Prophecy News Watch provided by Worthy Ministries

Prophecy News Watch is a service hosted by Worthy Ministries to provide Christians daily news from a Biblical, and yet Prophetic worldview. Our news is gathered by our Christian News Service, Worthy News. For more about our vision for how we assemble our daily headlines, please read, "What is Worthy News?"

Around the World
US lawmakers aim to tighten terms of Iran nuclear deal
A bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives on Thursday aimed at tightening the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, despite Tehran’s rejection of changes to the accord.
India test-fires missile amid perceived threats from China, Pakistan
India tested its longest-range intercontinental missile on Thursday, the defense ministry said, part of efforts to build a nuclear deterrent against neighboring Pakistan and China.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Reports: Israel Attacked 'Hezbollah Arms Depot' in Syria's Damascus
Syrian opposition sources claimed Israeli warplanes attacked the Almas military airport near Damascus early Wednesday morning. According to reports, a Hezbollah arms depot was the target of the attack.
Israeli officials: Trump considering ‘interim measures’ to speed up embassy move
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday said the US is considering 'interim measures' that would allow for its embassy to be moved to Jerusalem within a year, clarifying comments made earlier by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that were subsequently rebuffed by US President Donald Trump.

Inside the United States
Senate agrees to start work on spending bill, but not much else
The Senate voted late Thursday to start work on legislation to fund the government until Feb. 16, which passed the House just hours earlier.
U.S. government to shield health workers under 'religious freedom'
The U.S. government is seeking to further protect the 'conscience and religious freedom' of health workers whose beliefs prevent them from carrying out abortions and other procedures, in an effort likely to please conservative Christian activists and other supporters of President Donald Trump.
Pro-lifers to march against taxpayer-funded abortions
As pro-life marchers descend on Washington on Friday they are confronting a new battlefield in the abortion debate, having to fend off increasing challenges to a decades-old agreement that acknowledged while abortion may be legal, taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for a procedure that many of them find abhorrent.
There are 3.6M 'DREAMers' — a number far greater than commonly known
The political debate over the fate of 'DREAMers' -- undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — has overlooked just how many there are in the country today: about 3.6 million.
Wealthy exodus to escape new tax rules worries California Democrats
The Republican-backed federal tax bill flipped the tables on a never-ending question for California politicians: Will high taxes lead the state’s wealthiest residents to flee the Golden State for the comparable tax havens of Florida, Nevada and Texas?
House passes monthlong spending bill, sends shutdown drama to the Senate
House Republicans on Thursday passed a bill to keep the federal government funded until Feb. 16, sending the legislation to a possible defeat in the Senate later tonight.
Around the World
Iran's Supreme Leader Says Saudi Arabia Sides with Israel and U.S., A 'Betrayal' of 1.6 Billion Muslims
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused Saudi Arabia of double-crossing the Palestinians and betraying 1.6 billion Muslims by siding with the U.S. and Israel on regional affairs.
Tillerson says US troops to stay in Syria to counter Assad and Iran
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that US troops will remain in Syria not just to fight jihadists but also to counter the power of Bashar al-Assad and his ally Iran.
North Korea Missile Launch? False Alarm Set Off By Japanese Broadcaster
Another false alarm about a North Korean ballistic missile, and this time in Japan. On Tuesday, Japanese national broadcaster NHK issued an on-air apology for issuing an alert incorrectly claiming that Kim Jong Un's regime had fired a ballistic missile.
Worst-case global warming scenarios not credible: study
Earth's surface will almost certainly not warm up four or five degrees Celsius by 2100, according to a study released Wednesday which, if correct, voids worst-case UN climate change predictions.
Russia could gain military dominance over NATO, commander says
Growing modernization could give the Russian military dominance over NATO if the military bloc fails to adapt, the top commander said Wednesday.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Abbas: Jerusalem at the gate of peace and war, Trump must choose
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday used fiery rhetoric to slam US President Donald Trump’s changes to American policy on Jerusalem, and an official confirmed that the Palestinians will not be meeting with Vice President Mike Pence when he visit the region next week.
Police expel Jewish group from Temple Mount, citing provocations
Israel Police and a group of Jewish worshipers clashed on Wednesday in the Temple Mount compound. Police said a group Jewish visitors violated the terms of the visit and created a provocation that caused a feud at the place. Videos of the incident show that Palestinians were also involved in the riots.

