Aborted Pregnancies in England, Wales Soars to New High

Sometimes it is easy to think that the tragic slip away from a countries Christian foundation will have little impact on the culture of that nation. However, that could not be further from the truth. England has moved away from its Christian principles and the results have led to a catastrophic disaster. The number of aborted pregnancies in the United Kingdom soared to a record high last year, according to government data. Between January and June 2022, the number of pregnancies that were aborted in England and Wales soared to 123,219, up more than 14% compared with the first half of 2021, according to data released by the U.K.’s Department of Health & Social Care. The 2022 number topped the previous high of 110,299 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christian Concern, a British Evangelical advocacy group, said the record number equates to roughly 680 pregnancies aborted in England and Wales every day, or the equivalent of “28 lives ended every single hour.” “It is with heavy hearts that we witness the devastating toll upon innocent lives. Each number represents a precious child, fearfully and wonderfully made, but whose lives have been cut short,” said Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern. “May God, in His mercy, use these sorrowful statistics to ignite a renewed determination within society to protect the lives of unborn babies, to offer compassionate support to those who need it and support families through good policies.”

While data for the second half of 2022 have yet to be released, the sharp jump in the latest numbers indicated they could top 2021’s numbers. The jump in the number of aborted pregnancies last year, said Williams, comes as more DIY at-home abortion products are becoming available, along with other factors, including a “cost-of-living crisis and a lack of pro-family policies.”

Just two years after government officials voted in favor of allowing women to undertake abortions in their own homes without medical supervision, DIY at-home abortions accounted for 54% of all aborted pregnancies in the first six months of 2022, up slightly from 52% in 2021. In August 2022, lawmakers amended the 1967 Abortion Act to allow eligible women in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to continue to take both medicines for early medical abortion at home. Thus, the United Kingdom not only allowed for all sorts of abortions, but also simplified the process to allow it to occur at a much greater frequency.

“The sheer scale of these statistics underscores the urgent need for a collective awakening, a return to valuing and protecting every human life, no matter how small or vulnerable,” Williams said. “Our culture's embrace of abortion as a solution to complex problems is a chilling reflection of our diminished respect for the sanctity of life. Let us strive for a future where we, as a nation, choose compassion and hope in the recognition that every life, from conception to natural end, is a precious gift from God.”

Biblical Connection: The sanctity of life is one of the hallmarks of the Christian faith. Psalm 139:13 states “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” Jeremiah 1:5 states “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” We have seen the Western world at large move away from the Christian faith and the results have led to a complete disregard for human life.

PRAY: Pray that the United Kingdom, once the leading mission-sending country in the world, would turn away from such blatant disregard from Biblical principles and would choose life.

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.

Secularists try to Keep Morals without God

Adults in more than a dozen countries say it’s not necessary to believe in God to lead moral lives or have good values, according to a recent study. The research was based on responses to the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Survey conducted in the spring of 2022. When asked if it was “necessary or not necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values,” majorities of respondents based in the secular Western European countries of Sweden (90%), France (77%), the United Kingdom (76%), the Netherlands (76%), Spain (74%), Belgium (69%), Italy (68%), Germany (62%) and Greece (60%) said it wasn’t necessary.

Most respondents in other countries located outside Western Europe but still considered to be part of Western civilization, including Australia (85%), Canada (73%) and the United States (65%), also maintained that a belief in God is not necessary to “be moral and have good values.” Majorities of respondents in the Eastern European nations of Poland (67%) and Hungary (63%), which have governments sympathetic to traditional values and religion, said the same. People in Israel and Singapore were more evenly divided on the question, with 50% and 54% of those surveyed, respectively, saying that a belief in God was a prerequisite for morality and having good values. Malaysia was the only country where the overwhelming majority of participants (78%) saw belief in God as necessary for leading a moral life with good values.

In the U.S., those who believe religion is not important (92%) and the religiously unaffiliated (88%) were most likely to view a belief in God as unnecessary for living a moral life and having good values. Majorities of all subgroups based on partisan identification, education level, gender and age group indicated that a belief in God was not necessary to live a moral life. Even among those who described religion as “important” to them, a narrow majority (51%) suggested that a moral life is possible in the absence of a belief in God.

The issue that arises with these types of beliefs is what is the moral standard that is being used and where is it coming from if it is not coming from God? If you eliminate God as the Giver of the moral standard for society, then the moral standard is simply created by either whoever is currently in power or by a simple majority of a given population. Thus, the standard can constantly change throughout history based on the whims of the current society. We can see how this works with the changing sexual revolution in western culture. Things that were considered taboo barely ten years ago are now being accepted as morally allowable. It also allows for different standards across the world. What is acceptable in America may be different than Denmark, China or Kenya. Therefore, there is no universal moral standard that applies for all humanity in this worldview.

Biblical Connection: Two passages come to mind when thinking about rejecting God’s moral standards. In the Book of Judges, Israel ended up in chaos because they continuously rejected the things of God. Several times in the book its states, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul writes that in the last days “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” Turning away from the moral standards that God has established can only lead to chaos and destruction.

PRAY: Pray that the forces that are trying to destroy biblical morality in our society will be stopped and we will return to the standards that God has established.

Many Americans Want Religion Without God

While less than half of adults in the U.S. believe in God without a doubt or attend religious services frequently, the majority, almost 80%, say they still pray, a new study from NORC at the University of Chicago shows. The study is based on the 2022 cross-sectional data for the General Social Survey, a biennial, nationally representative survey that NORC has conducted since 1972 to track “societal change and study the growing complexity of American society,” a release from the University of Chicago said.

