Headline News

After Stunning Loses In The Middle East, Islamic Terror Group ISIS Sets Up New Beachhead In The Philippines

As ISIS loses ground in the Middle East, militants from around this region are moving their operations to Southeast Asia — primarily the Philippines.

Published

9 years ago

July 26, 2017

Geoffrey Grider

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At a crowded center for refugees fleeing the fighting that has ravaged this city, Merlinda Obedencio never lets her most valuable possession out of sight: a blue cellphone. It is the only link she has to her husband and three of their six children being held by Islamic State-linked extremists ISIS.

Obedencio’s husband, Raul, and their children were captured by the local Maute extremist group during a siege that started May 23 and has left almost 600 dead.

Almost 400,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Marawi, a city on the southern island of Mindanao, according to the Philippine military. And like Obedencio, most face an uncertain future in a region turned upside down by extremist violence.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, views the drawn-out battle as a major win at a time when it is being driven out of its base in Iraq and Syria, bringing greater attention to the Philippines and Southeast Asia as a new beachhead for extremists.

“This is what I consider the first significant example of how foreign fighters from the Syria/Iraq battle space can be brought to bear in another part of the world,” said Thomas Sanderson, director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

After weeks of not knowing whether her family was alive, Obedencio got a call from her husband, who got access to a hidden cellphone. He said he is forced to cook for his captors. He said their 20-year-old son is being used as a human shield on the front lines, while their daughter, 17, was “married” to one of the fighters.

Her husband has since been able to call or text a handful of times, and this contact helps Obedencioda, a devout Christian, keep going.

“For almost two months, I can’t sleep well,” she said. “I’m always thinking of them — are they in good hands? Sometimes when they call I thank God that my family is still alive. I don’t know what we will do after this. All I can do is pray.”

Farhan Macapandia, 23, an English teacher, spent 13 days trapped at home with 11 family members and neighbors after the fighting broke out. The last four days were spent without food, having only rainwater they could collect.

The group finally made a break to safety, carrying only a few essentials. They’re now staying at an evacuation center in the military-controlled compound near the heart of the fighting, where daily airstrikes rattle the buildings and stray bullets are a routine danger.

“We don’t have any idea right now if our house is still there,” said Macapandia. ”We don’t have money. Our access to work, lost. Our house, lost. Everything, lost. It seems that we need to have a new life, a new beginning.”

While residents blame the extremists for the violence and chaos, many are also growing impatient with the military and its heavy airstrikes, which are leveling buildings throughout the city.

“We are angry at the two sides — ISIS and the military,” said Macapandia’s mother, Nabiliah. “We are trapped here in a war zone.”

The fighting has been contained to a 7,500-square-foot area of the city, with 60 to 70 militants holding about 100 hostages, said Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the military’s Task Force Marawi.

The fighting, which initially was expected to end in a matter of days, has killed 427 militants, 99 soldiers and 45 civilians, according to the military. The Philippine congress voted Saturday to extend martial law on Mindanao until the end of the year. President Rodrigo Duterte had declared martial law for 60 days when the fighting began.

Herrera admitted the battle has “exposed the gaps and weaknesses” in the military’s ability to conduct urban warfare. “We should see the city or urban area as the battleground of the future, and we need to upgrade our capabilities,” he said.

Among the fighters who were killed are militants from Chechnya, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, while fighters from Pakistan and Morocco are still active in the city, the Philippine military said. A greater future danger may be fighters from Southeast Asia returning from Iraq and Syria, said analyst Sanderson.

“Without a doubt, Southeast Asians returning is perhaps the most lethal element of the discussion, because they are coming with the same high-level combat skills that the other combatants have, but these are guys who know the local territory and language,” Sanderson said.

As ISIS loses ground in the Middle East, militants from around this region are moving their operations to Southeast Asia — primarily the Philippines, said Sidney Jones, director of Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict,

“The idea that the Philippines is now the destination of choice rather than Syria has sunk in,” she said. “That’s definite now.”

Jones warned that the Philippine military is treading a thin line by using excessive force, because of its long history of taking a harsh stance against extremist groups in Mindanao.

“One theme that was used to bring people on board to the ISIS message is the brutality of the security services,” she said. “This was before even the airstrikes. So I think there’s got to be a serious re-think of how the Duterte administration responds to extremism. Because if they’re not careful, they’re going to be building a new generation of extremists, not eradicating the generation that’s there now.”

Many in Marawi agree that the aftermath of the fight may be the biggest challenge.

“There will be social disorder, political instability, health issues,” said Norodin Alonto Lucman, a well-known former politician and Muslim chieftain.

