Author: Mike Wingfield

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October 2021 – Unleashing Evil

PTNews

P r o p h e tic Truth in the N e w s

October 2024

   Published monthly by Mike Wingfield Ministries

All Bible references are from the KJV   

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(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 67, Boones Mill, VA 24065

The Rapture & Feast of Trumpets

“Behold, I [show] you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

By Mike Wingfield

October 2021

Download this Newsletter

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 67, Boones Mill, VA 24065

The Rapture & Feast of Trumpets

“Behold, I [show] you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

By Mike Wingfield

Unleashing Evil

“And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity…” Isaiah 13:11

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By Mike Wingfield

Only time will tell how significantly the humiliating U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will impact America’s standing in the world, and especially in the Middle East. Those who live in the Middle East, both Israelis and Muslims, are saying this will have lasting and dangerous repercussions for our world. U.S. actions in recent months have been viewed by the racial Islamic world as weakness. Islamic terrorists groups are rejoicing over the rapid demise of this once great nation. They are now more emboldened than ever, thinking their worldview is coming to fruition. Thanks to the Biden Administration, it appears we are on the threshold of a new global wave of Islamic terrorism.

Our withdrawal from Afghanistan was a political and military farce. As we left in shame, our enemies such China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey smiled with glee as they supported Afghanistan’s new radical Islamic leadership known as the Taliban. These evil nations will not restrain Islam’s attacks upon the U.S. or Israel. It is apparent that we have some very ominous days ahead for our world.

We are witnessing the earthly manifestation of a cosmic battle in the spiritual world. At the center of the clash between the kingdom of darkness and the plan of God at the end of this age is a sinister figure the Bible calls the Antichrist. What is hindering the Antichrist from coming? This man will be the ultimate culmination of wickedness, and rebellion against the Lord. His power, deception, and lawlessness will surpass all other evil men before him. There have been many antichrists. But the true Antichrist will be Satan’s finest attempt to defeat God and His eternal plan. Why doesn’t Satan produce him now?

The Scriptures declare that Satan and his Antichrist are being restrained by God. The Antichrist will burst onto the world scene at the moment God is ready to unleash evil upon the final rebellious generation. This is all under the plan and control of the sovereign God of the universe.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his second epistle to the church at Thessalonica, he informed them that the Tribulation Period could not begin until there was a time of apostasy in the church (2 Thessalonians 2:3). The church, God’s spiritual restraining influence in the world, is growing increasingly weak due to its dilution of the doctrines of God’s Word. The church will be removed when the Rapture, the next prophetic event on God’s time clock, occurs. When this happens, the church’s restraining influence on evil in the world will be gone. At that time, the Antichrist will be revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

I believe the Bible gives us enough information to conclude that the Antichrist will be a Muslim. [I will present a detailed analysis of this in the November and December newsletters.] I believe there is a great possibility that he will be the coming Islamic messiah, known as the Mahdi. The Islamic world is eagerly anticipating his arrival and world events are leading them to believe that day is soon. It is troubling to think that our world is rapidly moving toward this horrific event! I believe the events in Afghanistan are preparing for the entrance of the Islamic Antichrist and his jihad efforts to take control of the world.

The events in Afghanistan in the last few months are preparing for the entrance of the Islamic Antichrist and his jihadist efforts to take control of the world.

The stunning revival of Islam since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, along with the blind support of Islam by the liberal West, are paving the way for Antichrist. When the time has come for the Antichrist to step onto the stage of human history, Jesus will invite him to come onto the stage of history (Revelation 6:1).

God is restraining the appearance of the Antichrist until the world reaches a time of total rebellion and wickedness. This rebellion will demand God to respond by unleashing evil upon the final generation of mankind on this earth.

Our world is about to radically change. We are now living during the Church Age in the time when God is exercising His grace. The Apostle Peter, while responding to the timing of Jesus’ return in his 2nd epistle, made it clear that the unfolding of the end-time events is anchored in God’s patience to wait for sinners to come to salvation. He said, “the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering [toward us], not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This is in sharp contrast to the future Tribulation Period when “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

During this present age, the Lord is restraining evil in our world to allow His Holy Spirit to strive in the hearts of sinners to bring them to repentance and salvation. As mentioned in my August newsletter, the Lord is using three restraining influences to hold back the advance of evil in our world. They are:

The conscience of man- Romans 2:15– internal influence

Government of man- Romans 13:4– external influence

The Church (Holy Spirit)- Romans 8– spiritual influence

Therefore, before God can unleash evil and the unveiling of the Antichrist, He must cease the work of His three restraining influences.

God’s internal restraining influence through the conscience of every human being will cease when the collective conscience of a society suppresses “the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Like Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, they will harden their hearts against God’s voice in their conscience. As a result, God will harden their hearts just as He did Pharaoh’s heart in divine judgment. This is illustrated in Romans 1when God declares three times that He gives a wicked culture over to their depraved heart. God stops restraining them from their sin and allows them to self-destruct. At this point they become complete fools and have no moral compass. They call good evil and evil good. In my opinion, America and most of the world have already reached this point.

God also uses human governments to be His servants as they apply the law of God as an external influence to keep evil contained (Romans 13:1-5). God’s intended purpose for human government is to promote good and to punish those who practice evil. These governments are to use God’s law as a discernment of what is good and evil. The Bible tells us that when the end comes, the kings of the earth will agree to rebellion against God and His laws (Psalm 2:1-3).

