News and Prophecy Staff

Some have asked why we focus on news events and Bible prophecy each week—since prophecy seems like “bad news” that can be depressing and upsetting, especially to young people. So why do we do it? Because Jesus Christ repeatedly instructed His disciples, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42; 25:13). The Apostle Paul also warned, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Scientists have recently published results from a secret study of bones stored in the Aachen Cathedral. One researcher noted regarding the 1,200-year-old bones that, “Thanks to the results from 1988 up until today, we can say with great likelihood that we are dealing with the skeleton of Charlemagne” (The Local, January 31, 2014).

Ursula von der Leyen, nick-named the Crown Princess by the German press, is Germany’s first female defense minister (The Times, February 9, 2014). With her eyes on the chancellorship, von der Leyen “has been striving to create a cross-party alliance in favor of challenging the 69-year-old taboo against military action” (ibid.).

The winds of change are blowing in Germany. “Since the end of World War II, Germany has pursued a relatively tame foreign policy. But over the past week, Berlin appeared to have acknowledged the need for a fairly dramatic change. German leaders… have called for a new framework that contravenes the restraint Germany has practiced for so long.

Many German primary and secondary schools are teaching about diversity to break gender stereotypes and help children view homosexuality as natural. However, one classroom teacher created a petition against this attempt to promote “an educational, moral, and ideological reeducation” in German schools. He says that the curriculum is one-sided and that it fails to highlight the risks of a homosexual lifestyle (Deutsche Welle, January 12, 2014).