Lucman, who harbored in his home 74 civilians — including 31 Christians — for 12 days during the conflict before escaping, said many conditions that caused extremism in the first place will be exacerbated by the fighting here.

“We believe that this rebellion in Mindanao is caused by poverty,” he said. “With the Marawi crisis, you reduce thousands more people into poverty — but now they have guns.”

In the meantime, Obedencio waits with her blue phone for news about her trapped family. “It’s so hard to be a mother trying to look forward to their release,” she said. “I pray all the time. It’s just a great nightmare.” source

Headline News

THE BIBLE BELIEVERS SUNDAY SERVICE: Paul The Prisoner, The Ambassador In Bonds

Published

1 day ago

August 23, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The Ambassador In Bonds: Paul’s Roman Chains Became A Platform For Preaching The Gospel Of The Grace Of God To Gentiles, Jews And Kings

Paul did not call himself the prisoner of Rome, the prisoner of Caesar or the victim of an unjust legal system; he called himself “the prisoner of Jesus Christ” and an “ambassador in bonds.” Rome may have forged the chain, but God determined what the chain would accomplish. Paul’s imprisonment carried the gospel into palaces, courtrooms, military barracks and prison cells that might otherwise have remained closed to him. He did not ask the Church merely to pray that his chains would fall off; he asked for utterance and boldness so that he could continue preaching while wearing them. That is the testimony believers desperately need in 2026—a faith that does not collapse when it becomes uncomfortable, unpopular or costly. We do not seek persecution, but neither do we soften the gospel, conceal our convictions or surrender our testimony merely to escape the consequences of standing for Jesus Christ.

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,” Ephesians 3:1 (KJB)

Every born-again believer is an ambassador stationed inside a foreign and increasingly hostile world, and an ambassador has no authority to rewrite the message of his King. The pressure may presently come through ridicule, censorship, lost opportunities, broken relationships or accusations of hatred and extremism, but Paul’s example teaches us that the commission remains in force even when the ambassador is bound. Governments can imprison the preacher, corporations can remove the platform, and men can confiscate the Bible, but “the word of God is not bound.” The defining question for the Church in these last days is not whether we can preserve our comfort, popularity and safety; it is whether we will remain faithful when those things are threatened. We do not seek the chains, but neither will we abandon the testimony to avoid them, the ambassador may be bound, but the word of God remains forever free. On this Sunday Service, come meet Paul the prisoner, the ambassador in bonds.

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The Bible Believers Sunday Service: Paul The Prisoner, The Ambassador In Bonds

Paul The Prisoner, The Ambassador In Bonds

The Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry with this Bible verse showing His connection with the captive and the prisoner:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:16-20 (KJB)

I. The Position of the Ambassador

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJB)

An ambassador represents another ruler

An ambassador does not speak on his own authority. He delivers the message entrusted to him by his king.

Ambassador: “A minister of the highest rank employed by one prince or state, at the court of another, to manage the public concerns of his own prince or state, and representing the power and dignity of his sovereign” – Webster’s 1828

An ambassador lives in foreign territory

The Christian’s citizenship is in heaven, although he presently lives and serves in this world.

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:” Philippians 3:20, (KJB)

An ambassador cannot rewrite the King’s message

The world may dislike the gospel, but we have no authority to alter it. Our message remains:

Christ died for our sins.
Christ was buried.
Christ rose again.
Lost sinners must be reconciled to God.
Salvation is by grace through faith, apart from works.

Application

We are not called to make the gospel acceptable to the world. We are called to make the gospel known to the world. We are called to reconcile lost sinners to Jesus Christ. Paul says we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, that’s the mandate for every born again believer.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (KJB)

II. The Prisoner of Jesus Christ

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,” Ephesians 3:1 (KJB)

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” Ephesians 4:1 (KJB)

Rome supplied the prison

Human rulers arrested Paul, Roman soldiers guarded him, and earthly authorities placed him in chains.

Jesus Christ controlled the purpose

Paul did not primarily call himself Caesar’s prisoner. He called himself “the prisoner of Jesus Christ.”

Caesar controlled the prison door, but Jesus Christ controlled Paul’s ministry.

Paul saw the Hand of God inside his problems

Paul understood that nothing could enter his life without passing through the permissive will of God.

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;” Philippians 1:12, (KJB)

Application

Instead of asking only, “Lord, how can I escape this?” we should also ask, “Lord, how can Christ be magnified through me while I am here?”

III. The Bonds of the Gospel

“For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:20 (KJB)

Paul was bound because of the message

Paul was not imprisoned for committing crimes. He was imprisoned because he preached the truth concerning Jesus Christ.

