Persecution

9 dead after gunmen attack Egypt church in terror attack - UPI.com
UPI reports: "At least nine people are dead after two gunmen attacked the Mari Mina Church in Egypt's capital on Friday, authorities said. The attack occurred in the Helwan district -- a city on the southern outskirts of Cairo, east of the Nile River. Egyptian authorities are calling the attack a foiled attempt -- as they say the gunmen had explosives that could have made the attack even deadlier. [...] No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State terror group has often targeted coptic orthodox churches in Egypt."

Comment: Please join me in praying for the church in Egypt. 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I'm off for my holiday break and wanted to wish you all a happy and joyous Christmas. I know that the news we link to here is often grim but I'm sure that most of you who visit this site are Christians who understand that beyond the headlines we know that God is sovereign and always in control. We know that this effort to be watchful has a purpose and a focus, and that focus is on Jesus Christ.

We watch the signs of His return, but this season is all about the First Coming and not the Second Coming, so as we turn to our families and friends to celebrate the holidays we offer thanks and praise to God and above all, celebrate Jesus as the reason for the season. I'd like to leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite holiday carols. I like this one because the words share the Good News of salvation.  Merry Christmas!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
lyrics by Charles Wesley

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Covenant With Many - Peace of Jerusalem

U.N. overwhelmingly condemns U.S. recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday decisively approved a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. During an emergency meeting, the full U.N. membership approved the resolution 128-9 that declares Trump's recognition of Jerusalem 'null and void.' Thirty-five nations abstained. [...] Egypt drafted the resolution, which affirms the U.N. decision that calls for Jerusalem's status to be decided through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. It was made in 1967 when Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan. The United Nations doesn't recognize the annexation by Israel. Most nations recognize Tel Aviv as the capital and maintain embassies there, including the United States. Trump wants the embassy to be moved eventually."

Comment: What an extraordinary thing in the history of nations. Today 128 nations took a stand against Israel and against Jerusalem.  They have never read Zechariah 14 and do not realize the depth of their folly. They do not realize that Jerusalem will someday be the capital not just of Israel but of the entire planet.

Signs in the Heavens

Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program - NYT
The New York Times reports: "In the $600 billion annual Defense Department budgets, the $22 million spent on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was almost impossible to find. Which was how the Pentagon wanted it. For years, the program investigated reports of unidentified flying objects, according to Defense Department officials, interviews with program participants and records obtained by The New York Times. [...] the program produced documents that describe sightings of aircraft that seemed to move at very high velocities with no visible signs of propulsion, or that hovered with no apparent means of lift. Officials with the program have also studied videos of encounters between unknown objects and American military aircraft - including one released in August of a whitish oval object, about the size of a commercial plane, chased by two Navy F/A-18F fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Nimitz off the coast of San Diego in 2004. [...] Contracts obtained by The Times show a congressional appropriation of just under $22 million beginning in late 2008 through 2011. [...] The funding went to Mr. Bigelow’s company, Bigelow Aerospace, which hired subcontractors and solicited research for the program. Under Mr. Bigelow’s direction, the company modified buildings in Las Vegas for the storage of metal alloys and other materials that Mr. Elizondo and program contractors said had been recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena. Researchers also studied people who said they had experienced physical effects from encounters with the objects and examined them for any physiological changes. In addition, researchers spoke to military service members who had reported sightings of strange aircraft."

Comment:  Nicely done. I mean, if you go with the "Friendly Aliens Here to Help Us" or the "Evil Aliens Attack" spin, either way it still works well as both explanation and delusion. Of course, it would be even better if people were paying attention, but you only have yourselves to blame after years of discrediting UFO sightings. Still, nicely done, love the video.

Covenant With Many

U.N. General Assembly meeting set over U.S. veto of Jerusalem resolution - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The U.N. General Assembly will meet in an emergency session this week after the United States vetoed a resolution to reject the Trump administration's new policy of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. A bloc of Arab nations, Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation requested the meeting of the entire 193-nation U.N. body. The Palestinian Authority is a non-member observer in the United Nations. On Dec. 6, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv."

