Peace: Still the Mantra in 2025

While thinking on the inauguration of the 47th president of the United States on this 20th day of January 2025, I reflect on things more than a decade earlier.

I wrote in January of 2010 the following. Peace is more than the absence of war in which blood is shed while weapons destroy and death tallies their toll. Peace is contentment, with prospects for a future free of worry that conflict will disrupt tranquility. There is neither contentment nor tranquility upon this fallen sphere:

Conflict is everywhere one looks. Unsettling issues assault the eyes and ears—the senses—of the world community. Anxieties and perplexities inundate societies and cultures, nations, and continents. The voices of humanity cry “Peace! Peace!” when there is no peace. As much as I would like to bring tidings of great joy—having just celebrated the birth of Christ—I cannot do so from the perspective of what is going on here on Earth. The year 2010 just ahead looks bleak for a world of inhabitants who, by and large, reject the only One who can bring peace. The rejection portends the ascent of evil that is prophetically scheduled to grow worse, according to the apostle Paul: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).

That forecast certainly has proven accurate. But it is God’s prophetic Word, not this poor messenger’s predictive acumen, that made the 2010 prognostication an easy one. The times here at the beginning of 2025 have changed only in that the outlook for peace this darkening world seeks flees farther distant by the hour.

While seducers are on the scene in this generation at every level of human interaction, deadly conflict lurks just around the geopolitical corner in the region of planet Earth foretold to be the host geographical area of man’s most horrific war. The prince of Persia foments rage against God’s chosen nation, inciting the likes of Iran’s Islamic leadership to create weapons that can destroy Israel, thus hoping to derail God’s prophetic plan to install the King of all kings upon the throne of David. Alliances form that make the wary student of Bible prophecy know that the prophet Ezekiel’s Gog-Magog coalition is coming together. One day the “evil thought” of Ezekiel 38:10 will come to a Russian leader’s mind. All hell will break loose in the most volatile region on Earth.

Politicians in America and in other nations lie to their publics, promising resolution to civil and economic strife and perplexities that have no chance of improvement, based upon those leaderships’ self-serving motives and intentions. They seduce the publics they are supposed to serve, and instead rule with deluding words that flow from the mind of the great deceiver himself—the father of lies.

Religious leaders—even supposed Christian leaders—move their flocks in directions away from, not toward, the God of Heaven and His prescription for living a peaceful life on this ever-darkening planet. Indeed, the seducers of religiosity grow worse and worse, and the gospel light dims for America as it has been dimming for so long in Europe, out of which the American republic burst under God’s great providence.

Still, the self-delusion that man-made peace can prevail over this sin-blackened world persists. The cry for peace and safety is exponentially ratcheting up in the region prophesied to host the worst and final war of the age—Armageddon. That cry for peace and safety predicted to characterize the end of the age is front and center in today’s headlines.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2024, laid out the opposition to peace God’s chosen nation faces in this time so near the end of the age:

Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t intend to come here this year. My country is at war, fighting for its life.

But after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight. I decided to come here to speak for my people. To speak for my country, to speak for the truth. And here’s the truth: Israel seeks peace. Israel yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again. Yet we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against them.

These savage murderers, our enemies, seek not only to destroy us, but they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror. When I spoke here last year, I said we face the same timeless choice that Moses put before the people of Israel thousands of years ago, as we were about to enter the Promised Land.

Moses told us that our actions would determine whether we bequeath to future generations a blessing or a curse.

And that is the choice we face today: the curse of Iran’s unremitting aggression or the blessing of a historic reconciliation between Arab and Jew.

But, that cry for peace isn’t working—not yet, anyway. One day, the “prince that shall come” (Daniel 9:27) will confirm such a covenant of peace that will temporarily induce euphoria for a fearful world. But the present Israeli prime minister isn’t fooled into thinking such a covenant is at hand. His words haven’t changed since back in 2010. He said at that time: “There’s no more time for excuses. It is time for action.” Netanyahu also said that Israel’s most important challenge is Iran’s attempt to get nuclear weapons.

We have witnessed since that time now fifteen years ago not the trending toward peace between Israel and its enemies but a severe ratcheting-up of terrorism and war-making. The Hamas atrocities of October 7, 2023, have thrown fuel on the fire of Middle Eastern volatility.

