The earth shuddered beneath Alaska's remote wilderness in the early hours of 2026, as twin earthquakes measuring 5.7 and 5.3 magnitude struck within miles of each other northwest of Yakutat, prompting the National Tsunami Warning Center to issue alerts along the Pacific coast. The shallow tremors, occurring at depths of just 5 kilometers, generated ShakeMap intensity readings of VII—strong enough to cause moderate damage in populated areas. These events join a broader pattern of seismic unrest that saw over 500 earthquakes recorded globally in the past 24 hours alone, including a significant M6.0 event near Honshu, Japan, and another M6.0 along the Southeast Indian Ridge.
For students of prophetic literature, such geological restlessness carries weight beyond the scientific. The Hebrew prophets spoke of the earth groaning in anticipation of redemption, and Jesus himself pointed to earthquakes in diverse places as markers of an age drawing to its conclusion. Whether one reads these tremors as coincidence or sign, they form an undeniable backdrop to the human dramas unfolding across the globe this New Year's Day.
Perhaps nowhere is that drama more striking than in the migration patterns now reshaping Israel's demographic landscape. Despite—or perhaps because of—the ongoing conflict following the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, immigration from North America and Western Europe to Israel surged in 2025. The Jewish Agency reports that while overall aliyah numbers declined by roughly one-third to 21,900 new immigrants, arrivals from the United States and Western Europe actually increased. Jews are leaving comfortable lives in stable democracies to cast their lot with a nation at war, a phenomenon that echoes the prophetic promise of ingathering found throughout Isaiah and Ezekiel.
This movement toward Zion occurs against a backdrop of intensifying regional preparations. Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning this week, ordering IDF forces to prepare for potential October 7-style attacks in Judea and Samaria. Internal Hamas documents uncovered by Israeli intelligence reveal the militant group's coordination for multi-front operations and new massacres—a chilling reminder that the ceasefire has not ended the existential threat facing the Jewish state. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities approved construction of 126 settler homes in the northern West Bank's Sanur outpost, signaling continued determination to establish facts on the ground.
The currency wars reshaping global finance took a significant turn as crypto industry executives warned Congress that proposed bans on stablecoin interest payments could hand China a decisive advantage. With Beijing aggressively expanding its digital yuan infrastructure, Coinbase's Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad cautioned that restrictive US banking policies would drive innovation and capital overseas. The battle for monetary supremacy—once fought with gold reserves and trade agreements—now plays out in blockchain protocols and central bank digital currencies. Daniel's vision of kingdoms rising and falling takes on new dimensions when wealth itself becomes programmable.
Domestically, President Trump announced the withdrawal of federally controlled National Guard troops from Los Angeles, Chicago, and other Democrat-run cities following court defeats, though he warned that troops could return. The legal battles over federal authority in American cities reflect deeper fractures in the national fabric—divisions that historical parallels suggest often precede significant political realignments.
As 2026 dawns, the convergence of geological instability, population movements toward ancient homelands, regional military preparations, and technological transformation of money itself creates a moment pregnant with possibility. The prophet Joel spoke of a day when the Lord would gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Whether that day approaches or remains distant, the patterns emerging this January demand the attention of anyone seeking to understand the trajectory of current events. Watch the tremors—both geological and geopolitical—for they may yet prove to be birth pangs of something unprecedented.