to impact the nation.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly shaping how information is shared, but who decides what is true? Eugene Bach examines AI bias, the growing race to control data centers, and why Back to Jerusalem is investing in secure digital infrastructure to protect Scripture, missionary resources, and the freedom to share the gospel.

Four newly discovered Chinese biographies changed everything Eugene thought he knew about the Back to Jerusalem vision. In this episode, he uncovers a remarkable pattern hidden throughout its history: the overlooked influence of courageous women whose faith helped shape one of China's most enduring missionary movements.

In today’s Back to Jerusalem podcast, Eugene shares why legacy matters for missions and how the Chinese church is carrying the faith of our fathers across the 10/40 window. From growing up without a father to discovering a spiritual family that stretches from Adam and Abraham to modern Chinese missionaries, this episode connects biblical genealogies to real mission fields today.