America entered World War II to defeat evil governments that were attempting to take control of the world. Since that time, God has used America, in spite of all of her inadequacies and problems, to provide an external restraining influence in the world. For 80 years the U.S. has held in check evil Communist nations and violent Islamic forces in the world. During this period of time, we “planted 800 [military] bases worldwide, more than 20 times what the other four superpowers have combined. The number of U.S. troops stationed abroad, 200,000, is equal to the size of the entire standing army of France. Some 150 of the world’s 195 countries host American troops.

“America’s annual military spending, more than $770 billion, is larger than the next five military spenders combined. The 11 aircraft carriers with which Uncle Sam navigates the high seas equal the combined total of all other countries’ carriers” (The International Jerusalem Post, August 27- September 2, 2021, p. 10).

Unlike all other countries in world history, America has not flexed her military muscle to conqueror more territory, or to dominate another country or region. America’s purpose has been to defend those who were being attacked by evil forces. America’s war efforts have been aimed at the defeat of evil, and the promotion of good and freedom. In the war against Communism and radical Islam, we have attempted to foster democratic societies around the globe. This attempt has failed.

Our actions in Afghanistan in the last few months have signaled to the world that America no longer has the will to continue as the world’s premier military police force. In addition, America has become mired in internal problems at home. We are a country that has lost its moral compass. We have become enamored with the gratification of self and immoral pleasures. America has become a country of undisciplined people who have no desire to work or sacrifice for good.

Today, America is fighting from within for its own freedom. We are being deceived into following evil leaders who are plotting our demise. They want evil to reign over the world. They have successfully deceived a new generation of Americans into believing that good is evil and evil is good. They promote freedom as slavery and slavery as freedom. The blind are leading the blind.

Our hasty and humiliating defeat from Afghanistan will go down in history as the final act in the unfolding drama of America’s freedom march across the globe. We have just sent our greatest enemy, radical Islam, a message that we do not have the will to continue the fight against evil. We have failed to understand that radical Islam, with its passionate goal to dominated the world, has never lost the will to fight. “Islamism is the most effective, intense and global threat to peace since World War II, a scourge that compensates for its lack of warships, tanks, and jets with one elusive weapon it owns in abundance: the will to fight.

“Islamism’s war is not on the West; having struck in Russia, China, Indonesia, Turkey, and throughout Africa. Its target is the entire human race. That is why the war on Islamism, unlike the war for democracy, is both winnable and imperative” (The International Jerusalem Post, August 20-26, 2021, p. 9).

Our world is being threatened by two groups that are vying for power to control the world – Communism and Islam. According to biblical prophecy Islam will win this struggle. As the global economy collapses and natural disasters increase, it will devastate the Communist regimes that have heavily invested in the physical building up of armaments. Islam is different. Like the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War, their guerrilla type of warfare does not require sophisticated weaponry.

When the Tribulation begins, the Antichrist will begin his global march “to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Revelation 6:4). The Greek word used for sword is not the long saber used in military conflicts. This sword was a short knife used by assassins. This would indicate that the forces of the Antichrist will not take peace from the earth by conventional warfare, but by acts of terrorism as it is called today. The fact this is a great sword does not speak of the size of the weapon, but rather the size of the conflict. This will be a global jihad, making it a great military advance by the Antichrist.

The world does not realize that the withdrawal of the U.S. from Afghanistan has created a monster that will destroy the world as we know it. Israel 365 News, recently covered the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan by quoting Dr. Mordechai Kedar. Dr. Kedar’s credentials demand that we respect his insight into the mindset of the Arab-Islamic world in the Middle East. He “has a deep understanding of the Arab mindset. A senior lecturer on Arabic culture at Bar-Ilan University, he served for 25 years in the Israeli Defense Force Military Intelligence, where he specialized in Islamic groups, the political discourse of Arab countries, the Arab press and mass media, and the Syrian domestic arena. Fluent in Arabic, he is one of the very few Israelis appearing on Arab television, frequently debating Arab thought leaders and imams in their native tongue” (Israel 365 News, August 31,2021).

Quoting Dr. Kedar, Israel 365 News reported, “August 15, 2021, the day in which Taliban resumed their rule over Afghanistan after 20 years of Western occupation, will forever be viewed and remembered in the Islamic world as the victory of Islam over Christianity, the victory of faith over heresy, and the victory of tradition over permissiveness. These events are pumping new blood into jihad arteries and the results will soon be seen around the world, including in Israel.

“All of Islam views the U.S. as the representative of Christianity today. Therefore, a victory by an Islamic entity over the U.S. is not just a victory of one nation over another. This is precisely what the Koran describes as Jihad. The Koran states that Islam must have dominance over all other religions. Muslims must always be involved in this.

“The entire Muslim world perceives Afghanistan as a Muslim victory over Christianity, not just a Taliban victory or the U.S. capitulating. The average American does not see that religion has anything to do with politics. But this is absolutely not the case in the Muslim world. America saw the war in Afghanistan as a war on terrorism. The Taliban and other Muslims saw it as a religious war. Here in the Middle East, everything is religion” (Israel 365 News, August 31, 2021).

From a biblical viewpoint, we must view this war in Afghanistan as a part of a war between Islam and Christianity that has been going on for 14 centuries. In the name of Allah, Muslim jihadists have slaughtered millions of innocent people. As Dr. Kedar has observed, from a Muslim viewpoint, this is the beginning of the final struggle for Islam to take control of the world. From their perspective, they have just won the first war. The final war of good and evil is about to begin. The humiliating withdrawal of the U.S. from Afghanistan is opening the gates of hell for an invasion of demon-possessed warriors who are dedicated to killing infidels around the world in the name of Allah.

With the cessation of the first two of God’s restraining influences in the world, the conscience and human government, there is only one more restraining influence that needs to be removed – the Spirit’s indwelling presence in the church. When the Apostle Paul spoke of the withdrawal of God’s last restraining influence in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7, he used the personal pronoun “He” to describe the Holy Spirit’s work in the church.

