Weekly World Watch: April 28 – May 4, 2019

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s April 28 – May 4, 2019 “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 April 28 – May 4, 2019 • Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day • Israel swears in new parliament amid call for unity • Israel’s population reaches 9 million • 50 rockets launched into southern Israel from Gaza • Putin expands plans to give Ukrainians passports • Military escalation continues in northwest Syria To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.  Your life will constantly hang in the balance.  In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were night!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’ For you will be terrified by the awful horrors you see.. Israel marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with solemn ceremony Associated Press, May 1, 2019 Israel ushered in its Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday in memory of the 6 million Jews killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators in World War II, as leaders voiced concerns about a rising tide of anti-Semitism worldwide. In moving speeches to hundreds of Israeli politicians and Holocaust survivors at the country's national Holocaust memorial, Israel's ceremonial president warned the government against warming up to far-right parties in Europe, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed to last weekend's deadly synagogue shooting in San Diego as evidence of growing anti-Semitic hatred. The 24-hour remembrance period began at sundown with the main ceremony at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, held just hours after Israeli researchers reported that violent attacks against Jews rose significantly last year. This spike, highlighted by the San Diego attack, was most dramatic in western Europe. EVENT COMMENT This week an annual report showed that Anti-Semitic attacks worldwide rose 13 percent in 2018 from the previous year, with the highest number of incidents reported in major Western democracies including the United States, France, Britain and Germany. “Anti-Semitism is no longer an issue confined to the activity of the far left, far right and radical Islamists triangle - it has mainstreamed and became an integral part of life,” the report said. The report said France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish community, had seen a 74 percent rise in violent anti-Semitism and Germany a 70 percent increase. The Bible says that Israel would be scattered into the nations of the world and there they would find no rest – no true peace. They would be persecuted…. BIBLE QUOTE (Deuteronomy 28:65)

6. The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire. This is speaking of unfaithful Jerusalem – but we know Jerusalem is the spark that ignites the fire and brings all the world to Armageddon Israel swears in new parliament amid call for unity Associated Press, April 30, 2018 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn into Israel's new parliament on Tuesday following his victory in April 9 elections and will seek to form a governing coalition in the days ahead. Netanyahu was among the 120 members of the Knesset, or parliament, sworn in during an official ceremony. Netanyahu's Likud won 35 seats in the election, the same as his main opponents from the centrist Blue and White alliance, led by ex-military chief Benny Gantz. Support from smaller right-wing parties allied to Likud led to a majority of 65 parliament members supporting Netanyahu to continue on as premier. But Netanyahu also faces the prospect of becoming the first sitting prime minister to be indicted. He is not required to resign if indicted, only if convicted with all appeals exhausted. Netanyahu's outgoing government was considered the most right-wing in Israel's history and his next is expected to be at least as hawkish, if not more so. EVENT Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been tasked by President Reuven Rivlin with forming a governing coalition. He has until mid-May to form a government, with a possible extension of a further two weeks. Netanyahu made a last-minute pledge in the run-up to the elections to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank. This could end remaining hopes for a two-state solution if done on a large scale. Could this be the last Israeli government before Christ returns? We don’t know. But we do know that so many of the pieces are in place. We have Russia in Syria on Israel’s doorstep. We have Iran and Turkey allied to Russia. We have Saudi Arabia allied to the US. We have tension building over Jerusalem and the West Bank. The spark to ignite this could come soon. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 1:31 NLT)

7. Israel’s population reaches 9 million Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2019 Just in time for Independence Day, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics released its latest figures on Israel's population. According to the data, the population of Israel stands at about 9,009,000 as of March 2019. Roughly 6,665,500 Israeli citizens are Jews, about 74% of the population as a whole. The Jewish population of Israel has grown by 1 million in the last 10 years. The Arab minority in Israel, comprising Muslims, Christians and Druze, stood at 1,878,600 people, about 21% of the population. This sector increased by less than 400,000 people during the same 10 year period. From 2008-2018, the Arab population grew by 21%, slightly faster than the Jewish population, which grew by 17.5%. The remaining 5% of Israel's population consists of various other ethnic/religious minorities. EVENT COMMENT While dozens of countries host at least a small Jewish population, the community is concentrated in a handful: Israel and the United States account for 83% of the Jewish population, while a total of 98 countries host the other 17%. The total worldwide population is 14.5m. 6.6m live in Israel. 5.8m live in America. The next biggest is France with about 500,000. In 1939, the global population of Jewish people worldwide peaked at around 16.6 million. That population was soon decimated by the Holocaust, which saw Nazi Germany and its collaborators kill approximately 6 million Jews. In just a few horrifying years, the global population of Jews had fallen by more than a third. So 70 years later the Jewish worldwide population has still not totally recovered from the Holocaust! But we know another holocaust is coming. When two thirds living in the land of Israel will perish – but the Jew will survive though all other nations perish… BIBLE QUOTE I am with you and will save you,' declares the LORD. 'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.' (Jeremiah 30:11 NIV)

