Biden HHS Rescinds Protections

The Biden administration has issued a new proposal seeking to amend conscience protections for healthcare workers and institutions that wish to refrain from performing abortions and other procedures that violate their religious beliefs, drawing concerns from pro-life activists. In a final rule slated for publication in the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its intention to partially rescind a rule implemented by the Trump administration in 2019. The rule, due to take effect 60 days later, amends the 2019 rule and returns federal policy to “the framework created by the February 23, 2011, final rule entitled, ‘Regulation for the Enforcement of Federal Health Care Provider Conscience Protection Laws.’”

The 2019 rule, titled “Protecting Statutory Conscience Rights in Health Care; Delegations of Authority,” contained several provisions outlining explicit protections enabling “individuals, entities, and health care entities to refuse to perform, assist in the performance of, or undergo certain health care services or research activities to which they may object for religious, moral, ethical, or other reasons.” The rule was blocked by federal courts and was never able to go into effect.

The Biden administration’s proposal eliminates several provisions outlining protections for individuals and healthcare facilities that receive federal grants, contracts or loans. Specific declarations include protections stating that federal law shall not require individuals “to perform or assist in the performance of any sterilization procedure or abortion if his performance or assistance in the performance of such procedure or abortion would be contrary to his religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

Protections also prohibit mandating that recipients of federal funds make their “facilities available for the performance of any sterilization procedure or abortion if the performance of such procedure or abortion in such facilities is prohibited by the recipient on the basis of religious beliefs or moral convictions” and “provide personnel” for the provisions of said procedures. The 2019 rule also forbids discrimination in employment against people who refuse to participate in abortions or sterilizations.

Part of the rule remains in place, including a section proclaiming that certain federal statutes “protect the rights of individuals, entities, and health care entities to refuse to perform, assist in the performance of, or undergo certain health care services or research activities to which they may object for religious, moral, ethical, or other reasons.” The provision also maintains that “such laws also protect patients from being subjected to certain health care or services over their conscientious objection.”

The department’s proposal comes a year after it attempted to amend the 2019 rule in a proposed rule titled “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Statutes.” As noted by the pro-life advocacy group CatholicVote, the proposal would have had the effect of returning federal policy to the way it was in 2011. More than 9,600 people submitted letters to the Biden administration against the proposal in response to a campaign started by CatholicVote warning that changes to the 2019 rule would revoke the moral exemption for employers who did not want to pay for abortifacients in their employer-sponsored healthcare plans. The proposed rule did not go into effect.

Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, addressed the new rule in a statement. “President Biden is once again showing his allegiance to pro-abortion groups and their demands,” she said. “His administration is willing to trample on the rights of millions of healthcare workers by changing a rule designed to protect them from having to perform abortions against their religious or ethical convictions,” Tobias added. She said, “This administration has been more than willing to comply with the demands of pro-abortion groups and their allies.”

Biblical Connection: A nation that does not accept the sanctity of life is a nation that puts itself in the crosshairs of God’s judgments.

PRAY: Pray these regulations that force believers and businesses to assist with or perform abortions will be stopped and the unborn will be protected.

Iran-Backed Proxies Escalate Attacks

Three American service members were killed in a drone attack in Jordan, the White House said in a statement. The soldiers were killed near the Syrian border. The US is continuing to gather information about the attack, but the White House has blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups.” The pro-Iranian “Islamic Resistance” in Iraq claimed in January that it had attacked five locations in the region: Erbil in Iraq, as well as Shaddadi, Tanf, and Rukban in Syria. US forces were present in four of these locations.

This is a major escalation in the region and shows that Iran is willing to expand the war into new countries. Iran has already operationalized the Houthis in Yemen to attack ships in the Red Sea. It has also prodded its proxies in Syria and Iraq to carry out more than 150 attacks on US forces. Iran has also pushed Hezbollah to fire more than 2,000 rockets at Israel. Iranian-backed proxies have already become a headache for Jordan because of drug smuggling. Now, it appears they have crossed yet another red line in the region.

Tanf is a US garrison in Syria in a desert area that is near the Jordanian border and also not far from where the Jordan-Syria and Iraq borders meet. The US came to the area during the war on ISIS to support anti-ISIS fighters. Since then, the garrison has become a forlorn area. It has been targeted by drones linked to Iran in the past. Iran and its proxies have now escalated.

The Iranian pro-government Tasnim News says that “Islamic Resistance” in Iraq also claimed they had targeted a place called Khirba Adnan in Syria. This regional escalation constitutes Iranian willingness to expand its wars by proxies. The Iranian Tasnim News mentioned the deaths of three US soldiers in a separate article. Jordan’s Al-Ghad also discussed the attack but did not elaborate. There have been numerous attacks over the last two days by the Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria. This appears to be the sign of a new campaign by Iran against US forces. Pro-Iranian politicians in Iraq, many of them linked to militias, have also called for US forces to leave Iraq.

The pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen media also carried coverage of other attacks in the region. Hezbollah claimed it had targeted Israel. The Iran-backed Houthis also targeted the HMS Diamond with a drone overnight. Even if all the attacks on the evening of January 27 were not directly coordinated by Iran, it is clear that Iranian proxies carried out drone attacks and other attacks from Yemen and also in Iraq and Syria. This represents a new stage in the Iranian-backed attacks on the US and UK. The attacks began in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

The Daily Wire reported bipartisan Senate support for direct military action against Iran. Senators from both parties called for accountability and decisive action, with some advocating for strikes inside Iran. “I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was quoted as saying. “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., wrote on X: “Iran must be held accountable.”

Biblical Connections: We have seen over the past few years Iran’s continued push to make significant disruption in the region. It is safe to say that if Iran continues on this path, either the Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel or another conflict will be on the horizon.

Iran Unveils New Destroyer

Iran has recently announced a new destroyer for its navy, continuing its advancement in this arena. Iranian Army commander Maj.-Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iranian Navy commander R.-Adm. Shahram Irani, and Iranian Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri were present at the ceremony, Iran’s Mehr News said. The destroyer will be part of Iran’s Caspian sea fleet. The ceremony for the new ship was held at the port of Bandar Anzali on the Caspian.

Iran announced the commissioning of the new Iranian warship, named the IRIS (Islamic Republic of Iran Ship) Deylaman which they said has modern equipment and will contribute to Iran’s navy. The destroyer is part of an Iranian class of similar ships called the Mowj or Moudge class. They weigh around 1,500 tons and are based on Iran’s IRIS Jamaran destroyer which was launched in 2010.

These locally made ships have been produced since the early 2000s when Iran sought to bolster its navy. Tehran doesn’t have a very large navy or air force, in part due to sanctions. Often, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a separate military system in Iran, sponge up assets for defense needs, meaning that the actual Iranian army, navy and air force don’t receive key resources.

The new destroyer joins its sister ships, the Dena, Sahand and Damavand, along with the Jamaran. Despite being launched more recently, her superstructure is less modern than the preceding IRIS Sahand. That featured slightly canted sides to reduce the radar signature, and a new 30mm ‘Kamand’ AAA, which is based on the Russian AK630 family. IRIS Dena has older weapons, such as the 40mm Bofors AA gun. But the Dena does have a version of the Asr phased-array radar which may be a major step forward for the frigate program.

