Weekly World Watch: Iran's Threats and Tensions in the Middle East

1. July 6 - 12 2008 Andy Walton’sWeekly World Watch “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

2. What is this world watch all about? I decided each week to look at key events that had happened in that week and look at them with the Bible in hand. I hope to build up a picture of Gods hand working in the affairs of this world bringing about that day when all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem to battle which will be brought to end when the Lord Jesus Christ physically returns from heaven to set up Gods kingdom. The key areas which will crop up time and again will be • Israel – Middle East the growing conflict • Europe – the developing union / political and religious • Russia – continued turning back to anti west ways • The development of King of South – US & UK • Declining moral standards and increasing violence. A number of Bible Presentations have been produced and can be ordered by . The presentations are audio / visual powerpoint CD’s. Move your mouse around to get the arrow and click the green link. Clicking here

3. Weekly Developments These are just a few of the events that have caught my eye in the previous week. It is in no way meant to be exhaustive – just a look at those events I saw as significant from a Bible viewpoint. Headlines These are always headlines printed in the newspaper – the date is always given and which paper. Normally the Daily Telegraph. (DT) Event This is usually the newspapers take on the events that have happened. It will always be a direct quote from the newspaper. Comment This is my take on why it is interesting from a Bible point of view. The idea of this weekly world watch is to give a quick Biblical perspective without going into detail. If more detail is needed please email me. Bible Quote 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.

4. Weekly Developments July 6 - 12 2008 • Iran threatens to 'set fire' to Israel and US navy • Iran test-fires missile capable of hitting Israel • Israeli jets using Iraq's airspace • Russia denies Iran is a threat • Russia says its air force flew over Georgia • Large meteor crosses Israeli skies TO PRINT ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SLIDES JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE ON EACH SLIDE

5. Iran threatens to 'set fire' to Israel Headline Iran threatens to 'set fire' to Israel and US navy Headline Daily Telegraph July 8 2008 Event Iran would "set fire" to Israel and the US navy in the Gulf if it were attacked, the regime said today, as its elite Revolutionary Guards began a major military exercise. Ali Shirazi, a cleric who is the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the Guards, warned: "The first US shot on Iran would set the United States' vital interests in the world on fire. "Tel Aviv and the US fleet in the Persian Gulf would be the targets that would be set on fire in Iran's crushing response." He added that "the Zionist regime is pressuring the White House leaders to plan a military assault on Iran" and Tehran would react "if they commit such a stupidity". Comment These bellicose comments from Iran came as the leaders of the G8 met in Japan. They discussed the Iranian threat and expressed concern over Iran’s nuclear program. They urged Tehran to suspend all uranium enrichment and to co-operate with United Nations inspectors. Over the last 5 days US and British warships completed an exercise aimed at rehearsing how they would protect oil installations in the Gulf if they came under attack. The Lord God spoke to Jeremiah the prophet concerning a nation called Elam. Elam was situated in south western Iran. Elam was conquered by the Assyrians. On the fall of the Assyrian Empire it passed into the hands of the Persians. Jeremiah speaks of Elam coming to an end BUT being revived in the last days. (see verse below). As ancient Elam was situated in Iran we must surely expect Elam to be restored in some way. Iran became a unique Islamic republic in 1979 when the monarchy was overthrown and religious clerics assumed political control. We have watched Elam being restored. Why? To enable God to bring his judgements on the nations. Bible Quote Jeremiah 49 39 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come," declares the LORD. (NIV) God uses a restored Elam to bring his judgments. Elam is highlighted red

6. Iran fires missile capable of hitting Israel Headline Iran test-fires missile capable of hitting Israel Headline Daily Telegraph July 9 2008 Event Iran has test-fired a long-range missile capable of hitting Israel in an exercise condemned in the West, as tensions run high over its nuclear programme. Nine missiles were reported fired in the tests at a secret location in the Iranian desert, according to Iranian television which broadcast footage of the plumes of smoke left following the launches. The launch included a reportedly improved Shahab-3 missile, which officials said could reach targets up to 1,250 miles away, as well as the 100-mile-range Fateh and the medium-range Zelzal which can reach 125-250 miles. "The aim of these war games is to show we are ready to defend the integrity of the Iranian nation," Hossein Salami, air force commander of the Revolutionary Guard, was quoted as saying by state-run television Al-Alam. Comment The next day Iran fired 9 missiles. "Our hands are always on the trigger and our missiles are ready for launch." the Iranian leader said. The tests followed exercises by the Israeli air force, reported by United States intelligence officials to be a "dry run" for an attack nuclear sites inside Iran. In Psalm 83 we read of God’s enemies making a tumult. They say they want to destroy Israel. Note that one of the nations is Assur. Assur is another name for Assyria which covered the territory of modern Iran. Assur we read below helps the children of Lot. In Genesis 19:30-38 we read that Lot’s daughters slept with him and gave birth to 2 sons. Moab and Benammi. Moab became the father of the Moabites and Benammi the father of the Ammonites. Both are Arab nations. So we are told that Iran (Assur) would help some Arab nations in trying to destroy Israel! Bible Quote Psalm 83 2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: .. 4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. 8 Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot.