“The past three years were a period of great trial and change for the United States. Understanding how these times affected Americans’ thoughts, beliefs, and opinions is critical to understanding social change,” René Bautista, director of the GSS and associate director of Methodology & Quantitative Social Sciences at NORC explained in the release.

Of some 2,336 people in the survey who responded to a question asking them to describe what they believe about God, only 49.6% said they believe in God with “no doubts.” Some 16.4% said they “believe in God with doubts,” while another 5.4% said they “believe sometimes.” A 14.4% share said they believe in a “higher power,” while 7.5% said they “don’t know and have no way to find out.” The share of respondents who indicated they “don’t believe” in God followed close behind with 6.8%. A majority of American adults also reported that they never had a born-again experience, which is described in the study as “a turning point in your life when you committed yourself to Christ? Some 61.7% of the 3,451 people who responded to this question said "no," while just 38.3% said yes.

Despite the majority of U.S. adults being doubt-ridden or having no faith in God, just under 80% reported that they still pray from “several times a day” to “less than once a week.” When asked, “About how often do you pray?” 29.6% of some 3,501 respondents said, “several times a day.” Another 19.5% said “once a day,” and 11.8% said “several times a week.” Some 5.4% said “once a week,” 12.9% reported praying “less than once a week,” while 20.9% said they “never” pray at all.

The question then arises on who exactly are these people who reject God and yet still pray praying to? They either like the comfort of praying because it makes them feel better or they are simply doing it because it is something that they are doing because they grew up in a religious family. They want religion without God but ultimately their religion is useless if they continue to reject God. It also shows that many want the trappings of religion and the benefits of prayer in their lives, but they do not want to accept it through God’s way.

Biblical Connection: In Isaiah 1:11-13 God told the people, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.” The Jews wanted to have religion that made them feel better but did not want to have a relationship with God. God instead told them they if they were not willing to come to Him properly, then He did not want their false religion. Similarly, those that pray to God without being willing to have a relationship with Him will also suffer the same consequences.

PRAY: Pray that those who want religion without God will have a true conversion experience and begin a relationship with God.

Is the Foundation for Revelation 13 Being Laid?

The White House and the Federal Reserve have started to lay the groundwork for a programmable, trackable digital currency. The Biden administration released a sweeping executive order that directed numerous federal agencies to crack down on digital assets, including on popular cryptocurrencies, as well as to study the potential development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC would not be a digital version of the existing paper-based dollar, but rather an entirely new currency that would exist exclusively in a digital (meaning an electronic, non-physical) form.

In September 2022, the White House announced the completion of the CBDC reports. Although the administration did not officially propose a CBDC following the release of the reports, it did announce that it had developed “policy objectives” for a U.S. CBDC system. Biden also directed the leadership of the National Economic Council, National Security Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Treasury Department to “meet regularly” with the Federal Reserve to further design a potential CBDC. Since September, the administration has worked tirelessly to advance the creation of a CBDC, through various working groups, speeches and coordinated efforts with non-government groups.

Under the various CBDC proposals floated by the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve, a U.S. CBDC would be programmable and traceable. Unlike with decentralized cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, every transaction made using a CBDC could be easily traced to individual users by financial institutions, government agents and/or the Federal Reserve, depending on the details of the final design. Additionally, because a CBDC would be digital and programmable, rules could be imposed that limit spending on approved activities. So, if the federal government or Federal Reserve were to determine that Americans are buying too much gasoline, for example, it could stop people from using CBDCs at gas stations with a few clicks on a computer.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, however, is that under most of the CBDC designs discussed by the Biden administration and Federal Reserve, nearly all forms of ownership of CBDC money would also be strictly limited. Only large institutions such as banks, the federal government, and/or the Federal Reserve would actually have ownership of CBDCs. Everyone else would be prevented from having absolute control over their digital money. That means in this possible future, you will not own CBDC money, and you’ll have no privacy either.

Currently, when you go to the bank and deposit money into a checking or savings account, you immediately cease to own the money. The cash becomes the property of the bank. In most situations, the bank is required to return the money you provided to it at your request, but the cash ultimately belongs to the bank until you remove the money from your deposit account.

Under the current system, there is a way to regain control of your money, by withdrawing cash from a deposit account, and privacy laws prevent banks in many situations from giving away details about your financial accounts to third parties, including the government. But because CBDCs would only exist in digital form in a deposit account, and because they would be programmed to possibly feed data to the government, there would be no way for you to physically take CBDCs out of a depository account, store them privately, own them directly, or use them without being surveilled by a large institution.

Regardless of where your CBDCs are held, it’s likely the federal government would have access to data about your purchases and other information – a design choice CBDC supporters say is necessary so that officials can limit criminal activity. The only significant privacy questions that remain in the minds of those who support CBDCs are about the extent of the data collection.

Biblical Connection: For centuries people have wondered how it would be possible for the events of Revelation 13:16-17 to occur, where the Antichrist and False Prophet would be able to stop people from purchasing. Perhaps the groundwork for this type of system is not too far off.

PRAY: Pray that the forces of evil will not be able to use this type of technology to impact the world before the time of the Tribulation.

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.