Comment: It's an emergency? Really?  This is an extraordinary example of how easily the world can be made to gang-up on Israel. Nothing has changed on the ground in Jerusalem, nothing at all. The only thing that happened was a Trump news conference. The embassy won't actually be moved for years. If Trump is not re-elected then it's possible the embassy will never be moved. So, why all the fuss about calling the city where the Israeli parliament sits, where the president and prime minister's office is, calling that city the capital?

Covenant With Many - Peace of Jerusalem

US vetoes UN resolution against Trump's Jerusalem decision - AP
The AP reports: "The United States on Monday vetoed a resolution supported by the 14 other U.N. Security Council members that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel [...] Arab supporters wanted the vote to demonstrate that countries everywhere and even many U.S. allies such as Britain, France and Japan are against Trump’s action. [...] The status of Jerusalem has been a central issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Trump’s announcement was widely perceived as taking the side of Israel. It countered an international consensus that Jerusalem’s status should be decided in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state."

Comment: I find it amazing that an act of political grandstanding can have such far-reaching consequences. They are acting as if Trump did something tangible when all he really did was have a new conference so he could brag to his political base that he kept a campaign promise. That's all that happened. He signed the waiver. The embassy won't move for many years, if ever. But, in the reality distortion field that surrounds Jerusalem, even political PR stunts can take on the appearance of reality and cause mayhem. Seriously, people have died in demonstrations against this. Now they are saying that the U.S. can no longer be the mediator of Mideast peace and Russia is offering to mediate. As I noted before, the most significant result of this action has been to open up the peace-making process to new mediators. That is an incredibly important development.

Persecution

Suicide bombers attack church in Pakistan, killing 9 - AP
The AP reports: "Two suicide bombers struck a church in Pakistan on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding more than 50 others, authorities said, in the first attack on a church claimed by the country’s Islamic State group affiliate. Hundreds of worshippers were attending services ahead of Christmas when the bombers appeared in the city of Quetta and clashed with security forces. One assailant was killed at the church entrance. The other made it inside, said Sarfaraz Bugti, home minister for the southwestern Baluchistan province. [...] It was the first time the Islamic State group has claimed an attack on a church in Pakistan, though Muslim extremists have claimed church attacks in the past."

Comment: Please join me in praying for the church in Pakistan. These brave people live in a country where the majority of their fellow citizens would gladly see them rounded up and forcibly deported. They live in a country where their status as "fellow citizens" matters less than the fact that they are not followers of Islam. Please also join me in praying for those people of good will who do not follow the crowd and are willing to take a stand for justice and tolerance. As this report makes clear, the authorities are not indifferent and are trying to protect Christians who have the freedom to worship according to the Pakistani constitution.

Rumors of War - King of the North

Russia could cut off internet to NATO countries, British military chief warns - NBC News
NBC News reports: "Russia could try to sever global underwater communications cables, potentially triggering catastrophic repercussions for the economy and way of life in the West, the head of Britain’s military has warned. The vast majority of global internet and telephone traffic relied on by Western governments, economies and civilians is carried by cables that crisscross the world's seabeds, according to analysts."

Comment: This is a very interesting report, it highlights a security threat that many people are unaware of.  Fortunately, as the report notes, the security community has been aware of it for some time and it is now receiving the public attention it deserves.

Covenant With Many - Peace of Jerusalem

4 Palestinians killed, Israeli officer stabbed in protests over Jerusalem - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Violent clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians protesting U.S. President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital left four people dead and an officer injured Friday. Israeli police said officers shot and killed a man they said was wearing what appeared to be an explosives belt. The man allegedly stabbed and moderately injured a Border Police officer. [...] It was the second Friday of protests since Trump announced the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move its embassy there from Tel Aviv. Critics said Trump's announcement would make lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians more difficult."