God has designed the body of Christ to be His final restraining influence in the world. We are to be His light in a world of darkness. We are to be holy and to proclaim the Holy Word of God. Obviously, the church in the West has reached a point of apostasy and apathy, just as the Scriptures indicated would take place. This is why Western societies are collapsing and Islam is filling the vacuum with deadly spiritual darkness.

This is what happened in the 6th century in the area now called Turkey. As the church in that region began to die, spiritual darkness replaced the light of the church that was established by the apostles. This opened the door for that area to become an Islamic stronghold. Eventually, that area became the center of the Turkish Islamic Empire that ruled the Middle East and world until its defeat in World War I.

Just as the church began with an event on one day, Pentecost in Acts 2, even so it will end with an event on one day – the Rapture. With the cessation of two of God’s restraining influences, the conscience and human government, only the removal of the church remains. And, that is about to take place!

Everything is ready for Jesus to come. Jesus said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28). The world is now prepared from the coming of the Antichrist. The Islamic jihad against the world is about to ensue.

How much of this Islamic jihad the Lord will allow us to endure is under His sovereign control? We must remind ourselves that during the Tribulation, believers in Jesus from every nation of earth will be butchered by the Antichrist and His religion (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 7:9-17; 17:6; 20:4).

My friend, do you know the Lord? Have you received Jesus and repented of your sins for salvation? The door of salvation is still open. Jesus declared that He is the only door of salvation (John 10:9; 14:6). There is only one God, one Savior, one Bible, and one way to heaven. If you do not receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will miss the Rapture and be left behind to suffer the horrors of the most difficult time people have ever faced on earth. If you die without Him, you will suffer in hell and the Lake of Fire for all of eternity!

In the final book of the Bible, Jesus gave this final invitation, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and fellowship with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is called “the Lamb” 26 times in the book of Revelation. (Revelation 6:1). As God’s lamb, He was sacrificed for your sins on the cross of Calvary. Now, it is up to you to accept or reject His sacrifice. The choice is yours! Repent and be saved before it is too late.

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!

China and Global Killing Viruses

China has been the place of origin for many global killing viruses in the last 64 years. See the list in the text box below.

Global Killing Viruses from China

Asian Flu- 1957

Hong Kong Flu- 1968

SARS- 2002

Bird Flu- 2008

Avian Flu- 2015

COVID-19- 2019

Some believe this historical fact is related to China being the most populated nation in the world. Others note that these viruses began in China because of the lack of sanitation, poor eating habits, the combined living habitats for animals and humans, and the lack of safe drinking water.

However, all of this analysis falls short of pointing the finger at the evil government that rules over the people of China. The Communist regime that rules in China is godless, ruthless, merciless, and does not care for its people. Like Islam, it exhibits little respect for human life. It is possessed with a evil power to rule the world at the expense of its own population. Anything or anyone who challenges the oppressive leadership in China is quickly silenced or killed.

Many unanswered questions about COVID-19 still remain. Did it begin as an accidental leak in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan China? Or, was it purposely created in China as a biological pathogen aimed at killing people around the world? Evidence at this point in time seems to be inconclusive to answer these questions.

However, one thing is clear. China has lied to the world about COVID-19. When this virus began in China near the end of 2019, the Chinese officials stated it could not be transmitted from one human to another. Evidence has been presented that they did know it was deadly to humans. However, they did not warn the world or stop their citizens from traveling to other countries. To this present day, China’s leadership refuses to cooperate with the world into the investigation of the origin and transmission of this virus around the world. It refuses to share with the world the facts they discovered about COVID from the very beginning of it appearance in China.

There is no justification for China’s failure to work with the international community on the containment of this virus that continues to impact the lives of billions of people on the planet. The malicious nature of Communist China and its track record in the last two years raise great suspicions concerning China’s possible evil intent in all of this. It also makes us wonder what China has planned for the next Chinese virus.

Gordon Chang, a distinguished senior fellow with Gatestone Institute, recently released a very insightful article. He states that “China’s military is working on the next generation of pathogens. Its National Defense University, in the 2017 edition of the authoritative Science of Military Strategy, mentioned a new kind of biological warfare of ‘specific ethnic genetic attacks.’

“China’s military researchers and analysts for half a decade have been writing about pathogens of this sort, and American officials are in fact concerned that Chinese scientists have been experimenting with, in the words of Bill Gertz of the Washington Times, ‘germ weapons capable of attacking ethnic groups.’ Beijing’s determined campaign to collect genetic profiles of foreigners while preventing the transfer to recipients outside China of the profiles of Chinese is another indication that the Chinese military, in violation of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention, is building ethnic-specific bioweapons.” Chang goes on to say, “If Chinese scientists succeed in designing pathogens targeting only foreigners, the next microbe, virus, or germ from China could end non-Chinese societies. This will be Communist China’s civilization-killer” (Gatestone Institute, “Biden Letting China Get Away with Crime of the Century,” August 31, 2021).

The disengagement of the Biden Administration with regard to foreign affairs is making our world a very dangerous place. President Joe Biden does not seem to show any interest in holding China accountable for their deception and reckless handing of the COVID-19 global tragedy. Without the U.S. as the global watchdog, evil governments around the world are plotting the demise of the free world.

The Bible has much to say about global pandemics in the last days. Jesus listed “pestilences” [diseases] as one of the signs of the end of the age (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11). Near the beginning of the Tribulation, one-fourth of the world’s population will die as a result of war, famine, and pandemics (Revelation 6:8). China’s threat of bio-weapons to create a global pandemic that would become a civilization killer could be one of the causes of this horrific global death toll. We are living in days in which prophecies like these are increasingly become more probable.

