We look around at the insanity that seemingly dominates culture and society and ask: “Has the world gone completely mad?” The Bible has the answer, of course. Paul the great apostle, for example, gives an answer:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1:29–32)

We are in the middle of a generation that embraces evil, as we have looked at many times. I’ve proposed in these commentaries that Jesus’ own words give us the truth about a future generation like the one described by Paul. It is the Lord’s prophecy about the generation who will be alive when He next intervenes catastrophically into the wicked affairs of humankind. He said it will be just like it was during the time of Lot Sodom.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. (Luke 17:28–30)

While there are many things we can call “evil” and “wicked,” there is a specific form of wickedness that marked Lot’s day, as we all know. God came down to Abraham, Lot’s uncle, to say He was going to check Sodom to see if all the wickedness was taking place. Of course, God knew the state of that debauched society and culture. After Abraham tried to bargain with the Lord, asking if he would spare the city if a certain number of righteous people could be found, and only Lot fell into that category, God destroyed the city after removing the only righteous people–Lot and his daughters.

The primary evil reported in the Word of God concerning God’s judgment of and destruction of Sodom was the sexual debauchery rampant in the city. The sexual wickedness, according to Genesis 19, was that of homosexuality.

Again, Paul mentions this:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. (Romans 1:26–27) 

Jude tells of this matter that angers the God of Heaven to the point that He must act in His perfect righteousness. Many who read the little book of Jude are struck by his word that is ubiquitous in his prophecy for the very end of humanity’s war against the God who created them. That word is “ungodly”:

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. (Jude 1: 14-19)

Jude, in his condemning prophecy about ungodliness, gave an example of the wickedness that would bring God’s wrath.

Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. (Jude 1:7–8)

Jesus, Paul, and Jude were speaking of our own time so near the end of this Age of Grace, I have no doubt. The following news story should make it clear as to the above prophecies could very likely apply to this very hour.

A video of a mock “de-baptism” ritual at a Michigan LGBT “pride” festival has emerged on Instagram.

The video shows a man in an orange shirt reading “God Hates FAGs” pointing an unplugged hairdryer labelled “reason” at a woman’s head.

The Instagram user said she underwent the ceremony at Lansing Pride 2025.

She reflected on being baptized in the Mormon Church at age 8, saying she had been baptized without “informed spiritual consent.” She described the “de-baptism” as a moment of release and healing, writing, “Dry, whole, and finally, by my own choice.”

The booth offering the ritual was hosted by “Michigan Atheists,” which described the ceremony as “a powerful act of self-affirmation.” The group also pledged support for gender ideology under the banner of “freedom of expression.” It plans to offer similar activities at “Royal Oak Pride” and “Ann Arbor Pride” later this summer.

So-called “de-baptism” (and “un-baptism”) ceremonies have also become common amongst satanist groups.

“Lansing Pride” itself featured over 200 vendors and performances. This year’s events included the “Free to Bee Family Zone” for children, which offered drag story times, free books, and LGBT-themed activities aimed at “empowering kids to embrace and celebrate differences.” (“LGBT ‘pride’ participants undergo sacrilegious ‘de-baptism’ ritual,” LifeSite, Rapture Ready News July 3, 2025)

What more appropriate word to use in defining such wickedness than that word used by the prophet Jude in describing Christ’s return to judge such evil? “Ungodly” is that word and, as Jude describes, ungodliness is worthy of God’s wrath.

For those caught up in the wickedness of this age so near the Tribulation, here again is how to accept God’s forgiveness and not come under His wrath and judgment that is swiftly approaching.

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)

The apothegm “life often imitates art” has never been more applicable than when considering today’s headlines in the literary shadow of the novel 1984. And that maxim, upon considering that novel, shows, I think, just where at this late hour of the age this generation stands upon God’s prophetic timeline.

