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Month: September 2025
Watchdog Alert: Israeli-Gaza War
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” (KJV)
Much of what our Lord was prophesying here had to do with the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple, which would happen within 40 years or so of this prophesy and his imminent death and resurrection.
However there is no reason not to consider that he was also making a double prophecy, which is fairly common in the Bible, extending the meaning here to also warn of the time immediately preceding the Final Judgement.
As watchdogs living in this time and place we should always keep our ears tuned to ‘rumors of wars’ and be aware of the seasons of God’s plans and purposes.
Here’s the latest from the conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel.
Ground offensive launched in Gaza City
Israel has initiated a major ground operation into Gaza City, stepping up its military campaign. The assault includes air, sea, and ground strikes targeting what Israel describes as Hamas infrastructure. Thousands of Palestinian civilians are fleeing the area despite severe constraints. AP News
Evacuations and displacement
Israel has ordered mass evacuations of civilians from parts of Gaza City. Given warnings and fighting, many civilians are moving south or west, often under dire conditions. However, large numbers remain, limited by lack of resources, safe routes, or housing. AP News
Human toll and humanitarian crisis
- Significant civilian casualties are reported, notably among children and women. AP News
- Famine or severe food insecurity continues, with deaths attributed to hunger rising. Reuters
- Infrastructure damage is substantial: residential buildings, roads, mosques, and other civilian structures have been destroyed or heavily damaged. Reuters
UN commission report – genocide accusation
A U.N. independent commission of inquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, citing evidence such as killings, displacement, blockade of aid, and destruction of infrastructure (including a fertility clinic) as consistent with attempts to “destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in Gaza.” Israel firmly rejects these findings. The Guardian
International response and pressure
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres has described the situation as “horrendous” and “morally, politically and legally intolerable.” The Guardian
- The European Union is discussing or preparing new sanctions or trade restrictions on Israel, citing the worsening humanitarian situation. Reuters
- United Nations and human rights bodies are calling for cessation or serious pause in hostilities. There is also mounting global concern over violations of international humanitarian law. The Guardian
Timeline given for Gaza City control
Israeli military officials have indicated the Gaza City offensive is expected to take several months to conquer fully. They say that the city’s entrenched infrastructure makes operations slower and more complex. The Guardian
Subscribe To Our Free Monthly Newsletter – What’s Coming In September/October
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Our Mission at Bible Rebel
- To monitor current news and events related to faith and culture.
- To provide an alternative viewpoint to the world’s pervasive climate of darkness, nihilism, and hopelessness for those seeking truth, light, and purpose.
- To examine and question the assumptions of religious tradition and provide a resource for information and inspiration for people of faith who have become dissatisfied with an increasingly lifeless and empty ‘churchianity’.
- To present the Biblical truths which reveal God’s nature and purposes and proclaim the lifechanging, world-altering, radical message of Yeshua the Messiah – Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior.
At Bible Rebel, this is our one and only creed:
Our living God is a loving God and the Bible is His revealed word and will.
Our hope and eternal salvation relies entirely on the work of God’s only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
So, expect some controversial viewpoints and uncomfortable ideas in some of the coming content from Bible Rebel.
Coming in September and October
Starting a new series called the “Your Life and What Comes After” series.
More in-depth content on deeper biblical studies and theological issues.
You can find all of the current Bible 101 episodes and One-Minute Mini Messages here on our YouTube Channel, and you can subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
We’ll also be continuing our regular features, guest articles, and series:
- Rethinking The Rapture
- They Said It
- Guest articles
- And more…
Watchdogs
As always, we’ll be keeping a watchdogs eye on all of the latest political, religious, biblical archaeology, and cultural news and events from around the world and bringing to you in bite-size chunks to keep you informed.
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Is Charlie Kirk In Heaven Right Now?
I understand how comforting it is to believe that our love ones who have passed away are alive and well in heaven right now. But is that what the scriptures teach and tell us?
