Looking into the Root of Evil

This week’s column is intended to build upon last week’s regarding what the violence and great unrest are about and where they’re leading prophetically.

One prophetic component of what will comprise the denouement of this Age of Grace (Church Age) has vaulted to top of the stage-setting platform. This ingredient has, I believe, put end-times prophecy into overdrive while we watch things unfold through today’s hourly news cycles.

This component is spelled out unequivocally in God’s Word as at the root of evil in this sin-infected world, fallen since humanity’s rebellion in Eden.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10).

It would be easy to conclude a probe into this root cause of all the world’s evil by simply pointing to the billions of dollars of fraud found by Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). The tremendous fraud is still being uncovered daily after a year of the Trump administration coming to power.

Or an even greater proof that could be concluded is to offer the many billions of dollars of which the American taxpayers have been defrauded by Somalia operatives in Minnesota. But as profoundly evil as this larceny is, it’s only the tip of the enormous, evil iceberg that has grown to now threaten, in Titanic-like fashion, to sink the entire world in an economy-crushing cataclysm.

That iceberg of evil that’s grown exponentially harbors within its crushing power the love of money that God’s Word says is the “root of all evil.” Let’s examine this more deeply to understand its growth and orchestration by the being who, for now, owns the wealth of this God-rejecting world.

The destruction of humankind has, from some point near the beginning of Lucifer’s rebellion in Heaven, been Satan’s goal. That destructive effort has ramped up quickly and powerfully, as the news testifies.

Tyrants and dictators have long kept the victims within their despotic grips to suppress freedom that might replace their evil regimes. They control all commerce ruthlessly—creating, in effect, slave labor—while providing scant substance of money and foodstuffs. This has always been the case with evil leadership. Their power indeed comes from the barrels of guns–or from other murderous weaponry of dealing death to those who resist.

These who hold their victims in their grip of absolute control harbor the love of money at the center of their black, sin-saturated hearts. Money is what ensures that they will stay in power so they can enjoy the lives of billionaires. Money purchases the weapons they can use to suppress those under their dictatorships. It gives them the means necessary to invade and conquer more and more victims.

And that love of money isn’t exclusively owned by what we most often think of as the enemies of democracy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once waxed eloquent on this when he warned against the West’s military-industrial complex.

Many of the top echelons within this conglomerate, it has been charged by Eisenhower and others, want to see the wars continue to rage. The fantastic wealth such buildup to wars produce is staggering, if one adds up the cost of all conflicts just within the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The lives of the youths in the world’s nations have been fed into such conflict for the purpose of not just defending against tyrants, but to create great wealth to provide lavish lifestyles for politicians and corporate titans.

We see all this rolling before our eyes as we watch, for example, things going on involving Iran. The ayatollahs and their regime of Islamic terror are under great pressures from the people who now occupy the area that was Persia of ancient times. These evil leaders are about to loosen their stranglehold on their victims. The rioting and revolutionary fervor stem, in large part, from the people’s anger over economic deprivation. The regime’s dictators, the people know, are making life miserable, and they are rising up to rid themselves of their masters.

While it might seem the uprising is calming somewhat, it will, I believe, grow in swelling waves of discontent.

Exacerbating the ayatollahs’ problems with the current revolution in Iran is the fact that America’s president is promising, in some way not yet clear, to support the people in a way that will be disastrous for the regime.

This president follows through on such promises, so the regime’s leadership is in collective panic. For example, the leadership abruptly cancelled the execution of eighteen anti-regime protestors when President Trump said any executions would mean American action directly against those who ordered the executions.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top leader and commander of the military, has reportedly made plans to go into exile–perhaps to Moscow—if America looks to be truly on the brink of regime change.

I don’t think this will be the case. These ayatollah types are satanically bound to the most radical and virulent form of Islam, and Khamenei is 87, so the regime might be ready to die on that hill, as is sometimes said for those who won’t change or quit.

But getting back to this article’s title, it is money that is at the root of what I sense is going on now in this regard. And it is profoundly prophetic, if it’s the way this might all be shaping up for one of the most notable of all Bible prophecies.

