The new age of
WARFARE: 2026
The World Is Getting More Dangerous
“The world is getting more dangerous while leaders keep running out of good options. A lot happened overnight, but one pattern keeps showing up. Russia launched 68 missiles and 351 drones at Kyiv, killing at least 11 people in the second massive strike on the capital in less than a week. Ukraine says its Patriot missile interceptors are running low, raising a simple question.
What happens if the attacks keep getting bigger but the air defenses keep getting smaller? The timing does not look accidental. Zelenskyy is expected to meet Trump in Ankara this week, putting even more pressure on talks over military support and the next phase of the war. Then there is China. Beijing tested a submarine launched ballistic missile in the South Pacific, calling it a routine launch with a dummy warhead. Maybe it was. But Russia is escalating in Europe while China is demonstrating strategic weapons in the Pacific. Those are not isolated headlines.
They point to a world where MULTIPLE FLASHPOINTS ARE HEATING UP AT THE SAME TIME.” (citizenwatchreport.com)
The World Is “Learning War”
All around the world, people are “learning war”! It is a way of life. Several governments are looking at conscription, getting young people to do one or two years of military service - teaching war!
Mankind’s range of weapons has changed much over the years, from swords and spears to bow and arrows. Then they moved on the knights of old, trying, of course, to keep the peace. Then came the age of gunpowder, followed quickly with bombs and missiles, and then nuclear weapons being used as the ultimate deterrent. The costs are now enormous.
“The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear gravity bomb in the United States. In 2012, the roughly 400 B61-12s were estimated to each cost ‘more than its weight in gold’ – $28 million apiece.” (wikipedia.org)
Today, Iran fights with drones, costing between $20,000 and $50,000 each. These are intercepted with missiles costing $millions! Is warfare changing yet again? Are we entering the age of the drone?
Gunpowder Ended The Age Of Knights
Now Drones Will Upend The Modern Military Order
“The war in Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped the nature of modern warfare. The Ukrainians have proved that resourcefulness, imagination, and technical skill go far further than sheer might, be it military or financial. They have revolutionised drone warfare, holding their own, and even now shifting the tide, against an opponent with plenty of heavy-duty tanks and missiles (thanks in part to an ongoing supply from its authoritarian partners worldwide, especially China).
In the new military age we are entering, countries with the largest military budgets will no longer have the overwhelming advantage on the battlefield; instead, it will be those who can stay ahead of technological breakthroughs that will come out on top.
Faced with manpower and munition shortages, Ukraine developed an innovative domestic drone industry.” (telegraph.co.uk)
Cheap Drones Cause Chaos Across The Middle East
“Donald Trump said Iran’s missiles and missile industry would be ‘totally obliterated’ when the US began launching air strikes on the country on Saturday - but he didn’t mention its drones. Six days on, Iran has launched more than 2,000 low-cost drones at targets across the Middle East in a bid to overwhelm defences and spark chaos in the region. These ‘kamikaze’ Shahed drones carry explosives that detonate on impact and can cause significant damage. The deadliest strike on US forces so far was from a drone hitting a base in Kuwait in which six US troops were killed.” (bbc.co.uk)
Iranian Drones - Shahed-131 & 136
“The Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 are one-way-attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often called ‘kamikaze drones’ or ‘suicide drones’ in the media. Whilst derived from UAVs, these munitions are essentially guided missiles — flying towards pre-designated targets and exploding on impact. The Shahed series are originally of Iranian design and were first documented in use with Iranian and Iranian-backed forces in the Middle East.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia began to receive shipments of these drones from Iran, designating them the ‘Geran-1’ (Shahed-131) and ‘Geran-2’ (Shahed-136). Russia then reportedly received permission to begin domestic mass production of the munitions with Iranian assistance. Each Shahed is reported to have an estimated cost between $20,000 and $50,000, making them cheaper than most other long-range, OWA UAVs. This low cost, along with a low-altitude flight profile and self-sacrificial nature has seen Shaheds labelled ‘the poor man’s cruise missile’.