After the brutal public assassination of Charlie Kirk last week, I saw several of his well-intentioned friends and colleagues on TV reassure their viewers that Charlie wasn’t really dead at all, but that he was watching over us from heaven.
But is that what the Bible teaches us about our assurance of everlasting life – that we don’t really die, but rather just immediately transition from this world to the next at the moment of death.
Recall the account in the Garden of Eden and the words of the serpent in Genesis after God’s warning about eating the forbidden fruit:
Genesis 2:17 (KJV):
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
The meaning here wasn’t just that Adam and Eve would die spiritually on that day, but that there was a judgement of actual death and that their lives would one day end rather than going on indefinitely.
Death was a curse then, and it is now. One of the first lies of the serpent was this:
Genesis 3:4-5 (KJV):
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Is the truth “Ye shall not surely die…”, or is it that death is a curse and and enemy to be despised?
Is the Christian hope that each believer will gain immediate entrance into ‘heaven’ at the moment of death – or is it that we will all be resurrected from death and decay, or changed if still living at the time, together in God’s determined time, and enjoy eternal life as the family of God in a redeemed creation?
I believe that the scriptures plainly teach the latter, not the former, and that rightly dividing the Word of God on this important truth makes a difference in how we live today.
Stay tuned to Bible Rebel as we dig deeper (no pun intended). 🙂
Watchdog Alert: UN Endorses Two-State Solution
Bible Rebel keeps a watchdog’s eye on events from around the world of interest to people of faith and brings that content to our readers.
Here’s some of the latest from UN action on issues in Israel and the Middle East.
Reuters reports that, “The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.”
The declaration was proposed and advocated for by France and Saudi Arabia according to a previous report from Reuters.
They Said It: Charlie Kirk On Faith
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a rally in Utah on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. He was 31 years old.
Here are some quotes from him on his Christian faith.
“I’ve been a Christian basically my whole life … It means more this year than it did last year, it means more this year than it did when I was 20. It’s almost a gift that grows sweeter with time. The more I read, the more I live, and the more it actually — I’m completely able to admit I’m a total, absolute sinner and I fall short from the grace of God.”
Faithwire
“We have to get back to kind of what being saved means. It means that I was drowning in an ocean and I happened to get picked up by a lifeboat, and that’s about it. It’s not like I earned it or that I swam better than anyone else.”
Faithwire
“Freedom is not sustainable if you remove religion … I’ll be even more specific, freedom is not sustainable if you remove Christianity.”
MovieGuide
“I love Jesus, love liberty, and love America.”
ChurchLeaders
“I realized that there is a desire for revival in this country, that there is a yearning for a different type of Christianity. It is about preaching a hot gospel and bringing a nation to repentance, which will then lead to revival.”
NPR
“Young men are returning to church … They want something that is lasting. They want something that is ancient, that is beautiful, something that has stood the test of time, something that’s not going to change, something that’s all of a sudden not going to … just flip around and have some sort of … transgender story hour.”
Christianity House
One-Minute Video Mini Message: What Is Success?
Define what success is for YOU.
Watchdog Alert: LGBTQ+ Catholics Join Jubilee Pilgrimage, But…
According to LGBTQ+ Nation, “In a historic first this weekend, LGBTQ+ Catholics joined the church’s Jubilee Year pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, a once-every-25-year ritual that grants a “plenary indulgence” to participants.”
Some Mixed Signals and Leadership
The pilgrimage was included in the Vatican’s official Jubilee calendar, sparking a notable shift in visibility for LGBTQ+ Catholics—but the Vatican continued to clarify that the inclusion did not equal formal endorsement.
“While the LGBTQ+ pilgrimage is not explicitly endorsed by the Vatican — nor will participants receive a dedicated papal audience as other groups have — organizers and attendees say the event nevertheless represents a historic form of ecclesial engagement with a long-marginalized group of Catholics.” – National Catholic Register
Pope Leo XIV did not publicly acknowledge the group during Jubilee events but privately gave his blessing for Bishop Savino to conduct the Mass, signaling a discreet but meaningful continuity of Pope Francis’s inclusive approach.
