FBI Director Kash Patel's seemingly casual revelation on X this week that the bureau has 'undertaken a project earlier this year to vastly expand our overseas biometrics program' deserves far more scrutiny than his throwaway tone suggested. The admission confirms what privacy advocates have long suspected: America's top law enforcement agency operates a sprawling biometric screening architecture that extends well beyond U.S. borders, largely invisible to public oversight. This expansion coincides with an accelerating push to rebuild the entire U.S. travel system around automation and facial recognition, transforming how passengers are identified and processed at every checkpoint.
The timing is notable. As 2025 closes, the modernization of American travel infrastructure has evolved from scattered pilot programs into a coordinated—if uneven—effort to embed biometric identification into the fabric of daily movement. The promise is tighter security and smoother passenger flow. The peril, as students of prophecy recognize, is the normalization of systems that could one day restrict movement based on compliance rather than criminality. The prophet Daniel spoke of a time when the ability to 'buy and sell' would be controlled; today's architects of digital identity may be laying foundations they themselves do not fully understand.
Meanwhile, a different kind of identity battle erupted in the heart of New York City. Twenty-seven digital billboards across Times Square went dark on Christmas Day before illuminating with a single provocative message: 'Jesus is Palestinian.' Funded by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the campaign drew immediate backlash from holiday crowds who recognized the statement for what it was—a calculated attempt to erase Jewish historical identity from the land of Israel. The billboards represent more than seasonal controversy; they embody a sophisticated information war targeting the theological roots of Christian support for the Jewish state.
This assault on historical truth arrives as Britain's Jewish community faces an existential choice. New data reveals a majority of UK Jews have considered leaving the country amid rising antisemitism directly correlated to post-October 7 activism. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's 2018 admission that antisemitism was arriving with 'refugees or people of Arab origin' has proven prophetic across Western Europe. The globalization of the intifada, as some analysts term it, has made Jewish life increasingly precarious in nations that once promised sanctuary.
In Israel itself, the IDF confirmed renewed strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on December 26, even as intelligence officials briefed the Cabinet on Gaza scenarios ranging from advancing to phase two of a potential ceasefire to renewed full-scale combat. Netanyahu reportedly plans to present President Trump with intelligence showing Iran is producing 'hundreds of missiles a month,' resuming its ballistic buildup despite Israeli strikes on its nuclear and military infrastructure. The message to the incoming administration is clear: the window for addressing Iran's capabilities is narrowing.
Perhaps the most telling indicator of 2025's spiritual condition comes not from geopolitical maneuvering but from data. According to reports, one Bible verse dominated global searches, bookmarks, and shares more than any other passage this year—a quiet signal that amid technological surveillance, identity wars, and regional conflicts, millions are turning to ancient texts for orientation. The generation that grew up digital is discovering that algorithms cannot answer the questions that matter most.
As we enter 2026, watch for three convergences: the acceleration of biometric infrastructure under the banner of convenience, the intensification of narrative warfare over Israel's legitimacy, and the quiet but measurable spiritual awakening occurring beneath the headlines. The architecture being built today—digital, political, and theological—will shape the options available tomorrow.