Christian News, 26 October 2026: Jordan Church Gunmen Caught, Israel Votes

Nine Christians buried in Jordan, and at dawn today, the gunmen captured. Six young Christians jailed in Egypt over a TikTok video. Poland votes to let officials block online speech within forty eight hours, with no judge. Britain plans live facial recognition from the first of November. And Israel goes to the polls tomorrow. This is Christian News for Monday the twenty sixth of October.

If you're new here, please subscribe, like and comment, and tap the bell, so you never miss an update. Welcome to Christian News, from The Son Of Man, Daniel Seven. Daniel chapter seven, verse twenty seven. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Let us pray. Father, as we hear these reports, give us clear eyes, soft hearts and faithful prayers, for Your people and for Israel. In Jesus' name, amen.

Persecution watch

Karak church victims buried; churches under guard; gunmen captured at dawn (source: The National · Petra (Jordan News Agency) · AP)

Section one. Persecution watch. The National reports that hundreds gathered in Hamoud, in Karak governorate, for the funeral of the nine Christians killed in Friday's shooting at Saint George's Greek Orthodox Church. On Sunday, security forces were deployed to churches across Jordan, which the paper calls an unprecedented tightening of security. King Abdullah the Second ordered the government to review policies for countering extremist ideology, and to intensify efforts to eradicate its root causes. And an update this morning. Jordan's state news agency, Petra, and the Associated Press report that security forces captured all three suspected gunmen at dawn today, in an abandoned house in Karak governorate. Officials say the men opened fire, and were wounded and arrested. No group has claimed the attack. A word of commentary. Christians in one of the region's calmer countries now worship under armed guard. The Lord's word to a suffering church still stands: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Six young Christians held for over two weeks over a TikTok video (source: National Catholic Register (CNA) · ADF International)

In Egypt, the National Catholic Register reports on a statement from the legal group A.D.F. International. Six young Christians, aged seventeen to twenty three, were detained and questioned on charges of exploiting and insulting Islam, after re-enacting a scene from a popular Egyptian comedy film in a TikTok video posted on the fourth of October. They were handed to police on the sixth of October, and were still detained as of A.D.F.'s report on the twenty second. A.D.F.'s Kelsey Zorzi said the young men did nothing but share a lighthearted video, and urged their release. A word of commentary. Blasphemy and insult laws keep turning ordinary posts into prison cases for Coptic Christians. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them.

High Court challenge to Chhattisgarh's anti-conversion law (source: Premier Christian News · Open Doors)

In India, Premier Christian News reports that senior advocates have petitioned the Chhattisgarh High Court against the state's Freedom of Religion Act, and the state government has three weeks to respond. Open Doors says that since harsh amendments in March, with non-bailable offences and a longer process for declaring a conversion, Christians in Chhattisgarh have faced more arrests, long legal battles, and social pressure. A word of commentary. This is a rare legal opening, in one of India's hardest states for believers. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Bishop of Pemba: Christians beheaded, children kidnapped in Cabo Delgado (source: Agência Ecclesia · Renascença (Portuguese))

And in northern Mozambique, the Catholic Bishop of Pemba, António Juliasse, told Portugal's Agência Ecclesia and Radio Renascença that several Christians have been beheaded in Cabo Delgado this year, and that kidnappings for ransom have multiplied. He called the province a land of martyrs, and said that to stay silent is to be complicit with the deaths. Ecclesia puts the toll from nine years of Islamic State-linked attacks at more than six thousand six hundred dead, and one point two million displaced. A word of commentary. This is a largely forgotten front of martyrdom. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Beast system watch

Poland passes law letting officials block online speech in 48 hours without a court order (source: Tech Times)

Section two. Beast system watch. Tech Times reports that on the twenty second of October, Poland's lower house of parliament accepted Senate amendments to a law giving the electronic communications regulator and the broadcasting council the power to order platforms to remove so-called illegal content within forty eight hours, without prior approval from a court. Poland's Supreme Court flagged threats to freedom of speech and of the press. The opposition Law and Justice party called it absolute censorship. The bill now goes to President Karol Nawrocki, who vetoed a narrower version in January as administrative censorship. A word of commentary. Speech controls built under the E.U.'s Digital Services Act can be pointed at anything officials call illegal. We ought to obey God rather than men.