8. Sirens blare as over 50 rockets launched into southern Israel from Gaza The Times of Israel, May 4, 2019 EVENT Over 50 rockets were launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip Saturday morning, the army said, as warning sirens blared in Israeli communities. Alerts were heard in Ashkelon, Sderot and multiple communities in the Eshkol and Sha’ar Henegev Regional Councils. The Iron Dome missile defence system was activated in several instances. The exact number of launches was not immediately clear. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. In response the Israel Défense Forces struck at least two rocket launchers in the Strip. Earlier the IDF closed off roads and several sites near the Gaza border, anticipating a possible escalation of violence along the frontier. The popular Zikim beach, located about 2 kilometers (1.5 miles) north of the border, was also closed off. The move came a day after two soldiers were shot and injured while on patrol near the border in southern Gaza. One soldier was moderately wounded in the attack and a female soldier was lightly hurt, the IDF said. This is a developing story as I write this… more than 100 rockets have been fired into Israel this morning… The Prime Minister (and Défense Minister) Binyamin Netanyahu has called an emergency security conference in Tel Aviv for later Saturday. All this comes a day after four Palestinians in Gaza were killed and two Israeli soldiers were wounded.  The Gaza Strip is the equivalent to the area of the Philistines when Israel existed in the Old Testament times. Back then the Philistines were a thorn in Israel’s side just as the Palestinians are a thorn now. That thorn will be removed through the Psalm 83 war COMMENT And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 28:24)

9. Vladimir Putin expands plans to give Ukrainians Russian passports Financial Times, May 1, 2019 EVENT Russian president Vladimir Putin has expanded plans to give Ukrainians fast-track Russian citizenship, escalating a dispute with Kiev over the status of people from two Moscow-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. In a decree published on the Kremlin website on Wednesday, Mr Putin allowed Ukrainians who have moved to Russia from Donetsk and Lugansk since war broke out in 2014 to get Russian passports in a simplified three-month procedure. This could affect about 1m people. The decision follows a move last week — days after former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election — to give Russian passports to the 3.5m people still living in the two regions, where Russia has had de facto control since it helped them break away from Ukraine five years ago. While Mr Putin said the move was aimed at helping struggling locals in the two territories, analysts said the Kremlin was aiming to ramp up pressure on Mr Zelensky to end an economic blockade of the region. Ukraine does not allow dual citizenship, so the move could help Moscow consolidate control of the regions. Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a proxy war since Moscow's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Giving Russian passports to Ukrainians -- a measure Putin described last week as "purely humanitarian" -- could be seen as a pretext for further Russian meddling in Ukraine. Ukraine is very significant because the eastern half of Ukraine was part of the territory of ancient Magog when Ezekiel wrote 2600 years ago. We are told that Gog is “of the land of Magog”. Most of ancient Magog was in southern Russia but we see Putin trying to take back the final piece in Ukraine. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.  (Ezekiel 38:1-2 MEV)

10. Military Escalation Continues in Northwest Syria VOA, May 3, 2018 EVENT Russia has increased its airstrike campaign on the north-western Syrian province of Idlib in the past few days, which rights group warn could lead to a new humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.  More than 100 Russian airstrikes have targeted Idlib and parts of the neighbouring province of Hama in recent days, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA. The observatory, which has researchers across Syria, charged that Syrian government helicopters have also dropped barrel bombs on towns and villages across Idlib.  "The Russian escalation has a clear message to al-Nusra Front," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told VOA.  "This is also a message to everyone else, including the U.S., that when it comes to north-western Syria, it's only Russia who calls the shots," Abdulrahman added. Since late April, militants have launched several military operations against Syrian regime troops, killing scores of them, which prompted the recent Russian bombardment that has killed dozens of civilians, according to local media reports.  COMMENT Syria’s government and Russia have intensified airstrikes and dropped barrel bombs on the last rebel stronghold in Syria, renewing fears of a military offensive to recapture the area despite the United Nations warning it would cause a humanitarian catastrophe. And so the conflict in Syria continues. We know with Bible in hand that there will come a catastrophic end to this conflict when Damascus ceases to be a city any more. We don’t know exactly what will bring this event about but we do know that Israel is involved at the same time it happens. Isaiah 17 is clear that Israel is weakened at this time. We continue to watch Syria… 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 Israel will also be destroyed, BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:1-3 NLT)

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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.