StandingWatch | Audio Podcast

Halloween is dedicated to Satan the devil. Satanists celebrate it as one of Satan's holidays. It is associated with the occult, with witches and paganism, and it is known as the festival of the dead. Trick-or-treat, masks and jack-o'-lantern are all ancient practices or symbols in connection with feared encounters with spirits of the dead, demons and damned souls. But some professing Christians argue that it is not wrong for them and their children to observe Halloween and participate in at least some of its practices. Does God agree?

The October 22, 2012 presidential debate on foreign policy-which happened 50 years after John F. Kennedy's Address to the Nation on the Cuba Missile Crisis-did not bring anything substantially new, except this: The two candidates revealed a global power on the decline and a crisis for a great nation, with foreign policy having to take a back seat for the USA in the future. In light of the highly praised but totally misunderstood developments of the Arab Spring, this vacuum will be filled. And it is Germany as the leader of the EU, which will fill it. But that is not good news.

"The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has divided the continent" (compare Der Spiegel Online, October 13). While some claim that the award is well deserved, as the EU is allegedly "the most successful peace project in history," others feel that the award is premature at best, as "we have no idea how the experiment to create an anti-democratic federation will end." However, we can have an idea, as the Bible tells us how it will end.

The media reported that Israel and the USA don't trust each other anymore, and that America is pushing Israel into a dangerous corner. Anti-Semitism is rampant in Europe, and a shocking report will open your eyes as to what is going on. The dangers must not be underestimated.

While the world is focusing on the American elections and events in the Middle East, other important events are taking place in Europe, which signalize the soon-coming return of Jesus Christ. Europe is desirous of uniting politically-and it will-and Europe's relationship with the Ukraine and Russia is deteriorating. All of this has been prophesied to occur in the Bible.

The three young Russian women of the punk band Pussy Riot were condemned to harsh prison terms, with the obvious involvement and approval of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church, even though the conduct of the band was not of a religious nature, but clearly a political protest. The Western world has unanimously condemned the punishment, but Vladimir Putin does not care. It is his goal, with the help of the Russian Orthodox Church, to establish an authoritarian dictatorship to suppress all opposition voices. As a consequence, the relationship between the Russia and Europe will deteriorate. The Bible predicts an outright war between these two power blocs in the near future.

Will Israel strike Iran between October 2 and November 8, 2012? Many in Israel think so, and they produce seemingly compelling evidence for this conclusion. Such an attack would have unthinkable consequences for the entire world. Would you be prepared for them?

Is the US prepared to attack Iran militarily? Will Israel launch a preemptive strike? Would Iran and its allies be in a position to retaliate? Does the Bible tell us anything about a future war in the Middle East?

The mass murder in Colorado has shown again the incredible acts of senseless and demonic violence of which man is capable. Questions are asked as to whether gun control would have prevented a "mentally disturbed" man to carry out his horrendous crimes; and whether the increase in violence, especially in movies and video games, could be blamed for those actions. Our fascination with guns will not create a better world. What is needed is a change of mind and heart. "It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh" (General Douglas MacArthur in 1951).

Are we in danger of losing our individual liberties and freedoms? Are we becoming slaves of the government? As examples, consider the individual mandate in the new health care law; controversial executive orders pertaining to Immigration proposals bypassing Congress and the control of the Internet by Homeland Security; invoking the executive privilege to withhold documents from the House Committee in the Fast and Furious debacle; the use of drones throughout the US; and the reading of private emails by the government. It is high time to wake up.

Religious Intolerance and rejection of godly standards are on an unparalleled rise. In Isaiah 5:20, God pronounces a curse on those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. Satan the devil, the prince of darkness, transforms himself as an angel of light, putting darkness for light. In this program, we give numerous examples, showing what God condemns and our society upholds, and what God upholds and our society condemns. And yes, those who want to live godly will suffer persecution.

One author wrote that when God approached Cain and asked him, Where is your brother Abel?, Cain committed a heresy, when he answered, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? The author continued that to many Americans, Independence Day is a day to celebrate their liberation from having to be our fellow's keeper, our independence from others. He said that the Cain Heresy is alive and well in our culture, threatening to totally devour the freedom it claims to defend. What about it? Does the Bible say that we are to be our brother's keeper? And if so, how?

A German Court of Appeals in Cologne ruled that religious circumcisions of young or infant boys are grievous bodily harm and thus a crime. This means that doctors can no longer claim that they do not know that they commit a crime, as the religious right of the parents to circumcise their children was held to be less important than the child's fundamental right to bodily integrity. Jews and Muslims are outraged, but many Germans seem to agree with the scandalous court decision. The underlying thinking will have some impact for prophesied events in the future.

One of the biggest scandals in the Vatican is widening. According to national and international press reports, it is a case of intrigue, betrayal and secret documents, uncovering alleged corruption, cronyism and mismanagement, and even an alleged murder plot against the pope, at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church. They purportedly show how the game of politics is played, with lies, intrigues and bitter feuds between rival parties. What is happening, and what does all of this mean in the light of biblical prophecy?

Does the Bible tell us what will happen in Germany and Europe? Do current developments show us the beginning of what the Scriptures prophesy? Will there arise a German populist? If so, will he be for or against Europe? Will he turn out to be the beast, as mentioned in Revelation? Will we soon experience an end of democracy in Europe, as we did in the 1930s? Will the euro crisis bring about a two-speed Europe? Will core European Eurozone nations be in charge for a while? Will they finally transfer all their authority and power to a charismatic European leader?