“Pope Leo XIV celebrated a special Jubilee audience Saturday at the Vatican for all pilgrim groups in Rome this weekend, but made no special mention of the LGBTQ+ Catholics.” – Coeur d’Alene Press
Some Pushback and Continued Tensions
There were also institutional frictions—initial removal of the pilgrimage from the Jubilee calendar, followed by reinstatement, triggered by media leaks and internal disagreements over how public the recognition should be.
Some conservative voices sharply criticized the pilgrimage. Roberto de Mattei of the Lepanto Foundation labeled it “provocative and irreverent,” questioning whether it contradicted Church teachings on sin and redemption.
“The participants sparked outrage among some Catholics, who took note of the placards and T-shirts carrying slogans (in at least one case, crudely obscene) critical of Church teaching on sexuality, and the irreverent behavior of activists.” – Catholic Culture
They Said It: In Support Of Premillennialism
Here are four famous quotes that express or support Premillennialism (the belief that Christ will return before a literal 1,000-year reign on earth, as described in Revelation 20):
Justin Martyr (100–165 AD) – Early Church Father
“But I and every other completely orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh, followed by a thousand years in the rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem, as was announced by the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and others.”
— Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 80
Irenaeus of Lyons (130–202 AD) – Early Church Father
“For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: ‘Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.’ This is a history of the things formerly created, and a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the six thousandth year.”
— Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 28
George Eldon Ladd (1911–1982) – Evangelical Theologian
“Premillennialism is based on the exegesis of Revelation 20:1–6, which, if interpreted literally, teaches that Christ will come again before the millennium and will reign on earth with His saints for a thousand years.”
— The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views
John F. Walvoord (1910–2002) – Dispensational Premillennialist
“The premillennial interpretation is the only view that does justice to the plain statements of Scripture. When taken in their ordinary meaning, the promises of the Old Testament to Israel and the prophecies of the kingdom of God find their fulfillment only in a future literal reign of Christ on earth.”
— The Millennial Kingdom
Watchdog Alert: Israeli-Hamas Conflict
Here is Jesus, in Matthew 24:6-7, teaching his disciples about the end times. But also encouraging them to ‘see that ye be not troubled’.
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” (KJV)
Recent news from the Middle East:
“Israel kills 62 today as Gaza aid seekers, ‘safe zones’ attacked” – Al Jazeera
- Summary: Israeli forces targeted a residential building in Gaza City—housing dozens of displaced Palestinian families—after issuing forced evacuation orders. At least 37 of the 62 fatalities occurred in Gaza City as the assault continued into the early hours.
Al Jazeera
“Israel expands operations in Gaza City; tells famine-stricken residents to move to safe zone” – CBS News / AP
- Summary: As operations intensify in Gaza City, Israel urged starving residents to relocate to a designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza—Muwasi—equipped with field hospitals, water, food, and tents. Aid groups warned that mass evacuation would only deepen the humanitarian crisis.
CBS News
“Escalating Israeli offensive in Gaza City will have catastrophic and irreversible consequences for Palestinians” – Amnesty International
- Summary: Amnesty condemned Israel’s full-scale assault on Gaza City, warning it will devastate civilian life and exacerbate a famine largely caused by Israel’s blockade. Displacing hundreds of thousands, Amnesty called the campaign a likely war crime under international law.
Amnesty International
“More than 7,000 under-fives in Gaza put in malnutrition recovery in two-week period” – The Guardian / UNICEF data
- Summary: Over 7,000 children under five were admitted to UNICEF malnutrition recovery programs in just two weeks in August; projected numbers for the month may exceed 15,000—more than seven times higher than February figures. A famine has been declared in Gaza City and is spreading south. Families survive on minimal food, and overcrowded designated zones lack basic services.
The Guardian