Good morning!

If the covid era taught us anything, it was how confidently and spectacularly wrong the experts can be. Exposures of incompetence, deceit and malice shook our faith in our pillar institutions: the medical industry, the media, bureaucracy, education, corporations. A new study stunningly underscores the reality that the experts are usually wrong—literally.

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Psychologist Philip Tetlock tracked expert predictions about world events—28,000 of them over 20 years—and, as RealClearScience reports this morning, he found that “experts were slightly less accurate than a random coin toss.”

RealClearScience author Mitzi Perdue explained, “The deeper someone goes into a field, the more their framework, their one big thing, becomes their only lens. There’s the ever present danger that new information will be sifted to fit what they already believe. In both science and academia, the native habitat of experts, there is the danger that promotions or tenure or funding will go to the practitioners who agree with an existing consensus.”

We do need experts and their expertise. But we also need to recognize when they are perched precariously on the extremity of a twiggy branch and are missing the forest. Human beings, especially godless ones, tend to vastly overestimate their knowledge and capacity. We always need to measure their prescriptions against absolute, unimpeachable truth. As Psalm 12:6 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” And in predicting world events, the only reliable source is a true understanding of biblical prophecy.

Britain’s red-carpet rollout for Germany: Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife arrived in Britain this morning for the first state visit from a German president in 27 years. It reflects ardent English outreach to its World War ii adversary and brings to mind an alarming biblical prophecy of where this effort will lead.

• Over the next three days, Steinmeier will be welcomed by King Charles at Windsor Castle, attend a state banquet, and speak before Parliament.
• German flags are flying in Windsor and London, and Steinmeier will be greeted by a military parade at the castle.
• He will also meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Deutsche Welle notes that talks during the visit “are expected to focus on support for Ukraine and security for Europe.”
• His visit will include a trip to the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, destroyed by German bombing in World War ii. He will also receive an honorary degree from Oxford University.

Britain has worked hard to draw close to Germany over the last few years. King Charles’s first state visit as monarch was to Germany. Prime Minister Starmer’s first foreign trip after attending a nato summit in the U.S. was also to Germany.

• The two countries signed their first friendship treaty since the end of World War II this summer, which includes a pledge to “assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other.”

Britain’s fraught history with its former foe should not be cast aside so casually. Biblical prophecy warns that its trust in Germany for security is a deadly trap. To see how, read our recent article “Aiding the Enemy.”

Pope Leo’s prophetic Middle East tour: Several signs during Pope Leo xvi’s six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon indicate that the Vatican is becoming more involved in Lebanon and the Middle East. This is a major development that falls in line with a pillar biblical prophecy.

• In his address on Sunday, the pope called for Lebanese refugees to return home, endorsed the Lebanese government’s reconstruction efforts, and implied he was losing patience with opposition factions.
• On Monday, he hosted a mass for more than 100,000 people on the Beirut Waterfront. The location was provocative: It was the site of the infamous 2020 explosion that killed over 160 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless. A Hezbollah explosives cache caused that blast, and the terrorist-political group has prevented anyone from being brought to justice for it.
• Responding to the papal visit, Hezbollah-affiliated website Al-Khanadeq published a criticism of Leo for neglecting to visit southern Lebanon, where the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been most intense. This suggests that at least some in Hezbollah want the pope to get more involved in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
• Aboard his return flight from Beirut to Rome yesterday, the pope hinted that the Vatican is having talks with Hezbollah over Lebanon’s future, though he told reporters, “Our work is not something we announce publicly.”

The pope’s outreach to the Islamic world isn’t limited to Lebanon:

• Leo visited Turkey beforehand, meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and portraying the Islamist strongman as someone he could work with. He also commemorated the Council of Nicaea.
• Leo is planning a 2026 visit to Algeria, the homeland of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Psalm 83 describes an alliance of Middle Eastern countries, including Turkey and Lebanon, with Germany. Other prophecies reveal that Germany will lead a united European superpower guided by the Vatican—a new Holy Roman Empire. Leo hasn’t even been pope for six months, yet already he is forming important connections with significant parts of the Islamic world. To learn more, read “Lebanon’s Lion Has Roared.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Germany is activating its Arrow 3 system today: The Israeli-designed system can destroy long-range ballistic missiles outside Earth’s atmosphere, a capability that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius noted is “unique among our European partners and secures our central role in the heart of Europe. In this way, we are not only protecting ourselves but also our partners.” This advanced military technology also brings Germany and Israel into a tighter relationship, but the Bible prophesies that this is setting the stage for a betrayal.

EU considers border force upgrade: Denmark, which currently holds the European Council’s rotating presidency, has suggested expanding the EU border control agency, Frontex. This could include the use of AI for surveillance, cybermonitoring units and drone operations. A core group of European nations continues to push for an EU army, but it is vehemently opposed by others. Frontex was a compromise everyone could agree on. Revelation 17 reveals that 10 European nations or groups of nations will indeed form an integrated, powerful and forceful empire.

China, U.A.E. trading in digital currency: Last month, China and the United Arab Emirates completed their first cross-border payment using a central bank digital currency, which the Chinese Embassy in the U.A.E. characterized yesterday as “a breakthrough in global financial innovation and bilateral financial cooperation.” Supported by the Bank for International Settlements, the mBridge project technology eliminates the need for the U.S. dollar in international trade. The European Union is also developing a digital currency. The rise in international non-dollar transactions is important because Isaiah 23 prophesies that a global trade alliance will form that excludes the U.S. and other modern nations of Israel from world trade.

Is this the end of America’s nato leadership? nato foreign ministers are meeting in Belgium today, with the notable exception of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A State Department official explained, “Secretary Rubio has already attended dozens of meetings with nato ‌allies, and it would be completely impractical to expect him at every meeting.” Yet this is the first such absence since the tensions of the Iraq War in 2003. Many European foreign ministers, and many Europeans, take this as another sign of American abandonment and the need for rapid European militarization.

Typhoons and flooding wreak havoc on Asian nations: Storms unleashed havoc on Asian nations in recent days, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Heavy downpours caused catastrophic flooding and mudslides that have killed more than 1,350 people and displaced millions more. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attributed the destruction to climate change, but there is a spiritual reason why such heartbreaking calamities occur. Learn what it is by reading our free booklet Why ‘Natural Disasters’?

President Trump voids Biden autopen orders and pardons: Donald Trump announced yesterday that he regards all documents, proclamations, executive orders, memorandums and contracts signed by autopen during Joe Biden’s term as null and void. “The autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the president of the United States,” President Trump posted on Truth Social. According to legal scholars, presidents have the authority to revoke previously issued executive orders, yet revoking pardons may be unconstitutional without proof that they were granted without presidential approval. Trump’s new announcement highlights the fact that Biden was a “puppet president,” something Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry consistently warned about from his inauguration. Read more in his crucial book America Under Attack.