Weekly World Watch - Sept. 15-21, 2019: Strike on Saudi Arabia and Israel's Election

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s Sept 15 - 21, 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 Sept 15 - 21, 2019 • Strike on Saudi Arabia moves us closer to open war • US troops to bolster Saudi defences after attack • Attack us and face all-out war, Iran warns • Israel's election highlights secular-religious divide • Deliberate security escalation could stop negotiations • Cornish tin found in Israel is hard evidence of earliest trade links To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.  A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, …. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media;… Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.  A strike on Saudi Arabia moves a shadowy conflict closer to open war The Economist, September 19, 2019 Desert area where missiles struck The missiles streaked down and turned the night sky orange. In the early hours of September 14th a barrage of fast-moving weapons hit Abqaiq, a town in the eastern Saudi desert that is home to the world’s largest oil-processing facility. They punched holes in the spheroids that process crude oil and smashed five of Abqaiq’s 18 stabilisation towers, lighting up the night. A separate volley set ablaze the Khurais oilfield, 185km to the south west. The attack appears to be the most dangerous escalation yet by the Islamic republic in its simmering conflict with America and its allies. After months of sabre-rattling and increasingly brazen acts of aggression—from mine attacks on ships to the seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker—Iran (or its proxies) has moved on to strike directly at the jugular vein of the world’s economy. The barrage, by a mix of cruise missiles and drones, also marks a worrying transition to open war from the shadowy proxy conflict that Iran has waged with Saudi Arabia and its allies. EVENT The US and Saudi Arabia have now both categorically accused Iran of staging a swarm attack of 20 drones and a dozen missiles on the Saudi separation plant at Abqaiq, the biggest oil operation in the world. This initially pushed oil prices up 20%! We have been highlighting for a while the amazing small chapter of Isaiah 21. This chapter is part of a sequence of chapters (13 to 24) that detail ten tribulations that come on the world before the final judgement. Ch 21 deals with Iran and Saudi Arabia. We read of a treacherous deal. We read that Elam (south west Iran) besieges. All this is connected with a desert by the sea. The sea next to Elam is the Gulf. The desert is Saudi Arabia. A terrible time comes which ends with “Babylon is fallen, is fallen”. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 21:1-2+9)

6. 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?  United States sending troops to bolster Saudi defences after attack Reuters, September 21, 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defences after the largest-ever attack on the kingdom’s oil facilities, which Washington has squarely blamed on Iran. The Pentagon said the deployment would involve a moderate number of troops - not numbering thousands - and would be primarily defensive in nature. It also detailed plans to expedite delivery of military equipment to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Reuters has previously reported that the Pentagon was considering sending anti-missile batteries, drones and more fighter jets. The United States is also considering keeping an aircraft carrier in the region indefinitely. The Pentagon’s late Friday announcement appeared to close the door to any imminent decision to wage retaliatory strikes against Iran. EVENT The cruise missiles were launched (according to US officials) from the very area of ancient Elam. Isaiah 21 says that Elam (south west Iran) will “go up” – means to ascend and Media (central Iran) will besiege – means to restrict or confine. Iran using its missiles is attempting to restrict oil supplies. As the US with its sanctions brings Iran to its knees Iran is saying we will bring the world to its knees as well. The US reaction to all this is to send troops and more missiles to Saudi Arabia. Ezekiel 38 speaks of Sheba and Dedan (Saudi Arabia and gulf states) being allied to Tarshish (UK) and the young lions. The young lions are the offspring nations of the old lion (Britain). America is one of the young lions and is now working ever more closely with Saudi Arabia to counter the threat of Iran. Bible prophecy is coming to pass… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13)

7. Saudi oilfield crisis: Attack us and face all-out war, Iran warns The Times, September 20, 2019 Iran warned that an attack on its territory would be met with “all-out war” as the US backed away from military action while claiming a “wide consensus” that Tehran was to blame for bombing Saudi oilfields. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, raised the stakes as the US and Saudi Arabia consider their response to the bombings by declaring: “We’ll have a lot of casualties, but we won’t blink to defend our territory.” Mr Zarif denied that Iran played a part in the attacks, which were claimed by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. His comments came as Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, completed a visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates saying that President Trump wanted a “peaceful resolution”. The US and Saudi Arabia have retreated from reprisal attacks on Iran even though Mr Pompeo blamed Tehran for an “act of war”.  EVENT With such a brazen attack (although Iran tried to disguise it) on Saudi Arabia and the world’s oil supply we might have expected a military response from the US. President Trump said the US was “locked and loaded” but has responded with some more sanctions and troops sent to Saudi Arabia. Trump’s rhetoric may be fiery but his actions are often seen as being far less so. In fact the response is so weak that many commentators believe that Iran will be emboldened to stir up trouble even more. With Bible in hand we can say two things in relation to this. Firstly whatever happens in the short term we know that Iran survives to join with Russia to attack Israel (following the initial inner ring war). Secondly we know from Ezekiel 38 that the (US/UK) are weakened powers as they can only question Gog’s intentions and not stop him. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE 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?  (Ezekiel 38:13)