The Shahed-131 is a smaller munition with a range of 700–900 km, while the larger Shahed-136 has a range of at least 2,000 km. Their relatively slow speed and the loud hum of their engines has led to Shaheds being called ‘flying mopeds’ by Ukrainians living under their flightpath. Shahed munitions may be launched from both static rail mounts as well as vehicles, with one video published by Iranian media showcasing five Shahed-136 munitions being launched from a truck’s cargo hold. Since their first use by Russia, there has been evidence of significant adaptations beyond Iran’s initial design.
The first confirmed use of a Shahed-series munition — specifically the Shahed-131 — was during a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities in September of 2019. These attacks, attributed to Iran, involved nearly two dozen munitions flying in close formation and performing sequenced strikes on infrastructure at the Abqaiq oil facility, causing extensive damage.” (osmp.ngo)
Ukraine’s Drones Reach Siberia
“Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign is pushing deeper into Russia, increasing pressure on Moscow’s energy system and forcing the Kremlin to defend targets far beyond the front lines. Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s largest refinery in Omsk on Monday, sparking fires nearly 1,500 miles from Kyiv-controlled territory. The strike marked a major expansion of Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign, which had largely focused on European Russia. The drones used in the Omsk operation can fly as far as 2,100 miles, according to Ukrainian manufacturer Fire Point. That range puts more of Russia’s oil-and-gas industry, military facilities, pipelines and pumping stations within reach.
Omsk sits deep in Siberia, well beyond the areas Russia had prioritized for protection against Ukrainian drone attacks. The Wall Street Journal reported there was little air defense around the refinery because Russian authorities had assumed it was too far from Ukraine to be at risk. The attack also hit as Russia was already grappling with fuel shortages, long lines at gas stations and rationing.
The deeper Ukraine can strike, the more territory Russia has to protect. That creates an increasingly difficult air-defense challenge. Russia must defend the front line, occupied territory, major cities, military sites and energy infrastructure across the world’s largest country. Ukraine is also intensifying strikes closer to the front lines. In occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine, guided drones have targeted fuel tankers, storage sites, military logistics and electricity infrastructure.” (san.com)
Porsche Drone Breaks Speed Record
“The Apex drone by Porsche-backed Quantum Systems will be certified as the world’s fastest electric flying object. Intended for use in interceptors, the technology will undergo payload speed tests for two more records in a German-Ukrainian collaboration, too.
During field testing on June 26, Germany’s Quantum Systems N3XT team clocked its Apex Recordhunter drone at 699 km/h (434 mph) in level flight. This world best for a battery-powered aircraft now awaits FAI certification along with two more records pending from the company’s Ukrainian arm.
The electric aviation industry’s current benchmark is held by Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation, which set the crown for years at 555.9 km/h, in its turn dethroning the Siemens-powered Extra 330 LE’s 337.5 km/h”. (notebookcheck.net)
MIT Puffin Robot Now Swims And Flies With Same Wings
“This thing is honestly pretty wild. MIT engineers built a robot inspired by the Atlantic puffin. The same wings let it fly through the air… then paddle and move through the water. Most drones are built for one environment. This one switches between both. The part that caught my attention is what happened during testing. The robot took off directly from Lake Geneva without catapults, boosters, or any outside help. It lifted itself out of the water using the same flapping wings. That has been one of the biggest challenges for hybrid drones. Water is dense. Air isn’t. Designing one set of wings that works well in both has been a huge engineering problem. Now imagine where this goes next. Ocean research is the obvious answer. Military surveillance is another. A drone that can disappear beneath the surface, then pop into the air and keep flying creates a very different kind of reconnaissance platform. That’s probably why defense companies are already paying attention. It may look like a robotic bird. But it feels more like the first step toward a whole new class of drones.” (citizenwatchreport.com)
The Implications Of These Changes
“The implications of these changes go beyond military confrontation itself; they will ripple into every segment of society. Military infrastructure has historically always been the primary mode of maintaining political power. Methods of warfare determine how militaries are structured, which in turn dictates where money is spent to procure needed supplies, and where qualified soldiers are recruited.
