Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,
Why is there such hatred against the Jewish people? Why did Hitler attempt to annihilate them? And why is there so much animosity toward the tiny state known as Israel? Take a look at a map and compare Israel with all its neighbors. Compare their populations. Does any of this hostility make sense?
Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than a thousand, raping women, and taking hundreds of hostages. And the response? It did not take long for protesters in America and Europe to take to the streets chanting “death to Israel” and “from the river to the sea,” calling for the elimination of the Jewish state. Through Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi proxies, Iran fired drones and missiles into Israel over the last two years, while continuing to work toward its goal of possessing a nuclear weapon with the potential of delivering a knockout blow to Israel.
On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion to disrupt and destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions, wiping out facilities scattered across the country, destroying missile launch sites, killing senior military officials, and eliminating nuclear scientists. Iran retaliated by sending drones and powerful missiles into civilian Israeli neighborhoods.
Few people realize the true significance of what is happening in the Middle East, and where it is leading, but it is all there in the Bible for anyone to see. The conditions extant in that part of the world were foretold long ago. The patriarch Jacob, whose name was later changed to Israel, had twelve sons. One of them was Judah, the father of the Jews. God inspired Israel to foretell more than 3,500 years ago what would happen just before the return of the Messiah. Prior to his death, he revealed to his sons what they would become at the end of the age. “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father’” (Genesis 49:1-2).
How accurate could any prediction be so far into the future? For perspective, here we are in 2025. What is your prediction for the year 5525? Pick the Jews, or for that matter any group of people. Choose the location, the circumstances. Give it your best shot. Can you not see how impossible it is to forecast 3,500+ years into the future—unless the source of that forecast is the all-knowing God?
How remarkable are God’s inspired prophecies given to Jacob (Israel), for the Jews of our day. They are truly amazing! “Judah… your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies…. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?” (Genesis 49:8-9). “Operation Rising Lion” was no doubt chosen with this passage in mind, but it is only relevant because it was written of these people, for this time and these circumstances.
Now let me clarify so that no one misunderstands. This prophecy was not necessarily specifically of Operation Rising Lion, but it tells us the Jewish state would be as a lion that is best not aroused. In essence, God warned not to poke the lion of Judah in the latter days.
That the Jews would be a powerful military force at the end of the age is further brought out in another amazing prophecy. The book of Zechariah tells us that they would be a nation at the end of the age, that the city of Jerusalem would be a troublesome stone possessed by the Jews, and that they would be surrounded on all sides by their enemies (Zechariah 12:1-6; 14:1-4). There is nothing cryptic or difficult to understand in these passages. And consider that these collective conditions did not exist for over 1,800 years! From AD 135 when the Jews were expelled from Jerusalem until 1948 when the nation of Israel had its fledgling beginning, there was no Jewish state, and the Jews did not control all of Jerusalem until 19 years later following the Six Day War in 1967.
Brethren and co-workers, these are remarkable prophecies, and the record is clear that we at Tomorrow’s World and the Living Church of God have spoken and written about them for decades. We have also shown from the pages of the Bible that Assyria (modern-day Germany) would eventually rearm and become a dominant military and economic power in Europe, even when this did not seem possible. Those attuned to world news know that this is something developing even as you read this letter, and longtime members and co-workers know that we have proclaimed this for decades—not because we are smarter, but because we believe the Bible.
Why is it that so many professing Christians fail to connect the dots? Why do they not recognize that we truly are on the precipice of something ominous? Why do they not realize that very difficult times are just around the corner, but the return of Jesus Christ to stop mankind from self-annihilation is real? Why do they not understand that those who are His at His return will serve with Him to bring lasting peace to our troubled planet? These biblical truths should be proclaimed in every pulpit around the world, but they are not. Why?
Even as a child, I was taught that Jesus spoke to the public in parables to make the meaning clear to them, but nothing could be further from the truth. The real answer to why He used parables is found in Matthew 13:10-16. The overwhelming majority of people are dull of hearing, just as they were when Jesus spoke those words. I sincerely hope this is not true of you. God is working out a great purpose here below, and if you understand these things and act on them, you can be part of His plan to bring peace to our troubled world.
I am writing this letter aboard a plane traveling home from Canada after two weeks of work, with a bit of relaxation thrown in. I was at our office in London, Ontario, to record three Canadian Content telecasts, to record an opening-night message for this year’s Feast of Tabernacles, and to take part in discussions regarding the Work in Canada. From London, I flew to the other side of the country, to Kelowna, British Columbia, to give a Tomorrow’s World Presentation to subscribers of our magazine, and I gave an online sermon to congregations in Western Canada. I was then able to relax for three days with longtime friends fishing and fellowshipping before giving an online sermon to all 45 Canadian congregations and participating in a Men’s Training Camp in Alberta before heading home.
Brethren and co-workers, all that has happened in our world during these two short weeks is truly amazing. And one can only hold onto one’s seat while speculating where we will be by the end of the year. We are entering ominous times and the Work before us is great—far greater than we can accomplish on our own. God must do it through us, but we have our part.
Thank you, dear friends, for your prayers and support. And by the way, a sincere thanks to all of you who have propelled this Work forward by considering us in your last will and testament. Every year we are notified that several members, co-workers, or even subscribers who have never supported this Work previously, have left a portion of their legacy to Tomorrow’s World or the Living Church of God. Since we cannot thank them at that point, if this applies to you, please accept our sincere thank you in advance. If any of you are considering this, we have a resource that may help you in doing so. Our booklet Planned Giving is designed to help, and you can request a free copy or access it online at lcg.org/planned-giving. It is important for you to remember your children, keep your will up-to-date, and do it correctly. Whether this is something you care to do is up to you, but we thank in advance those who choose to do so as it does make a difference.
And thanks to all of you who contribute, large or small—and for your heartfelt prayers to our Creator to open doors to preach the good news of God’s coming Kingdom and to warn our nations and the world of what is ahead in the immediate future.
We do not know at this moment how Operation Rising Lion will end. It may provoke a greater conflict, or it may bring about a temporary peace. However, when people think peace and safety has finally arrived, sudden disaster will strike (1 Thessalonians 5:3; Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11). The Bible shows that further Middle East conflict is a certainty. The Bible also shows that a German-led European economic and military superpower will eventually become involved in that troubled part of the world. The good news is that all this conflict will end with the return of Jesus Christ.
Thank you again, dear friends, for your essential part in proclaiming these truths to the world.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston