Ousting of ISIS celebrated, but terror group not likely to vanish

1. U.S.-backed Syrian forces celebrated in the devastated streets of Raqqa on Tuesday after gaining control of the northern city that once was the heart of the Islamic State’s self-styled caliphate, dealing a major defeat to the extremist group that has seen its territory shrink ever smaller since summer. 

2. North Korea warned that a nuclear war “may break out any moment” as the U.S. and South Korea began one of the largest joint naval drills off both the east and west coasts of the peninsula. 

3. Instability is set to follow the all-but-certain collapse of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. While the militants have now lost their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa and are battling to hang on to relatively small pockets of territory, few expect ISIS to completely go away, or for the bloodshed in the two countries and the region to end quickly. 

4. China is proving that it is serious about its newest restrictions on religion. This week, a Chinese house church pastor, her daughter, and her young grandson were arrested, weeks after being accused of overstepping the country’s newly tightened religious restrictions. 

5. U.S. President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement last week in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal in a major reversal of U.S. policy. 

You can read these stories in more detail and get more prophecy-related news at SecondComingHerald.com.

Our Second Coming quote for today is from Billy Graham. He said, "The Second Coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live."