I bring you greetings from your brethren in Australia. The trip went smoothly, and it was a pleasure to meet many friends in person and make some entirely new ones. Murray was laid to rest last Friday and we had a special Sabbath service in Sydney the following day. Please continue to pray for Murray’s wife, Dita. They were married for over 40 years and as many sadly know firsthand, it is a difficult loss to endure. We can be thankful for the comfort of the truth, and the knowledge of God’s promises.

Our Sabbath service went well. There is inevitably going to be a period of adjustment in Australia as Murray personally handled all of the church’s operations over there. If anyone needs immediate support please reach out to us and we can provide DVDs, anointed clothes, or whatever is necessary to fill the gap for the time being. Or if you just want to make the connection, it never hurts to verify addresses, phone numbers and be sure that no one will be overlooked during this transition.

One remarkable thing about the trip was seeing the warmth and similarity in God’s people, wherever they may call home. We often encounter this at regional meetings or at the Feast of Tabernacles, but it was comforting somehow to find it about as far away from Texas as you could possibly get! Those who are called share the same overriding priority; we share God’s Holy Spirit. It guides our lives and shapes our characters. In this we are the same, brothers and sisters, even if we have never met.

Everyone I encountered wanted to pass along their love and regards. I cannot speak highly enough of their hospitality or the beauty of their country. It is exceptional. God has blessed their land tremendously. Yet, sadly, they struggle with many of the same issues we do in the United States. Governments with mixed-up priorities, migration-based cultural pressures, lax law enforcement (except for speeding and red light cameras, they’ll get you!), and seemingly irreconcilable political divides. On one of my final days in the country a member of Parliament was intentionally run down by a driver who tried to keep backing and pulling over the poor lady before a shopkeeper intervened.

How well does that bode for the future? Look at what is consuming France. Protests have gotten so out of hand that they have been banned over the weekend. We will see if that order holds. This round began over school conditions, verifiably awful in some places, but as always it is those who merely wish to wreak havoc that end up taking the lead. How can burning e-bikes in the streets, stopping ordinary concourses, destroying historical buildings, looting shops or stealing i-phones possibly improve France’s budget constraints? Spoiler alert: it can’t. It is just another opportunity for evil to run rampant.

France has yet to be able to get its fiscal house in order, though to be fair, they are not the only ones. Every time a cut is proposed people flood the streets, whether it is retirement age, fuel taxes, or what have you. Consequently nothing gets done. Interestingly some like Marine Le Pen propose cutting France’s contributions to the EU budget, something that the average person would not feel directly. That is significant from the point of view of prophecy, which indicates a coalition of 10 nations rather than a sprawling federal bureaucracy. Whether or not France is the first major nation to pull back remains to be seen, but they have few options as their deficits grow and their bond yields rise, increasing the cost of continued borrowing.

The conflict with Iran continues to simmer. They are trying to punish and deter traffic through Hormuz as the brief period where shipping reached pre-war levels nearly made their claims of control irrelevant. The Houthis also have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia. Oil operations, airports and even the Ministry of Defense have been targeted. There is a feeling that the US may begin serious strikes again sooner than advertised, despite many statements about “after the mid-terms.” Aramco evacuated their headquarters. Diplomatic missions have been drawing down their staff, even US bases have been quietly removing personnel. This may be to limit potential casualties if there is a sudden escalation.

Israel flew a sortie of aircraft to the border of Iran before turning around and heading home. Some speculate they may have been hoping to draw fire and use the incident to renew hostilities. An election is looming in Israel, and Iran represents unfinished business for Netanyahu’s fragile coalition.

No doubt there are those that feel similarly in the US. A return to open hostilities is no small thing however. Reports have emerged about the accuracy of Iran’s attacks on its gulf neighbors. Statements about debris from intercepted drones being the main source of damage were patently false. The targets struck were often critical and hard to repair pieces in the oil and gas processing and transport equation. It is not credible to believe such components were repeatedly destroyed by random fragments falling from the sky. This is the risk that low-cost swarms of drones pose; it only takes a very few getting through to compromise high-value targets.

Another election worth watching is unfolding in Brazil. Their socialist President Lula is in a runoff with the son of former President Bolsonaro. The final vote takes place this weekend. It could have major repercussions as Brazil under Lula has been antagonistic towards the US, to say the least. Should he be defeated that could change dramatically.

Until next week, hope you all have a wonderful and refreshing Sabbath!

-Michael

The post Weekly Update by Michael Armstrong – October 23, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Oil traders were expecting prices to rise again when markets reopen on Monday, following the weekend developments that jeopardise supplies from the world’s ‌biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia.

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Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/report-attack-strait-hormuz-shipping-022241655.html

The post New attacks in Hormuz and Saudi test nerves as war’s spread worsens oil disruption first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Saudi Arabia stated that Houthi missile and drone attacks struck energy infrastructure and civilian sites in its southern border region near Yemen on Sept. 8, temporarily disrupting operations, sparking fires, and injuring 73 civilians.

The Iran-aligned Houthi terrorist organization claimed responsibility and vowed further attacks. The attacks targeted facilities in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

The Red Sea port city of Jazan is home to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refineries, Aramco, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

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Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/houthi-attacks-injure-73-disrupt-energy-facilities-saudi-arabia-6084498?fbclid=IwY2xjawUXtllwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7H5SHKbE2Ir-1Rc4eHKu-hDjlRfMYkATFx1trVu9obLf2qpNPz2S2xu9v1oQ_aem_nyTEpL7Vhlni8x-RYy4HGA

The post Houthi Attacks Injure 73, Disrupt Energy Facilities: Saudi Arabia first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, wedding Sunni Muslim US allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters.

