Ten Reasons to Look Up!

By Jan Markell

April 20, 2026

www.olivetreeviews.org


I love short lists that folks can peruse and then dig deeper on their own. Today I came up with ten issues that tell me the hour is later than we thought. So, here’s my latest summary. Don’t be discouraged. Look up!


1) Europe is looking for an Antichrist figure. Prophecy News Watch reports a disturbing willingness among citizens to embrace strong, decisive leadership that could bypass democratic processes if it promises stability and results. One in five Europeans say they would prefer a dictatorship in certain circumstances, and a quarter admit they would not mind if a capable leader limited democratic rights and acted without accountability—provided he was effective.


Europe is imploding. It has unchecked immigration from Muslim nations and many European nations are in serious decline, lacking sound leadership. There is this longing for a man with a plan.


2) Intensifying Lawlessness is everywhere. In Minnesota, not one elected official who participated in the Somali fraud of billions of dollars has been removed from office or arrested. The Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, in part responsible for the mayhem, just made Time Magazine’s top 100 influential people. Thanks for rewarding incompetence!


ICE has been demonized repeatedly and particularly in my home town of Minneapolis. They have been arresting illegal aliens convicted of murder, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and more. In Minnesota alone, nearly 500 illegal aliens have been released back into the community because state and local officials refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement.


3) Canada is poised to criminalize Christianity with a ban on citing biblical truths, reports The Federalist. Let that sink in. Crazed zealots in the leftist elite have turned Canadian Christians into scapegoats. They are considered deplorables.


As The Federalist states, “Once this brand of leftism comes to rule a country, as it has in Canada and Western Europe, civilizational ruin is sure to follow.” Added to this outrage, Canada is offering to euthanize seniors. Canada’s free healthcare offers the  director of Dying to Meet You to the elderly who may be struggling. Surely love has grown cold (Matt. 24:12).


4)  The ultimate in calling evil good just transpired when the United Nations handed Iran a seat at the Women’s Rights Table. Iran—the regime whose morality police beat a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini to death for a loose headscarf—has just been elevated to a role within a key United Nations body shaping global policy on women's rights, disarmament, and terrorism prevention. This is last days’ lunacy and strong delusion (II Thess. 2:11) and it abounds everywhere.


5) Prophecy News Watch asks if we are building a prototype of “the image that speaks” from Revelation. They report that Meta's reported development of an AI version of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has reignited an unusual but increasingly persistent conversation at the intersection of technology, identity, and ancient prophecy.

 

The company is building a photorealistic, interactive digital version of Zuckerberg, capable of engaging employees in real time, trained on his voice, mannerisms, and strategic thinking. What might sound like corporate innovation to some is, to others, a striking echo of imagery found in the Book of Revelation.


6) A Pew survey says 60% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Israel. Antipathy toward Israel was more pronounced among younger people. Broken down by age groups, 70% of those aged 18-49, including 57% of Republicans in that age bracket, have an unfavorable view. The Democrat Party is down to one supporter: Sen. John Fetterman. Since the slaughter of Jews October 7, 2023, the world has cheered for Hamas and found Israel deplorable. This is Tribulation-esque. Zechariah 12:3 says Israel will become the world’s burdensome stone.


7) A prophetic storm is brewing due to the war with Iran, and we’re all pondering Gog-Magog, the war outlined in Ezekiel 38. One of those participants—Turkey—is making noises, threatening to invade Israel now. Can you imagine a member of NATO making such threats. The passage says Russian invaders will be on horseback. Forbes’ says Russian forces are now attacking Ukraine on horseback. Is this a foreshadowing? 


8) The American-born Pope is stirring the pot wherever he goes as he paves the way for a global religion. While lambasting America over the Iran war during the Easter weekend, the Pope said nothing about the Islamist bloodbath in Nigeria at precisely that time, when dozens of Christians were gunned down.


He said that people should be "a little less fearful" of Islam, and that "Islam is a religion of peace we can learn from." Like the King of England who celebrated Ramadan and ignored Easter, the Pope is equally confused when it comes to Islam.


9) Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) has teased about alien life among us that has made contact with humans. UFOs and UAPs are making headlines. They will do so even more once the church is gone in the rapture and UFOs/aliens are blamed as the reason for our disappearance! Burchett warned that releasing secret alien information would devastate public confidence.


He claimed America would come unglued if citizens learned what government agencies have discovered. The House Task Force member said he was briefed two weeks ago on extraterrestrial matters that would have been catastrophic if released. Discussions around UFOs, UAPs, and extraterrestrial life are no longer confined to fringe communities. They have entered the mainstream conversation at the highest levels.


More and more people are acknowledging their origins are demonic. Even the demons know the hour is late.


10) In the spring of 2026, we were again reminded of serious economic instability that will eventually require a “Mr. Fix-It” to remedy. Oil prices have surged. Supply chains have been disrupted. Markets have reacted with volatility. The war with Iran has already been described as causing the largest energy supply disruption since the 1970s crisis. When a single region can destabilize the global economy, it exposes just how fragile the system truly is. A one-world system with a leader who can conquer such problems is being longed for.


These are just ten reasons I believe we are experiencing earth’s final hours before a trumpet and a shout removes believers forever. Don't tremble at headlines. Know they are a herald of His coming.



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