The feudal system of the Middle Ages, with its elaborate hierarchy of nobility, serves as an example. While land ownership and divine authority were the superficial justifications for the rankings, knights were the binding glue of the system, receiving their estates in exchange for military service. What good is the claim to a parcel of land if it can’t be defended? Knights were the linchpin around which the entire network of fiefdoms was sustained. From the king to the dukes, earls, barons, and all the way down, all leaned on the knight to protect their power from the serfs, who far outnumbered them.
It was the introduction of gunpowder that ultimately led to the demise of the medieval structure. While gunpowder was first used on the continent over a century before the feudal hierarchy began to collapse, its increasingly widespread use made the institution of knighthood obsolete. There was no longer a need for knights, ready to enter valiantly into hand-to-hand combat, when infantries of peasants outfitted with firearms could do the job more efficiently at a distance.” (telegraph.co.uk)
The Seismic Shift In Warfare
“Today we are experiencing no less than the seismic shift that marked the end of the medieval period. The details may look different, but the high-level formula remains the same, as it has throughout history: a paradigmatic change in warfare in turn radically transforms politics, industry, and culture.
The age of warfare now coming to an end – and its corresponding societal architecture – is rooted in innovations of the 1980s and 1990s. This was a period in which the major breakthroughs that power today’s largest militaries took place, from stealth aviation to precision-guided munitions. They were revolutionary at the time, but, as with any inventions, they are steadily being replaced by newer ones better suited for present-day needs.
In some ways this shift is not so dissimilar to that from the fiefdoms of the Middle Ages to the absolute monarchies of Renaissance Europe. The knight in shining armour was starting to look clunky in light of the latest technical developments. NATO’s armoured vehicles looked similarly ridiculous in recent wargames carried out by the alliance, in which Ukrainian drones successfully neutralised entire battalions in mere hours.” (telegraph.co.uk)
The New Economics Of Warfare
“Across the region, relatively inexpensive drones and missiles are forcing the United States and its Gulf partners to expend some of their most advanced and expensive defensive systems. Iranian one-way attack drones such as the Shahed-136 cost roughly $20,000 to $50,000 each. Yet defending against them often requires interceptor missiles costing millions of dollars. Patriot interceptors cost roughly $4 million each, while a THAAD interceptor can cost $12–15 million.
Even the Iranian ballistic missiles these systems are designed to defeat, such as variants of the Fateh-110 series, are estimated to cost only a few hundred thousand dollars each.
The imbalance does not stop there. The sensor systems that underpin missile defence networks are even more expensive. The AN/TPY-2 radar that supports the THAAD system can cost upwards of $1 billion. Yet two were recently disabled by Iranian drones costing roughly $30,000 each – a cost-exchange ratio of more than 30,000 to one.
This cost asymmetry is already placing strain on Western arsenals. Iran’s strategy relies on launching large numbers of relatively cheap drones and missiles in mixed salvos to stretch defensive systems and consume interceptor inventories.
Even when attacks are intercepted, they still impose costs. Every interceptor fired must be replaced through complex supply chains that can take years to replenish, while the attacker can produce additional drones quickly using commercial components and relatively simple manufacturing processes.
In this environment, the side that can impose the highest costs on its opponent while keeping its own costs low gains a powerful advantage. Ukraine’s battlefield innovation demonstrates that relatively small forces equipped with mass-produced precision systems can impose disproportionate costs on a larger adversary.” (epc.eu)
The Hidden Cost Of A Missile
“Since late 2023, the US Navy has fired nearly $1 billion worth of munitions to protect ships in the Red Sea from low-cost Houthi drones and missiles. The headlines that followed have rightly pointed out the absurdity of firing multi-million dollar missiles against cheap drones. BUT THOSE HEADLINES MISS THE BIGGER PICTURE.
Behind each intercept lies a vast and expensive ecosystem: the carrier strike group and its escorts, the logistics tail that keeps them fueled, the training pipeline for crews, and the command-and-control networks that make the engagement possible. In reality, the cost of downing each drone is not a few million dollars, but hundreds of millions in operational and sustainment expenses.” (warontherocks.com)
The Way Of Peace
Over time, mankind’s attitude hasn’t changed. Around about the time of ancient Israel’s defeat and captivity (721-718 BC), the prophet Isaiah wrote:
“The way of peace they know not;” (Isaiah 59:8)
Around 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul made the following comments:
“Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:15-18)
War In The 20th And 21st Century
“Conflict took place in every year of the 20th Century; the world was free from the violence caused by war for only very short periods of time. It has been estimated that 187 million people died as a result of war from 1900 to the present. The actual number is likely far higher.
