End Times

Bank Tellers Are Being Replaced With Touch Screen Navigators As Technology Takes Over

When Wells Fargo opened its first high-tech branch three years ago in the District’s NoMa neighborhood, it did away with desks and replaced traditional counters with large touch-screen ATMs. Also gone from its new location: tellers.

Published

10 years ago

April 11, 2016

Geoffrey Grider

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Gone from the cutting-edge bank: Tellers

Instead, the 1,000-square-foot branch has a handful of tablet-toting employees to help customers navigate technology to deposit checks, apply for loans or open savings accounts.

The number of banks tellers in the region has dropped by nearly half in the past 10 years, from 10,980 in 2005 to 5,990 in 2015, outpacing a 17 percent drop nationally, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall employment in the Washington region rose 7.3 percent in the same period.

Bank of America ATM with Teller Assist:

Median annual pay for tellers, meanwhile, has risen 35 percent, to $32,250 as tellers are increasingly required to be well-versed in technology. A recent report by Citigroup estimates that an additional 30 percent of U.S. banking jobs could be eliminated by 2025 as financial firms shutter branches and invest more heavily in technology.

“There has been a tremendous change in the mix of bank employees, with a much greater reliance on tech workers,” said Bert Ely, a banking industry consultant in Alexandria. “Banks are cutting a lot of so-called back-office processing jobs — and that is something that will continue.”

Experts say the trend is likely to be magnified in the Washington area, where an influx of young professionals and tech-savvy customers has ushered in a number of high-tech branches that require few employees. Recent bank mergers and branch closings also have contributed to shrinkage in the pool of jobs.

“Traffic in branches is down dramatically,” said Ronald D. Paul, chief executive of Bethesda-based Eagle Bancorp, the region’s largest community bank. “You just don’t need that many branches anymore.”

As a result, the company has closed less-frequented branches and moving others into smaller spaces. It also is adding more high-tech workers, including computer programmers and commercial deposit officers who can help troubleshoot technology, to its ranks.

The number of bank branches in the Washington region has been steadily dropping in recent years. Last year, the area had 1,697 branches, 84 fewer than it did in 2010, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“It was the ATM that started this spiral 25 or 30 years ago,” said Stephen Fuller, an economist and senior adviser at George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis. “We’ve just about replaced the need to have people in those spaces.”

Indeed, nearly four in 10 Americans have not visited a bank or credit union branch in at least six months, according to a survey by Bankrate.com, a New York-based personal-finance information company. When customers do stop by the bank, it is generally for financial consultations or to open accounts, not routine transactions, the survey found.

“The bank as it is today is becoming more interactional and less transactional,” said David M. Glaser, a vice president at District-based National Capital Bank. “When people come in, it’s with a more complex question or to open an account. If they just need to deposit a check — well, they can do that at the ATM.”

At PNC, which has done away with tellers at a number of area branches, new hires are as likely to come from a tech company as from another bank, said Todd Barnhart, head of branch distribution.

“The way we think about recruiting has changed pretty significantly,” he said. “Five or 10 years ago, we might have looked at employees at the bank down the street. “Today we’re looking at people from the Apple store, AT&T store and other tech-centric retailers.”

The company’s “innovation branch” in Tenleytown, for example, has six employees, all of whom are trained to help customers with everything from deposits to loan applications. “We’re not building branches with teller lines but with places where customers and employees can have meaningful conversations,” he said.

Instead of having separate tellers and mortgage officers, “it’s one job, one person,” Barnhart said, adding that roughly half of the bank’s deposits now come through its mobile app or ATMs.

Among Americans with smartphones, 52 percent used mobile banking in 2014, according to a Federal Reserve survey. The vast majority of users — 94 percent — use mobile apps to check their account balances, while 61 percent use them to transfer money between their accounts and 51 percent to deposit checks. The median frequency of use was five times a month.

Meanwhile, national bank employment has been falling an average of 2 percent a year since the recession, according to the Citigroup report.

