Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Trump, Iran, And Israel’s Place In Future Bible Prophecy


Trump, Iran, And Israel’s Place In Future Bible Prophecy


It’s clear that God has used the president to aid and defend Israel. I believe that’s why the Lord kept him safe from the assassins’ bullets in 2024. But his claim of responsibility for Israel’s survival not only assigns undue credit to himself, but it also displays ignorance of Bible prophecy.

Let’s first tackle the matter of Israel’s place in the end times. Trump’s spiritual advisor, Paula White, adheres to a belief whereby the church brings in the golden age of the millennium. This teaching regards Israel’s 1948 reemergence as a nation as a fluke of history; as such, Israel is no different than any other country in the world. The Bible, however, reveals a much different picture of the future where Jesus, not the church, rules for a thousand years over the nations. Scripture also reveals the prominent place of Israel in His worldwide kingdom.

Although God has used Trump to advance His sovereign agenda in regard to Israel, He remains in total control of all that happens to the nation between now and the end of the Tribulation period. His purposes do not rest with any human ruler. Not only that, not even the antichrist with his brief acquisition of great power will be able to stop God’s purposes for the Jewish people.

The president’s usurping of glory due to the Lord is another matter. Trump doesn’t understand his role as God’s instrument in supporting Israel. Babe Ruth used a bat in hitting home runs that led to his great acclaim in the history of baseball, yet no one credits his bat with his ability to hit the ball so far.

A similar shortsightedness lies behind Trump’s insistence that ceasefires will lead to peace in the region. His failure to recognize Israel’s uniqueness in Bible prophecy blinds him to both the spiritual forces behind the Middle East wars and the demonic nature of Islam. It’s most definitely not a “religion of peace” but rather a political ideology that honors lying and killing as the means to further its quest for world domination.

As I wrote in last week’s Nearing Midnight, what we see today is a replay of what happened during the days of Queen Esther and Mordecai. Satan is the driving force behind Iran’s determination to destroy Israel, which will continue unabated until the end of the Gog and Magog war, when the Lord destroys the Persian forces and brings judgment to the nation. After that, the devil will continue his deadly campaign against the Jewish people until the end of the seven-year Tribulation.

Because the battle is primarily spiritual, ceasefires will only prolong the wars rather than bring any lengthy cessation of conflict in the region. This awareness led to my frustration with President Trump when he demanded that Israel not retaliate in response to Iran’s missile attack last weekend. His message conveyed an equivalence with Israel and Iran that ignores the entire history of the conflict as well as the Word of God. His apparent trust in Iran’s leaders to make a deal and stick to it is totally unwarranted.

I do not know what will happen in the coming days, weeks, and months in the war between Israel and Iran. But with history as our guide, we know that Iran will not give up on its desire to acquire nuclear weapons nor its desire to destroy Israel. With Scripture as our guide, we know the Persian state’s desire to inflict as much terror as possible on the Jewish state will not end until the Lord destroys it.

What I do know is that all we are seeing today, including President Trump’s belief that he can bring lasting peace to the region with a deal that will somehow allow him to declare victory over Iran, is bringing us closer to the time when we will meet Jesus in the air. Both the headlines we read and all the things hidden from our sight are furthering the Lord’s agenda for Israel’s future.

God will continue to use human rulers to serve His purposes, but make no mistake, He will finish His purposes for the Jewish people and Jerusalem, as He decreed in Daniel 9:24“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.”

How do we know the Lord didn’t accomplish all these things in the past? The key event in the seventieth week has never happened in all of history since He spoke these words. As a result, we can be very certain of this: Just as the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem played a key role in the fulfillment of the initial aspects of His promise, so they will do so in the inauguration of Jesus’ kingdom in which He will bless the world with a reign of righteousness that will never end.

It’s so easy to become dismayed at the daily flow of news regarding the Middle East conflict- well, at least for me it is. Bible prophecy, however, calms my heart as it reminds me that God is ultimately in control. It’s totally impossible for any ruler (even the future antichrist), peace deal favoring Iran at Israel’s expense, or future war to deter His plan to bless Israel with a gloriously restored kingdom, during which time we will reign with our Savior.

