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New Wars, the Shifting of Nations, & the Death of the Pope

Students of the Bible know that all subjects are interesting and profitable in light of God’s Word, and current events is no exception. In truth, while the world grows weary and sometimes depressed by watching the news, Christ’s servants look to it with earnest expectation.

The reason is simple: God has revealed that certain events will lead up to and follow the return of His son Jesus Christ, and the position and nature of the nations therefore acts as a gauge for the nearness of his return. Not only this, but seeing God’s Word come to pass before our very eyes gives confidence and assurance of the other prophecies which still remain unfulfilled. It is in light of these things that we send out our Prophecy Letters and try to discern what the angelic host is doing and where it might lead. What we are seeing now is a significant uptick in world-wide chaos and coalitions forming which the faithful have been awaiting for thousands of years. With this in mind, let us briefly review what has occurred in recent weeks:

Gaza-Israel Update

Hostages have been the main talk for some time, yet it seems negotiations of this sort are nearing an end. Israel recently announced that Hamas has until May 16 to reach a hostage deal, and Hamas has responded by rejecting further talks (World Israel News, The Jerusalem Post). Israel’s military cabinet has therefore approved an expanded offensive into Gaza and intends to “capture and occupy all of Gaza” (Evening Standard). As to when this will take place, it has not been revealed. We expect to wake up one morning soon and see headlines of the renewed offensive. Israel apparently sees this as a springboard to tackle a number of their regional enemies in what is being called a “multi-front war”, and this includes war with Iran (Prophecy News Watch).

We speak of the future multi-front war frequently, for Scripture shows it to be the first great milestone in Christ’s conquering campaign. The enemies of this multi-front war are named for us in Psalm 83 and called elsewhere the “nations/heathen round about”, and this battle is won not just by Israel, but by the Lord himself, for, Israel “shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God” (Ezekiel 38:26). An invasion of Gaza (Scripturally known by its ancient name “Philistia”) appears to be one of the first things the Israel does under Christ, for the regathered Judah and Ephraim “shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west” (Isaiah 11:13-14). For this reason, it seems unlikely that Israel will take over all of the Gaza Strip unless this verse actually takes place before Christ returns (a concept which is debatable, but unlikely).

New Active War Front - Yemen

In a significant sequence of events which has shed light on US-Israel relations, fire was exchanged between Israel and Yemen. The Yemeni Houthis (a terrorist organization sponsored by Iran) struck Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, and what ensured was not just an Israeli response, but a joint Israeli-US response (World Israel News). Both nations worked together to deal a significant blow to the Houthis, striking their own international airport in an “eye for an eye” response (World Israel News).

While this development seems like a clear indication that America stands strongly by Israel, it is actually showing the opposite now. Trump announced that he has reached a deal with the Houthis to reach a truce, but this was done without informing Israel and seems to not even include Israel (The Jerusalem Post, The Jerusalem Post). The Houthis have declared that the deal made does not relate to Israel and implies that more strikes are to come.

Do the Houthis have anything to do with prophecy? The Houthis of Yemen are located on the southernmost tip of the Arabian peninsula, and I do not find any latter-day nation named from these parts. “Sheba and Dedan” of Ezekiel appears to refer to Saudia Arabia, but we find no nation who relates directly to Yemen’s territory. As the Houthis are sponsored by Iran in the same way that some of the Psalm 83 are (or were, like Syria under the Assad regime), none of the names in Psalm 83 refer to the region of Yemen. My view is therefore that they will be conquered and destroyed by Christ just like all wicked nations will be, but the way and time in which this will take place is not revealed. Their lack of mention in prophecy also indicates to me that they will not have any significant impact on Israel either.

The significance of this recent development seems more to be in the American-Israeli relationship, for that has enormous ramifications for latter-day prophecy.

US-Israel Relations

It has been stated many times before, but it is worth repeating for new readers: Scripture shows that Israel must stand alone against her enemies before Jesus reappears to them. We find this relayed in two ways:

Firstly, the Spirit says that Christ alone will save them. Let three passages suffice:

Isaiah 63:3 – I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people (of Israel) there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

Habakkuk 3:13 – Thou (the Lord, no others) wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.

Zechariah 9:16 – And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.

The only “savior” Israel finds at their side is the Lord.

Secondly, we find Israel is never said receive help of any sort from another nation at all, further establishing the first point. In all of the conflicts, it is simply Israel against the hoard of her enemies.

Based on these testimonies, we conclude that the US-Israel relationship must be severed or at least weakened in such a way that when Israel’s true time of need arises, America does not come to their aid. Such is what we find in Scripture, but how will it come to pass? It seemed there were 1,000 ways this could happen under the antisemitic Biden administration, but Trump’s election seemed to indicate that the ties would only strengthen. Yet Trump was installed by the Most High just like all rulers are (Daniel 4:17), and this was done to further His plan. We hypothesized when Trump was elected that his “America First” isolationism policies might eventually extend to Israel, and it seems this is happening now. Consider a few headlines from recent days:

The one I find most telling comes from The Jerusalem Post:

This article explains how a part of Trump’s government is seeking to end foreign aid and military assistance to Israel! Read this excerpt carefully and mark it well, for while it is a backwards way of reasoning, I believe we are seeing the grounds on which the US might abandon Israel:

“They (the US government) insist that ‘ending Israel’s reliance on US military assistance’ by 2047 will strengthen the alliance. Israel currently receives $3.8 billion annually under a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is up for renewal next year. The Heritage report gratuitously insists ‘ending Israel’s reliance on US military financing’ would elevate it from a lowly ‘security aid recipient’ to a ‘true strategic partnership’ and ‘fundamentally change Israel’s geopolitical position within the region.’”

