Sons of Issachar Newsletter: November 19, 2025
Beloved in Christ,
In just one week, we have watched the nations gather at the United Nations to redraw realities on the ground in Gaza, lawmakers in Washington and Brussels reshape the future of artificial intelligence and data, extremists in Nigeria storm a church in the middle of worship, courts in Texas order the Ten Commandments off classroom walls, and thousands of college students in America gather to call on the name of Jesus. Scripture tells us that in the last days there will be both great shaking and great outpourings: “distress of nations in perplexity” and yet a global witness to the gospel of the kingdom (Luke 21:25–28; Matthew 24:14). As the men of Issachar “understood the times and knew what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32 ESV), our calling is not to stare at the headlines in fear, but to read them in light of God’s Word and respond in obedience, sobriety, and hope.
1 – UN Security Council Backs Trump’s “Board of Peace” Plan for Gaza
On November 17, the UN Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution that gives formal backing to President Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza. According to reporting from outlets such as Reuters and ABC News, the resolution endorses a ceasefire framework and a hostage-release arrangement between Israel and Hamas, authorizes the deployment of an international stabilization force, and recognizes a new transitional authority, the so-called “Board of Peace,” to oversee Gaza’s demilitarization, border security, and reconstruction for several years. The text passed with 13 votes in favor, while Russia and China abstained, and it includes language about a conditional “pathway” toward Palestinian statehood, tied to reforms in the Palestinian Authority and progress on rebuilding Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.
The reaction on the ground underscores how fragile this framework is. Hamas has publicly rejected the resolution and insisted that it will not disarm or accept what it calls “international guardianship” over Gaza, while Palestinian Authority officials have cautiously welcomed it as a first step if it genuinely leads toward self-determination. Israeli politics are deeply split: some leaders hail the plan as a way to stabilize Gaza and prevent a resurgence of Hamas, while others warn that any language hinting at Palestinian statehood crosses a red line. Coverage in outlets like The Guardian highlights Arab governments pressing for clarity on who will control the International Stabilisation Force and how much real authority the UN itself will retain.
This isn’t just diplomacy, but is a spiritual marker: the land that God calls “My land” (Joel 3:2) is once again being treated as a negotiable asset on the table of international management. We can draw a direct line to Joel 3:1–2, where the Lord says He will judge the nations “on behalf of My people and My heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up My land.” Current events match the biblical picture of Jerusalem and the surrounding region becoming “a heavy stone for all the peoples” (Zechariah 12:2–3).
For believers, this moment is a reminder that no “board of peace” convened in New York can ultimately resolve what is, at its root, a spiritual conflict. Our hope is not in diplomatic architecture, however necessary it may be in a fallen world, but in the Prince of Peace who will one day reign from Jerusalem in righteousness. Until then, we watch the convergence of geopolitics and prophecy with sober minds, aware that “when people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
2 – AI Governance and AI Blasphemy: The Digital Battlefront
In the United States, artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from a tech buzzword to a central pillar of national policy. This week President Trump publicly called on Congress to end what he describes as a confusing “patchwork” of state AI regulations and instead adopt a single federal standard. In a social-media post and subsequent coverage by outlets such as Fox News, Bloomberg/GovTech, and legal commentators at Fisher Phillips, he warned that if every state writes its own rules, American companies could be strangled by compliance costs and lose ground to China and other rivals. With other issues what usually ends up happening is the most restrictive state’s laws usually get adopted (the california effect). this has happened with mattress labels, food nutrition, GMOs, data privacy, etc. Reports indicate that House Republican leaders are examining ways to tuck AI “preemption” language into must-pass legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act, effectively blocking or severely limiting state laws that attempt to restrict deepfakes, algorithmic harms, or child-safety issues more aggressively than Washington does.
