It has become distressingly obvious that this world is in terrible trouble. Anyone with eyes can see that the world “fabric” is “unraveling.” Two major conferences occurred recently in which world leaders met to find solutions to the world’s GREATEST problems. Both took place in Switzerland. The World Economic Forum (in Davos) brought together leaders from around the world to discuss global economic issues, while Geneva II (in Montreux) addressed the ongoing Syrian civil war. “Geneva II” nearly collapsed before it started, and some who participated in the Davos meeting were pessimistic during the talks about what could be accomplished. Richard Haass, the president of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations, told The Wall Street Journal, “Unfortunately, I find it impossible to be optimistic [about conditions in the Middle East]. Things might have to get worse before they get even worse.” What a negative view from men about their world.

The Geneva talks ultimately failed to yield any agreements between the two warring sides: the Syrian regime led by the Assad family and the opposition forces. The BBC reported the following under the headline “Syria crisis: No breakthrough as Geneva II talks end”: “The Syrian government and opposition have traded insults after a week-long peace conference in Geneva ended with no firm agreement. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said the opposition were immature, while the opposition’s Louay Safi said the regime had no desire to stop the bloodshed.”

Never before have so many colossal and complex problems faced mankind as a whole. World leaders, heads of state, kings and queens, policymakers, businessmen and religious leaders are scrambling to find solutions to war, terrorism, famine and disease. But humanity’s best efforts never bring the lasting solutions all people desire. Mankind is caught in a vicious cycle—taking one step forward followed by three steps back. Governments continue to break apart under the weight of “the will of the people,” violent military coups, deadly and drawn-out civil wars or civil unrest. Just think of Thailand, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Sudan and South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Ukraine.

Then think of Israel, that now faces FOUR grave problems, that are all converging at once!!!

First would be the Syrian chemical weapons proliferating and falling into the hands of terrorists and disappearing until their use. Currently over 96 percent of President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons have not been turned over for destruction. The latest date offered for Mr. Assad to “comply” appears to be no earlier than June. (Few think that this date will actually “hold.”) The Israelis well understand the very real threats that would come from their immediate north. These northern threats include al Qaeda and affiliated groups potentially coming across their borders.

Second, the longstanding threat from Iran is well-known to the world—but more importantly to Israel—while some nations seem unable to grasp what Israel would have to contend with at the hands of the Iranians. Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map. A nuclear weapon and missile delivery systems available to the Iranians give them this capability. Israel is forced to decide on its own preemptive measures.

Third is Egypt and the increasingly dangerous Sinai Peninsula. Terrorists have taken advantage of the social unrest in Egypt and now have a much bigger presence in the region. Al Qaeda-inspired radicals just recently blew up a natural gas pipeline in the peninsula. Extremists are also using it as a gateway into Israel. Then there is the military leader—General Abdul Fattah Alal-Sisi—who is rising to power in Egypt. If a civil war breaks out, and in a country of almost three times Syria’s population, this poses an obvious threat to Israel and its peace treaty with the largest Arab nation in the world, one which possesses the 10th largest army in the world.

Fourth is the intense pressure now being put on the Israelis to sign a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Some of the ideas being floated would make the nation of Israel much less secure against terrorist attacks and threats from neighboring foreign armies.

Directly related to this—and almost its own fifth point—is the threat of boycotts from a growing array of nations against Israel and against companies that do business in the West Bank if the Israelis do not, in effect, sell their security down the river. It appears that the Israeli government is not interested in appeasing people who can never really be appeased.

Thus, an ENORMOUS DILEMMA exists at this juncture in world history. What will Israel decide to DO? And what will Pope Francis’ visit to the Middle East in May bring to the equation? Conditions are ratcheting up. This nexus of four problems, ALL of which are driving Judah more than ever not to compromise on security, is a moment in Middle East conditions and negotiations that has NEVER been seen before. This bears watching very, very closely.

In the United States, severe drought is crippling California, resulting in devastating water-rationing measures. Fox News reported, “Water officials across California have been increasing their efforts to promote water conservation after officials announced Friday that they won’t send any water from the state’s vast reservoir system to local agencies beginning this spring. The move is unprecedented in the 54-year history of the State Water Project and will affect drinking water supplies for 25 MILLION PEOPLE and irrigation for 1 MILLION ACRES OF FARMLAND. In Southern California, the head of the Metropolitan Water District echoed Gov. Jerry Brown’s call for residents to voluntarily cut their water use by 20 percent…”

“‘This is the most serious drought we’ve faced in modern times,’ said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. ‘We need to conserve what little we have to use later in the year, or even in future years.’”

Most Bible students do not realize that prophecy reveals severe weather will only grow much, much worse for the United States and other modern nations descended from ancient Israel. What is happening in California is only the front edge. The same with catastrophic storms and extreme cold affecting the entire eastern United States. Prophetic trends continue to rapidly speed up.

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