News and Prophecy Staff

A new Sunday Assembly “community group” recently began in London with the goal of encouraging people to “do good” to others. (The Times, September 16, 2013). Its “service” includes singing, music and taking up donations.

Last week during the annual Haj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti reminded pilgrims from all over the Islamic world, “to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism, without explicitly speaking of the turmoil in some Arab countries. ‘Your nation [the greater Muslim community] is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources,’ he said… ‘You should know that you are targeted by your enemy... who wants to spread chaos among you...

Attacks against professing Christians are rising as instability in the Middle East increases. “A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old Anglican church in Pakistan after Sunday Mass, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack on Christians….” (Reuters, September 22, 2013).

In France, there is a growing frustration and distrust of the EU (The Connexion, January 1, 2011). A recent local election elevated the profile of the Front National party—a party “committed to withdrawal from the euro, the restoration of French franc, and the complete destruction of monetary union” (Telegraph, October 14, 2013). The party favors what some are calling a “Frexit” (an exit of France) from the EU.

World events are pointing China towards the Middle East and the fulfillment of ancient Bible prophecies. As an emerging power with global connections, China’s future is linked to transport routes. More than 80 percent of China’s trade exports and energy imports—including vital shipments of Middle East oil—travel by sea lanes policed by U.S. naval forces (Stratfor.com, September 27, 2013). However, as the U.S.