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What sort of national repentance would it take for God to turn America’s curses into blessings?

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• I have been pondering this question, watching the surge in talk about God, religion, prayer and such in America today. What would God have to see to reverse the curses and turn the prophesied destruction of our nation—as He mercifully did anciently with Nineveh? (Read about that in the biblical book of Jonah.)

Yesterday, Rededicate 250 filled the National Mall, billed as a daylong “National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving.” The event invited Americans from every state to gather for Scripture readings, worship music, personal testimonies and solemn prayers rededicating the nation as “One Nation Under God.”

• Speakers included House Speaker Mike Johnson and several religious leaders like Paula White-Cain and Robert Jeffress. President Trump and Vice President Vance sent video messages, as did cabinet officials Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio, and religious leaders Timothy Dolan and Franklin Graham. Chris Tomlin and other artists led worship sessions.

As well intentioned as the effort may be, I am certain this isn’t enough.

• Organizers, Trump allies and attendees considered it a success, a historic spiritual kickoff to the semiquincentennial, filled with energy, unity in prayer and renewed hope.
• Yet crowd estimates were in the thousands—perhaps 15,000 over the event’s nine hours—on the National Mall, which can accommodate over a million visitors. The Daily Beast’s headline, although biased, is tragically true: “Trump Humiliated as Citizens Fail to Flock to His Free Event.”

Far more importantly, the crux of the issue could be pinpointed in Trump’s video message, in which he read from 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

• What does God mean by “turn from their wicked ways”? The Bible is clear: God defines wickedness through His law (1 John 3:4). The Ten Commandments don’t just forbid murder—they expose several forms of wickedness ubiquitous in America: coveting, lying, sexual sins, dishonoring parents, breaking the Sabbath, worshiping idols, and more.
• Not even religious leaders agree on some of these things—let alone vaguely Christian worshipers and the materialist, agnostic masses.
• President Trump, rather than leading the event, spent the day golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, about 45 minutes away.

Invocations of God and Jesus, calls to prayer, reminders of religion’s importance at the nation’s founding—these could be helpful and inspiring, combined with calls to turn away from sin and keep God’s laws, like those made by Jesus Christ and the prophets. But “Rededicate”-style “repentance” is insufficient—and it actually amounts to counterfeiting genuine spiritual rededication.

• As Jesus Christ asked in exasperation: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).

The king of Nineveh took drastic steps to bring his people to humility and repentance before God, commanding a fast for all his people, even the animals.

• “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” he said (Jonah 3:9). It appears he achieved near-universal compliance. And God did in fact turn away from His anger.

I still don’t know exactly what God would consider “repentance enough” in a nation of 342,505,625 people committing the sins we’re currently committing. But clearly we’re not there yet.

Iran War Update

• President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday, posting on Truth Social that the “clock is ticking” and Iran had “better get moving, fast [to make a deal], or there won’t be anything left of them.” He has made statements like this repeatedly throughout the ceasefire’s duration without following through.
• A drone struck a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, starting a fire. There were no reports of any released radiation. The U.A.E. blames Iran, though the drone could have come from one of Iran’s proxies in Iraq or Yemen.'’

Labour’s Leadership Contest Reopens Brexit Debate

Britain has several candidates vying to become the next prime minister, and they all have the same big idea: reverse Brexit.

• Wes Streeting unofficially kicked off the race to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer by resigning as his health minister last week. On Saturday he called Britain’s decision to leave the EU a “catastrophic mistake.” “We ‌need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day—one day—back in the European Union,” he said.
• Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, said last year, “I hope in my lifetime I see this country rejoin the European Union.”
• Keir Starmer, who still has a slim chance of keeping his job, also put drawing closer to the EU at the heart of his May 11 “make or break” reset speech to persuade the party to keep him on. He promised a “big leap forward” in relations with Europe, especially on defense and trade.

Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in 1956, “Germany is the economic and military heart of Europe. Probably Germany will lead and dominate the coming United States of Europe. But Britain will be no part of it!”

• He stuck to his Bible-based prediction, even as Britain joined the European Union in 1973. On June 23, 2016, Britain voted to leave. It officially withdrew on Jan. 31, 2020.

Bible prophecy makes clear that Britain will not be part of this rising Holy Roman Empire. But it also forecasts that Britain will have a “lover” relationship with this power—desperate for favors and help.

That’s the dynamic we see now: Britain has left the EU, but a political class with no vision for how an independent Britain can prosper is looking to draw as close as it can to Germany. For more, see our article “What’s Next for Britain?”

Iraqi Hezbollah Commander on Trial in New York

The United States unsealed a criminal complaint Friday against Mohammed Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a senior commander of the Iraqi terror group Kata’ib Hezbollah. Saadi was present in a Manhattan courtroom for the start of his trial.

