Current Events & Trends: July/August 2025

Radical Islam’s long game in Europe

In 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna with the aim of promoting Islamic law as the foundation of society. In the 1960s, Said Ramadan and other members of the Brotherhood moved into Europe, laying down ideological roots. Their mission was not just religious, but political—creating a long-term plan to reshape the West from within.

A recent French government report has exposed a concerning effort by the Muslim Brotherhood to create a covert “fifth column” in Europe. This initiative includes infiltrating political institutions, radicalizing Muslim communities, and disguising political motives behind causes such as anti-Islamophobia campaigns. The Brotherhood presents itself as a moderate voice, but its long-term vision is an Islamic Europe.

The Hoover Institution at Stanford University has echoed these concerns, pointing to a surge in both violent and non-violent Islamism over the past two decades. France has suffered over 30 terror attacks in the past 10 years.

Europe is also witnessing a surge in so-called “non-violent Islamism.” Banned symbols of terrorist groups—like Hamas and Hezbollah—have appeared at rallies and protests. Anti-Israel demonstrations have often crossed the line into open antisemitism, with slogans glorifying violence. Jewish communities now live in fear, and emigration of Jews to Israel from France and the U.K. has hit record highs.

Germany warns of “parallel societies”—entire communities resisting integration, governed informally by Sharia law. Some French neighborhoods have become effectively “no-go zones” for police.

Prophecy warns that tensions between what is likely a Muslim power bloc (the end-time “king of the South”) and a European power bloc (the “king of the North,” and the “Beast” power of our cover story) will explode in the end times (Daniel 11:40–42). The stage is being set for these events. Will the West awaken in time? To see where events are headed, read our free study guide The Middle East in Bible Prophecy.

Eighty years after Hiroshima, the nuclear threat looms large

August 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945 with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, which ushered the world into the nuclear age. Today, the threat of nuclear catastrophe looms larger than ever—only now the weapons are more powerful, more nations are armed, and global conflict feels dangerously close.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a video noting a recent sobering visit to Hiroshima and presenting a terrifying scenario of a nuclear attack on San Francisco. She “delivers a menacing verdict: ‘We are closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before’” (Daily Mail, June 10, 2025).

In May, Pakistan’s defense chief warned that “nuclear war could break out at any time” if India persisted in its strikes during the conflict there (“On the Edge . . .” The U.S. Sun, May 6.) A ceasefire averted the immediate crisis, but the danger remains (“The Current Nuclear State of Affairs,” RealClear Wire, May 30).

The same month a report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service warned that North Korea now has enough fissile material for up to 90 nuclear warheads—more than double previous estimates. The IAEA’s Rafael Grossi described North Korea’s program as “off the charts,” pointing to multiple enrichment sites and an ongoing reprocessing campaign. Concern was expressed over Russia aiding Pyongyang’s missile program in exchange for its support in Ukraine.

In the Middle East, tensions between Israel and Iran continue to escalate. A recent war game simulation showed how even a limited strike could spiral into global nuclear war. In Europe, Russia has fired a nuclear-capable missile into Ukraine, and in Asia, China is projected to double its arsenal by 2030.

With so many flashpoints, public anxiety is rising. A YouGov poll found that majorities in the U.S. and Europe believe a world war is likely within the next 5 to 10 years—and most expect it would involve nuclear weapons. Many fear such a conflict would exceed even World War II in casualties (“World War III Imminent, Many Americans and Europeans Fear: Poll,” Global News, May 6).

Experts are equally alarmed. One Western official told The Telegraph that the world has only survived through “dumb luck” (“Nuclear War Has Never Been More Likely. Here’s What It Would Look Like Now,” May 10). But luck has nothing to do with it. God is working out a purpose on earth, and prophecy shows that these dangers are not random.

Jesus warned of a time when conditions would grow so dire that unless God intervened, “no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). That time has not yet fully arrived, but it draws near.

God’s Word also foretells the downfall of modern nations descended from ancient Israel, stating, “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste” (Ezekiel 6:6). These sobering words are not ancient history—they speak to the judgment that will come on nations that have turned away from God.

Over 12,000 nuclear weapons now exist. A large-scale exchange between superpowers could trigger what scientists call a “nuclear winter”—a collapse of global agriculture leading to famine and mass death. Some researchers estimate billions could die in such a scenario. Yet God promises intervention. He will not allow humanity to annihilate itself. But that should not lead to complacency. It should drive us to turn to God.