The people of Iran are revolting vehemently due to their destitution, driven to action by the regime creating that dire economic condition. And with sanctions in place that this American president has set against the Iranian dictatorship, they haven’t any way of satisfying the reason for the peoples’ revolt.

They must therefore do what every government, especially those under the tyrannical leaderships, usually do: create diversion—or, in this case, join a coalition that is strong so as to prevent their own loss of power.

It is fascinating to note that another nation of prophetic interest is in terrible economic shape, also. And, as stated before, it’s obvious to me that one reason Vladimir Putin of Russia is so adamant about taking back Ukraine because his own people must realize they’re being deprived, and tremendous internal revolt is developing.

A much-appreciated reader wrote to say there are no such hard economic times in Russia–at least not to the extent the sources I’m hearing from are reporting. However, despite Russia’s economic condition one way or the other, with the American president, for example, cutting off Russia’s oil from Venezuela and other harsh monetary impositions such as sanctions, the Russian plight is destined to worsen.

Ukraine offers that diversion mentioned above, keeping the attention focused on the war. But the tremendous numbers of Russia’s youth lost in the war, and now even older people, are adding to the increasing displeasure among the people of Russia. At the same time, there is great need to get vast sums of money to keep their economic base out of the pit of destitution.

I wonder again if the “evil thought” that comes into the mind of the one called Gog will have the love of or the desperate need for money at the root of the decision to invade toward Israel to “take great spoil” (Israel’s riches).

The same question applies to Iran (Persia). Might the leadership see that their way to survive is to join that coalition with Russia and the others to gain strength back as they pursue riches to the south?

While the Tribulation grows nearer on the prophetic horizon, things seem to be shaping up quickly, with many of the developments wrapped around economic exigencies. And that shaping up includes the US, as we’ve looked at numerous times before.

While the tyrannical nations to the east are in declining economic conditions, I believe there’s about to be an economic boom in America. This is a reason, I believe, that Donald Trump was allowed in office again despite even assassination attempts against his life and every sort of unsavory political and personal attack imaginable.

Despite the declarations of some prophecy writers—those who deny there will be the pre-Trib Rapture and who think we are on the precipice of economic collapse, thus about to go directly into the Tribulation—the facts are coming out to the contrary. A just-released indicator of the up-trending fiscal outlook is highly relevant.

The U.S. trade deficit has been reduced to $29.4 billion, after last being reported at $48.1 billion. The forecasted deficit had been $58.1 billion, Investing.com reported. The deficit dropped by $18.7 billion, and was $28.7 billion less than the predicted figure. The deficit is the lowest since 2009. (“US Trade Deficit Shrinks to $29.4 Billion, Lowest Since 2009,” https://amac.us/newsline/economy/us-trade-deficit-shrinks-to-29-4-billion-lowest-since-2009/)

Some financial authorities/experts believe an economic boom is thus beginning. This fits with our Lord’s Luke 17:28-30 “days of Lot” prophecy. It’s just a time like this—when building, buying, selling, and other economics are on the uptick—when He will call the Church into the clouds of Glory, according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

So, after here looking a bit into the root of evil, let us rather, with great anticipation, begin looking up for our redemption, which is drawing near (Luke 21:28)!

—Terry

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Can We Trust Today’s Purveyors of Peace?

After he and Adolph Hitler signed the Munich Agreement on September 30, 1938, English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to Britain believing he had prevented a major European war. Upon arrival back in England, he declared, “My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time.”

We know the rest of the story. The pact became the precursor to perhaps the bloodiest conflict in history.

We live during a similar time. Despite multiple flashpoints that could lead to an even deadlier world war, we repeatedly hear refrains of “peace and security” at the UN and from world leaders. It’s exactly what we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:3:

“While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

Notice that it’s when people are “saying” that, the wrath of the Day of the Lord falls upon an unsuspecting world.