Home Office plans live facial recognition for immigration enforcement from 1 November (source: On The Wire · Home Office impact assessment)

Here in the United Kingdom, On The Wire reports that a Home Office data protection impact assessment, published on the twenty second of October, says live facial recognition for Immigration Enforcement has moved into a formal delivery phase, with the first of November entered as the planned start. It expects deployments two to three times a week, against watchlists of six thousand to fifteen thousand people, with ports linked to the Common Travel Area singled out. The Home Office says non-matches are deleted immediately, and that officers review every alert. For viewers in Northern Ireland, the Common Travel Area includes the Irish land border. A word of commentary. Face scanning is becoming routine infrastructure. Scripture describes a system that would cause all, both small and great, to receive a mark.

Ghana pilots a retail CBDC; Asian central banks join “programmable” digital-money network (source: Bank of Ghana · Monetary Authority of Singapore)

In Africa, the Bank of Ghana announced on the twenty third of October that it is piloting a retail central bank digital currency with the German firm Giesecke and Devrient, to be tested with banks, merchants and consumers. The same day, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand have joined its Bloom cross-border digital money initiative, alongside Visa, Mastercard and the World Bank. One stated focus is programmable controls, including identity verification and transaction controls. A word of commentary. We are not predicting timing. But transaction controls tied to identity are exactly the capability Revelation thirteen describes: that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.

Germany passes digital ID law for the EU Digital Identity Wallet (source: Biometric Update)

And in Germany, Biometric Update reports that the Bundestag has approved a law creating the legal basis for Germany's version of the E.U. Digital Identity Wallet, with an opt-out from biometrics. Europe's largest economy is joining the E.U.-wide digital I.D. rollout. A word of commentary. Daniel saw the last kingdom as iron mixed with miry clay: nations mingled together, yet not cleaving one to another. Piece by piece, the systems are being joined.

Israel and the Temple Mount

Israel votes tomorrow; final polls show no bloc with a majority (source: The Jerusalem Post)

Section three. Israel and the Temple Mount. Israelis vote tomorrow, Tuesday the twenty seventh of October. The Jerusalem Post's average of four weekend polls puts Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party on twenty two seats, and Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud on just under twenty. Neither bloc reaches the sixty one seats needed for a majority. Ahead of the vote, the I.D.F. has stepped up operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said the goal is to thwart every threat, and enable democratic elections to take place without external influence. A word of commentary. We do not tell anyone how to vote. But we stand with Israel. God promised Abraham: I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. Paul asked: Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. So pray for Israel's security on polling day. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

Two IDF soldiers killed at Hebron checkpoint; army says gunmen planned a larger attack (source: The Times of Israel)

The Times of Israel reports that on Friday, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint near Hebron, killing Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, aged twenty three, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, aged twenty, and wounding three others. Troops killed both attackers after a gunfight lasting more than twenty minutes. Central Command chief Major General Avi Bluth said the troops thwarted a grave terror attack against civilians. A major counterterrorism operation around Hebron and Halhul followed. Both soldiers were laid to rest on Sunday. A word of commentary. The security pressure Israel lives under rarely leads the international news. Remember Ron and Yuval, and pray for their families. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

Temple Mount splits religious voters ahead of the election (source: Israel Today)

The Temple Mount itself has become an election issue. Israel Today reports that the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, wrote that Jewish law forbids supporting Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party, because of Ben-Gvir's visits to the Temple Mount. He warned that ascending the Mount risks a prohibition punishable by karet, a spiritual cutting off. Ben-Gvir prayed on the Mount at Sukkot, and has called for Israeli sovereignty there. A word of commentary. The place where the Temple stood is now a live question inside Israel's politics. Paul wrote of the man of sin, who, as God, sitteth in the temple of God. Many students of prophecy read that as pointing to a temple standing again in Jerusalem. We watch, and we pray.