Now is the time to draw near to Him, to turn from sin and to seek understanding in His Word. We are warned to “watch therefore, and pray always” (Luke 21:36), and to live righteously in anticipation of what lies ahead.

The growing nuclear threat is real, and prophecy confirms it will not simply disappear. But God’s plan offers hope beyond the destruction—a future ruled by His righteousness and peace. We must be spiritually awake, sober about the times and ready for the return of Jesus Christ, who alone can save this world from itself. To better understand the age we’re living in, be sure to request or download our free study guide Are We Living in the Time of the End?

Vatican probing ‘mystical phenomena’

Just one day after the May 8 election of Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican, following a 12-year investigation, officially recognized a 2013 “Eucharistic miracle,” wherein the face of Jesus reportedly appeared on a consecrated wafer during a Mass in Kerala, India. This followed an announcement last year of new guidelines for accepting supernatural events. People are not required to accept these events as genuine, yet many have.

The year prior, as reported in the Daily Mail, a Vatican academy was “set to investigate ‘mystical phenomena’ around the world including ‘weeping’ statues of the Virgin Mary, stigmata [bodily marks and pains supposedly corresponding to Christ’s crucifixion wounds] and ghost sightings . . . The Pontifical Mariana International Academy (PAMI), which describes itself as a scientific institution of the Holy See [the papal office] . . . hope[d] to uncover ‘around a hundred ongoing phenomena’ in Italy alone,” with plans to evaluate more across the globe (“Vatican Academy Will Probe ‘Mystical Phenomena’ Around the World . . .” April 14, 2023).

Some cases turn out to be hoaxes, such as an Italian woman’s Mary statue supposedly weeping blood and multiplying gnocchi and pizza in Trevignano near Rome, with people believing her a messenger of Mary and donating tens of thousands of euros to her. Church investigators discovered the blood actually came from a pig. Other events are not able to be explained away so readily.

The Bible warns of a great false Christian system, growing in influence in the end time, in which there would be “power, signs, and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9)—or wonders that would be lies. On one level these might well be hoaxes perpetrated by people to deceive others. There has been a great deal of that, and there will no doubt be more. But some of the power and signs may truly be supernatural and yet still be lies or false miracles. That is because they are done not, as purported, by God and His angels—or His saints who are unconscious in death and awaiting a resurrection (compare Ecclesiastes 9:10)—but by demons impersonating these to encourage people to follow their falsehoods. These phenomena are “according to the working of Satan,” the same verse in 2 Thessalonians states. Revelation 16:13-14 mentions demons going out from Satan and the chief political and religious leaders and performing signs.

Revelation 13:13 speaks of the false religious leader and the system he represents performing the sign of bringing fire down from heaven to the earth. Such a sign already happened in the supposed miracle of the sun in 1917, where a large crowd in Fatima, Portugal saw the sun zig-zag in the sky and careen to the earth. Pope Pius XII reportedly witnessed the miracle, which is thought to validate messages from an apparition of Mary to three shepherd children living near Fatima.

The article further mentioned a rise in requests for exorcisms during the pandemic, as many suffered from anxiety and depression. Again, some of these are likely fraudulent or mistaken cases. But the New Testament shows plainly that demons are real and that they do possess others. Yet while casting out demons is a sign of Jesus’ followers (Mark 16:17), He made it clear that false ministers could do wonders and seemingly cast out demons, yet be people He never knew who practiced lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23). The demons could even be deceiving the exorcist in that case.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of religiosity. To learn more about Satan’s deceptions, request or download our free study guide Is There Really a Devil? In answer, there certainly is—and with God’s help we must resist his efforts to steer us astray.

Church attendance skyrockets in the United Kingdom

Britain has seen a staggering increase in regular church attendance over the past several years. As CBN News reported April 15, 2025 regarding a survey commissioned by the Bible Society and conducted by YouGov, the percentage of people who describe themselves as Christian and go to church at least once a month rose from 8 percent in 2018 to 12 percent in 2024. That’s a 50 percent increase! This is heavily driven by young people, the 18-24 age group rising from 4 to 16 percent, and the 25-34 age group rising from 4 to 13 percent—while those 45 to 64 actually saw a small drop (“The Quiet Revival: Gen Z Leads Rise in Church Attendance,” biblesociety.org.uk).

While these numbers are relatively small compared to total population, they nevertheless represent a marked increase and run counter to the assumption of British faith in terminal decline. Something has changed. Perhaps the pandemic and its restrictions prompted younger people to look more to spiritual meaning in life. One can hope that more will be driven to look for God and find Him in His inspired Scriptures. As He says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”