Weekly World Watch - April 25-May 1, 2010

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s April 25 – May 1, 2010 “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) 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 April 25 – May 1, 2010 • Syria-Turkey joint army drill intensifies threat to Israel • Clinton warns Syria on sending arms to Hezbollah • Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan • Oil slick: fears damage could be worse than Katrina • Greece crisis: Fears grow that it could spread • Putin presses claim to Arctic To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. 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 regarded Togarmah as the father of the Phrygians. Phrygia is right in the middle of modern Turkey Syria-Turkey joint army drill intensifies threat to Israel Israel National News, April 27, 2010 Syria is tightening its military alliance with Turkey as it reinforces its recent threat to send Israel back to “the Stone Age” if it attacks Hizbullah. Syrian President Bashar Assad told a Kuwaiti newspaper on Saturday it has “surprises" in store for Israel. Turkish military officials said that its soldiers began joint military exercises with Syria on Monday, the second time in a year. The army manoeuvres are another sign of closer ties between Damascus and Ankara, which was considered to be a friend of Israel until last year, when it fell in line with most of the Arab world’s anti-Israel campaign. Turkey also has established closer ties with Iran, and an Iranian-Turkish-Syrian-Lebanese axis would pose a monolithic threat to Israel from the north. Syrian sources told the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai that if Israel were to attack the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist army, Syria would impose a naval blockade on Israel, using ground-to-sea missiles. EVENT Until recently Turkey has been friendly with Israel but this has all changed in recent months. Turkey has decided to back Syria and Iran. The relationship between Israel and Turkey began to go wrong following the 2008-9 Gaza conflict. In October 2009, Turkey refused to allow Israel to attend a joint military exercise (long planned) consisting of Turkey, America and Israel. Turkey’s state TV has begun showing anti Jewish programmes. This caused Israel to publicly reprimand the Turkish ambassador on TV in a very humiliating way. Turkey threatened to withdraw its ambassador. The Bible tells us that one of the nations that invades Israel with Gog is Togarmah. Togarmah is in fact modern day Turkey. We can see this piece now in place. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:6)

6. Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. Clinton Warns Syria on Sending Arms to Hezbollah ABCnews, April 30, 2010 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syria Thursday night that its policy of sending weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon is pushing the region toward war. Mrs Clinton warned, in a speech in Washington to a Jewish lobbying organisation, that weapons transfers could spark new conflict in the Middle East. She also warned that a nuclear-armed Iran would profoundly destabilise the region. "These threats to Israel's security are real, they are growing and they must be addressed. Transferring weapons to these terrorists, especially longer-range missiles, would pose a serious threat to the security of Israel, it would have a profoundly destabilising effect on the region and it would absolutely violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which bans the unauthorised importation of any weapons into Lebanon." EVENT The talk of war between Israel and Syria continues apace this week. Debkafile had a headline this week “Iran, Syria and Hezbollah gear up to provoke a summer war.” It is clear that America is also concerned about the prospects of war in the region. Israel and America appear to have Syria in their sights. US defence secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday night, April 27: "Hizballah has far more rockets and missiles than most governments in the world." He and Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak were talking to reporters after their talks in the Pentagon. Ehud Barak said,” "We do not intend to provoke any kind of major collision in Lebanon or with Syria, but are watching closely these developments.“ We also watch these developments closely. Damascus will one day be destroyed. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Jeremiah 49:24)

7. I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. . Barack Obama threatens to impose peace plan Daily Telegraph, April 30, 2010 Barack Obama has warned Israel he will pave the way for an independent Palestinian state if the peace process remains deadlocked until the autumn. The US president is proposing to hand control of the Middle East peace process to the international community unless there is a breakthrough in the next few months, Israeli officials have said. Mr Obama has formulated a secret plan with leading European allies to convene an international peace conference by the end of the year, according to Israel's Haaretz newspaper. The move would fulfil one of Israel's deepest fears by effectively stripping the Jewish state of its power to dictate the course of talks. The conference would attempt to end decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict by pressing both sides to accept difficult compromises on issues ranging from the future of millions of Palestinian refugees to the status of Jerusalem. Mr Obama is also eager to gain international recognition for the creation of a Palestinian state. EVENT It looks as if Obama is determined to enforce a peace agreement on Israel if there is no progress in the next few months. This is alarming for Israel. It means that in effect the USA, Europe and maybe Russia will draw up unilateral agreements concerning a Palestinian state, the splitting of Israel and Jerusalem. There will be little negotiation for Israel on this. The Palestinians may well unilaterally declare their own state at this time. Obama has been angered by Israel’s refusal to stop building in Jerusalem and now seem determined to punish Israel for this. We read in the verse below that in fact the nations do “divide” God’s land. It brings the final judgements from God. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Joel 3:2)

8. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Oil slick: fears damage could be worse than Katrina Daily Telegraph, April 30, 2010 Perched on an exposed strip of wetland jutting far into the Gulf of Mexico, the fishing town of Buras knows all about ill winds that blow no good. Five years after Buras had the dubious honour of being the place where Hurricane Katrina first made landfall, flattening almost every building, the community on Friday faced a new misery rolling in from the sea. A third of America's oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico as does nearly all of its seafood. More than 60 per cent of America's oysters come just from the small region around Buras and neighbouring Venice. Everyone here in this remote string of townships 75 miles south-east of New Orleans ultimately relies on the water for their livelihood. Like everywhere else, Buras has never recovered from Katrina. There is still no public hall, no gas supply, no school and not even repaired pavements. Even so, local people agree that the oil slick could be far more serious than any hurricane. "A hurricane is like closing your bank account for a few days, but this here has the capacity to destroy our bank accounts," said Mr Marinovich. EVENT Five years ago America's southern coastal region lay in ruins following hurricane Katrina. Five years on the same area is looking potentially at an even worse disaster. In the WWW five years ago we commented on the fact that Katrina came at the very time Israel pulled out of Gaza. It was under immense American pressure that Israel decided to give up land given to them by God. Here we are five years later with America once again putting immense pressure on Israel to give up land and divide Jerusalem. Once again a disaster threatens America and like the hurricane there is no way man can stop it. It is as if America is cursed… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 12:3)

9. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; In Egypt money failed due to famine. Eventually no money was left. The people had no option but to give Joseph their lands. Egypt = the world Joseph = Christ money spent = financial collapse Greece crisis: Fears grow that it could spread BBConline, April 28, 2010 The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the crisis in Greece could spread throughout Europe. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that every day lost in resolving Greece's problems risks spreading the impact "far away". World financial markets, recovering slightly on Wednesday, have been badly hit by fears of contagion from Greece. Mr Strauss-Kahn was speaking at a news conference in Berlin after trying to persuade reluctant German politicians to back the terms of a rescue deal. But even as politicians were trying to resolve the crisis, Europe's debt problems were flaring elsewhere. EVENT The financial crisis of 2008/9 is not over. In fact what has happened is this. Through corruption and greed people borrowed too much and the banks lent too much. It was built on sand though. The banks began to collapse and a worldwide recession began. To save the meltdown of the financial system the governments of the world bailed out the banks. Trillions of dollars were poured into the system. National borrowings reached unprecedented levels but the action appeared for a short time to have stopped the ship sinking. However some nations have been left with debts so large they can no longer afford to repay them. So now instead of banks going bust we have entire countries! If a country defaults on payments who do you turn to then? Other countries! These countries though have too much debt themselves. We can see God’s hand here. He has brought the governments of the world to the brink. With nothing left in reserve one slight push and like dominos the nations will fall. This is part of God’s judgement. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 47:18)

10. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. Putin presses claim to Arctic Sydney Morning Herald, May 1, 2010 He has sunk to the bottom of the world's deepest lake, skied down volcanoes and fished in Siberian rivers. Now, Russia's action-man Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, has gone one better - coming face to snout with a giant (if anaesthetised) polar bear during a trip to Russia's remote Arctic north. Last month Mr Putin travelled to Franz Josef Land, a collection of far-flung Russian islands in the north-east of the Barents Sea, with a group of hand-picked journalists, as part of the Kremlin's latest attempt to lay claim to the Arctic. Speaking next to the bear, Mr Putin said Russia had ''profound strategic interests'' in the region. He said the Arctic was central to his country's defence and security, with the Kremlin's northern fleet stationed there and its bombers patrolling above the ice. EVENT We have long looked for an autocratic head of Russia at the time of the end. Ezekiel 38 talks of “Gog” coming down and invading Israel. We can identify Gog with a Russian leader. The word Gog denotes and symbolises all that is powerful, and proud. Hence one of the reasons for looking for a man who is powerful and proud. Eg autocratic. We also have the remarkable prophecy of Daniel 8. This chapter tells us about an ancient ruler - Antiochus Epiphanes. This man hated the Jews and became the “king of the north” of Daniel 11. We read though (in the verse below) that there is a latter day king of the north. We know he is latter day because he stands against Christ. This is NOT a reference to the Roman ruler of Daniel 7 but a latter day Antiochus Epiphanes. Notice how he magnifies himself. Notice how Putin does - as he claims the NORTH… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 8:25)

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.