UK’s Social Media Ban: The Monumental Pretext For Total Digital Surveillance


UK’s Social Media Ban: The Monumental Pretext For Total Digital Surveillance



UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of a social media ban for under-16s represents one of the most sweeping advances of the surveillance state in modern British history. 

Framed as “giving children their childhoods back,” the policy demands that big tech implement mandatory age verification across major platforms. In reality it forces every adult in the UK to surrender identity documents, facial scans, passports or credit card details simply to post, scroll or communicate online. 

What begins as a restriction on minors quickly becomes a national digital ID regime, device-level monitoring on every phone and tablet, and the effective end of anonymous speech. 

The move builds directly on years of incremental power grabs and aligns with identical efforts now rolling out in Canada, Australia and the EU. It ignores the government’s own evidence of no causal harm from social media while accelerating the very infrastructure that hands the state permanent visibility into private lives. 

This is not reform. It is the construction of a permissioned internet where access itself requires state-approved identity.

The scale is breathtaking. Age verification will not stop at one app. It will require systems capable of checking every user on Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. 

Additional rules turn off livestreaming and stranger communication by defaultfor under-18s on gaming platforms, and impose overnight curfews plus infinite-scroll ‘breaks’ for under-18s. 

All of this rests on powers from the draconian Online Safety Act and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. The government wants regulations in place before Christmas 2026 and full enforcement by April 2027. 

The same government has a documented record of failing to protect children from grooming gangs, ideological capture in schools and rushed medical interventions. Now it claims only it can decide what counts as safe online.

Starmer insists innovators can simply “devise ways to protect our children” and that world leaders must act. The community note attached to his announcement highlights the absence of proof that the measures will deliver the promised benefits. 

Critics across platforms immediately pointed out the real target: control.

Big tech’s public statements reveal both resistance and their own power plays. YouTube warned that blanket bans push young people toward anonymous, less safe services and away from curated, educational content that parents and educators value. 

Meta went further, arguing that people should not be forced to hand over ID to dozens of separate services. The company instead floated device-level age checks at the operating system level so one verification could serve multiple apps. 

Meanwhile, an apparent exemption for BlueSky exposes the political character of the entire project. While mainstream platforms face mandatory age gates and identity checks, the left-leaning network popular with progressive activists, and containing open communities of “minor attracted persons,” appears set to escape the same restrictions. 

Multiple observers described the carve-out as a deliberate political decision rather than a technical oversight. The platform’s documented issues with extreme content and grooming-adjacent spaces make the selective enforcement even more glaring. 

If the goal were truly uniform child protection, no major service would receive special treatment. The exception instead suggests the rules will be applied most rigorously against platforms that host dissenting or non-progressive voices.

More....


The Peace With Iran May Have Unexpectedly Opened The Door To Ezekiel 38


The Peace With Iran May Have Unexpectedly Opened The Door To Ezekiel 38
 PNW STAFF



For much of the past year, Israel has achieved what many believed was impossible.

It has battered Iran's military infrastructure. It has weakened Hezbollah. It has struck deep into Iranian territory. It has demonstrated intelligence and military capabilities that few nations on earth can match. Even many of Israel's critics would acknowledge that the Jewish state emerged from this conflict having inflicted tremendous damage on its enemies.

And yet, despite all those battlefield victories, Israel now finds itself confronting a strategic paradox.

It may have won the war, only to discover that the peace is far more dangerous.

The emerging U.S.-Iran agreement championed by President Trump has been met with widespread skepticism and outright hostility across much of Israel's political spectrum. Israeli media outlets, opposition leaders, security analysts, and even members of Netanyahu's own coalition have criticized the agreement as one that leaves many of the core threats facing Israel unresolved. 

Reports indicate that key issues such as Iran's missile arsenal, support for regional proxy groups, and aspects of its nuclear program may remain outside the scope of the current negotiations.

That is the heart of Israel's dilemma.


Iran has been weakened, but not defeated.

Its military capabilities have been degraded, but not eliminated.

Its missile stockpiles remain significant. Its drone capabilities remain intact. Its proxy network has been damaged but not dismantled.