Many years ago I wrote a novel along the lines of Orwell’s fiction, all the while trying to stay within exactly how things are prophesied to unfold in God’s Word. That novel, Jacob’s Trouble 666, is still available, I think, on Amazon.

While my effort in writing the story of my protagonist, Jacob Zen, didn’t rise to the level of the brilliance in creativity and syntax of Orwell’s portrayal of his protagonist, Winston Smith, Jacob’s Trouble 666 did, like 1984, foreshadow, I’m confident, what we have long since begun to witness big time. That is, life is now imitating art, just as both Orwell’s novel and mine were intended to present.

George Orwell’s story now seems almost prescient in its conception. While mine didn’t anticipate as accurately how the world would be divided as the dictatorships developed to their present state.

By that I mean Jacob’s Trouble 666, although biblically centered, was, as is most of my writing, America-centric. Orwell’s fictional account of the coming global dictatorship was…well…global in scope.

Not only that, his was British-centric, which, as we will see below is important to examination of a current news item as relative to prophetic development, in my view.

A synopsis of 1984 novel provides futuristic geographical orientation for the reader.

1984 is set in a dystopian future where the world is divided into three superstates constantly at war: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. The story unfolds in Airstrip One (formerly Great Britain), a province of the totalitarian superstate of Oceania, which is under the control of the Party led by the figurehead Big Brother.

Britain has, in the story, become the center of power for an all-controlling dictatorship. I don’t know to what extent George Orwell looked into Bible prophecy and the foretold coming Antichrist when forming his storyline. But I have to believe he at least was cursorily familiar with the book of Daniel, Revelation chapter 13 and beyond.

Whatever the case, the author, by accidental good fortune, highly intuitive reasoning, or through premonition provided by a muse on his shoulder, hit upon where such dictatorship might emerge to Antichrist-level control. And to astute observers of recent developments in Great Britain and the UK in general, things are trending swiftly toward change that is disturbing.

While Islamic influence is becoming overbearing in many areas of Britain –and European nations in general— the cultural degrading being foisted upon the society is nothing short of dystopian.

The following news indicates that movement into Orwell-like dystopia.

The UK government is considering a mandatory digital ID for all citizens and legal residents in the UK.  And the NHS has plans to sequence and store the DNA of all babies born in England.  We are fast approaching a dystopian digital surveillance state, similar to what China’s communist government has implemented.

The UK government is considering a proposal for a mandatory digital ID, known as the “BritCard,” which would require the entire population to download it and connect their birth records to the “One Login” system.

The BritCard scheme was proposed by the “think tank” Labour Together. Labour Together’s team is made up largely of former Labour MPs, former local government politicians, former civil servants and former politicians’ assistants.  It is influential within the Labour Party and, currently, the Labour government under Keir Starmer.

Labour Together claims that, according to a poll they had conducted, 80% of Britons would support a digital identity card.  We would like to know who they polled – their office staff?

“For a progressive society to work, it needs to be able to collectively agree who is allowed to join it. Because it will exclude those who cannot join it, it needs to give its members proof that they belong,” Labour Together said.  “Progressive” doesn’t mean that society is improving or people’s lives are going to improve; it means that society is progressing towards the Globalists’ aims of totalitarianism…

Meanwhile, the Bank of England and HM Treasury are currently in the design phase for a potential digital pound, the UK’s central bank digital currency (“CBDC”), with an Academic Advisory Group supporting the process.  In January 2025, the Bank of England announced plans for a “Digital Pound Lab” to enable “hands-on experimentation” as part of its preparation for a potential CBDC. (“Digital dystopia looms large in the UK,” by Rhoda Wilson, The Expose, June 26, 2025)

Those who watch (Mark 13:37)-who view all these goings-on-see the prophetic shadows creeping across the European landscape. Just as we are witnessing the peace efforts spreading across the Middle East-an effort that will ultimately bring the “peace that will destroy many,” we know the moving forward of the global, digital economic efforts will result in enslavement for that dystopian Tribulation world in which all will be forced to accept the mark and number in the worship of Antichrist, or face starvation or death by beheading.

