News and Prophecy Staff

Throughout 2011, the average rainfall in Texas was just under 15 inches (37.5 cm).  It was also the second warmest year on record.  News reports stated, “The prolonged Texas drought is to blame for devastating agriculture and livestock losses, estimated in the billions of dollars.  The historic drought has killed as many as half a billion trees, not including those that died in wildfires that scorched some 4 million acres in 2011” (Reuters, January 7, 2012).

Archaeologists continue to discover more evidence that corroborates clear statements in the Bible.  Israeli archaeologists, excavating near Jerusalem’s Western Wall, recently unearthed what they believe to be a 2,000-year-old clay seal.

Several leading bishops from the Vatican recently visited a “Christian” village in the Gaza Strip.  This event was done in coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA).  Also, in December a Vatican center in Jerusalem hosted a conference with Christian and Muslim leaders entitled, “How to live together in a future Palestinian state?”  (IsraelNationalNews.com, January 11, 2012).

Iran and the U.S. are “rattling sabers” once again in the Persian Gulf.  Tightened sanctions on Iran have resulted in military exercises and threats of retaliation if the U.S. brought its carrier group back to the gulf (which it has now done).  An Iranian general recently warned, “I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf… we are not in the habit of warning more than once” (National Post, January 6, 2012).

“A group of scientists that tracks the likelihood of a global cataclysm says the world is moving closer to doomsday.  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced Tuesday that it has moved its ‘Doomsday Clock’ to five minutes to midnight…”