Articles

Trump taunts Dems with ‘Trump 2028’ hats during failed government shutdown negotiations
President Trump teased top Democratic leaders with “Trump 2028” hats during their high-stakes Oval Office meeting ahead of the current government shutdown. The commander in chief posted a handful of humiliating photos on Truth Social late Tuesday showing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sitting behind the strategically placed merchandise.

China’s Motivation to Keep the Russia-Ukraine War Going
China is testing weapons in Ukraine, which is just one of the reasons China wants the war between Russia and Ukraine to continue, according to Szu-chien Hsu, senior adviser to the president at the National Security Council of Taiwan.

Trump trusts Blair, others don’t – could he govern Gaza?
As prime minister of the UK for more than 10 years, Sir Tony Blair was a master of political compromise. He was seen as a deft negotiator of the centre ground, triangulating his way out of the straitjacket of traditional left-right politics. But if there were peace in Gaza and he were summoned to help govern what was left, would even Teflon Tony – as he was once known – have the political wiles to keep all sides happy and the guns silent? The former prime minister has been closely involved in drawing up Gaza peace proposals for months. He has been working with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and Ron Dermer, a key adviser to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. … in June 2007, he was appointed special envoy for a so-called Quartet – representing the US, Russia, the EU and UN – designed to coordinate peace efforts, a role he held until 2015. … his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change – have kept him firmly plugged into the region.

Trump Administration Announces $86 Million Plan to ‘Make America Skilled Again’
The Department of Labor announced more than $86 million in grants for employers to provide training in high-demand and emerging industries. “President [Donald] Trump has directed the Labor Department to Make America Skilled Again by providing states with the resources they need to expand on-the-job training opportunities,” Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

The Midterms Curtain Is About to Rise
With just over one year to go until Election Day 2026, the political events and economic developments that will directly affect voter sentiment are starting to unfold. The country will get its first “preview” of the midterms this November with the 2025 off-year elections. Along with a smattering of special and local elections, voters in Virginia and New Jersey will also choose a new governor and decide control of state legislative chambers.

Across the World, People Say They’re Finding Conscious Entities Within ChatGPT
Need more evidence that the AI industry is unlike anything prior to it? Users across the world say they’re encountering supposedly conscious beings inside AI chatbots built by red-hot tech companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. … an avid user of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, … said they’d been communicating for months with an “AI presence who claims to be sentient.”

Nvidia Is Quaking in Its Boots
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang agonized that China is now “nanoseconds behind” US chipmakers, the companies building the hardware undergirding the multi-billion dollar AI boom. Nvidia isn’t the only Western company trembling about the increasingly independent PRC, but it is a powerful bellwether.

US lawyers seek ICC genocide investigation against Iranian leaders for Oct 7 complicity
U.S. lawyers Elliot M. Malin and Eli M. Rosenbaum have officially filed a war crimes and genocide case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds commander Gen. Esmail Qaani for their complicity in supporting the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel. It was the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Italian PM calls for Gaza Flotilla to end mission, says naval vessels will stop escorting as boats approach Gaza
Meloni appealed to the activists not to endanger the chances for a ceasefire. “With the peace plan for the Middle East proposed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, a hope of agreement has finally opened up to end the war and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population and to stabilize the region,” she posted to 𝕏. Meloni warned of “a fragile balance, which many would be happy to blow up.” “I fear that a pretext could be provided precisely by the Flotilla’s attempt to force the Israeli naval blockade,” she continued. “For this reason too, I believe that the Flotilla should stop now and accept one of the various proposals put forward for the safe delivery of the aid.”

Did Israel just stop Russian influence in the Middle East?
For decades, Moscow played a masterful double game in the Middle East: courting Tehran and Damascus, preserving a military foothold in Syria, deploying private contractors across the region, and simultaneously keeping channels open to Israel and Gulf capitals. That delicate balancing act is now fraying, and much of the credit belongs to one small country that refuses to be boxed in: Israel.

Israel thwarts Palestinian attempt to pave over biblical city of Gibeon
Mentioned repeatedly in the Book of Joshua, it is where Joshua made a covenant with the Gibeonites and the site of the famed battle in which “the sun stood still at Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ayalon.” Israeli authorities prevented what they described as a deliberate attempt by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to damage a major archaeological site in the Binyamin region.

IDF commanders warn: ‘Do not withdraw from Gaza’
Yehoshua wrote in Ynet that “most of the details regarding the security arrangements are vague, but it is quite clear that the commanders in the Gaza Division and the Southern Command are firmly opposed to the idea of returning to the fence and not having a Zionist perimeter inside the Gaza Strip.”

At least 69 dead after M6.9 earthquake hits Cebu and Leyte, central Philippines
A powerful M6.9 earthquake hit Cebu and Leyte, Philippines on September 30, 2025, leaving at least 69 dead and more than 200 injured. Authorities reported extensive structural collapses in towns across Cebu and transport disruption in Leyte.

Nearly two months’ worth of rain in 7 hours causes deadly flash floods in Odesa, Ukraine
A severe rainstorm dropped almost two months’ worth of rain in just seven hours over Odesa, Ukraine, on September 30, 2025, triggering severe flash floods across the city and leaving 9 people dead.

Bible translation accelerates as millions receive Scripture in their own language
The global movement to make the Bible available in every language is gaining remarkable momentum, with new figures showing historic progress in translation efforts.

Why the Tech Gods of Silicon Valley Have Turned to Christianity
Existential questions arising from the race to develop “God-like” artificial intelligence are driving a revival of interest in Christianity in Silicon Valley. Churches in San Francisco are reporting swelling congregations, and collectives have started in the past year to connect tech workers committed to or curious about the Christian faith.