While the actual year 1984 is long since in the past, George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is casting shadows into and over our time, it seems. But it is God’s infallible, Holy Word –His prophetic Word—from which those who seek to know where we are on Heaven’s timeline for the wrap-up of this great supernatural novel (the Greatest Story Ever Told) finds truth not fiction.

We have indeed been seeing “all these things begin to come to pass” for quite some time. And it is past time that we who name the Majestic Name of Jesus Christ be “looking up, for our Redeemer is drawing near!”

Here again is how to be rescued by that Redeemer before that time of satanic evil of the Tribulation begins.

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)

We should all be on the same prophetic page, but that isn’t the case. Prophecy “watchers” are attuned to differing wavelengths on a prophetic spectrum. And it’s a man-made rather than a biblically constructed spectrum that is divisive to the point of being a disservice to God’s family here on Earth.

Here I intend to present my thoughts on Bible prophecy yet in the future, which I maintain is based only in truth from God’s Word—in contrast to what I perceive as a falling-away from that truth at this late hour of the Church Age.

By this, I’m not in any way intimating that this falling-away is the apostasies (departure or falling away) foretold in 2 Thessalonians 2. That sort of departure from the faith denies gospel truth that belief in Jesus Christ alone for salvation is the only way to God the Father and Heaven (John 14:6).

Although some who are truly saved by their belief in Christ say there is no pre-Trib Rapture, I do believe they are misguided to the point of being damaging to the great cause of Christ. These observers of today’s issues and events relative to the anticipation of prophecy to be fulfilled are, as the title has it, “looking out.” But they are not, as the second part of the title says, “looking up.”

They are watching for issues and events that signal fulfillment of things prophesied in God’s Word. But they aren’t anticipating the any-moment call of the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers who have lived and died during the Church Age—this Age of Grace.

These who watch are “looking out”–that is, at things going on around them, but they aren’t “watching” the way Jesus and the Apostle Paul instructed.

Jesus said to “watch” for the signs He gave in His Olivet Discourse:

What I say unto one, I say unto all. Watch. (Mark 13:37.

The watchers of the first sort–the ones who only “look out” at things happening that appear to be setting the stage for the fulfillment of prophecy—aren’t following through on Jesus’ words in His final instruction about “watching”:

And when you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head. For your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28)

Those who only “watch” the signals of prophetic stage-setting miss the true point of the Lord’s instruction. Those of us who are believers–who are saved by His wonderful grace—must be looking for Him, our Redeemer, not for a fulfilled prophecy other than that of the Rapture.

And what these mistaken observers watch for is the start of the Tribulation, that seven-year period–Daniel’s seventieth week—the second half of which Jesus said will be the most horrendous time of all human history. And the first half of era won’t be much better, according to the twenty-one specific judgments given in the book of Revelation, following Christ’s call to the Church (Revelation 4).

That time of horror will be ruled over for the most part by Antichrist. He will be history’s most vicious tyrant, a dictator indwelt by Satan who will demand worship (Revelation 13).

So those who are in grievous error of watching exclusively for signals of the Tribulation, rather than for the imminent (any-moment) call by Jesus into the clouds of Glory in the Rapture, are looking for Antichrist. This is not what our Lord commanded. This is not what the great Apostle Paul, who was given this mystery by God the Holy Spirit to divulge to believers during this Church Age, told us. We are, Paul said:

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)

There is no “blessed hope” in looking for Antichrist and the Tribulation. And there is no comfort in looking for God’s wrath that will befall rebellious humankind during that terrible seven years of judgment upon this fallen planet.

