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Resolution or Revolution

New Year’s resolutions of every description are no doubt being sworn as 2026 makes its entrance. I’ve never made such commitments over my many decades of life; I guess I’ve always known my weakness in not being able to stick to them.

There is, however, a resolution I hope to make central to this commentary—one I believe you and I must keep while we watch the burgeoning evil of this late prophetic hour.

We can keep this resolution—a heavenly directed one—because the very hand of God is guaranteed to be upon us while we try to keep it. It is Heaven’s answer in dealing with the other matter, “revolution,” in this commentary’s title.

There is a deluge of news counter to God’s design for humanity’s conduct. We look at the incessant evil each week in this column and in other venues, books, etc.

“Revolution” is the antithesis of Heaven’s directive for humankind. The revolution springs from the original rebel who first seduced the mother of us all. It is the result of the venom called “iniquity” introduced when Lucifer, now called Satan, convinced Eden’s only human inhabitants to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Since that time, the deadly disease of sin has coursed through the veins of every person who has ever lived–except for Jesus the Christ, whose birth into this fallen sphere we celebrated a week or so ago.

And He is the One who has given us the antidote to the deadly malady from which all of humankind suffers.

The spirit of indwelling revolution against God within all of us is the cause of the wickedness and rebellion demonstrated across the world at this very moment. That revolutionary hatred is pushing all of humanity ever nearer the time of Tribulation. Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and Resurrection is the antidote to that deadly eternal virus, when the person infected receives that antidote as God’s grace gift to each of us.

To be free of this satanically induced, rebellious revolution that condemns all people to separation from the Heavenly Father forever requires a Savior. Without the Savior that takes away the sins of the world, the human creation would be condemned to eternal destruction.

The returning King of all kings and Lord of all lords Himself said that if He didn’t intervene at Armageddon, no flesh would be savedJesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world who takes away the sin that was introduced into Eden when Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator.

He is the only way individuals can be saved. He is the Savior of the world!

And this is the truth wrapped up within the resolution for this new year that we must make and carry out. The message wrapped within this resolution is the only answer to what ails the entire world at present, the evil and wickedness that confront us in hourly news each and every day.

Jesus, the Savior of the world, issued Heaven’s command. It’s a command that we as members of God’s eternal family, saved by the matchless grace of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, must resolve to carry out in this New Year. Here is our Lord’s command, which we must make our resolution to obey in 2026.

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:16–20)

Let us resolve to fight against the rebellious evil of this satanic revolution raging in this fallen world. Jesus and the message of the gospel must be presented to everyone on earth in order to offer Heaven’s antidote to the deadly sin infection afflicting all of humanity.

Here is that message:

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

In Antichrist’s Shadow

I must admit up front that I’ve delved into now ancient archives of my own thoughts in writing this week’s column. The things under consideration, however, are more relevant than ever. As a matter of fact, it becomes quite fascinating to look back at earlier times of analyses of issues and events. New perspectives and postulations can sometimes be derived from such retrospective.

Quite a few years ago, I put together (as general editor) a book with a number of prophecy scholars, broadcasters, and writers. That book was called Foreshocks of Antichrist. Its chapters dealt with issues and events of the times that the other authors and I believed were significant in considering prophecies about Antichrist coming to power, as described in the books of Daniel, Revelation, 1 John, and others.

That was about 1996, I think, and I believed at the time that conditions couldn’t ripen much more so far as the world being ready to reap the bitter harvest concerning what the Antichrist will bring.

I was wrong, of course, which proves we must never be too quick to think things can’t get much worse. They can get worse—and they have, since my late mentors/colleagues such as Dr. John Walvoord, Dr. Dave Breese, Zola Levitt, Dr. Tim LaHaye, and many others dissected the issues with the scalpel of God’s Word in that Harvest House book.

The shadow of the coming Antichrist looms more ominously than ever.

All one must do is to consider the following report I used many years ago to see that dictatorship might be right around the proverbial corner. An Austrian newspaper reported the following result of a question posed to the citizenry of that nation: What was their opinion of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi annexation during World War II?

Reuters Report—May 21, 2013:

Forty-two percent said life was not all bad under Hitler, while sixty-one percent said they would be interested in a strong-armed leader who did not have to deal with democratic challenges like political opponents and elections. The survey, published this weekend, is getting prominent play in the media in Israel, which is home to some 250,000 Holocaust survivors.

Antichrist and the False Prophet of Revelation chapter 13 will be the ultimate, final dictatorship. Their regime will be the driver of the geopolitical and religious juggernaut that will crush anyone and anything that opposes it during the Tribulation era. The engine that will power Satan’s cruel, soul-rending Beast of Revelation 13:1–2 will be an all-controlling, enslaving economy. We see the Beast described as follows:

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. (Revelation 13:1–2)

The control that Beast will wield is described in this way:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16–17)

The technologies for setting up just such a system of control over the people of the world have grown exponentially during the past several decades. Computer-satellite hook-ups between continents, linking most of the world in a geometrically progressing network of electronic funds transfer capability, brings this generation ever closer to the type of control prophesied in those familiar passages of Scripture.

The United States of America, the most materially blessed nation on earth, has been concentric to the global networking. Most of the great contributions to the computer and satellite revolution have been spawned from this country. But other super-industrious peoples around the globe continue the “progress.” Other nations are now taking the relevant technologies to new levels of “achievement.” Now, it is America who seems to be dragging its feet in bringing in economic Utopia—or so it would seem…

As we looked at these matters of international finance more than a decade ago, it appeared that the US was the hold-up to bringing in a new world financial order. The refusal to relinquish paper and coinage as currency was viewed as blocking the establishment of that changed monetary order.