In the World

Not only do the words “peace and security” permeate UN documents heralding its efforts to end all wars, but they also often appear in President Trumps speeches and documents pertaining to the Abrahamic Accords. Both he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly recite the phrase as they talk about their ongoing efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.

Despite the relentless striving of these two leaders and others to resolve conflicts, nothing changes. After last year’s twelve-day war between Israel and Iran, which concluded with the US bombing of nuclear facilities inside the Muslim state, many believed the hostilities would cease, at least for a while.

However, Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb persist as it continues its mass production of missiles and the distribution of them to its proxies. During the past couple weeks, we have watched with horror as the Islamic regime brutally murdered thousands of protestors with estimates close to twenty-thousand with many others injured.

With Israel’s enemies, ceasefires never equate to peace, but rather a time to rearm and plan future attacks against the Jewish state.

Hostilities also fester beneath the surface with Hezbollah and Hamas. Despite the ceasefires, both groups refuse to disarm, and remain undeterred in their desire to kill Jews. Beyond the Middle East, the war between Ukraine and Russia drags on with no end in sight to this bloody conflict that every day brings the world closer to another world war.

The facts belie the claims of peace for our day. Is what we see not what the Lord revealed to the apostle? Although we live at a time when people are saying “peace and security,” the world is rapidly moving toward a time when it will explode with wars and strife unlike any other in their destruction and death toll (Revelation 6:1-8).

In the Church

Another text that comes to my mind as I think about the false peace purveyors of our day:

“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14).

These verses pertain to the religious leaders of Jeremiah’s day who, despite his prophecies of imminent judgment for Jerusalem and the threat posed by Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, proclaimed a message of “Peace, peace.” Does this not sound eerily similar to what we hear in many churches?

Today, the most popular view of the end times is “dominion theology,” which teaches that the church will gain control of the world’s major institutions, and as a result, bring millennial conditions to the world before Jesus’ Second Coming. Similar beliefs persisted early in the twentieth century before two devastating world wars ended the postmillennial beliefs of that era. The reality of today’s ongoing conflicts combined with even greater violence seething beneath the surface of what we see has not yet caught up to these modern-day purveyors of “peace for our time.”

Other popular doctrines of the end times also miss the signs of the last days because they insist that Israel’s miraculous reappearance as a nation has nothing to do with Bible prophecy. Although many of them see the world for what it is, the belief that today is no different than any other time in history opens the door for a normalcy bias, which I wrote about in last week’s Nearing Midnight column. As a result of failing to recognize Israel’s place in Bible prophecy, they fail to recognize the many other signs of the rapidly approaching Day of the Lord.

This brings me back to what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. As believers, we have the Lord’s promise of deliverance before the “sudden destruction” that will mark the beginning of this future time of God’s wrath. If we were destined to endure God’s future fury upon the earth, the apostle never would have concluded this passage with these comforting words:

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

The certainty of Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us home is a much safer, and biblical, place for our faith to rest than that of trusting those who proclaim “peace of security” for our day. Our blessed hope consists of Jesus taking us out of this world before the time of “sudden destruction” on the earth.

-Jonathan

Persia’s Gog-Magog Motivation?

Most observers of Bible prophecy and developments toward eventual fulfillment—from the pre-Trib perspective—believe a motivation for the Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 will involve economics. It seems, as a matter of fact, that perhaps the primary motivation will be monetary.

The scriptural basis for this presumption derives from the following:

“Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land” (Ezekiel 38:9-12).

Of course, the real motivation, the impetus for this future attack, comes from Satan. He wants the Jewish nation of Israel destroyed. If he can cause God’s promise—for Israel to be a nation forever—to fail, he doubtless believes he can avoid his own promised punishment, which is to burn throughout eternity in the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The “evil thought” in this Ezekiel prophecy, though, will have at its root in the mind of the Gog spirit indwelling the leader of this satanic coalition the dark idea of stealing all the riches Israel is blessed with.

This motivation, it more and more appears, will be not only from just the desire to take Israel’s riches, but also from the determination to turn around all the coalition members’ (Gog-Magog nations’) abject, dismal economic conditions.