Comment: It's a tragedy that lives have been lost because of this. Someone please tell the Palestinians that nothing has changed. Trump had a domestic political stunt to rally his base but nothing has changed in Jerusalem. Tell them that he signed the waiver. Tell them that the U.S. embassy won't be moved for many years.  Seriously, they are rioting over nothing and just making themselves look foolish.

Earthquake

6.5-magnitude earthquake rattles western Java - UPI.com
UPI reports: "A 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled the western part of the island of Java in Indonesia on Friday, authorities said. The center of the temblor was situated in the town of Cipatujah, about 190 miles away from Jakarta, the U.S. Geological Survey said. CNN reported residents in Jakarta evacuated high-rise buildings and authorities evacuated a damaged hospital in Banyumas."

Comment: The "Ring of Fire" continues to uphold its reputation. 

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

China warns Australia after naval drill in South China Sea - UPI.com
UPI reports: "China issued a warning to Australia after Australian troops staged a large-scale naval exercise in the South China Sea. The advisory from Beijing comes at a time when China is making swift progress on fortifying its military base in the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. [...] According to Chinese state tabloid Global Times, Shen specifically said the presence of 1,200 Australian servicemen aboard six naval vessels during a drill in September 2017 had stoked concerns in Beijing. China, meanwhile, has not stopped building sophisticated military facilities on reclaimed islands in the South China Sea."

Comment: At some point they will have to stop calling them "disputed islands" unless they are willing to challenge Chinese claims. I think this report confuses the issue a bit, the reader would be forgiven for thinking the reclaimed islands share the disputed status of the Spratly and Paracel Islands and in either case, the disputants do not include Australia.

Rumors of War - Persia

Nikki Haley offers 'undeniable' proof Iran is arming rebels in Yemen - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Standing before large pieces of missile debris Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented what she said was 'undeniable' evidence Iran is providing weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen. She said the debris was from a short-range missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen into Saudi Arabia. The weapon hit a civilian airport. [...] The Trump administration argues the debris is evidence of Iran's violation of a resolution the United Nations passed after Tehran and western countries agreed to a deal halting Iran's nuclear program in 2015."

Comment: It appears to this observer that the Trump Administration has started to make the case in favor of breaking the nuclear agreement with Iran. I hope they have carefully considered the consequences.  The nuclear agreement did not address such issues and remains a poor tool to constrain Iranian involvement in the wider region. There are other tools available.

Rumors of War - King of the North

U.S. intercepts Russian jets over Syria, sends warning flares - UPI.com
UPI reports: "U.S. military jets intercepted two Russian aircraft over Syria Thursday -- and fired warning flares, officials said. The U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors interceded with the Russian Su-25s as they flew into a designated de-confliction zone east of the Euphrates River. The Russian planes left after the flare warnings, but officials said the encounter lasted for several minutes as Moscow's jets crossed the de-confliction zone several times."

EU agrees to extend sanctions against Russia - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The European Union agreed Thursday to extend sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine [...] for another six months during their summit in Brussels. [...] The sanctions target Russia's financial, energy and defence sectors as well as dual-use goods, which can be used for both civilian or military purposes. The EU first imposed the sanctions in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and have agreed to extend them every six months since then."

Comment: So many military forces from different countries operating within the same area, it's a dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Europe continues to hold Russia accountable for annexing Crimea.

King of the North - Doomed Damascus - Gog Alliance

Vladimir Putin declares victory in Syria, orders troops home - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Syria on Monday, declared victory and announced the pullout of his troops. Accompanied by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Putin spoke to Russian troops at the Khmeimim air base, which has been the headquarters of Russia's military mission in Syria since its military fighter planes first arrived there in 2015. [...] Syria's six-year civil war has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than 6 million civilians. Russia and Iran have sided with Assad in the conflict, which has run concurrently with efforts to defeat the Islamic State terror group in the north African nation."

Vladimir Putin asks lawmakers to expand Russian navy in Syria - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sent a draft treaty to lawmakers that could expand Moscow's navy presence in Syria until 2092. [...] If ratified, the agreement would extend the Russian navy's lease by 49 years, followed by automatic 25-year extensions if both parties agree. The naval base in Tartus is the only installation that gives Russian forces direct access to the Mediterranean Sea -- unlike its base in Crimea, which can be hindered by Turkish troops."

