When we read Acts, we are struck by how the Holy Spirit moved in powerful ways resulting in healings, deliverance, salvation, Holy Spirit baptism, and prophetic guidance through dreams, visions, and prophecy.

But God also moved in other unique ways. This included direct intervention, which included eliminating a government leader who interfered with God’s plans for the Kingdom of God.

King Herod Agrippa, the grandson of King Herod the Great, had just ordered a Christian leader, James the brother of John, to be executed by the sword and then ordered the arrest of the Apostle Peter (Acts 12:1-5).

A few verses later, we read that an angel not only broke Peter out of prison, but how another angel, probably the same one, also publicly struck down King Herod, “because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23).

God was divinely intervening in the political landscape during the book of Acts and in her article for Charisma News, Cookie Schwaeber-Issa wonders if we are starting to see the same thing occurring today.

Cookie spoke specifically about the deaths of two significant politicians.

The first involves a Turkish lawmaker, Hasan Bitmez, 53, who collapsed from a heart attack seconds after he had launched a diatribe against the murderous nation of Israel in the Turkish parliament in December 2023.

In the speech, Bitmez, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, also condemned Turkey for working with Israel.

Then on May 19, 2024, in a rare event the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, better known as the ‘Butcher of Tehran,’ died in a helicopter crash.

Many believe Raisi was a major instigator in Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. He was also behind the largely failed attack when Iran launched over 300 cruise and ballistic missiles and drones against Israel on April 14, 2024.

“There is no question that these two incidents feel connected in the sense that both resulted in the demise of two men, whose bitterness toward Israel had been verbally expressed just prior to their unexpected end,” writes Cookie. “Could anyone really chalk it up to coincidence? Perhaps, but with such similarities in both circumstances, it almost seems undeniable that what occurred was nothing short of divine intervention, the likes of which has not happened for thousands of years.”