The world is highly distressed at the potential outcomes in the Middle East, whether of Israel's entry into Rafah and the response of the surrounding nations or the possibility of a direct strike on Israel by Iran and the ensuing war that might follow.  In this troubled sea of political turmoil, the Bible holds out a message of hope. 

With Russia looking to overwhelm Ukraine, nations are wondering what is coming next. Governments around the world have increased spending, and there is a heated discussion beginning in many nations about reintroducing conscription. This is in keeping with Joel's prophecy to "wake up the might men" and "beat your plowshares into swords". 

Welcome to another Bible in the News. This week, Israel rejects Hamas ceasefire deal and aim at ‘total victory’. We review this in the light of Bible prophecy.

As tensions boil over in the Middle East, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have once again been pulled military into the region. Reluctant as some of them may be to support Israel, they have had no choice but to lend their support to the region to defend their shipping interests. As the biblical "ships of a Tarshish", they have been called upon to protect the region. The Houthi attacks have forced them back into a role they don't want to take on. The fate of Yemen is also clearly outlined in the Bible. 

This week we look at the destiny of the peoples of Lebanon in Bible prophecy in the light of rising tensions in the region.

Examining the Biblical Evidence around the True Identity of Jesus

We are beginning to see the cooling of relations between Russia and Israel as we would expect from Bible Prophecy.

All over the world we are witnessing an outbreak of abominable antisemitism. Reports of these incidents have been heard to some extent on the media, but I have seen more reports on social media and even heard personal stories. Rather than taking a firm stand to stomp it out, little is being done to eradicate it. Even western governments, who in some cases may have made some bold statements, in practice have done little to stymie it. The media has fanned the flames of these often violent demonstrations, with inflammatory, distorted reports.

God has  been building a nation in the land of Israel out of families that have been gathered from all nations of the world. The current crisis is a direct challenge to the work of the Creator in restoring the nation of Israel to the land. David Billington explores the Bible's answer of Hope to the current crisis in the land during this week's Bible in the News, Part 2 of a special series given in Brantford

The past month has seen horrific attacks on the nation of Israel. Israel has responded with resolve in the Gaza Strip. Many are wondering what the outcome will be. The Bible provides answers to what has been happening and what will shortly come to pass in the whole region, specifically the land of Israel. This week's Bible in the News is a special lecture John Billington gave on Thursday, November 2nd, to discuss these events in light of Bible prophecy. 

The war between Israel and the Hamas terrorists is capturing all of the headlines again this week.

In this episode of Bible in the News, we dive deep into what some of the recent developments mean in the light of Bible prophecy.

American financial support for Ukraine was stripped from the US budget this past week, but that is only the tip of the iceberg for Ukraine. The decline of its population and simply running out of soldiers is causing its ability to defend itself to collapse. Even the world's media must concede the battle is all but lost. The Bible has clearly stated Russia will be supreme in Europe at the time of the end. We are witnessing the angelic hand at work in bringing about God's purpose with the world in leading it to Armageddon, where it will be humbled. 

(Audio to be added later today.) On September 9, the G20 leaders unveiled an Israel-Saudi Arabia rail link plan, which is "part of a broader project to build a transport link between India, the Middle East and Europe,” according to the Globes news website. Globes explains:

We caneexpect Saudi Arabia to be working in and around the region of Israel and the Middle East when the great Northern Invasion prophesied in the Bible before Christ's return takes place. Recent events indicate a warming of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is happening now.

Global population levels are in serious, steep, accelerating and seemingly irreversible declines with profound consequences likely, while Israel continues to grow apace.

This week the commemoration of Tisha B’Av, was kept by the Jewish people. What is Tisha B’Av? It is the 9th day of the month of Av on the Jewish calendar, when the first and second temples were destroyed. The first by the Babylonians and the second by the Romans in AD 70. This is based on history, Jewish sources and indicated in scripture. According to Jewish sources, other dark events, such as the evil report of the twelve spies also happened on this tragic day.

The official Vatican news site reported on July 6 that, "Pope Francis to visit Fatima to implore peace for Ukraine, entire world.” The introduction to the article reads,

"Pope Francis returns to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in early August during his Apostolic Journey to Portugal in order to pray for an end to the war at the heart of Europe, at the site of apparitions closely linked to Russia and the Popes of the 20th century.”

including Southern Command of the Russian Army and several towns or cities and was heading toward Moscow.