At the same time, the European Commission unveiled its so-called “Digital Omnibus” package. According to Reuters, The Guardian, and digital-rights organizations like European Digital Rights and NOYB, the proposal would delay enforcement of strict “high-risk” AI provisions (covering areas such as biometrics, health care, utilities, and law enforcement) from 2026 until late 2027, loosen cookie rules, and relax some definitions around what constitutes “personal data.” Critics argue this could open the door for far more data to be used to train AI systems without meaningful user consent, reversing what they see as hard-won digital rights and “caving to Big Tech.” The Commission, for its part, presents the changes as “simplification” necessary to keep Europe competitive and avoid regulatory fatigue.
Running alongside these policy debates is a cultural battle over what AI is used to create. This week, Instagram (owned by Meta) promoted its new “free AI creator tools” with a short video that appeared to show President Trump kneeling before a horned, demonic statue inside a cathedral-like space. The clip was highlighted in a promotional reel for Meta’s AI tools before being quietly dropped after backlash. Outlets like The Daily Wire, Beliefnet, and Charisma News reported that Meta claimed the image was originally user-generated but did not fully explain how it ended up front-and-center in an official promotion. Christian commentators have pointed out the casual use of blatantly occult imagery, the mocking depiction of a leader kneeling before a demon, and the ease with which AI can generate sacrilegious or manipulative content at scale.
Taken together, these developments show not only that AI is becoming a central nervous system for economic and political life, but also that it is shaping the spiritual imagination of the culture including AI Jesus apps, interpreting tongues, etc. as previously discussed. Governments want to centralize control over the rules of AI; corporations want frictionless data to fuel it; and the content it produces increasingly blurs the line between entertainment, propaganda, and spiritual mockery. The Bible warns of a time when deception will be empowered by “false signs and wonders” and a “strong delusion” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–11), and while we are not yet at the final form of that delusion, if they aren’t signs and wonders in the miraculous sense then the infrastructure and habits are clearly being laid.
3 – 2026, Digital ID, and the Expanding Surveillance Web
Well beyond headlines about AI “innovation,” governments and corporations are quietly building the infrastructure of a deeply networked surveillance and identity regime. In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security continues to expand biometric monitoring of both foreigners and citizens. A recent editorial in the Mobile Press-Register details how ICE’s new Mobile Fortify smartphone app allows agents to scan faces and cross-check them against federal databases, with no meaningful opt-out for those targeted, and warns that this is part of a broader “behind-the-scenes escalation” of domestic surveillance power (Reason; Yahoo News). At the same time, DHS has quietly deepened its embrace of facial recognition and other biometrics, erasing a public policy document on face-scanning safeguards while pursuing multimillion-dollar contracts with firms such as Clearview AI, whose scraping of billions of online images has already triggered legal bans in some U.S. states (Biometric Update; WSJ). Even mainstream overviews now acknowledge that facial recognition has become a “dragnet” technology with serious accuracy, bias, and civil-liberties concerns that have prompted bans or limits in dozens of U.S. jurisdictions (Davis Vanguard; ISACA).
Parallel to government use, retail and consumer surveillance are normalizing similar tools in everyday life. Security and loss-prevention trade outlets now openly describe how large chains deploy facial recognition to identify “high-risk” or repeat offenders the moment they step onto the premises, sending live alerts to staff and sometimes triggering automated audio warnings (Biometric Update; C-Store Dive). Industry reports highlight that convenience stores, grocery chains, and malls are layering AI-driven CCTV, license-plate readers, and behavioral analytics on top of these systems in response to sharp rises in external theft (ASIS Security Management; Washington Retail Association). While some customers welcome anything that promises safer stores, privacy advocates warn that these tools effectively create shadow “no-fly lists” for shopping, with little transparency around who decides who goes on the list, how long they stay on it, or how errors can be corrected. The result is a creeping convergence: the same kinds of biometric systems that scan faces at borders and in police databases are now embedded in doorways, self-checkout lanes, and doorbells, forming a continuous web of observation.