- Boer War, 1899-1902
- First World War, 1914-1918
- Russian Civil War, 1917-1922
- Third Afghan War, 1919
- Irish War of Independence, 1919-1921
- Irish Civil War, 1922-1923
- Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
- Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936-1939
- Second World War, 1939-1945
- Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine, 1944-1948
- Partition of India, 1947
- Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1948 onwards
- Cold War, 1947-1991
- Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960
- Yangtze Incident, 1949
- Korean War, 1950-1953
- Kenya Emergency, 1952-1960
- Cyprus Emergency, 1955-1959
- Vietnam War, 1955-1975
- Suez Crisis, 1956
- Brunei Revolt, 1962-1963
- Indonesian Confrontation, 1963-1966
- Aden Emergency, 1963-1967
- ‘The Troubles’ [in Ireland], 1969-1998
- Falklands Conflict, 1982
- Gulf War, 1990-1991
- Sierra Leone Civil War, 1991-2002
- Bosnian War, 1992-1995
- Kosovo War, 1998-1999
- War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021
- Iraq War, 2003-2011
- Libya Conflict, 2011 to date
- Syria Conflict, 2011 to date
- Ukraine Conflict, 2014 to date
- Yemen Conflict, 2014 to date
- Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, 2014 to date”
The Words Of The Apostle Paul Still Ring True,
They Still Apply Today
“Their feet are [still] swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are [still] in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
WHY?
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:15-18)
Re-educating The World
“Modern education has been based on a false, erroneous, untrue foundation. The supposedly educated of this world – even the great minds – have absorbed false knowledge. They have been trained in a false approach to knowledge. Almost always, error is based on a false assumed premise or hypothesis, taken for granted, never questioned – and, of course, unproved. The ‘educated’ minds have been filled with such false hypotheses. They have allowed a false sense of values to flood their minds…
It may actually take them longer to come to a knowledge of truth – to become truly educated – than the illiterate of this world. God’s inspired Word, the Holy Bible, is the foundation of knowledge. But they have been trained to hold this true foundation in prejudiced contempt.
Yes, indeed, the educating and reeducating of the world will be one of the most important tasks the Kingdom of God will face, after Christ returns to rule. Today people follow the false and deceptive values. Their entire thinking will require a reorientation – a change of direction.” (Tomorrow… What It Will Be Like - Chapter 5)
“Learning War”
Soon To Be Obsolete!
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; AND NONE SHALL MAKE THEM AFRAID:
FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD OF HOSTS HATH SPOKEN IT.” (Micah 4:2-4)
“You don’t have to believe it!
It will happen, regardless.
It is sure – the world’s only sure hope.
This advance good news of tomorrow is as certain as the rising of tomorrow’s sun.”
Not in the Script - Revisited
"I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2)
It's been seven years since I first wrote the Pastor's Report on "This wasn't in the Script", which was prompted by Christ's promise that "this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled", (Matthew 24:34) and the question had come to mind... "what IS a generation, biblically speaking? It's 40 years since Mr. Armstrong died and so many of us are well over our threescore and ten – can it be this one that's not to pass?" Well, we are still here, and since 2019 much has happened in the world; the Covid catastrophe – the wrong handling of which resulted in numerous bankruptcies, vaccine deaths, family disruption etc. Wars and violent skirmishes continue to take their bloody toll, morality has taken such a nosedive one can't imagine it getting worse. And also in those years many brethren have suffered bereavement, illnesses, disabilities, job losses, family breakups. It's been a hard seven years for the world and the church.
What I would like to do this time is a quick review of the PR of 2019, and this time add another aspect that we might not have thought of, as we continue to battle our own way through life, with our own personal "scripts" to navigate.
