Weekly World Watch - September 9-15, 2018: A Biblical Perspective on Global Events

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s September 9 - 15, 2018 “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 September 9 - 15, 2018 • Why the ‘Battle for Idlib’ will explode globally • U.S. ramps up threats of military action against Assad • UK will bomb Syria if Assad uses chemical weapons • Putin inspects war games and vows to beef up army • NATO ships to monitor Russian activity in Med • Hurricane Florence vs. Typhoon Mangkhut To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. Look, the city of Damascus will disappear It will become a heap of ruins The towns of Aroer will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away. The fortified towns of northern Israel will also be destroyed, - the final verses of this chapter talk about all nations pouring into the Syrian void like a tsunami Why the ‘Battle for Idlib’ will explode globally The Star, September 14, 2018 An imminent battle is shaping up in the northwestern corner of Syria that may one day live in infamy. The outlook is catastrophic. Not only do UN officials fear it will lead to the worst loss of life this century, it will also likely mark a bloody and inconclusive end to Syria’s devastating civil war — with dictator Bashar Assad still clinging to power. And in unpredictable global terms, it will be the scene of a dangerous showdown pitting Russia, Iran, Turkey and the United States against each other. It will be called the “Battle for Idlib” but its implications will extend well beyond that part of the Middle East. It is believed that the final push against Idlib will happen within a few weeks, although there is always some possibility of surprise. Perhaps the UN officials working feverishly on a resolution will succeed. Or perhaps the major powers involved in the conflict will agree to compromise. But, sadly, that probably won’t happen. EVENT COMMENT The battle for Idlib could well see Russia and America pitted against each other – even come into direct conflict which each other. It is this possible outcome that this article talks about. If Russia wins the war then there is no real opposition left to Assad. Russia and Iran would be the main winners. Russia and Iran, once minor players in Syria, will wield enormous power. But Turkey, once a bastion of stability, will be faced with even more challenges. Meanwhile the US position would be greatly weakened. All of this bodes very badly for Israel. Russia and Iran strengthened and a weakened US means trouble for Israel. All this is why the battle Idlib is so important. If/when it starts it could well be the catalyst for the total demise of Syria. The Bible is clear that the end will come when Damascus falls. It may come very soon… BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:1-3)

6. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  …… And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.  U.S. ramps up threats of military action against Assad Foreign Policy, September 10, 2018 The United States is threatening to attack Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for a third time should it use chemical weapons in an assault on the northwestern province of Idlib, marking a significant shift in strategy after months of indications that the United States would soon pull out of the conflict. In the most explicit warning to date, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton, said Monday that the United States and its British and French allies had agreed that another use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would trigger a significant escalation, compared to previous airstrikes. “We’ve tried to convey the message in recent days that if there’s a third use of chemical weapons, the response will be much stronger,” Bolton said after a policy speech in Washington. EVENT COMMENT President Trump this week joined the voices of his entire foreign policy team - Vice President Mike Pence, U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley, Secretary of Defence James Mattis, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and new Syria envoy James Jeffrey - in issuing grim warnings to the Syrian government and its allies regarding the fate of Idlib. These warnings appeared to have brought a temporary reprieve to the Russian bombing of Idlib. A Pentagon official confirmed the U.S. has seen a recent decrease in Russian airstrikes - though the situation remains dire. We see here the king of the north and the king of the south squaring up over Syria. All this is so significant from a Biblical point of view. Events soon to happen in Syria could well see a chain reaction that leads to Armageddon. BIBLE QUOTE (Revelation 16:14+16)

7. UK will bomb Syria if Assad uses chemical weapons The Times, September 14, 2018 Britain is preparing to join the United States and France in launching waves of airstrikes against Syria if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons in Idlib, where three million civilians are trapped by a looming offensive. The use of chemical weapons on the last remaining rebel stronghold would be seen by the coalition as a sign that its previous airstrikes, in April, had failed as a deterrent and that an escalated response would be required, according to British defence and diplomatic sources. The Pentagon has begun drawing up a list of chemical weapons sites inside Syria that could be targeted in a far wider campaign of retribution than the single night of strikes in April involving British, American and French warplanes, after a chemical attack near Damascus killed at least 40 people. Addressing parliament this week Alistair Burt, the Middle East minister, hinted strongly that the government would not seek MPs’ approval for military action, citing circumstances “in which the United Kingdom government needs to move swiftly”, with more haste than a vote would allow. EVENT It’s not only America threatening Syria with attacks – Britain has also stepped up its rhetoric. The UK promised a far wider campaign against Assad if chemical weapons are used against Idlib. The relationship between Britain and Russia is probably at its lowest level ever. The U.K.'s naming of two men it accuses of carrying out the nerve agent attack in the town of Salisbury in March has reignited a bitter international row. Putin said this week he had found the accused 2 men – apparently they were just Russian civilians who had wanted to visit Salisbury to see the Cathedral! The Russians have a special word, “vranyo”, meaning to tell a lie that you do not expect anyone to believe but that is told purely to save face. Putin is the master of telling lies! COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power. (Zechariah8:24- 25 NLT)

