September 27 – October 3, 2009

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s September 27 – October 3, 2009 “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 September 27 - October 3, 2009 • If Irish vote 'Yes' - what next? • China: Marching to world domination • Iran decision time approaches for Israel • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past • Coins from era of Biblical Joseph found in Egypt • Tsunami could have made earthquake risk worse To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet If Irish vote 'Yes' - what next? BBConline, October 3, 2009 Political sensitivities surrounding the second Irish referendum mean that the road ahead for the Lisbon Treaty is less clear than many EU leaders would wish. Since Irish voters rejected the treaty in the first referendum, in June 2008, politicians across Europe have tried to avoid giving voters the impression that the Lisbon Treaty is a fait accompli. If the Irish verdict is "Yes" this time, however, the Lisbon ratification process is likely to speed up, because then only the Czech Republic will appear to be the odd one out. The Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, is still quite capable of throwing a spanner into the Lisbon works - and the complex machinery of ratification might yet grind to a halt for a few more months. He will not sign the treaty until the Czech Constitutional Court has ruled on another legal complaint by a group of Czech senators - and that complaint has only just been filed. EVENT It seems very likely from exit polls that the Irish will vote yes in the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. It is not the final hurdle for Europe to jump however. As the report says above, the Czech’s still have to ratify and is has only just gone to their constitutional court. It will take at least 2 months and possibly 6 to go through. The treaty cannot come into force until all 27 nations have ratified it. This treaty is very significant despite what some may say. It gives Europe a unified legal identity for the first time. It in effect creates an empire with a president. The president can sign documents on behalf of Europe whereas now all 27 nations have to sign. Revelation 17 and Daniel 2 make clear the kings of Europe do NOT get an empire and they remain divided. They are in this state when Christ returns. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 2:41, Revelation 17:12)

6. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon…, For they are the spirits of devils,…. to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty China: Marching to world domination Daily Mail, October 2, 2009 China today celebrated its wealth and rising might with a show of goose-stepping troops, gaudy floats and nuclear-capable missiles in Beijing, 60 years after Mao Zedong proclaimed its embrace of communism. But beneath today's orgy of celebrations that marks the anniversary lurks a disturbing reality. Mao's successors may have embraced cut-throat capitalism to a degree that makes even Western economists blanch. But the arrangements for the parade are a reminder that China remains a deeply authoritarian society. And almost unnoticed, it has become the world's biggest acquirer of foreign public debt. With some $800 billion of U.S Treasury securities, China now has a hold over the American economy that would have seemed unthinkable a few decades ago. It is no accident that the centrepiece of the 60th anniversary celebrations in Beijing is a massive military parade. EVENT China will almost certainly play a part in the final conflict as “all nations” are gathered to battle. As a communist country it will be allied to Russia. Remember the froglike spirits (Rev 16). One “equality” (communistic) came out of the dragon (i.e. Russia). How? In Revelation 13 the dragon comes to signify the secular military power in the EASTERN part of the Roman empire, based around Constantinople. A century after the fall of Constantinople, Russia began to emerge as "Third Rome" with the Czar taking the place of the Emperor of Constantinople. This is why we see Russia as a secular, military country with the froglike spirit of equality. The doctrine continued to spread East into China and North Korea which are still communist and authoritarian countries. God is preparing and gathering the nations to Armageddon. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Revelation 16:13,14)

7. Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes Iran decision time approaches for Israel China View, October 1, 2009 Thursday sees the start of a historic process with potentially earth- shattering consequences as Iran begins official talks with six world powers about its nuclear program. It is a process that for now is expected to be limited to three months. If it does not produce results that satisfy Israel, the Jewish state could, in the eyes of some analysts, well be tempted to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's hand is fairly limited. If fresh sanctions are imposed in the new year, the United States is expected to demand Israel not attack Iran while the effectiveness of the measures is judged. However, if Israel remains convinced that Iran is going down the path of building a nuclear arsenal, it will not matter whether the sanctions lead to Iran's agreement to allow international inspectors to its nuclear installations. Israel will simply have to decide whether it is going to attack Iran. EVENT “potentially earth-shattering consequences”. This is how the article above describes what could happen if Israel does attack Iran. Will Israel attack Iran? We do not know. We do know for absolute certain that Iran will attack Israel. We know this from Ezekiel 38 when Iran forms part of the Gogian invasion. On Monday this week Iran tested its longest range missiles. The Shahab-3 and Sajjil rockets, which are believed to have ranges of up to 2,000km (1,240 miles). The ancient Medes were obsessed with “bright arrows”. Modern Medes (Iranians) are also obsessed with them as well. God is stirring up their spirit. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Jeremiah 51:11)

8. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed to have Jewish past Daily Telegraph, October 3, 2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's vitriolic attacks on the Jewish world hide an astonishing secret, evidence uncovered by The Daily Telegraph shows. A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots. A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver. The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth. The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr Ahmadinejad's birthplace, and the name derives from "weaver of the Sabour", the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior. Experts last night suggested Mr Ahmadinejad's track record for hate-filled attacks on Jews could be an overcompensation to hide his past. EVENT This is an incredible piece of news. Ahmadinejad is Jewish according to the Telegraph. A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that "jian" ending to the name specifically showed the family had been practising Jews. Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, said: "Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith.” We have compared Ahmadinejad to Haman who lived in Persia (Iran) and wanted to kill the Jews. Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Ahmadinejad has been given the spirit of the Amalakites. See verse below. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Deuteronomy 25:17)

9. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. Coins from era of Biblical Joseph found in Egypt MEMRI, September 24, 2009 According to a report in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, by Wajih Al-Saqqar, archaeologists have discovered ancient Egyptian coins bearing the name and image of the Biblical Joseph. The researcher identified coins from many different periods, including coins that bore special markings identifying them as being from the era of Joseph. Among these, there was one coin that had an inscription on it, and an image of a cow symbolizing Pharaoh's dream about the seven fat cows and seven lean cows, and the seven green stalks of grain and seven dry stalks of grain. The research team [managed to] translate [the writing on the coin] by comparing it to the earliest known hieroglyphic texts… "Joseph's name appears twice on this coin, written in hieroglyphs: once the original name, Joseph, and once his Egyptian name, Saba Sabani, which was given to him by Pharaoh when he became treasurer. There is also an image of Joseph, who was part of the Egyptian administration at the time. EVENT The picture (top right) is of the coins that have been found. The researchers discovered the coins when they sifted through thousands of small archaeological artefacts stored in the vaults of` the Museum of Egypt. Initially they took them for charms, but a thorough examination revealed that the coins bore the year in which they were minted and their value, or effigies of the pharaohs who ruled at the time of their minting. Incredibly some of the coins are from the time when Joseph lived in Egypt, and bear his name and portrait. Joseph is a type of Christ. He was rejected by his brothers. Cast into a pit. Sold for silver coins. He stayed faithful. He was a prophet. He eventually ruled Egypt and saved it from famine. We wait for Christ to return and save the world… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 41:42,43)

10. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, Tsunami could have made earthquake risk worse Daily Telegraph, October 1, 2009 Earthquakes have been more common since the Asian Tsunami in 2004 that weakened fault lines around the world, according to a new study. The 2004 magnitude 9 earthquake beneath the ocean west of Sumatra in Indonesia was the second-largest quake ever measured. It killed an estimated 230,000 people, mostly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. This week earthquakes of slightly lower magnitudes happened along the same line, killing up to 1,000 on the island of Sumatra. A recent US study found that the 2004 earthquake weakened fault lines around the world, including California's San Andreas Fault. The research, that was published in the journal Nature on the day the latest earthquake in Indonesia hit, suggested the tsunami could have caused an increase in earthquakes around the world since. "An unusually high number of magnitude 8 earthquakes occurred worldwide in 2005 and 2006," said study co-author Fenglin Niu, associate professor of Earth science at Rice University. "There has been speculation that these were somehow triggered by the Sumatran-Andaman earthquake that occurred on Dec. 26, 2004." EVENT This week we have seen a devastating tsunami caused by a huge earthquake. Over 130 people were killed as the 15ft waves crashed into the coastland. Another massive earthquake occurred later that day in Indonesia killing over 1000 people. In fact in the past four days there have been at least five substantial earthquakes—and a tsunami. As we watch the physical sea and waves roar (again) and earthquakes become ever more frequent and powerful we know they are signs of the imminent return of Christ. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Luke 21:25)

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.