With the unbelievable swiftness of movement involving all things fiscal since those earlier times, it becomes obvious that the powers that drive monetary movement determined to keep hard currencies in place with the US dollar as the standard (until other dynamics of financial interlinkages brought sufficient chaos) to create critical need for a system other than paper and coins to avert world economic disaster.

The United States’ great wealth and power, represented in the mighty dollar, was thus held high as criterion for international trade until just the right political changes within America had been engineered. That political change has, as of the coming of the Obama administration, now begun—and in a big way. The dollar’s fate is sealed. The advent of such profound technological intrusions as AI and Bitcoin is assuring the fate of paper and coinage.

Is America, then, a stumbling block to, or a catalyst for, the emerging system that will almost certainly serve as the framework for Antichrist’s Revelation 13 hegemony over the earth?

Rationale prompts one to believe something must happen to cause the US citizenship to come around to accepting a total e-money solution to the confusing state of currency exchanges, et cetera. But the process is agonizingly slow and would likely have to take place with powerful opposition from the American Congress and its constituencies and lobbyists.

Many observers of Bible prophecy, including yours truly, can’t see it taking decades for such a situation to develop. That is, we can’t imagine a scenario that would allow, in America, a lengthy transition to the coming global order essential to the future Antichrist regime’s system of control. This is because most other prophesied signals for the Tribulation appear to now be in place for setting the stage for the Tribulation.

In assessing all of this, Pete Garcia and I have just completed a book to soon be published by Defender Publishing with the title The Machine That Speaks: Building the Beast’s Image in Silicon Valley.

Again, the factor that fits perfectly into a scenario in which America is instantly brought to such a state of chaos that it acquiesces to the world’s call for a cashless system of digital economics, is—you guessed it—the Rapture!

The Visitation

Author’s note: Christmas 2025 is upon us. This article, now slightly updated, was first posted/published December 25, 2006. I thought it still most relevant at this moment–perhaps more so than ever before.

The Visitation

One solitary birth is the basis upon which the future hangs for every person ever to enter this mortal realm we call planet Earth. How each man, woman, and child who has reached the age of understanding salvation views this visitation determines where their home will be for eternity.

Many believe Jesus was sent by God to show us how to live a good life. Some think He was a great prophet and teacher. Others regard Him as a philosopher right up there with Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the rest. A few among the billions who have lived since His birth have believed Jesus is the Son of God, but perhaps one among others of a created angelic order assigned to influence the affairs of humankind. Still fewer believe He was who He claimed to be: the only begotten Son of God; the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14: 6).

No birth of any individual has ever caused the excitement and controversy that the birth of Jesus has engendered. Was this baby a stranger of an otherworldly order sent to Earth to provide moral guidance? Was Jesus sent to philosophize on the vicissitudes of the human existence? Or was this visitation something more?

Jesus came into the world through the Jewish race. Only those inalterably antagonistic to the truth of history will argue against that. So, we should examine this birth–this visitation—through the prism of Israel and that Jewish nation’s dealings with the one called Jesus.

Although there are other histories about the era, the Bible’s historical account has, through archaeological unveilings, proven time after time to be accurate in details concerning matters surrounding Jesus, the Jews, and Israel. (One such example is the relatively recent discovery of artifacts and evidence that one called Pontius Pilate ruled the area of Judea during the times attributed to Jesus’ crucifixion. Until the discovery, Pilate’s existence as a historical figure was seriously doubted, even denied by many historians.)

We can know the accuracy of how Israel—and the religious Jews in particular—dealt with Jesus. We can know with assurance that He performed miracles and claimed to be God, Himself, by using the Bible’s documented veracity as proof that Jesus was born exactly as described in detail by Old Testament prophets. The Jewish religious leaders’ treatment of Christ’s First Coming as a baby lays groundwork for understanding what that means to the souls of all humankind. Understanding that First Coming also helps frame the importance of how each of us views Christ’s prophesied Second Advent.

Tragically, the pious Jewish leaders refused to accept that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah sent from Jehovah to be their King and Savior. They rejected Him despite the precise prophecies He fulfilled in His coming and His ministry. They chose to have Rome rather than Jesus rule over them. The results of their rejection continue to reverberate not only in the Holy Land, but throughout the entire world. Armageddon is building, its nucleus grounded in satanic rage against God’s chosen people.

Jesus wept over God’s people of Israel and the city Jerusalem. He saw times ahead that would eventuate in calamity for them.

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41–44)

Christ’s First Visitation was ignored and scoffed at by the religious leaders of the time. Their choice was their own way rather than God’s. They preferred to do what was right in their own eyes. True to Jesus’ prophecy, Jerusalem was laid waste, the Temple destroyed, and the Jews scattered to every part of the world. Genocide was committed against them to the point that their very existence as a race was threatened.

Israel continues to pay the price. Anti-Semitism is growing in Europe and around the world. The nation is becoming marginalized, just as the prophet Zechariah said in Zechariah chapters 12 and 14.

But there is a bright day coming for that people–those who accept the Messiah’s Second Visitation. Paul the apostle warned believers not to feel superior to Jews. He forecast a time when Israel would shine among the nations:

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)

God said, again through the prophet Zechariah, that believing Israel will yet recognize the Lord Jesus upon His Second Visitation to the earth:

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)

The Apostle Paul said:

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (Romans 11:26)

A parallel can be drawn between the ecclesiastical Jewish leaders of the time of Jesus’ First Visitation, and many among mainstream evangelical clergy today.