Utah Parent Demands School Library Remove Bible

The attacks on the Bible continue to ramp up, this time in the surprise state of Utah. With a list citing verses from Genesis to Revelation, a parent is calling for the Word of God to be removed from a high school library for being “pornographic.” A request filed on Dec. 11, 2022, with the Davis School District, located just north of Salt Lake City, calls the Bible “one of the most sex-ridden books around” and, therefore, violates Utah state code, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. According to a copy of the request obtained by The Tribune, which has since been taken down, the parent — whose name, address and contact information were not disclosed for privacy concerns — specifically asked for the Bible to be removed at Davis High School in Kaysville, about 15 miles north of Salt Lake City. The parent also included with the request a list of more than 130 passages from Scripture the parent described as offensive, even including the very words of Jesus Himself.

The code referenced in the request defines pornographic and harmful materials as those which include a “description or depiction of illicit sex or sexual immorality” or a “nude or partially denuded figure.” However, the code notes that such definitions do not apply to any material with “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors,” which could likely include the Old and New Testaments. In submitting the request, the parent referred to Utah Parents United, a conservative parental rights group that, in recent months, has challenged various books in school libraries under Utah’s HB374. The statute prohibits “certain sensitive instructional materials in public schools.”

Some of the Bible verses referenced in the request include several laws for the people of Israel given to Moses at Mount Sinai, including laws regarding homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), incest and bestiality (Deuteronomy 27:20-23), and sexual assault (Judges 19:22-29). According to the request, red-letter verses — denoting Jesus’ words — from Revelation 2 are also pornographic: “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.”

Davis School District spokesperson Christopher Williams said has received 81 requests to review books following the passage of HB374, including one request to review the Bible. “At this point, it is also one of many that is in the process of being reviewed by a Sensitive Material Review Committee,” Williams said via email. “The process to review any book for possible removal from school libraries is time-consuming. However, parents, at any time, can request that their individual child not have access to specific books. Those requests have always been granted.” The challenge is expected to take roughly 60 days to complete from the original submission date.

Utah Parents United, meanwhile, called the complaint a “political stunt.” “It is clear from the petition that challenging the Bible was a political stunt. It has nothing to do with content in schools,” the group said in a statement on Facebook.

Biblical Connection: The Bible is inspired by God and is perfect (2 Timothy 3:16). Satan has been casting doubt on the words of God from the very beginning all the way back to the Garden of Eden. It was there that Satan first questioned God’s commands and has been continuing this process throughout history. As our culture moves away from our theological foundation, it will continue to attack the Bible and try to discredit it in any way possible.

PRAY: Pray that these baseless attacks against the Scriptures will be thwarted and that a respect for God’s Word will again reign throughout the land.

Israel Won’t Criminalize Sharing the Gospel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that his government will not pass a bill that would criminalize Christian evangelism, a proposal that drew concern from American Evangelicals. In a tweet posted in both English and Hebrew, Netanyahu expressed his opposition to a bill proposed by members of the United Torah Judaism party to punish Christian proselytization with one year in prison. “We will not advance any law against the Christian community,” Netanyahu tweeted in response to concerns.

 The bill was introduced by two Knesset members Moshe Gafni, a long-serving lawmaker who has frequently proposed such legislation over the past couple of decades, and Yaakov Asher. “Recently, the attempts of missionary groups, mainly Christians, to solicit conversion of religion have increased,” the English translation of the bill states. “At times these attempts do not involve monetary promises or material gains and are therefore not illegal according to the current law, but the many negative repercussions, including psychological damages, warrant the intervention of the legislature.” The proposed legislation would have also prohibited the creation of Hebrew-language online videos that preached about Jesus out of concern that Jewish minors might watch them.

 Joel C. Rosenberg, an American Evangelical bestselling author who also has dual Israeli citizenship, warned the bill would create “a major new headache for Netanyahu’s government by sparking a serious clash with Evangelical Christians in the United States and around the world who are among the biggest supporters of the State of Israel.” Israel already has legal measures to curb Christians from evangelizing to minors in the nation’s Jewish majority and jail time for anyone who offers financial incentives for Jews to convert to Christianity.

 Israel Today reports that Gafni has proposed similar bills in one form or another for 25 years, introducing anti-missionary bills at the start of every Knesset. Each time, those bills have failed to gain the minimal support needed to advance. Only ultra-Orthodox factions in Knesset have supported the bills. In June 2020, Israeli authorities removed the U.S.-based Evangelical Christian station GOD TV from the Israeli cable television provider HOT over claims that it was trying to evangelize Jews.

Asher Biton, chairman of Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, explained at the time that GOD TV, also known as Shelanu, “appeals to Jews with Christian content,” violating an earlier agreement that the station would only engage in “targeting the Christian population.” Ron Cantor, Shelanu regional director in Israel, told the Messianic Jewish news site Kehila News at the time that the allegations against the station were “simply not true.” “From the first day we met with HOT, it was very clear what we wanted to broadcast: Messianic Jews sharing their faith in Yeshua in a variety of ways, from interviews, to music, to personal stories. And that’s what we do to this day,” said Cantor at the time. “Our content providers are Israelis. Sabras. Serving in the Army. Paying their taxes. And we are people of integrity. If we really lied to get a license, of course we would have been caught. It does not make sense. It goes against everything we teach.”

 Last November, Netanyahu secured enough seats in the Knesset to be again elected prime minister, 16 months after losing the office to Naftali Bennett, who had held on to power with a slight majority. The political coalition that brought Netanyahu back to power is recognized as being more right-leaning than the previous government, with Netanyahu’s Likud Party allying with two smaller political parties known as Jewish Power and Religious Zionism.

