Weekly Prophecy Review

News from around the world...

• Hundreds of homosexuals marched in front of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They were protesting recent full-page ads placed by conservative religious groups. The ads suggested homosexuals could come out of that lifestyle with God's help.

• A Chinese Catholic Bishop who was arrested just prior to President Clinton's arrival in China was just released from prison. The Bishop remains under surveillance, and he has also been ordered to shut down the orphanage which he runs for abandoned handicapped children in Zhengding.

• Bill Clinton's words coming back to haunt him department: In 1974, when Clinton was a candidate for Congress, he chided President Nixon for going to Russia while the Watergate scandal hung over him. Said Clinton, "I had grave reservations about him [Nixon] going there to negotiate under the cloud that he's under now." This week President Clinton prepares to travel to Russia under a similar cloud.

• Following American attacks on terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Sudan, there were numerous protests throughout the Arab world. The Palestinians burned both Israeli and American flags. And in Iran, the speaker of their Parliament characterized the U.S. attack as "state-terrorism." Some in Sudan, however, welcomed the U.S. intervention. Many students and the more educated members of that society (people who are anxious to see the fundamentalist government in Khartoum toppled) were disappointed that the attacks did not come sooner and were not more serious.

• Citing threats from Islamic extremist groups after the recent U.S. attacks in Afghanistan and Sudan, the Nazarene Church is pulling its missionaries out of Albania.

• Abu Nidel, the world's most wanted terrorist was just captured by the Egyptian police. Nidel is accused of killing or injuring almost 900 people in attacks carried out in some 20 countries since 1974. He was arrested while trying to cross the border from Libya, where he has been living for a number of years.

• On the subject Libya (that well-known safe harbor for terrorists), the U.S. and Britain are reportedly willing to remove sanctions from Libya if it will allow the terrorists who are accused of blowing up a Pan Am jet 10 years ago to be tried in the Netherlands. More than 150 people were killed in that explosion.

• An "International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church" is scheduled for November 15th. More than 180,000 churches around the world have agreed that on that day they will unite in prayer for persecuted believers.

News from Israel...

• This week a bomb was detonated in the central part of Tel Aviv. Twenty-one people were injured, some seriously. Security has been heightened following the explosion.

• Tourism in Israel is down 5% in comparison to the same period last year. The obvious explanation is the renewed threat of terrorism. This week the Islamic terrorist group, Hamas, called for increased terrorist activities on Jewish neighborhoods in the West Bank.

• The deterioration in Yassar Arafat's health is becoming increasiningly evident. At a recent speech he was observed "visibly trembling," and he had little power in his voice. Some are speculating he may have suffered a stroke in recent months.

News that might actually have something to do with prophecy...

Perhaps next year—the prophesied showdown over Jerusalem?

In an interview with a French magazine a senior Palestinian official, Faisal Husseini, reiterated the plan to declare an independent Palestinian state on May 4, 1999. He acknowledged the declaration will lead to many deaths. "I know there will be many violent confrontations and many deaths. The Israelis have greater numbers and are better equipped than us, but we are willing to pay with our lives."

On the subject of Jerusalem, Husseini revealed the chief Palestinian hope—that they will be able to recruit help from all the Moslem countries, from Iran to Morocco. "Then," he suggested, "the political map of the region will change, and Israel will have itself some real problems."

Should this threatened declaration come to pass, and should the Palestinians then do as Mr. Husseini suggests they will—i.e., attempt to recruit other nations to engage in the battle for Jerusalem—it follows that by this time next year we could be witnessing a series of events which will culminate in the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy as recorded in Chapter 12, verse 3. (Note these two events are by no means assured.)

"And it will come about in that day that I [God] will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3).

Till He returns...