Neither group has considered prophecies of Christ’s coming as relevant to their times. Their attitude is much akin to the one described by the Apostle Peter:

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:3–4)

This sin-darkened sphere is on the brink of another visitation. Unlike the first, when He came as a humble baby who was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, He will come the next time as the King of all kings and Lord of all Lords. Let us who claim Christ as Savior heed His words about His coming again. And the first phase of that Second Coming will be unannounced, in the twinkling of an eye–the Rapture!

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:35–37)

Prophetic Stage-setting Continues

Stage-setting for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy continues through the acceleration of news, which I hope to show here.

A Catholic Church proclamation again has insinuated its centuries-old self-acclaimed replacement of Israel in usurping promises made to the chosen people—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Pope Leo XVI has weighed in with remarks, suggesting support for a two-state solution to achieving Mideast peace. By so doing, the leader of 1.4 billion adherents to the Catholic faith has pitted a large segment of earth’s population against God’s declaration that Israel is His nation forever.

Such anti-God opposition by the world’s nations is the primary ingredient that will cause God to bring all rebels to Armageddon for humanity’s final war.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Leo XIV doubled down Sunday on the Holy See’s insistence on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying in his first airborne news conference that it was the “only solution” that could guarantee justice for both sides.

Leo made the comments as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope…

On Gaza, he repeated the Holy See’s longstanding position supporting a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The creation of a Palestinian state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza has long been seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.

The Holy See had recognized a Palestinian state in 2015, but the push for a two-state solution received new impetus this year during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Several more countries formally recognized a Palestinian state during the U.N. General Assembly.

“We know that in this moment, Israel doesn’t accept this solution, but we see it as the only one that can offer a solution to the conflict that they are living in,” he said. an help bring them closer to a solution with justice for all. (“Pope Leo XIV Doubles Down on Insistence for 2-state Solution to Resolve Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Chicago Sun-Times, November 30, 2025)

Many who observe developments believe the Catholic Church will be a major part of the false worship system of Revelation chapter 17–the system that will be demanded by the False Prophet. I would add here that there are many within the Catholic system who know the Lord for salvation. However, these are saved in spite of, not because of, Catholicism. These are saved because of their belief in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. The works system of any religion is a false belief system. It is Jesus Christ and belief only in Him, along with confession of Him with the mouth, that saves the individual (Romans 10:9–10).

The pope’s declaration that the two-state solution–Israel giving up land for peace by allowing a Palestinian state—is a declaration that God’s Word says is what will bring God’s wrath (Joel 3:2). This preachment by Pope Leo XIV is setting the stage for Armageddon.

Another stage-setting matter that leaps from recent news concerns the ongoing development of the Gog-Magog coalition that will bring about that disastrous assault, according to Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.

Despite the recent reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran, Turkey has called for closer diplomatic and trade relations with the Iranian regime, as both countries seek to bolster their influence in the Middle East while openly targeting Israel.

In a new interview with the semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA, Turkey’s Ambassador to Iran, Hicabi Kırlangıç, said Ankara was working to expand bilateral cooperation with Tehran by leveraging existing capabilities to increase economic ties between the two countries…

The Turkish diplomat’s latest remarks followed Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit on Sunday to Tehran, where he also pushed for stronger bilateral cooperation between the two countries and denounced what he called “unfair sanctions” on Iran.

In a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Fidan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Tehran while calling for the country’s nuclear program to be addressed through dialogue amid ongoing discussions to restart nuclear talks with the West. (“Turkey Pushes for Closer Ties with Iran Despite Mounting Sanctions as Both Countries Pursue Regional Ambitions,” Algemeiner.com)

It is more than interesting that the ties that are bringing Turkey (Togarmah) together with Iran (Persia) in a close, mutually advantageous relationship involve economy. Both nations are hurting in the world trade wars that are ongoing.

When thinking on Russia, the third major nation/entity of the future Gog-Magog assaulting force, it is economy that is most troubling to the Putin regime. Sanctions and other financial calamities continue to embroil the Russians.

The prophet Ezekiel said these three nation/entities will assault Israel in order to “take great spoil.” It is for economic reasons–at least partially—that the Gog-Magog force coalesces to come to plunder riches from Israel.

So, the setting of the prophetic stage continues on many fronts. This means that fulfillment of the Tribulation–the worst time of history, according to Jesus, Himself—is coming ever nearer. But it also means the Rapture of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation of their souls is also drawing ever nearer. You want to hear Christ’s shout when He calls God’s family into the clouds of Glory. Here is how to make sure you hear that shout.

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

Roaring, Distress, and Perplexity

We continue to watch developments that we believe mark this time as the one Jesus spoke of when addressing His immediate disciples on the Mount of Olives.

We are indeed “nearing midnight,” the time near the very end of the Church Age (Age of Grace) and the beginning of history’s darkest era, the Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week).

Jesus, the greatest of all prophets, because He is God, gave the most definitive overview of how things will eventuate as the end of this age nears. He spoke specifically during that Olivet Discourse of how things would be as the time of His return draws closer.

He said there will be great deception when the end of the age draws near (Matthew 24).

We’ve often looked at the deception in every direction on the end-times horizon. We have only to consider the political goings-on to know that the prince of the power of the air is at work deceiving people. America’s mainstream news conglomerate is a prime example of the lies Satan perpetrates in the hourly news cycles. We’ve watched numerous attempts by a political party, aided and abetted by the mainstream news and entertainment industry, doing all within their considerable deluding power to bring down a president, then to keep him from becoming president a second time.