“The future of branches in banking is about focusing on advisory and consultation rather than transactions,” according to the Citigroup report. “Branches and associated staff costs make up about 65 percent of the total retail cost base of a larger bank and a lot of these costs can be removed via automation.” source

End Times

The World Is The Closest It’s Ever Been To WWIII As 20 Nations Have Now Joined In Trump’s Iran War That Has Spread Far Beyond Just The Middle East

Published

1 week ago

March 10, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The World Is The Closest It’s Ever Been To World War III As 20 Nations Across Europe And Middle East Are Now Pulled Into The US War With Iran

There are moments in history when the gears of prophecy seem to audibly grind as they move into position, and we may very well be watching one of those moments right now. The rapidly expanding war centered on Iran is no longer a regional flare-up, it is a geopolitical wildfire drawing in nation after nation until the entire Middle East looks like a powder keg waiting for a single spark to set it off.

“He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.” Daniel 11:24 (KJB)

What began as a direct confrontation between Israel, the United States, and Iran has now metastasized into something far larger. Missiles are flying across borders, drones are swarming the skies, naval forces are positioning in strategic waterways, and at least 20 nations are now either directly involved or caught in the blast radius of the conflict. Bases are being struck, alliances are activating, and the global chessboard is rapidly rearranging itself.

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Countries Now Directly Involved or Attacked

Depending on how you count (combatants, bases, or nations hit by missiles), about 15–20 countries are now involved or directly affected.

Main combatants:

United States
Israel
Iran

Other nations now involved:

France
United Kingdom
Australia
Greece
Turkey
Russia
China
Taiwan

Countries hit by Iranian missiles/drones or hosting US forces

Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Bahrain
Kuwait
Jordan
Iraq
Oman
Turkey
Azerbaijan
Lebanon (Hezbollah involvement)
Cyprus (UK base struck)

If you have even a passing familiarity with Bible prophecy, you should feel the hair on the back of your neck standing up right now. The Bible does not predict a peaceful road leading to the appearance of Antichrist. Instead, it tells us that the last days will be marked by escalating wars, chaos among nations, and a global system struggling to maintain control. Jesus Himself warned that this would be the atmosphere of the end times.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7-8 (KJB)

What we are watching unfold in the Middle East fits perfectly into that prophetic framework. This is not the end yet, but it is exactly the kind of destabilizing global conflict that moves the world closer to the moment when a false messiah will step forward promising peace. And that peace will be a lie. Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza is doomed to failure before it ever even gets off the ground in you believe the prophets. “Believest thou the prophets?”

Emmanuel Macron orders armada to the Mediterranean

France is deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including its aircraft ‌carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict in the Middle East. Speaking in Cyprus before visiting the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which arrived this weekend in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure his Cypriot counterpart after drones were intercepted heading towards the island last week. SOURCE

The prophet Daniel tells us that Antichrist will come to power through diplomacy and deception, presenting himself as the man who can solve the world’s impossible problems.

“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” Daniel 8:25 (KJB)

Think about that for a moment. What kind of world would be desperate enough to accept a global political savior? A world exhausted by war, a world terrified by instability, a world watching alliances collapse and nations burn. In other words, a world that looks exactly like the one we are watching develop right now.

The Middle East has always been the prophetic epicenter of end-times events, and Iran sits right in the middle of several key prophetic trajectories. Whether you look at Ezekiel 38, the alignment of nations around Israel, or the constant drumbeat of conflict surrounding Jerusalem, the pattern is unmistakable. The stage is being set.

