A couple of gleanings from today's Financial Times merit BT Media's attention.

Amid speculation of who the next Pope will be, early bets are being made an African may get the nod–the first African in more than 1500 years, is mention of how vigorous is religion in sub Saharan Africa. A Pew Forum on Religion In Public Life 2010 survey showed that more than 75% of Africans felt religion was "very important" in their lives. Of Christians in Africa, 80% attend church once a week. Having just visited Kenya in East Africa I was struck at the number of churches and religious schools. The influence of many religions, including Islam, was evident. Our hotel in Ogembo was next to a mosque and we had a 4:00 a.m. wake up call each day when the faithful were called to prayer. 

The strong African belief in the Bible as the literal word of God provides a fertile soil for the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. We always see strong interest in our message from this region. Religion may not be doing well in Europe but in Africa you find believers and seekers looking for a message of hope and meaning. Life in those regions is very hard. The truth of the gospel gives meaning and dignity for a people looking to make sense of a complicated world.

The other comment in today's paper sheds more light on North Korea's latest nuclear test, which we mentioned yesterday. David Pilling references an article in the Jerusalem Post suggesting "Pyongyang may have tested this week's device on behalf of Tehran in the presence of Iranian scientists." The nuclear connection of North Korea and Iran, two of the world's most dangerous states, should frighten leaders into action. If this and other reports are true we may be seeing Iran closer than anyones suspects to having nuclear capability and the means of delivering a weapon upon any foe they choose. When this happens it will be a major foreign policy fiasco for the United States, which has sought to contain the problem by economic sanctions. 

Iran has ignored all threats and efforts to stop its nuclear goals and appears very close to having what it wants. Iran's religious and political leaders do not take President Obama seriously and they continue to march forward. The linkage of Iran and North Korea is a dangerous step against the stability of Middle East and Asia. 

Bible prophecy shows armies coming from the region east of the Euphrates River in the events preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ (Revelation 16:12-16). Understanding events in this region is a key to this passage of prophecy.