Comment:  It's interesting that Putin made his whirlwind tour of the Middle East, checking in with his Egyptian, Turkish and Syrian allies less than a week after Trump's Jerusalem decision. How quick other powers are to step in which they perceive the U.S. to be pulling back. Even as this report suggests that some Russian troops may be departing Syria there is no indication that Iranian militias will also be departing. I'm sure that is something Israel is playing close attention to.

Roaring Waves - Nations in Distress

Sea levels will rise, but scientists not sure how high - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The best climate models predict business-as-usual global warming -- as in, if humans do nothing to curb carbon emissions -- will trigger between 2 and 6 feet of global-average sea-level rise by 2100. At the low-end of the range, rising seas would swallow up land currently inhabited by 100 million people. At the upper-end, rising ocean levels would wash away the homes of 150 million people."

Comment: Ice doesn't care about politics. 

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

China warms to South Korea as plans for refugees surface online - UPI.com
UPI reports: "South Korea recently reassured China with a public announcement to not add more THAAD batteries to the current deployment. North Korea, however, has not shown signs of cooperating with Chinese requests for an end to weapons tests and Kim Jong Un may have recently snubbed a top Chinese envoy. The relative lack of communication between the two traditional partners is prompting speculation Beijing is building refugee camps near North Korea, to possibly prepare for a breakout of conflict, The Guardian reported Tuesday."

Comment: There continue to be reports of strain in the relationship between China and North Korea and now we are getting reports that China is preparing to accommodate the waves of refugees that would be the result of conflict. This is prudent. War is not the only outcome that would generate an exodus of refugees, it's possible that the Kim regime could collapse from within. Either way, it's telling that China is preparing for such dire consequences. 

Gospel Preached to All Nations

American evangelist leads rare event in communist Vietnam - AP
The AP reports: "More than 10,000 Vietnamese filled up a stadium in a rare Christian evangelistic event led by the Rev. Franklin Graham, who said he wants the communist government to consider Christians its best citizens. Despite sweeping economic reforms over the past 30 years that made Vietnam one of the fasting growing countries in the region, the ruling Communist Party maintains strict control over all aspects of society, from media to religions. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 100 Vietnamese are in prison for peaceful religious and political activities. [...] Graham, who is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and one of the most prominent American preachers, said that religious freedom has gradually improved in Vietnam. [...] There are about 6.5 million Catholics and more than 1 million Protestants among Vietnam’s 95 million people, majority of whom are Buddhists."

Comment: What an extraordinary evangelistic event for a country not known to be welcoming to Christian preachers. I hope that Rev. Graham's visit will encourage Christians in Vietnam and convince the government that they are not a threat to be persecuted.  Please join me in praying for the church in Vietnam.

War

Iraqi government: Islamic State 'completely defeated' in country - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Iraq's prime minister announced Saturday that the country's defense forces completely liberated the nation from the Islamic State.[...]  Last month, Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias began a final campaign against the militants along the country's Syrian border. [...] In all, the Islamic State controlled more than 34,000 square miles from the Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad. Rawa was the last liberated city since the Islamic State took control in 2014."

Comment: How's the war in Iraq going? Pretty well according to this report. Many questions remain to be answered after the celebrations. Can they hold the territory? Will the Islamic State regroup in Iraq or migrate to another country? Has IS been defeated only to allow Iran to basically take over Iraq?

Rumors of War - Persia

Iran’s growing power could be explosive - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Iran is poised to consolidate its growing power in the Middle East as it tries to complete a strategic land bridge from the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean despite advances in Syria by the United States and its allies. Having cleared the last obstacles for the Shia-controlled corridor on the Iraq-Syria border, the Islamic Republic, unlike its ally Russia, plans to remain in Syria permanently and is building military bases in southern Syria, moves that Israel sees as a strategic threat."