Iran and its allies have been firing on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, and blockading their energy shipments, since the US and Israel attacked it on February 28 in a major escalation after years of regional ​tumult.

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Source: https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260807-saudi-arabia-pakistan-and-turkey-sign-mutual-defence-agreement?fbclid=IwY2xjawTohXlwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4yfTextU2FkLa9f2i7EX8_2abVP_GF3tovtDM8IrZd-TSakhWd2x-I9HiAgg_aem_SPhikQ71mLh1LJ5Nhofndw

The post Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sign mutual defence agreement first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

DUBAI/CAIRO, July 20 – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that opens a new front against the United States in its war on Iran and widens the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

Iran had pressed the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea if the U.S. continued to attack Iranian power infrastructure.

In their statement, the Houthis’ armed forces said they were declaring “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately…”

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Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/yemen-houthis-maritime-embargo-saudi-arabia-oil-rcna588345?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLfbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeOV2MDMivHHTuNmeZu2RyZJhV8XYFP9ChZY6w9BLoS94VnFwPE9o4o804QrA_aem_jbiiEo-Zi4-09PAwxagE-w

The post Yemen’s Houthis declare naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, widening threat to global oil supplies first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The two Western-aligned nations have long condemned Tehran’s aggression in the Middle East, and have denied taking part in active conflict.

But it emerged yesterday that both carried out separate attacks in March and April.

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Source: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15813633/Saudi-Arabia-UAE-carried-secret-revenge-attacks-Iran-Tehran-pounded-oil-gas-facilities-war-Middle-East.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawRxuFRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeEbirYydv_Mt1dK2WBhZLyP_7dIX9ZcxdT5YFHuCumaf_2QzIz3g4oxwvFs8_aem_FB0c3-CCGW9GSiz61TWD7Q

The post Saudi Arabia and UAE ‘carried out secret revenge attacks on Iran’ after Tehran pounded oil and gas facilities during war in Middle East first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

U.S. Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden both tried to reach a nuclear deal with the kingdom to share American technology. Nonproliferation experts warn any spinning centrifuges within Saudi Arabia could open the door to a possible weapons program for the kingdom, something its assertive crown prince has suggested he could pursue if Tehran obtains an atomic bomb.

Already, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact last year after Israel launched an attack on Qatar targeting Hamas officials. Pakistan’s defense minister then said his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed, something seen as a warning for Israel, long believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state.

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-us-nuclear-enrichment-bomb-proliferation-18cb979f0abf5f0d81c1c91f45d6a6ef?fbclid=IwY2xjawQFp0BleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeCbMlDhW7eEJQL_HLdmxT3TY5phaQ7H_luIl-3FGllXjI4vk9SCTRgqLnBIE_aem_1nAtub39zDqwrcv36knyqw

The post Saudi Arabia may have uranium enrichment under proposed deal with US, arms control experts warn first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Yemen airstrikes show national security is red line that Saudi Arabia won’t let UAE cross -analysis first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post US President Trump confirms United States will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Who’ll shed a tear for Jimmy Kimmel? I didn’t watch him anyway. He’s apparently mad as all get out about being fired. But his show was losing money. Maybe he didn’t know they were looking for an excuse to fire him anyway, but he’s acting like the network gave up its cause. But his ratings were awful, and networks don’t like losing money. He can pretend like he didn’t foul things up, but we don’t care. All the late-night comedians are on notice now. We don’t even have comedians like in the old days.They knew better than to get political.

They may be talking about an end to the war in Ukraine, but you wouldn’t know it. It seems both sides are looking to get an advantage before that happens. Peace talks seem way off somewhere as both sides press the war. Apparently there are rare earth minerals in Ukraine, and that is a major factor.  

You know the score with Israel and Gaza. The Arab countries seem loathe to mess with Israel now that Trump is on the job. Nobody wants to get crosswise with him!  Israel is still at work in Gaza, and you have to wonder what the future holds. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf kingdoms aren’t pitching in, but who knows what they’re doing behind the scenes. Israel hit a neighborhood in Qatar, saying that the idiots who unleashed Oct. 7 were residing there. The news tells us to feel sorry for Gaza, but I don’t. If you’d have told everybody they’d have to flee and live in a tent, they probably would have taken care of the terrorists themselves.

Trump is making deals all over the world. He’s got his best deputies fanned out doing our bidding.  Can the world survive peace? We’re going to find out.  Hatreds over there date way back and have to do with the British partition of 1947, and they still hate each other. They both have nuclear weapons and nobody wants to see one go off.  

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have made an agreement.  An attack on one is as good as an attack on both, and Pakistan has nukes.  There have always been incidents along the border with India, but this heightens the odds.  Will Saudi Arabia get involved in their ongoing border skirmishes?  Surely not.  

I’m sure everybody is breathing a collective sigh of relief, but it may not always be peaceable.  Donald Trump plays for keeps, and it doesn’t look like he’s getting much sleep.  We may have to live through the indictment and trial of all the bad guys of the Obama/Biden administration.  Maybe even Obama himself.    

Trump visited England this week.  It’s nice to see Ephraim and Manasseh getting along even though the rest of the world is still in disarray.   

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – September 19, 2025 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.