About that comforting blessed hope, Paul writes:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18) 

We are to take great comfort–encouragement—as we watch all these things that signal that the Tribulation is very near beginning: things that will bring about the worst time in human history. We who are saved by the precious blood of Christ will not be here to suffer God’s judgment. God’s Word tells us:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

The Church–all born-again believers in Christ—is mentioned nineteen times in Revelation chapters 1–3. The Church is not in Revelation’s prophetic picture again until chapter 19, where we read that the saints, robed in pure white, accompany King Jesus back to put an end to Armageddon. The Church will be in Heaven, not on Earth, during Daniel’s seventieth week–the Tribulation.

Now there is great comfort in that promise!

So while we look outward at what’s going on—the evil that is so troubling to others—believers should find comfort, even thrilling anticipation, that we are about to see our Lord face to face in Heaven. We are, as instructed by our coming King, to be “Looking up,” as well as watching the issues and events that are setting the prophetic stage, and working to bring others to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Here, again, is how to be saved from the sin that condemns those who have not accepted Christ’s redeeming forgiveness.

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)

We can see on the prophetic horizon a monstrous beast lumbering in this direction with a woman riding astride its back. Dave Hunt, you might recall, wrote a provocative—even controversial—book on the subject: The Woman Rides a Beast. Most literalists believe (as did Hunt) the “woman” represents the apostate religious system that will be Antichrist’s mistress, as a counterfeit of the Church, the Bride of Jesus Christ.

The matters involved present a terrifying specter—a foreshadowing of bloody things to come, given John to record on the Isle of Patmos almost two thousand years ago:

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. (Revelation 17:3–6)

Historicists–those who believe that most prophecy, including this one, has been fulfilled historically—say this all took place during the Roman-based persecutions throughout early Church history. The prophecy, they say, has nothing to do with things to come, except in the most general sense. Certainly, the prophecy has nothing specific to do with an end-times persecution leading to the most terrible time in human history. Such a view presents a torturous task for historicist adherents who try to explain the Revelation 17 prophecy of the wicked woman on the hideous beast.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:12–14)

This powerful ten-nation entity and the beast have no historical basis as accomplished fact. Any dealing with this part of the prophecy from the perspective of any but the futurist view—that there is much Bible prophecy yet to be literally fulfilled—requires spiritualizing, allegorizing, or else applying pure sophistry to everything to do with these Scriptures.

Contemporary headlines, as they do for so many prophecies yet future, make the case for the Revelation 17 prophecy coming into view in our time. It is literally shaping up for fulfillment before the eyes of those with prophetic discernment. We’ve used these commentaries many times to dissect and examine news stories that show the governments of the world reconfiguring into what George H. W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Barack Obama, and many others have termed “New World Order.” The dire global economic crises that have moved toward critical mass just within the past couple of years have shown the inextricable national fiscal interlinkages. It has become obvious that the world is being forced into a monetary mold that could easily morph into something like the ten-kingdom power bloc God’s Word says will give its power and authority to the beast.

I believe it will be the Rapture of the Church that will quickly bring about that ten-kings fiscal power bloc.

So, it’s reasonable to expect the harlot who rides the beast—the agglomerate ten kings and kingdoms of Revelation 17—to be somewhere in the prophetic picture, if indeed we are witnessing that monster in the making.

There has always been much talk, among those who watch for signals of the end times, about a final Catholic pope who might be Antichrist’s False Prophet. I ‘m not one who believes a future pope will necessarily become that second beast of Revelation 13.

However, the religious organization the pontiff heads will, I believe, be a major part of the nucleus of the religious amalgamation outlined in Revelation 17.

It’s quite interesting to consider here the perspective of one who came out of the Catholic Church and who I believe is one of the key observers of these profound times we face as we watch for our Lord’s return.

The new pope appears to be well qualified to be the head of an international organization. He can speak five languages including English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese and he can also read Latin and German. He is well educated with advanced degrees in Mathematics and Theology. But is he qualified to be the head of the church that Catholics believe was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ? The short answer is a resounding “No!” Jesus Christ, God’s perfect man and man’s perfect God, is the only one qualified! He is the One who purchased His church with His own blood and He is its only Head and only foundation (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor. 3:11).

