Weekly World Watch: Nato accuses Russia of breaking nuclear missile treaty

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s December 2 - 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 December 2 - 15, 2018 • Nato accuses Russia of breaking nuclear missile treaty • Putin: Russia will build missiles if US leaves treaty • US accuses Russia of lying on Syria attack • Iran promises to restart nuclear weapons work • Australia recognizes west Jerusalem as Israel's capital • Trans people invited to mark sex change in C of E To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. 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:  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.  Nato accuses Russia of breaking nuclear missile treaty BBC, December 42018 Western military alliance Nato has formally accused Russia of breaching the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned land-based nuclear missiles in Europe. Following a meeting, Nato foreign ministers issued a statement supporting US accusations of Russian violations. The US has threatened to withdraw from the treaty because of Russian actions. Russia denied being in breach of the INF deal, saying it "strictly abides" by its conditions. The deal banned ground-launched medium-range missiles with a range of 500-5,500km (310-3,400 miles)."Allies have concluded that Russia has developed and fielded a missile system, the 9M729, which violates the INF Treaty and poses significant risks to Euro-Atlantic security," the Nato foreign ministers' statement reads. "We strongly support the finding of the United States that Russia is in material breach of its obligations under the INF Treaty. EVENT COMMENT The US - and now NATO - accused Russia this week of deploying a new medium-range missile that would enable Russia to launch a nuclear strike at Nato countries at very short notice. Speaking after the Nato statement was issued, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Russia had 60 days to return to compliance with the treaty, after which time the US would suspend its own compliance. The INF Treaty was a high-point for Cold War arms control in that it abolished a whole category of land-based missiles. But the US has become increasingly concerned that Russia is breaking the treaty behind the scenes. The Bible says that before Jesus comes back men would be beating the ploughshares into swords and their pruninghooks into spears. In other words developing weapons of war. We see this happening at a pace now. BIBLE QUOTE (Joel 3:9-10))

6. Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog,  Russia will build missiles if US leaves treaty, Putin warns BBC, December 5, 2018 Russia will develop missiles banned under a Cold War agreement if the US exits the pact, President Vladimir Putin has warned. His comments follow Nato's accusation on Tuesday that Russia has already broken the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Signed in 1987 by the US and USSR, it banned both countries' use of all short and medium-range missiles. But Mr Putin says the accusation is a pretext for the US to leave the pact. In televised comments, the Russian leader said many other countries had developed weapons banned under the INF treaty. "Now it seems our American partners believe that the situation has changed so much that [they] must also have such a weapon," he said. "What's our response? It's simple - in that case we will also do this.” US President Donald Trump has previously said the country would leave the treaty because of Russian actions. EVENT Putin’s response to the accusations of the US and NATO was tough. Russia will develop missiles currently banned under the treaty. There are some reports this week that Putin is gearing up for conflict in Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War wrote this week “Russia will likely escalate militarily against Ukraine imminently. Russia is setting military conditions to prepare its forces for open conflict with Ukraine. Russia is already creating the pretext to escalate by circulating the false narrative that Ukraine and the West are preparing imminent attacks.” We may well see conflict in Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine was territory that was part of ancient Magog. Most of Magog was southern Russia. Which is why Gog is OF THE LAND of Magog. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:2-3 RSV)

7. US accuses Russia of lying on Syria attack to undermine truce France24, December 8, 2018 The United States and Britain accused Russia on Friday of fabricating a story about chemical weapons use by Syrian rebels and warned Moscow against undermining a shaky truce. Russia's defense ministry said rebels fired weapons containing chlorine on November 24 on the regime-held city of Aleppo, with Syrian state media reporting that around 100 Syrians were hospitalized for breathing difficulties. Russia responded to the purported attack with air raids on Idlib, the latest major stronghold of rebels and jihadists battling President Bashar al-Assad, throwing into question a truce reached in mid-September. The United States said it had "credible information" that the chlorine account was false and that Russian and Syrian forces instead had fired tear gas. "The United States is deeply concerned that pro-regime officials have maintained control of the attack site in its immediate aftermath, allowing them to potentially fabricate samples and contaminate the site before a proper investigation of it by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement. EVENT Tensions remain high in Syria with the US and Russia both accusing each other of chemical weapons usage. Russia wants the US out of Syria - until US troops leave Assad will not be able to dominate all of Syria. Putin tried to persuade Trump to withdraw US troops but Trump followed advice from his military advisers. The Washington Examiner had the following headline this week “Expect Russia to escalate soon in Syria”. Their conclusion is “One way or another, get ready for new Russia escalation in Syria.” We know there is more trouble coming to Syria. Damascus has not yet been totally destroyed - and it will be – soon. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.  (Isaiah 17:1)