 Biblical Connection: One day the Jewish people will again come to faith and 144,000 Jewish evangelists will take the Gospel around the world during the Tribulation period.

 PRAY: Pray that Jewish evangelism will continue to be allowed and continue to flourish throughout Israel and the world!

Satanists Brought “SatanCon” to Boston

Last weekend, the Satanic Temple kicked off what was billed to be the largest gathering of Satanists in history in Boston. One pro-life leader warned about the “connection between Satanism and abortion” as churches braced for the influx of Satanists in the city.

Known as SatanCon 2023, hundreds gathered for a sold-out event hosted by a group known for making fun of Christians and theologically conservative beliefs. Many of those in attendance displayed their support for abortion. The Satanic Temple promotes what it calls abortion rituals and has filed legal challenges against state restrictions on legal access to abortion, arguing that abortion is a religious right.

Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone said in an interview that while many attendees deny that they are coming together to worship Satan, he was “very sensitive to the connection between Satanism and abortion.”

“These Satanists who are gathering will claim that they do not worship the devil. In fact, they will claim that they do not even believe in a personal spiritual being called the Devil or Satan,” Pavone said. “Anything that even appears to be worship of the devil or being elite with the devil is dangerous stuff because the devil is real.”

Held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, SatanCon 2023 featured discussions on topics like “Re-imaging Lilith as an Archetype for Reproductive Justice,” “Sins of the Flesh: Satanism and Self-Pleasure,” “Reclaiming the Trans Body: Atheistic Strategies” and “Deconstructing Your Religious Upbringing.”

A Christian event called “ReviveBoston” was also planned during the same time to counter the event. ReviveBoston organizers called for thousands of Christians to overcome evil by gathering for worship, prayer and evangelizing the city. Spearheaded by Jaymz Sideras, a revivalist from London, he and his evangelism team preached God’s Word to the city.

Kris Kubal, chief program officer at Intercessors for America (IFA), told Fox News Digital that approximately 120 people converted to Christianity during this event. “These were not necessarily all Satanists,” Kubal said of those reportedly converted. Many were onlookers curious to see what was touted as “the largest satanic gathering in history.”

Based in Purcellville, Virginia, IFA’s approach was different that what may have been seen on the news, they sought to “speak in love” said Kubal. “We were more interested in people being set free, not praying against them; having conversations, not shouting.”

The increase in both secularism and Satanism, especially in the Western world, has come as Christianity has lost much of its place in the public square. As Christianity has been on the decline for decades, that vacuum has been filled with the rise of these types of movements. Satanism especially has jumped on the abortion train with the Supreme Court decision to stop Roe v. Wade. Radical feminists’ groups have allied themselves with this movement in order to try to push for “abortion rights”.

With the rise of the transgender movement in the last decade, the Satanic Temple has also pushed itself to gain a stronger following in these movements. This is incredibly impactful at the younger levels, as something like 25% of children under the age of 22 are now identifying in this way. If Satanism continues to ally itself with abortion and transgenderism, expect it to gain a considerable following in the coming years.

Biblical Connection: Satan’s methods have always been to reject the words and standards of God. All the way back in Genesis 3 he is seen questioning God’s words and intentions in his interactions with Eve. It should not surprise Christians to see Satanism pushing against the things of God and getting involved in abortion and transgenderism, two things that go against the standards that God has set in His Word. It also should not surprise Christians to see Satanism on the rise in these days as we approach the end of history. One day, the Antichrist, indwelled by Satan himself, will claim to be God and the world at large will follow him.

PRAY: Pray that this rise in both secularism and Satanism will be quenched and people will turn back to a relationship with God.

National Archives Forced to Apologize

The National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C., has apologized and agreed to provide a personal tour to a pair of visitors who sued the federal records agency after being told to cover up their pro-life attire when visiting on the morning of the March for Life. The plaintiffs alleged they visited the museum on Jan. 20 with their daughters and over 30 members of their Catholic school class. A Feb. 8 lawsuit claims security officers “chilled their religious speech” by “requiring plaintiffs to remove or cover their attire because of their pro-life messages.” They wore hats, buttons and other attire with various messages including “Life is a Human Right” and “Life Always Wins.”

According to court papers, the museum promised the plaintiffs a personal tour and “a personal apology on that tour regarding the events.” The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) apologized for the incident, citing its status as “the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights,” which enshrine First Amendment rights. “NARA policy expressly allows all visitors to wear t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc. that display protest language, including religious and political speech,” the NARA statement reads. “We are actively investigating to determine what happened. Early indications are that our security officers quickly corrected their actions and, from that point forward, all visitors were permitted to enter our facility without needing to remove or cover their attire. We have reminded all of our security officers at our facilities across the country of the rights of visitors in this regard.”

The plaintiffs are represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, which is advocating for a total of four clients who were a part of three separate groups that visited the National Archives three different times on Jan. 20. “When one of our clients questioned the order, a National Archives security officer said that the apparel would ‘incite others’ and that she was ‘disturbing peace,’” ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow explained in a statement.

“Yet another one of our clients was told that her T-shirt was ‘offensive’ and had to be covered up or removed. Her shirt read simply, ‘MARCH 4 LIFE 2014: Saint Cecilia’s Youth Group, Glen Carbon, IL.’ Perhaps most disturbing of all were the National Archives security officers who instructed a whole group of Catholic students and chaperones to remove or cover up ALL their religious and pro-life clothing while standing in the same room as the Constitution of the United States.” “In the weeks ahead, the ACLJ will be demanding answers on how and why such a clear violation of our clients’ rights occurred and who all was involved in the decision to target pro-life visitors,” Sekulow stressed.