Catholics have foolishly replaced Christ as Head of the church with the pope. This is why the Reformers referred to the Pope as the antichrist, which means, the one who replaces or stands in the place of Christ. The Bible has many warnings concerning antichrists and trusting in mortal men. “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands…But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him” (Jer. 17:5–7). “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146:3).

Will the Pope Be Liberal, Conservative or Biblical?

Many Catholics are wondering if Pope Leo XIV will be liberal or conservative on social and political issues. Yet, they should be more concerned with biblical issues that have eternal consequences. If he continues to preach a false gospel that keeps 1.4 billion Catholics on the wide road to destruction, he is accursed (Gal. 1:6-9). (“What Will Catholics Do with Pope Leo XIV?”, Mike Gendron, Proclaiming the Gospel, June 2025)

The new pope is at the center of the ongoing reach of the Catholic Church into the European structure from which the Antichrist regime, I believe, will emerge. The following shows that continuing relationship between the EU and the Vatican.

Led by its President, H.E. Mgr Mariano Crociata, the COMECE delegation introduced itself and engaged in discussion with the Holy Father on the current state of the European integration process and the European Union’s role in promoting peace and integral human development in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly evolving world. During the audience, Pope Leo XIV underscored the significance of COMECE’s mission of dialogue with the institutions of the European Union.

During the meeting, a number of pressing themes were addressed. These included the urgent need to promote dialogue and peace both within Europe and globally; the challenges posed by migration and asylum; the social implications of emerging technologies, particularly those based on Artificial Intelligence (AI); and the erosion of democracy in various regions.

The new pontiff particularly emphasized the Christian roots of Europe and their significance for the European project, while also acknowledging the presence of other cultural and religious traditions, and highlighting the importance of guiding younger generations in their faith and supporting their integral development. (“Pope Leo XIV to Host EU Bishops’ Delegation in First Official [Meeting],” CatholicVote.org, https://catholicvote.org)

This brings home to my thinking how many of the megachurches within Christianity are, similarly to the EU “summits,” contributing to setting up platforms that will produce the woman who will one day ride upon the back of the beast government of Revelation 17. Like in the EU get-together, there is compromise at the heart of these mega-efforts at man-made salvation.

The methodologies employed by such churches include the idea to bring together the saved and unsaved in a sort of “summit.” The idea is one of thesis (Christian faith) and antithesis (the lost or unsaved), with the objective of producing synthesis. The “summits,” in these cases, aim to bring about dialogue between the two opposite worldviews to produce answers (synthesis) that both sides can live with.

The process is satanic at its core, denying that God’s way to redemption and reconciliation is necessary. Apostasy is the result—the Laodicean model for the end of the age.

Be sure that you’re not a part of helping that woman of wickedness climb upon the back of the beast that will one day be scarlet with the blood of the Tribulation saints.

Many years ago, I read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, the Russian writer considered one of the great literary masters of the novelist sort. His masterpiece, portraying in great detail Napoleon Bonaparte’s war-making on Czarist Russia is, once you have the courage to get into it, spellbinding. At least it was in my case.

I have two volumes—each a different English translation, and each well into the thousands of pages. I’ve read both, and have gone back to read portions again and again.

I say “once you have the courage to get into it” because it’s an ancient report of a long-ago war, and dedicating one’s self to such a daunting read indeed takes courage–or something like it. There is a long-time stigma attached to reading overly long tomes, and War and Peace is almost always the one held up as the example of the long-winded reads.

However, the book is a brilliant, although fictional, accounting of man waging war at its most terrible and personal, yet most fascinating, level. Yet we think of such wars of the distant past—such conflicts—as irrelevant to life today. It’s all history. We must deal with now…and with the future. We have our own threats—and they’re potentially globally destructive—so we find it unproductive, a waste of time, to live the lives of characters of antiquity such as Prince Andrei Nikolayevich and Natasha Rostova.