8. Putin inspects war games and vows to beef up army Reuters, September 13, 2018 EVENT President Vladimir Putin on Thursday promised to strengthen the army and supply it with new generation weapons, as he traveled to watch Russia’s biggest war games since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Vostok-2018 (East-2018) drills taking place in eastern Siberia close to the border with China involve 300,000 Russian troops as well as joint exercises with the Chinese army. “This is the first time our army and fleet have undergone such a difficult and large-scale test,” Putin said in comments published on the Kremlin website. The exercises, that involve over a thousand military aircraft as well as up to 36,000 tanks, come amid tense relations between Russia and the West that have fallen to a post-Cold War low. Addressing a gathering of the soldiers, Putin said Russia was a peaceful country ready for cooperation with any state interested in partnership, but that it was a soldier’s duty to be ready to defend his country and its allies. On Tuesday Russia launched what it called its largest ever military drills, with hundreds of thousands of troops taking part along with Chinese soldiers in a show of force Nato condemned as a rehearsal for "large-scale conflict.” Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said these exercises are largest ever. "Imagine 36,000 military vehicles moving at the same time: tanks, armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles - and all of this, of course, in conditions as close to a combat situation as possible," Mr Shoigu said. The Bible talks of Russia coming down like locusts. In Joel 1 we read that a nation invades Israel and they are like locusts in ferocity and number. Joel 2 says is it such a huge army that there has never been an army like it before nor will be in the future! We are told in verse 20 they come from the north. This enormous army is Russian. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:2 NIV)

9. NATO ships to monitor Russian activity in Med The Times, September 6, 2018 EVENT Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) continues to monitor ‘substantial’ Russian naval activity in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and will revise the schedule for exercises, say the alliance. NATO says it will postpone exercise Dynamic Guard to provide flexibility in the schedule to support Allied operational interests. This move is in response to Russia staging a large-scale military exercise in the Mediterranean Sea near Syria, involving both its Navy and Air Force. The drills were held amid ongoing escalation around Idlib. Footage released by Russia’s Defence Ministry shows Russian Forces landing on the shores of Syria’s Latakia province. The troops used helicopters, fast-attack craft and armoured vehicles while landing from amphibious ships under the cover of combat aircraft. Russian Navy chiefs have dispatched their biggest task force to the Mediterranean Sea since the start of Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict in September 2015.It includes at least ten warships and two submarines – with more vessels on the way. Footage released by Russia’s Defence Ministry shows Marine Special Forces equipped with state-of-the-art gear landing on the shores of Syria's Latakia province. The Marines used helicopters, fast-attack craft and armoured vehicles while landing from major amphibious ships under the cover of dozens of Russian combat aircraft. The Bible says that the king of the north will descend to invade Israel and will come with “many ships”. Clearly ships play a big role in the invasion. And so we see Russia now sending ships into the Mediterranean. Surely a sign we are near the end. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. (Daniel 11:40 NLT)

10. Hurricane Florence vs. Typhoon Mangkhut Global News, September 14, 2018 EVENT Two storms are happening simultaneously at two ends of the world — Hurricane Florence over the U.S. east coast and Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines. Here is how the two storms compare, the damage expected from each of them, and the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon. Hurricane Florence is making landfall on the U.S.’s east coast near the Carolinas as a Category 1 hurricane with winds howling at 144 km/h. Rainfall of up to 101 centimetres is expected, likely triggering flash floods and landslides. Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Mangkhut is nearing the Philippines at a threat level that is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest category possible. The typhoon has sustained winds up to 267 hm/h, with stronger gusts at 323 km/h. Thousands of people have begun to evacuate northern Philippines on Thursday ahead of the projected landfall of Mangkhut on Saturday in Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Currently, 10 million people lie in the path of typhoon Mangkhut. COMMENT The world calls it Mother Nature. We know differently. The world’s weather is controlled by God and helps to bring about His purpose. These are not random events. The verse below speaks of God himself commanding and raising up the hurricane and the typhoon. The verses go on to say that God himself stills the storm. Verse 31 says “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.” The last verse says “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.” Yes God brings disaster – but he also provides salvation for those who trust in him. Let us trust in Him today… For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 107:25-27)

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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.