The ACLJ helped multiple plaintiffs file a similar lawsuit against the Smithsonian Institution after National Air and Space Museum security guards allegedly asked them to leave for wearing beanies with pro-life messages during March for Life weekend. ACLJ delivered a demand letter to the museum on behalf of several students from Our Lady of the Rosary School in Greenville, South Carolina, and their parents. The Christian legal nonprofit requested that the Smithsonian preserve information relevant to the incident in anticipation of possible litigation.

Sekulow called the incident a “clear-cut First Amendment violation.” “The federal government simply cannot ban speech with which it or its employees disagree,” he stated. A spokesperson for the museum stated that the security officer who told the students that they were not allowed to wear their pro-life hats inside made a mistake. “Asking visitors to remove hats and clothing is not in keeping with our policy or protocols. We provided immediate retraining to prevent a re-occurrence of this kind of error,” the spokesperson stated.

Biblical Connections: Psalm 139:14 states, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” A nation that rejects the sanctity of life is a nation that has turned its back on God.

PRAY: Pray that the push to criminalize or discriminate against the pro-life movement will be stopped.

Putin Suspends Treaty as US-Russia Tensions Rise

Tensions between the U.S. and the Kremlin ratcheted up over US support for Ukraine as Vladimir Putin vowed to pull Russia back from a key nuclear treaty and President Joe Biden reaffirmed the U.S. and its allies won’t back down. Putin’s move came on the heels of a surprise visit by Biden to Kyiv. In a nearly two-hour speech to both houses of the Russian Parliament, Putin said he was suspending Moscow’s participation in New START, a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia. Putin said he was taking action because of the U.S. and NATO. “In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” he said.

President Biden followed with his own speech in Warsaw. He said Putin thought Ukraine would “roll over” when he invaded with tanks a year ago, but “he was wrong” because of the bravery of Ukrainians and “iron will” of nations everywhere that have come to Ukraine’s aid. “One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Well, I just came from visiting Kyiv, and I can report, Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall. And most importantly, it stands free.”

New START is the last remaining nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia. It was signed in 2010 and extended for five years in 2021. It limits each side to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads. “Over the last few years Russia has violated and walked away from key arms control agreements. With today’s decision on New START the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Putin’s move as “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible. We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does.” Biden said Russian forces have committed “crimes against humanity without shame or compunction,” pointing to the targeting of civilians, the kidnapping of children, “rape as a weapon of war” and bombings of maternal hospitals, schools and orphanages. “It’s abhorrent,” Biden said, promising Russia will be held accountable.

Although Biden did not directly address Putin’s pledge on the nuclear treaty, he said “autocrats” like Putin have gotten weaker over the past year as democracies have strengthened in solidarity with Ukraine. “A dictator bent on building an empire will never be able to quench the people’s love of liberty,” Biden said. Biden also addressed the Russian people, telling them the U.S. and allies “do not seek to control or destroy Russia” and pushing back at Putin’s claim that the West is plotting to attack Russia. He said the Russian people “are not the enemies.” Directing his comments to Poland and other NATO allies, Biden said Putin “no longer doubts the strength of our coalition,” but said he “still doubts our conviction” and “staying power.” He declared: “Ukraine will not waver. NATO will not be divided. And we will not tire.”

As he has done many times before, Putin blamed the West for provoking the war, accusing the U.S. and its European allies of wanting to acquire “limitless power.” He said Ukraine’s allies were “playing a dirty game,” that NATO members were openly talking about supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons and that the entire planet was “dotted” with U.S. military bases. Putin claimed Western economic sanctions on Russia were not working: Russian farmers just had a “record” grain harvest and he plans to bolster Russia’s diplomatic and economic ties to India, Iran and other countries in the Middle East. Large parts of his speech were focused on domestic policies connected to infrastructure spending and financial reforms. He praised Russian soldiers and said he would “systematically” continue with the Ukraine invasion he ordered a year ago. He did not unveil any new military objectives connected to Ukraine. Putin did rule out Russia making a first nuclear strike in Ukraine and said Russia would conduct nuclear tests only if the U.S. did so first.

Biblical Connections: Ezekiel 38-39 points to Russia continuing to be a major player on the world stage.

PRAY: Pray that any type of nuclear war would be avoided, and that God would enable peace to occur in both Ukraine and in the world as a whole.

LGBT Population on the Rise in America

The share of the American population identifying as LGBT has doubled over the past decade as Generation Z is more likely than older Americans to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or something “other” than heterosexual in new Gallup data. A new survey released examined Americans’ self-identification with the LGBT community based on responses from more than 10,700 adults in the United States collected in 2022. The overall margin of sampling error is ±1 percentage points. The sampling error among the 584 LGBT adult respondents is ±5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The share of Americans who identify as LGBT reached a record of 7.2% in 2022 after hitting 7.1% in 2021, up from 5.6% in 2020 and 3.5% in 2012, the year Gallup began collecting data on LGBT identification.

Generation Z, defined as the group of adults born between 1997 and 2004, has a much higher share of its population identifying as LGBT than its older counterparts. Nearly one in five (19.7%) members of Generation Z consider themselves part of the LGBT community, with 13.1% describing themselves as bisexual, 3.4% identifying as gay, 2.2% categorizing themselves as lesbians, 1.9% telling pollsters that they are trans-identified and 1.5% choosing the “other LGBT” category when asked about their sexual orientation.