Iranians Close to Golan Heights in Israel

Many intelligence and military voices are raising concerns over Iran’s increasing presence not too far from the border with Israel on the Golan Heights. Israeli commentator Ehud Yaari, recently stated, Iran has inserted itself “into the Syrian army’s nervous system – its chain of command – and into the everyday lives of the local population” (World Israel News, August 31, 2021). Iran is doing this in a very discreet way because it knows that any attempt by Iran to build an immediate major military base in Syria will be destroyed by Israel’s military.

This is an exact copy of the tactics deployed by Iran in Lebanon decades ago. Iran’s proxy terrorist group, Hezbollah, slowly migrated into Lebanon, infiltrating its fighters within the villages along Israel’s southern border.

All of this is of great interest to those of us who study the prophetic Word. We know that the Battle of Gog and Magog, mentioned in Ezekiel 38, is rapidly approaching. Ezekiel lists Russia, Iran, Turkey, Sudan, and other radical Islamic warriors that will ban together in an attempted invasion mentioned in Ezekiel 38.

As with all other reports mentioned in this newsletter, we are watching the events unfold at this hour. Get ready for the shout that will take us out!

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September 2021 – The Calm before the Storm

PTNews

P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s

September 2021

Published monthly

All Bible references are from the KJV

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

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By Mike Wingfield

We have all experienced the radical changes in our lifestyles since the onset of COVID-19. As 2020 began, who would have predicted the global repercussions of a virus that would impact almost every person on the planet? This serves to illustrate that at any moment, our world can experience a development that can radically alter our lives.

The Bible indicates in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 that at some point in the last days, an event or series of events will bring sudden destruction upon the entire world. No one can pretend to know what will happen or what will trigger this abrupt and life-threatening event. But the Bible does tell us that it will be like a woman who suddenly gives birth to a baby. While no one can predict with exact precision when a baby will be born, there is usually some evidence that gives us an idea of its approximate time of arrival. So, the Bible is saying that the world will be pregnant with warnings of the sudden destruction before it arrives.

One such life-altering event for our world is rapidly approaching. The world has been warned in the last 40 years that Islam is serious about the destruction of America and Israel, the eradication of Christianity, and the establishment of a one-world Islamic Empire, called a Caliphate.

About a year ago, President Donald Trump was leading the United States to openly support Israel. He moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. He declared that the Golan Heights should be recognized as a legitimate part of Israel. He publicly announced that the Jewish communities in the West Bank [biblical Judea and Samaria] were not in violation of any international law. He withdrew the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear deal brokered by President Barak Obama’s administration in 2015. And he advanced peace between Israel and many of her Arab neighbors, called the Abraham Accords. All of these policies helped to make the Middle East more secure with the hope of peace for the first time since Israel became a nation in 1948.

Within a few months of his arrival in Washington D.C., Democrat President Joe Biden took a wrecking ball to all of President Trump’s accomplishments. In the aftermath of his actions, the Israelis and the Sunni Arabs are warning President Biden that he is bringing the region to the brink of a major confrontation with Iran. President Biden refuses to listen to the voices of warning of his own friends in the Middle East. He is determined to renew the former nuclear deal with Iran and to pay them tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Everyone in the Middle East knows that this will further embolden Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and ramp up their terrorist war against Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

In his first 6 months in office, President Biden has consistently stood on the side of evil in the Middle East. In February, Biden removed the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen from the international terrorist list. He has made known that he supports a two-state solution, forcing Israel to surrender the heart of the Promised Land to an enemy that is sworn to its destruction. He wants the Palestinians to have the old city of Jerusalem [the ancient biblical city of Jerusalem] as their capital. He has unconditionally resumed U.S. financial aid to the Palestinians, who continue to pay terrorists in Israeli jails that have murdered Israelis in the past. In recent weeks Biden has pledged $75 million of U.S. aid to rebuild Gaza, after Israel’s war with them several months ago. Recent history would demonstrate that these funds will end up in the pockets of Hamas to be used to fund the next round of war against Israel.

In a high-level meeting in June with Russian President Vladimir Putin (see photo above), President Biden informed the Russian leader that he did not support Israel’s right to attack Iranian military positions in Syria. For years, Israel has made it clear to the Russians and everyone else that they will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to set up military bases in Syria only a few miles from Israel’s northern border along the Golan Heights. As a result Russia has turned against Israel and is installing a more advanced antiballistic missile defense system in Syria to make life more dangerous for Israeli pilots who attack Iranian military positions in Syria.

It is very apparent that, like President Obama, President Biden is strengthening the enemies of Israel and other U.S. Arab allies in the region. This is dangerous. It is fueling the eruption of a major war in the Middle East. It is a threat to the entire world. He is strengthening the enemies of America – Iran, Russia, and China.

Furthermore, President Biden has ordered the removal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by August 31. This withdrawal of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East is sending the wrong message to the enemies of Israel. They view this as a sign of weakness. It invites them to attack and defeat America and her allies.

A recent article in the International Jerusalem Post listed “10 possible outcomes that American politicians, the military, and intelligence services will have to grapple with in the coming years.

1. Islamic terrorism will find both new and old havens from which to plot mayhem against the U.S. and Israel.

2. Iran will increase its military activity at the region’s two strategic choke-hold points at the Straits of Hormuz and Babel Mandeb, threatening international shipping lanes.

3. With America’s retreat, allies worldwide will know that American security commitments can be expected to have expiration dates.

4. Iran, Russia, and China will be the new superpowers of the Middle East.

5. Israel will be more isolated if Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states move toward Iran out of desperation. Still, Israel hopes they decide to continue normalization (Abraham Accords), seeing them as the better choice of an ally.