This announcement comes at a very strenuous time in the Middle East. Iran has technically stayed out of the Israel-Hamas fight up to this point, although how much help they gave to Hamas in the initial attack on Israel is still unknown. Iran has consistently been increasing both its own military forces and their proxy military forces like Hamas and Hezbollah over the last decade in preparation for a future conflict with Israel and the West. For example, Hezbollah, located in Lebanon, is said to have around 100,000 advanced rockets in their possession. This is on top of Iran’s work on their own nuclear capabilities.

Western powers have been reluctant to get tough on Tehran for fear of aggravating Middle East tensions as Iran grows its nuclear program and reduces cooperation with the United Nations watchdog, diplomats say. Worries of a wider regional conflict have sharpened since Hamas’ October 7 attack and Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive aimed at destroying the Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Recently at a Board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, the United States and the so-called E3 group — France, Germany and the United Kingdom — condemned Tehran’s lack of cooperation. Despite saying that Iran’s actions had “pushed unprecedented boundaries,” they held off on submitting a binding resolution. “The picture is pretty bleak, but the fact at the moment is that there is no appetite to provoke a reaction in Iran in the context of the war in the Middle East,” a senior diplomat said in summing up the current deadlock.

Biblical Connection: It is becoming clearer that the possibility of the Gog and Magog war described in Ezekiel 38-39, in which Iran will play a major role in, could be on the horizon. Iran certainly wants to destroy Israel and two of their major allies in the region, Russia and Turkey, are both mentioned in Ezekiel.

PRAY: Pray for God’s will to be done and for peace between these two nations, as well as the surrounding region.

Iran Backed Rebels Attempting to Close Red Sea Trade

The Red Sea trade route is one of the key trade routes not only in the Middle East, but in the entire world. However, recently Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have attacked commercial ships to try to shut down the trade route. Two Houthi attacks on the Maersk Hangzhou commercial ship in the Red Sea represent a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis. It also represents a forceful new approach by the US to stop small boats from trying to interdict the ship.

It is important to note that the Danish company Maersk said it was going to resume shipping via the Red Sea after several companies had paused shipping via the important waterway due to Houthi attacks. The BBC reported on December 27 that “Danish shipping giant Maersk has said it is preparing to resume shipping operations through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The move follows the deployment of an international military operation to prevent attacks on commercial ships by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Several firms have paused shipments via the Red Sea following the attacks.”

US Central Command said that at 8:30 pm in the evening in Yemen, the Houthis first attempted to attack the Maersk Hangzhou. The ship “reported that they were struck by a missile while transiting the Southern Red Sea. The Singapore-flagged, Denmark-owned/operated container ship requested assistance, and the USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the ship. The vessel is reportedly seaworthy, and there are no reported injuries.”

The Gravely is one of the numerous US ships now protecting ships in the Red Sea. It has joined the Laboon, USS Mason and others that have played a key role in trying to keep trade open in the region. “While responding, the USS Gravey shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the ships,” the US said. Central Command also specified that “this is the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19.”

What’s interesting is that the Houthis did not stop with the missile attack. They then dispatched a number of small boats to attack the ship. US Central Command was blunt in its language about the second incident, which occurred at 6:30 am on December 31. “Iranian-backed Houthi small boats attack merchant vessel and U.S. Navy helicopters in Southern Red Sea,” the US said. This is an important statement blaming the Houthis and mentioning Iran. The Maersk Hangzhou issued a distress call saying it was being attacked by four small boats. “The small boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, fired crew-served and small arms weapons at the Maersk Hangzhou, getting to within 20 meters of the vessel, and attempted to board the vessel.”

The US ships in the area then sent helicopters, which represents a new tactic they are using to confront the Houthis. The statement by US Central Command says the helicopters came from the US aircraft carrier the USS Eisenhower and the Gravely. “The small boats fired upon the US helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms. The US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats and killing the crews. The fourth boat fled the area. There was no damage to US personnel or equipment.”

The incident is unique in several ways. First of all, it is interesting the Maersk had decided to resume shipping, and the Houthis then targeted this specific ship. It is not clear if the Houthis chose the ship, but it does send a message that a company that sought to resume shipping was then attacked. The US response to the attack was robust. The sinking of the small boats is an important development. The Houthis are trying to escalate, and they are being matched with the defensive capabilities of the US Navy.

Biblical Connections: This is yet another example of Iran/Iranian backed forces trying to stir up more trouble in the region. Their push for domination in the region and their hatred of Israel could eventually lead to a larger conflict, possibly even the Gog-Magog war.

PRAY: Pray that the United States and other allies will continue to fight against these rebels and that the shipping lanes will both stay open and be safe for innocent civilians.

Over 100 Harvard Faculty Say Accusing Israel of Genocide is not Anti-Semitism

Over 100 Harvard faculty members signed a letter to the university president declaring that labeling Israel an “apartheid state” and accusing the country of committing genocide against Palestinians should not automatically be considered anti-Semitism. The letter accused Harvard University President Claudine Gay of enforcing a “one-sided” debate about Israel by preventing students and faculty from criticizing the Jewish state. “As Harvard faculty, we have been astonished by the pressure from donors, alumni, and even some on this campus to silence faculty, students, and staff critical of the actions of the State of Israel,” the document stated. “It is important to acknowledge the patronizing tone and format of much of the criticism you have received as well as the outright racism contained in some of it.”

The faculty members wrote the letter in response to Gay's Nov. 9 directive, titled “Combating Antisemitism,” which announced the plan to implement a program intended to educate Harvard students and staff about anti-Semitism. In the directive, Gay condemned the phrase “from the river to the sea,” noting that the phrase calls for the eradication of Jews and Israel and is harmful to the Jewish community. In their letter, the faculty members expressed understanding that Gay would want to highlight the importance of language following Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault against civilians in Israel that killed over 1,200 people. The terrorist group has called for the murder of the Jewish people, and Hamas members have bragged about the Jews they killed on Oct. 7.

While the faculty agreed that certain language merits condemnation, they argued that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize the Israeli government or to compare it to “ethno-nationalist” governments, like dictator Robert Mugabe’s government in Zimbabwe. “Nor can arguments that characterize Israel as an ‘apartheid’ state or its recent actions as ‘ethnic cleansing’ or even ‘genocide’ be considered automatically antisemitic, regardless of whether one concurs with such arguments,” the letter stated. The letter asserts that the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine must be free” is a matter of debate, stating that the history behind the slogan is “complicated.” “Its interpretation deserves, and is receiving, sustained and ongoing inquiry and debate,” the letter reads.

The faculty also cited numbers from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry to imply that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes and a ground invasion seeking to eradicate Hamas, a terrorist group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Days before beginning its ground invasion, Israel urged the over 1 million civilians in northern Gaza to flee to the south. Israel maintains it has the right to defend its citizens from the threat of Hamas and is doing all it can to prevent civilian casualties. Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The letter concluded with a list of steps for the Harvard president to support “intellectual freedom” at the university, including the creation of “an advisory group on Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism.”

The faculty members requested Gay resist calls to suspend the Palestine Solidarity Committee for releasing a statement holding Israel responsible for the violence committed against it. Several student groups that signed onto the letter — including Amnesty International at Harvard, Harvard College Act on a Dream and the Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association — later withdrew their signatures. A spokesperson for Act on a Dream claimed at the time that its board members were unaware that the organization had signed the letter, which does not reflect AOD's views on the situation in Israel.