Inside the United States
Snow, Ice and Record Cold Grip the South; at Least 10 Dead
Snow, ice and a record-breaking blast of cold closed runways, highways, schools and government offices across the South and sent cars sliding off roads Wednesday in a corner of the country ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather. At least 10 people died, including a baby in a car that plunged off a slippery overpass into a Louisiana canal.
More Than 3 in 4 Americans Support Limits on Abortion, Poll Finds
About 76 percent of Americans support stricter laws on abortion, according to a new Marist Poll, a finding that is part of a consistent trend in data the company has collected in the past decade.
California Neck Stabber Was Illegal Immigrant Deported 7 Times
A California man suspected of stabbing a fellow diner last month is an illegal immigrant who’s been deported previously seven times, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells The Daily Caller.
New scandal in Obama's war against Netanyahu
Democrats in Washington have expressed outrage over still-unproved allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to defeat their candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Christian News
Eritrean Christian Refused to Renounce Faith Even Through 13 Years of Suffering in Prison
An Eritrean Christian has opened up about the 13 years of suffering he underwent for his faith in prison, including being punished for months at a time in a confined cell where he could not even stretch his limbs. Despite the suffering, he refused time and time again to renounce his faith.
Christian convert from Iran converting Muslims in Sweden
From escaping Iran through the mountains as a Muslim refugee, to surviving domestic abuse and imprisonment in a Turkish prison, to carving out a life in Sweden, Annahita Parsan’s story is the stuff of a Hollywood movie.
Around the World
Russian, Iranian Foreign Ministers Discuss Syria and Iran Nuclear Deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the conflict in Syria and the Iran nuclear deal in a phone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Iran tortures and kills protesters; West mostly silent as 8,000 citizens arrested
Iran’s rulers have inflicted death by torture and gunfire on citizen protesters in a crackdown since the Dec. 28 street uprising erupted, the main opposition group said Tuesday.
Thousands more flee volcano as it spurts lava skyward
Glowing-red lava spurted in a fountain and flowed down the Philippines' most active volcano on Tuesday in a stunning display of its fury that has sent more than 21,000 villagers fleeing to safety and prompted police to set up checkpoints to stop tourists from getting too close.
$260 billion ‘cryptocalypse’ as cryptos plunge 30 per cent amid fresh China, South Korea fears
The cryptocurrency market has lost $US206 billion overnight in what traders are describing as a 'cryptocalypse', with bitcoin heading back towards its $US10,000 milestone first reached last November.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
U.S. withholds $65 million in Palestinian aid after Trump threat
The United States on Tuesday said it would withhold about half the initial aid it planned to give a U.N. agency that serves the Palestinians, two weeks after President Donald Trump questioned the value of such funding.
IDF chief: Iranian nuclear threat ‘is not theoretical’
Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons has not been extinguished by the nuclear deal it signed with world powers, IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday.

Inside the United States
US Senate advances bill to renew NSA's internet surveillance program
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill to renew the National Security Agency's warrantless internet surveillance program, as a final push by privacy advocates to derail the measure came up short.
House to vote on stopgap spending bill that extends CHIP
The House will vote as early as Thursday on a measure to temporarily extend government funding until Feb. 16 and to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program for six years.
US states sue to reverse repeal of net-neutrality rules
The joint petition to review the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) repeal of net-neutrality rules was filed Tuesday by attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Colombia.

Christian News
Chinese Lawyers Accused of 'Illegally' Defending 40 Christians Jailed for Being in 'Cult'
Lawyers who represent dozens of Christians arrested in China could lose their legal certifications after they were accused of illegally defending their clients.