JERUSALEM—Last night a group of us were outside conversing near a street and a passing rabbi invited himself to join us. He proudly called Israel’s offensive against Iran “the greatest manifestation of God’s power since the Exodus.”

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It is easy to see why Israelis would think this way. The damage their nation has inflicted over the past 3½ days is stunning. In a series of precise strikes, Israel has significantly disrupted Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities. It has crippled Iran’s air defenses and missile production and killed over 20 senior military commanders and six nuclear scientists.

Even more, Israel has humiliated the region’s biggest bully.

For decades, the revolutionary regime of Iran has threatened the Jewish state and defied the international community. Global consensus has been that directly confronting the Islamic Republic would risk escalation, economic fallout, geopolitical entanglement and other unintended consequences. Instead, it must be treated respectfully, coaxed into civility through negotiation and compromise. Yet Iran has remained pushy and continued to promote extremism, broadcast anti-Semitism, underwrite terrorism, and pursue nuclear capability.

Israel finally had enough. It is amazing what action can accomplish that words cannot. Donald Trump is trying to leverage Israel’s military success to coerce Iran back into negotiations, which were otherwise feckless and defunct.

Details of Israel’s operation are impressive: decades in the planning; covert infiltration deep into Iranian territory; neutralizing Iran’s ability to retaliate. The fact that it had in recent months already subdued Hamas and Hezbollah, and that Syria has defected from Iran, made this possible. One could view virtually the entire chain of events since Oct. 7, 2023, as all facilitating Israel’s success this past week.

Meanwhile, Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages have had limited effect.

For the past three nights, the skies of Jerusalem have sounded with sirens and lit up with fire. It is surreal to see rockets streaking past, knowing they were launched from Iran and aimed at Israeli civilians. Then to see Iron Dome interceptors, pinpricks of light, meandering toward them, then creating, at contact, a cloud of debris and streaks of flaming shrapnel raining down.

Israel’s air defenses have intercepted all but 22 of the approximately 350 missiles fired by Iran. Those that have glided past have killed more than 20 and injured some 400 Israelis, damaging some civilian infrastructure, particularly in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Bat Yam and Rehovot. An oil refinery and part of the power grid were hit early this morning.

But it is a shadow of the damage to Iran. Besides the damage to its nuclear and military infrastructure, and the gutting of its command structure and scientific know-how, Iran faces additional economic disruption due to damaged oil infrastructure and Internet outages. Panic has led to long lines at gas stations and gridlocked roads as Tehran residents attempt to flee. Iran International says Ali Asghar Hejazi, Khamenei’s deputy chief-of-staff, is talking with Russian officials to secure an exit from Iran for himself and his family; reports say other senior regime officials are trying to secure similar guarantees or planning exit strategies in case the war escalates. Not a strong look.

Again—it is a remarkable achievement, especially considering Israel has essentially had to act alone. How much more effective could this be if the international community truly united behind it?

Looking at these events in light of biblical prophecy, the ramifications are very different. Our editor in chief has long pointed to Iran as fulfilling the role of an end-time “king of the south.” This shows that Iran will somehow emerge from this conflict intact, still able to inflict terrible damage. This morning’s feature story from Jude Flurry and Ezekiel Malone, “Israel’s D-Day Against Iran,” shows how this may play out. We will have much more about this in the coming days on theTrumpet.com and in our next Trumpet issue. Stay tuned in for more prophetic insights.

Germany held its first-ever Veterans Day on Sunday. This is a major step toward this nation rehabilitating its army and militarizing.

When the Federal Republic of Germany was founded, its veterans were literal Nazis. Just before both world wars, the military played a major role in public life and was often celebrated. Afterward, the victorious Allies pledged to “destroy German militarism.”

Now, almost all practical restraints on Germany’s use of the military are gone. President Trump is, in fact, pressuring the nation to rearm. And Germans are once again celebrating their army.

• Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the Army’s place “is at the center of society” where it is “visible, present and supported.”
• Bundestag President Julia Klöckner said, “This day creates something that has been missing for a long time: public visibility, recognition and respect for all those who have served in our country’s armed forces.”

Germany wants to enlist another 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. Recruiting on such a scale means fundamentally changing Germany’s relationship with its military, celebrating it in a way it has not done for 80 years.

Last year Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote, “Germany’s leaders are preparing their countrymen for very dark days ahead, when they will once again fight for the fatherland. This is indeed ‘a first since the Second World War’!”

Changing German society’s relationship with the military is just one way that Germany is reviving militarism.

“No Kings” protests erupted across the U.S. on Saturday as a defiant stand against President Trump’s policies, particularly his immigration crackdowns and a flashy military parade in Washington, D.C. Organizers—including the 50501 Movement and a coalition of over 200 progressive groups like the aclu and Indivisible—claim “millions” have taken to the streets of Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Philadelphia and over 2,000 other locations across America to reject what organizers called Trump’s authoritarian overreach.

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, one of the protest organizers, told pbs that the protesters are saying, “In America, we don’t have a king. In America, we’re a democracy.” This is despite President Trump winning both the electoral college and popular vote in an election mere months ago.

President Trump had the perfect comeback, telling a reporter, “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through h*** to get stuff approved” by Congress. True. However, Bible prophecy does describe Trump as a modern-day antitype of King Jeroboam ii of ancient Israel and shows how he will exercise increasingly king-like powers.

Assassinations in Minnesota: On Saturday, Vance Luther Boelter, a 57-year-old with ties to Minnesota politics, disguised himself as a police officer and killed Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their homes in the Minneapolis suburbs. He reportedly had a list of other Democratic politicians he was planning to kill, including U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Boelter was reportedly targeting them because of their pro-abortion stances.

Why? He was all over the ideological map: Various sources describe him as far-right, left-wing, maga, appointed by Tim Walz, loves Trump, hates Trump, angry that Minnesota cut off free health care to illegal aliens, assassinating lawmakers for promoting abortion; an ordained minister who traveled to Gaza to convert Islamists to Christianity …. He is a Rorschach test for everyone to point to as evidence of how unhinged and dangerous their political enemies are.

It is certainly another sign of America’s polarized political climate, where violence is increasingly seen as a tool for settling scores, and the growing demonic influence in society. And as Gerald Flurry commented during the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, riots, events like this are harbingers of worse division.

IN OTHER NEWS

Opposition in the U.S. to Israel’s war with Iran shows how radical the far left have become. Democrats like Rashida Tlaib openly side with Iran; she said: “The Israeli government bombing Iran is a dangerous escalation that could lead to regional war. War Criminal Netanyahu will do anything to maintain his grip on power. We cannot let him drag our country into a war with Iran. Our government must stop funding and supporting this rogue genocidal regime.” American society has been infiltrated by dangerous ideas, as our In Brief explains.

Is Netanyahu aiming for regime change in Iran? Mihailo Zekic makes the case that Israel is aiming for the complete overthrow of the Iranian regime.

Germany saw a record number of anti-Semitic attacks in 2024, dwarfing the record that was set only the year before. The Federal Association of Anti-Semitism Research and Information warns that we’re in a “new era” of Jew hatred. Josué Michels explains what this means for the world.