Abraham's Script
So often when we look at the lives of those who went before us – the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) – we somehow imagine God as being in regular and frequent contact with them – appearing physically perhaps and constantly shoring them up and encouraging them as they had their daily "walk" with Him. But the biblical record does not tend to support that view. And unlike us now, they didn't have the scriptures readily available to turn to for guidance, inspiration and comfort. It stands to reason that on a day to day, year to year basis, they too must have had their own fair share of things that would prompt them to exclaim "this wasn't in the script!". But through all their severe trials – as mentioned in Hebrews 11 - God required them to focus instead on what was most important in life, while trusting Him, in patience, for as long as it took.
We might think of Abraham, the "father of the faithful" as not stumbling from time to time – as we do – but the biblical record can be painfully honest and on occasion Abram (as he then was) had his weaker moments too, even worrying that Sarah's beauty might end up with his demise in Egypt! (Genesis 12:11-20) Then again, both of them figured out their own version of how God would fulfil His promise of an heir, when Abram agreed to Sarai's suggestion re. having a child through Hagar, as they presumed this would be the way God intended them to have the promised heir. You can't help but wonder what the world would have been like without the Arab nations!
But this wasn't God's script for Abram, and in fact He deliberately allowed Sarai's infertility to continue until absolutely all human solutions had been totally exhausted. And this position has been recorded specifically for us on whom the ends of the age have fallen. God says "Look at these two individuals – and understand what I did back then, and WILL do before long!":
- Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
- look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.
- The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. (Isaiah 51:1-3 NIV)
Isaac's Script
There is absolutely no doubt that Abraham discussed the promises God gave him with his son Isaac – the child God Himself named, and at the same time guaranteed the promises specifically through him:
- And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Genesis 17:19)
But life wasn't plain sailing for Isaac either. It's so very easy to read over the scriptures at times, not realising that for 20 long years, their hopes of conceiving were raised and dashed each month – along with Abraham's, undoubtedly, who was still alive at that juncture. (Genesis 25:20,21,26) All this time, while waiting for the next heir to appear, there is no indication in the Bible that God talked with them, explaining His script, His timing. They had to simply accept the situation – in faith – patiently taking one day, one month at a time. Again, there must have been many conversations on the subject, in the light of Isaac's own miraculous conception and God's testing and faithfulness through the entire incident on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22) – another totally unforeseen "adjustment" to Abraham's perceived personal script. Undoubtedly Abraham had much to teach his son through the twenty years of waiting.
Jacob's Script
Just imagine the trouble that could have been avoided had God stepped in to prevent Jacob being deceived by Laban into marrying Leah. But Jacob's actions in deceiving his brother of both birthright and blessing – as recorded in Genesis 25 – came back to haunt him. And all this time God was fully aware of what was going on and what the script needed to be for Jacob in order to ram the lesson home.
But we can be confident that God's script for all of us – Jacob included – will work out in a positive way. We can partially see this from the account of the reunion of the two brothers. What Jacob was expecting was very different indeed from what actually transpired, as so often happens in our lives.
- And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
- Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: ...
- And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
- And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. (Genesis 32:7, 33:3,4)
But even though this reunion worked out in a positive way and he had spent the previous night in the presence of the one that became Jesus Christ – even wrestling with Him and having his name changed to Israel – in his life he continued to face hardship and heartache. His beloved Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and then Jacob presumed Joseph had been killed by wild beasts. (Genesis 37:33-35) But through all of this, God remained fully aware and was working closely with Jacob – now called Israel – even though he could not see it at the time. Surely he would have found himself close to despair on occasions, wondering if God truly was working with him, helping him or was he being left to his own devices?
Once again, there is no record of God personally dealing with Jacob from the wrestling match until his journey into Egypt – a period of several decades.
- And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
- And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
- I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. (Genesis 46:2-4)
But as we know from recorded scripture, God knew there would be a happy ending: "And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.(Genesis 48:11)" as He had in HIS script for Israel to bless his descendants in such a way that we can identify these individual nations today.
Joseph's Script
And intertwined with Jacob's life was the life of his son Joseph. In Joseph's case, all he appeared to have were his dreams. Unlike his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, there doesn't seem to be any indication that God actually appeared to him. Yet if there is any account within scripture that seems to resonate specifically to us today, it is the story of Joseph.