“For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” Acts 28:20 (KJB)

Paul’s chains identified him with Christ

Paul was willing to bear reproach because the Lord Jesus Christ had first suffered for him.

Paul’s chains proved the value he placed upon the testimony

Anyone can speak when speaking costs nothing. Paul continued speaking when the gospel cost him his liberty.

Application

The believer must decide what the testimony of Jesus Christ is worth before persecution comes. Convictions formed under pressure are usually convictions surrendered under pressure.

IV. The Boldness of the Prisoner

“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,” Ephesians 6:19 (KJB)

Paul did not ask primarily for release

Paul asked believers to pray for his preaching—not merely for his escape.

Paul did not ask for an easier message

He asked for boldness to deliver the message God had already given him.

Paul understood that courage comes from God

Even the apostle Paul requested prayer. Boldness is not natural personality, religious aggression or political bravado. Biblical boldness is the power to speak God’s truth clearly when silence would be easier.

Application

Our prayer in 2026 should not merely be, “Lord, keep me from trouble.” It should be, “Lord, give me utterance and boldness if, and when, the trouble comes.”

V. The Furtherance of the Gospel

“So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;” Philippians 1:13 (KJB)

Paul’s imprisonment opened new doors

His chains carried the gospel into the Roman palace and before governors, rulers, soldiers and kings.

Paul’s courage strengthened other believers

“And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Philippians 1:14 (KJB)

Paul’s imprisonment did not silence the Church. His courage made other believers bolder.

Paul’s suffering produced lasting fruit

Some of the greatest books in the New Testament were written while Paul was imprisoned. Rome restricted Paul’s movements, but it could not stop his ministry.

Application

God can use one believer’s faithful suffering to strengthen an entire congregation. People are watching how we respond when obedience becomes costly.

VI. The Word That Cannot Be Bound

“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:” 2 Timothy 2:8-11 (KJB)

The preacher can be imprisoned
The Bible can be confiscated
The meeting place can be closed
The believer can be censored
But the word of God cannot be bound

Governments may regulate preaching. Employers may threaten jobs. Technology companies may remove accounts. Families may reject faithful believers. Prisons may confiscate a man’s possessions. But once the word of God enters a heart, no earthly chain can stop its work. This is why our Bibles Behind Bars ministry is so very necessary and vital.

Application

We must never measure the power of the gospel by the freedom of its messenger. God’s word remains powerful even when His messenger is suffering.

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18 (KJB)

“But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:” Mark 10:38,39 (KJB)

VII. The Pattern Believers Must Follow

“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16 (KJB)

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 (KJB)

“Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.” Philippians 3:17 (KJB)

FUN FACT: In the King James Bible, we see Paul calling ALL believers to “follow him” as he walks out and lives out the Christian life. Next to Jesus Himself, Paul is the only apostle who commands believers to follow his example. But in all modern versions including the New King James Bible, that command is changed from “following” Paul to “imitating” Paul. That’s not right!

Therefore I urge you to imitate me. – NIV
I urge you, then, be imitators of me. – ESV
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. – LSB
Therefore I urge you, imitate me. – NKJV

Born again believers follow Paul as he follows Jesus, but it is the satanic counterfeits designed to deceive that call people to imitate Christ. The Antichrist is nothing more than an imitation, counterfeit Jesus. The modern version “bibles” are also a satanic counterfeit.

Following Paul does not mean that every Christian must deliberately seek imprisonment. Paul did not seek chains; he simply refused to abandon the truth in order to avoid them.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” 1 Timothy 1:15,16 (KJB)

We follow Paul by:

Knowing Whom we represent, the Lord Jesus.
Remaining faithful to the gospel committed to us.
Refusing to be ashamed of Jesus Christ.
Accepting the possible cost of biblical conviction.
Using every circumstance to advance the gospel.
Praying for boldness when opposition comes.
Remembering that the word of God is not bound.

Practical Application for Believers in 2026

The pressure upon believers may begin with ridicule, censorship, social rejection, professional consequences and accusations of hatred or extremism. In some places, it may eventually become legal persecution or physical imprisonment.

We must distinguish between suffering for Christ and suffering for our own foolishness. Not every controversy is persecution, and not every arrest makes someone an “ambassador in bonds.” Paul suffered because he faithfully preached the gospel and refused to deny the truth.

“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;” 2 Timothy 1:8 (KJB)

Closing Challenge

Paul’s testimony forces every believer to answer three questions:

Do I understand that I am Christ’s ambassador in a foreign country?
Is the testimony of Jesus Christ worth more to me than acceptance, comfort and personal security?
Will I continue speaking if faithfulness brings consequences?