As the world gears up to celebrate Pride Month we take some time to consider what the Bible has to say about such matters.

A counter-economic group to the G7, called BRICS, is working on a different method of international transactions in an attempt to remove America's ability to weaponize its currency. This effort is designed to collapse the American empire and has been given new life by the sanctions imposed by the West worldwide. It is n keeping with the picture painted in the latter days by the prophets of a multipolar world where Russia, not America is the dominant force. 

The feast of Shavuot (called pentecost, or the feast of weeks) has been celebrated this week in the land of Israel and throughout the Jewish world.

May 14, 1948 - “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.”

The scripture is very clear, that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth, all nations will be deceived. There will be a world wide deception.  The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah says, "O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.” (Jeremiah 16:19)

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the West has made a coordinated effort to isolate Russia, cutting off financial and computer services dependent on the Internet. These moves could backfire now that Russia has been forced to operate independent of the West. An attack by Russia on offshore infrastructure, such as Internet cables, would cause catastrophic economic damage to the West, but significantly less to an increasingly isolated Russia. Putin seems to be preparing options for retaliation that may have seemed unthinkable during more peaceful times.

Ezekiel 38 describes a changing of the guard in the hegemony over Europe from the USA into Russia's Court. France's Macron has advocated moving away from US hegemony financially, militarily and industrially. The EU's president agrees, and nations such as German, Turkey and Hungary are singing out of the same hymn book. 

Putin has put Russia on a war footing, turning its defence industries into round-the-clock production facilities. He has suspended Russia's involvement in the START Nuclear Treaties, causing fear in the west of nuclear war. The scripture predicts the preparations for war and the re-armament of the world in anticipation of Armageddon. 

We review what the Bible says about earthquakes in the latter days as major earthquakes rock the Middle East.

It was just under a year ago, on February 24 that Russia invaded Ukraine. The war has not gone in a way that many had expected. Russia moved in quickly, it seemed like Ukraine would fall and the war would be over in short order. This however did not happen. From a Bible prophecy stand point we understand that the angels are at work and they will bring a situation out of this war, beyond what we may have anticipated. Almost a year in, we ask the question, is Russia losing the war? More importantly from a Bible prophetic view, we may ask, “Why is the war dragging on?”

Israel’s national birth is completely unique and an absolute miracle. This year marks the 75th anniversary since Israel’s birth in 1948. As far as nations go that is not a long time. It’s only 78 years since the end of World War II in Europe and the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. Before that date the Jewish people in Europe were being exterminated in the Nazi death camps — the most organized and documented genocide ever. Before the Jewish people were regathered to their ancient homeland, they were dispersed in over 100 different countries, speaking over 80 different languages. When the state of Israel was proclaimed in 1948, 5 established and well equipped Arab armies immediately invaded the newborn country. In another miracle, Israel survived this onslaught. How they came to form a nation, from the ashes of the Holocaust, against all odds is truly a stunning miracle. Israel has also become one of the more advanced nations in the world, producing many advancements and inventions in science, medicine, technology and national defence.

Since the 1990s Israel’s politics have followed a general trend towards the right. The so called “peace process” championed by Israel’s left-leaning government of the time resulted in a worsening security situation which climaxed in the 2^nd intifada in the early 2000s, and a new landscape of Israeli politics was born.  

Welcome to our weekly Bible in the News podcast! We continue to watch Saudi Arabia with interest. You may remember some months ago, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had opened their airspace to Israeli planes. Well, things seem to be continuing to progress along those lines.

Recent events in Iran show the antagonism Iran has against the West and in particular Israel. This fits the pattern of the Bible prophecies that depict Iran as an aggressor against Israel in the latter days.

The American Election shows the extreme divide in America. The struggle for who will be king of the hill brings the basest characteristics of men to the front. God's future kingdom will provide righteous rule, saving humanity from itself and setting up godly principles to govern. It will respect God's will and not the will of the people.

The right is back in Israel with a solid majority.  What may this mean for actual policy on the ground and how does it relate to Bible prophecy?

"Liz Truss says she may follow Donald Trump and move Britain’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem,” reported the UK Telegraph on September 22. The announcement brought immediate controversy, the Telegraph article went on to say, "Liz Truss has suggested that she could move the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, triggering warnings the Prime Minister was tearing up international law and acting “like Trump”.”