Hezbollah is perhaps the clearest example. Israel has succeeded in pushing the terror organization farther away from its northern border and has dramatically reduced its operational freedom. Yet Hezbollah still exists. Its leadership structure remains. Its fighters remain. Its ideology certainly remains. Even today, Israeli leaders insist that they will retain freedom of action in Lebanon because they do not trust that the threat has disappeared.

From a military perspective, Israel achieved much.

From a strategic perspective, the outcome is far murkier.

The deeper concern emerging in Jerusalem is not simply the agreement itself but what it reveals about the future of U.S.-Israel relations regarding Iran.

For years, Israeli governments operated under the assumption that they could influence American policy through Congress, public opinion, and longstanding alliances in Washington. During the Obama years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly challenged the White House over the Iran nuclear deal. He addressed Congress. He mobilized supporters. He fought publicly against policies he believed endangered Israel.

Today the situation is very different.

President Trump remains enormously influential within both the Republican Party and among evangelical Christians who have traditionally been some of Israel's strongest supporters. Yet Trump's priorities are increasingly centered on American economic interests, energy stability, avoiding prolonged wars, and securing diplomatic agreements that can reduce regional instability.

Those priorities do not always align perfectly with Israel's security calculations.

 Israeli analysts increasingly fear that once the agreement is signed on Friday, any future Israeli military action against Iran could be viewed in Washington as an effort to sabotage American diplomacy.

That reality leaves Israel with fewer options than it has enjoyed in decades.

Ironically, Netanyahu may find that challenging Obama was easier than navigating Trump.

Obama could be opposed publicly.

Trump is far more difficult to confront because many of Israel's traditional allies in Washington are reluctant to challenge him directly. Even strong pro-Israel voices appear cautious about publicly criticizing the president's approach.

Meanwhile, Iran may emerge from this arrangement with substantial economic relief while surrendering relatively little of its long-term strategic position. If sanctions are eased, investments resume, and trade routes reopen, Tehran could gain valuable breathing room to rebuild capabilities over time. Critics inside Israel fear exactly that outcome.

This is why many Israelis are viewing the agreement not as the culmination of victory but as the beginning of a new and uncertain chapter.

Yet for Christians who study Bible prophecy, there is another layer to this story.

The book of Ezekiel describes a future scenario in which Persia—modern-day Iran—again emerges as part of a coalition that ultimately moves against Israel. The remarkable aspect of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is not merely that Israel faces overwhelming threats. It is that God repeatedly emphasizes that He Himself intervenes to save His people.

Not America.

Not NATO.

Not military alliances.

God.

That does not diminish the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The United States remains Israel's most important ally and the partnership has produced enormous benefits for both nations.

But Scripture reminds us that Israel's ultimate security has never rested in Washington, London, or any earthly capital.

Perhaps that is one of the lessons emerging from today's events.

The war exposed a growing gap between America and Israel regarding how to handle Iran. It demonstrated the limits of Israeli influence over U.S. decision-making. It revealed how quickly geopolitical priorities can shift.

Most importantly, it showed once again that no alliance is permanent and no political arrangement is guaranteed.

And if Ezekiel is correct, the next confrontation with Iran may arrive under very different circumstances—with Israel discovering that the ally it once relied upon is no longer willing to fight the same battle.

That is why the ultimate lesson of this moment is not about military power, diplomacy, or oil prices.

It is about where Israel places its trust when the next crisis comes.




Starmer announces intention to implement facial recognition and digital ID to access social media


Starmer announces intention to implement facial recognition and digital ID to access social media



The UK government, reinforced by Keir Starmer at a press conference today, has announced its intention to ban social media access to under-16s from early next year.

The ban will be enforced using facial recognition software and digital IDs.  To enable this, everyone wishing to use social media will be subject to facial recognition and digital IDs.

Aside from the obvious destruction to online privacy and freedom of speech, and the totalitarian control over every aspect of our lives which will ensue, how accurate is the technology that the UK government is imposing on the entire population?

Today, the UK government announced a ban on social media access for all children under the age of 16.  Starmer is hoping the regulation will be passed through Parliament before Christmas and the ban enforced in the Spring of 2027.


Described as an “Australia plus” policy, this measure is one of the strictest online crackdowns in the democratic world and goes beyond the limits previously imposed in Australia.