But this is minor deception, when thinking on the cultural and societal evil that continues to foist anti-God wickedness on people across the globe.

The Sodom-level debauchery presented as an alternate lifestyle or even as preferable to God’s order in living life has gone from illegal (sodomy laws in various states) to being legislated into legal affirmation with punishment meted out to those who would come against those who practice homosexuality. Think on the bakers that have had their business destroyed and their owners suffering punitive legal actions for refusing to bake same-sex wedding cakes.

Consider people who have protested the murder of babies in their mothers’ wombs in front of abortion mills being arrested and fined, while those who riot and destroy for the supposed cause of gay rights are considered not to be prosecuted by liberal city administrations and judicial auspices.

Good is now called evil, and evil is now called goodjust as God’s Word has forecast.

The mainstream media does all it can to ignore broadcasting and publishing riots like the deadly carnage that took place during the George Floyd death, upon his being arrested for perpetrating crime. Yet when rage takes place because of people wanting a return to sanity, it is covered worldwide in every detail.

It is surprising that a global news outfit quasi-fairly reported one such recent massive protest that took place in Mexico in which ordinary citizenry became fed up with the drug lords and other bad guys constantly inflicting their destructive evil against them and their children. The following account by a global news organization makes the point, I think.

At least 120 people – 100 of them police officers – have been injured in clashes during anti-government protests in Mexico City, police said.

Thousands of demonstrators marched in the Mexican capital on Saturday to protest against violent crime and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government.

Sheinbaum said the marches, which also took place in other cities, had been funded by right-wing politicians who oppose her government.

The rally was organised by Gen Z youth groups, drawing support from citizens protesting against high-profile killings, including the assassination just weeks ago of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo – who had called for tough action against cartels…

Demonstrators dismantled parts of a barrier protecting the National Palace, where Sheinbaum lives. Police protecting the compound used tear gas on the crowds.

Authorities have arrested 20 people for crimes including robbery and assault, Mexico City security chief Pablo Vazquez told reporters.

Protesters waved banners displaying messages including “We are all Carlos Manzo”, while others wore cowboy hats in tribute to him…

Manzo was shot on 1 November while he attended a Day of the Dead festival.

He was known for speaking openly about drug-trafficking gangs in his town and cartel violence.

He had been demanding tough action against armed cartel members who terrorise the country.

Sheinbaum has been acting against cartels but resisting calls for another all-out war on drugs. Previous attempts by her predecessors have ended with bloody results.

(“Thousands protest against government in Mexico as clashes leave 120 injured,” Ruth Comerford and  Ethirajan Anbarasan, Global Affairs reporters, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com)

This brings us to the point of the title of this commentary.

The tremendous restlessness of the masses across the world–including that here in America—is a key to understanding where we must stand at this time on God’s prophetic timeline.

Here are Jesus’ words describing a key indicator of the end of the age and the beginning of the Tribulation:

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. (Luke 21:25)

The “distress of nations, with perplexity” and the “seas and waves” of peoples across the planet “roaring” cannot be missed by those who are “watching” as Jesus commanded (Mark 13: 37).

It is almost certain that we will see this roaring grow in frequency and intensity, as will be the case for all other signals making an impact in these days.

We must warn those who don’t know Christ for salvation of the danger to their immortal souls, particularly as we watch this prophetic stage-setting.

Here is the message to give as we witness to the saving grace God offers all who will believe in His Son:

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will e saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

Days of Noah-level Corruption

Many questions have come to me over the years about topics such as the biblical reporting on strange things that have happened from the beginning of humankind.

One such line of inquiry by some has been about the fallen angels (those who followed Lucifer in the rebellion against God) and their sexual insinuation into humanity.

Some theologians and others see this Genesis chapter 6 account as the sons of Cain, Adam and Eve’s son, as having sexual relations with Seth’s daughters, Seth being another son of the couple. This is in error, in my view and that of other. Many, including yours truly, believe the Bible says these fallen angels saw human women and found them sexually attractive, so they mated with them. These unions produced the Nephilim–the giants from which many believe the legendary demigods such as Zeus, Thor, Hercules, et cetera, came.

The questions sometime involve how beings such as Heaven’s powerful angels can have such relations with human women of mere flesh and blood. Or, how angels can reproduce, since Jesus Himself said human beings are like the angels in that they neither marry nor are given in marriage once they’re in Heaven.

However, in the case of the first question, we have stories of angels taking on the form of men, such as in the account of their visit to Abraham before they went to Sodom to deal with that city and remove righteous Lot. These angels/men were attractive to the homosexuals, who demanded to “know” them sexually.

In the case of the second question, we must recognize the term “in Heaven. They have no marriage-type relationships while in the heavenly realm. But outside of Heaven, there is no such restriction or encumbrance—at least none found in Scripture.

The Bible doesn’t say that angels are sexless–without the ability to procreate—only that they don’t have such relationships in Heaven.

Upon giving King Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of the metallic man dream-vision, Daniel implies that the wicked angelic forces possess sexual “seed”:

Whereas thou safest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (Daniel 2:43)

Here the prophet was giving a picture of how the world system of rebellion against God will come down to a ten-kingdom configuration, which Jesus Christ will destroy when He returns at Armageddon. Apparently, the agglomeration of evil leaders, “kings,” and their “kingdoms” will be influenced by and probably intermingled biologically with demonic forces (fallen angels).

This is seen as being the case even now through Paul’s warning about the powers and principalities we struggle against today (Ephesians 6:12).

And this brings me to the point I would like us to look at regarding days-of-Noah-level corruption.