Biblical Connections: The Israeli people have been hated throughout their history in both the Old and New Testaments and throughout much of world history. It should not surprise us that Satan has continued to attack the Jews in our modern time.

PRAY: Pray that this movement of hatred against the Jewish people will be stopped and that God would continue to protect them.

Israeli Ambassador Calls for UN Secretary-General to Resign

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations called for the resignation of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for what he described as a “shocking speech” suggesting the Hamas attack against Israel “did not happen in a vacuum.” “The shocking speech by the UN Secretary-General at the Security Council meeting, while rockets are being fired at all of Israel, proved conclusively, beyond any doubt, that the Secretary-General is completely disconnected from the reality in our region and that he views the massacre committed by Nazi Hamas terrorists in a distorted and immoral manner,” Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan wrote on X. “His statement that, ‘the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,’ expressed an understanding for terrorism and murder,” Erdan continued. “It’s really unfathomable. It’s truly sad that the head of an organization that arose after the Holocaust holds such horrible views. A tragedy!”

Erdan asserted in another post that Guterres “shows understanding for the campaign of murder of children, women, and the elderly,” and, therefore, “is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately,” he added. “There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words.”

Guterres’ remarks came during a meeting of the UN Security Council, where he condemned the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas targeting communities in southern Israel near the border with Gaza. At least 1,400 people, including 32 Americans, were killed, and over 200 were taken hostage. The attack drew retaliatory Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, which the Hamas-run Palestinian health authorities claim has taken the lives of 5,700 people.

“Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians or the launching of rockets against civilian targets,” Guterres, a Portuguese politician and diplomat who has served as UN secretary-general since 2017, said. “It is important to also recognize that the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their lands devoured by settlements and plagued by violence, their economy stifled, their people displaced, and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their fight have been vanishing but the [grievances] of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas,” he continued. “And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Excellencies, even war has rules. We must demand that all parties uphold and respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

An Israeli official said that Erdan’s call for Guterres to step down was the first time an Israeli ambassador has demanded the UN secretary-general’s resignation. Other Israeli officials expressed outrage in response to Guterres’ comments. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen canceled a planned meeting with him, saying that the Oct. 7 attack shows “there is no place for a balanced approach” and “Hamas must be erased off the face of the planet.” Knesset member Benny Gantz claimed Guterres is a “terror apologist.”

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a global coalition, echoed Erdan’s sentiments and called on Guterres to resign. “It is unbelievable and unconscionable how out of touch with reality the UN secretary-general is,” CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa said in a statement. “Over the last couple of weeks, our generation has had a chance to reflect and better understand how the Holocaust was allowed to happen by the silence and complicity of global decision-makers and opinion-shapers in the face of Nazi-style atrocities.” Dratwa went on to accuse Guterres of “victim-blaming” and exhibiting “different rules for Jews among all the other peoples of the world.”

Biblical Connection: When national leaders such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations shows blatant Antisemitism, it begins to give us an idea of what things will one day look like during the Tribulation when the Antichrist similarly attacks the Jewish people.

PRAY: Pray this rise in antisemitism within our world leaders will be called out and corrected and that people will be unwilling to elect these types of leaders.

United Nations Attacks Traditional Values on Marriage

A key advisor for the United Nations suggested in a recent report that “discriminatory positions of prejudice” are not protected by religious freedom rights, a report one advocacy group said could have “exceptionally radical” implications for Bible-believing Christians. Costa Rican lawyer Victor Madrigal-Borloz, whose official title is “Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity” for the U.N., made the statement in a presentation to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

In his report to the council, Madrigal-Borloz blamed “religious communities” for “violence, discrimination and exclusion” toward gays, lesbians, bisexual and trans-identified people. After receiving testimony from various LGBT-identified people over the last six years, Madrigal-Borloz said he frequently came across situations in which someone who wished to “pursue happiness by embracing their sexual orientation or gender identity” was deterred by the prospect that “the religion in which they were born would consider them as sinful, or evil; as inherently immoral, or not worthy of transcendence.”

In one of the report’s more targeted allegations, Madrigal-Borloz referenced “dark corners where LGBT people are regarded as sinners,” an obvious reference to the biblical teaching of various Christian denominations. He also blamed such theology for aiding in the denial of the “right to equality” for LGBT-identified people. “Laws enacted with the aim of mandating standards of conduct purportedly demanded by interpretations of religious dogma effectively deny LGBT and other gender diverse persons the right to equality and, often, equal recognition under the law,” he wrote.

Madrigal-Borloz equated “hate speech” against LGBT-identified people with “positing LGBT individuals as a threat to the traditional family and interpreting religious doctrines to exclude and promote violence and discrimination against homosexuality and gender nonconformity.” Religious freedoms, he added, are not adequate legal protection for anyone who uses their beliefs for not only violence but also “denial of the human rights of LGBT persons.” “Violent and discriminatory positions of prejudice are beyond the international legal protections of religious or other beliefs,” he said. While the report does not establish any new U.N. policy or guidelines, the Office of Independent Expert — which works on a voluntary basis — acts as the “eyes and ears” of the body and presents recommendations.

What does all this mean for Christians and people of other faiths? Arielle Del Turco, the director of the Center for Religious Liberty at the Family Research Council called the report “staggering” and warned it could potentially lay the groundwork for more religious interference from the U.N. While purporting to address violence against LGBT-identified groups, Del Turco said the report does not speak to violence but rather “the failure of religious groups to affirm LGBT identity or behavior.” “So by the U.N. independent expert making this report and supposedly trying to find a way for LGBT rights and religious freedom to coexist, we see even that at the very core of the report is a huge elevation for LGBT rights,” she stated.

Another troubling issue, Del Turco said, is that with this report, the U.N. appears to be acting as a theological or ideological authority for the religions of the world. “Essentially, this U.N. expert is telling religious groups that we ourselves are interpreting our own religions incorrectly, and actually, our religions probably do affirm some of these LGBT behaviors, do affirm gender ideology,” she said. “That is exceptionally radical.”

Del Turco said what is at stake is not merely religious freedom, but freedom of speech. She pointed to one section of the report: “hate speech and incitement,” which includes a discussion on how religious communities discuss LGBT topics. “For example, when Christian communities talk about sin, according to their reading of the Bible, that’s a problem to these LGBT activists who are now running the United Nations,” she said.

Biblical Connections: In John 15:18, Jesus said “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”

PRAY: Pray that these extremists in the leadership of the UN will stop this madness and allow for the truth of the Bible.

Iran Develops New Weapons to Threaten Israel and US

When many think of Iran, they immediately think of their nuclear missile program, which is itself a dangerous endeavor. However, Iran also has been working on building up other areas in their military arsenal. They are already known as a major player in drone technology and recently have unleashed some new weapons and technology.

First, Iran recently announced a new generation of Ghadir midget submarines and Fateh submarines will be made for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy. The Iranian navy is historically quite small, but Iran does operate several submarines, including several Russian submarines it has used since the 1990sas well as these newly constructed midget submarines. While it is unlikely that Iran would be able to meet the West on the open seas soon, a submarine force could cause trouble in the region.

