Ukraine Deal ‘Closer Than Ever’
Ukraine Deal ‘Closer Than Ever’
Good morning!
As 2025 concludes, the world is once again on the brink of “peace, peace.”
A deal to end the Ukraine war is “closer than ever,” President Trump said after a “terrific” meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago yesterday.
Two hours before that meeting, Trump held a “good and very productive” phone call with Vladimir Putin. This after a “very productive” phone call on February 12, a “very good and productive” phone call on March 18, five more phone calls on May 19, June 4, June 14, July 3 and October 16, and an “extremely productive” summit with Putin in Alaska on August 18-19. Surely all this productive discussion will ultimately overcome whatever is blocking the peace.
Also, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is at Mar-a-Lago today to discuss advancing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. This is a tricky one, involving Hamas disarming and demilitarizing Gaza—which it insists it will never do—as well as establishing a new Palestinian technocratic government and an international stabilization force. But President Trump has already “ended the war in Gaza, bringing, for the first time in 3,000 years, peace in the Middle East.” The remaining challenges haven’t dimmed his faith in his own dealmaking.
On Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described Iran as being in a full-scale war with the United States, Europe and Israel. President Trump hasn’t yet responded; apparently, it is of little concern.
The enthusiasm for peace is unabated. President Trump has “settled eight wars in 10 months” and is about to solve more.
And, barely audible amid the celebrations, the words of Isaiah the Prophet whisper: “Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.”
China live-fire drills make Taiwan sweat: China deployed its navy, coast guard, air force and rocket force for live-fire military drills in locations around Taiwan today, in the latest sign of the Chinese Communist Party’s intensifying determination to seize the island nation.
The Chinese government said the drills, called “Justice Mission 2025,” are designed to test “sea-air coordination and precise target hunting and neutralization.” The forces involved simulate a blockade of Taiwan’s major ports and operations against outside powers that try to assist the nation.
Col. Shi Yi, a spokesman for China’s eastern theater command, called the exercises “a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces.”
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that in the event of conflict with Taiwan, Russia will back China. “Proceeding from the fact that the Taiwan issue is an internal matter of the People’s Republic of China,” he said, “Beijing has every legitimate reason to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
‘A pitifully weak-willed America’: The drills come days after the United States approved the largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan, worth more than $11 billion. The measure seemed like a notable step for the defense of democracy. But doubts are growing about whether a war-weary United States, increasingly perceived as unreliable by its allies, will come to Taiwan’s defense if China acts.
Back in 1998, after Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to give in to Chinese pressure and issue a statement opposing Taiwan’s independence, Gerald Flurry warned that Taiwan’s freedom was effectively on a countdown. He wrote:
The Chinese leaders pressured the president and America to speak against our freedom-loving friends before the whole world. … The people of Taiwan fear for their future. They feel betrayed. … Once again, America has showcased its broken will to the whole world. … How could anyone fail to see that Taiwan is destined to become a part of mainland China? These [24 million] people are going to be forced into the Chinese mold; and it is going to happen for one reason: because of a pitifully weak-willed America.
Does freedom really mean so little to us?
Mr. Flurry’s understanding of America’s weak will, and the central role it will play in the China-Taiwan dynamic, is based on Bible prophecy. Leviticus 26 records God warning the descendants of Israel—mainly modern America and Britain—that if they refuse to turn to Him, He will “break the pride of your power” (verse 19). Learn more in Mr. Flurry’s article “Taiwan Betrayal.”
Somaliland: Israel’s counter to Iran: Israel recognized Somaliland as an independent country on Friday, becoming the first country to do so. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited the president of Somaliland to visit Israel and offered cooperation between the two countries.
By working with this nation sitting on the Gulf of Aden across from Yemen, Israel could gain leverage to counter Iran’s presence in the southern Red Sea. Writing in the Times of Israel, analyst Bepi Pezzulli called Israel’s move a “masterclass in strategy.”
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Somaliland’s government, which is secular despite the population being predominantly Muslim, has been separate from Somalia since 1991, successfully controlling most of its territory and maintaining a functioning democracy. Still, before now no nation had officially recognized its legitimacy.
Yemen sits near the southern passage to the Red Sea. There, through its proxy Houthi terrorist group, Iran has been able to threaten Israel and world shipping in general. The Houthis have attacked Western cargo vessels and have even directly attacked Israel with ballistic missiles.
- Evidence suggests that Iran also has influence over the African nation of Eritrea, located further north on the Red Sea coast.
- Djibouti, located between Somaliland and Eritrea, is home to military bases from the U.S., China, France, Japan, Italy and Spain, highlighting the global strategic importance of this passage.
Daniel 11:40-43 describe a “king of the south” power bloc that seeks influence over the Red Sea area. Since the 1990s, Gerald Flurry has identified the king of the south as radical Islam led by Iran—its main goal is to conquer Jerusalem. For the past several years, Iran has used its control over the Red Sea to harm Israel severely. Mr. Flurry wrote in the Trumpet’s May-June 2024 issue that the Red Sea “has become the battleground of an intensifying war!”
The Israelis’ recognition of Somaliland is evidence of this. To understand how this war will intensify, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Is the Red Sea Crisis About to Fulfill Bible Prophecy?”
IN OTHER NEWS
Japan’s cabinet approves record defense budget: On Friday, the Japanese government approved a budget to spend a record $58 billion on the nation’s military for the coming year, highlighting Japan’s intensifying fear of China. The new budget is nearly 10 percent higher than the previous year and puts Japan on target to devote 2 percent of its gross domestic product to defense two years ahead of schedule. The plan allocates funds to deploy additional missiles and drones to Japan’s southwestern islands and to fortify its “standoff” missile capability. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters, “This budget is the least we need to fulfill our defense responsibilities as Japan faces its most severe and complex security environment since the end of the war.” Japan’s rapid rearmament may seem reassuring since it is an ally of the United States, but Bible prophecy warns that events will soon undergo a troubling turn. Read “Japan’s Coming Betrayal of America.”
Police in Germany are under attack, largely by foreigners. In 2024, the German Federal Criminal Police Office recorded 46,357 acts of violence affecting 106,875 police officers, the German Interior Ministry reported today. This represents a 67.2 percent increase in the number of officers affected compared to 2015, a year that coincided with a large influx of refugees into Germany. Foreigners make up around 15 percent of the total population and 34.9 percent of the perpetrators. About 87 percent of the cases involved acts of resistance or physical attacks. According to the statistics, violence also includes threats, coercion and intentional bodily harm. The refugee crisis continues to radically transform Germany.
Iran is fighting a “total war with the United States, Israel and Europe” and is “being surrounded from every angle,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media in an interview published Saturday. This is a telling comment in light of Daniel 11:40, which prophesies that Iran-led Islam and Catholic-led Europe will clash in a major war and that Europe will attack Iran “like a whirlwind” from every angle. This phrase is emphasized and explained in Mr. Flurry’s free booklet Germany’s Secret Strategy to Destroy Iran.
Mikveh found near Wailing Wall: The Israel Antiquities Authority announced today the discovery of a mikveh, an ancient Jewish ritual bath, near Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall. Mikvehs were used for cleansing en route to worshiping at the temple of God. This specimen dates approximately to the time of Jesus Christ. The Trumpet’s publisher, the Philadelphia Church of God, has sponsored archaeological excavations around a similar mikveh nearby: Read about the significance of these ruins here.