Did you catch that? Ending military aid will strengthen Israel! In light of Trump’s decision to pull back funding from other nations, Israel seems to be just another nation on that list. We wait to see what will develop, but this has so far gone as expected by Bible students, feared by Israelis, and applauded by their enemies. At this point, it seems that when the Psalm 83 nations attack, Trump will have cut off already cut off aid and might simply tell Israel, “You can take care of them yourself – you don’t need us.” We shall see. In the meantime, there is great trouble everywhere else to take note of:

Other Trouble Brewing

The entire world seems to be thrown into a state of chaos. We will mention these items quickly for time’s sake.

Syria – With the new regime in place, it was questioned whether Syria-Israel relations would improve. Yet Scripture says that Syria and Israel will be latter-day enemies, and so we know that it cannot be (Psalm 83:6 as “the Hagarenes” and Isaiah 17:1-3). The honeymoon is now over, and the IDF has recently struck near the Syrian Presidential Palace (United with Israel).

Turkey – We that Turkey will come against Israel when the Russian Gog does (Ezekiel 38:6), and Turkey-Israel relations have seen a sharp uptick in hostility in recent weeks. It is being said that Turkey, not Iran, is the real danger to Israel, and Erdogan has made many statements claiming that Israel must be destroyed (Prophecy News Watch). It’s easy to see why when Russia comes against Israel, Turkey will be glad to join in.

Egypt – While the exact nature of Egypt’s role in the latter-day wars is debated, it’s clear that they are building up for a future conflict and allying themselves with Israel’s enemies. For the first time in history, Egypt and China have conducted air force and military drills (The Jerusalem Post, American Military News). Israel certainly views this as a threat!

China – China is also building strong ties with Israel’s other enemies, primarily Russia. China and Russia have the shared goal of replacing America as the world’s super power, and that has heavy ramifications for Israel as America is oftentimes their only ally. We’re seeing increased Russian-Chinese connections to this very end:

Iran – Iran has been weakened with the elimination of the Assad regime in Syria and the beating Hamas and Hezbollah have taken by Israel, and this means that their most effective way to hurt Israel would be a direct nuclear strike. While this kind of talk has quieted for the past few weeks, it has resurfaced into real fears:

India & Pakistan – Simply adding to the world-wide trouble, the old India-Pakistan conflict that has been going on since the 1940s has blown open again in the form of military strikes (The Jerusalem Post). While not relating directly to Israel, this shows the sea of nations “roaring” just as Christ prophesied (Luke 21:25). He alone will still them (Revelation 15:2).

There is much more than this going on, but this at least gives us a glimpse of the current state of the world. How quickly we see things heading just how God foretold!

The Death of the Pope

This is worth its own article, but we will mention it here quickly as a new Pope will likely be elected before we have time to write one. As all are likely aware, Pope Francis recently died and is set to have his replacement voted upon starting today. The process of electing a new Pope is unpredictable, but regardless of who becomes the next Pope, we know the role the Papacy has played and will play in God’s plan.

While the world accepts his self-made claims of being the “Vicar of Christ” and God’s representative on earth, the Scriptures show him in a very different light. He is “the man of sin” which Paul warned the ecclesia at Thessalonica about so many years ago. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul writes to them concerning the “falling away” from the truth which would occur in their near future, and he comforts them in telling them that this must occur. This system will twist and pervert the truth into a deceptive lie, and one will arise to lead this system who will make himself equal to God. This figure would be integral in the role of deceiving and gathering the nations to combat Christ, and Christ himself will finally destroy him and his wretched system. Read it in Paul’s own words to the Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 – Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (4)  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  (5)  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  (6)  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  (7)  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  (8)  And then (speaking of a day still future) shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:  (9)  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,  (10)  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Let it be noted that this “Wicked” will not be revealed to the world until the Lord Jesus exposes him. What does this mean? Given that this system arose in the early centuries after Christ as Paul said and has continued to exist until this time, it means that we aren’t looking for a new system to arise, but for an old one to have its true colors shown. It is the Papal system which falsely claims to have taken possession of the “keys of the kingdom” which were given to Peter and him alone. Paul is here telling us that this system will deceive the nations of its true nature until Christ reveals it, and it is little wonder then that many who are of today’s religious systems will certainly protest this very article, for they believe him to be the Vicar of Christ. This subject is best discussed in its own section and its own time so that it can be considered in fullness, but current events make it necessary to at least touch on it now. For now, we will conclude by saying that whoever man elects as the Pope (which in and of itself says that it is not of God, but of man), the man will do precisely as God requires him to in order to further His prophecy. It is telling of the nature of this system that many “faithful servants” are calling for a Pope of a more diverse culture and ethnicity, showing that it has nothing to do with who best represents and lives up to God’s standards, but who best suits man’s wants. We encourage any who are unfamiliar with the subject to impartially compare the Papacy’s history, teachings, claims, and deeds with what God has revealed Himself in His Word.

My, my, my, what a mouthful, and how much more ought to be said! How blessed we are to witness so many things! Lord willing, we will be able to comment further on them in the days ahead. 2025 has so far been a roller-coaster years, and it looks like it’s all just getting started. The overall lesson for us is that instead of getting caught up in the trouble in the earth, we should examine and prepare ourselves for Christ’s return. We can think of no better verse which sums this up more concisely than

2 John 1:8 – Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

 

In the Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins

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