Aug 18 - 31, 2019

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s Aug 18 - 31, 2019 “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). Please note that these are personal thoughts and the aim is purely to stimulate Bible study. 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 Aug 18 - 31, 2019 • Lebanon, Iraq, Iran call out Israel's 'declaration of war' • Lebanon shoots Israeli drones in dramatic escalation • Abbas: ‘Millions of fighters’ will take over Jerusalem • Australia joins U.S-led mission to protect Gulf shipping • Russia offers Iran oil route to Turkey and Syria • Erdogan visits Russian air show as Putin's guest To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.  Lebanon, Iraq, Iran call out Israel's 'declaration of war' after it bombs 3 COUNTRIES in one weekend RT, August 27, 2019 Lebanon, Iraq and Iran have declared recent Israeli aggression as an act of war after attacks on Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq over the weekend, promising devastating retaliation if the violence continues. A pair of kamikaze drone attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday and a drone strike on Palestinian militia in the Bekaa Valley early on Monday morning were akin to “a declaration of war,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun told the UN Special Coordinator on Monday, adding that the aggression “allows us to resort to our right to defending our sovereignty.” The international community must reject Israel’s “blatant violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel, PM Saad al-Hariri implored ambassadors from the UN Security Council’s permanent members. “Any escalation could develop into a regional cycle of violence that nobody can predict the extent of.” EVENT COMMENT The shadow war between Israel and Iran is escalating and spreading beyond Israeli strikes in Syria. Last weekend saw Israel attack Iraq, Lebanon and Damascus. Israel’s military said it had carried out a separate airstrike on Saturday near the Syrian border in order to foil an “imminent” drone attack planned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah. The attack by Israel on Lebanon was the first since 2006 and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah promised retaliation. Lebanon’s prime minister called it a “declaration of war.” Chapter 11 of Zechariah (the one before the gathering of the nations to Jerusalem to battle) speaks of fire coming on Lebanon. It also talks about ”howling in Bashan [The Golan Heights]. There is an initial inner ring war that involves Lebanon before Russia descends… BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 11:1-3)

6. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, Lebanon shoots at Israeli drones in dramatic escalation of tensions Daily Telegraph, August 28, 2018 The Lebanese army opened fire on Israeli surveillance drones over southern Lebanon on Wednesday night, raising the stakes in the conflict between the warring neighbours. The military, which does not possess air defence systems, fired shots from M16s assault rifles at low-flying Israeli drones over the village of al-Adaisseh, near their shared border. Israel regularly flies unmanned surveillance planes into Lebanese airspace, but it is rare for the Lebanese army to attempt to down them. It appeared to be making good on a promise to protect its sovereignty after an Israel drone strike on Hezbollah territory in the capital Beirut over the weekend. As well as having a military wing, Hezbollah is represented in parliament and has become an increasingly powerful force in the Mediterranean country. The group had already warned that it was preparing its own “calculated strike” against Israel in retaliation for its raid on a Hezbollah position near the Syrian city of Damascus on Saturday that left two fighters dead. EVENT Neither Israel nor Hezbollah want all-out war but as tensions escalate this eventuality draws ever closer.  The 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, which killed nearly 1,200 people and injured thousands more, was sparked by Hezbollah abducting two Israeli soldiers near the border. Heiko Wimmen, a Beirut-based analyst at the International Crisis Group likened the situation to both sides performing “acrobatics on the edge of the abyss.” The Bible says that Israel WILL remove the pricking briers – those people that immediately surround the country that are literally a thorn in their side. This removal comes before Russia invades. It is detailed in Psalm 83 and first half of Zechariah 12. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 28:24-25)

7. PA President Abbas: ‘Millions Of Fighters’ Will Take Over Jerusalem August 23, August 23, 2019 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened this week that "million of fighters" would swarm Jerusalem and topple the Jewish state's capital city, warning that "no matter how many houses and how many settlements they declare that they [plan to build] here and there—they shall all be destroyed.” Abbas, in an Arabic language speech at Jalazone Refugee Camp near Ramallah that was heavy with threats of destruction, doubled down on the Palestinian government's policy of using public money to pay convicted terrorists and their families, telling his audience, "We will not accept their designation of our martyrs as terrorists. Our martyrs are the martyrs of the homeland.” Abbas went on to rally those in attendance to swarm the city of Jerusalem and destroy all Jewish people living there. His remarks are the clearest sign to date that the leader has no interest in playing a role in a revamped peace process spearheaded by President Donald Trump's White House. EVENT COMMENT "We shall enter Jerusalem—millions of fighters! We shall enter it! All of us, the entire Palestinian people, the entire Arab nation, the Islamic nation, and the Christian nation," Abbas said. "They shall all enter Jerusalem.” “We shall remain [here], and nobody can remove us from our homeland," the leader continued. "If they want, they themselves can leave. Those who are foreign to this land have no right to it. So we say to them: Every stone you have [used] to build on our land, and every house you have built on our land, is bound to be destroyed, Allah willing.” Jerusalem is becoming a burdensome stone for all people. It becomes an intoxicating drink however for those who live “round about” – this means the people who live close by – eg The Palestinians! BIBLE QUOTE Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.  (Zechariah 12:2-3)

