Watchman on the Wall

-Narrator-: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. Today, Josh Davis will share the latest headlines from the end times.

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From developments in Israel to global events that seem to echo the pages of prophecy, it's time for Headlines from the End Times. Join Josh Davis as he separates fact from fiction and helps us understand today's news from a biblical perspective.

Greetings, fellow Watchmen on the Wall, and welcome to another Headlines from the End Times. I want to begin today's episode by providing a Central Bank Digital Currency update for you. Some recent data was released to help us understand how close the world is moving toward Central Bank Digital Currencies, as each nation or even groups of nations are coming together to develop Central Bank Digital Currencies.

Now, why is this important for students of Bible prophecy? Because in Revelation 13, we read how the Antichrist will usher in a one-world economy through his infamous Mark of the Beast. Yeah, that 666 that'll be a part of it—you can read about it at the end of Revelation chapter number 13.

Now, we are taking steps in that direction. The things that I'm about to share with you from this update do not mean that we are in the Mark of the Beast empire or that we have received the Mark of the Beast by using a Central Bank Digital Currency. That's not why I'm sharing this information. But it's to show how normative these things are becoming and to reveal that a lot of the tools, the techniques, and the databases that the Antichrist could use are already in place.

These things are here at our doorstep, and we understand that whether we look at Central Bank Digital Currencies—the step toward the economic department of the Antichrist system—or if you look at geopolitics, or if you look at technology, if you look at all these different pieces of the puzzle, you see the alignment. You see the tools in place, and you see that these things could be right at the doorstep.

And if that's the case, then how soon could the Rapture be? We don't set dates; I think it's foolish to try to figure out exactly when these things are going to happen. That derails us from where our focus biblically needs to be. But at the same time, we need to open our eyes to understand what's happening in the world around us and the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ that could be upon us, which is obviously preceded by the Rapture of the church.

Let's look at the Central Bank Digital Currencies and understand exactly how we're moving in this direction. Well, 146 countries and currency unions representing over 98% of the global GDP are exploring a CBDC, according to recent reports. Give you a little bit of reference here: In May of 2020, that number was only 35. That's right. In May of 2020, only 35 nations were exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency. But fast-forward six-plus years later, now 146 countries are exploring it.

Now, over those six years, some countries launched a Central Bank Digital Currency, only to have to pull it back and say, "We need to do some more research and development to really do this the right way." Well, 77 countries are now in the advanced phases of exploration. Now, the advanced phases has three steps to it: development, pilot, and launch. A full total launch of a Central Bank Digital Currency is the third and final step in this advanced stage.

Every G20 country, with the exception of the United States of America, is exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency. 18 of those 20 nations are in the advanced stages of exploration. They're either developing it, they're in a pilot project, or they're moving toward launching it. 14 of the 20 are in that last stage right before they launch it, in the pilot phase.

Again, the US is the outlier among its peers, but even that's sort of a half-truth. The New York Federal Reserve Bank continues its wholesale cross-border research through Project Agorá. This Project Agorá is a project with the New York Federal Reserve Bank and other central banks testing how cross-border payments could work in a digital landscape. And this project is not new. It's been going on for a number of years now as they're testing these things.

And so to say the US is not involved is true. President Trump, early on even when he was campaigning, said he would not take the US towards a Central Bank Digital Currency, that he wanted to keep the cash-based system. I'm grateful for that, because when you move to a digital currency—and by the way, a lot of these Central Bank Digital Currencies are still going to offer cash, but it seems like they are quickly moving to phasing cash out of the system and becoming less reliant on cash.

And that's where the real issue lies, because a cash-based economy keeps the purchasing power in the hands of the one who is holding the cash. If I want to buy something from you, I can do that. If I travel across the United States of America and I need fuel, I need lodging, I need food, I need medicine, whatever it is—I want to go shopping at a certain store, I've got cash in my hand, I can purchase that.

But if it's all centralized, if it's all digital, no cash-based system, and I try to travel and something happens, they could limit my travel. Let's say some pandemic happens, or some war breaks out, and they say you've got to stay within your zone. You can't purchase anything outside your zone. And I try to escape to another zone even within the United States of America, and I'm trying to scan my card or my hand or scan my face to pay, and it's telling me, "You're outside your zone. You can't purchase this. You've got to return back home."

Now, I know that sounds really dystopian, but friends, those things could happen in a world that saw COVID back in 2020. And isn't it ironic that since 2020, we've really seen the explosion of these things? And so we understand that crises create opportunities for those in power to gain more control over the system. And we understand that there is a lot of development needed for some of these kinds of things to take place, but they're working diligently and very, very hard at pushing forward to be ready to launch.

I think that the world's economy is on the verge of a major transformation in the next few months, perhaps even over the next year or less, as many of these nations—especially these 14 of the G20 members that are in the pilot phase—get ready to launch their digital currencies. Even in the European Union, they have the European Central Bank that is advancing what they call a "Global Euro moment" as it's piloting its digital euro, aiming at strengthening the euro's international role and to protect European payment and sovereignty, according to reports.