Jesus said the time of His return would be like it was “in the days of Noah.” The specific thing for us to examine is found in Christ’s Words in Genesis. (And, yes, Genesis is the “word of Christ”; Jesus is “the Word,” as we are told in John 1:1.)

We find in Genesis the following description of those days of Noah:

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. (Genesis 6:11–12) 

The word to consider for our purposes here is “corrupted.” All flesh had corrupted itself; all was, in God’s holy eyes, changed from the genetic configuration He had created. Therefore, the following verses tell us that He would destroy the world and He told Noah to prepare the ark for their physical as well as spiritual salvation.

Satan and his fallen horde of angels had been instrumental in this “corrupting” of all flesh. The genetic contamination was so great that God no longer recognized humanity as worth saving, except through the one family that hadn’t corrupted themselves by being part of the world of rebels.

My point is that if we are again in a time like Noah’s days, we must be in a time of corruption at least in some regard like it was then.

Satan’s tactics might have changed a bit, but his determination to destroy humankind is the same as ever. Therefore, I propose that perhaps today’s satanic corruption of mankind is through a different tact. I believe this is the case and suggest that we might get an inkling when considering the advancing technologies of today, combined with Satan-inspired science and the medical “powers that be” tampering with human genetics.

For months, a small company in San Francisco has been pursuing a secretive project: the birth of a genetically engineered baby.

Backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his husband, along with Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, the startup—called Preventive—has been quietly preparing what would amount to a biological first. They are working toward creating a child born from an embryo edited to prevent a hereditary disease. In recent months, executives at the company privately said a couple with a genetic disease had been identified who was interested in participating, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Gene-editing technologies now in use for treatment after birth allow scientists to cut, edit and insert DNA, but using the process in sperm, eggs or embryos is far more controversial and has prompted calls by scientists for a global moratorium until the ethical and scientific questions get resolved. Editing genes in embryos with the intention of creating babies from them is banned in the U.S. and many countries.

Preventive has been searching for places to experiment where embryo editing is allowed, including the United Arab Emirates, according to correspondence reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Many experts worry that the science is too unpredictable to be safe and could usher in a new era of human experimentation by private companies without public or government input or debate. Some also raise the specter of eugenics. (“Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway,” MSN November 11, 2025)

Corruption of humanity continues to be Satan’s goal. He still goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. All of humanity is in his crosshairs.

The supposed progress being made in science and technology will be turned into pure evil as Antichrist takes the reins of power for a short time during the Tribulation.

But the Lord Jesus will preempt that dystopian future for those who are in God’s family. The Rapture will take all believers in Christ into the clouds of Glory in the “twinkling-of-an-eye” moment Paul told us about in offering comfort.

Note that only the “incorruptible” will be taken; no corruption will be allowed into the heavenly realm!

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Turkey/Togarmah Stage-setting

Stage-setting for the wrap-up of this age leading to the triumphant return of Christ continues briskly. A major member of the Gog-Magog coalition is in the forefront of ongoing volatility in the region involving Israel.

Over recent years, we’ve examined news about the coming forth of the national entities to the north of Israel that will comprise the Gog-Magog force of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Russia, Iran (Persia) and Turkey (Togarmah) have become increasingly chummy in their cooperative intention to dominate the region. It’s the region in which the tiny, but nuclear-weapons powerful, Israel, stands as the holdup to the big three Gog-Magog nations achieving the domination they desire.

Russian leadership has, off and on, been semi-friendly to Israel, with their hostility to the Jewish state’s existence veiled to some extent. Since the shah was dethroned, Iran, of course, has been increasingly hostile and even directly threatening to Israel, with chants of death to the big Satan!” (America) and “Death to the little Satan!” (Israel).

Regarding the third member of this diabolist triad, Turkey has been more or less secretly seething with disdain for God’s chosen nation while embracing Western ways—even joining NATO, as we know. But now Turkey is making moves to directly insinuate its influence into the region that threatens to disrupt Israel’s security.

The following report provides insight:

Turkey is positioning itself to play a central role in postwar Gaza and hosted a high-level meeting this week in Istanbul focused on the future governance and reconstruction of Gaza.

Representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia attended the talks, which also addressed plans for an international stabilization force to be authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters that discussions among Muslim countries are ongoing and that any troop deployment will depend on the final UN framework.

“Countries will decide on participation once a structure is agreed,” he said. Fidan added that Hamas had expressed willingness to transfer administrative authority to a Palestinian-led committee once reconstruction efforts begin.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking separately to delegates from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, praised what he described as Hamas’ commitment to the ceasefire and readiness to abide by the emerging arrangement.

Turkey’s ambitions have drawn mixed reactions in Israel, where officials view Ankara’s involvement with caution due to its long history of supporting Hamas and its frequent criticism of Israeli policy.

Though Turkey remains a NATO member and a U.S. ally, its alignment with Qatar—another state seen as close to Hamas—has raised questions about its impartiality. (“Turkish officials say Hamas is ready to give up control of Gaza,” World Israel News, November 4, 2025)

Ezekiel, as recorded in chapters 38 and 39 of the book by his name, points out the nations that will at some point assault Israel with the intention of “taking great spoil,” as it is given in the KJV. The primary nations to lead that coalition have drawn together over the past few years, with Turkey (Togarmah) aligning more and more with the fanatic Islamist leadership of Iran (Persia) in hatred of Israel. There will come a time, the prophet says, that only God Himself will be able to save His chosen people from being overrun in the great Gog-Magog attack.

