Church Issues

• Disestablishment raised in House of Lords: Lord Berkeley has suggested that Britain should shed its historic tie between Church and State and become entirely secular. His suggestion has been rejected by the Government. Read more here.
• Plans to sail ‘Noah’s ark’ to Israel: The Christian Dutch millionaire responsible for building a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark over a period of four years, is hoping to sail it to Israel in the near future. Read more here.

World Scene

• Over a quarter of Europeans think Jews too economically influential: The CNN poll of Europeans from seven countries also showed that a third of respondents have little or no understanding of the Holocaust. Read more here.
  
• EU to join US in condemning Hamas at the UN: If passed next week, the resolution would condemn Hamas’s rocket fire, incitement, terror tunnels and risking of civilian life. Read more here. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has slammed the move, claiming that Hamas activities are legal under international law. Read more here.
  
• Embryos with low IQ to be ‘screened out’: A new test, available in the USA, will allow couples undergoing IVF to choose embryos with their preferred intelligence ‘score’. Read more here. This news comes as China halts the work of a scientist who claims to have created the world’s first genetically-modified babies.
  
• Tensions between Russia and Ukraine sky-rocket: After consolidating its grip on the Kerch Strait last week, Russia will reportedly deploy air defense systems to annexed Crimea to ‘protect Russian airspace’. Read more here. Interviewed by Sky News, Ukraine’s President released photographs purporting to show Russian tanks amassing on the border, and appealed to Western leaders for help. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• Israel, Greece, Cyprus and Italy agree on pipeline: If all goes to plan, the world’s longest underwater gas pipeline will be operational by 2025. Read more here. The suggestion is that it will lessen the leverage Arab countries currently hold over Europe. Read more here.
  
• Israel’s Arab relations warm up: Recent meetings between Israel and Muslim-majority Chad may lead to re-established diplomatic ties. Israel is also reportedly in talks to warm relations with several other Muslim African countries (including Sudan), as well as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oman has made positive statements about recognising Israel’s existence since Netanyahu’s visit in October. The Palestinians are reportedly very concerned. Read more here and here.

Upcoming Events

• Christmas Moedim meeting (London): Friday 14 December, 6:30-9:30pm, All Souls Clubhouse (W1T 6QG). To include a telling of the story of Messiah’s birth inspired by the format of a Passover seder. Free/on donation, but bring nibbles to share. Confirm your attendance by emailing Steve Maltz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Day of Prayer for Britain (London): Saturday 5 January, Wembley Arena. Led by David Hathaway. More details to be released soon.

Recommended Sources

At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!

Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.

We also recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:

• Christian Concern (UK)
• Christian Institute (UK)
• JNN News (Barry and Batya Segal, Israel)
• Worthy News (Israel)
• Family Watch International
• Barnabas Fund
• Kehila News (Israel)