6. Iran will feel less inhibited in risk-taking, knowing the U.S. will not want to challenge the Islamic regime, lest it withdraw from the nuclear agreement.

7. Iran will set its sights on Jordan, the next domino to fall, after Iraq and Lebanon, under Iranian influence.

8. The Taliban will retake Afghanistan (see photo on this page), making all the gains achieved for women and minorities disappear instantly. [Note: This has already happened.]

9. The chance for regional conflicts will grow.

10. Nuclear proliferation will arrive sooner or later in the Sunni [Arab] world, to nobody’s benefit.”

Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S., has said, “If you think the United States as a global power can pull out of the Middle East and not endanger itself, you are deluding yourselves” (The International Jerusalem Post, May 14-20, 2021, p. 19).

Most significant of all, these latest decisions by the U.S. administration to stand with the enemies of Israel will force the curse of God upon the America (Genesis 12:3). President Biden is standing against God. God is the one who has sworn to defend Israel (Psalm 121:4-8; Isaiah 29:7-8; 54:17; Zechariah 12:9).

As the clock keeps ticking toward the day when Iran will have a nuclear weapon, will Israel move against Iran to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities? In recent weeks, the new Israeli leadership has promised that it will do just that. If this happens, what will be the world’s reaction? When Israel defended itself against Hamas in Gaza a few months ago, the world erupted in acts of hatred toward Israel and Jews living around the world. What will be the reaction of Iran’s allies – Russia and China? This could set the stage for the military attack against Israel mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39.

Friends, it is my opinion we are watching the calm before the storm. As America is about to remove its restraining force against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, evil is ready to escalate at a rapid pace. In the midst of it all, this would be the perfect time for the Rapture.

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!

Islamic Goal: Eradicate Christianity

While American believers sit comfortably in their homes and worship the Lord in their churches without fear, many Christians around the world are suffering for their Lord. In a recent article for Gatestone Institute, Raymond Ibrahim, wrote a shocking 10-page report entitled, “Their Goal is Really to Eradicate Christianity.” (www.gatestoneinstitute.org). Reading this report is very troubling. It openly states and illustrates that the elimination of Christianity is a major goal of Islam. For Islam, Christianity is a religion of infidels that must be eradicated. It is the belief of radical Muslims that this would allow them to invite their Islamic messiah, known as the Mahdi, to appear on the global scene and rule the world.

This is a stark reminder of what is in the future for all believers in Jesus Christ during the horrific Tribulation Period. Jesus warned His disciples, “the time cometh, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service” (John 16:2).

It is chilling to think that there are people brutalizing, persecuting, and killing believers in Jesus because they believe it pleases their god. To my knowledge, there is only one global religion that promotes this kind of hatred – radical Islam. According to www.opendoors.org, one out of every eight Christians in the world, 340 million, is suffering “high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith” (World Watch List 2021: Trends  · Serving Persecuted Christian’s Worldwide (opendoors.org) ). This trend is growing each year.

In our world today, 50 nations are listed as the top persecutors of Christians. They are all Islamic Republics and Communists nations. Where Muslims, Communists or socialists are in control, Christians are facing dangerous trials, unspeakable suffering, and rejection (see photo below). As we watch the advance of socialism in America, Christians have a right to be concerned. It is time to wake up! Christianity is in the cross hairs of the radical left in America. They want to silence us by intimidation and elimination.

The book of Revelation testifies that during the Tribulation Period the persecution of believers in Jesus Christ will become global. The Apostle John in Revelation 7 reported that he saw the souls of the martyrs of Jesus that came “out of great tribulation” (verse 14). These dear saints of God were “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (verse 9).

The Lord has a special reward for those who suffer and die in His Name. Revelation 7 records the honor that will be given to them, “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:15-17).At the end of the Tribulation, these martyred saints will live and reign “with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4) in His earthly kingdom.

For a comprehensive daily report of global Islamic terrorism, go to: www.thereligionofpeace.com/ . Every believer needs to know about the global advance of Islamic terrorism. We can be glad that we will be raptured before the greatest persecution comes. However, we have no guarantee that American believers will not suffer persecution for their faith before the Rapture takes place. Be aware and pray!

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).

Pray for our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted. “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).

Jesus declared, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Islam is trying to destroy the church by killing and persecuting Christians. However, their scheme will not work. Church history demonstrates that when the enemies of Christ attempt to destroy the church, it has just the opposite effect. Where the church is persecuted, it grows rapidly. That is what is happening today. The fastest growth in Christian evangelism is in Iran. The second largest is in Afghanistan. Statistical data indicate that in the top 20 countries where the gospel is being accepted, 11 of them are Muslim countries!

This is a testimony to the mercy, grace, and power of the Lord Jesus. Satan cannot stop the gospel. “It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16).

As Muslims suffer at the hands of their religious leaders, Jesus appears to them and comforts them, calling them to salvation. Next month I will share with you why this is a powerful indication that the Church Age is coming to completion.

Israeli Archeologists Discover Ancient Jerusalem Wall

Most of the world continues to deny Israel’s historical right to the Promised Land. However, Israeli archeologists continue to dig up more compelling evidence that proves the accuracy and reliability of the Bible. The Bible repeatedly and consistently declares that in an unconditional, eternal covenant with the Jewish people, God gave them the Promised Land (Genesis 13:14-17; Joshua 1:3-4).

While almost being driven to tears, recent Israeli archeological teams found the remains of a massive wall [16.5 feet wide] that is 2,700 years old. This wall (see photo on previous page) was a part of the defense structure of the city of Jerusalem when the Babylonians defeated and plundered Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

According to the Bible, Jerusalem had survived many attacks until the Babylonians were successful (2 Kings 25:1-10).