Second, Iran continues to advance their drone technology to rival the United States and Israel. Recently, Iran unveiled a new armed drone that resembled the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, claiming that the drone even has the ability to reach Israel from its launch sites in Iran. The drone can fly non-stop for 24 hours with an operational range of around 1,200 miles and is capable of carrying a bomb payload of up to 660 pounds, according to the state-run IRNA News Agency. It also can reach a maximum speed of 130 mph and is "equipped with electronic warfare and intelligence-gathering systems," a report from IRNA added.

"Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an advanced and technologic nation to the world," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said. Iran has in the past captured U.S. drones or pieces of them, but there's no evidence that it has taken a General Atomics' Reaper, which is flown by the U.S. Air Force and allied American nations as a "hunter-killer" drone that can operate at high altitudes for long hours and follow a target before attacking. North Korea in July showed off drones mirroring the Reaper, possibly designed from publicly available information about the aircraft.

This is not the first time that Iran has attempted to copy American drone technology. In December 2011, Iran seized an RQ-170 Sentinel flown by the CIA to monitor Iranian nuclear sites after it entered Iranian airspace from neighboring Afghanistan. Iran later reverse-engineered the drone to create their own variants. In 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk in the Strait of Hormuz amid high tensions over its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers. Some experts are also concerned that Iran will get their hands on some of the military equipment that was left over from the US withdrawal from Iraq and try to reverse engineer more military technology wherever possible.

Perhaps these new technological advancements have also boosted Iran’s confidence in a potential conflict with the West. At the event marking the creation of the new subs, Iran officials stated “The presence of the US military and the military in Syrian territory is completely illegal. The Syrian government has not invited the American military, and the official request of the Syrian government is the withdrawal of the American military forces from the territory of this country as soon as possible.” Tehran’s comments appear to be a warning to the US that Iran could encourage proxy groups to continue to target Americans in Syria. The Iranian Foreign Ministry says the US is the “source” of instability in Syria. “We consider the US presence in the region to be contrary to regional peace,” Iran said. “This presence has always disturbed peace.”

Biblical Connection: Iran is one of the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39 in the war of Gog and Magog against the nation of Israel. Their continued military buildup, along with their strong ties to Russia, continue to possibly lay the groundwork for this future war.

PRAY: Pray that Iran’s military aggression will be limited and will not lead to a war in the region in the immediate future.

Israeli Judicial Reform Protests Continue

For months, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Israel in the most sustained and intense demonstrations the country has ever seen. The protesters rose out of opposition to a judicial overhaul spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The proposals include a bill that would allow a simple majority in parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions. Another would give parliament the final say in selecting judges. Last month, the first piece of that legislative package passed: Israel’s parliament approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.” Netanyahu’s allies say the package is meant to restore power to elected officials and reduce the powers of unelected judges.

While protests are not unknown in Israel, these protests have taken on a new push as many of the protesters have said they will not show up for their military duties if the laws are passed. Israel has mandatory military service for most of its citizens and so having protesters ignore their military duty would be a major blow to their national defense.

The protesters fear the overhaul will push Israel toward autocracy. They say it is a power grab fueled by various personal and political grievances by Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, and his allies.

Proponents say the current “reasonability” standard gives judges’ excessive powers over decision making by elected officials. Israel does not have a constitution in the same manner as the United States. This means the judiciary are not judges whether laws are “constitutional” but instead are simply “reasonable”, a much vaguer term. But critics say that removing the standard, which is invoked only in rare cases, would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions, make improper appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.

Protesters say Netanyahu and his allies want to change the law so they can appoint allies to government posts — and particularly so that they can fire the country’s independent attorney general, according to Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.

The measures “make it more difficult to conduct oversight” over arbitrary decisions of elected officials, said Yohanan Plesner, the institute’s president. “This is one chapter of a broader plan and program of the government to weaken the checks and balances.” Netanyahu has dismissed accusations that the plan would destroy Israel’s democratic foundations as absurd. “This is an attempt to mislead you over something that has no basis in reality,” he said.

Israel has minimal local governance and lacks a formal constitution. This means that most of the power is centralized in parliament, where Netanyahu’s coalition has a majority. The “basic laws” — foundational laws that experts describe as a sort of informal constitution — can be changed at any time by that majority.

While this is strictly a dispute within the government structure of Israel, it has not stopped others outside of Israel from addressing the protests. President Biden, in a phone call with Netanyahu, told him that he was rushing the process and did not have a mandate to pass the laws, even though Netanyahu has a majority in his parliament. It is rare for a foreign leader to address another nation’s internal political situation, but Israel has always been under more scrutiny than other nations.

Biblical Connection: The Bible has a clear emphasis on justice within the government. As long as the Israeli government does not abuse this power, it fits within a Biblical structure.

How Does Russian Chaos Impact Prophecy?

The recent Russian attempted coup by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has created some chaos in Russia. Prigozhin was furious at the leaders of Russia’s Ministry of Defense, whom he repeatedly accused of sending tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to certain death through their corruption, incompetence, and cowardice. Over 20,000 of his own fighters were killed in the bloody battle for Bakhmut – a town of only 70,000 inhabitants before the war. He publicly blamed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for Russia’s casualties and battlefield struggles. This led him to try to a mild coup, which ultimately failed and led to his exile to Belarus. While the coup did little to impact Russia today, it did show that the nation is in serious chaos with the war in Ukraine.

This was by far the most serious threat to Putin’s 23-year rule. On the one hand, you’re not supposed to be able to defy Putin in Russia this way and get away with it. Yet the men who shot down and killed an estimated 13 Russian pilots on their way to Moscow were pardoned. And the man who openly defied Putin’s orders, discredited his rationale for the war in Ukraine, and whom Putin declared a traitor on public television, is still alive (at least for now). Putin has jailed and killed people for a lot less, so this makes him look weak before the Russian public and the elites.

On the other hand, Putin’s regime was tested over the weekend, and the regime ultimately held together. Yes, there were a lot of people who didn’t fire to stop Wagner troops from advancing, but there were virtually no defections inside the Russian government, the military, or among elites. The government is still functioning normally, and the war in Ukraine is going the way it did before the mutiny. Putin is more vulnerable on the back of it, but that’s more a long-term than an immediate issue. The likelihood of regime change in Russia remains near zero … until it happens. But these events show that the risks are more than initially thought.

How does this coup impact the war in Ukraine? The incident is a problem for Putin’s credibility with elites and the Russian public, and this political vulnerability could make him more sensitive to major battlefield losses in the coming months. If we get to a point later in the summer or fall where Ukraine starts to threaten Crimea or the land bridge, the risk of a major Russian escalation (such as blowing up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant or using a tactical nuclear weapon) in response would go up.

Biblical Connection: How does this chaos impact Russia in prophecy? When the Ukraine war began, many students of Biblical prophecy saw this aggression as a sign that Russia could be moving toward the Gog-Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. However, with the weakness of the Russian forces in Ukraine, it is clear that Russia is not as strong military as many thought. If Putin feels threatened or feels desperate, then he really only has two options. First, he may try to sue for peace and turn his resources to reestablishing his strength in his own nation. This would seem to point away from more Russian aggression in the near future. However, if Putin feels pressure to continue to show Russia is strong on the world stage, it could lead to more Russian aggression, which could lead to something like the Gog-Magog situation, especially if Putin turns to Iran to help its military exploits across the globe.