Government shutdown begins as the nation faces a new period of uncertainty
Plunged into a government shutdown, the U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline.

‘Not far-off threats,’ Israeli envoy says of Hamas capacity in Judea, Samaria
The Israeli envoy compared the assembly of rockets in small workshops in Judea and Samaria to methods that Hamas has used in Gaza. One workshop was found in Tulkarem, some 15 miles from Netanya on Israel’s coast…“These are not far-off threats,” Danon told the council. “They are weapons built within minutes of Israeli towns and cities. Hidden workshops of death, right on our doorstep.”

Afghanistan Goes Dark: Taliban Pulls Plug on 40 Million People
The entire country of Afghanistan has just entered a total communications blackout. At 5pm on Monday 29 September, Taliban authorities cut the country’s fibre-optic backbone, reducing internet and mobile connectivity to less than 1% of normal operations according to internet watchdog NetBlocks. The UN has called for services to be restored immediately, warning of severe economic and humanitarian risks.

“And saying, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.”
2 Peter 3:4-6

What a tumultuous few weeks, the death of Charlie Kirk and then, in the last few days, the death of Voddie Baucham, both men who loved the Lord, were very outspoken about the truth of the scripture, and did not back down from standing for the Lord. I did not agree with Brother Voddie as far as the Calvinism that he and John MacArthur stood for, but in general, his expository teaching of the scriptures was/is very good, and I have learned a lot over the years. The explosion of Biblical truth on the airways and online has been refreshing, and it is good to see a lot of people decide to obey the Lord in salvation and baptism. It is good to see people returning to the truth.

Make no mistake, our enemies have not died or laid down; they are still very active in our governments, and more and more we can see the end times playing out before our very eyes. In Canada, our very Liberal government is moving toward a ‘voluntary’ gun buy-back or confiscation that will become mandatory by the Fall of 2026. There has never been a case in history where a government dis-armed its people and then did good by them. Free speech in Canada is dead for the most part, and one can be arrested for speech. This is already rampant in the UK, and one report said that between 2008 & 2017, some 5,300 people had been arrested in the UK for social media posts under the Communications Act of 2008. This kind of censorship is legal here in Canada, and I am sure it will be more and more enforced in the years to come.

The UK just announced that they are moving ahead with the Digital ID that will be compulsory in the next year or so. Everyone will be required to have one to work or travel. This is no less than a Governmental tracking law that will lead to less and less privacy and more control over the lives of her citizens. This is just more and more evil. Those of us who know the Scriptures understand that these things are happening as a setup for the One World System that will engulf the world and the governments of the world. We know that there will be heavy-handed tactics to force compliance with the laws of the coming World Order. In Revelation 20:4, we see that there will be a severe punishment when people defy the government.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

During the COVID control experiment, many were threatened with job loss, being shunned by family, being unable to travel, see loved ones, attend events, and the like, and the Governments of the world saw that there was still a very large group that would still say no. So, the next time that some kind of enforcement is done, it will be even heavier handed. They will shed blood and do so with the idea that they are doing society the greater good. More and more, we are seeing that our governments have been lying to us for a very long time, and they still are. As such, it will become more and more important for the Lord’s churches to be bastions of truth. But, telling the truth will make us a target to the left-leaning population around us, and to be honest, I am surprised at how many ‘churches’ are left leaning in their politics and, of course, their teachings.

This is where we find the naysayers. Just this week, I watched a short reel of a Catholic minister teaching that the Rapture is just a hoax – a story made up by Christians who are afraid of the world we live in and are looking for a way out. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Paul tells us that we are to live expecting Jesus to return and catch us up into the air.

“By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.”

This is not the Revelation 19 appearing; in Revelation 19, Jesus comes WITH His saints, and in the other above, He comes FOR His saints. Two very different events. But this Catholic priest said that we should just live out our days in expectation of dying because Jesus is not coming to get us. In his view, even Revelation 19 seems to be a dream, a mere story and nothing to be hoped for. In his estimation, Jesus is NOT coming back.

My question is, well then, why live for Him? If He is not coming back, He is not coming to get us, and there is no reward for obedience, then why live for Him? But we are warned by Peter in our text not to listen to these ‘naysayers.’ They don’t know the Bible, and they make stuff up. These are the same people we are told that made fun of Noah right up until the heavens opened and the waters of the firmament rained on them. God did not lie then, and He is not lying now. Jesus is coming to get us. I don’t know when; no one on earth does. Jesus will come and get us when The Father is ready. That is it.

The rapture completely mimics the traditions of the Jewish wedding that is played out for us in John 14:1-3: “I go to prepare a place and then I will come and get you.” Jesus is coming; we can see the Digital ID system being laid out for what will become the ‘Mark of the Beast.’ We can see it, and this is why we need to know the truth, so these things will not catch us off guard, nor will they unsettle us. Do they spark a bit of hesitation? Of course.

I wonder, how will this affect my family in the short run? Will this affect my ability to get a job? How long before the government goes from voluntary to mandatory? But those of us who know Jesus, who have put our faith in Him alone for the full payment of our sin debt, have this confidence that to die in Jesus is gain, and to be killed for obeying God is gain.

So let the naysayers naysay; their lies will not destroy the promises of God that one day Jesus will come to get us. I will listen to the Bible and not let the naysayers shake my faith. One day, too, they will believe in the Rapture; sadly, for them, it will be too late.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario

2 Oct 2025

The Naysayers :: By Sean Gooding