And by the way, China is doing a very similar thing with its currency, and all 11 of the BRICS member nations are exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency. So friends, the world is quickly moving in this direction. But the push for Central Bank Digital Currency does have its limitations, as a recent story coming out of Russia reveals. Russians are pulling out cash by the billions in their rubles. Hundreds of billions of Russian rubles coming out of the banking system in the last few months.

I want to give you some figures in US dollars, because that translation between Russian rubles and US dollars is always hard for me to figure out. So when I speak about terms, I'm speaking in US dollars, just so that you understand that it's referring to the Russian currency in what most of us would more readily identify with.

In fact, in the month of May 2026, as I said, they pulled out over 380 billion Russian rubles; that's approximately 5.2 billion US dollars. It's the largest May cash outflow since the Russian Central Bank began publishing such data back in 1995, according to The Moscow Times. Now, this 30-year record adds to a sustained 2026 pattern of Russians pulling cash from banks. The month of April saw 9.2 billion US dollars in cash outflows, and March saw 4.1 billion in US dollars withdrawn.

So you add those three numbers together, and you're at about 15 billion US over the course of three months in Russian rubles that were retrieved from the banks. It reflects what Russian financial analysts described as a confluence of factors, and I'll get into some of those factors in just a moment. But it's interesting to see how the Russian Central Bank is responding to all of this.

Earlier this month, they responded by tightening controls on ATM cash withdrawals, with banks now able to track monthly withdrawal limits and may suspend what they consider to be suspicious operations. Now, what could some of these suspicious operations be? Well, large withdrawals after long pauses, or perhaps multiple operations in short timeframes. In other words, you go to the ATM, you withdraw so much money, and then a little bit while later, you come back, you withdraw some more money, you come back a little bit later, withdraw some more money.

They're saying that they could, through their central bank, say, "Nope, you've withdrawn all that you can." They're looking at tightening controls on how much cash Russian citizens can withdraw. Again, that goes back to what I was saying. I know some of this sounds dystopian, but friends, understand how crises can create opportunities. And that's one of the key factors that we're seeing drive the push for cash in the hands of Russians.

The economic uncertainty going on there, the sustained cost of this war with Ukraine, declining interest rates, reduced the appeal of fixed-term savings, pushing households to get cash in their hands so that they don't lose more money. And another factor is mobile internet shutdowns. There have been regional mobile internet networks that are frequently disabled for security reasons, and that makes digital payments and banking apps completely inaccessible.

How can you use a digital currency if the digital network is down? And Russia has been experiencing this outage and has even shut it down itself for security reasons with the war with Ukraine and some of the things that could be triggered there. So again, crises are creating these opportunities.

A third reason is increased bank surveillance. There have been stricter transfer limits, aggressive new tax monitoring, and automated bank card blocks that have left many citizens fearing that their funds are going to be frozen. So they're trying to get their hands on cash so that they can maintain the power over their purchases instead of the government giving that power and holding that power.

And so friends, it's amazing to think about how the pieces of the puzzle are coming together, not just with Russia and its role with the Ezekiel 38 coalition including countries like Iran, but also how we're pushing towards a Central Bank Digital Currency very quickly. Friends, I want to remind you that Headlines from the End Times is not just a part of our weekly Watchman on the Wall broadcasting; it's also a part of every single issue of the Prophecy in the News magazine.

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Now, friends, I do want to remind you about some of the exciting events that we have coming up soon. Some of you have heard about our September conference coming to Minnesota, and you've called us, and you've reserved your spot. Yeah, registration is free, and we want you to be there. We're coming to Minnesota in September of this year. I know it's just a couple of months out, and we are excited about being back just below the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-St. Paul.

We would love for you to register today by visiting swrc.com or giving us a call: 1-800-652-1144. Now, also in October, we have a special conference coming to Bristol, Virginia. That's in the Tri-Cities of Tennessee and Virginia. October's a beautiful time to visit that part of the country. If you're anywhere listening and you love to see the Appalachian Mountains—I live there, I know how to say it, it is "Appalachian" and I'll say it the right way—we would love for you to come and visit us in October for a special Prophecy in the News Live conference, and it's going to be a great time together.

Also, our Israel tour is coming very quickly, and spots are filling up. We have a few spots available; give us a call today to reserve your spot: 1-800-652-1144 or visit our ministry website, swrc.com. That tour is going to be November 1st through the 12th, and we are so excited. We had a great tour in 2025, expecting nothing less in 2026, and we would love for you to join us as we study the word of God in the land of the Bible.

It's a life-changing event for many people. It's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. We're going to spend 10 days in the Holy Land. If you compare other trips, a lot of them are seven days, eight days in the land. Ours is 10 days. We get to cram in as many sites as we possibly can. And as I said, space is filling up, and we are glad for that. There's still a few spots available. Go to our website, swrc.com, or give us a call: 1-800-652-1144.