And this monetary-fiscal failure is ever more evident within the economic conditions of these major players that will lead the Gog-Magog assault, according to today’s news cycles.

Russia is in dire stress economically, and many observers believe this is one reason Vladimir Putin keeps feeding the youth and now even the older soldiers of Russia into the deadly machinery of war in the bloody battles against Ukraine. He must distract from the increasingly horrendous economy and living conditions suffered by the Russian people to preserve his position of power.

This has often been the strategy of the likes of Josef Stalin and subsequent dictators of the Soviet Union and around the world.

But we’re looking here at the Gog-Magog coalition member called “Persia.”

This, of course, is the area now called “Iran.”

Here are some news tidbits about that nation’s dismal fiscal condition:

• Iranians use internet connectivity to fight hated regime: Iran’s latest wave of unrest began with the kind of trigger that regimes fear because it spreads through every class: money. Shopkeepers in Tehran’s large mobile phone market shuttered their stores, and the anger pulled in students and more cities as the rial [Iran currency] kept sliding and prices kept climbing. The protests did not reach the scale of the 2022 uprising, yet the tone shifted quickly, and the content online sharpened.

• Why Iranians are calling for the return of the Pahlavis and their monarchy: Protesters took to the streets of Iran this week, amid chants of anger against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and fury over an economy in free fall, a slogan once considered politically unutterable returned, and the sounds of crowds chanting it filled the air. “Javid Shah” – Long Live the Shah.

• Regime Change Here? Protesters Call for the Death of Ayatollah Khamenei As Violence Erupts All over Iran: Is this the end for the tyrannical regime of Ayatollah Khamenei and his minions? During the fifth day of protests in Iran, violence erupted in multiple major cities, and protesters were shouting for Khamenei to be killed. But I wouldn’t get too excited yet. Demanding regime change is easy. Bringing it about is something else altogether. Khamenei and his minions have a lot more guns than the protesters do, and the current regime will never step aside willingly. So those that are desperately hoping for regime change in Iran should not count their chickens before they hatch. (Rapture Ready News, January 2, 2026)

The stories of Iran’s radical Muslim regime coming under assault by the Iranian people continue to mount. And it is reported that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini has made arrangements to go into exile in Moscow at any moment.

But it is reasonable to wonder if this will happen because of Islam’s absolute dedication to establishing the rule of Allah no matter the opposition. War in the cause of Allah—even to the extent of murdering all people who oppose the Islamic law and rule—is justified, and there is to be no quarter given.

Like in the case of Putin and Russia, the Islamic dictatorship will not be deterred. Anything and everything will be done, if history is an indicator, to forge ahead with satanic-directed hegemony. Therefore, Bible prophecy and its fulfillment could well be in play in light of the dire economic conditions and resultant rage by the Iranian people.

It’s easy to postulate that the wrathful unrest of the people who now occupy the land of ancient Persia will cause Iran’s evil leaders to eagerly join with Russia, Turkey, and the rest of the Gog-Magog force in the assault against God’s chosen nation and people.

The “evil thought” of the one called “Gog” will almost certainly center around deflecting the anger and rage of the millions of people under these regimes’ dictatorships.

We are perhaps witnessing now the buildup toward solidifying that coalition Ezekiel spoke of thousands of years ago.

Money—the love of which, God’s Word tells us, is the root of all sorts of evil—certainly is at the nucleus of much of what’s going on in our world today. Whether considering the hatred surrounding the Israel-Muslim world, the blood-drenched Russia-Ukraine war, or the US action against the drug cartels of oil-rich but citizen-destitute Venezuela, economics are surely a prime motivating factor in the drive toward global dictatorship that will one day be attempted by Antichrist.

In that regard, we can see where President Dwight Eisenhower had it right in his warning against the military-industrial complex. The munitions industry it takes to foment and carry out war continues to create wealth for the producers and the merchants of weaponry.

All this we see developing points to the truth that Christ’s call to the Church is drawing near.

