Church Issues

• European Evangelicals defend biblical sexuality: The European Evangelical Alliance has issued a paper to help Christians respond to the LGBTQ+ agenda and defend a biblical view of sexuality, marriage and family. Read more here. Also this week, the 2019 GAFCON meeting has protested that the undermining of the Gospel by such as the LGBTQ+ agenda betrays persecuted believers elsewhere in the world. Read more here.
  
• Nigerian Christians sue Government over genocide: Nigerian believers are in the process of suing their Government for failing to take action against Fulani herdsmen who have murdered 1,000 Christians in the last three years. Read more here. Also this week, Chinese believers ousted from their mega-church in December and forced to meet in homes are now being pursued and arrested en masse. Read more here.
  
• Colorado baker vindicated: The second legal case brought against Christian baker Jack Phillips by Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission, accusing him of discrimination, has been dropped. Read more here.

World Scene

• Anti-Semitism row divides Democrats: Anti-Semitic remarks made by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar have split Party members. Read more here and here. A new movement is launching for young Jewish Democrats concerned at the Party’s failure to deal with anti-Semitism. Commentator Melanie Phillips has suggested that the US Democrats are “going the same way as Britain’s Labour Party”. Meanwhile, a new poll shows that support for Israel amongst American citizens is declining.
  
• Belgian anti-Semitic carnival float draws criticism: The float, in a parade in the city of Aalst, depicted grotesque caricatures of Orthodox Jews, with rats on their shoulders and standing on money-bags. It has drawn widespread condemnation, but has been defended by the town’s mayor. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

• US consulate and embassy officially merge: The American Consulate General, which previously covered Palestinian affairs, has now been merged with the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Read more here.
  
• Tensions with Hamas flare up: Explosive devices and a rocket launched into Israel from Gaza on Wednesday prompted the IDF to respond with a targeted attack on a Hamas base. Read more here. Also this week, Israel has blacklisted Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV station as a terrorist organisation for its on-air role in inciting terror attacks on Israelis.
  
• Waqf refuse court order to leave Gate of Mercy: The Islamic Waqf Council, which shares control of Temple Mount with Israeli authorities, denied the Israeli court order to close down the area. In February it was forced open by Muslim rioters, in contravention of the fragile status quo with Israel. Read more here.

Upcoming Events

• Issachar Ministries conference: Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 March. ‘Brexit: Hardship or Harvest?’. Swanwick, Derbyshire. Call the office for more details and to book: 01767 223270.
  
• A Day of Prayer in Westminster: Friday 29 March (Brexit Day). The Emmanuel Centre. Organised by Issachar Ministries. With Dr Clifford Hill, David Hathaway and others. Click here for more information and to book tickets.

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 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)

For regular news briefings about Israel, the Jewish News Syndicate is also recommended.