PRAY: Pray that the situation in Ukraine would end peacefully and that Russian aggression would be limited and halted.

North Korea Sentences 2-year-old after Parents Caught with Bible

If Christians in North Korea are found possessing a Bible, they face the death penalty, and family members, including children, are sentenced to life imprisonment, reveals a report by the U.S. State Department. This report includes an incident where a 2-year-old child was sentenced to life in a prison camp after his parents were caught with a Bible.

An estimated 70,000 Christians are incarcerated in North Korea. Prisoners face harsh conditions and physical mistreatment, says the State Department’s recently released 2022 International Religious Freedom Report.

The report attributes 90% of documented human rights abuses against both Christians and adherents of Shamanism to that country’s Ministry of State Security. It cites Korea Future, a nonprofit organization working on human rights in North Korea, as saying that the North Korean government engages in severe persecution of individuals who practice religious rituals, own religious items, or associate with religious individuals, with punishments ranging from arrest and detention to torture, forced labor, deportation and denial of the right to life.

Educational materials in North Korea are anti-religion according to people who have escaped from the country. They recount textbooks containing sections on Christian missionaries, characterizing them as committing “evil deeds,” such as rape, organ harvesting and murder. While North Korea’s constitution officially guarantees religious freedom — the communist dictatorship points to churches it has constructed in Pyongyang as proof — the State Department report contends these churches function merely as “showpieces for foreigners.”

One victim was quoted, “Officials worked us hard without feeding us properly … I suffered from malnutrition and was sure I would not survive. I kept having diarrhea, even when I only drank water, and I weighed just 77 pounds. Today I weigh 132 pounds, so I was like a skeleton back then.” Others described or showed signs of being beaten, ingesting contaminated food, being forced into uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, and verbal abuse.

For Christians, the report points out, the sentences are significantly more severe than for other religious beliefs, ranging from 15 years to life in prison. One case involved the 2009 arrest of a family based on their religious practices and possession of a Bible. The entire family, including a 2-year-old child, were given life sentences in political prison camps.

In December, the United States co-sponsored a United Nations resolution deploring North Korea’s “systematic, widespread, and gross violations of human rights.” The resolution expressed significant concern about abuses, including summary executions of individuals exercising their freedom of religion or belief.

In its 2021 report, “Organized Persecution – Documenting Religious Freedom Violations in North Korea,” the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said the violations it documented in 2020 were “seemingly designed to remove all traces of Christianity.” “The campaign to exterminate all Christian adherents and institutions in North Korea has been brutally effective, and continues through the work of the Ministry of State Security, networks of informants that stretch into China, the presence of ‘no-exit’ political prison camps, executions, and an educational and organizational system that deters adherence through schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods,” said the report, which was based on interviews of survivors, witnesses and perpetrators of religious freedom violations.

For years, North Korea has ranked as the worst country globally when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USA’s World Watch List. “Being discovered as a Christian is a death sentence in North Korea,” says Open Doors USA, adding, “If you aren’t killed instantly, you will be taken to a labor camp as a political criminal.”

Biblical Connections: It is sometimes easy to forget that there are Christians around the globe who place their lives on the line every day for the cause of Christ. One day in the future, this type of persecution will become global during the reign of the Antichrist.

PRAY: Pray for the believers in North Korea that God will protect them and their families. Pray for the persecuted church around the globe.

Military Maneuvers in the Middle East

The U.S. military is arming aircraft sent to the Middle East with “bunker busting” bombs. A squadron of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft — otherwise known as “Warthogs” — have been saddled with the structure-penetrating payload in response to increasing aggression from the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to The Wall Street Journal. The warthogs are each capable of carrying approximately 16 bunker busters, otherwise known as GBU-39/B bombs.

Additionally, the Biden administration sanctioned Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization, accusing it of wrongfully detaining Americans. Iran’s Guard Corps was sanctioned at the same time as Russia’s Federal Security Service.

“Today, and every day, our message to Russia, Iran and the world is holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans is unacceptable. Release them immediately,” Biden said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Iran renewed threats to target former President Donald Trump and top members of his former Cabinet, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for the 2020 killing of its top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.

“God willing, we are looking to kill Trump [and] Pompeo … and military commanders who issued the order should be killed,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force, told Iranian state television. The threats themselves were nothing new, though they came as Tehran announced a new long-range cruise missile capable of flying more than 1,000 miles, which could give it additional capabilities to strike U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Iran has shipped over 300,000 artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition to Russia across the Caspian Sea in the past six months, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Iran has mostly used cargo flights to ship weapons to Russia, which are nearly impossible for Western countries to stop, and blocking the shipment of weapons in the Caspian Sea would require the agreement of former Soviet republics in the area. US-allied British forces in the region have also intercepted several Iranian weapons smuggling attempts over the past few months. The US Fifth Fleet is based out of Bahrain and is active in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Arabian Sea. Among their many responsibilities is maritime security in the region, which includes combating attempted Iranian smuggling efforts. For example, recently the US Navy managed to intercept an Iranian ship that was smuggling several weapons over to Yemen, where they would have gone to the Iran-backed Houthis.

This all comes amid deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran. This stronger relationship was forged amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Iran providing Russia with drones and Russia providing Iran with cash and seized Western weapons. Exactly how Iran manages to ship these drones to Russia is unclear, though a report indicated that many of them were smuggled by way of Iranian ships on the Caspian Sea. Iran has continued to try to smuggle as many munitions and drone technology as possible to Russia for use in Ukraine. They are doing this so that Russia will continue to cover for them, both in the United Nations and in a renewed nuclear deal. They hope that the threat of Russian intervention would protect them from any western interference if they ever went to war with Israel. Indeed, Iran knows that it cannot defeat Israel if they are backed by the American military. However, if America is limited by Russia, then Iran believes that they and their proxy allies could attack Israel in the future.

Biblical Connections: Ezekiel 38-39 has Iran, Turkey and possibly Russia in a future alliance with a few other nations in an invasion of Israel. Forty years ago, people questioned how Iran and Russia would ever work together. That seems to no longer be an issue in our modern context.

PRAY: Pray the threat of western interference will cause Iran to back down from their aggression and peace will be restored in the region.

Global Military Spending at an All-time High

Global military spending increased by 3.7% in 2022, bringing the total to $2,240 billion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported. In Europe, military spending has seen the steepest rise in the last 30 years. SIPRI released an annual report detailing the heightened levels of military spending in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its global implications. The United States, China and Russia have been largely responsible for the sharp incline, as they accounted for 56% of the global total.

Military spending has grown over the last eight years, although 2022 saw the most significant rise. Europe’s spending jumped 13%, which SIPRI explains is largely due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia War. Many countries have offered military aid to Ukraine, increasing their total expenditure, and dedicating more funds to their own militaries out of fear of Russia’s future military excursions.

“The continuous rise in global military expenditure in recent years is a sign that we are living in an increasingly insecure world,” said Dr Nan Tian. “States are bolstering military strength in response to a deteriorating security environment, which they do not foresee improving in the near future.”

“The invasion of Ukraine had an immediate impact on military spending decisions in Central and Western Europe. This included multi-year plans to boost spending from several governments,” said Dr. Diego Lopes da Silva. “As a result, we can reasonably expect military expenditure in Central and Western Europe to keep rising in the years ahead.”