The government plans to use “highly effective” age assurance systems, including age-recognition facial scans and digital IDs, to verify user ages.

Social media platforms that will require biometrics and digital IDs to be accessed will include:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X (formerly Twitter)
  • Snapchat
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

We should note that everyone, not just under-16s, will be subjected to facial scans and digital IDs – “to protect children online” is a ruse to implement control over the entire population using whatever digital technology they have at their disposal.

Apart from ending online privacy and aiming for complete control over the information we can share and have access to, their digital tools are not as fail-safe as they like to pretend.

Some might claim that some facial recognition software is  99% accurate.  But this is under controlled environments with high-quality, cooperative images – i.e. under laboratory conditions.  In real-world settings, the accuracy of facial recognition in sporting venues, for example, ranges from 36% to 87% depending on camera placement.

Coupled with facial recognition inaccuracies, social media platforms use artificial intelligence (“AI”) programmes to estimate user age through facial analysis.  Apart from the “estimation” of age, AI programmes themselves are not accurate. 


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Russia’s New Warning Shot


Russia’s New Warning Shot From Space
Martin Armstrong



For years, politicians have been obsessed with tanks, artillery, missiles, and troop counts while the real battlefield has quietly moved into space. The latest reports suggesting that Russian satellites may be capable of disrupting GPS signals on a continental scale should be sending shockwaves through military circles. If these findings prove accurate, then we are looking at a capability that extends far beyond simply making a driver’s navigation system malfunction. GPS is embedded in aviation, shipping, banking, telecommunications, emergency services, power grids, financial transactions, military operations, and virtually every aspect of modern infrastructure.

According to researchers, dozens of GPS interference events detected across Europe since 2019 may have originated from Russia’s EKS satellite constellation. These satellites were originally designed as part of Russia’s missile early-warning system, but testing suggests they may also possess the ability to transmit powerful signals capable of disrupting GPS reception across vast regions. The significance is not whether a disruption lasts a few seconds or a few minutes. The significance is proving the concept works. Once a nation demonstrates it can interfere with navigation systems from orbit, the entire strategic equation changes.

What many fail to appreciate is how dependent modern warfare has become on satellite navigation. Precision-guided weapons rely on GPS. Drones rely on GPS. Aircraft, ships, logistics networks, battlefield communications, and intelligence systems all depend on accurate positioning data. Remove that capability and armies suddenly find themselves operating under conditions that resemble an entirely different century. During the Ukraine conflict, both sides have aggressively pursued electronic warfare, jamming systems, and signal disruption technologies. What appears to be emerging now is the possibility of extending those capabilities far beyond localized battlefields and into continental-scale operations.


Financial markets depend on precise timing synchronization. Cellular networks require timing signals to coordinate traffic. Shipping companies use satellite navigation to move trillions of dollars worth of goods annually. Airlines depend on navigation systems to safely manage thousands of flights every day. Even modern agriculture relies heavily on GPS-guided equipment. The public views GPS as a convenience. Governments and corporations know it has become a critical piece of economic infrastructure.

The next major conflict will not resemble the wars of the twentieth century. Future wars will target infrastructure before populations even realize an attack has occurred. A cyberattack can disable communications. A satellite disruption can interfere with transportation networks. Financial systems can be disrupted electronically. Power grids can be targeted remotely. The battlefield increasingly consists of networks, satellites, data centers, and communications systems rather than simply soldiers crossing borders.


The timing is noteworthy. We are entering the most dangerous phase of the geopolitical cycle. The 2026 Panic Cycle year has already begun exposing vulnerabilities across the global system. Relations between Russia and NATO remain strained. The United States and China are engaged in a rapidly escalating technological competition. Military spending is rising globally. Governments everywhere are preparing for contingencies that most citizens never consider. Space is no longer a peaceful frontier. It has become a strategic domain where the major powers are competing for dominance.


What should concern policymakers is not merely that Russia may possess this capability. The real question is how many nations are developing similar systems. The United States, China, Russia, and other powers have invested heavily in electronic warfare, anti-satellite technology, cyberwarfare, and space-based military assets. Every major power understands that controlling information, communications, and navigation systems may prove more decisive than controlling territory itself.