7. Headline Israeli jets using Iraq's airspace? Headline PressTV July 10 2008 Event The US has allowed Israeli jets to use US airbases in Iraq and fly over Iraqi airspace for a likely attack against Iran, Iraqi media say. It is more than a month that some Israeli planes belonging to Israeli air force use the US military bases in Iraq to land and take off, Iraqi Nahrainnet news network said Wednesday, quoting informed sources close to Iraq's Defense Ministry. The activities and traffic of warplanes- especially at nights- has lately increased in the US air bases in Nasiriya southeast of Baghdad and Haditha a city in the western Iraq province of Al Anbar, the Iraqi residents and sources said. They said the US fighters, cargo planes, helicopters and unmanned planes have intensified their flights in the last three weeks. Comment If this report is true, war cannot be far off. On Thursday this week Israel's defence minister warned Iran his country was ready to act if threatened. Ehud Barak said that while military action was a last resort, his country had proved in the past it would not hesitate when "its vital security interests are at stake." His remarks came as Tehran test fired ANOTHER salvo of missiles capable of hitting the Jewish state. Iran’s state run TV interrupted its broadcast to show more missiles being fired. A former director of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, told The Daily Telegraph that the missile testing signals that crisis is nearing a peak. The Economist ran an article this week entitled “Coming to a city near you?” “Be very afraid, please. America and Israel often hint at military action to stop Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons programme. The latest rumblings, however, may be more serious.” We have been given enough warning. The harvest is ripe! Bible Quote Joel 3 9 ¶ Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Israeli jets using Iraq's airspace

8. Russia denies Iran is a threat Headline Russia denies Iran is a threat and orders United States to drop missile shield plan Headline Daily Telegraph July 11 2008 Event Russia has ordered the United States to drop its missile shield proposals after claiming that Iran's recent military exercises proved that Tehran did not have the firepower to attack Europe. Escalating a war of words with Washington, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said that this week's Iranian missile tests had provided further evidence of an American plot to neuter Moscow's nuclear deterrent. Comment We see two important elements here. Firstly Russia is acting as a guard to Iran. Russia continues to back Iran and act as a protector to it. Note the headline above “Russia denies Iran is a threat”. This is precisely what Ezekiel 38 says. See the verse 7 below. “Thou” is speaking of Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal are areas within modern Russia. Therefore verse 7 is saying that Russia will be prepared and be “a guard” unto them. A guard is someone who watches over or protects from a military point of view. The Queen in the UK has guards watching over her. But who is Russia guarding? It must be the other nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38. One of which is Persia in verse 5. Persia is modern day Iran! Russia is acting exactly as God said they would. Russia is acting as a protectorate to Iran. Secondly we see the escalating war of words between Russia and America over the missile shield. “We will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. This is also what we would expect. The king of the north versus king of the south is developing. Bible Quote Ezekiel 38 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

9. Russia says air force flew over Georgia Headline Russia Says Its Air Force Flew Over Georgia Region Headline Reuters July 10 2008 Event Russia said on Thursday that its air force had flown over Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia this week because it believed Tbilisi was preparing to attack the region. "The need arose to take urgent and active measures to prevent bloodshed and keep the situation within peaceful bounds," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. "In order to clarify the situation, aircraft of the Russian air force carried out a brief flight over the territory of South Ossetia," the ministry said. "As subsequent events showed, this step allowed (us) to cool hot heads in Tbilisi and prevent events developing along military lines, the likelihood of which was more than real." The statement is Russia's first admission for at least a decade that its airforce has flown over Georgian territory. Georgia has alleged in the past that Russia trespassed in its airspace but Moscow has always denied it. Comment Georgia is a small nation that is currently pro Western. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared its independence in 1991. It was then embroiled in a civil war and subsequent severe economic hardships. The bloodless Rose Revolution of 2003 installed a new, pro-Western reformist government that aspired to join NATO and attempted to bring the secessionist territories (Abkhazia and South Ossetia lost in the civil war and de facto independent ever since) back under Georgia's control. These efforts resulted in severe deterioration of relations with Russia, fuelled also by Russia's open assistance and support to the two secessionists areas. Russian military bases (dating back to Soviet era) in Georgia were evacuated. For Russia to invade Israel it must come through Georgia and then down through Turkey. These flights into Georgia show the direction Russia wants to go – SOUTH. Bible Quote Daniel 140 the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind Georgia is in orange

10. Large meteor crosses Israeli skies Headline Large meteor crosses Israeli skies Headline Jerusalem Post July 9 2008 Event A large meteor crossed Israel's skies on Tuesday evening, and was seen by many residents, mainly in the center of the country, Army Radio reported. According to citizens' reports, the object was seen at approximately 8:15 p.m., as it crossed the sky from east to west horizontally. Some witnesses said they saw two shiny objects in the sky, and others reported that they heard a shrieking sound. A Petah Tikva resident told Army Radio that he saw a beam of light, which crossed the sky in the direction of the sea. "It looked like a comet, with a long white tail, but much shinier and moving much faster," he said. Yigal Pat-El, chairman of the Israeli Union of Astronomers, told Army Radio that the meteor was exceptionally large, and that its entry into the atmosphere was not expected. Comment This relatively large and unexpected meteor streaked across the sky over central Israel Tuesday evening, sparking widespread fears that the nation was under attack by Iran or Syria. With all the missiles being fired this week in Iran perhaps this was not surprising. The large bright ball and flaming tail were visible around 8 PM and were seen by thousands of Israelis from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. As soon as the meteor had disappeared and burned up in earth's atmosphere, calls to the police began pouring in. We read of falling stars in the Olivet prophecy as a sign of the nearness of Christ’s coming. An unexpected large meteor is seen over Israel (of all the places in the world!) at the very time war looks close. Coincidence. NO. God is in control of all celestial events. It is another sign both to Israel and to us. We should look up. Bible Quote Mark 13 25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. 26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. We might see much more celestial activity before the end.

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