An article in The International Jerusalem Post, reports that this team of archeologists found the remains of the wall and some of the houses that were behind the wall. The article reports as follows: “We found ashes that we believe date back to the Babylonian invasion…. [We] uncovered multiple artifacts that offer a glimpse into the daily life of Jerusalem when the wall was still standing, and after its fall in 586 B.C.: fragments of pots, pans and other vessels, seal impressions, some of them carrying inscriptions – for example, ‘lamelech’ (Hebrew- ‘to the king’), which was usually featured on jars used for tax collection. The jars bear ‘rosette’ type handles, in the shape of a rose, associated with the final years of the kingdom of Judah. A bulla, stamp seal impressions made of clay, bearing a personal name, Tsafan, in ancient Hebrew script (see photo on this page) was found not far from a small Babylonian seal stamp made in stone, depicting a figure standing in front of symbols of the two Babylonians gods Marduk and Nabu” (The International Jerusalem Post, July 23-29, p. 17).

The Iranian Threat

The clock is ticking towards Iran’s creation of a nuclear warhead. Thanks to North Korea and others, the radical mullahs in Iran already have the technology to deliver a missile with a nuclear payload. The world has been forewarned. A nuclear Iran will alter the balance of power in the Middle East and threaten to interrupt international peace. Iran is dead serious about its plans to rule the world through an Islamic Empire. This development is one giant step toward the Tribulation Period.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East, in an article for Gatestone Institute writes, “The Iranian regime appears just a few months away from obtaining nuclear weapons, all while the Biden administration is completely silent and has not articulated any clear policy for preventing this dangerous and predatory regime from becoming a nuclear state like North Korea.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz told ambassadors from countries on the United Nations Security Council during a briefing at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on August 4, 2021: ‘Iran has violated all of the guidelines set in the [2015 nuclear agreement] and is only around 10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon… Now is the time for deeds – words are not enough. It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds, otherwise the attacks will continue” (www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17653/iran-obtaining-nuclear-weapons, August 21, 2021).

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August 2021 – The Great Deception at the End of the Age

PTNews

P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s

August 2021

Published monthly

All Bible references are from the KJV

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006

The Great Deception at the End of the Age

“God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

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By Mike Wingfield

Have you ever noticed how eerily dark it gets immediately before a big storm comes? Spiritually speaking, our world is getting very dark, and the great storm of a tumultuous period known as the Tribulation is rapidly approaching. According to the Bible, this will be a very violent storm of God’s wrath that will devastate the world and all that is in it. When this storm is over, the overwhelming majority of the global population will be dead. This great and un-paralleled devastation due to the plagues of God’s wrath will dramatically change the planet. Man’s lifestyle will be critically altered.

I admit that these statements are shocking comments that we would rather not deal with. It is disturbing to our human spirit and it threatens us to our very core. However, God’s Word repeatedly warns us that this is the future of our world. Furthermore, history is repeating itself. God has already judged the world as described above. God’s fury against man’s rebellion became so great that during the days of Noah, He sent a global flood that killed all but eight people who were safely aboard the ark. When it was all done, the world was strewn with debris and devastation.

Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37). The nature of the culture in Noah’s time has been perfectly duplicated once again. In Noah’s day, the world was locked into a cycle of deadly violence. Two times in Genesis 6, the Bible declares, “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11, 13). The same text states three times that the entire world was morally “corrupt” (Genesis 6:11-12). Genesis 6:5 seems to be a commentary that summarizes the spiritual climate of the world, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The rebellion of man had saturated the entire earth. It included all the people [except the eight righteous on the ark], over all the earth, and it was taking place all of the time.

How did the world arrive at such a horrific spiritual condition? This is a very important question. The biblical answer to this question will help us to put into perspective what is happening today.

The Bible declares that Noah represented the 10th generation after creation. Genesis 5 gives the genealogy of man from Adam to Noah. The New Testament confirms this genealogy. Jude 14 says that Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather, was of the seventh generation. Adam was still alive during the lifetime of Enoch. According to the chronology in Genesis 5, Enoch was 308 when Adam died at the age of 930.

The Bible tells us that when Enoch was 65 years old, he and his wife had a son, whom they named Methuselah. Something very unique must have happened to Enoch when his son was born. The Bible says that “Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years” (Genesis 5:22). Something occurred at this time that had a spiritual impact upon Enoch, causing him to begin to walk with God. What was it? The Bible gives us a strong hint. The Hebrew name “Methuselah” means “when he dies, it shall be sent.” We cannot pretend to know all of the details, but it is apparent that God must have supernaturally communicated with Enoch that due to man’s wickedness, He was going to bring a massive judgment upon all of the earth. This revelation had an incredible impact on the life of Enoch. Wickedness was rampant upon the earth during his time. Jude 14-15 indicates that Enoch began preaching a message of repentance to his generation 969 years before the flood. Jude tells us that the central theme of his message was that the Lord was about to “execute judgment upon all” (Jude 15). Enoch’s message of warning was a message of mercy from God. God was using him to mercifully call people to repentance to escape the impending judgment that was coming upon the earth.

We know that Methuselah was 969 years old when he died. We also know from the information given to us in Genesis 5-7 that Methuselah died the year that the flood came, just as God had told Enoch. However, we need to remember that Enoch did not know when his son would die. All he knew was that when his son would die, God would execute judgment upon all of mankind. Therefore, as a man who walked with God, he must have wondered every day, “could this be the day?” God rewarded this man’s faithfulness. Enoch must have preached and warned his generation for 300 years. Then, the Bible says, one day “he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). What does this mean? Hebrews 11:5 tells us, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God.” The word “translated” simply means he was transported from one place to another. He was taken from this earth and supernaturally transported to heaven into the presence of the One he had walked with on earth for 300 years. You could say that Enoch was raptured. He was snatched out of this world by the One who loved him. What a testimony and what a reward!