The share of adults belonging to the LGBT community dropped in descending order by generation, with 11.3% of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) having a significantly larger LGBT population than Generation X (3.3%), baby boomers (2.7%) and the silent generation (1.7%). “With many more younger than older adults seeing themselves as something other than heterosexual, the LGBT share of the entire U.S. adult population can be expected to grow in future years,” Gallup Senior Editor Jeffrey M. Jones wrote in the report. “However, this growth depends on younger people who enter adulthood in future years continuing to be much more likely to identify as LGBT than their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.”

The findings of the Gallup survey appear consistent with the data collected in “Gen Z Post Election Research” polls conducted by the Walton Family Foundation and Murmuration in conjunction with SocialSphere. That survey queried those between the ages of 15 and 17 in addition to adults. Only 75% of Generation Z respondents called themselves “heterosexual or straight,” compared to 92% of older adults. Thus, if this trend continues, and the growth continues to expand with each generation, very soon the LGBT population will no longer be a small minority of the American population, but instead will become a major element within the population.

Biblical Connections: Romans 1:26-28 states, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” These types of sexual sins have always been viewed as a corruption of God’s Creative order. Sodom and Gomorrah were punished for these types of sins. These types of sins were outlawed in the Mosaic Law. If America continues to go down this road and this type of sin continues to increase, then America will continue to drive itself away from God.

PRAY: Pray God will get a hold of this generation and that they will turn to God instead of continuing in their sinful rebellion.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:5-6

Have a blessed Easter

from our family to yours!

News Media Ignores Hate Crime Against Christians to Protect LGBT Agenda

Despite the loss of six lives at a Christian elementary school, not one of the nation’s biggest newspapers used the words “Christian” in their headlines for the mass shooting in Nashville. The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and even The Chicago Tribune all avoided initially referring to The Covenant School as a Christian school after a heavily-armed woman — who was later identified as trans — forced her way into the school and killed six people, including three young children.

The shooter, later identified as Audrey Hale, 28, of Nashville, was a former student at the school and self-identified as trans, according to Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake. Authorities say Hale was armed with two rifles and a handgun when she made entry just after 10 a.m. Wednesday at the school, located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. She was fatally shot during the encounter with officers, police said.

Immediately following the shooting, several national newspapers declined to identify the school as Christian: The New York Times wrote “Heavily armed assailant kills 6 at school in Nashville”; The Washington Post ran the headline “6 slain in shooting at Nashville school”; The Chicago Tribune wrote “6 dead in shooting at Nashville school”; and The Wall Street Journal ran its headline as “Six Shot Dead in Nashville Elementary School.” Other outlets like NBC News avoided using the word “trans” or “transgender” in their headlines to describe the suspect, with a search of NBC News for the term yielding a number of older news stories, with only two results relating to the shooting as of March 28, neither of which used the words “Christian” or “transgender” in their headline.

One of the NBC stories made only a passing mention of Hale as being trans-identified, adding that officials are still determining “if it actually played a role into this incident.” The same article, however, also used the gender-neutral pronoun “they” for Hale, a biological female, and suggested in its headline that “resentment may have fueled” the shootings. CBS News initially reported the shootings took place at a “private Christian school” and that the “suspected shooter is also dead,” before updating its tweet to clarify the outlet was “still working to confirm Hale's gender identity.”

In recent months, a number of national media outlets have sought to portray Christians as a threat to the LGBT community: MSNBC warned in January of “mounting attacks” on trans-identified youth by “religious conservatives” and the “Christian Right.” Taxpayer-funded PBS linked “escalating attacks on trans rights” with the “religious right’s fixation” on abortion, LGBT and other issues. The Intercept reported last June on what it described as “violent consequences” from a “Christian fascist insurgency” from protesters who opposed drag shows with minors in attendance. Business Insider earlier this month suggested a legislative effort to ban body mutilating sex-change surgeries for minors amounted to “genocidal rhetoric” against LGBT people and used an image of LGBT activists laying on the ground with cardboard signs shaped like tombstones.

Jack Hibbs, founding pastor of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California, said that while we don’t yet know if Christians were specifically targeted in the shooting, it’s clear that the mainstream media would prefer to portray Christians as the threat to LGBT people. Hibbs called that idea a “propaganda scheme rather than reality, because the Christian family really is the actual answer to bringing hope and love and comfort to the [LGBT] community rather than the media spinning it as us being hostile.” He also said the “media is responsible” for fostering hostility toward Christians and Christianity in general.

“I really do believe that the media is responsible for this genre of attitude and thinking, when in reality if people would just calm down and look around, I see Christians loving, reaching out and bringing hope to a section of people who have lost hope. They're confused, they're terrified. Jesus Christ is the only answer for them, and the Christian who knows that will never be their enemy” said Hibbs.

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

PRAY - Pray for the families of the victims of the shooting as well as the community. Pray that Christians will not be targeted by such hateful actions.

NATO Pours in Resources to Ukraine

President Joe Biden announced that the United States will provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. That is the required number to equip an entire Ukraine tank battalion. These tanks are needed, Biden said, because Ukrainian forces are working to defend the territory they hold and will be better prepared for additional counter-offenses. “They need to be able to counter Russia’s evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term. They need to improve their ability to maneuver in open terrain. And, they need an enduring capability to deter and defend against Russian aggression over the long term,” the president said.