Wars of our own time are everywhere we look, and they genuinely and in real time threaten our own existence.

War and Peace is simply too close to home, and most today shy away from dwelling on the reports of actual conflicts and the efforts at peaceful resolution.

But matters of war and peace within God’s prophetic Word cannot, for the Christian who is commanded to examine the future through that Word, be avoided, if obeying Heaven’s instruction. Jesus said: “What I say unto one, I say unto all. Watch” (Mark 13:37).

The Lord was talking about the signals of His coming again to watch for as the end of the age approaches. He said, for example, that there will be “wars and rumors of war.” We who are in God’s family are to watch, therefore, for these prophesied wars and rumors of war. I believe this warning by Jesus, the Greatest of all Prophets, points to wars and rumors of war as being most profound as an end-of-the-age indicator, second only to the nation Israel itself.

God’s Word also states that at the same time there are wars and rumors thereof, there will be a great cry for peace and safety. As a matter of fact, we’re told that when there is that end-times cry for peace and safety, we can expect sudden destruction to fall (“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]).

A recent news article indicates proliferating signals, I think, of the growing global call for peace and safety.

Pope Leo XIV and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call today, with the Pope asking Putin to “make a gesture that would promote peace,” while emphasizing dialogue.

Earlier today Russian news outlets reported that Leo and Putin had spoken by phone, but it was not until a little after 9 p.m. Rome time that the Holy See Press Office confirmed the news.

A statement issued by the Vatican read:

During the phone call, in addition to matters of mutual interest, special attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine and peace.

The Pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that would promote peace, stressed the importance of dialogue for the realization of positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict…

In his first address to the world and the Church on his first Sunday appearance after the election, Pope Leo called for an end to global conflicts. “Never again war,” he urged, citing the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Pakistan by name. (“Pope Leo holds first phone call with Vladimir Putin, urges him to ‘promote peace’,” Michael Haynes, Snr. Vatican Correspondent, LifeSite, June 4, 2025)

The dichotomy of war and peace have been a constant exigency in humankind’s history since the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden. I heard recently that there have been no more than 268 years of peace in all of recorded history. Certainly there has been no such lack of wars and rumors of war that I’ve known during my lifetime. Nor can I find any such periods of absence of war in my, admittedly less than stellar, academic study of humanity’s long history. I’ll just have to trust the statistic, which I heard from Dr. David Jeremiah, who said the 268 years of peace number came from an article in the New York Times.

Again, the Word of God tells the reason for the war that rages and moves humanity toward Armageddon. The war in fallen humankind began in Eden, and it will end at Armageddon.

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. (James 4:1–2)

There is no peace in this fallen world other than the peace the Lord Jesus Christ gives upon salvation of souls. The Lord said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27)

The person who doesn’t know Jesus Christ as Savior can’t find the peace of which Jesus spoke, unless, as James in the Scripture above says, the person “asks.” One has only to ask to receive God’s forgiveness and achieve the inner peace the Holy Spirit gives when He comes to live within the believer.

Here again is how to come to that moment of peace  Jesus promises to all who but “ask”:

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 writing many of these commentaries over the months—and even years—my continuing mantra has been that I believe Jesus’ words about “the days of Lot” found in Luke 17:28–30 constitute the most prominent indication of where this generation stands on God’s prophetic timeline.

Here we have the Creator saying simply and without equivocation that the day when He next catastrophically intervenes into the wicked affairs of humankind will be a mirror image of Lot’s time in Sodom. Jesus will, He said, next be revealed when business is going along as usual.

Just as Jesus removed the only righteous people from that evil city, He will remove the only righteous people at that future time. Destruction of the rebellious people who are left behind will, the Lord said, begin that very day. This is the great event we know as the Rapture of the Church (all believers in Jesus Christ for salvation of their souls).