Enoch’s message of warning was a message of mercy from God. God was using him to mercifully call people to repentance to escape the impending judgment that was coming upon the earth.

According to the information given to us in Genesis 5, Noah was born 69 years after his great-grandfather, Enoch, was taken to heaven. Certainly, some family members and friends would have informed Noah about the great legacy of Enoch. No doubt, they all had heard him preach and remembered how he had warned them to repent. His memory and sudden supernatural disappearance were probably a lingering topic of conversation. We cannot really know this for sure. But what we do know is that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). The message of the righteousness and the mercy of God had somehow found its way to be sown in the heart of Enoch’s great-grandson. That seed took root and grew.

The Bible tells us that in some ways, Noah was a carbon copy of his great-grandfather. The Scriptures testify that Noah was a righteous man of great faith (Hebrews 11:7). Genesis 6:9 says that he “was a just man and perfect in his generations.” Like his great-grandfather, he also “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Following in the shoes of Enoch, Noah too was “a preacher of righteousness” and was warning his generation of the impending judgment of God (2 Peter 2:5). Like Enoch, Noah also received a revelation from God about an approaching divine global judgment. This time God told Noah exactly what he was going to do. God spoke directly to him and said, “And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven: and everything that is in the earth shall die” (Genesis 6:17). In the same spirit of Enoch, Noah was moved by this revelation. Hebrews 11:7 says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.”

The reason that God was patient in Noah’s day and today is be-cause in His mercy His messengers are still warning of the coming judgment, and still calling people to repentance to be saved.

Noah was 480 years old when God gave him the revelation about the flood and told him to build the ark. Noah, along with his three sons a few years later, labored for 120 years to build the ark. I am sure that Noah must have kept preaching and warning people. That is what righteous preachers do. He must have kept looking at his grandfather, Methuselah, and kept wondering how much longer he would live. He knew, just as his great-grandfather had preached, when Methuselah would die, then, the flood would come. Noah’s father, Lamech, died when he was 777 years old (Genesis 5:31), only 80 years before the flood. So, as Noah looked at the growing moral corruption and dangerous violence all around him, and his aging grandfather, he must have been greatly pressed to complete the ark. The Bible says, “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Genesis 6:22).

Looking at this biblical background of the catastrophic judgment of God, we have to ask another very important question. Why did God wait so long to bring the flood upon the earth in response to man’s wickedness and rebellion against Him? From the time that God spoke to Enoch at the birth of Methuselah, God waited 969 years before His judgment fell upon the earth. The Apostle Peter, being filled with the Holy Spirit, gives us the answer. Peter wrote that “the longsuffering [patience] of God, waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20). What motivated God to be so patient? While answering the objections of the scoffers concerning the apparent delay in the Second Coming of Christ, Peter responded that the Lord is patient toward us, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The reason that God was patient in Noah’s day and today is because in His mercy, His messengers are still warning of the coming judgment and still calling people to repentance to be saved. Jesus came to this earth with the ultimate mission of His loving Father, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

There is another significant question we need to ask. What brought about the sudden end to God’s patience in the days of Noah? Looking at Peter’s revelation, the answer to this question also gives the answer to when God’s patience will run out in the last days and the global judgment of God will come upon the world, called the Tribulation. Genesis 6:3 gives us the answer to this very critical question, “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” The Hebrew word for “strive” means, “to judge, contend, or plead.” It speaks of God’s work through the conscience of man to restrain him from sin and evil. The conscience is a part of man’s inner spirit that indicates he has been created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). The conscience acts as a spiritual judge living within the soul of man that guides him through the maze of evil in the world and points him toward a holy God. The aim of the conscience is to use God’s revelation as the reference point of good and evil (Romans 2:14-15). It is the moral compass of the soul. The work of the Spirit is to accuse man of his sin and to restrain him from sin and its deadly consequences. [For an expanded teaching on this subject, please read my book, Living in a World with No Conscience.]

On the basis of the Scriptures, we can conclude that God continually restrains evil in a culture. When the majority of the population resist God’s restraining efforts, at some point the collective conscience of that culture ceases to function and man’s wickedness and violence explode out of control. When this happens, it demands that our holy God respond with divine judgment. God’s patience runs out and His holy fury unleashes catastrophic results for those in the path of His judgment.

The conscience acts as a spiritual judge living within the soul of man that guides him through the maze of evil in the world and points him toward a holy God. The aim of the conscience is to use God’s revelation as the refer-ence point of good and evil. It is the moral compass of the soul.

After the flood, God in His mercy added several layers of restraint in His attempt to warn people of the consequences of sin. According to Genesis 9, He created human government as an external restraining influence (Genesis 9:5-6). The ultimate restraining influence God invested in human government is capital punishment (Genesis 9:5-6). God’s objective is for human government to use His laws of morality and justice to restrain their culture from evil (Romans 13:1-7). God calls human government his servants. Human government, God’s external restraining influence, and the conscience of man, God’s inner restraining influence, are to act in concert together (Romans 13:5).