The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. And, they’re also extremely complex to operate and maintain. Along with the tanks, the U.S. will be giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively repair and maintain these tanks on the battlefield, he said. Ukrainian troops will be given training on logistics and maintenance as soon as possible, as actual delivery of these tanks will take some time, he said.

Biden said he had a long conversation with NATO allies, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni regarding continued close coordination and support of Ukraine. Biden mentioned strong allied support for Ukraine, which will include German Leopard 2 tanks, a German Patriot missile battery, Challenger 2 tanks from the United Kingdom, and AMX-10 armored fighting vehicles from France.

“This is about helping Ukraine defend and protect Ukrainian land. It is not an offensive threat to Russia,” he said. “The expectation on the part of Russia is we’re going to break up, we’re not going to stay united. But we are fully thoroughly totally united,” Biden said, speaking of the 50 nations that are part of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Senior administration officials said that these Abrams tanks will be procured through Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding. Unlike the presidential drawdown authority, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from DOD stocks. The officials also noted that eight M88 recovery vehicles will also be shipped to Ukraine, to accompany the 31 tanks.

This all comes while Russia is preparing for an “imminent” new offensive on Ukraine, while 200,000 more Russian troops may soon be joining the war effort, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). An new ISW report says that Ukrainian, Western and Russian sources agree that “Russia is preparing for an imminent offensive” as the war nears its one-year mark. The report notes that NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who “retains his maximalist goals in Ukraine,” was planning to mobilize 200,000 or more new troops to join the fight.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian military official Ivan Tymochko reportedly said that Russian forces were “strengthening” in Ukraine’s Donbas region in anticipation of the offensive, which Russia was launching “due to increasing domestic pressure for victory” in the war. “Stoltenberg’s and Tymochko’s statements support ISW’s previous forecast that Russian forces are setting conditions to launch an offensive effort, likely in Luhansk Oblast, in the coming months,” ISW said, while adding that Russian military bloggers had indicated “that the Russian information space is setting conditions for and anticipating a Russian offensive.”

A Russian offensive and more NATO intervention may continue to escalate an already tense situation, in which NATO attempts to aid Ukraine while also not directly fight Russian forces.

PRAY: Pray for a great worldwide revival and for protection for hurting Christian brothers and sisters as tensions continue to escalate.

Antisemitism Abroad for Jewish Travelers

Some 25% of Israeli Jews questioned for a survey reported that they have experienced antisemitism abroad (outside of Israel) and 36% reported that they avoid traveling abroad for fear of being identified as Jews, according to a recent report from the World Zionist Organization (WZO).

The Israeli Geocartography Institute conducted the research which was spearheaded by Prof. Avi Dagani and Dr. Rina Dagani via the internet. They polled men and women over the age of 18 who constitute a representative sample of Jewish Israeli society within a margin of error of 4.4%, according to the WZO. The survey was conducted ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, 2023.

The study also determined that nearly half of the Israeli public is afraid to wear outward symbols of Judaism in public abroad. When asked about specific countries in which they felt particularly unsafe, 62% of respondents listed Turkey as the most dangerous, followed surprisingly by France. Turkey has become much more antisemitic than in previous generations as it has moved away from its ties to the West. Also on the list although much lower down were Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Antisemitism in Western Europe seems to have increased again for three reasons. First, the surge of migration from the Middle East due to the crisis in Syria that flooded Western Europe over the last ten years has dramatically increased the Islamic population in this region. Second, the rise of secularism in Western Europe has turned many against traditional Western beliefs, including Judaism and Christianity. Finally, with the rise of replacement theology, even many Christian circles that remain in Europe have a very negative view of the Jewish people.  

The WZO’s Raheli Baratz-Rix, Head of the Department for Combatting Antisemitism and Enhancing Resilience, said: “As 2022 comes to an end, the Department for Combatting Antisemitism and Enhancing Resilience is constantly monitoring the trends and processes of antisemitism around the world, with Israeli society and Diaspora Jewry at the core of who are affected by these processes. At this time, when antisemitism is everywhere, we must not turn a blind eye to ...the lives of our brothers in the Diaspora. Therefore, it is our role as a country to bear the burden and act to eradicate antisemitism worldwide through outreach and awareness along with the efforts of security forces.”

WZO chairman, Yaakov Hagoel, added: “The responsibility for the safety and security of our Jewish brothers in the Diaspora rests with the local governments in each and every country. We should not take lightly the antisemitic events that are now taking place all over the world - phenomena of this type have a...dangerous end. The State of Israel is a strong moral and ethical country that will continue to work to ensure the safety and security of all Jews wherever they choose to live.”

Biblical Connection: During the time of the Tribulation, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, empowered by Satan, will persecute the Jewish people (Revelation 12-13). After the tragedy of the Holocaust, there was much sentiment for the Jewish people in Western Europe and America, leading some people to doubt whether it would be possible for the kind of hate of the Holocaust to ever be brought against the Jews again.

However, we are rapidly seeing the Jewish people once again come under intense hatred in many circles around the globe. This type of hatred and persecution could possibly be laying down the foundation for the type of future hatred that will allow the Antichrist to put a target on the back of the Jewish people and attempt to erase them from existence once more.

PRAY: Pray for the Jews who are under attack for the simple reason of their ethnicity and religious beliefs.

Christianity Under Attack in Academia

A federal court has ruled that Christian colleges and universities with traditional views on sexuality and marriage can continue to receive funding through Title IX, rejecting LGBT students’ efforts to strike down a religious exemption to federal discrimination law. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Oregon dismissed the case filed by a group of LGBT Christian college students and former students who sued the U.S. Department of Education for providing religious exemption to Title IX discrimination laws to Christian higher education institutions.