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Now let's get back to more Headlines from the End Times. This one comes out of Australia. The headline asks, "Could the private prayers of Australians now result in a knock on the door from the government?" Can the government of Australia invade the prayer lives of Christians? That's the question that Australian pastor and author and Bible prophecy expert Dean Dwyer asks in a recent column published at Harbinger's Daily.

He's a pastor in Australia. He lives there; he knows exactly what's going on, and he can give us biblical analysis and insight to understand exactly the details of this particular story. We understand according to the scripture that when God established the family and established parents and children, He established that relationship. And it's the parents' responsibility to answer directly to God for how they raise their children.

The government is not intended to intervene in God's design. But there are certain countries that have left the biblical foundation long ago, and humanism has crept in and taken over, and they say, "Well, it's not the parents' job to tell the kids what to do; it's the government's job to guide and direct some of these processes." And so in modern society, many governments now demand the right to overrule the parents in the area of belief, particularly when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Now, we get to this recent story from Australia, and again, this is a commentary written by Pastor Dean Dwyer. In the Australian state of Victoria, the government has recently issued its advice to parents about how to talk to their children about sexuality and gender identity. On page 15 of this booklet under the heading, "What doesn't work," we read, quote, "It's not possible to stop someone from being LGBTQA. People who are LGBTQA aren't sick or broken, and they don't need to be fixed," end quote.

The booklet then goes on to give lip service to parental rights while at the same time wielding the proverbial stick. This is what it says, quote, "As a parent, you have the right under the law to share your personal beliefs and values with your child, including your beliefs around sexuality and gender. There is no law in Australia that prevents you from sharing what's important to you with your child. However, there are laws against doing things that could harm your child," end quote.

So what do they consider harmful? Well, among other things, praying with your child for them to stop being LGBTQA. Now, that's a direct quote from this resource. The government has also, in its view, helpfully provided an outline so that parents in Australia can know what prayers are acceptable in the eyes of the government—not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of the government—and those that are not acceptable in Australia.

And here's some things that are considered acceptable prayers in this Victorian state of Australia: You can pray for guidance, you can pray for your children to have inner peace, you can pray that they are supportive and reassuring that the person is created in God's image and perfect the way they are. What a half-truth and a lot of lies. A lot of people are saying, "Yes, everyone is created in God's image and they are just perfect the way they are."

If they feel LGBTQA, then that's the way that God created them. But so many people twist the scripture to fit the way they want to live their life. And so they're saying, "These are some things that you can pray about for your children." Prayers that are considered unacceptable by the Victorian government in Australia say: asking for healing, asking for a person to change, asking for a person not to act on their attractions.

Man, these are all hitting me because this is so crazy. You're not supposed to pray for people to change; you're not supposed to pray for people to not act on their attractions, talk about a person's brokenness or need to repent. Even people who pray for long-term celibacy are praying wrongfully. And so the Victorian government has attempted to grant clear concessions to parents to raise their children according to biblical values, but the undeniable conclusion is that there are limitations as to what the government will accept.

Pastor Dean Dwyer continues to say sadly, believers in Australia must now be wondering if every robust private conversation or prayer will now be tempered by the fear of a knock on the door from a government bureaucrat. And friends, this is something that we need to really understand where we are moving as a society today. And it's not just happening in Australia. This viewpoint and this worldview is increasingly growing in the United States of America, as recent data suggests.

In the 2026 American Worldview Inventory, the Barna Group along with the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University recently published another report that suggests just 30% of American adults hold the biblical view that people are born into sin and can only be saved by Jesus. Among Roman Catholics, that figure drops to 24%. That's right. Among Roman Catholics in the United States of America, only 24% of them would say that people are born into sin and can only be saved through Jesus Christ.

It shows you the direction our world is moving, friends. Only one in four American adults believe that human life is sacred; an equal share says that human life has no value. 27% of Americans believe that life has no intrinsic value. A majority of Americans, 52%, consider abortion to be morally acceptable. Only one in three American adults describes themselves as passionately pro-life.

And only 50% of US adults believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who rules over creation today, and that number has declined significantly over the last 25 years. It's sad to say where we are in the world today, but friends, we understand that things are not falling apart; things are falling into place for God's prophetic plans to be accomplished just as He has decreed them and declared that they will be accomplished. As we say here, God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things.

-Narrator-: In a world filled with uncertainty, you need a source you can trust for biblical truth and prophetic insight. That's why Southwest Radio Ministries invites you to watch Prophecy in the News Television each week. Join our hosts and special guests as they examine current events, Bible prophecy, apologetics, and the issues shaping our world through the lens of scripture.

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Visit swrc.com today. That's swrc.com or call 1-800-652-1144. Thank you for your generous support this week. To help Southwest Radio Ministries continue reaching lives, give today at 1-800-652-1144. Lord willing, we'll be back here Monday, ready to once again bring clarity to the chaos. Head into the week with the encouragement that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful friends just like you. To learn more, visit swrc.com.