According to the chronology of the Bible, 352 years after the flood and the creation of human government, God called another righteous man to Himself. That man was Abraham (Genesis 12:1-2). Abraham was the 20th generation from the time of creation. God told him that He would make his descendants into a nation. In Genesis 15:12- 21, God told Abraham that four generations after him, his descendants would go down to Egypt and live there. They would remain in Egypt until the sins of the occupants of the Promised Land had become so offensive that He would use the nation of Israel to drive them out. Finally, in 1445 B.C., the Exodus took place, just as God has promised Abraham. During their 40 years of wilderness wanderings, at Mount Horeb, God gave Israel the law, His perfect code for moral righteousness, and governmental justice. In essence, this law became the foundation for God’s external restraining influence for the duration of man’s time on earth.

Finally, God sent His holy Son, Jesus. He guided the people through His teaching to show them how the conscience and the written law of God were to function together. This is summarized in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Jesus taught that He did not come to cancel the law, but to complement the law with His teaching to show how it connects with man’s conscience (Matthew 5:17). He clearly stated that God’s law is eternal. God’s moral compass does not change because it is built upon His unchanging and eternal holy character. Jesus’ ministry was met with resistance because the religious people were convicted of their sins (John 15:18-27).

Adding a final layer of restraint to His efforts to save man, God called and instituted the church. In Acts 2, the church was born. As a few decades passed, it became clear to Jesus’ appointed apostles that the church is a spiritual body of born-again Jews and Gentiles. Unlike believers in the Old Testament, now the Holy Spirit would live in the body of believers. These believers would become the new temple of God. With the completed written Word of God, the New Testament, the church would become God’s ambassadors and the ultimate restraining influence on earth. They would become the salt and light that Jesus referred to in Matthew 5:13-16.

In review, God has three layers of restraining influence in the world to help man resist evil and come to salvation in Him. Layer one is the internal restraining influence in each individual – the conscience. Layer two is the external restraining influence in the world – human government. Layer three is the God-appointed witnesses, filled with His Spirit – the church.

With this biblical understanding, we can now turn our attention to the final question to be addressed in this article. What will happen to trigger God’s patience to cease in the last days and bring His wrath against the global inhabitants as He did in the days of Noah? The answer to this question is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

According to 2 Thessalonians 2, mankind will resist all of God’s restraining influence as it did in the days of Noah. When this happens, there will be an immediate explosion of wickedness, evil, immorality, and violence that will produce a condition of “gross [spiritual] darkness [that] shall cover the earth” (Isaiah 60:2). According to this text, the Antichrist, Satan’s global ruler, cannot be revealed until God’s ultimate restraining influence, the Holy Spirit in the church “be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked [one] be revealed” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). God will not permit the Antichrist to come until the time is ripe and men resist God’s restraining influence, which is the path that can bring them to repentance and salvation.

When this time comes, God in His holy wrath, will allow man’s spiritual darkness to lead him into a time of His divine wrath on earth [the Tribulation], and ultimately their eternal damnation (2 Thessalonians 2:12). In His holy fury, “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe [the] lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

This text is clear that the Holy Spirit’s unique ministry through His indwelling in the body of Christ as a restraining influence will be taken out through the Rapture, and then the Antichrist will come. So, how close are we to this event?

God will not permit the Antichrist to come until the time is ripe and men resist God’s restraining influence, the path that can bring them to repentance and salvation.

At this hour, how successful are God’s three levels of restraining influence working to hold back the eruption of a tide of immoral filth and violent blood-shed around the world? International news indicates we are witnessing a dramatic collapse of the spiritual light around the world. The darkness of evil is rapidly descending upon the planet. Due to the proliferation of moral corruption and the thirst to be entertained by violence, the collective conscience of America and the world is seared as if with “a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). The majority of the global population has no moral compass. The few that do have a conscience are being overwhelmed, threatened, or silenced by the wicked culture.

The governments of the world are united against God as prophesied in Psalm 2. The United Nations is controlled by those who are atheists, or worship some other idol or god. They have lost any ability to restrain evil and instead have become evil and are the enemies of God and His people. They are prepared to follow the Antichrist. The rule of the Antichrist will be Satan’s ultimate tool to deceive the world and resist God’s restraint of evil.

Finally, as prophesied, in the last days the professing churches will turn away from God’s truth and become like the culture, having a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:1-9; 4:1-4). Far too many churches in America are spiritually dead. They have become nothing more than social clubs that are self-serving. They are not changing the culture, the culture is changing them! They are not striving to be holy and like God. They are longing to be popular and be like a thriving business – church has become big business in America. They are more concerned with pleasing man, rather than God.

As these three levels of God’s restraining influence continue to deteriorate, at some point God’s patience will end and His judgment will begin. He will call the faithful remnant of believers home, just as He did Enoch. When that happens, the world will almost instantly reach the levels of corruption and violence as in the days of Noah.

All of this will be accompanied by the great deception of Satan at the end of this age. They will turn away from the truth and believe Satan’s lies.

As I thought about this the other day, it dawned on me that we have arrived at such a point of great deception. In our culture, people now claim they do not know what gender they are. They are totally confused and completely deceived. If a person has arrived at this point of deception and confusion, they are ready for the next step – to accept Satan’s messiah, the Antichrist, and be damned forever!

Please be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!

Arabs Send Stern Message of  Warning to Biden and America

World Israel News reports that many Arabs are sending a message of warning to U.S. President Joe Biden. According to Khaled Abu Toameh, and award-winning Arab journalist based in Jerusalem, “U.S. policies and actions are undermining your credibility among your allies and paving the way for the return of Islamic terrorist groups” (World Israel News, July 20, 2021).

President Biden has announced that the war on terror is over and that U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan beginning at the end of this month. Toameh says that the Arabs in the region are “warning the U.S. that it will pay a heavy price for allowing Afghanistan to fall into the hands of terrorist groups. … The American withdrawal from the region will mark a victory of a political Islamic organization, and the victor always attracts attention and becomes the focus of public attention” (World Israel News, July 20, 2021).