The world’s political foundations have never been shakier. A number of key national elections took place in recent weeks—one in the Ukraine, another in Egypt, yet another in India (the world’s largest democracy by far) and also a European Parliament election, just to name a few. And Thailand experienced a coup after the nation’s military seized power on May 22. Due to Thailand’s unique political structure, it has had five prime ministers in just eight years. As of this writing, the military shows no sign of giving up power.

The geopolitical “sand” is shifting everywhere, and always for the worse. Sand does this because of blowing wind, and when political winds change directions quickly, the “sand” just as quickly piles up in different ways, often unforeseen. This then causes more “sand” to shift in response, and on it goes in a world that is changing sometimes almost by the hour.

It should be obvious to those watching trends and conditions that THIS WORLD IS IN TROUBLE—and NEVER more than now. The threats of global terrorism, rogue nations, economic collapse, and nuclear proliferation are ever present, to name the tiniest few. Then there is so much war and hatred—with nearly two billion people on Earth said to be “deeply anti-Semitic” (reported recently by CNN)—famine with deadly viruses (some new) exploding in Africa (ebola), the Middle East (MERS) and even the Southern United States (both dengue fever and chikungunya now in Florida), among others. As I have written before, there also exists a growing lack of leadership in the world. The United Nations is at best bumbling and ineffective. America is in steep decline. Russia is rebuilding. China is rapidly emerging. No clear leader is evident. But Bible prophecy reveals this leadership void will soon be filled. (To learn more about what lies ahead, read our eye-opening booklet {%676})

In the European Union, leaders must today contend with a rising tide of distrust among its citizens. “Eurosceptic” parties won large gains in the recent European election. The BBC reported this about the shocking election results:

“Eurosceptic and far-right parties have seized ground in elections to the European parliament, in what France’s PM called a ‘political earthquake.’ UK Independence Party and French National Front both performed strongly. The three big centrist blocs all lost seats, though still hold the majority. The outcome means a greater say for those who want to cut back the EU’s powers, or abolish it completely. UK PM David Cameron said the public was ‘disillusioned’ with the EU. Mr. Cameron said their message was ‘received and understood.’”

European leaders will now focus on winning back support for its union in the face of ever louder (and angrier) voices of criticism:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel—whose party topped the poll in Germany—described the far right victories as ‘remarkable and regrettable’ and said the best response was to boost economic growth and jobs” (ibid.).

The French election signifies that France is now actively pulling away from Germany and the EU, while it edges closer to Britain’s Eurosceptic view. Marine Le Pen, leader of the country’s far-right National Front party, told supporters in a victory speech given in Paris, “‘The people have spoken loud and clear…They no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected. They want to be protected from globalisation and take back the reins of their destiny’” (ibid.).

The Bible shows that a rift between France and the EU, and Britain and the EU, is inevitable due to both countries’ history as modern descendants of the ancient Israelites. Many plain scriptures show that the rising European power bloc will NOT include Israelitish countries. (My book {%503} covers in thorough detail what is foretold to happen.)

In Pope Francis’ three-day trip to the Middle East, he made clear that he will continue to take more of a role POLITICALLY! The trip contained a number of significant milestones. First, he included in his delegation two friends from Argentina—a Jewish rabbi and an Islamic leader. A Maronite Catholic cardinal from Lebanon (a movement that is subordinate to Rome) also joined him. And Pope Francis broke protocol by refusing to travel in his armored vehicle. He is a “man of the people” and wants to be seen as such.

On the second day of the trip, Francis met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, lending his support to its statehood bid by referring to it as the “state of Palestine” and Mr. Abbas’ Bethlehem office as the “presidential palace.” The Associated Press reported, “Standing alongside Abbas at a welcome ceremony, Francis declared: ‘The time has come to put an end to this situation, which has become increasingly unacceptable.’ He said both sides needed to make sacrifices to create two states, with internationally recognized borders, based on mutual security and rights for everyone. He urged both sides to refrain from any actions that would derail peace.”

The pope also surprised the world with a spontaneous visit to a graffiti-covered security barrier separating Jerusalem and Bethlehem, with the phrase “Free Palestine” written across it. A photo of Pope Francis leaning his head against the iconic wall and praying quickly spread across the Internet. But the biggest political statement of the trip was when he invited Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to the Vatican to pray for peace: “The pope made one of his boldest political gestures…when he unexpectedly intervened in flailing diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, inviting the presidents from the two sides to his Vatican residence to pray for peace” (Reuters).

The eyes of the world and the press—no matter one’s religious or political background—are on the pope’s every move.

In the meantime, in an article handed to me minutes ago, there is this title describing the United States government’s willingness to both back and generously fund the new Hamas/Fatah unity government now controlling the Palestinian people: “Israel decries U.S. ‘knife in back’ over Palestinian government.” The article goes on to describe how Israel feels “betrayed,” and how this is “triggering a new crisis with its closest ally” (AFP). A variety of Israeli officials have expressed real anger publicly, as well as the fact that such funding is illegal according to American law.

And in the state of Oregon, schools are giving condoms to SIXTH-graders—11-year-olds!!! Truly astonishing is the rank amorality sweeping a world “having a form of godliness, but denying the POWER thereof” (II Tim. 3:5).

As world conditions spiral out of control, God’s Church is powerfully reaching all nations with the truth of Christ’s gospel—the good news of the coming KINGDOM OF GOD. To learn more about this good news, read our booklet {%670}