Weekly World Watch: June 25 – July 1, 2017

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s June 25 – July 1, 2017 “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 June 25 – July 1, 2017 • Israeli jet strikes Syrian army in latest Golan exchange • ‘Jerusalem is on the brink of an explosion’ • US accuses Syria of planning another chemical attack • Kremlin:US threats to Syrian government unacceptable • Russia mocks HMS Queen Elizabeth as 'large target' • Germany gay marriage approved by MPs in snap vote To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. The fortified towns of northern Israel will also be destroyed, and the royal power of Damascus will end. All that remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory,” declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “In that day Israel’s[c] glory will grow dim;” Israeli jet strikes Syrian army in latest Golan exchange Reuters, June 30, 2017 An Israeli warplane struck a Syrian army post on Friday, hours after stray fire from Syria’s civil war hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli military said. “In response to the projectile launched earlier today at Israel from Syria, an Israel Air Force aircraft targeted the Syrian army position that fired the mortar,” the English-language Israeli statement said. “The errant projectile was a result of internal fighting in Syria.” It was the fourth such exchange in a week as Syrian troops battle rebels, including hardline Islamists, on the other side. There have been no casualties but Israel responded to the previous three incidents by striking Syrian government positions. Rebels recently launched an offensive against government forces in Quneitra on the Syrian side of the armistice line. During a speech on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not tolerate any spillover from the fighting. EVENT COMMENT Nearly every day this week Israel has struck military positions in Syria. The on-going issue is that the war between the rebels and Syrian forces gets ever closer to the Golan Heights which is at Israel’s northern border. Stray rockets and missiles come over into Israel and Israel responds by destroying Syrian targets. On Friday, the Israeli prime minister said, “We will respond to every firing. Whoever attacks us, we will attack him. This is our policy and we will continue with it.” For the first time this week Iran launched missiles into Syria attacking ISIS positions. Israel mocked Iran’s attack saying many of the missiles missed their target. So we see as each week passes growing labour pains in Syria which get ever closer to Israel. We know Israel will be sucked into the Syrian war…. BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:3-4 NLT)

6. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 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. • ‘Jerusalem is on the brink of an explosion’ Middle East Monitor, June 29, 2017 Jerusalem is on the edge and may erupt as a result of the escalation in measures being taken by the Israeli occupation forces in the city, the governor has warned. In an interview with the Palestinian Information Centre, Governor of Jerusalem and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Adnan Al-Husseini, said the situation in Jerusalem reveals the flaws of the occupation government over the past 50 years and which have led it to respond with even more force, oppression and abuse in order to cover up its failure. He described the city as being “on the brink of an explosion as the extremist occupation government is pushing towards escalation and we do not see any future on which to build”. Al-Husseini explained that developments affecting the city prove that the Zionist security forces have failed. EVENT Jerusalem has a mayor (who is Jewish) and a governor (who is Palestinian). The Palestinian governor said this week that Jerusalem is on the brink of an explosion. He went on to say that “They [the Israelis] forget that they are occupiers and that the Palestinians are the owners of the land and of Jerusalem. These Palestinian groups, which have visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque in their thousands, have the right to come to their city and worship on its holy sites.” In recent days there has been trouble at the Al Aqsa Mosque which is on the Temple Mount site. Israeli forces have fired tear gas there and special units and rapid intervention forces were deployed across the mosque’s courtyards. We know that Jerusalem will be the centre of the Zechariah 12 “inner ring” war. These events might lead to this occurring. We watch to see how things develop. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 12:2-3)

7. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. • White House accuses Syria of planning another chemical attack, warns it would 'pay a heavy price' Daily Telegraph, June 27, 2017 Britain will support any fresh retaliation by the US for the use of chemical weapons by Syria, Michael Fallon has said, after the White House revealed it had intelligence the regime was planning another attack. The US said it had observed preparations at Shayrat air base, where jets which carried out a deadly sarin gas strike in April took off from. It warned Syria would pay a "heavy price" if it went ahead with such an assault. Sir Michael, defence secretary, said that the UK backed the US administration of president Donald Trump when it mounted a Tomahawk missile strike against the regime following the attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun, which left 74 people dead, and was prepared to do so again. "As always in war, the military action you use must be justified, it must be legal, it must proportionate, it must be necessary. In the last case it was," he said. EVENT On Monday, Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, said: “The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.” The White House made clear it would attack the Syrian regime if any further chemical weapons were used. They even left open the possibility of a preventive strike. In a separate development on Friday, Britain’s Foreign Secretary made a fresh appeal for international action against Bashar al-Assad after a chemical weapons watchdog ruled an attack in Syria that killed more than 80 people used sarin nerve gas. And so we see the king of the south (US/UK) pushing for action against the territory of the ancient king of the north (Syria). The push one day will come… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 11:40)

8. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. • Kremlin:US threats to Syrian government unacceptable Associated Press, June 27, 2017 Russia has slammed Washington’s threats against the Syrian government following a recent White House statement alleging that President Bashar Assad’s forces are preparing to use chemical weapons. "I am not aware of any information or threat of using chemical weapons,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday. Earlier, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued a statement claiming the US “has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians.” Any threats against the Syrian government are “unacceptable,” according to Peskov, who reiterated the call for an investigation into the attack in Idlib. EVENT Russia reacted with anger over America’s assertion that Syria was planning another chemical weapons attack. Russia doesn’t event accept that Syria was behind the previous attacks. On Thursday Russia accused Washington of concocting a "provocation" in Syria, which would then be blamed on President Bashar Assad's government as alleged use of chemical weapons to justify an attack. It is interesting that Putin’s spokesman talks of a “provocation” in Syria. This is really the meaning behind the word “push” in Daniel 11:40. When we read the “king of the south shall push at him” we are really reading about a provocation probably military in nature. The word “push” means to “gore” as in a wild animal with its horns goring someone. The “push” does not kill but it is painful to the extent that the injured party reacts. We know that the push is against an individual king who is none other than Gog. To see how Putin fits the description of the king of Daniel 11 CLICK HERE. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 11:40)

9. Russia mocks HMS Queen Elizabeth as 'large convenient target' as it warns British warship to 'keep its distance' Daily Telegraph, June 29, 2017 EVENT The Russian military has responded to British mockery of its ageing aircraft carrier by declaring that the Royal Navy’s new flagship is nothing more than “a large, convenient target”. Moscow pointed to the Admiral Kuznetsov’s array of missiles and warned HMS Queen Elizabeth should keep its distance. The clash of naval pride flared after the Defence Secretary earlier this week said Russia would envy HMS Queen Elizabeth because its own carrier was so old and dilapidated. Apparently stung by the remark, the Russian defence ministry on Thursday derided Sir Michael Fallon and the UK’s £3.1bn warship. Sir Michael had said Russian vessels would be looking at sea trials of the Navy’s 65,000 ton warship “with a little bit of envy”. The Russian defence ministry responded that Sir Michael’s "rapturous statements ... about the supremacy of the new aircraft carrier's beautiful exterior over the Russian aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov expose Fallon's utter ignorance of naval military science.” Britain is launching two new aircraft carriers in 2017. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. They will be the largest warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy. The projected cost of the programme is £6.2 billion. It has taken around 10 years to build them. The ships can carry up to 50 warplanes! Russia has one very old aircraft carrier which Sir Michael Fallon called a “ship of shame” when it sailed to Syria last year. Russia though has mocked the new warship calling it a “large convenient target”. The Bible talks about the ships of Britain 9 times! Britain has always been famous for it’s ships and its ability to project power. On several occasions God talks of power of the “ships of Tarshish (Britain)” being broken…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. (Psalm 48:4-7)

10. Germany gay marriage approved by MPs in snap vote BBC, June 30, 2017 EVENT A clear majority of German MPs have voted to legalise same-sex marriage, days after Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her opposition to a vote. The reform grants couples now limited to civil unions full marital rights, and allows them to adopt children. Mrs Merkel's political opponents were strongly in favour. But the chancellor, who signalled her backing for a free vote only on Monday, voted against. The bill was backed by 393 lawmakers, 226 voted against and four abstained. The German legal code will now read: "Marriage is entered into for life by two people of different or the same sex", AFP news agency reported. Following Friday's vote, Mrs Merkel said that for her marriage was between a man and a woman. But she said she hoped the passing of the bill would lead to more "social cohesion and peace”. How did this sudden vote come about? During her 2013 election campaign, Mrs Merkel argued against gay marriage on the grounds of "children's welfare," and admitted that she had a "hard time" with the issue.. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has always been against same sex marriage. Germany has civil partnerships but until now two people of the same sex could not marry. But Mrs Merkel suddenly announced a free vote on this issue. It doesn’t take long to work out why she did it now. There is an election in Germany in September and this would have been something the other parties would have used against her. Mrs Merkel still voted against same sex marriage in the free vote this week but the vote was carried. And so Germany joins a growing list of European nations that allow this godless practice. Never in all human history has mankind allowed marriage of 2 people of the same sex – until now. We live in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. COMMENT But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. BIBLE QUOTE (Luke 17:29-30)

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.