“China announced on Thursday that it would establish its first overseas military outpost and unveiled a sweeping plan to reorganize its military into a more agile force capable of projecting power abroad. The outpost, in… Djibouti, breaks with Beijing’s longstanding policy against emulating the United States in building military facilities abroad” (New York Times, November 26, 2015).

The financial and immigration crises gripping the EU are putting great strain on the “European Experiment.” In a sobering interview, the Dutch prime minister evoked prophetic language as he talked “seriously about the EU collapsing like the Roman Empire” (Business Insider, November 29, 2015). He was making a case to close borders to international immigration.

We are often asked why we take time each week to discuss news in the light of Bible prophecy. Some feel that Bible prophecy can be depressing or scary, especially to children. So why do it? Jesus Christ warned several times in the gospels, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42; cf. 25:13; Luke 21:36). The Apostle Paul warned “let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

As once I followed up with an old friend who had been wrestling, with some success, a serious health problem, a sudden update on his condition was devastating. What had seemed to be a good course of treatment proved to be less effective than expected. The condition had worsened, and the prognosis was not good.