Shalom from the stunning Jezreel Valley in Israel! It has been a very full week as I have tried to do all that needs to be done here at CONNECT, even while I am preparing for my departure for the United States. My time in America will find me speaking in Lakewood, Colorado; Anaheim, California; Gilbert, Arizona; and Reno, Nevada. Of those four stops, there is still room left to join me in Anaheim, so register today if you are in the area!
I’m happy to report that all members of our February Bible Experience Tour made it back home after enjoying an incredible time here in Israel. Their departure coincided perfectly with the arrival of the next tour; one specifically made up of folks tied with Calvary Chapel East Anaheim. On Monday, I had the blessing of spending time at CONNECT with my dear friends Pastor Bob Kopeny and his wonderful wife, Becky. Then, the next evening, they were back at CONNECT with their tour group from CCEA for a great session of questions and answers.
“Certain death has a way of helping one sort out priorities.” That’s a quote from Nir Tavor, the protagonist of my upcoming novel, The Next War. In this newsletter, in my teachings, and in my books, you’ll find me talking a lot about what the Bible says regarding the upcoming Ezekiel War. But in each of those methodologies, I am only able to theoretically discuss the upcoming event when Russia, Turkey, Iran, and others approach Israel’s borders with the intention of destroying the nation. That is why I am so excited to get this next Nir Tavor thriller into your hands, because the use of biblically-based fiction takes you into the anxiety, fear, and resolve found in the hearts and minds of those who will be on the ground here in Israel watching the advance of an army that is impossible to defeat. Throughout The Next War you will feel the helplessness of being faced with certain death, both for you and your family, and you will be forced to answer the question, “What would I do if that were me?” The book will release on May 5, so now is the time to preorder your copy of The Next War today.
MidEast & Beyond
Another Israeli Soldier Falls in Gaza
Before we move to the big picture of the Middle East, I want to remind you that the fight in Gaza is still not over. If you follow my Telegram channel, you know that nearly every day I am reporting on terrorists who exit their tunnels on nefarious business. The IDF is doing what it can to address the situation, but the task is enormous. They’ve destroyed 150km of tunnels (about 100 miles), but that’s less than a third of the 500km of tunnels that originally existed. The work is difficult and dangerous. Early yesterday morning, St.-Sgt. Ofri Yafe, 21, from the Jezreel Valley was killed in an incident in Khan Yunis.
Hamas has refused to implement its original agreement to disarm. On Monday, the IDF located a significant cache of weapons used by the terrorists in the Rafah brigade. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to completing the job. With Hamas existing, Israel can never feel fully safe. This is contrary to the scenario laid out in Ezekiel 38 regarding the coming war. However, we do see this continuing conflict fitting into the overall prophetic scenario because more than anything else, the conflict with Gaza has set up Israel as the burdensome stone in the eyes of the world, as prophesied in Zechariah 12:3.
Brink of an Extended War?
Over the past week, the US has transported an enormous amount of firepower to the Middle East. The Air Force has sent AWACS, mid-air refueling tankers, B-52 Stratofortress bombers, and more than 50 fighter jets from all up and down the classification list. Naval assets include two carrier groups, between 7-9 Arleigh-Burke class destroyers, a whole list of support ships, and, if the rumor is accurate, the USS Georgia, a nuclear submarine armed with 154 Tomahawk missiles. President Donald Trump is not normally one to waste that much money on a bluff. This is what is causing the nerves in my region to be on edge. According to Axios, if the Iran nuclear talks fail, then the US is moving closer to what could be an extended war.
Currently, there is a major impasse in the talks between Iran and the US. In a Fox News interview, Vice President J.D. Vance said that President Trump has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to acknowledge and work through. Said the VP, “You can’t have people like that have the most dangerous weapons known to man.” The president’s demands include the full cessation of uranium enrichment, as well as significant limitations on the country’s ballistic missile program. Prime Minister Netanyahu adds to that list the removal of all enriched uranium from the country and the dismantling of the terrorist militias.
Tehran is trying to stall. They are masters of negotiation and are trying a tactic of buying the president off while offering him a Pyrrhic victory. On the table is a cut of the wealth that could be derived from Iran’s oil and mineral resources. The Islamic regime would even be willing to forestall their nuclear program for three years until Trump was out of office and it would become someone else’s program. Obama signed on to that “kick the can down the road” agreement while he was president. Why wouldn’t Trump, they think, so he could go down in history as a president of peace?
I don’t believe Trump will buy into their shady deal. He is a smart man and can see through their lies and delays. For more of my analysis and reasons why I think Trump won’t back down, watch yesterday’s MidEast & Beyond Update that I recorded with Pastor Barry Stagner.
Let me add one more thought about this whole ordeal. I don’t believe this showdown is only about Tehran. It is a live demonstration. The massive military buildup serves a broader purpose than this single situation. While Iran may be the operational arena, China is the strategic audience.
Beijing is watching all that is going on. It’s assessing how fast the US can amass power, how long it can sustain its deployments, how much pressure can their alliances hold up under, and whether the American military has the ability to operate in multiple theaters simultaneously. Trump is establishing deterrence by demonstration. If Washington can project overwhelming force in the Middle East while maintaining Indo-Pacific readiness, it reinforces US dominance in the 21st century – an “America first” goal of the type I’ll talk about in the final news story below. Trump’s message is not rhetorical, it is kinetic. And it’s being delivered in real time.
