Weekly World Watch: December 16 - 22, 2018

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s December 16 - 22, 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 December 16 - 22, 2018 • Trump: Immediate withdrawal of US troops in Syria • Syria pullout benefits Iran and Russia, isolates Israel • Ten years of Russian warfare preparation & exercises • Putin issues warning about rising threat of nuclear war • Israel to sign agreement for world’s longest pipeline • Hezbollah moves its South Lebanon HQ to Tyre To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. 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. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.  Trump orders immediate and full withdrawal of US troops from Syria Daily Telegraph, December 19, 2018 Donald Trump plunged America’s Middle East policy into chaos on Wednesday as he declared the the Islamic State (Isil) had been “defeated” and ordered a complete withdrawal of US forces from Syria. The shock decision to pull out US troops was immediately criticised by his own Republican allies as a “huge” mistake and his declaration of victory over Isil was openly contradicted by the British government.  Republicans warned the withdrawal would jeopardise the fight against Isil and undermine US hopes of countering Iran’s influence in Syria. It may also embolden Turkey to launch a major offensive against America's Kurdish allies in northern Syria.  US diplomats began an immediate evacuation from Syria within 24 hours.  America’s 2,000 troops are expected to be all be withdrawn from the country by the end of March, US officials told Reuters EVENT COMMENT The US Defence Secretary resigned on the day that president Trump announced that US troops would be pulling out from Syria. He was seen as a trusted expert with four decades of military leadership who acted as a level-headed check on a very impulsive president. He said that the president deserves a defence secretary who shares Trump's views on alliances, adversaries, and the US-led international order. Russia and Iran are the clear winners in this move. Russia's foreign ministry welcomed the US troop withdrawal and said it believed the decision would help lead to political settlement in Syria. What this does though is strengthen the king of the north’s hand in Syria. However we know that great trouble is still to come in Syria. America leaving may well destabilise things quickly. The US deterrent will no longer be on the ground… BIBLE QUOTE (Jeremiah 49:24-26)

6. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:  Gomer, and all his bands; Syria pullout benefits Iran and Russia, isolates Israel New York Times, December 20, 2018 The American decision to withdraw from Syria has abruptly scrambled the geopolitics of the Middle East, clearing the way for Iran to expand its influence across the region, leaving Israel virtually alone to stop it, and raising the prospect that thousands of Islamic State prisoners could be set free. Russia’s influence over Syria can only grow more dominant as the United States exits. Turkey, Iran and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad also stand to reap enormous immediate benefits from the American withdrawal. Israel, which hoped the American presence in Syria would block Iran from completing its corridor to the sea, now has to reckon with a new reality. "This leaves us alone in the arena with the Russians,” said Michael Herzog, an Israel-based fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former Israeli defense official. “We are alone in the battle against Iran in Syria.” EVENT Trump’s decision isolates Israel further. Syria is now full of hostile enemies with no deterrent at all left on the ground. Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and Syria itself are left to work together without hindrance. Iran will step up its efforts to expand in Syria as soon as the US troops have gone. Israel of course will not allow Iran to expand in Syria. We can expect to see more military action by Israel against Iran in Syria. Also the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said that Turkey will launch a military operation against the Kurds in northern Syria. Ezekiel 38 says that Russia, Iran and Turkey will be allies against Israel at the time of the end. There is no mention of Syria in Ezekiel 38 – but this is because Isaiah 17 (destruction of Syria) has already happened. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:4-6)

7. Ten years of Russian warfare preparation & exercises and NATO Review, December 20, 2018 The visibility, scale and scope of Russian military exercises have been a focus of Western media and specialist literature since 2014. Russia conducted VOSTOK 2018, the latest iteration of its annual strategic exercises, from early July to 17 September 2018. VOSTOK (meaning ‘East’) is part of a system of strategic exercises that the Russian Armed Forces have been developing since 2009. It is one of the four named annual strategic exercises conducted on a rotating basis among four of Russia’s five military districts1. These visible events represent a small fraction of what is a whole-of-government and nationwide Russian effort to develop the ability to conduct large-scale conflict on short notice against a major military power and to influence potential adversaries. To better understand and more accurately assess their implications for NATO Allies, VOSTOK 2018 and all of Russia’s strategic exercises, including large-scale snap exercises, need to be seen in their full context. EVENT COMMENT According to the NATO Review Russia’s chief foreign and defence policy aims are; to reassert a leading role for itself on the world scene; to disrupt the current European security architecture to force negotiation of a new one; and to rebuild a security perimeter against perceived external threats (primarily the United States and its NATO Allies). Russia has launched a strategic destabilisation campaign against the post-Cold War liberal order, which President Putin views as counter to Russia’s long-term interests. Military exercises and operations are part of that campaign. The Bible says that Russia would prepare for war in the latter days. The headline above tells us that this has been going on in earnest for the last decade! BIBLE QUOTE Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.  (Ezekiel 38:7)

8. Putin issues warning about rising threat of nuclear war ABC News, December 20, 2018 EVENT Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a chilling warning about the rising threat of a nuclear war, saying "it could lead to the destruction of civilisation as a whole and maybe even our planet" — and putting the blame squarely on the US. Speaking at his annual news conference, Mr Putin scoffed at Western claims he wants to dominate the world and said Western countries are antagonising Russia for their own domestic reasons, and at their own peril. He dismissed claims of Russian interference abroad, from a nerve agent poisoning in Britain to an alleged effort to infiltrate the US National Rifle Association. Instead he sought to paint himself as the world's protector. Pointing at the US intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty, Mr Putin warned that if the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures. "We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system," Mr Putin said, noting the US plan to opt out of the INF Treaty and its reluctance to negotiate the extension of the New START agreement. COMMENT Putin frequently talks about the use of nuclear weapons. It is almost as if he is softening up the world to expect a nuclear war. He often speaks about Russia’s nuclear power and his willingness to use them. But notice how he blames one country for the nuclear war - America. There is every reason to believe that Moscow is rehearsing a global war scenario along with other smaller ones that may build into that. We know that nuclear weapons may well be used. The description of the “plague” that comes on those who invade Israel includes the dissolving of flesh, eyes and tongue while people are still standing. This is an accurate description of the effects of nuclear explosion. BIBLE QUOTE And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.  (Zechariah 14:12)

9. Israel to sign agreement for world’s longest pipeline Jerusalem Post, December 21, 2018 EVENT Israel plans to sign an agreement with Greece and Cyprus next year for the world’s longest natural gas pipeline, known as the East Med. It would export natural gas from Israel to Europe via Greece and could cost as much as $7 billion. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks on the project with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during the tripartite meeting that marked the fifth summit between three countries held in Beersheba. The agreement for the East Med will be formalized next year at the sixth summit. “Today we reaffirmed our commitment for the East Med pipeline, discussed important aspects of the project,” Netanyahu said. He added that the document could be signed in a number of months at the 6th summit. "We think that this will open up new energy opportunities for Europe. It is important for the security of Europe, it is important for our respective economies and it is important for anchoring additional regional cooperation,” Netanyahu said. COMMENT Israel has been developing natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast for the past decade. Its "Tamar" field already is operational, while the larger "Leviathan" field is expected to be operational next year. While most of its gas is used domestically, it has signed export deals with Egypt and Jordan. Israel now has its eyes on the larger European market. A deal is due to be signed on this early next year. It is a 7 year project but it will have a very interesting impact… It will dent Russia's dominance over the European energy market. We know Russia invades Israel to take a spoil. We can now see the spoil that Russia is interested in, in Israel. The scene is set! BIBLE QUOTE And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,  To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations (Ezekiel 38:11-12)

10. Hezbollah moves its South Lebanon HQ to Tyre Debkafile, December 17, 2018 EVENT Hezbollah quietly pulled its forces in S. Lebanon back from close quarters with Israeli troops on Monday, Dec. 17, and changed their operational format, DEBKAfile reports exclusively from military sources. It is too soon to determine what exactly the Lebanese group is up to as regards its next steps, except that the move came a day after the IDF uncovered a fourth cross-border tunnel. Hezbollah also silenced its military communications network in South Lebanon and stopped relaying instructions to its command centers and field troops. In addition –The main Hezballah command center for S. Lebanon was suddenly whisked out of Maaroub near the Litani River across to prepared structures at the Mediterranean town of Tyre in a smooth and apparently well-prepared operation. The IDF will soon finishing uncovering the rest of the Hezbollah tunnels and, when that happens, a clash of arms may be expected. Hezbollah is preparing for that moment by aligning its military at arm’s length from the IDF. COMMENT On December 4, Israel decided to take on Hezbollah in Lebanon and began "Operation Northern Shield". It started digging along several points on the Lebanon-Israel border to locate and destroy what it said were tunnels dug by Hezbollah into Israel. Hezbollah has responded by moving its forces back into Lebanon. Its head quarters which had moved further south is now back in Tyre. In Psalm 83 we read of a confederacy of people who want to destroy Israel. One of these groups are the “inhabitants of Tyre.” Notice is doesn’t say Lebanon – specifically the inhabitants of Tyre. This is because God is singling out not the nation but those who are based in Tyre. Hezbollah’s HQ is now there – the inner ring war of Psalm 83 could happen soon For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:  The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.  BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 83:5-8)

11. Weekly World Watch YouTube Videos

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.