He was not the most tactful of teenagers and no doubt made all kinds of mistakes – as we do – but he certainly did not deserve what happened to him; being sold into slavery by his brothers and then a little later, imprisoned for refusing the advances of Potiphar's wife. But God, who sees the end from the beginning, had a much, much greater purpose in mind than just smoothing out the rough spots in the life of this young man all those thousands of years ago. God could even see down to our day and beyond and wanted to give us the most positive message He could.
God remains unseen in our day-to-day lives, but He most certainly has not "gone off somewhere", but is active, on our case, day and night. (see Psalm 121) Those 13 years or so in prison must have seemed a lifetime to Joseph and no doubt, being human, he had times of deep despair, but as we read over the account, we have the advantage of seeing exactly what God was in fact doing ... He was training that young man for an incredible position of authority! Joseph's life of hardship changed overnight ... one day a prisoner and the next, second in command to Pharaoh, in the greatest nation that existed on earth at that time.
Who could possibly have foreseen what actually transpired? Clearly God's script is much more expansive and multi-faceted than ours could ever be. Like Joseph – who helped to save many thousands of lives that were endangered by the famine, we too have been called to a vital job – to preserve life (Matthew 24:22):
- Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
- For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
- And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. (Genesis 45:5-7)
Moses, Daniel and David
Because we have their complete life stories available to us at this end time, we don't tend to stop to put ourselves in the "day in and day out, 24/7 shoes" of some of those God was working with in the past, and can even forget they were real people, just like us. Take Moses for example: he didn't expect to have to flee for his life from Pharaoh, and who would have thought, after an uneventful 40 years in the wilderness with a flock of sheep, that spotting a burning bush would turn his life totally upside down! I would think Moses had his days when he wished he'd walked straight past that bush, because it's doubtful he would have written the same script God had in mind for him!
Daniel: captured by Nebuchadnezzar as a youth and during an eventful lifetime was used by God to write one of the most complete prophecies in the whole Bible, and most probably ran the kingdom of Babylon during the time Nebuchadnezzar was learning his lesson of humility: "until you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he will" (Daniel 4:32)
King David was anointed to be king over Judah possibly when still a teenager but God didn't reveal to him when he would take over the reins of the kingdom – that it would be many years hence, and in the meantime he'd be a fugitive from the reigning monarch king Saul, lose his best friend Jonathan in battle, and have one of his sons – Absalom – attempt to take the kingdom from him.
Christ's Script
It appears that even John the Baptist – Christ's cousin – had some doubts concerning what he expected the Messiah to be doing at that time and sent some of his disciples to Christ to verify that He was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for. (Matthew 11:3-6) It seems as if no one was expecting a "two-stage Messiahship" ... i.e. firstly dying for all the sins of mankind and THEN returning as the all-conquering King of kings, establishing His government on the earth, and especially over the Roman Empire! From a number of comments made, this too was the view of the apostles.
- When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6)
So when Christ not only died, but did so in a truly degrading manner, with a thief either side of Him, this must have been quite devastating to His disciples, and "not in the script" as they had perceived it. To unconverted eyes, it very much looked as if the party was over and it was back to work, back to their boats once more;
- Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. (John 21:3)
Similar feelings were expressed by two of His followers to the resurrected Christ Himself who appeared 'incognito' and talked with them on the road to the village Emmaus:
- And he [Christ] said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
- And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
- But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. (Luke 24:19-21)
It is worth noting that although Christ – in person – discussed in great detail His forthcoming death and subsequent resurrection, (recorded especially in the gospel of John, chapters 13 through to 16, ) the disciples were unable to mentally grasp what He was telling them, as they had not yet gathered together for the Day of Pentecost. The receiving of the Holy Spirit opened their minds to these awesome spiritual truths and concepts, and brought back to their minds the words and previous teachings they'd been given by the very Messiah Himself.
The Early Church
Yet even with the Holy Spirit guiding them, there were still surprises in store, the main one being misunderstanding God's timing. They presumed the second coming would be in their generation ... and quite understandably so, considering the thousands of Jews being converted in a matter of days! As recorded in Acts 2 they were not only "holding all things in common" but also selling their personal possessions and property. (Acts 2:45-47) Another two thousand years before Christ's return to this earth in power and glory was not in their script! This conviction is clearly seen in Paul's epistle to the brethren in Thessalonica:
- For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not [precede] them which are asleep.