8. Australia joins U.S.-led mission to protect Gulf shipping Reuters, August 21, 2019 EVENT Australia will join the United States in a security mission to protect merchant vessels travelling through key Middle East waterways after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday. Foremost among the areas to be patrolled is the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, through which about one-fifth of the world’s seaborne crude flows out of the Gulf. Global commodity trading has been rocked in recent months by the seizure of the British tanker and a series of attacks on international merchant vessels that the U.S. and Britain have blamed on Iran, though it denies involvement. Britain this month became the first U.S. ally to announce its participation. Australia is a staunch ally of the United States, which in recent months has urged partners to do more for global security. The Gulf state of Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, this week became the first Arab country to announce it would join the new mission. COMMENT It is incredible to see the nations lining up in the Gulf area exactly as prophesied in Ezekiel 38. We now have the US, the UK and Australia with naval vessels there to protect the oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Israel is also helping behind the scenes. On top of this Bahrain has also said it will join. Britain has opened a permanent military naval base in Bahrain – so has the US. The EU which has been asked to join has refused to as they don’t agree with President Trump’s aggressive stance on Iran. The Bible says that Sheba and Dedan [Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab States like Bahrain] would be allied to Tarshish [UK] and the young lions. Britain is the old lion. Her offspring as it were are US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc. BIBLE QUOTE Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions [includes Australia] 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?  (Ezekiel 38:10-11)

9. Russia offers Iran sanctions-free oil route to Turkey and Syria The Times, August 31, 2019 EVENT Russia has offered to help Iran to skirt US sanctions by allowing it to transport crude oil through ports in Crimea, in a further sign of growing ties between Moscow and Tehran. Iran has previously sent oil deliveries to Syria and Turkey through the Suez Canal. That route has become problematic, according to Iran and Syria, since President Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal with Tehran and imposed economic sanctions. Georgy Muradov, the Kremlin’s representative in Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, announced the offer. “Iran can use our shipping capabilities and transport oil through the Volga-Don canal, via Crimea, to the Black Sea,” he said. “Mutual interest in co-operation between Iran and Crimea is growing, especially considering the anti-Iranian policies of the United States.” The Bible says that Russia [Magog, Meshech and Tubal] actively act as a guard (a protector) of Iran. Iran then joins forces with Russia to invade Israel in the not too distant future. In this news article we can see Russia helping Iran bypass US oil sanctions – therefore it is acting as a protector of Iran as the Bible said it would. But why would Russia support a pariah Muslim nation in this way? Russia has 20 million Muslims. Putin is worried about political and social unrest and therefore has decided to back their interests. Another area is economics. Russia has £2bn of bilateral trade with Iran and it cannot afford to lose this. Finally Russia wants to live in a multi polar world – a world with multiple superpowers (not just the US). By protecting Iran, Russia reduces the influence of the US. We see everything coming together as prophesied. COMMENT Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:  Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.  Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.  BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:5-7)

10. Turkey's Erdogan visits Russian air show as Putin's guest Associated Press, August 27, 2018 EVENT In a show of burgeoning security ties between Russia and Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the opening of an annual Russian air show as a guest of President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and expressed interest in purchasing the latest Russian fighter jets. NATO member Turkey started taking deliveries last month of Russia's S-400 air defence system. The United States had pushed Erdogan's government to scrap the deal, arguing that its purchase would aid Russian intelligence and compromise a U.S.-led fighter jet program. Erdogan has refused to budge despite the Trump administration kicking Turkey out of the multinational program to produce the high-tech F-35 fighter. Turkish officials have dangled the idea of buying Russian Su-35 fighter jets instead. While visiting the MAKS air show outside Moscow together, the Turkish leader and Putin called each other "dear friend" and watched Russia's latest jets perform. COMMENT Following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to Moscow on Tuesday, Russia and Turkey are discussing prospects for further military-technical cooperation. Turkey is considering purchasing Russian jet fighters. This is because the US has suspended a contract with Turkey for buying its F-35 fighter jets. The US did this because Turkey purchased Russia’s S400 missile defence system. So we see Turkey getting ever closer to Russia – but would we expect this to happen? Haven't we said in the past the Russia would invade Turkey? Ezekiel 38 makes clear that Turkey is actually one of Russia’s partner nations in exactly the same way that Iran is. Russia doesn’t invade Turkey – it joins forces with Turkey to descend as king of the north into Israel… Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.  Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100 AD) and the Christian theologians Jerome (c. 347 – 420 AD) and Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 636 AD) regarded Togarmah as the father of the Phrygians. Phrygia was in Turkey - see Acts 16:6 BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:6)

11. Weekly World Watch YouTube Videos

12. Weekly World Watch The end of this week’s WWW will be e-mailed to you each week. If you think others may find the WWW helpful please direct them to the website www.weeklyworldwatch.co.uk They can register on the site PLEASE NOTE: The Weekly World Watch is written and sent by myself – it is my take on events and I accept that on occasions I will miss significant events and also misinterpret them as well. However I will endeavour to be faithful to the scriptures and hope that it will be of benefit to both of us. To watch again please click the green arrow To watch again, click here.