Camden Council investigates rooftop statue of convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti (source: Natasha Hausdorff (@HausdorffMedia) on X · The Jerusalem Post)

And in London, Camden Council has confirmed a planning enforcement investigation into a life-sized statue of Marwan Barghouti on the roof of Palestine House, in central London, after concerns raised by UK Lawyers for Israel. The Jerusalem Post notes that Barghouti is serving five life sentences in Israel for his involvement in the murder of five people in terror attacks, and that the council has made no finding yet. The barrister Natasha Hausdorff, posting on X as Hausdorff Media on the twenty fifth of October, wrote, word for word: Camden Council's planning enforcement investigation of a life-sized statue of Marwan Barghouti, following U.K.L.F.I.'s concerns, is receiving global attention. A word of commentary. Glorifying terror is creeping onto Britain's streets. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.

The church at a crossroads

Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton: Christians don't have to believe in the virgin birth (source: The Christian Post)

Section four. The church at a crossroads. Two older items, both documented on the record. The Christian Post reports a resurfaced clip from a December twenty twenty four episode of Adam Hamilton's podcast. Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas, and now a Democratic Senate candidate, said the virgin birth account is less about biology and primarily about theology, and that it is OK for people not to believe it. His campaign says he has always been consistent that he believes in the virgin birth. A word of commentary. The virgin birth is the plain word of Scripture. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. And all scripture is given by inspiration of God.

Kenneth Copeland clip resurfaces: non-voters “held responsible” at Judgment Day (source: IBTimes UK)

And IBTimes UK reports that a clip of Kenneth Copeland has resurfaced ahead of the American midterms. It comes from a service on the tenth of November twenty twenty four, at his Eagle Mountain International Church in Texas. In it he says: I saw this in the spirit. Literally. He describes Jesus on Judgment Day telling those who, in his words, didn't pray and vote like I told you to, that they will listen to the names of all the babies who never got any life, and be held responsible for their death. A word of commentary. Christians should pray, and vote by conscience. But adding to Christ's words with private visions tied to politics is what Scripture warns against. When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken.

The gospel among the nations

Six Boko Haram militants led to Christ (source: Baptist Press, via Baptist Standard)

Section five. The gospel among the nations. Baptist Press, published by the Baptist Standard, reports that during a twenty twenty five training conference for underground church pastors in Maiduguri, Nigeria, the birthplace of Boko Haram, six unarmed Boko Haram members came to the door. Brad Brandon of Across Nigeria told Baptist Press: We were able to lead all six of them to Christ. And they became part of our underground churches. He says the ministry has seen about seven thousand six hundred Muslims come to Christ over thirteen years. A word of commentary. Jesus said: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Even from the enemy's camp, the Lord is calling His own.

A dream and Christian radio bring an Afar woman to Jesus (source: TWR (Trans World Radio))

And from Ethiopia, T.W.R. reports the story of a woman it calls Nahima, a name changed for her safety, in the Afar region, where believers follow Jesus underground. After hearing a Christian radio station, she dreamed of a voice so deep and pleasing that she was shaking. Later she met a local pastor in secret, after dark, and received Christ. About a year later, she was beaten and almost killed. But today she and her daughter follow Jesus. She is one of about twenty Afar believers reached at least partly through radio. A word of commentary. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And Jesus said: Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring.

Prayer

Will you pray with me. For the families of the nine killed in Karak, and for the Christians of Jordan. For the six young men held in Egypt. For believers in Chhattisgarh as their case is heard. For the Bishop of Pemba, and the suffering church of Cabo Delgado. For Israel as it votes tomorrow, and for the families of Ron and Yuval. And for new believers in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Lord, strengthen Your persecuted people, comfort the grieving, protect the new believers, and let the gospel go forward among the nations. In Jesus' name, amen.

Closing

Jesus said: Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. If this has helped you watch and pray, please subscribe to The Son Of Man, Daniel Seven on YouTube, and follow us on Rumble and on X. All our links are on our Linktree. Every source from today is in the description, along with our new book, The Story of the Messiah. God bless you.