The ambassador does not determine the message. The foreign country does not determine the message. The King determines the message. We do not seek the chains, but neither do we surrender the testimony to avoid them. The ambassador may be bound, but the word of God is not bound.

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

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“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

Headline News

OPERATION AFRICA! UPDATE: We’re Sending The Children At The Glory Fellowship Orphanage Some Pillows To Go With Their New Mattress And Blankets

Published

2 days ago

August 22, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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We need to send pillows for all the orphans at the Glory Fellowship Orphange in Kenya, come help us to complete this urgent calling at Operation Africa!

An NTEB’r wrote to us the other day, sending some much-needed and appreciated support for Operation Africa!, and with that support included a very short message that simply read something along the lines of “let’s send them some pillows. They need pillows”. As I read it, I thought that’s a great idea, then got super busy and the thought went right out of my head. Earlier this afternoon, the Lord brought it back to my remembrance, and I ordered enough pillows for every one of the orphans. The image you see at the top of this article is a photo of what the pillows look like, perfect and for kids who live in crushing poverty.

“And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?“ Mark 4:38 (KJB)

Pastor Dancan asked us for the 200 Bibles we originally sent him, and we were happy to wind up sending over 1,100 of them for his church. But he never asked us for things they so desperately needed like clean water, or a water tank, or a well, or the mattresses and blankets we sent him. He didn’t even ask us for medicine for the kids, as sick as they were, when they had malaria and typhoid, and he didn’t ask us to send the children these pillows. So who asked us to do all this? The LORD did, He gave us an urgent and unmistakable calling, and we are doing are best to answer it. We need to raise just under a thousand dollars to pay for the pillows, and we invite you to come help us!

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

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this overwhelmingly urgent task of providing the children of Glory Fellowship Orphange with medicine and clean drinking water. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!

NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
1340 N Great Neck Rd.
Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

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

Donald Trump

Eisenhower Warned Us About The Military-Industrial Complex, Now ‘President Of War’ Donald Trump Is Building One Beneath The White House Ballroom

Published

3 days ago

August 21, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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From People’s House To Presidential Fortress As Trump Builds A Nuclear-Hardened Military Complex Beneath His Golden Ballroom

Donald Trump has spent years promoting himself as the great peacemaker, the man who would end wars and prevent World War III. Yet his most permanent architectural contribution to the American presidency is not a peace garden, a diplomatic center or a hall dedicated to reconciliation—it is a five-story military fortress buried beneath the White House. What began as a lavish ballroom with chandeliers, gold columns and thousand-seat state dinners is now being defended before the Supreme Court as an “integrated military complex” essential to surviving bombs, missiles, drones and even nuclear attack. The symbolism could not be more devastating: Trump talks like the president of peace, but he is rebuilding the People’s House for war. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Supreme Court has temporarily allowed construction to continue while considering the administration’s emergency appeal.

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 (KJB)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general who understood war better than almost any president before or since, warned America in 1961 about the dangerous rise of the military-industrial complex. He cautioned that the combination of government power, military machinery and private industry could acquire “unwarranted influence” and endanger both liberty and democratic government. Sixty-five years later, Trump is constructing a literal military complex beside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Private corporations and wealthy elite donors finance the glittering ballroom above, while the government and military build the hardened command fortress below. Eisenhower’s warning is no longer merely hanging over Washington—it is being poured into the ground in nuclear-grade concrete.

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The administration’s own Supreme Court filing removes all doubt about the true character of this structure. It describes five underground stories containing bomb shelters, military command-and-control capabilities, secure communications, emergency hospital facilities, missile-resistant columns, blast-proof glass, military-grade ventilation, sniper positions and a rooftop drone port. Above ground, visiting dignitaries will dine beneath crystal chandeliers; below their feet, military personnel will monitor tactical screens behind blast doors. The ballroom is the façade, but the bunker is the beating heart of his project.

This is the presidency Trump is physically preparing for: permanent threats, expanding militarization and catastrophic warfare. A true president of peace would be measured by the wars he ended and the bloodshed he prevented—not by the magnificence of the bunker he constructed for himself and future rulers. Trump may continue to speak the language of peace, but concrete tells the truth. Missiles, drones, bomb shelters, sniper nests and nuclear protection are not the architecture of a coming golden age. They are the architecture of a government expecting the world to burn. Donald Trump calls himself the president of peace, but his Military-Industrial Complex Ballroom reveals a president preparing for war.