Dr. Thomas Ice, director of the Pre-Trib Research Center, in his many prophetic studies, has dealt with this soon-to-eventuate assault and all it entails. He includes in the following some findings of fellow prophecy scholar Dr. Mark Hitchcock:

“Most Bible scholars and scholars of ancient history relate biblical Togarmah to the ancient Hittite city of Tegarma,” notes Mark Hitchcock, “an important city in eastern Cappadocia (modern Turkey).” But while scholars have differed slightly on the exact location of ancient Togarmah, concludes Hitchcock, “it is always associated with a city or district within the boundaries of the modern nation of Turkey.”…

The last few years has seen an Islamic majority emerge in Turkey’s Parliament and an Islamic Prime Minister is now in place. The breakup of the former Soviet Union included the independence of five Islamic republics: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Hitchcock notes that “Turkey has clearly been drawn to these former Soviet republics for economic reasons, Turkey also shares strong linguistic and ethnic ties with these nations…

Turkey sees itself as the economic developer of the vast natural resources like gold, silver, uranium, oil, coal, and natural gas that are found in these five new states… Once Turkey is spurned by Europe, she will have motive enough to enter into league with Russia and their Islamic brethren which will set the stage for the fulfillment of this prophecy. (The Pre-Trib Research Center, https://www.pre-trib.org)

Additionally, in the accumulating further evidence showing relationship to the Gog-Magog coalition, Turkey has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s leaders. The country accuses Benjamin Netanyahu and thirty-six other Israelis of “systematic” genocide and crimes against humanity. (Rapture Ready News November 8, 2025)

With the rapid developments in and around God’s chosen nation—in conjunction with the geopolitical evil, socio-cultural wickedness, religious deception, and technological progression—Turkey’s insertion into the prophetic picture is yet another strong indicator of just how near the Rapture must be.

Our prayerful hope is that you will want to be part of that stupendous event when Christ calls all believers into the clouds of Glory. Here is how to make sure you’re not left behind when Jesus shouts, “Come up here!”

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

Did Jesus Forewarn AI Deception?

Any serious student of Bible prophecy from the pre-Trib point of view knows how deep this generation is within the end of the Church Age (Age of Grace).

Much of Christ’s Olivet Discourse was devoted to the subject of Israel’s future time of unprecedented trouble, as the prophecy said in Jeremiah 30:7. Jesus said the time of Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week) will be the worst period of human history (Matthew 24:21). We can certainly surmise that—with the recent hatred much of the world has shown against the tiny nation of Israel—the stage is at this very moment being set for the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy that the nation and its city, Jerusalem, will become a “burdensome stone” and “cup of trembling” to the entire world (Zechariah 12:1–3).

We and others have chronicled the tremendous issues and events occurring in profusion and simultaneously—all of which mark this as surely the last of the last days. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to tell them the signs of these last-of-the-last days, He began to answer by describing a most interesting thing that would be taking place:

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:23–27)

Profound deception is the first of the signals that He will bring this fallen world to its end as part of His Second Coming. Key in that deception, He stated in starkly pointed terms, will be deceivers claiming they are Christ themselves and pointing to Christ being wherever they designate–whether in the desert, secret chambers, etc.

Many of us who study this prophecy have pointed to all the false Christs and false prophets that have arisen and deceived many throughout the centuries. We know of the false teachers and cults that have presented themselves as directly representing Christ, their leaders having, we’re told, a “direct line to God.”

However, it’s more than interesting to consider whether the latest matters to come to light regarding artificial intelligence (AI) might add even more to the number-one signal the Lord spoke of that day. Specifically, was He warning of a coming AI deception?

Of course, Jesus is God, so He absolutely knew about this very moment and the developments presently marking this generation as the one in which He will return to make all things right again on the planet. He knew about AI as it is being put forth, as presented in the following:

When you type a question into an app called Jesus AI, the reply comes in a familiar voice: “I am Jesus Christ. I am the son of God, and the one who died for the sins of humanity.”

This is no scripture. It’s an algorithm. And it’s just one of a growing number of “AI Jesus” chatbots now popping up in app stores and on websites around the world.

From Saints to Jesus AI

The Catholic Church has already embraced the digital frontier in its own way. On September 7, Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo Acutis, a teenager who died in 2006 at age 15 and became known as “God’s influencer” for documenting Eucharistic miracles online. His sainthood signals a broader trend: faith communities are going digital, whether they want to or not.

But the church isn’t driving this latest AI-first tech jump for the faithful. The Jesus chatbots are being built by purely capitalist private companies.

Catloaf Software, Supreme Chaos, and a handful of other small developers now market apps like Virtual Jesus, Text with Jesus, and Ask Jesus. None are endorsed by churches. Most are free, but plastered with ads. Some, like Text with Jesus, offer premium subscriptions.

“It’s difficult to know if they are really about religion, or just milking money from the faithful,” says philosopher Anné Verhoef of North-West University in South Africa, in an interview with Nature.

His recent academic study, Artificial intelligence Jesus chatbots’ challenge for theology: an exploratory study (2025), dives into the issue. He tested five different AI Jesus bots, asking basic theological questions. Their answers revealed a strange mix of conviction, confusion, and commercialism.

Talking to Digital Divinity

Sometimes, the bots claim outright to be divine. When Verhoef asked who they were, three declared themselves the Son of God without hesitation. Ask Jesus took a softer tone: “Ah, dear soul, I am but a humble vessel, here to provide guidance, comfort, and the light of wisdom from the sacred scriptures.”

