TEL AVIV — Israeli authorities deported Amazing Facts president Doug Batchelor Tuesday morning after intercepting his vessel carrying what he described as “essential prophetic aid” to Gaza residents struggling to understand Middle East Bible prophecy.
The 67-year-old evangelist was detained Monday when Israeli naval forces boarded his chartered yacht Daniel’s Vision approximately 180 kilometers west of Gaza. The vessel reportedly carried 2,400 laminated prophecy charts, 800 copies of The Great Controversy, and a portable projector for emergency evangelistic meetings.
“These people desperately need clarity on their role in end-times events,” Batchelor told reporters at Ben Gurion Airport before his deportation flight to California. “While the world focuses on food and medicine, I’m addressing their spiritual starvation regarding the king of the north versus king of the south conflict clearly outlined in Daniel 11.”
The Amazing Facts leader had livestreamed from international waters Sunday, warning followers that his potential detention would fulfill Revelation’s prophecy about the two witnesses being silenced. “If you’re watching this, the powers that be have clearly recognized the threat posed by accurate biblical interpretation,” he declared while adjusting a laminated chart.
A French journalist aboard the vessel confirmed Batchelor spent most of the journey explaining how current Gaza reconstruction plans align with his interpretation of Ezekiel 38, despite crew requests to discuss navigation instead.
Five other passengers, including two Adventist laymen carrying pocket-sized Daniel and Revelation study guides, signed voluntary deportation documents. Amazing Facts announced plans to redirect the confiscated materials to a Sabbath School quarterly on Middle East prophecy.
The Israeli military stated all seized prophetic charts would be “properly disposed of through existing theological channels.”