Iran continues to be at the center of all of it, with the new president of the United States, as of today, January 20, 2025, promising quick and devastating action against Iran’s nuclear threat, and against the Hamas perpetrators of the most heinous evil against the Jewish state since Hitler’s holocaust.

All of this gloom for this new year is depressing, you say. What a downer to begin 2025! The hope in all of this is glorious beyond imagination, however. It is the “blessed hope” of Titus 2:13 who remains in complete control. For the student of Bible prophecy, whose Lord is the King of kings, all of the foreboding for this world that is passing away means Christ’s return to make all things right on planet Earth must be near indeed. The Prince of Peace is about to intervene dramatically into the disastrous affairs of humanity.

—Terry

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Note the Difference

As the fires rage in the Los Angeles area, the casting of blame continues unabated. Die-hard environmentalists insist that climate change is the primary culprit. Those making such a claim overlook the vast array of other factors that have contributed to the ongoing disaster.

Water mismanagement was a key factor. Fire hydrants with no water or low water pressure clearly made matters much worse. In his January 12 morning message, Jack Hibbs highlighted this critical factor by pointing out that California had received record rainfall during the past two years but let most of it drain into the ocean rather than store it. The video of firemen carrying water from their truck to the fire with small vessels due to no fire hoses is a sight I won’t soon forget.

When I lived in the Los Angeles area in the mid to late 1970s, I noticed how the authorities controlled the vegetation and forests on the foothills that surrounded the area. I saw several large breaks in the landscape where they had stripped the land bare of all vegetation and trees so as to slow the momentum of fires once they started. During this time, a fire left a light dusting of ashes on the sidewalk outside my apartment, but the firefighters were able to contain the blaze mainly to the foothills because of such careful protection of the environment.

Fifty years later, the lack of preventative land management allowed the fires to grow with unstoppable force by the time they reached the populated areas.

It’s Not the Apocalypse

Some are using the language of the book of Revelation to describe the devastation left by the fires. I hear the word “apocalyptic” used to describe the widespread devastation.

The word “apocalypse” is a transliteration that comes from Revelation 1:1, “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (my emphasis). In the Greek, the word denotes an appearing or manifestation. The last book of the Bible reveals the person, might, and character of the Lord Jesus on all its pages.

While for many, the word communicates the horrors of what the world sees on the videos that continue to stream from Southern California, what we see is not yet the unveiling of the Lord and His wrath upon the world. It’s not the apocalypse. That cannot happen until after the Rapture.

In addition, the horrific scenes from Los Angeles do not rise to the level of carnage that will mark the seven-year Tribulation. The seal judgments that will come early in this period will result in the death of one-fourth of the population (Revelation 6:1-8).

The Great Day of Wrath

There’s another noteworthy aspect of the Tribulation that sets apart the judgments of the book of Revelation from the disasters that we continue to witness in California and elsewhere. Please note the world’s responses to the horrific events that will mark the start of the Tribulation:

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'” (Revelation 6:15-17, emphasis added).

Not only will the horrific events of the Tribulation exceed what we now witness in terms of devastation and death, but people will correctly identify them as the “wrath of the Lamb.” I have heard a great many explanations for the fires that continue in the Los Angeles area, but I have yet to hear government officials, the elite, or the rich attribute them to “God’s wrath.”

Though people will recognize the Lord’s hand of judgment during the Tribulation, the vast majority of them will refuse to repent of their sins (see Revelation 9:20-21). If there’s any similarity between now and then, it’s that what we see warns mankind of its urgent need to turn to the Savior.

It’s Not a Coincidence

Although it’s not the apocalypse, I believe God has a purpose for the unmitigated disaster that’s unfolding before our eyes in Southern California. He has allowed incompetent government officials, DEI hiring practices, serious lapses of judgment, fierce Santa Ana winds, and evil people starting fires to lead to this deadly calamity. It’s not a coincidence that the fires not have not only struck at the heart of America’s entertainment industry, which has long polluted minds with trashy films but also at what has become the headquarters of a multi-billion-dollar porn filmmaking industry.

Perhaps it’s also not a coincidence that the fires started soon after Hollywood verbally mocked God at the Golden Globes award ceremony on January 5, 2025.

It’s difficult for me not to see God’s hand in bringing together the many factors that contributed to the dreadful images that continue to stream our way from the West Coast. It’s not the Day of the Lord wrath, but we would amiss not to see it as His warning of what lies ahead for those who refuse to respond to His gracious offer of salvation.