Russia Sides with Iran
In a move clearly designed to delineate sides within the Middle East tension, Russia will hold naval drills with Iran this week. An Iranian spokesman said, “The aim [of the drills] is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries.” In preparation for the exercises, the Russian helicopter carrier Stoiky docked in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Not only is this telling for those watching who is siding with whom in the Middle East, but it is another sign for those of us who follow Bible prophecy as we see the militaries of these two members of the antagonist forces of the Ezekiel war draw closer to each other.
Surprising Saudi Financial Struggles
For years, it has seemed that the Saudi’s oil wells have been pumping gold directly from the ground. Recent events, however, appear to show that the House of Saud may not be quite as flush as it has been in the past. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship 2030 initiative, aimed at reigning in some of the exorbitant spending and reducing the country’s oil dependency, is facing serious economic pressures. With the fall of oil prices, delays in flagship projects, and growing gaps in necessary financing, Saudi Arabia is finding itself turning to Russia and Turkey for funding. Money does not come without strings, and it is very likely that pressure from Russia’s President Putin and Turkey’s President Erdoğan is causing MBS to pull back from his move toward normalizing relations with Israel.
India Approves Huge Arms Purchase from Israel
India has approved an $8.6-8.7 billion arms purchase from Israel, making the Jewish state New Delhi’s second-largest military supplier after France. Among the weapons systems purchased are SPICE guided bombs, air-to-surface missiles, and other munitions. This deal is one more feather in the cap of Israel’s economic strength and military reputation.
The Changing World Order
Back in the 1980s, a think tank of globalists looked at history and determined that the average length of an empire’s strength is 250 years. In those post-Reagan years, America was still strong economically and socially. But this power elite determined that the time was nearing when the era of America would end. In preparation, they backroomed a push in America and in Western civilization to shift from state-based oversight to a globalist agenda. Manufacturing was outsourced to other countries, borders were weakened, and the United Nations and NATO were given unprecedented power over autonomous states.
But then Trump came along in 2016 and tried to turn things around. But the globalist influence on both sides of the aisles stymied his efforts. Then he was reelected in 2024, and at his inaugural speech in January of 2025, he made it clear that America’s decline was over. Within all of the US’s alliances, he would enforce America first. This was even true with Israel. On Monday, at the Munich Security Conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced to the entire world that there was a new era of American power. It is from this agenda that we see industry coming back to the US, the oil industry booming, new trade routes being established, and Greenland soon becoming a US territory. This isn’t just Trump being wild, foolhardy, or egotistical. It is him rebelling against the globalist rules and trying to halt the decline of America that their agenda induced.
This is a major story that everyone needs to know about, because it gives the framework from which President Trump is working. It also shows why opposition to him from both sides of the aisle is so strong. Once again, I would encourage you to watch yesterday’s MidEast & Beyond in which I explain the history of the globalist agenda in much more detail.
The Ministry
To all my friends in Japan, I’m coming your way in April! Registration is now open for events in Tokyo, Nagano, Hokkaido, and Osaka. Check out our Teaching Around the World page for dates and times, and for opportunities to register your attendance today!
The current generation of young adults is being bombarded by deception through universities, television, and social media. At Behold Israel, God has called us to meet those lies head-on. This has led us to launch GenZion! By connecting Scripture, Israel, and current events, GenZion equips Gen Z with biblical truth in a noisy, divided world. Our desire is to help young adults think critically, stand firm in their faith, and engage culture with clarity and courage. From college campuses and young-adult gatherings to immersive Israel tours, digital content, and online conversations, GenZion meets Gen Z where they are: on their socials, in their classrooms, and in their questions. Learn more and get involved at https://beholdisrael.org/about/young-adult-strategic-vision/.
If your dream is to see the beautiful land of Israel, let me just say that I don’t blame you! It’s a wonderful nation filled with incredible history. To find out when our Bible Experience Tours are in 2026, go to our Tours & Cruises page on our website. As you can probably discern from the name of that webpage, that’s also where you can find information on our Alaska Prophecy Conference Cruise in July and our Exploring Ezekiel Norwegian Fjords Cruise in September-to-October. We’d love to have you along!
As I’m preparing to leave Israel soon, I’d ask for your prayers for me and my family. I was out of the country when the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, took place. It was agonizing as I prayed and worried, all the time desperately trying to get home to my loved ones. If a war with Iran begins, I don’t want to once again be out of the country. So, please pray God’s wisdom and timing for me. I trust Him completely and know that He will guide my paths. Also, please pray for the tour group that is here from Calvary Chapel East Anaheim. Ask God to protect them and allow them to experience all the holy sites that they’ve been waiting their whole lives to see.
Thank you all for your love, your prayers, and your support of this ministry. Undoubtedly, God will carry us through the difficult times, even as He keeps us close during the smooth times.
Awaiting His Return,
Amir Tsarfati
Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish Christian, is the founder and president of Behold Israel, a news site founded to correct the scarcity in trustworthy reportage on issues and events impacting Israel, and to resolve the uncertainty about who or what to believe.
The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by CURE News and Clergy Blog.