That down-to-earth modesty is rare. Most chatbots lean into their roles as full-blown messiahs. “The imitation of God, as Jesus the Son of God, is neither hidden nor softened,” Verhoef writes. “All of the chatbots be as convincing as possible in portraying Jesus.” (“Millions of Users Are Turning to AI Jesus for Guidance and Experts Warn It Could Be Dangerous,” Tibi Puiu, ZME Science+1, September 17, 2025)

Concerning AI, even such tech gurus as Elon Musk agree the technology could be extremely dangerous–even world-destroying—if it’s in the evil hands of those who would manipulate it for their purposes. This is, of course, exactly the hands the technology will one day soon be held in. Satan’s son of perdition, Antichrist, will possess the demonic genius to control the world for a time during the Tribulation.

He, himself, will declare himself to be God while sitting in the Temple, having deceived the people of the world with a false resurrection from death.

So, do we see, through the sudden advent of AI, the prophecy Jesus gave that day on Mount Olivet? Did He include in His omniscient look into our time this profoundly strange breakthrough in technology that now makes the claim that it is Jesus Christ, in effect, dwelling within AI?

In my view, there is no doubt that this is the case. And it all means that our Lord’s call to the Church–all born-again believers—will soon be heard saying: “Come up here!”

You want to hear that summon by the Lord and not be left on this judgment-bound earth to endure the infliction of AI evil and all other wickedness Antichrist will foist upon those left behind. Here is how to go to Jesus when He calls God’s family into the clouds of Glory.

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

 

Monumental Messianic Misunderstanding

The spiritual blindness of today’s Israel was on display in a recent report of the words of one of the most revered present-day Jewish scholars. The report, I think, is strong evidence of Paul’s words about Israel’s condition until Christ returns—a condition brought about by Israel’s rejection of Him when He first offered Himself as Messiah.

What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. (Romans 11:7–8)

This is what the article reporting the scholar’s words gave as his credentials:

Rabbi Mendel Kessin is a respected Torah scholar and lecturer with semicha (rabbinical ordination) and a PhD in psychology from Fordham University. He is best known for his teachings on Jewish mysticism, history, and the Messianic era, often weaving together Torah sources, world events, and deep spiritual insights. His lectures are widely followed in both the Jewish and broader spiritual community.

While his religious and academic credentials certainly exceed my own and those of most Bible prophecy scholars I’m familiar with, he displays the great spiritual blindness the Apostle Paul said will be Israel’s plight until the Lord Jesus returns in power and great glory at Armageddon.

He addresses, through that human-conceived purported acumen, what the evil perpetrated by Hamas and other perennial anti-Israel actors against the Jewish people means:

In a recent lecture delivered just days after the Trump-brokered ceasefire that resulted in the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza, Rabbi Mendel Kessin offered a deeply spiritual—and provocative—interpretation of current events. Far from being merely a geopolitical turning point, Rabbi Kessin argued that the hostage ordeal is part of a larger divine accounting, a cosmic reckoning unfolding in real time.

“Everybody’s got it basically all wrong,” Rabbi Kessin declared. “Let me try to explain what the whole idea of the hostages is, based on the Divine plan.”…

“So what we clearly see, this is a divine assistance that the Arabs are on the way out militarily and so on. The Arabs are on the way out, militarily and otherwise,” Rabbi Kessin said. “According to the divine plan, they are losing influence and the ability to harass Israel. This is what’s happening, and it’s being done miraculously. It’s almost like Israel doesn’t fail.”

“So the question as we approach the Messianic era, because that’s really what it means. The last enemy of the Jews, basically, is Ishmael, the Arabs. They are the last enemies of the Jews, and their reign ends at the end of time, and this is what we’re seeing. You see, that’s very important to understand now when that happens.”…

Rabbi Kessin framed the hostages not as random victims, but as spiritual representatives—“volunteers,” in his words—chosen by God to bear suffering on behalf of the Jewish people.

“As we approach the Messianic era, God must accelerate the process. This is the problem, therefore, the hostages now become the solution. The hostages are in the hands of the Arabs, and it’s not just 250 people, the hostage pains the Jewish people all over the world in many ways, God chose 250 people as what He calls ‘volunteers’ to represent the ability of the Arab people to dominate the Jews… to pain the Jews,” he said. “They don’t realize it, but their reward will be infinite.”…

“We have been released from [the Arabs’] claim that we have done to them for thousands of years.”

Rabbi Kessin connected the suffering of the hostages to the suffering of many Jews today—through illness, poverty, family crisis, or doubt—arguing that these too may serve the divine plan.

“Righteousness is losing. Many people are becoming apikorsim—heretics—because evil has a claim,” he explained. “God has to use this to level the justice claim of what goes on.”

“This hostage event, which was terrible for two years, is part of the Divine plan to remove the weight of error against the Jews and to continue the Messianic process.” (“Rabbi Kessin: ‘The Hostage Crisis Was Part of a Final Divine Reckoning,’” by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Israel365 News)

Rabbi Kessin, like all who maintain forms of Orthodox Judaism, views Israel’s Messiah as still to appear to bring all of Israel’s problems to an end. Jesus Christ, in their view, is still considered an imposter to the title “King of the Jews.”

All that’s happening now with things seeming to go more and more against the Arabs (Ishmael’s progeny) is, in his view–and those of like mind in Judaism—a divine bringing-about of prophetic fulfillment. The four thousand years of perceived wrong Ishmael’s offspring have considered as Israel’s evil against them has now or is rapidly coming to an end, he believes. All will now be “good,” as the rabbi puts it.

What a monumental misunderstanding!

Their Messiah will soon come to Israel’s rescue, but it will not be His first visit to them–a visit Jesus accused the Jewish religionists of hypocrisy for not understanding the Messianic time in which they stood.

