Weekly Prophecy Review

News items which are not fulfillments of prophecy, but may be reported as such...

• A book publisher's dream: In Nigeria, many Moslems are coming to faith in Christ through a book entitled, "Who is this Allah?" So many, in fact, that Islamic leaders have been visiting Christian Bookstores and buying up all the available copies; then burning them. To paraphrase Jay Leno, "That's OK. We'll print more."

• A Roman Catholic bishop in Pakistan publicly shot himself in the head to protest a death sentence given to a Christian convicted of blaspheming Mohammed.

• According to the Southern Baptist Mission Board, the denomination's 1998 donations for foreign missions will exceed $102 million.

• Speaking of missions, a number of organizations are beginning to look to retiring "baby boomers" as potential missionary candidates. Dubbed the "Finishers Project" this program has as its aim to prepare recent retirees for a second career—as missionaries. According to its director, if just 1% of the evangelical retirees would become self-financed missionaries, 40,000 new missionaries would be available between 2000 and 2020. (For further information, write Nelson Malwitz at 10 Old Sherman Turnpike, Danbury, CT 06180.)

• This week the 15-nation European Union finally agreed on a single currency—the euro. This, despite the fact that surveys show 51% of European Union citizens oppose the decision. According to AP reports, the deal was reached after many months of acrimonious debate, largely due to French demands that one of their countrymen, Jeane-Claude Trichet, be made head of the European Central Bank. (Perhaps there was concern among member nations that, at the first sign of a monetary crisis, Trichet would respond as Frenchmen have historically responded—by unconditionally surrendering to Germany.)

• Where is the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) when you need them? The Bat Sheva dance company did not appear in last week's Jubilee Bells celebration in Jerusalem. It seems the religious community was disturbed that, as part of their routine, the dancers planned to take off all their clothes. When a compromise in which the dancers would leave on their underware was rejected, the performers walked out. The Minister of Agriculture, Rafeal Eitan, also did not appear at the ceremony in order to protest what he termed, "religious coercion."

• For more than 50 years Estelle Sapir has been trying to get her deceased father's money from Credit Suisse Bank. In 1942 Joseph Sapir, a prominent, Polish investment banker deposited $80,000 in the Swiss bank. Three months later he died in a German death camp. Since the end of World War II, the bank has steadfastly refused to convey the money to Ms. Sapir. Why? Because she did not have a death certificate. The Germans, it seems, had not been concerned with formalities such as death certificates. Recently, however, because of intense international pressure, Credit Suisse and two other big Swiss banks opened talks with lawyers on relinquishing millions in improperly-held Jewish assets. The first beneficiary of these talks appears to have been Ms. Sapir, who, according to Swiss television, received $300,000.

• According to a report issued by the U.S. State Department, Iran still heads the list of nations supporting terrorism. Despite electing a moderate leader, Iran is reported to have participated in 13 political murders during 1987.

Issues actually having something to do with prophecy...

Dividing up the land of Israel

Demise of the Middle-East Peace Summit; a political comedy. The political football known as the Middle-East "peace process" was the center of attention again this week. U.S. mediators continued trying to force Israel to accept a further 13% withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. May 11th was established as a deadline for Israel to accept these terms. Based upon that acceptance, a summit conference in Washington was to be hosted by Bill Clinton. Its purpose was to launch the long-awaited "final status" talks. Here are highlights of this altogether unremarkable episode:

• U.S. Congress. 220 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Clinton urging him not to pressure Israel into accepting an American proposal in order to participate in a summit meeting in Washington. They wrote, "Israel must be able to decide her own security needs and set her own conditions for negotiations without facing coercion from the U.S."

• Newt Gingrich. The Speaker of the house strongly condemned the White House for pressuring Israel to compromise on territorial issues, saying the Clinton administration has become pro-Arafat and is blackmailing Israel.

• Bill Clinton. The President denied any improper relationship with that woman...(sorry, wrong denial). The President denied pressuring Israel. "There is no way in the world that I could impose an agreement on them or dictate their security to them even if I wished to do that, which I don't." Later, Clinton made an appearance (the first ever by an American President) at the Arab American Institute in Washington, which was also attended by the American-Palestinian Congress, under the slogan "50 years of Palestinian Tragedy."

• Madeleine Albright. The Secretary of State denied that the May 11 ultimatum is an ultimatum. She also denied that relations with Israel will change if Israel does not accept the current American proposals.

• Israeli Knesset. Strong signals were sent that if Netanyahu bows to American pressure to cede 13% or even 11%, new elections would be immediately called.

• Hillary Clinton. The first lady announced she thinks the Palestinians should be allowed to form a sovereign nation. After her comments, the White House went into damage control mode. Quickly, they denied this is the Administration's position; rather, they said, it was strictly Hillary's personal opinion.

• Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister blasted the U.S. for reneging on a promise which was delivered through former Secretary of State, Warren Christopher. As part of the Hebron Protocols, the U.S. had pledged that Israel alone would determine its security needs. Netanyahu noted that the current ultimatum, which clearly affects Israel's security, was drafted without consulting Israel. Thus, the promise from Christopher was broken. Finally, he expressed dismay over the harm Hillary Clinton's comments have caused. According to an Israeli spokesman, Hillary's outburst virtually ruled out a Mideast summit in Washington next week.

Till He Returns...

Posted May 9, 1998 by Larry Simmons