Just prior to the statement about the days of Lot and Lot being taken to safety from the destruction to come, Jesus said this about a rescue previous to Lot’s:

And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26–27) 

That antediluvian world had become so corrupt, both morally and genetically, that God destroyed it all, except for righteous Noah and his family, plus two of all species. Again, Jesus said it will be the same, in the sense that at the time of Rapture, the righteous will be placed in Christ as a type of “Ark” in the clouds above the earth.

We’ve looked many times at the indicators that our days are like they were during the days of Lot in Sodom. The wickedness of today—rapes and murders; sex trafficking; evil perpetrated on children; the murder of little ones in their mothers’ wombs; anti-God evil that goes against God’s order of things, like transsexual activities, homosexuality, and pornography spread by internet across the world—has likely exceeded the evil of Lot’s day.

And God warned Noah of what He was about to do in those days for all the anti-God wickedness He saw on the earth:

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. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. (Genesis 6:11–13)

The one feature of the evil that seemed to most disgust God in this scriptural description is the violence that had, to the Lord, become intolerable. The following informs of the end-times violence of these evil days in which we live.

Violence is more widespread today than it has been in decades, with armed conflict touching every major region, according to data analyzed by The Telegraph.

Last year, varying levels of conflict were reported across at least 50 different countries, from the civil war in Myanmar to extreme violence between drug cartels in Mexico, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).

Experts predict that the trend will probably continue throughout 2025 and beyond.

Across the 50 countries, there were at least 56 active conflicts—one of the largest quantities since 1946—“with fewer conflicts being resolved, either militarily or through peace agreements,” the Global Peace Index estimated.

“The level of violence happening is certainly at one of its highs since the Second World War ,” said Clionadh Raleigh, the founder and director of ACLED.

The only year to exceed 56 was 2023, which recorded 59 armed conflicts, according to certain estimates.

Armed conflicts are increasing everywhere. (“World most violent it has been in decades. At least 50 different countries have been hit by armed conflict in the past year, researchers find,” The Telegraph, Rapture Ready News, May 25, 2025)

Each and every day, reports come in of violence—much of it of the most heinous sort. All we have to do is remember October 7, 2023, and the savage attacks on the Israeli gathering to understand the incorrigible nature of the violence we’re witnessing.

The evil is incorrigible because the rage is the reprobate, fallen minds of humankind being led by Israel-hating, humanity-hating demonic forces, with Satan directing the violence.

Jesus said that if He did not return at a specific time at Armageddon, no flesh would be saved. Thankfully, He will do just as promised.

Thankfully, too, He will return in the clouds of Glory above this judgment-bound planet to remove all believers to Himself—the Ark of safety—just as He lifted Noah and his family above the destructive waters that fell upon the incorrigible world of that antediluvian time.

Here again is how to be aboard that Blessed Ark just before God’s judgment must fall:

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)

We wanted to let our Prophecy Line community know that Ed Wood was Promoted to Glory on May 24, 2025, while hiking in God’s great creation — one of his most favorite things to do.

Ed had many friends and admirers within this forum due to his astute knowledge in matters of Bible prophecy, and his willingness to engage his brothers and sisters in Christ in vibrant conversations about such matters.

One thing is sure, our brother Ed is enjoying Life in Eternity like we can’t fathom from our earthly perspective.

We will miss him greatly and look forward to being with him in Glory some Eternal Day.

May the angels receive you in great glory, brother Ed. Until then….

Those who write on current issues and events as related to Bible prophecy yet future have, as often as not, been somewhat off the mark. For example, I’ve viewed the weather (the climate changes in the seasons) just as weather, with little prophetic significance; others, however, see weather as, in some cases, pointing directly to prophetic development.

