LCG sends each week The World Ahead Ministerial Publication with items they think are related to prophecy happening before their eyes.
This week they have two items:
Eroding American-European Relations: The relationship between the United States and Europe has been suffering, especially since 2016, and contrary to what many hoped, it has not improved with the arrival of a new American administration in 2021. As the U.S. continues to pivot toward Asia, it also pivots away from Europe (Politico, January 10, 2022). Actions like America’s unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan and the creation of the AUKUS security pact among Australia, the UK, and the U.S. have kept Europe on the outside. 2022 will put increasing pressure on the transatlantic partnership, as will the added stresses generated by Russia and China.
Many Europeans are worried about the tenuous nature of American democracy. According to the Pew Research Center, “a median of only 18 percent of the publics in nine European nations believes that American democracy is a good example for other countries to follow.” A concerned New York-based foreign policy expert recently noted, it is no longer the sick man in Europe people are talking about, “it’s America that is the sick man.”
It should be no surprise to see the eroding relationship between Europe and America and the rapid decline in respect for the U.S. Bible prophecy has long foretold that as we approach the end of the age, the influence of and respect for the Israelite-descended nations (such as the U.S., Britain, several western European nations, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and others) will dramatically fall, as their allies turn against them (Jeremiah 4:30) and they become the “tail” instead of the head (Deuteronomy 28:42–44)—events that will happen very suddenly (Deuteronomy 28:20; Isaiah 30:13). To learn more about what lies ahead for these nations, be sure to read “Sudden Calamities Ahead!”
No news here. News publications around the world know this, but let's take Bible verses and assign them to stories we think fit our doom and gloom scenario. It works every time! Many fall for it.
Hunger Producing Premature Babies in Afghanistan: Since the U.S. and coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban regained control, hunger has dramatically increased in that nation (Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2022). Half the country’s population—about 20 million people—are facing conditions of acute hunger as the economy continues to collapse following the Taliban takeover and the Western sanctions that have followed. While Taliban officials blame drought from God for the famine, there are additional challenges. Relief efforts are complicated by the sanctions and the government’s lack of international recognition, and the Taliban has focused most of its resources toward military control rather than relief efforts. Food prices are soaring, and many must choose between food, fuel, or medicine.
Extreme hunger has many consequences. Pregnant mothers are giving birth prematurely to babies with very low birth weights. “The Wardak provincial hospital’s director in Maidan Shahr, Muhammad Nadir Rahmani, said the hospital is seeing the birth weight of babies reduce alarmingly, as the bodies of malnourished mothers are unable to carry their children to full term.” Many of these little ones are too premature to live. Breastfeeding mothers who lack food lose their milk supply and cannot feed their own infants. As one mother said, “We have always been poor, but things have gotten so bad I don’t have words to describe it.
Many other nations around the globe, especially in the horn of Africa, are also experiencing extreme hunger (UN News, February 8, 2022). Sadly, it is often the youngest who are hardest hit. While many in the Western world suffer from “first-world problems”—such as not having their favorite brand available at the grocery store—those in developing nations are far worse off. Such conditions should move us to “sigh and cry” for the suffering we see in the world around us and pray that God will hasten the return of Jesus Christ to set up the Kingdom of God that will bring peace and abundance—and an end to hunger. To learn more about signs of the end of the age, be sure to read “The Black Horse of Famine.”—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater
LCG could give some of their precious tithe money to relief organizations that can help these starving children, but no, let's tell them that Jesus is coming to fix the problem.
LCG could send money to relief organizations that deliver dried milk and water to feed these children, but no, let's tell them about how Jesus is coming to fix it at some point in the future.
LCG could send money to deliver rice, corn, and other dried food staples to these people, but no, let's tell them about our Jesus, whom we rarely talk about, that will be coming to fix this all at some point in the distant future.
All of those starving children will appreciate this news so much!
What LCG should be doing, if they truly believed in that glorious kingdom to come they long for, is to share that excitement and help that kingdom break forth in a hurting world and help others. But it cannot and will not because it only looks inward seeking to draw in co-workers with money to fund their lackluster tv programs and youtube videos. Giving hurting people a foretaste of that glorious kingdom is not a priority. Never has been.
Well, I do have to admit, they DID mention Jesus in the next to last sentence. Priorities matter.
