Answering Trump’s Question
As things in the Middle East are ramping up with a major conflict in progress (Operation Epic Fury), stage-setting for prophetic fulfillment, I think, comes into quickly tightening focus. The Iranian regime’s intransigence, in particular, helps bring matters regarding Mideast hostilities into understandable Bible prophecy perspective.
The same level of comprehension is not true for observers who don’t have God’s Word as the centerpiece of their thinking on the present warfare in that volatile region.
The primary consideration regarding what to address in the swiftly moving Iranian situation is the question the president of the United States was asking, according to a recent news item.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News that aired on Sunday that President Trump was “curious” that Iran hasn’t “capitulated” to US demands due to the major US military buildup in the Middle East and threats of war.
“I don’t want to use the word frustrated because [Trump] understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious, he’s curious as to why they haven’t, I don’t want to use the word capitulated, but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff told Fox News host Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law.
“Why, under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power, naval power, that we have over there, why they haven’t come to us and said, ‘we profess that we don’t want a [nuclear] weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do,’ yet it’s hard to get them to that point,” Witkoff added. (“President Trump ‘Curious’ Why Iran Hasn’t ‘Capitulated’,” Dave DeCamp, zerohedge, February 23, 2026)
It’s easy to wonder over the Ayatollahs’ refusal to cooperate, as did President Trump, knowing how devastating the US military’s previous “obliteration” (in Trump’s own words) was of the Iranian regime’s underground nuclear-weapons-development facilities.
It is easy to ask this question the president was apparently asking. Why did the Iranian leadership not prefer to give in rather than face an even more decimating action if negotiations failed to produce results this president wanted—an ongoing assault that Trump has now delivered?
In last year’s so-called 12-Day War, American military forces proved beyond any doubt that powerful bombs of unprecedented capability could penetrate—precisely—deeply within Iran’s hiding places, and that the bombs could be delivered by aircraft so advanced they couldn’t be detected even though Iran’s defense forces knew they were going to be hit—i.e., the B-2s delivered the penetrator ordnance and were gone before the Iranians knew of the assault.
Understanding that this president doesn’t play games—he does what he says he will do—the Ayatollahs still refused to stop threatening Israel and the Mideast region…and America, for that matter. They refused to give up their ambition to develop nuclear weaponry and delivery systems that would give them the ability to accomplish those desires.
This attack in Operation Epic Fury by the American military—and by the Israeli Defense Force in Roaring Lion—proved to be much more destructive, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and most of Iran’s leadership killed –as forewarned by Mr. Trump’s own words.
So, why indeed did the fanatic Islamic regime not do all things necessary to avoid the inevitable?
Bible prophecy answers the president’s question from thousands of years ago.
Daniel, the great Old Testament prophet, was and is the conduit through which the answer to today’s question by President Donald John Trump was given.
The same commander of the same evil forces Daniel faced in that long-ago time is still in charge of stirring problems in the Middle East. He whispers into the demonically inspired thoughts of the Ayatollahs who want to initiate worldwide war…so their Mahdi, whom they believe will help them rule the world, will come on the scene as prophesied when total war begins.
The following gives a clue identifying this evil Ephesians 6:12 demonic minion that is as active as ever today.
My friend, the late Dr. John Walvoord, once addressed the time when the prophet Daniel had troubling questions about the threats he and his people, Israel, faced.
At that time, according to Daniel chapter 10, an angel was sent to inform and comfort the old prophet:
10:12-14 “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.…”
Daniel is further encouraged by the exhortation, “Fear not, Daniel.” To allay the fears of Daniel still further, the angel informs him that from the very beginning of his intercession three weeks before, God had undertaken to answer his prayers and send the angelic messenger to him. What a reassurance it is that when one comes to God as Daniel did, setting his heart to understand and chastening himself before God, one may expect Daniel’s experience of the response of God that his words were heard and the messenger dispatched.
The delay is explained in verse 13 as being occasioned by the opposition of “the prince of the kingdom of Persia,” who “withstood me one and twenty days.” This “prince” is not the king of the kingdom of Persia but rather the angelic leader of Persia, a fallen angel under the direction of Satan, in contrast to the angelic prince Michael, who leads and protects Israel. That the angel described as “the prince” of Persia is a wicked angel is clear from the fact that his opposition to the angelic messenger to Daniel is given as the reason for the delay of twenty-one days. (Chapter 10, The Vision of the Glory of God, https://walvoord.com)
Mr. President, this is the answer to your query. That same entity–the Prince of Persia—continues in his demonic activity. As a matter of fact, this prince of evil, like his master Lucifer the fallen (Satan), knows he has but a short time. His activity is growing in virulence, as is manifested more dramatically in each succeeding news cycle.
The Ayatollahs were and are satanically driven in their madness. Regardless of the success of this latest action to eliminate those who foment evil in the region, Bible prophecy tells us the evil minions that hate Israel will yet assault God’s chosen people, according to Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.
All the dynamic rearrangements in the areas involved in Operation Epic Fury show clearly just how near is the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).
Christ will call all believers into Heaven in the Rapture before the seven-year Tribulation begins. The dynamics triggered by that great event will no doubt quickly arrange all things prophesied for the Gog-Magog attack and all other prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
That twinkling-of-an-eye moment of Rapture must be near indeed!