In Canada, a newer front is opening around digital identity for access to basic benefits. A budget note tucked into Ottawa’s 2025 fiscal plan, reported by outlets like True North and Juno News, indicates that the federal government will move ahead with a digital identification process for claimants of Employment Insurance and Old Age Security, reversing earlier assurances that no national digital ID was on the table. Follow-up coverage by LifeSiteNews and local outlets summarized changes to the Department of Employment and Social Development Act that would “enable the delivery of more integrated and efficient services across government,” effectively allowing data-sharing across agencies and tying benefit access to a federated digital credential (Todayville; InfoWars reprint). Officials insist such a system will be “voluntary” and that in-person or phone options will remain, but critics point out that in practice, the people most dependent on these programs—low-income workers and seniors for whom Old Age Security may be the only income—will be the first to feel pressure to enroll. When access to rent, food, and medicine runs through a centralized ID that can be updated, scored, or suspended, convenience shades quickly into leverage. With the development across the of these systems seeming to culminate in implementation deadlines in 2026 expect to keep talking about this continually.
Viewed together, these trends reveal an architecture that is still fragmented but clearly converging. Borders, airports, city streets, store aisles, and benefit portals are all being threaded with systems that link who you are (biometrics and identity), where you are (location and movement), and what you do (transactions and behavior). Scripture’s warning that a future regime will be able to control who can “buy or sell” without a sanctioned mark or allegiance (Revelation 13:16–17) does not mean every present system is that final mark, but it should alert us to how swiftly the technical prerequisites are falling into place. For followers of Jesus, the response is neither naïve trust in “the system” nor panicked rejection of all technology, but a clear-eyed resolve to remain free in conscience, to minimize unnecessary dependence where we can, and to remember that our true citizenship and security are in a kingdom that cannot be tracked, scored, or switched off.
4 – Persecution in Nigeria: Church Stormed, Pastor Abducted
While the West debates regulations and identity schemes, believers in parts of the Global South continue to face very different threats. On November 19, gunmen attacked a midweek worship service at a Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, Nigeria. According to reports from Reuters and ABC News, armed men stormed the church during a service, opened fire, killed at least two worshippers, and abducted the pastor along with several congregants, dragging them into nearby bushland along routes commonly used by criminal and extremist groups. The attack sent residents and travelers fleeing into surrounding fields and forests, and it comes just days after more than 25 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a boarding school in another Nigerian state.
The Eruku incident is not an isolated tragedy but part of a long-running pattern of violence against churches and Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and northern regions. Advocacy groups and some international lawmakers have used terms such as “slow-motion genocide” and “ethno-religious cleansing,” pointing to thousands of Christians killed or displaced over the past decade by Boko Haram, Islamic State affiliates, Fulani militants, and criminal bandit gangs. Nigerian officials often stress that many Muslim communities are also victims of these attacks and argue that the violence is driven more by criminality and resource conflicts than by religion. Yet the repeated targeting of churches and Christian gatherings is hard to ignore, especially when attacks happen in the middle of worship and when victims are selected because of their faith.
For those of us watching from safer contexts, these stories ought to reshape how we read Scripture’s promises and warnings about persecution. When Paul writes that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12) and Jesus says His followers will be “hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9), that is not theoretical language for believers in places like Eruku. Their testimony calls us to solidarity, intercession, and a sober assessment of our own willingness to suffer for Christ if and when pressure intensifies closer to home.
5 – Religious Freedom at Home: Ten Commandments Ordered Down in Texas
In a very different setting, a battle over religious symbols played out this week in Texas courtrooms. A federal judge in San Antonio, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, issued an order blocking enforcement of a 2025 Texas law (often referred to as SB 10 in news coverage) that required public schools to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Reporting from outlets such as the Houston Chronicle, the Austin American-Statesman, and a press release from the ACLU explains that 15 families from multiple districts sued, arguing the requirement violated the Establishment Clause by effectively imposing a particular religious text on captive student audiences. Judge Garcia agreed, ordering districts to remove the displays by early December and to certify compliance to the court.
