Weekly Prophecy Review

In the news...

• The Redeemer Lutheran Church in Duluth, Minnesota will be auctioned off soon. The proceeds will go toward paying off a $650,000 judgment awarded to a former member who was sexually abused by a pastor of that church some thirty years ago.

• Speaking of church finances: The U.S. Senate approved a bill which allows people in bankruptcy to set aside up to 15% of their incomes for tithing and other religious giving. In the past, churches have been forced to return thousands of dollars in donations which the courts held rightfully belonged to creditors. The bill now moves to the House.

• Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Freedom From Religious Persecution bill. It calls for relaxed immigration procedures for those suffering religious persecution, as well as sanctions against nations which violate religious rights. President Clinton has threatened to veto the bill. He claims it would interfere with his ability to deal with other nations.

• In Russia, a 1997 law restricting religious minority groups may soon be challenged. The law made it difficult for groups which have not been "registered" in Russia for 15 years or more to operate. Only the Russian Orthodox Church and a few Protestant churches can meet that requirement.

• In a surprising development, the Moslem nation of Syria has eased restrictions on Christian organizations! One group was given permission to print and distribute thousands of New Testaments. What's more, the government has recently donated land to build churches, and utility services are now free for Christian churches, just as they are for mosques.

• Other evidences of thawing in the Moslem world: A remarkable young Christian woman has managed to share the gospel with two high-ranking Moslem officials. One, a son of Saddam Hussein, reportedly prayed to invite Jesus into his life. In a televised speech a few days later, he called for increased tolerance towards Christians. The other official was no less than Sudan's Moslem Head of State, general Omar Al-Bashir. According to recent reports from Sudanese Christians, restrictions on Christian meetings in Northern Sudan have been "inexplicably lifted by someone in a high position."

• A recent radio station poll in Jordan revealed that 35% of its listeners are interested in hearing more about Jesus.

• While things may be looking up in Jordan, religious programming on radio and television in Spain is being severely curtailed. Citing "administrative reasons arising from new regulations for the mass media," the government has ordered the closing of several evangelical radio and TV stations. According to the Rutherford Institute (yes, the same ones who financed Paula Jones' lawsuit), there are hundreds of stations which operate under the same legal circumstances as the evangelical stations, yet none of them have been ordered closed.

• India set off five separate underground nuclear tests last week. The Commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran says his nation also possesses nuclear weapons.

• At last, the fight against cancer may have taken a positive turn. Dr. Moses Judah Folkman of Boston Children's hospital has developed anti-angiogenesis agents which have tamed tumors in mice by preventing the growth of blood vessels that feed them. Wall Street loved the idea and sent shares of EntreMed, the company which bought the rights to these agents, soaring. It turns out this process would have developed sooner, but for the unbridled scepticism of the medical community. According to one researcher, "The biggest names at Harvard were saying it [Dr. Folkers's hypothesis] didn't belong in the med-school curriculum."

• Israeli and French high school students tied for first among 18 nations in an international mathematics competition. The U.S. finished 17th.

Issues that might actually relate to prophecy...

Dividing up the Land (see Joel 3:2)

In the 63rd Chapter of Isaiah we see that when the Lord's "year of redemption" comes, He will find no one is standing with Him. "And I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished and there was no one to uphold..." (verse 5).

If these are, in fact, the last days, we can expect Israel to become more and more isolated from the rest of the world community. According to Scripture, the issues which will precipitate this isolation are: (1) Jerusalem, and (2) occupation of the land of Israel. Along those lines, there have been some developments of late.

• This week's Mideast summit meeting in Washington was canceled. According to the White House (you may want to take notes here), "Differences between Israel, the Palestinians and the US were behind the decision."

• Latest Save the Summit idea: Israeli radio reported that US envoy, Dennis Ross, has floated the idea that the United States could act as trustee of a portion of the disputed West Bank land. Under the plan, Israel would give 9% to the Palestinians and give the United States guardianship of the remaining 4%. It would seem Mr. Ross has forgotten that a similar solution has already been tried, and it failed. The British had the singular misfortune of being "guardians" over all of Palestine from 1922 Through 1948.

• Speaking of questionable land deals, Yassar Arafat is attempting to get the UN to declare Judea, Samaria, and Gaza "conquered territories." He also wants the Jewish settlements in those areas to be declared "war crimes."

• In the same vein, the European Union announced it is excluding goods manufactured in Judea, Samaria, Eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights from the free trade agreement it has with Israel. According to the European governors' council, these areas do not represent "integral parts of Israel."

• Arafat has also declared that he intends to unilaterally declare Palestinian statehood in May of 1999. As reported last week, the First Lady has gone on record as saying she thinks the establishment of a sovereign nation for the Palestinians would be a good idea.