It’s understandable that people would compare the Los Angeles fires with the judgments they read about in the book of Revelation. It’s important, however, to note the key difference. What we now see is not yet the “wrath of the Lamb” but rather a warning of its impending arrival and a call for repentance.

There’s coming a day when many will correctly identify the dreadful events of their day as the “wrath of the Lamb,” but then it will be too late for them to escape the Lord’s fury.

-Jonathan

Huckabee and Profound Prophetic Appointments

Margaret and I were leaving Highland Heights Baptist Church after a Sunday service sometime in the 1980s. As we turned to trek down the side of the church on the road leading to the parking lot, I heard the voice: “Terry! You and Margaret come here. I want to introduce you to Mike Huckabee.”

It was our pastor, Robert McDaniel, who was standing near the frontage road talking with Mike Huckabee, who had delivered the sermon that morning as a guest speaker.

“Mike is running for lieutenant governor,” the pastor said. “I wanted you to meet him and shake hands with him.”

We did so, and spent a few minutes in pleasantries, with my thanking him for his sermon.

Little did I imagine Mr. Huckabee would achieve the level of national and international prominence the Lord chose for him, of course.

He was, and remains, the personification of a Christian gentleman, according to all I have known from reports all these years. This, despite his being engaged in the rough-and-tumble (some would say “wicked”) business of political warfare in our state of Arkansas and in the nation.

There were many in the Christian community in those days when Mike ran for lieutenant governor and later for governor who either questioned a Baptist preacher becoming intertwined with the often nefarious art of politics, or who adamantly opposed such engagement by a Baptist preacher.

I myself remember asking why a Baptist preacher would want to become a part of the politicking in our state and nation.

My question has since been answered in my spirit. The Lord has had his hand on Mr. Huckabee–as well as on his daughter, Sarah, who was a youngster when Margaret and I shook hands with her father. She, of course, became President Trump’s press spokesperson and is now governor of Arkansas.

Mike, of course, ran for president, and he and the rest of the GOP field were defeated by one Donald J. Trump. Trump went on then to be elected president in defeating another who was once part of Arkansas government–Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s First Lady when he was governor here, and, later, when he was president of the United States.

The 2016 election was, as we recall, a complete surprise to many–especially to the Hillary Clinton presidential-aspiration camp. The shock of that victory continues to reverberate with wave after wave of political and cultural impact.

The point is that God’s mighty hand continues to be on display as He restrains evil, has that “wickedness in high places” in derision, and especially as He brings all into focus for the prophesied wind-up of this Church Age (Age of Grace).

To those who observe developments through the prism of Bible prophecy, no instance of God’s great hand of providential direction and control is more profound than the dynamics involving Israel taking place at present.

We’ve seen God moving powerfully since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Remember, for example, the strategic brilliance employed by the IDF in the exploding of communications devices, killing many enemy terrorists in the process. We who believe Israel’s God neither slumbers nor sleeps know this seeming miraculous action was orchestrated by Heaven, while the Supreme Maestro, Israel’s God, continues to direct the prophetic stage-setting.

That same Supreme Maestro has placed in the president-elect’s mind, I’m convinced, to appoint Mike Huckabee to be the next ambassador to God’s chosen nation. Here is a news brief framing that appointment.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Israel, has long rejected a Palestinian state in territory previously seized by Israel and has repeatedly signaled his staunch support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Huckabee, a former TV host and Baptist preacher, frequently visits Israel and once said he wanted to buy a holiday home there. He has maintained throughout the years that the West Bank belongs to Israel, and recently said, “the title deed was given by God to Abraham and to his heirs.”

His argument for a so-called “one-state solution” contradicts longstanding official U.S. support for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.

He has described the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas as “horrific” and “beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime” and argued that the U.S. needs to stand firmly behind Israel. (“Trump picks Mike Huckabee to serve as US ambassador to Israel,” AP News, Adriana Gomez Licon, November 13, 2024)

The most important thing about Trump choosing Mr. Huckabee is not that a Baptist preacher will be in the position to wholeheartedly bring America’s full support to God’s chosen nation. Even more profound is that he will have this president’s ear in such an influential way.

This message isn’t only for Mike Huckabee. I want to implore others as well who have Donald J. Trump’s ear. That is, I implore other godly men to advise without reservation as Mr. Trump performs the duties God has appointed him to carry out. That is a main reason they’ve been placed by the God of Heaven into the pathway of this unusual man who will soon again be the most powerful human leader on planet Earth.

