News and Prophecy

Social media was designed to “connect” people through the Internet. However, we are witnessing the rise of a new phenomenon: social media-inspired violence (Deutsche Welle, November 11, 2018). Social media platforms are now being used by individuals and governments to spread false or intentionally misleading content in order to promote violence and unrest.

During a small ceremony on December 10, the last day of the Jewish Hanukkah festival, temple activists dedicated a portable altar just outside the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The dedication ceremony involved priests in traditional dress and a slaughtered lamb as an offering, although the sheep was slaughtered off-site.

The title of a recent New York Times Magazine article read like a stark announcement: “The Insect Apocalypse Is Here” (November 27, 2018). The article describes the devastating loss of insect populations around the globe in recent decades. According to research cited in the article, Monarch butterfly populations in the U.S. have declined by 90 percent in the...

“Scotland will become the first country in the world to embed the teaching of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights in the school curriculum” (The Guardian, November 9, 2018). “State schools will be required to teach pupils about the history of LGBTI equalities and movements, as well as tackling homophobia and transphobia and exploring LGBTI...