Weekly World Watch - March 11-17, 2012

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s March 11 - 17, 2012 “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.” (Ezekiel 33:6, New International Version) PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE To skip the introductory slides and go straight to this weeks developments click here.

2. What is a Weekly World Watch? The idea is simple. It is to look at current events and compare them to events spoken of in the Bible. . I hope to build up a picture of God’s hand working in the affairs of this world. God is bringing about a day when all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem to battle. At that time God will send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, back to this earth. Jesus will then establish God’s kingdom on earth. This kingdom will last for ever. This is our hope and the reason we watch. The following six themes will appear repeatedly in WWW: • Israel: The continuing conflict in the Middle East and focus on Jerusalem. • Europe: Its developing union, both political and religious. • Russia: Its return to anti-Western ways as Bible prophecy’s “king of the north.” • The UK and the US: Bible prophecy’s “king of the south.” • Moral standards in decline and violence on the increase. • Increasing natural disasters: including earthquake, famine etc WWW presentations in PowerPoint can be ordered as audio/visual CDs by clicking here. Move your mouse to place the cursor on the blue link and click.

3. BIBLE QUOTE What is in a Weekly World Watch? Each WWW looks at a few key developments that have happened during the past week. It is in no way meant to be exhaustive – just a look at those events I saw as significant from a Biblical point of view. Every WWW event slide has the following format. To reveal each block of text just left click your mouse or press the space bar. You control when it appears. News Photo This is straight from a news report that caught my eye because it looked significant from a Biblical perspective, usually that of prophecy. HEADLINE The source of the headline and the date are included. This is the reporter’s description of the event. It is always a direct quotation from the news report and reflects the understanding of the reporter and editors. EVENT This is my comment on why the event is interesting to a Bible student. The intention of the WWW is to offer brief Biblical perspectives without going into detail. If more detail is desired, please e-mail me: (andy@weeklyworldwatch.co.uk). COMMENT This is normally one verse which backs up why the event that has occurred is interesting from a Biblical perspective. Please read in its context. Unless stated otherwise, all quotes are from the King James Version.(Book, chapter, and verse)

4. This Week’s Developments March 11 - 17, 2012 • Turkey threatens military incursion into northern Syria • 'Deadly blasts' shake Syrian capital Damascus • Israel strikes oil off Tel Aviv coast • Cameron and Obama reaffirm 'essential relationship' • Blasphemy is just 'everyday language', says BBC • Church powerless to stop same-sex marriage To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: Togarmah literally means “thou wilt break her” Turkey may have a role in breaking Syria Turkey threatens military incursion into northern Syria Daily Telegraph, March 15, 2012 Turkey threatened to launch a military incursion into northern Syria after refugees fleeing alleged massacres by pro-Assad forces poured across its frontiers. The warning came as the Arab Red Crescent predicted that as many as 500,000 Syrian civilians could seek refuge in Turkey as government forces widened an offensive in the border province of Idlib, a stronghold of the rebel Free Syrian Army. Turkey has said in the past that a fresh surge of refugees would make it necessary to create a safe area within Syrian territory to protect civilians. Besir Atalay, Turkey's deputy prime minister, on Thursday said the move, which was considered but rejected last year, was again being contemplated. Giving impetus to renewed calls for some kind of limited military intervention, Syrian human rights activists claimed that 23 mutilated corpses had been discovered near the city of Idlib, which fell to President Bashar al-Assad's forces earlier this week. EVENT The crisis in Syria deepened again this week. 14,000 people have crossed the border from Syria into Turkey since the uprising began a year ago. However the numbers are dramatically increasing,. Over 1000 refugees poured over into Turkey on just one day this week. This is why Turkey has again suggested a military incursion into Syria to create a buffer zone. Kofi Annan, joint special envoy on Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League, said on Friday the situation in the country needed to be handled "very, very carefully" to avoid an escalation that would destabilise the region. Turkey is going to play a part in the final conflict. Turkey is biblical Togarmah. This nation is mentioned as joining with Russia when it invades Israel. It is likely that Turkey is far more proactive and aggressive leading up to this event. We see this happening… he COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:4&6)

