Dr. Jimmy DeYoung Sr., a longtime Bible prophecy teacher and radio host, passed away on Sunday after battling COVID-19. He was 81.

DeYoung, the host of the daily radio program Prophecy Today, was hospitalized on August 7 and died a week later. His family and close friends broke the news of his death on social media.

"God has called a faithful servant home. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung passed away early this morning at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, TN," DeYoung's daughter, Jodi, wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

"Judy, his loving wife and companion in ministry for over 60 years, was by his side until the very end," she added. "He is survived by a large family who loved him dearly. We covet your prayers at this time."

"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," Jodi concluded.

According to The Christian Post, Judy had also contracted COVID-19 but is improving.

On Monday's broadcast of Prophecy Today, amid his grief, DeYoung's son, Jimmy DeYoung Jr., rejoiced that his late father "gets to see heaven."

"It's sad. But at the same time, it's a home going," DeYoung Jr. stated. "I'm so very happy because now he gets to see Heaven - what he's been preaching about ... since 1970."

According to Prophecy Today's website, DeYoung Sr.'s radio program aired on over 1,500 stations. He held several staff positions, including staff evangelist, Word of Life Inn host and producer of multiple radio programs heard worldwide.

DeYoung Sr. also worked as a credentialed journalist in Jerusalem, where he lived part-time for 23 years. He and his wife arrived there in 1991, just three days before the Gulf War began.

For several years, the late Bible prophecy teacher also served as the Vice-President and General Manager of WNYM, New York City's first Christian radio station.

In the months leading to this death, DeYoung Sr. questioned if the COVID-19 vaccine was used as a means of "government control." It is unclear, however, if DeYoung Sr. took the vaccine himself.

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