Speaking of motivation: Seeing that glorious moment drawing ever nearer, how motivated should we be to be about our Father’s business in carrying out the Great Commission?

Here again is the heart of that gospel to use in our mission to reach the lost:

“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

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A Time Like No Other

I often hear statements such as, “Today is no different than any other time in history; look at what happened in the last century with its deadly wars and oppression.” Others point to New Testament times when immorality across the Roman Empire rivaled that of our day, as if to say there’s nothing new about our day.

How do we answer such objections? Is our day truly unique in we live in the season of Jesus’ imminent appearing?

The most telling difference between today and no other time in all of Church history is this: since 1948, Israel has existed as an independent nation capable of entering into the covenant with antichrist that will start Daniel’s seventieth week. The extensive preparations for another temple and animal sacrifices also tell us that we live in the shadow of the rapidly approaching Tribulation period.

Beyond what we see happening with Israel, I believe there’s something else that demonstrates we live at a time like no other: It’s the intensity of what we see.

The worldwide death toll from abortion now exceeds one billion, which alone puts today in a category all its own in terms of violence and immorality. And at no other time since John wrote the book of Revelation have we witnessed so many world developments pointing to the nearness of the seals of Revelation 6, which have progressed to the point where many errantly say they have already begun.

Perilous Times on Steroids

There have always been people who fit Paul’s vivid characteristics of the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. However, what we see today is nothing less than “perilous times on steroids.”

The headlines of the past twelve months show that we live at a time like no other when people “are lovers of money.” We recently learned that estimates of the fraud from fake childcare centers in Minnesota has risen to eight billion dollars. In a recent statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that as much as ten percent of the U.S. budget, somewhere between $300 and $600 billion, is stolen every year. Is that not mind-boggling? Power and corruption have always existed, but the scope of today’s greed and dishonesty have reached new heights.

Just a cursory glance at the apostle’s list tells me that much has changed in just the past sixty years. People have always been “lovers of self,” but has this not reached epidemic proportions with the advent of cell phones with built-in cameras? Many were “arrogant,” and “brutal” back in the 1960s, but what we see today is a whole new ballgame.

The Scoffing

The books of Jude and 2 Peter depict the last days as a time of scoffing. When Jude wrote about it, he referred to “the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus” concerning the latter day mocking (Jude 17-18). Notice that the reference is plural; it wasn’t just Peter who had this to say about the mocking:

“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Today, the ridicule of our belief in the Rapture has reached new heights.

I recently began recording podcasts again for my YouTube channel, and before this past weekend, they had attracted a few hundred views with several positive comments. My most recent post, “Daniel’s Seventieth Week, Israel, and the Rapture,” however, resulted in many more viewers along with a firestorm of comments mocking the Rapture and our belief in the future restoration of Israel.

The response reminded me that scoffing is indeed a sign of the last days. But more than that, it’s the intensity of the ridicule that points us to the nearing of the midnight hour.

The Reprobate Mentality

Though not typically regarded as a prophetic text, I believe that Romans 1:28-32 also depicts the intensity of today’s rebellion against God. I say that because these verses aptly describe the reprobate mindset that will lead to the killing of a multitude of Tribulation saints as well as a great many Jews after antichrist’s desecration of their temple. Because of the momentum that this God-hating mentality has already gained in our day, it’s easy to see how the attributes described in these verses will lead to the horrific bloodshed of the Tribulation period:

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).

Today is different; we live at a time like no other in the history of the Church. We see the more obvious ones in Israel’s existence, the ongoing warfare against the nation, and advanced planning for the third temple. But as the age of grace nears its end, we also note the greatly increased pervasiveness of what the Bible says about the perilous times, scoffing, and along with it the brutal mentality of the last days. As for the violence, despite the horrific massacre of many thousands of protestors in Iran, some nations are urging America to refrain from getting involved to stop the bloodshed.

If you are like me, you wonder how much closer can we get to the time when the Lord says enough, takes us home to glory, and responds to the violence and wickedness of our day?

-Jonathan