6. The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, Aroer means “ruins or stripped or destitute” 'Deadly blasts' shake Syrian capital Damascus BBConline, March 17, 2012 Several police and civilians have been killed in two explosions in the Syrian capital Damascus, state TV says. A broadcast described the blasts as "terrorist" attacks. Preliminary reports suggested vehicles packed with explosives had been detonated, it said. It said intelligence and police buildings were hit and the cause was not known. Details of the reports cannot be independently verified as access to Syria for journalists is restricted. There was a return of violence to the Damascus suburbs - the first significant fighting there since government forces imposed military control some weeks ago. Dozens of people have been killed in bomb attacks in Damascus and the second city Aleppo in recent months, which the government also blamed on terrorists. The opposition has accused the authorities of staging some of those incidents. The latest blasts came two days after the first anniversary of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which UN estimates say has left more than 8,000 people dead. EVENT The explosions that happened today (Saturday) rocked central Damascus. The attacks came two days after the first anniversary of year-long uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, in which the United Nations says more than 8,000 people have been killed. Violence and fighting also returned this week to Damascus as people returned to the streets in the capital city. Great destruction is coming on Damascus. It will happen before Russia invades. The Syrian kingdom will be removed – the current rulership will be destroyed. All this is prophesied to happen. The Arab spring which saw the Tunisian government fall within days, the Egyptian government fall within weeks, the Libyan government fall within months will see the Syrian government fall within years. We have just past the first year anniversary - time is running out for Damascus… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:1-3)

7. thou [Gog] shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages[no Kibbutz’s] ; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely[over confidently], all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates To take a spoil[oil], and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods[economic prosperity],. This is the situation NOW… Israel strikes oil off Tel Aviv coast Israel National News, March 13, 2012 Graph shows employment levels for main economies. Israel is dark blue line. Click here to see the graph in detail Israel has struck oil again, this time off the Tel Aviv coast. Developers maintain the find includes 100 million barrels of oil, worth $10 billion. Modiin Energy and Adira Energy discovered an estimated 128 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas in their Gabriella and Yitzhak licenses, in shallow water less than 15 miles northwest of Tel Aviv. Officials called the find “significant” and added, "Surveys conducted in recent months found oil in the target strata. The potential oil reservoir is 128 million barrels of oil, and the contingent reserves are an additional 120 million barrels.“ "Bottom line, there is oil. It's 100 percent. Secondly, the quantities are commercial,” said Tzachi Sultan, controlling shareholder of Modiin. The oil was defined as “ high quality” and reportedly can be extracted even easier than the gas. EVENT Yet again in recent years Israel has struck oil and gas in very large quantities. This really is prophesy being fulfilled before our eyes. For many years we have said that the “spoil” that Gog (leader of Russia) wants could well be “spOIL.” Putin loves gas and oil and the control and wealth it brings. Israel now has these resources in abundance. A report this week in Bloomberg Business Week showed the amazing economy of Israel compared to other major economies in the world. A combination of fast population growth, robust exports, and sound monetary policy has allowed Israel to create jobs faster than the U.S., the European Union, Poland, and even Brazil. Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says the country is now near full employment. And so in these last days Israel lives in prosperity and over confidence. The walled villages are gone (Kibbutz’s). They are in EXACTLY the position Ezekiel 38 describes right now… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:11-12)

8. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? This verse comes immediately after the verse quoted on the previous slide about Israel’s spoil David Cameron and Barack Obama reaffirm 'essential relationship' after 19-gun salute Daily Telegraph, March 14, 2012 A gun salute and the national anthem have welcomed the Prime Minister to the White House as he and US President Barack Obama trade jokes in their speeches. Mr Obama and his wife Michelle welcomed the Camerons with full military and ceremonial honours on the south lawn of the presidential mansion on a unseasonable warm March morning. Mr Obama hailed the relationship between Britain and the US as one of the "greatest alliances the world has ever known". The President joked that Downing Street aides told him Mr Cameron had decided to install a basketball hoop at No 10 after his visit to a game last night. Mr Obama said the "rock-solid alliance" between their two countries was the "one constant". "Our alliance is essential, it is indispensable to the prosperity and security that we seek, not only for our own citizens but for people around the world." EVENT This week the prime minister of Britain went on a formal visit to America. The trip was treated with all the pomp and ceremony of a state visit. 19 gun salutes, full military honours, the red carpet and White House speeches and ceremonies. “The relationship between America and Britain never been as strong as it is now,” they said. “We can count on each other.” they said. “This is the most powerful partnership the world has ever seen.” they said. And so at the very same time Israel has developed a spoil that Russia will be interested in... At the very same time Israel lives confident in her own abilities… At the very same time we see Russia protecting Iran and Syria - We see America and Britain standing side by side. Together. Britain is the “old lion”. America is one of Britain’s offspring a “young lion”. They will stand against the “king of the north”. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13)

9. That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Perilous times have come. God will judge the world – SOON. Blasphemy is just 'everyday language', says BBC Daily Telegraph, March 16, 2012 THE BBC has said blasphemy is part of "everyday language" and refused to apologise to a vicar who complained about comments made by Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson. The Reverend Graeme Anderson said Mr Clarkson had "trivialised and cheapened" Christianity with outbursts of "God Almighty" and "Jesus wept" on his show. Mr Anderson, 52, wrote to the broadcaster to complain but was told by the BBC that some offensive words and phrases had become everyday language and there was "no consensus about words that are acceptable". Mr Clarkson was filmed shouting "Jesus wept" while driving a KTM X-bow open top sports car in an episode that was broadcast on Sunday, March 4. He also said: "God Almighty" while driving a Bentley powered by a Spitfire engine. EVENT From the 16th century to the mid-19th century, blasphemy against Christianity was held as an offence against common law. All blasphemies against God, including denying His being or providence, all reproaches of Jesus Christ, all profane scoffing at the Holy Scriptures, and exposing any part thereof to contempt or ridicule, were punishable by the courts with imprisonment, corporal punishment, fine and even death! The common law offences of blasphemy were abolished by the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The last person in Britain to be sent to prison for blasphemy was John William Gott on 9 December 1921. He satirised the biblical story of Jesus entering Jerusalem comparing Jesus to a circus clown. We now live in a world when blasphemy is totally acceptable. As 2 Timothy 3:1 says “in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers” COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Mark 7:21)

10. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. Unseemly = shameful Their recompense in themselves = AIDS Church powerless to stop same-sex marriage Daily Telegraph, March 15, 2012 A long-awaited official paper on same-sex marriage makes clear that the Church will be powerless to stop the change even if it mobilises hundreds of thousands of objections. A carefully worded statement, drafted by the Archbishops Council, hinted that the question of marriage could undermine its position as the established church. Announcing the four-month consultation, Miss Featherstone and the Home Secretary Theresa May said the Government committed to ending the ban on same-sex couples marrying in register offices. “I believe that if a couple love each other and want to commit to a life together, they should have the option of a civil marriage, whatever their gender," said Miss Featherstone. “Today is a hugely important step as we consider how to lift the ban on civil marriage for same-sex couples. “This is about the underlying principles of family, society, and personal freedoms. EVENT We know that homosexuality is an abomination to God. It always has been and always will be. But what exactly is marriage? And what would it mean if a man did marry a man? Biblical marriage is a man joining together with a woman and becoming “one flesh”. One person in God’s sight. It is a union. A coming together. In other words it is symbolic. But what of? It is symbolic we are told of Christ (the male) and the church (or congregation of believers as the woman). See Ephesians 5:32. So in a marriage the male is symbolic of Jesus. Therefore if two men did marry it is symbolic of Christ marrying himself and rejecting his followers - the saints. All his work, his life, his death and resurrection would have been for himself and not for those who followed him. Men marrying men is the final and total rejection of Christ and his work. Judgment will come. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Romans 1:26-27)

11. Weekly World Watch The end of this week’s WWW will be e-mailed to you each week. Please forward the e-mail addresses of others who may be interested. I will include them in the list of recipients. Comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. E-MAIL ANDY Click here (Move the mouse until the cursor appears.) To watch again, click here.