Comment: While our news media remains fixated on Palestinian demonstrations against an embassy move that won't happen for years, the real threat is examined in this report from UPI. The threat of war is real simply because Israel will not tolerate Iran setting up shop in Syria.  The Palestinians are a distraction, Iran is the real story.

Covenant With Many

Israel Defense Forces strike Gaza Strip after Hamas rocket attack - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The Israel Defense Forces carried out strikes against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening. The IDF said the strikes were in retaliation for Palestinian rocket attacks that failed to reach Israeli territory, according to the Times of Israel. [...] The strikes on the Gaza Strip come after Palestinians spent Thursday protesting against the U.S. government's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Israeli forces clashed with protesters, resulting in more than 100 injuries, according to Palestine Red Cross numbers reported by The Washington Post. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called for a 'Day of Rage' leading up to the protests."

IDF sends forces to West Bank as clashes escalate over Jerusalem - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Israel Defense Forces said they would send reinforcements to the West Bank as Hamas leaders called for an uprising over the United State's Jerusalem decision. [...] Palestinians marched in several West Bank areas, throwing rocks and firebombs and burning American flags and pictures of U.S. leaders as part of a 'day of rage.'."

Comment: The Palestinians continue to show their support for the peace process by launching rockets at Israel. Meanwhile, back in Washington, President Trump signed the waiver he criticized his predecessors for signing, effectively making the current embassy in Tel Aviv permanent for at least another six months and maybe for years to come. Honestly, I think nothing has changed and Trump just "played" the Palestinians who are now rioting over nothing.

Many analysts are saying that Trump effectively destroyed the ability of the U.S. to remain the Mideast peace negotiator, undercutting the efforts of his own son-in-law. In my opinion that may be the most important outcome in terms of Bible prophecy. Trump has opened up the role of Mideast peace negotiator to other actors besides the U.S. and so we should watch carefully to see who steps into the role.

Covenant with Many

World leaders warn against President Donald Trump's plan to move Israel embassy - UPI.com
UPI reports: "President Donald Trump on Wednesday recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in what he said was the 'pursuit of peace' between Israel and the Palestinians. As part of the decision, Trump announced the United States would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Comment:  It's an odd thing about politics. The details don't really matter. It doesn't matter than this move is almost a technical move, Trump is simply following American law and not doing a waiver like his predecessors did to get around it. The embassy won't actually move right away, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter than on the ground, there in Jerusalem, nothing at all has changed. In politics, what matters is perception, the narrative that is sold in the news media, the soundbite easy for people to understand, what they call "the optics" of the situation, these days that is what matters. What is the narrative, the "take-away" that is being presented? It's that "Trump declares Jerusalem the capital of Israel."  Well, of course, he has not done that. It's not in his power to do that, lol. The government and people of Israel made that decision long ago. Jerusalem is where the parliament sits, where the president and prime minister have their offices, it is the political capital of the country. But, again, that doesn't matter. Trump did something "unilateral" and scary and that is what people who know nothing of the situation will take away from casually looking at the news today. And this is why they will riot in Palestinians areas and why other countries (like Iran) will be forced to take some kind of action. Because they are reacting to the perception, not the reality of what has happened.

Covenant With Many

Trump tells Abbas of plans to move U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem - UPI.com
UPI reports: "President Donald Trump on Tuesday informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other Middle Eastern leaders he intends to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a statement from the Palestine Liberation Organization said. [...] The Trump administration also notified Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordanian King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi King Salman of the plan. Senior U.S. officials said Trump plans to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday and delay moving the Embassy for six months, Haaretz reported."

Comment: Stay tuned for the big announcement tomorrow. There are many unanswered questions at this point. Is this part of a negotiating strategy for Trump's "ultimate deal" on Mideast peace? If not, will this end any hopes of a Mideast peace deal under American leadership? Will the Palestinians riot immediately or will they wait until the embassy is moved in six months? How will Iran and the rest of the militant Islamists react to this? 