“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” Revelation 17:17 (KJB)

Now, does this current war mean that World War III has officially begun? No. But it absolutely demonstrates how quickly the entire planet could be dragged into one. The last century proved how regional wars can explode into global ones. World War I began with a single assassination. World War II began with a territorial invasion. Once alliances begin activating and major powers begin maneuvering, events can spiral out of control faster than anyone expects. And right now, the dominoes are standing closer together than they have in decades.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

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“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Christian Nationalism

Watchdog Group Says Combat Unit Commanders Telling Troops That Donald Trump Has Been ‘Anointed By Jesus To Light The Fire In Iran For Armageddon’

Published

2 weeks ago

March 3, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Combat Unit commanders have been accused of telling troops that Donald Trump is anointed by God and the war with Iran is to bring in Armageddon

Well, it’s official, we’ve arrived in Crazy Town, and it’s exactly as you would expect it to be. Operation Epic Fury is revealing itself to be a hastily-arranged and very poorly planned operation that Trump now says could last for many months. And earlier today a religious watchdog group received over 200 complaints from soldiers being told by their Combat Unit commanders that President Trump has been ‘anointed to light the fire in Iran that will bring Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ’. Wow, are we there already? It would seem so, Now don’t shoot the messenger, I don’t make the news, I’m just telling you what’s going on here on Day 2,178 of 15 Days To Flatten The Curve. It’s Christian Nationalism out of control.

“Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.” Daniel 11:39 (KJB)

If even a fraction of these reports are accurate that commanders inside the Department of War are framing geopolitical conflict as the spark that lights Armageddon and preparing troops for the return of Jesus Christ — then we are looking at something profoundly dangerous. Not because prophecy isn’t real, and not because Jesus Christ isn’t coming back. He absolutely is. But because the Church has no business trying to manufacture the Second Coming through military power. Let’s be absolutely clear: the return of Jesus Christ is not triggered by American foreign policy, presidential ambition, or battlefield rhetoric. The prophetic timeline is set by God Almighty, not by generals, politicians, or Christian Nationalist enthusiasm. Armageddon is not something a nation prepares for. It is something God executes on His schedule.

“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” Isaiah 40:15 (KJB)

Christian Nationalism, at its core, attempts to merge the mission of the Church with the power of the State. It confuses patriotism with piety and assumes that America plays the central prophetic role in God’s end-times program. It does not. America joins all the other nations of the world to come against Israel. America is not Israel, the United States is not the New Jerusalem, and the United States Constitution, however wonderful we might think it to be, is not Scripture. If Donald Trump has been anointed by God to do anything, at this point, it looks like he might be the one to trigger WWIII.

Trump’s commanders tell troops to prepare for Jesus’ return and issue chilling Armageddon prophecy

FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a non-profit civil rights watchdog, said it has received 110 complaints from troops since the war broke out on Saturday. The complaints span more than 40 different units across 30 military sites, first reported on veteran journalist Jonathan Larsen’s Substack. A non-commissioned officer (NCO) wrote to the MRFF Monday that his combat-unit commander had claimed Trump was ‘anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.’

‘He urged us to tell our troops that this was “all part of God’s divine plan” and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ,’ the NCO said.

The NCO, anonymized by MRFF, said they were writing on behalf of 15 others, including 11 Christians, a Muslim and a Jew. The troops are currently outside the Iran theater but on ‘ready-support’ status, meaning they could be deployed at any time. The NCO said that their commander’s comments ‘destroy morale and unit cohesion and are in violation of the oaths we swore to support the Constitution.’

A White House official denied that commanders were giving orders based on end times scripture, adding that the war had three aims: destroy Iran’s missiles, munitions industry and navy. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The religious tenor at the top of the military is not confined to the battlefield.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a born-again Christian, holds monthly prayer meetings at the Pentagon and attends a weekly Bible study at the White House led by a preacher who argues that God blesses those who support Israel. Trump’s longtime spiritual adviser, Paula White, has made similar claims for decades, urging Christians to ‘stand with Israel’.

Pastor John Hagee, who visited the White House multiple times during Trump’s first term, told his congregation on Sunday that the war with Iran signaled we are nearing the end times. ‘Prophetically, we’re right on cue,’ Hagee said. ‘Sirens are wailing and prophecies written thousands of years ago are stepping onto the world stage.’

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee claimed that Trump would receive a message from God shortly before the strikes on Iran in June.

‘I believe you will hear from heaven and that voice is far more important than mine or anyone else’s,’ he wrote to Trump. ‘You did not seek this moment. This moment sought you.’