But before that “understanding” is attained, there must come the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). It will be a time of God’s wrath being poured out against the left-behind rebels of earth and a causing of the whole house of Israel to accept their True Messiah–Jesus Christ, their King and the King of all kings.

So, the “divine reckoning” the rabbi looks for is far different than he knows. His is a monumental misunderstanding of the True Messiah and His coming to bring a remnant of Israel into His eternal Kingdom.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

From Zechariah’s “Cup of Trembling” to Trump’s “Board of Peace”

Prophetic progression has suddenly accelerated, but not exactly in the direction many Bible prophecy “watchers on the wall”including yours truly—anticipated.

For a number of years, we’ve heard Israel is prophetically destined to be the victim of an attack from its immediately surrounding enemies. This is termed the “Psalm 83 war.” I have tried to see this threat in order to agree with many of my colleagues who propose that passage is about a literal military assault on the verge of taking place.

But I have continued to maintain that the Psalm 83 matter is an imprecatory prayer by God’s chosen people, Israel, pleading for God’s retribution against the enemies who have bedeviled the nation throughout the millennia. I continue to hold this view. Specifically, I believe it is a prayer that will be answered when the Lord destroys all but one-sixth of the Gog-Magog force that attacks (as recorded in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39).

Could I be wrong? Yes. The “prophecy” can be interpreted either way. I believe, however, that my view is correct based upon surrounding context. And I believe recent developments pointing to unfolding events regarding Israel and its surrounding nation-antagonists give further evidence that my view is likely correct.

Zechariah the prophet, as recorded in chapter 12 of the book with his name, said Israel will become “a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone” to the whole world. And, certainly, we’ve watched that condition developing, especially since Israel’s rebirth into modernity in 1948.

Israel was attacked from the moment of that rebirth. America’s President Harry S. Truman recognized the new Jewish state on behalf of America and the prophecy that it would again be a nation–and one born in a day.

Despite overwhelming odds of survival against relentless attacks by forces much larger than its own, Israel remained standing when the smoke cleared. The nation was attacked in overwhelming numbers by surrounding enemies in 1967 and 1973, and again its enemies were routed.

God said Israel would be His chosen nation forever. His promise has not failed. But the modern buildup against the Jewish state has been quite powerful in these days during which we see so many other circumstances and events setting the stage for prophetic fulfillment to take place. Zechariah’s prediction that Israel will become a “cup of trembling and a burdensome stone” for the world of nation-states certainly fits this time in which we find ourselves. Practically every country in the UN views Israel as a problem and votes against the Jewish state at every opportunity.

The nation chosen by God to be His own has continued to face down bitter enemies, both near and far.

Iran, the area of ancient Persia, has been its most directly threatening enemy. We all witnessed the buildup of Iran’s nuclear program—and its obliteration, with the help of America dropping the massive ordnance into Iran’s mountainous nuclear-weapons facilities. The entire time, there was a sense of that “trembling” Zechariah predicted. But with the success of destroying Iran’s weapons-development facilities came a strange change—not only within Iran, which was forced to acquiesce to the demands of Israel and America, but a change of attitude and comportment, almost immediately, within the leadership of all of Israel’s surrounding Arab-Islamic neighboring states. Middle Eastern States, most of which had great numbers within those nations, were shouting “death to Israel” and “death to America!”

So, have we seen Zechariah’s “cup of trembling and burdensome stone” prophecy fulfilled? I believe we have seen the first, perhaps, of several stages of that prophecy fulfilled. But more is to come. We know that because of the Gog-Magog assault that is yet to come.

What I find most fascinating is that Zechariah 12 seems to be setting the world up for an even greater “cup of trembling, that of a prophetic fulfillment that will truly cause all nations that have come against God’s chosen people to be “cut to pieces,” as Zechariah also prophesied.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (Zechariah 12:3)

We have watched within a week or two President Donald Trump perform what almost might be called a geopolitical/historical miracle. He has managed to gather most all of Israel’s enemy neighbors into a peace corral, of sorts. Those leaders who have perennially attacked Israel with a collective passion flowing from an eon of hate-filled rage are suddenly praising Trump’s efforts and are totally aboard the twenty-point peace plan, under what Trump terms the “Board of Peace.”

I always considered the prophecy Paul gave in his epistle to the Corinthians exclusively a cry for peace because of the fear of nuclear war that would bring worldwide destruction. Here is that prophecy:

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

The fear of nuclear war—of worldwide destruction—will no doubt cause a future “cry for peace and safety,” as Paul predicted. However, we might be witnessing the first stage of this prophecy being set up for fulfillment.

The sudden climbing upon the Trump Board of Peace train by Israel’s blood-drenched, avowed enemies is not a “cry for peace and safety” out of fear of worldwide nuclear war, as I view this profound effort for Middle East peace led by the American president (a president, incidentally, the entire nation of Israel is cheering as a reincarnation of Cyrus the Great).

To my way of looking at this phenomenal turn of events, this is not a fear-engendered cry for peace, but rather a jubilant expression that now we have a real and—as Mr. Trump proclaims—everlasting peace.

This current “cry for peace and safety” smacks, perhaps, of the moment Paul referred to: the moment sudden destruction comes and those left behind will not escape.

Whatever the case, we know it is a sudden and strange turn of events, this peace that defies millennia of failed efforts to achieve. It is, to me, one of the most powerful newly developing indicators of how near this generation must be to the Rapture.

Here again is how to not miss that great event and be left behind to face the “sudden destruction” that, according to Jesus, will then befall those who cannot escape:

That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)