Covenant With Many

Kushner: Trump wants 'peace and prosperity' for Israelis, Palestinians - UPI.com
UPI reports: "White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has said President Donald Trump wants to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a key to stability in the region. Kushner spoke in Washington, D.C., Sunday about the Trump administration's Mideast peace efforts, and said Israel needs a deal with Palestinians before it can align with the rest of the Arab world. [...] Kushner also said Trump has not yet made up his mind on whether to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, or recognizing the latter as Israel's capital."

Muslim states warn US against moving embassy to Jerusalem - AP
AP reports: "An umbrella organization of Muslim countries said Monday that President Donald Trump’s possible recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would constitute “naked aggression” against the Arab and Muslim world, as the ruling Palestinian party has called for mass protests against such a move by Washington. [...] Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, but the international community doesn’t recognize its sovereignty over it. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, home to the Old City’s contested holy sites, as the capital of a future state. The western half of the city is home to Israel’s parliament, Supreme Court and most government headquarters."

Comment: From what I've read in other reports Trump plans to make his announcement on Wednesday. This could be a very consequential decision for Israel, for Mideast peace efforts and for U.S. interests in the region.

Earthquake

6.0 earthquake hits Ecuador coast; no injuries reported- AP
The AP reports: "A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck along the coast of Ecuador Sunday in the same area where a much stronger tremor left hundreds dead last year. [...] Authorities said that there wasn’t a risk of a tsunami and appealed for calm. They also expressed optimism that Ecuadoreans were better prepared for a natural disaster after rebuilding from last year’s magnitude 7.8 quake along the Pacific coast that left more than 600 people dead and thousands more injured and homeless."

Covenant With Many

Kushner: Trump still undecided on Israel's capital - AP
The AP reports: "President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital or whether to proceed immediately in moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. That’s according to his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Kushner said Sunday that the president continues to weigh his options ahead of an announcement on the matter that is expected this week. [...] Kushner’s comments were his first public remarks on his efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. [...] Shortly before Kushner spoke, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned that American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would jeopardize the White House’s Mideast peace efforts."

Comment:  Please join me in praying for President Trump as he makes this decision, it's sure to have great prophetic implications.

Rumors of War - Doomed Damascus

Syria: Israeli missiles hit military base near Damascas - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Israeli missiles struck a military base near Damascus early Saturday morning, Syrian state television said. An Iranian military base was struck around 12:30 a.m. near the city of Al-Kiswa, about eight miles southwest of the capital [...] heavy explosions were heard in the area and electricity was cut off throughout Damascus. The attack killed and wounded a number of Iranian soldiers, according to Al Qoraish, an Arab newspaper in London. Sources told Al Jazeera that Israel coordinated the strikes to target military sites and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. [...] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that it would not allow Iran to establish any military presence in Syria."

Comment: Tensions in the Middle East are growing on a daily basis, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. We know that Netanyahu went to Moscow to tell Putin that Israel will not accept Iranian troops permanently based in Syria and as that was weeks ago it appears that we can now assume Putin did nothing to change the situation, so Israel is starting to deal with it in their own way. A skirmish in which Russian and Iranian troops get bloodied but not defeated may go a long way toward explaining why the Gog Alliance is spoiling for a fight in the future.

Pestilence

Ampicillin resistance likely started years before use with humans: Study - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Bacterial resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin may have begun years before doctors started prescribing it in the early 1960s, a new study suggests. Ampicillin, qa broad-spectrum penicillin, is widely used to treat many bacterial infections, including bladder and ear infections, pneumonia and gonorrhea. Resistance was likely triggered by overuse of penicillin in livestock in North America and Europe in the 1950s, according to researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. [...] Many bacteria that cause serious infections in people have developed resistance to antibiotics such as ampicillin. And annual worldwide deaths from antibiotic resistance are expected to top 10 million by 2050, the researchers said in background notes."

Comment: Antibiotic resistance is one of those topics we have been watching for years, mostly due to the dire warnings from the medical community about what a world without antibiotics would look like. It's something to take very seriously.