• Saadi, who was arrested in Turkey and extradited to the United States, was a confidant of the late IRGC Gen. Qassem Suleimani, whom U.S. forces killed in 2020.
• He was indicted by the U.S. for allegedly planning a terror attack against a New York synagogue. The criminal complaint accuses Saadi of masterminding terror attacks against European Jews over the past several months. The group that claimed responsibility for these attacks is Ashab al-Yamin; the U.S. alleges this is a front for Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Kata’ib Hezbollah, like its larger Lebanese counterpart, is a proxy of Iran. It is one of the most important terror groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, a conglomerate of Iraqi militias that is officially part of the Iraqi military but is controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

• While Kata’ib Hezbollah is powerful within Iraq and has regularly skirmished with U.S. troops, to this point it hasn’t been known to perpetrate attacks in the West. But if the charges against Saadi are true, this demonstrates that, contrary to what isolationists may argue, Iran is a direct danger to the U.S. homeland and the West. In this case, so are its Iraqi militias.

This also demonstrates just how much control Iran has over Iraq.

• Kata’ib Hezbollah has semi-official status within Iraq’s military. The Iraqi government, which is heavily supported by the U.S., granted this status to try to tame it. Yet the group can launch terror attacks against Iraq’s American sponsor, and the government is powerless to stop it—or is sympathetic.

In the 1990s, when Iraq was led by Iran’s enemy Saddam Hussein, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry forecast that Iraq would fall to Iran. He maintained that forecast when Hussein’s regime fell to the U.S. All these decades later, Mr. Flurry’s words have been vindicated.

IN OTHER NEWS

Russia to deploy “most powerful missile in the world”: Russia tested its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin deemed it “the most powerful missile in the world,” saying it has a far longer range than its Western counterparts and can “penetrate all existing and future antimissile defense systems.” Putin’s comments are likely hyperbolic, but the Sarmat is known to have global reach and the capability to carry 11 tons of payload, including countermeasures and multiple hypersonic and nuclear warheads. Sarmat is a powerful symbol of Russia’s push to once again become a military superpower, as prophesied.

EU supergroup plans investment powerhouse: Finance ministers of the six largest European Union economies (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain) are scheduled to meet in Berlin on May 28 to announce an agreement for expediting cross-border flows of capital. For over a decade, the EU has failed to implement its Capital Markets Union concept for unifying Europe’s financial markets, creating a rival to Wall Street’s financial markets and debt financing, and providing European capital for European start-ups and scale-ups.

Mercedes ready to help make weapons: “The world has become a more ​unpredictable place, and I think it is ​absolutely clear that Europe needs to increase its defense profile,” Mercedes-Benz ceo Ola Kallenius told the Wall Street Journal on Friday. “Should we ​be able to play a positive role in ​that, we would be willing to do so.” Since 2021, Daimler Truck has been an independent company that manufactures Unimogs, Zetros and other specialized vehicles used by several militaries. As Germany arms for war, weapons platforms are proving more lucrative than cars, and German manufacturers are retooling accordingly.

Merz’s applause line for a Catholic conference: “I am a great admirer of America,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday at a gathering of German Catholics in the southwestern city of Würzburg, adding, “but right now my admiration is not increasing.” He added that, given the worsening social climate in America, he would no longer recommend moving to the U.S. for work or study. Merz’s statement was met with loud applause. While few Germans are currently satisfied with Merz’s work, which is increasingly met with boos at events, his anti-American rhetoric finds resonance. This opposition to the U.S. will help unify Germany and accelerate its development as a rival superpower.

U.S. recognizes Sudanese government: Senior U.S. official Massad Boulos publicly referred to the Sudanese Armed Forces as “the existing government” of Sudan on Tuesday. These forces are in civil war with the Rapid Support Forces. When the U.S. tried to make peace in Sudan near the end of last year, many accused Washington of siding with the rsf. But Boulos’s “significant rhetorical shift,” as Sudan War Monitor phrased it, may mark a change in U.S. allegiance. Boulos said, “We do not recognize, and will never recognize, any parallel government.” But the saf is closely tied to Iran, so this policy increases the legitimacy of both the saf and Iran in Sudan. The Bible prophesies that Iran’s influence in this region will continue to grow.

China agrees to buy $17 billion in U.S. farm products: Yesterday, the White House announced that China will buy at least $17 billion worth of American farm products every year from 2026 to 2028. This deal came from last week’s meetings between President Donald Trump and Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping. The $17 billion does not include earlier soybean purchases from October 2025. U.S. farm exports to China dropped sharply last year after tariff battles, falling 65.7 percent to just $8.4 billion. Both countries agreed to create new trade boards to solve problems and lower tariffs. This is a big win for U.S. farmers and a political success for President Trump. However, the U.S.-China trade war is far from over.