Central and Western European military expenditure surpassed that of 1989, when the cold war was ending, totaling $345 billion. This is a 30% increase from 2013. Some of the countries which border Russia saw the sharpest increase. Finland, which recently joined NATO, saw a 36% increase. Lithuania saw a 27% increase and Poland saw an 11% increase. Russia’s own military spending has estimated to have grown by 9.2% in 2022. SIPRI estimates that this would total $86.1 billion, around 4.1% of Russia’s GDP. The amount increased by 3.7% from 2021, before it began its invasion of Ukraine. “The difference between Russia’s budgetary plans and its actual military spending in 2022 suggests the invasion of Ukraine has cost Russia far more than it anticipated,” said Dr Lucie Béraud-Sudreau.

In response to the invasion, Ukraine’s military spending went through a significant increase. Ukraine’s military expenditure reached a total of $44 billion, which is a 640% increase from 2021 and the highest single-year increase that SIPRI has ever recorded. Despite global increases, the United States remains the biggest military spender with expenditure reaching $877 billion in 2022. This constitutes 39% of global military expenditure but is only a 0.7% increase since 2021.

The US gifted Ukraine military aid packages valued at $19.9 billion throughout 2022, 2.3% of the total US military expenditure. “The increase in the USA’s military spending in 2022 was largely accounted for by the unprecedented level of financial military aid it provided to Ukraine,” said Dr Tian. “Given the scale of US spending, even a minor increase in percentage terms has a significant impact on the level of global military expenditure.” China was the second biggest military spender, spending $292 billion in 2022. This was a 4.2% increase from 2021.

Biblical Connection: Matthew 24:6 states “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” It should not surprise readers of the Bible that instead of moving to a peaceful utopia, the world will instead move closer and closer to global conflict as we move closer to the end times.

PRAY: Pray that all of this increase in weaponry and military spending will not lead to another massive global conflict.

North Korea Claims 800,000 Join Army in a Single Day

Nearly 800,000 people signed up to join the North Korean military in a single day, the country’s state-run media claimed. The North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun says 800,000 students and workers signed up to fight the U.S., just one day after North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea between South Korea and Japan. The total number included many North Koreans who sought to re-enlist, the paper noted. “The soaring enthusiasm of young people to join the army is a demonstration of the unshakable will of the younger generation to mercilessly wipe out the war maniacs making last-ditch efforts to eliminate our precious socialist country and achieve the great cause of national reunification without fail and a clear manifestation of their ardent patriotism,” the state-run newspaper wrote.

The North Korean military operates on a conscription system, with males required to serve for 10 years and females required to serve for 3 years. This stands in stark contrast to the South Korean conscription requirements, which require males to serve for approximately two years and the females are not forced into mandatory service. This is one of the reasons why the North Korean active military, standing at approximately 1.2 million soldiers,  is the fourth largest in the world, only trailing China, India and the United States. South Korea, on the other hand, has an army of approximately 500,000 soldiers, even though South Korean’s population is about 51 million people while North Korea’s population is only 25 million. North Korea’s recruitment drive and missile launch came as the U.S. and South Korea began joint military drills recently. The 11-day Operation Freedom Shield 23 began March 13 and lasted for 11 days. This caused Kim Jong Un’s regime to express outrage at joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea.

 Kim’s regime fired another ballistic missile, which flew roughly 500 miles across the country and landed in the sea off its east coast, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. There were no reports of any injuries due to the launch, and Japan says the missile landed outside its exclusive economic zone. North Korea cited joint military drills between the U.S., Japan and South Korea as the reason for its launches, vowing to respond to such operations with “overwhelming powerful” force.

 Meanwhile, the Pentagon argues such operations have proven to be a successful deterrent for North Korea. “I think what’s important for people to understand is, one, deterrence continues to work,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters. “Despite launching missiles into the ocean, North Korea is not attacking, nor should they, and that the United States, Japan, South Korea and other allies and partners in the region will continue to work together to expand that deterrence and to keep our countries safe.”

 While North Korea has consistently wanted to reunite the peninsula under the communist regime, as long as South Korea is supported by nations such as Japan and especially the United States, there is very little that they can do to accomplish this mission militarily. This explains why North Korea has spent so much time and treasure attempting to develop nuclear weapons, which they believe might be the only way they could stop direct intervention from other nations outside of South Korea. 

 North Korea’s heightened aggression in the region has mirrored China’s own aggression toward Taiwan. These moves, combined with the Russian war in Ukraine, the war in Syria and Iran’s attempts to build toward nuclear capacity, have created a firestorm of international intrigue and danger for the world stage.

 PRAY: Pray the aggression from North Korea will be stymied and that peace will reign in the region.

War in Syria Pushing Turkey Toward Russia and Iran

Since 2019, the Syrian situation has been largely at a stalemate, with authority divided among three de facto enclaves, each dependent on the sponsorship of outside powers. The Assad regime, guaranteed by Russia and Iran, controls around 60-65% of Syria’s territory, including the coastline and the main cities. The US-backed, Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces hold most of the area east of the Euphrates, comprising roughly 30% of Syria’s area. Turkey, in partnership with the self-styled “Syrian National Army”, the remnants of the Sunni Islamist rebellion, remustered under Turkish auspices and with the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, controls an area in the northwest, comprising around 10% of Syrian territory.

 This de facto partition has mostly held since early 2018. Turkey shifted the balance somewhat in October-November 2019, with a ground incursion east of the Euphrates. This resulted in the establishment of an enclave of Turkish-controlled territory biting into the Kurdish-controlled area, and in the deployment of regime and Russian forces east of the Euphrates in order to deter further Turkish advances. Since then, the military situation on the ground has been static, the broader question of Syria’s future unresolved.

 There are indications of renewed movement. Specifically, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been carrying out an air campaign against targets in the Kurdish/US area since November 20th of last year. Erdogan has already threatened a ground incursion, with the intention of pushing the Kurdish forces back 30 kilometers from the border and conquering three towns – Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Kobani. Turkey is now also moving toward more diplomatic ties to both Russia and Syria. “We want to take a tripartite step as Syria-Turkey-Russia,” Erdogan told reporters on his way back from Turkmenistan, as reported on the Al-Monitor news website. The statements followed talks in Istanbul between the Turkish and Russian deputy foreign ministers, and a phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan.

 This is a far cry from the Erdogan of a decade ago. Turkey emerged as the first and most determined supporter of the Islamist insurgents who sought to destroy the Assad regime. In 2012, in the early days of the insurgency, Erdogan effectively opened the border to the rebels, allowing them to ferry weaponry and supplies into Syria. Now, as the last protector of what is left of the revolt, the Turkish leader appears to be pursuing a very different goal – namely, rapprochement with the Assad regime, under Russian auspices.

 The Turkish leader’s stance indicates that while he may have for the moment abandoned his ambition to stand at the head of a group of Sunni Islamist regional states, this is not leading him to return to a pro-US regional policy. Rather, he appears to be seeking to draw closer to Russia in order to further weaken and eventually nullify the Kurdish-led entity in eastern Syria. Erdogan considers that this body, aligned with the US in its fight against ISIS, is a front for the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party), with which Turkey has been at war since 1984. His efforts since 2015, when it became clear that the rebellion was not going to defeat Assad, have been mainly directed toward seeking the destruction of the Kurdish-led area. In this regard, Turkey finds natural partners in Russia and Assad. Assad wants to reassert his nominal control over the entirety of Russian sovereignty. Russia supports this goal too, as does its ally Iran, and both would like to see the departure of the US troops currently guaranteeing the continued existence of the Kurdish-led enclave. As Turkey moves away from NATO and toward Russia and Iran, could this be setting the stage for Gog and Magog?