We must, therefore, as Royal Ambassadors on this Tribulation-bound world, instruct those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior how to come to accept God’s grace-gift offer of salvation through His Only Begotten Son. When a person accepts Jesus as Savior, he or she is Rapture Ready. –That is, he or she will go to be with Christ before that great and terrible day of the Lord begins. Here is how to accept Jesus Christ right at this moment and become a child in God the Father’s eternal family:
“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
—Terry
Waiting for Jesus’ Appearing
As we wait for Jesus’ appearing, our hearts often grow weary amid the rampant evil of our day and the hardships we encounter. Our cry often becomes one of “how much longer, O Lord?”
Our weariness of heart amid the wait comes from a variety of sources:
- Ongoing health issues of varying intensity.
- The limitations that come with aging.
- The sickening wickedness in our world that’s growing exponentially.
- Government corruption amid over-the-top deception and gaslighting by leaders.
- The vile depopulation efforts of the globalists.
- The everyday talk of a nuclear World War III.
- Various forms of persecution.
- The ridicule of our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
- Family heartaches.
- Financial woes.
I composed this list four years ago when, at the time, I couldn’t have imagined that we would still be here in March 2026, still waiting to meet Jesus in the air. I believe that Paul summed up how many of us feel in Romans 8:23:
“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (emphasis added)
The “redemption of our bodies” happens at the moment the Rapture occurs; that’s when Jesus gives us imperishable bodies. If you sigh with longing for this day to arrive, you’re in good company. The Apostle Paul also sighed with longing as he awaited Jesus’ appearing.
Is it not our anticipation of the glory ahead for us that encourages our weary hearts? That’s why I’m again writing to reassure you of the confidence we possess in Jesus’ imminent appearing. Amid the uncertainty of how the Middle East war might impact our lives, we have peace knowing that God remains in control and our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing is unshakable.
Let’s briefly review the biblical foundation of our hope for times like these. . .
Premillennialism is a biblical necessity. Premillennialism is foundational to our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. There must be a time when God restores a kingdom to Israel, which happens after a literal seven-year Tribulation when Jesus returns to the earth.
Why is this key to placing the Rapture before the Tribulation? First, those who adhere to Replacement Theology don’t believe in a seven-year Tribulation. They have no other choice but to combine the Rapture with the Second Coming.
Second, if one doesn’t interpret prophecy in the way that the writers of Scripture intended, which forms the solid basis for our Premillennial beliefs, then one cannot recognize how its words confirm the biblical necessity of a pre-Tribulation Rapture.
The Rapture is a biblical event. Because of the fierce opposition to the idea of the Rapture, let alone placing it before the seven-year tribulation, we must keep in mind that it’s most definitely a biblical event.
The late Dr. Ed Hindson, beloved author and Bible prophecy scholar, put it like this in his book, Future Glory:
“If you disagree on the timing of the rapture, please don’t tell people, ‘There’s never going to be a rapture.’ No, there must be a rapture or the Bible is not true. There must be a time when the archangel shouts, when the trumpet sounds, and the dead in Christ are raised, and the living are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We may differ on the timing of the rapture but not the fact of the rapture.”
Jesus is surely coming for us, and at that time He will give us imperishable bodies exactly as He promises us in 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. Regardless of what one calls the events described in passages such as John 14:1-3, Titus 2:11-14, Colossians 3:4, and Revelation 3:10-11a, we know these things must happen someday.
The Rapture cannot happen at the same time as the Second Coming. The next piece to the puzzle of our confidence comes from the differing biblical descriptions of the Rapture and Second Coming. The event recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 cannot possibly be the same one John wrote about in Rev. 19:11-20:4. They differ in many ways that make it impossible for one to reconcile the two into one event.
Here are just a few ways in which the descriptions of the two clash:
- The place of the resurrection of saints in the order of events.
- The identification of the risen saints.
- The speed at which they happen.
- The place where believers meet the Lord.
- The destination to which Jesus takes the saints.
In addition to these differences, we know that if the Rapture happens at the same time as Jesus’ return, then everyone enters the Millennium in glorified sinless bodies. The Bible, however, tells us that sin will exist during Jesus’ reign. This alone makes it impossible to combine the two.
The New Testament expectancy of the Rapture. The apostles repeatedly described their readers as eagerly anticipating Jesus’ return for them (1 Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 1:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; James 5:8). The first-century AD saints watched for the Rapture as though it could happen at any moment. When we say that Jesus’ appearing is imminent, we echo their expectancy. Nothing needs to occur before the Rapture takes place.
The assurance that we will miss the “Day of the Lord” wrath. For many, the clincher that the Rapture will happen before the Tribulation comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 where the Lord, through His apostle, promises to come for us before the time of judgment that’s coming to this world. This guarantee of deliverance from this future time of wrath confirms our expectation of a pre-Tribulation Rapture.
The purpose of this quick review is to assure you that our anticipation of Jesus’ imminent appearing is entirely valid. We have a solid scriptural foundation for what we believe. As such, our hope doesn’t rest in what might happen next in this world, but rather in meeting our Savior in the air.
-Jonathan