8. Israel's election highlights secular-religious divide ABC News, September 20, 2019 EVENT In Israel's secular heartland, religion played a central role in this week’s deadlocked election. For many, a vote for the opposition was driven by a desire to keep rabbis out of their schools, businesses and love lives. With the Palestinian issue almost completely off the agenda, and a general consensus about security challenges, matters of religion and state took centre stage. Veteran firebrand Avigdor Lieberman positioned himself as the primary power broker by making these matters his signature cause and defecting from Netanyahu's camp over what he called its capitulation to the ultra-Orthodox. He now insists on a secular unity government to end their outsized influence, and neither Netanyahu nor former military chief Benny Gantz, whose centrist Blue and White party won the most seats, seems capable of forming a coalition government without him. COMMENT Until now the religious parties in Israel have kept Netanyahu in power by supporting him and giving him the extra seats he needs to have a majority. This meant that Israel had a religious element to its government. This in turn meant that the Rabbi’s could influence the laws of Israel. Shops don’t open on the Sabbath forinstance. But as Israel as a nation has turned further and further away from religion the call for a secular (non religious) government has grown ever stronger. The desire for a secular government in Israel has led to Netanyahu losing a lot of ground in this second election this year. Brother John Thomas (pioneer Christadelphian) wrote (in about 1850) these words “The pre-adventual colonization of Palestine will be on purely political principles.” In other words a regathered Israel would be secular. We see this clearly now… BIBLE QUOTE And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: [this is a secular return] And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: [spiritual when Jesus returns] (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

9. Israel Election Results: Deliberate Security Escalation Could Torpedo Political Negotiations Haaretz, September 19, 2019 EVENT Escalation may serve as an excuse for a Netanyahu-led emergency government. Israel's security chiefs may require nerves of steel. The days that may turn out to be the twilight of the Netanyahu era also pose an inherent risk. By law, the political system has almost four months from Election Day to exploit all the options for forming a new government before another election must be called. The security tensions are still bubbling very close to the surface. There is a danger that they might now be used as an excuse: The intentional escalation in one of the arenas, against Iran and Hezbollah in the north or against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, could disrupt the coalition talks in a way that would accelerate the establishment of an emergency government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an extreme scenario, an escalation could even be used to justify the defection of individuals from Kahol Lavan or Labor. A very dangerous situation has developed. Israel is in political crisis. Netanyahu not only is losing his grip on power he is also likely to end up in court for corruption charges and could therefore end up in prison. There is a possibility (as the article points out) that an escalation (conflict) could serve Netanyahu very well at this time as he could call for an emergency government he would lead. On the other hand Iran is also under immense pressure as even more sanctions are put in place. Iran,Hezbollah and Hamas may well see Israel's current political uncertainty as an opportunity to attack. They will see Israel in a weakened position. All these events could bring us quickly to the initial inner ring war between Israel and her surrounding peoples…. COMMENT “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. The surrounding peoples are consumed (Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria etc) but Jerusalem remains intact – the destruction of Jerusalem comes when Russia invades. BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 12:6)

10. Cornish tin found in Israel is hard evidence of earliest trade links The Times, September 19, 2019 EVENT Tin ingots found in Israel that are more than 3,000 years old are of Cornish origin and probably reached the Middle East by way of Greece, experts say. Archaeologists said that their chemical analysis provided the first hard evidence for trading of the metal, which is used in making bronze, between the west of Britain and the most famous Bronze Age civilisations — over networks covering thousands of miles. The 23 ingots from shipwrecks off the coast of Israel date from about the 13th and 12th centuries BC, when Phoenician and Greek traders dominated the eastern Mediterranean, and around the time of the first recorded written mention, by the ancient Egyptians, of the word “Israel”. Tin was a prerequisite for making bronze swords and armour. COMMENT This is an amazing find and it adds more proof the Britain IS Tarshish. How does it do that?? First of all look at the map – it shows Cornwall in south west Britain being the start of the journey for tin. It shows a sea route coming around Spain into the Med and finishing in Israel. These tin ingots definitely came from Cornwall. And this was happening 3000 years ago! We now turn to the Bible. Ezekiel 27 tells us who Tyre traded with. Tyre was the capital city of Phoenicia. Phoenicia was a sea faring trading nation where modern day Lebanon is today. Ezekiel 27 says that Tyre traded with Tarshish for silver, iron, TIN and lead. So when did Tyre trade with Tarshish? The answer is around 2500 years ago. There are sceptics who have said there is no way (and no evidence) that tin could have been traded back then over such distances between the eastern med and Britain. The evidence is now there for us to see! And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.  BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 27:2+12)

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