Bill Koenig and John Maturin’s take on the weather as related to treatment of Israel does intrigue me. And others writing and speaking in that vein have occasionally captured my curiosity—like, for example, Hurricane Katrina during the George W. Bush administration and things going on at that time with the treatment of the Jewish state.

That hurricane was indeed an attention-getter, and it remains one of the most violent on record to have hit our nation.

Most writers of this sort have based their regard of the increase of violent weather as a sign of the end times on the following Scripture:

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; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25–26) 

Again, I have, over my many decades on the planet, known of violent weather phenomena—especially since I’ve lived for much of that time here in the mid-South, which is considered on the fringe of Tornado Alley. As a matter of fact, we missed being hit directly by a tornado while living in Jackson, Mississippi, by less than a city block.

So when learning of foul weather, even the sometimes unusual outbreaks across the region or the world, I haven’t been particularly turned toward the “seas and waves roaring” of Luke 21:25 as being a significant indicator of end-times prophecy.

However, learning of the current weather phenomena raging across the nation and world, in conjunction with the other geophysical activity—earthquakes and the like—we are, I believe, experiencing the forewarning in Luke’s account.

Some of the stories of such concurrent, angry weather plaguing diverse regions are listed on Rapture Ready News on May 20: 

• Tornado hits St. Louis metro area, leaving 5 dead and causing widespread damage
  A destructive tornado struck the St. Louis metropolitan area, Missouri, on May 16, 2025, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, according to city officials. The storm caused significant damage to infrastructure and homes, with over 5 000 properties affected. At least seven storm-related deaths were reported across multiple states on May 16, with some reports mentioning at least 10 fatalities.
• First-ever Dust Storm Warning issued for Chicago, visibility drops to near zero across metro area
  The first-ever Dust Storm Warning for the Chicago metro area was issued on May 16, 2025, as winds of up to 113 km/h (70 mph) carried dust into the city. The storm reduced visibility to near zero and affected major routes across Chicago and surrounding areas.
• Tornado Emergency issued as violent tornado strikes Marion, Illinois
  A violent tornado struck south of Marion in Williamson County, Illinois, between 18:00 and 19:00 CDT on May 16, 2025, prompting the U.S. National Weather Service to issue a rare Tornado Emergency for the area. The tornado destroyed homes near Market Road, caused significant structural damage across southern Marion, and formed part of a broader Midwest outbreak that killed at least 16 people.
• Violent tornado strikes London, Kentucky, killing at least 9
  A violent tornado struck the city of London in Laurel County, Kentucky, at 23:49 LT on May 16, 2025, killing at least nine people and injuring many others. The tornado caused extensive damage along Keavy Road, KY 1006, and Old Whitley Road.

These were but a few storms raging within the US. Tornados are also striking in places around the world where such storms are almost never reported.

My own lack of discernment to this point regarding the “seas and waves roaring” has received enlightenment, it seems.

Jesus, when standing in the midst of them while He walked the streets of Jerusalem, chastised the religious hierarchy for failing to discern the prophetic times. They were looking into the eyes of their Messiah—the King of Israel and the very Son of God. Yet they, with all their training and religiosity, couldn’t discern the matters they were supposed to relay to the people.

It is most interesting, in the context of our commentary here, that the Lord used weather to make His point:

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16: 1-3)

It seems that lack of discernment regarding the matter of the weather in my case needed adjustment—no, needed correction!

The prophecy regarding the seas and waves roaring, which I’ve mostly considered to mean the sea of humanity in tumult among the nations of the world, it’s obvious to me now, is primarily a geophysical phenomenon that will mark the end times. I continue to believe that, secondarily, the “seas and waves roaring” also refers to humanity in turmoil as the time of Christ’s return nears. It has, I’m of the conviction, a dual meaning.

As with all other prophecies in God’s Word, we must as believers discern the times we’re in with regard to Christ’s Second Coming. The next prophecy is the one from which we in God’s family should take great comfort, as Paul urged:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thes 4: 16-18)