8. Iran promises to restart nuclear weapons work Free Beacon, December 13, 2018 EVENT Senior Iranian leaders on Thursday signaled the country is on the brink of restarting its contested nuclear weapons program, disclosing the Islamic Republic is prepared to restart the full-scale enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear weapon, if it does not continue to receive cash windfalls from European countries still committed to the landmark nuclear agreement. Iran's warning represents a further escalation of its threats as the U.S. intelligence and security community identified Tehran as one of the top emerging global threats that could shake the international balance and arm the region with nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, according to a new U.S. threat assessment. Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, disclosed Thursday that Iran is working to enrich uranium to extreme levels prohibited under the current accord. This work would enable Iran to stockpile large quantities of highly enriched uranium that are required to fuel a nuclear weapon. COMMENT Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi said this week, "I would like to warn that this is not a bluff; I have kept my word whenever I've said something. Now I'm emphasizing once again that if the establishment wants, we can easily return to the 20-percent enrichment, and meet the country's needs at any level and volume.” In its end-of-year emerging threat assessment, the U.S. intelligence and security community disclosed Iran is "expanding its influence" in the military and cyber sectors. The Bible says that the Medes (Iranians) will be stirred up at the time of the end and be obsessed with missiles. We also know that Persia (Iran) will join forces with Russia. Everything is falling into place as prophesied… BIBLE QUOTE Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.  Their bows [missiles] also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.  (Isaiah 13:17-18)

9. Australia recognizes west Jerusalem as Israel's capital New York Post, December 15, 2018 EVENT Australia has decided to formally recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but won’t move its embassy until there’s a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday. Morrison said in a speech that Australia would recognize east Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital only after a settlement has been reached on a two-state solution. The Australian Embassy won’t be moved from Tel Aviv until such a time, he said. While the embassy move is delayed, Morrison said his government would establish a defense and trade office in Jerusalem and would also start looking for an appropriate site for the embassy. "The Australian government has decided that Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem, as the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel,” Morrison said. He said the decision respects both a commitment to a two-state solution and long-standing respect for relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. COMMENT Australia becomes the third country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, following the U.S. and Guatemala. Unlike its predecessors, however, Australia recognised only the western part of the city. Australia therefore has become the first nation to actually officially recognise a divided Jerusalem. Until now nations were calling for a 2 state solution with Jerusalem’s status to be decided. The Palestinians have always wanted east Jerusalem for their capital. The Bible says that Jerusalem will become a burdensome stone for all nations – anyone who try’s to move it (change its status) will be dashed to pieces. BIBLE QUOTE And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.  (Zechariah 12:3)

10. Trans people invited to mark sex change in Church of England BBC, December 11, 2018 EVENT The Church of England has issued new advice about how to help transgender people mark their transition. The guidance recommends the Affirmation of Baptism service is adapted to allow transgender Christians to celebrate their new sexual identity. The service would see them addressed by their chosen name, not birth name. It follows pressure at the general synod last year to go further in welcoming the transgender community. In the past, the Church has been criticised for not doing enough to guard against transphobia, and for failing to eliminate the bullying of transgender pupils in faith schools. But some conservative theologians argue that gender is assigned by God and should not be changed. The Affirmation of Baptism service is not a second baptism and is traditionally intended for people who wish to make a renewed declaration of their faith. The guidance emphasises that the Church "welcomes and encourages the unconditional affirmation of trans people, equally with all people, within the body of Christ, and rejoices in the diversity of that body into which all Christians have been baptized by one Spirit". COMMENT The Church of England has created a new Baptism service so that someone who has changed sex can celebrate this in church. We truly are in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Mankind is not only wholesale going against God’s rules they are created new godless rules and bringing them into the “church”. GOD MADE them male and female. And despite drugs and operations no one can change XX or XY chromosomes. Therefore a man will ALWAYS be a man and a woman ALWAYS a woman. The judgement of God will soon be poured out on a godless and corrupt world. The state religion has a lot to answer at that time. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 1:27)

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