The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli joint strike on Saturday has plunged the Middle East into crisis. Iranian forces have launched missiles and drones at US embassies and bases across the Middle East, as well as against Israel and America’s Arab allies including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump initially said the war would last four to five weeks but has since warned it could go on ‘far longer.’ READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

End Times

As We Watch America Being Ripped To Pieces By Our Leaders Who Have Betrayed Her, Be Reminded And Comforted That This World Is Not Our Home

Published

3 weeks ago

February 24, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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America is clearly in her last days, are you looking for that better country and Jesus Christ or will you go down with the ship?

When Barack Obama was president, I wrote over 350 articles and stories on the incredible damage he was inflicting on our nation. When he had his third term through the Trojan horse we call Joe Biden, I wrote nearly 100 articles calling out the atrocities that the Democrats were perpetuating. Here at the start of the second year of Trump 2.0, I have been chronicling for some time the dark spiritual climate that has settled over us with the witches and warlocks of the Christian Nationalism Movement, Turning Point USA and all the spiritually-deranged MAGA and QAnon denizens of the current administration. What has all this taught me? That’s what I’d like to share with you today.

“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:16 (KJB)

Here are three simple and unique truths that you would do well to acquaint yourself with. In fact, these truths are so self-evident that the entire world system is dedicated to keeping you from seeing and understanding them. What the Bible says will come to pass must come to pass.

1). The world is preparing itself to receive Antichrist

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” 1 John 2:18 (KJB)

Over the past 17 years of reporting through Now The End Begins, the trend is undeniable and unmistakable, the kingdoms of this world are working diligently to prepare the coming 7-year kingdom for Antichrist. Like it or not, America is at the forefront of that movement. When Obama and Biden were running things, we got to see all the spiritual wickedness they brought in with the LGBTQ agenda and the glorification of what God hates. For the past year, we’ve watched as counterfeit Christianity in the form of Christian Nationalism has been working to bring in the 7 Mountains Mandate of end times idolatry based on greed, personal gain and self-glorification. 7MM has a different Jesus and preaches a different gospel. On one hand, Barack Obama and Donald Trump would be seem to be quite different, but they’re not. Both men are working to accomplish the same goal, just from opposite sides of the fence.

THIS IS WHERE NOW THE END BEGINS STARTED, AND 17 YEARS LATER, WE HAVE ONLY SUNK DEEPER INTO IT

2). America is being ravaged and sold to the highest bidder

“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” Isaiah 40:15 (KJB)

As of this writing, America is over $37,000,000,000,000.00 in debt, a number that cannot and will not be paid back in anyone’s lifetime. But as this titanic debt continues to compile, politicians on both sides of the aisle have become fabulously wealthy. President Trump and his whole family have profited more than $4,000,000,000.00 since returning to office. America is being eaten alive from the inside out, and no one is coming to her rescue. No one. 2026 is the 250th anniversary of our founding, and it just may be the year it all falls apart. President Trump will be very happy to sell you his latest merch pitch, a watch he calls The Golden Tourbillion for a mere $100,000.00. Everything is for sale with Trump, including his soul.

3). Jesus Christ is the only safe place

“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 (KJB)

Today is Day 2,171 of 15 Days To Flatten The Curve, a timeline that began when Donald Trump put the entire world on lockdown back on March 16th of 2020. Starting from that day forward, we believe the beginning of sorrows started, and we have continued the timeline because the events just keep coming. The time has passed, Christian, for debates on how to “save America”, that ship has long since sailed. But now is the perfect time for you to rededicate your life to the service of Jesus Christ as a gospel witness in these last days. We are not living in a Golden Age, and there is no Golden Age coming, that’s deception. But you can start right now laying up for yourself treasure in Heaven as the Lord tells us to. America must fall as the Bible says all nations will in the last days, but there is a ‘better country’ waiting for you to come and take up residence in. Get on the Ark, Christian, the rain is about to begin.