 Aiken concluded that plaintiffs failed to show that the original religious exemption granted by Congress decades ago for Title IX has a discriminatory purpose. “Plaintiffs have submitted no allegations of discriminatory motivation on the part of those enacting the religious exemption. To the contrary, Plaintiffs argue that when Congress enacted Title IX, protections for — or discrimination against sexual and gender minorities — were ‘of no concern,’” wrote Aiken. Title IX of the Civil Rights Act forbids sex-based discrimination in education, but colleges upholding traditional definitions for marriage and sexuality can request exemptions that allow them to adhere to scriptural beliefs on matters of sexuality.

 The court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that religious exemptions violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, noting that “the Supreme Court has interpreted it to allow, and sometimes require, the accommodation of religious practices.” The Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal nonprofit representing three Christian higher education institutions, celebrated the ruling. “Title IX, which applies to schools receiving federal financial assistance, explicitly protects the freedom of religious schools to live out their deeply and sincerely held convictions,” said ADF Senior Counsel David Cortman in a statement. “A group of activists asked the court to strip that protection away from schools that educate the next generation and advance the common good. The court correctly concluded that Title IX’s religious liberty exemption doesn’t violate any of the plaintiffs’ claimed rights.”

 However, across the pond things are very different. An Evangelical Christian teacher in England could be permanently banned from teaching after he was suspended for referring to a biologically female student as a “girl.” Joshua Sutcliffe was removed in November 2017 from his position as a teacher at the Cherwell School in Oxfordshire after he allegedly discriminated against a student by stating “well done, girls” when addressing the student’s small group during class. Sutcliffe was the focus of a number of allegations by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) during the group’s professional conduct panel last week, according to the London-based Christian Legal Centre (CLC). The hearing could ultimately result in Sutcliffe no longer being allowed to teach in the U.K.

 Sutcliffe is also accused by officials at Cherwell of sharing his opposition to same-sex marriage after he was asked by a student about his views. That incident, according to CLC, occurred during a Bible study that was organized by a Christian group at the school. In response to the allegations, Sutcliffe was expected to cite a statement from former Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, who said, “Any teacher, if asked direct or invited to share his view by a parent or a student, is perfectly at liberty to say, with equal marriage — as with adultery, divorce or abortion — what their own moral view might be.” Thus, the attacks on Christianity in the area of education will continue to be pushed by followers of the liberal agenda until they are stopped or until every Christian that believes in Christian standards is driven out.

 Biblical Connection: Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

 PRAY: Pray for the teachers and administrators that are in the crosshairs for simply holding traditional Christian beliefs.

Earthquakes Continue to Rock the Middle East

Another earthquake struck Turkey’s Hatay province near the Syrian border, killing at least eight people and injuring hundreds of others shortly after a massive tremor killed over 47,000 people and damaged thousands of homes. Christian groups are in the area to provide relief. At 6.4 magnitude, the new earthquake’s epicenter was in the town of Defne. The quake was also felt in Jordan, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and even Egypt. A second magnitude 5.8 temblor and dozens of aftershocks followed.

At least six people died and 294 others were injured with 18 in critical condition in Turkey, according to that country’s disaster management authority, AFAD. Across the border in Syria, a woman and a girl died in the provinces of Hama and Tartus, according to pro-government media outlets. According to the White Helmets (also known as Syria Civil Defense), over 130 people were injured in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria. At least six people were wounded in Aleppo, Al Jazeera reported.

 “I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” a young mother in the area, Muna al-Omar, told Reuters. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was quoted as saying that some hospital buildings also cracked in the latest earthquake, requiring patients to be evacuated. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington is willing to help “for as long as it takes,” even as the U.S. State Department said America’s humanitarian assistance for Turkey and Syria had reached $185 million.

 Evangelical Christian relief group Samaritan’s Purse, which has nearly 100 disaster assistance response team members on the ground in Turkey, said in a statement to The Christian Post that its Emergency Field Hospital in Hatay province is uniquely positioned to immediately begin meeting emergency needs of those affected. The group, whose doctors and nurses have treated nearly 1,000 patients and performed dozens of surgeries since Feb. 13, said the field hospital experienced “an influx of patients as ambulances rushed to the field hospital carrying newly injured patients.”

 “I just returned from Turkey where I saw first-hand the devastation caused by the earthquakes,” Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, said. “Today’s quake caused more injuries and damage, but it also traumatized survivors. We are seeing patients with broken bones and other earthquake injuries. I can’t imagine the fear these families are experiencing. They need our prayers, and they need to know that God loves them and they are not alone.”

 The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, an independent medical relief foundation whose staff are also receiving and treating victims, told CP in a statement that most of the injuries were a result of people panicking, as many even jumped from buildings during the quake. “The region has been experiencing hundreds of aftershocks since the initial earthquake,” the charity said in a statement. “Many more buildings could collapse after these earthquakes as a result of weakened foundations and structures from the previous earthquake and aftershocks.”

 Biblical Connection: It should not surprise readers of prophecy to see earthquakes in this region. The Book of Revelation describes several earthquakes that will occur in the Middle East, centering around the nation of Israel, during the Tribulation period. Describing Jerusalem, Revelation 11:12-13 states, “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.”

 PRAY: Pray for the people in the region that are impacted by these horrific earthquakes and for the families that have lost loved ones in the natural disasters.

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.