 Biblical Connections: Ezekiel 38-39 talks about the battle of Gog and Magog in which Turkey, Iran and Russia will align with other nations to invade Israel in the future.

 PRAY: Pray for God’s will to be accomplished throughout these events in the Middle East.

Doomsday Clock Moved to Closest Setting Since the End of World War 2

The world is closer to annihilation than it has ever been since the first nuclear bombs were released at the close of World War II, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said recently. The time on the Doomsday Clock moved forward from 100 seconds to midnight to 90 seconds to midnight. It’s a reset of what has come to be known as the Doomsday Clock, a decades long project of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists featuring a clock face where midnight represents Armageddon.

Between Russia's nuclear brinkmanship in its war on Ukraine, the real threats of climate change becoming increasingly dire and ongoing concerns about more possible pandemics caused by humans encroaching on formerly wild areas, the Bulletin chose to set the clock the closest to midnight yet. The world is facing a gathering storm of extinction-level consequences, exacerbated by the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. This explains the latest advance of the clock, said Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. "The threats are even more acute, and the failures of leadership even more damning. We live today in a world of interlocking crises, each illustrating the unwillingness of leaders to act in the true long-term interests of their people," she said.

The Bulletin was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons at the Manhattan Project. Two years later they launched the clock as a way to warn humanity just how close to nuclear apocalypse the world was. "It's a way to remind people of issues that are so big they pose a threat to civilization as a whole," said Steve Fetter, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland and member of the Bulletin's Science and Security Board, which sets the clock each year.

The clock has ticked minutes or seconds toward or away from catastrophe over the years. Wars bring it closer, treaties and cooperation further away. For the past two years, it has been at 100 seconds to midnight. The movement of the clock to just 90 seconds to midnight sends a message that the world's situation is urgent, with possible broad consequences and long-standing effects, said the Bulletin's president, Rachel Bronson. "What we're conveying with this clock move is things are not going in the right direction, and they haven't been going in the right direction. Those who are listening say 'The world doesn't feel safer today,' – they're not alone," she said.

Their hope is that this year's announcement will focus on world awareness and push people toward action and away from a business-as-usual mindset. Scientists are unequivocal, said Robinson. "Leaders, wake up! This is your responsibility. This is on your watch," she said. The clock ticked forward largely, though not exclusively, because of the nuclear dangers posed by the war in Ukraine, the Bulletin said in its statement. "Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict – by accident, intention, or miscalculation – is a terrible risk. The possibility that the conflict could spin out of anyone’s control remains high," the statement read.

Biblical Connection: Matthew 24:36 states, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” While no one knows the time of Jesus’ Return, the dramatic events of the last few years certainly seem to portray a dark future. How much longer the world can continue to move forward before all-out nuclear war seems to lessen every year.

PRAY: Pray that as many people as possible will hear the Gospel and be saved before the time finally comes for Jesus to return for His bride.

Israel, US Hold Air Drill Simulating Striking Iran Nuclear Program

The Israel Air Force held one of its largest drills in years with the United States Air Force simulating offensive strikes against Iran’s nuclear program. The drill took place over the Mediterranean Sea and Israel. It included long-range flights such as those that Israeli pilots might need to make in order to reach the Islamic Republic. The exercise included refuelers as well as fighter jets from both forces. Washington and Israel have signed an agreement that would see the US come to assist Israel with missile defense in times of war, and the two militaries have held numerous joint air defense exercises in recent years.

 These drills occurred at a time when tensions between Israel and Iran remain high. Iran, which possesses over 1,000 short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, continues to smuggle weapons to countries and non-state actors such as Hezbollah, which is estimated to have an arsenal of some 50,000 missiles on Israel’s northern border. With tensions high over Iran’s nuclear program and regional hostility, Israel and the Islamic Republic have been threatening each other with senior officers stating that their militaries are capable of striking the other. Israel has significantly increased its readiness level and has taken steps throughout the past year to prepare a credible military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

 The NIS 58 billion defense budget set for the IDF in the coming year is expected to allow the Israeli military to focus on the threats posed by Iran across the region, with some NIS 3.5b. designated specifically for this very task. The drill was discussed by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi during his visit to Washington recently. Kohavi, who returned to Israel a day earlier than planned following a deadly double bombing in Jerusalem, met with senior American officials including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla. In the last year, the IDF and CENTCOM forces have held several joint drills as well as operational missions.

 Kurilla was in Israel a week prior to Kohavi’s visit and toured the northern border as well as the IAF’s fleet of F-35 Adir stealth fighter jets. “We are operating together on all fronts to gather intelligence, neutralize threats, and prepare for various scenarios in either one or multiple arenas” Kohavi declared. His counterpart, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi, also stated, “We are operating together on all fronts to gather intelligence, neutralize threats, and prepare for various scenarios in either one or multiple arenas,” adding that the two countries were “developing joint military capabilities at an accelerated rate” against Iran and other threats in the Middle East.

 Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz told reporters that while Israel has the capabilities to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu must consider the issue “carefully” before giving the order. “Israel has the ability to act in Iran. We have the readiness, development capabilities, and long-term plans we are managing. We need to prepare for this possibility, and we will also need to consider this issue very carefully before carrying it out,” he said.

 Biblical Connections: Ezekiel 38-39 has Israel being invaded in the future by a coalition in which Iran is a major player of in the battle of Gog and Magog. The fact that Iran and Israel continue to have major tension in the region should be a warning to followers of Biblical prophecy. In prophecy, Israel is attacked without allies and only through God’s intervention are they delivered. It will be interesting to see what role, if any, America would play in that future invasion.

PRAY: Pray for peace in the region and that the tension between Iran and Israel would not lead to a major war.

Human Rights Violations Against Believers Investigated

Persecution of Christians is on the rise in at least 18 countries, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, due to growing jihadism and nationalism, according to a report released by the group Aid to the Church in Need. The ACN examined human rights violations against believers in 24 countries where it is particularly difficult to be a Christian. An analysis of the persecution in the years 2020-2022, compared to 2017-2019, shows that the situation for Christians has become worse, or “slightly worse,” in at least 18 countries.

These countries include Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Russia, North Korea, China, Vietnam, India and Qatar, according to the report titled “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2020-22.” Around the world, more than 360 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution just for following Jesus — that’s one in seven believers worldwide, according to Open Doors USA’s World Watch List, which ranks the top 50 countries where Christians experience the worst persecution for their faith.

The ACN said its report was presented in the Houses of Parliament in the U.K. with a keynote address by Nigeria’s Bishop Jude Arogundade. Arogundade’s Diocese of Ondo was targeted by gunmen who killed more than 40 people at a packed Sunday service on Pentecost Sunday last year. He commented, “no one seems to pay attention to the genocide” taking place in swathes of Nigeria’s Middle Belt. “The world is silent as attacks on churches, their personnel and institutions have become routine. How many corpses are required to get the world’s attention?” he said.