God’s men who have this president’s ear, such as John Hagee and Robert Jeffress, have, like Mike Huckabee, a responsibility to inform the president, at every opportunity, about Heaven’s ultimate control over things at this prophetic hour. Your advice in that Holy Spirit sense, gentlemen, is far beyond the Senate’s “advice and consent authority” under America’s constitutional prerogative. Please do not shirk that great responsibility.

–Terry

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No Time for Complacency

Although I had read the verse well over a hundred times, I had always missed its relevance for today and, in particular, our anticipation of Jesus’ imminent appearing. Perhaps it was because the words don’t directly relate to Bible prophecy that I overlooked their relevance to it.

However, as the new year dawned, I saw in the verse below an understanding of why so many people today cling to their hope of a return to normality rather than what Jesus says about their only sure hope for the perilous days in which we live.

“For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them” (Proverbs 1:32, emphasis added).

It was the word “complacency” that leaped from the page on January 1. The Hebrew word is shalvah, which also denotes a sense of ease and prosperity. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines complacency as “self-satisfaction, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.”

It’s understandable why many English versions of the Bible translate shalvah in Proverbs 1:32 as “complacency,” as it fits rather well with the Hebrew word’s sense of self-absorption that leads to a dismissal of dangers until it is too late.

Today’s Church

Unfortunately, today’s prosperity leads many to a state of complacency regarding the Lord’s return, one that causes them to ignore the multitude of signs pointing to the start of the Tribulation. Like the church in Laodicea, arrogant “self-satisfaction” is prevalent among many gatherings of the faithful, particularly in America.

False teaching and/or quietness from the pulpit directs most church attenders away from any awareness that we live in the last days of human history as we know it. Their shepherds fail to teach them how to discern the times in which we live. Their messages might contain fleeting mentions of eternal life, but there’s no meaningful teaching about what it means for New Testament saints.

The resulting complacency among many of today’s church-goers doesn’t mean that those who are truly born again will lose their salvation, no, not at all. But why should believers continue with such an earth-based outlook on life, shalvah, which for those outside of Christ will result in ruin?

The World

The world rejects any notion that the Lord might intervene in our world. Since they spurn all the warnings of Scripture, it never enters their minds that God might judge the wickedness of our day. Not only is the idea of Jesus’ return laughable to them, but they also readily scorn any notion of God’s judgment, now or in eternity.

Peter A. Steveson, in A Commentary on Proverbs, put it this way in his insights into Proverbs 1:32:

Filled with the carelessness of self-confidence, these fools show no concern over divine judgment.

We see this same worldly recklessness in the words of Ezekiel as he used the word shalvah to describe the people of Sodom before they experienced the Lord’s sudden destruction (compare 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49, emphasis added).

The problem with such self-satisfaction is not with what one possesses but rather with the fact it breeds complacency regarding the warnings of God’s Word and a failure to recognize that the Lord’s promise of eternal life is vastly superior to anything the world offers.

Those Who Hear

I know the majority of my readers fall into the category described in Proverbs 1:33:

“But whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Those who hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing possess a peace amid all the unwelcome news that continually comes our way. We pray for the Lord to keep us resisting the wickedness and violence of our day, but at the same time, we rest in the confidence that Jesus is coming for us before the terrors of the Day of the Lord.

Is it too much of a leap to say that the wise believers of our day discern the times in which we live and thus recognize the imminency of Jesus’ appearing? Please note the reassuring words that the Lord gave to Daniel, and to us, shortly before the prophet’s death:

“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10, KJV).

In today’s world, it’s the discerning saints who avoid the complacency that characterizes many church-goers and those in the world who don’t believe that the Lord will directly intervene in the affairs of humanity.

If you look for and long for Jesus’ appearing, thank the Lord for the insight He has given you into Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Paul contrasts the wisdom of God with that of the world and ends with these words:

“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

We must always give the Lord all the credit for who we are in Him as well as for our understanding of what the Bible says about our “blessed hope.” I know many sincere New Testament saints remain complacent regarding the signs of the times and Jesus’ imminent appearing. I don’t fully understand why this is the case or why it’s so clear to us and not to others.

What I do know for sure is this: if there ever was a time for complacency in the body of Christ, this most assuredly is not it.

-Jonathan