Current Events & Trends
Beyond Today Magazine
Beyond Today Magazine: September–October 2016
Course Content
Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Germany has experienced a good measure of progress, prosperity and peace.
The European Union may have its capital in Brussels, but Berlin is the real heart of Europe, politically, culturally and economically, with Paris close behind.
Such is Germany’s stability that German Chancellor Angela Merkel banked on the country’s continued success in agreeing to allow the immigration of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Syrian Civil War. However that stability is being tested amid a recent deluge of small-to-medium scale terror and criminal attacks involving migrants, both in Germany and France.
Despite public outcry following the attacks and a growing movement among Germany’s populace to do something to stop or slow the flow of Middle Eastern refugees into the country, Merkel has stood firm on her insistence that Germany “can do it,” referring to fixing the problems, without a change in policy.
“Ms. Merkel’s comments were her first after a suicide bombing in southern Germany . . . The bombing in the town of Ansbach, which injured 15, and an ax attack [in July] . . . that injured five, were both carried out by asylum applicants who were apparently followers of radical Islam. The bombings have thrown a harsh light on the security implications of Ms. Merkel’s refusal to close Germany’s border as more than a million migrants entered the country since the beginning of last year.
“The chancellor also drew criticism for maintaining a public silence for days in the wake of the Ansbach bombing, which was the first Islamist suicide attack in Germany’s history” (Anton Troianovski and Ruth Bender, “Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel Stands Firm on Migrant Policy After Terrorist Attacks,” The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2016).
As Europe is pressed by increasing numbers of terror attacks, don’t be surprised if Germany, France and other EU states take strong action in response. We encourage our readers to stay abreast of important developments in many regions of the world. Europe and the Middle East are particularly significant because of what Bible prophecy has to say about these regions.
To understand how the Middle East and Europe are entwined in Bible prophecy, study the prophecies of the book of Daniel and read our companion study guide The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. And for more on the ongoing migrant crisis, be sure to read “The Immigration Threat,” in this issue of Beyond Today. (Source: The Wall Street Journal.)