African countries saw a sharp rise in terrorist violence from non-state militants, with more than 7,600 Nigerian Christians murdered between January 2021 and June 2022 the ACN reported. In May, a video was released showing 20 Nigerian Christians being executed by Islamist terror group Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa Province.

In Asia, “state-authoritarianism” was behind the worsening oppression, especially in North Korea, where religious beliefs and practices are routinely and systematically repressed, it said. The report also noted that religious nationalism has triggered increasing violence against Christians in the region, with Hindu nationalist and Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist groups active in India and Sri Lanka, respectively.

The report noted that India witnessed 710 incidents of anti-Christian violence between January 2021 and the start of June, “driven in part by political extremism.” It cited an example of a mass rally in Chhattisgarh state, where members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party applauded as right-wing Hindu religious leader Swami Parmatmanand called for Christians to be killed.

In the Middle East, the report said a migration crisis threatened the survival of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities. In Syria, the Christian population declined from 10% to less than 2%, falling from 1.5 million just before the war began to around 300,000 today. ACN added that while the rate of exodus is slower in Iraq, there was a community that numbered around 300,000 before the 2014 invasion by ISIS had halved to 150,000 by the spring of 2022.

Even Europe was not immune to the rise in persecution. From 2020-2021, over 1,500 anti-Christian hate crimes occurred. Open Doors USA’s 2022 World Watch List, which looked at incidents reported between Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, found at least 5,898 Christians were killed, 5,110 churches were attacked or closed, 6,175 Christians were arrested without trial, and 3,829 Christians were kidnapped. 2021 saw a 24% increase in Christians killed for their faith.

Biblical Connection: The Bible describes a great persecution on the Tribulation Saints that will arise in the last days. Could current situations be laying the foundation for this prophecy? Only time will tell.

PRAY: Pray for the persecuted church throughout the world.

Persecution Continues to Rise Against Jews in Academia

Recently, Law Students for Justice in Palestine (LSJP) at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law promoted a bylaw  that would create what critics have characterized as “no-go zones for Jews,” “LSJP is so excited to announce that multiple student affinity groups and clubs at Berkeley Law have adopted a pro-Palestine bylaw divesting all funds from institutions and companies complicit in the occupation of Palestine, and banning future use of funds towards such companies!” the group wrote in an Instagram post in August. “LSJP is calling ALL student organizations at Berkeley Law to take an anti-racist and anti-settler colonial stand and adopt the bylaw into their constitutions ASAP!”

 In addition to urging student groups to support the ongoing BDS campaign against Israel, the bylaw also included troubling language to expunge any speech by individuals who might be considered pro-Israel or pro-Zionist, especially speech meant to correct the many factual and historical inaccuracies in the pro-Palestinian bylaw. “In the interest of protecting the safety and welfare of Palestinian students on campus,” the suggested language read, groups who adopt this bylaw “will not invite speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views or host/sponsor/promote events in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.”

 And in language which is Orwellian in its attempt to paint bigotry as virtue, cooperating student groups, the bylaw read, will proclaim that they are “publicly stipulating the organization’s position of anti-racism and anti-settler colonialism to speakers, ensuring that proposals for speakers emphasize the organization’s desire for equality and inclusion,” all of this for the purpose of creating “a safe and inclusive space for Palestinian students and students that are in the support of the liberation of Palestine.”

 The implementation of a litmus test of ideological allegiance — only targeted at Jews who support Israel — is part of a decades-old campaign to malign Israel and transform it into a pariah state. It excludes its supporters from progressive groups, by falsely alleging Israel is an apartheid, racist regime of white supremacy that continues to oppress innocent Arabs who were the actual indigenous residents of the land now called Israel.

 Imagine if a student government yanked accommodations for halal food on campus because Islam can be linked to terrorism, the same spurious linkage these social justice cretins have created for “apartheid” Israel, Zionism and kosher food from pro-Israel companies. The campus-wide howling about Islamophobia and bigotry would be deafening.

 The Berkeley situation is, of course, part of a broader effort to marginalize Jewish students, malign Israel and Zionism without debate or counter-argument, contort history and facts to elevate the Palestinian cause and denigrate the Jewish state, and promote hatred and hostility to any supporter of Israel. The real intention of pro-Palestinian radicals, now encompassing a large swathe of academia, is to exclude Israel and Zionism as reasonable topics of discussion and to prevent supporters of the Jewish state from even defending it or offering counterarguments. While Israel is not a perfect country and when they do make mistakes they should be called out on those mistakes. However, the immense hatred of the Jewish people that has arisen to almost pre-World War 2 levels is a sign that Satan is continuing his attacks.

 Biblical Connection: In Revelation 12, the nation of Israel, depicted symbolically by a woman figure, is attacked by both Satan and the forces of the Antichrist.

 PRAY: Pray that the Jewish people will be protected from these types of unjust attacks in the public square.

Russia and China Moving to Create a New Global Threat?

A top Chinese official said that his country will continue its partnership with Russia in the hopes of creating a new international order that will rival western influence. “The Chinese side is willing to work with the Russian side to continuously implement high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries, safeguard common interests and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction,” Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Yang Jiechi recently stated.

 The comments come amid Russia’s ongoing war with neighboring Ukraine, which has resulted in international outrage and an effort by many western governments to sanction Russia and cut off its influence around the globe. But the international influence campaign has seemingly brought Russia and China closer together, with Chinese President Xi Jinping set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Xi’s first foreign trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While China has not provided Russia with direct support or relief from sanctions, it has extended its trade partnership with a Russian economy struggling to find international partners. About 81% of Russian car imports during the second quarter came from China, Bloomberg reported, while China’s Xiaomi phone brand became the most popular in Russia during the same time period. China has also been a dependable consumer of Russian fuel, buying up liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a steep discount from Russia. The arrangement has benefited both countries, giving Russia a buyer for its energy resources while China has used the windfall to sell energy sources at a markup to a European economy that has found itself short of resources amid sanctions against Russia.

 “Russia and China are building a massive $55 billion pipeline called the ‘Power of Siberia,’ delivering gas from Siberia to Shanghai,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital. “This is a major development of strategic importance as Putin is pivoting to Asia in a big way. The Kremlin has concluded that Russia-U.S. relations are irreparable and that the U.S. and Western sanctions are here to stay indefinitely.”

Russia and China have also worked together to send money transfers to China in yuan without using the SWIFT messaging system, which helps Russia bypass international sanctions and works toward the Chinese goal of devaluing the influence of the U.S. dollar. “Russia already has established a method of transferring payments to convert wire currency into Chinese yuan, bypassing SWIFT,” Koffler said, adding that the Russian Finance Ministry also announced the country is “transitioning to yuan, playing into China’s strategic goal of replacing the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan as the dominant international reserve currency by 2049.”

 This is yet another example of Russia moving away from Western relationship and making strong connections with other more savory nations. Western sanctions of the war in Ukraine have driven Russia into stronger trade and military relationships with Iran, North Korea and now China. If these nations continue to grow closer and gain more strength and power in the international community, it could spell trouble on a global scale.

 Biblical Connections: Russia has always been seen as a problem in biblical prophecy because of the Gog-Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. Making strategic alliances with other nations like Iran and China do not help to alleviate fears that they could once again become a major problem not only in the global community, but specifically in the Middle Eastern theatre, where they already have influence with both Syria and Iran.