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has announced a partial military mobilization, of about 300,000 reservists. This is thought to be due largely to Russia’s setback in Ukraine. Although achieving many objectives in Ukraine, Russia has struggled  more than expected. We may wonder  if there are any prophetical reasons for these set backs. We are given certain prophetical snapshots, such as Ezekiel 38. Ezekiel 38 gives us a picture of the situation when Gog will invade the land of Israel and subsequently be destroyed. How the situation described in Ezekiel 38 comes about, is not revealed in its entirety. We can learn more by piecing prophecies together, but often events happen which we did not expect, or there are twists and turns along the way. However, overall things keep moving in the expected direction and the prophetical snapshot comes into focus.

Why is it significant that Great Britain has a new king? We explore this in the light of Bible prophecy in this weeks Bible in the news.

Russia has shut off the gas to France and Germany, causing havoc in these nations as it moves to cripple Europes economies, retaliating against G7 moves to cap oil pricing. The Bible is clear that Russia will be resurgent, but the West is still trying to deal with things as the "wish they were and not as they actually are." 

Russia is set to increase its military personnel size indicating a commitment to war. It also believes its military equipment is superior to its rivals. All of this is what we'd expect living in the time before Jesus Christ returns.

Pew Research's latest technology survey released last week shows that smartphone and social media use is almost universal among teens, who use the Internet daily, many almost constantly. Studies show that the constant interruption of our thoughts limits deep learning and critical thinking making us susceptible to believing false information. Technology companies are determining the way people think and it is time to put down our smartphones, to take back control and to refocus our minds on developing the mind of Christ. (Note that the audio and print editions contain some different, but complementary information).

It has been a tumultuous week. The war continues in Ukraine. Israel has been fighting for 3 days against the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, which has been launching hundreds of rockets against Israeli civilians. Meanwhile at the other side of the world, China was on the brink of war against Taiwan and possibly the United States.

Two years ago Israel’s High Court ruled that the residents of the unauthorised Israeli Settlement of Mitzpeh Kramim had to be forcibly removed from the hill top and the settlement demolished following a land dispute. However, this week the High Court reversed this ruling on appeal, saying that the settlement had been built in “good faith” and could remain. Some suggest this ruling could end up leaving a precedent for a multitude of similar cases throughout the West Bank, where there are ongoing legal disputes over the land on which settlements are built.

Biden's trip to the Middle East was fraught with embarrassing gaffs and resulted in very little to show. While he didn't follow Obama's lead, the army behind him in the State Department was working wilily to try to undo the gains made during Trump's administration. The angels are at work behind the scenes to ensure that God's will is done, regardless of man's futile plans. 

In recent events relating to Russia’s war in the Ukraine it is not the Western European nations making the biggest noise against Russia. The nation leading the way in protest against Russias invasion is arguably Britain as we might expect from Bible Propehcy

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has stated his interest in expanding Russian influence into the Baltic States. The Russian Duma is looking to nullify Lithuania's independence, bringing it back under Russian hegemony. 

Please enjoy the video version below of the Bible in the News this week:

As Russia continues its aggression in the Ukraine it turns off the gas to parts of Europe. Europe responds seeking to ban Russian oil completely with plans underway to also ban Russian gas by the end of the decade. As all this unfolds, Israel eyes up the opportunities. In this weeks Bible in the News we consider these latest developments in the light of Bible prophecy.

One of the greatest outcomes of the war in Ukraine has been an impetus for a massive wave of immigration to Israel. This is presented by David Billington, in this special presentation on prophecy fulfilling delivered on April 13. For Bible in the News this week the presentation can be watched below.

The West have shown themselves unable to do anything to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine. Instead they can do nothing but stand by and watch, asking why Putin is doing this, words they will echo when they ask "Art thou come to take a spoil"

Vladimir Putin has begun the task long foretold in history of building up the image empire for the latter day battle of Armageddon. The world is in disbelief of Russia's actions as it moves to conquer Ukraine. As Bible believers we should not only expect it - but anticipate it will continue to eventually include all of Europe. 

While the threat of Russian aggression on Ukraine escalates, protests calling for freedom from COVID mandates have spread from Canada to other western democracies.