- For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
- Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (I Thessalonians 4:15-17)
The End Time Church
I highly doubt that Mr. Armstrong – as big-minded as he was – would have foreseen the script God had in mind for him during his lifetime. From attempting to disprove his wife's "fanaticism" re. keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, to a minister with just one "holey" pair of shoes and a $3 salary, to the Pastor General of a multi-million dollar operation, three first class colleges and a monthly magazine of over 6 million subscribers worldwide. And also – as God's end-time apostle – he would be used to take the Gospel to prime ministers, kings and emperors in the major nations of the world, some of whom became his personal friends.
But he also experienced many of the trials and troubles that beset humanity. He lost his eldest son in a car crash, he became estranged from his other son, he lost his wife to a terminal disease, suffered the pain of divorce in his family and continually battled persecution and disloyalty in the ministry.
A Place for You
And here we are still – the church continues to shatter and loved ones continue to die of old age or disease. We might well be tempted to ask... "does God really know what's going on in my life – and what's more, does He even care?" The scriptures are clear on that point; "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6,7)
As the apostle Peter points out, "do not be surprised at the ordeal that has come to test you, as though some foreign thing befell you" (I Peter 4:12 Moffatt) because our individual "ordeals" are part of the script for the firstfruits. As Christ pointed out:
- In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
- And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2,3)
In the very next chapter, Christ points out that God, as the vine dresser will discard unfruitful branches and will prune those that are bearing fruit so they will be even more fruitful. What is happening is that not only is the place being prepared, but we are being prepared for that place, and at times that pruning can feel very painful.
There's an old Arab saying: "too much sunshine makes a desert"... an obvious statement you might think, but it's not talking about the Sahara or the Gobi desert... it's making the point re. character, and the drawback of an easy life! And also consider for a moment the life story of a butterfly; The chrysalis stage seems to be a time when nothing is happening, but in reality is a time of rapid change. Within, the former caterpillar is undergoing a remarkable transformation. For anyone who has watched a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis the process appears as quite painful! The waiting and watching without intervening can test even the most patient of people.
The young butterfly first appears swollen and engorged with fluid in the abdomen. But during its struggle to emerge, this fluid is pumped into the wings to expand them – strengthening them for their future flight. The struggle is at times so intense that it may seem near impossible, but that's what builds strength in the wings. Without the struggle, the emerging new butterfly will lack the strength to fly and embark on its new journey in the world, and unable to fulfil its purpose!
Paul's Script
The vast majority of us haven't been given any idea what our life would entail once baptised into God's church, but a major exception is the apostle Paul. As Christ assured Ananias, who was rightly sceptical about having anything to do with the infamous Saul of Tarsus....
- But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
- For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. (Acts 9:15,16)
It appears that Paul spent three whole years in Arabia, being personally taught by Christ (Galatians 1:15-18)... and presumably being given at least an outline of his personal script over the next so many years. It certainly wasn't an easy life Christ foretold for Paul!
- ...I have often been at the point of death;
- five times have I got forty lashes (all but one) from the Jews,
- three times I have been beaten by the Romans, once pelted with stones, three times shipwrecked, adrift at sea for a whole night and day,
- I have been often on my travels, I have been in danger from rivers and robbers, in danger from Jews and Gentiles, through dangers of town and of desert, through dangers on the sea, through dangers among false brothers --
- through labour and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, starving many a time, cold and ill clad, and all the rest of it.
- And then there is the pressing business of each day, the care of all the churches. (II Corinthians 11:23-28 Moffatt)
That was some hard script! But as brought out in the very next chapter, Paul had been given visions of "paradise"... and because of what he saw the future held out to us all, he was able to encourage us to keep going, as we struggle with our lives, our script, the "race that is set before us"...
- For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
- For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of [sonship], whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
- The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
- And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint–heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
- For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [whatever script we're handed is] not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:14-18)
Latest Audio - 2026-07-11
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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