The ruling has intensified an already heated debate. Supporters of the law, including state officials and some parents, say the Ten Commandments are a foundational source of Western legal and moral norms and that displaying them acknowledges history rather than coercing belief. Opponents counter that the text is undeniably religious, that different faith traditions number and interpret the commandments differently, and that public schools should not be in the business of advancing any specific set of religious doctrines. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has vowed to continue suing districts that refuse to display the posters in places where other injunctions are not in effect, signaling that the legal fight is far from over.
For Christians, the deeper question is not only what the state is allowed to display, but where God’s law is written. In Deuteronomy 6:6–9, the Lord instructed Israel to place His words on doorposts and gates and to teach them diligently to their children, weaving them into the fabric of daily life. In the new covenant, Paul says that believers are “a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3). Court rulings may temporarily close or open doors for public displays, but the primary battlefield is in homes and churches, where parents and congregations either will or will not pass on God’s commandments to the next generation.
6 – Signs of Life: Revival on Campus
In contrast to many grim headlines, God continues to move powerfully among young people. On November 12, the UniteUS campus movement held an outreach at J.S. Dorton Arena near NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to reports from outlets like CBN News and regional Christian radio coverage such as KLTT 670AM, roughly 6,000 students and community members packed the arena to worship and hear the gospel. Hundreds responded to the invitation to trust in Christ, and at least 77 students publicly declared their new faith and were baptized that night. Organizers described scenes of repentance, reconciliation, and deliverance from suicidal thoughts and occult involvement, with students lingering in prayer long after the formal program ended.
This NC State gathering is part of a broader pattern. UniteUS and similar student-led movements have seen large crowds and significant responses at universities across the country, including in regions often described as spiritually cold. Videos and testimonies circulating online show young men and women confessing sin, renouncing new-age and occult practices, reconciling broken relationships, and committing to follow Jesus. While it is always important to distinguish momentary emotion from a lasting relationship and a changed life, the sheer numbers and depth of some of these accounts suggest that the Lord is stirring a remnant in Generation Z. In an age when headlines often focus on deconstruction, church dropout rates, and the rise of “nones,” events like these are living proof that God still delights to pour out His Spirit “on all flesh,” so that “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions” (Acts 2:17–18).
The challenge now is discipleship. A one-night event, no matter how powerful, cannot substitute for long-term rooting in Scripture, fellowship, and obedience. Local churches and campus ministries bear the joyful burden of helping these new believers grow into maturity, learn to test everything by the Word (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and stand firm in a culture that will quickly push back against their newfound allegiance to Christ.
Closing thoughts
When we lay these threads side by side—UN resolutions over Gaza, centralizing AI and digital identity regimes, demonic imagery in AI promotion, persecution in Nigeria, court battles over the Ten Commandments, and student revival at NC State—we see exactly the kind of convergence Scripture describes. On the one hand, power is concentrated in global and national institutions; technologies capable of surveillance and manipulation are being normalized; and hostility toward biblical truth is becoming more overt. On the other hand, the Lord is refining His church through persecution abroad and awakening hearts through unexpected outpourings at home. History is not spiraling out of control; it is marching toward the King.
In such a time, the call of God’s Word is remarkably simple and remarkably demanding. We are told to be “self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of [our] prayers” (1 Peter 4:7), to “strengthen what remains and is about to die” (Revelation 3:2), and to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” while “not neglecting to meet together” (Hebrews 10:23–25). That means watching the nations with discernment, without being hypnotized by the news cycle; engaging technology with wisdom, without being mastered by it; standing with persecuted brothers and sisters as if imprisoned with them (Hebrews 13:3); and welcoming the work of God in our own communities, rather than simply admiring stories from afar.
Above all, these events should drive us deeper into the Scriptures and into communion with Christ Himself. As we see the day drawing near, we are not called to retreat into fear or to chase every sensational headline, but to be found faithful—watching, praying, enduring, and proclaiming the gospel “while it is day” (John 9:4). The King is coming, the birth pangs are intensifying, and the time for half-hearted discipleship is over. “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7 ESV).
Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.
— Sims Corner Church