Weekly World Watch: February 7-13, 2010 - Lebanon Backs Hezbollah, Iran Declares Nuclear State

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s February 7 - 13, 2010 “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) 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). 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 February 7 - 13, 2010 • Lebanon backs Hezbollah against Israel • Iran is now a 'nuclear state' says Ahmadinejad • A divided Ukraine turns back to Russian roots • Russian military calls US missile defence a threat • Europe veers down a new path • Anti-Semitic attacks against Jews 'rise in the UK To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I rise, saith the LORD; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Lebanon backs Hezbollah against Israel Associated Press, February 10, 2010 Click here to watch a short clip Lebanese PM warns of Israeli threats, says it will support Hezbollah in event of new war. Lebanon's prime minister voiced concern Wednesday about "escalating" Israeli war threats, and said his government will support the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah if a new war breaks out with the Jewish state. Saad Hariri's comments come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following some of the sharpest exchanges in years between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Lebanon's president warned Israel Tuesday that a war against Lebanon will be "no picnic." Last week, Syria's foreign minister accused Israel of "spreading an atmosphere of war" in the region after Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned that the stalled peace process with Syria could result in an all-out regional war. EVENT The “talk of war” continues this week. The Lebanese prime minister was interviewed by the BBC. Mr Hariri told the BBC that Israeli planes were entering Lebanese airspace every day, and he feared the prospect of another war with Israel. He accused Israel of making a huge mistake by allegedly threatening both Lebanon and neighbouring Syria. His comments come just days after the foreign ministers of Syria and Israel exchanged aggressive accusations, which fuelled both media speculation and public fear about what many in the region describe as the "imminent next war". Lebanon we know will be involved in the final war. In Isaiah 33 there is prophecy that speaks of the nations destroying like locusts. It is a time when the earth languishes. We are also told that Lebanon at this time is ashamed and hewn down. War is coming. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 33:9,10)

6. 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 also shall dash the young men to pieces Iran is now a 'nuclear state' says Ahmadinejad National Post, February 12, 2010 Iran marked the 31st anniversary of its revolution with massive pro-government rallies and a declaration the Islamic republic was now a "nuclear state." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the claim before a huge Tehran crowd as he bragged Iran's atomic scientists had this week enriched uranium to levels that put the country within reach of producing weapons-grade fuel. He spoke as reports also emerged that Mr. Ahmadinejad had, in a telephone call with Syrian President Bashar Assad, said any attempt by Israel to launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear program should be met with Israel's destruction. "If the Zionist regime ... initiates a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all," Mr. Ahmadinejad told Mr. Assad on Wednesday evening, according to a report yesterday by IRIB, Iran's state broadcaster. "One day they said we cannot enrich uranium, but with the resistance of our leader, nation ... and with the help of God, the Iranian nation has become nuclear," Mr. Ahmadinejad said. EVENT Iran appears to be openly goading Israel. Declaring itself to be a nuclear state and threatening to bring Israel to an end once and for all if it dares to attack. There is an interesting chapter in Isaiah that speaks of the “day of the LORD”, when God “shakes the heavens and the earth”, when He “punishes the world for their evil”, when “the sun shall be darkened” etc. All these aspects must refer in its fullest extent to the final judgement of the world. And here, buried in this chapter we have mention of “the Medes” or in modern language “Iranians”. God stirs them up and they “dash young men to pieces”. We see modern Iran stirred up and ready to attack. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 13:17,18)

7. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him A divided Ukraine turns back to Russian roots The Globe & Mail, February 9, 2010 Ukraine, a country divided into linguistic and cultural solitudes, showed its Russian face last night as voters appeared to elect Viktor Yanukovich, a former leader whose 2004 election had been declared fraudulent by the courts. Mr. Yanukovich, 59, delivered his presidential victory speech last night in Russian, his native tongue and the language used by about one-third of the Ukrainian population. And there were no gestures of magnanimity after an electoral battle with Yulia Tymoshenko that saw accusations of crime, child molestation, corruption and incompetence flying back and forth. But there's a risk of protests and procedural standoffs today after Ms. Tymoshenko, the charismatic gas-pipeline magnate and Prime Minister, insisted last night that the results were unclear and plagued with irregularities. Mr. Yanukovich's backers said in a briefing last night that he would put an end to gas-flow lapses by establishing stable energy ties with Moscow, launch European Union accession on stronger terms and end any talk of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. EVENT The Ukraine is part of the territory once inhabited by the Scythians. We should note that is was the Scythians, who were identified by Josephus (and others) as being Magog. They lived in what is now Russia and Ukraine. So the Ukraine and southern Russia equals Magog. The ruler of the Magogites was originally called Gog. When we therefore read of “Gog of the land of Magog” in Ezekiel 38 we are reading of the ruler or leader of this area of land. Interesting then how the Ukraine has “turned back to its Russian roots” in these last days. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:1,2 RSV)

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 Russian military calls US missile defence a threat Associated Press, February 9, 2010 Top Russian military officer says US missile defence plans aimed at Russia. U.S. missile defence plans are a threat to Russian national security and have slowed down progress on a new arms control treaty with Washington, Russia's top military officer said Tuesday. Gen. Nikolai Makarov said that a revised U.S. plan to place missiles in Europe undermines Russia's national defence, rejecting Obama administration promises that the plan is not directed at his country. "We view it very negatively, because it could weaken our missile forces," Makarov, the chief of the Russian military's General Staff, said in televised remarks. Russian officials at first reacted calmly to U.S. plans to deploy Patriot missile systems in Poland, but have grown increasingly critical in recent weeks. Romania last week approved a proposal to place anti-ballistic missile interceptors in the country as part of the revamped American missile shield. Asked Tuesday about the plans in Romania and Poland, Makarov called the U.S. missile defence plans a threat. EVENT Obama came to power as a sort of messianic saviour of the world. He (unlike his predecessor) would begin talks with Iran. He would solve the Palestinian / Israeli conflict. He would reverse the “new Cold War” with Russia. He would bring a new health service to all in America. In fact when you look at this list Obama has failed in every instance and he has been forced into reverse on these issues. There is only one man who can solve the world’s issues and problems. It is our Lord Jesus Christ for only he is immortal and perfect in character. God said that there would be a king of the north v king of the south. God’s will prevails. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 11:40)

9. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; …. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken [brittle]. Europe veers down a new path Globe & Mail, February 9, 2010 Say goodbye to the European Union as half-a-billion Europeans know it. By pledging to come to Greece's rescue, the EU did something it has never done in its 53-year history, and certainly never in the 11 years of the euro's existence: extend a financial lifeline to a sovereign member of its club. Greece's out-of-control spending triggered a debt crisis that, left unchecked, would almost certainly bankrupt the country and generate a financial maelstrom in other ailing EU economies, threatening the viability of the euro itself. The message from the EU leaders who drafted the rescue plan was direct: No country that uses the euro will be allowed to go bust because the monetary union is sacrosanct. The 16 EU countries that use the euro have a “shared responsibility,” EU president Herman Van Rompuy said Thursday in Brussels. The promise to save Greece from defaulting on its debt sends the EU off in a new direction. From now on, it appears, the strongest countries, notably Germany and France, will guarantee the financial stability of the weakest. In time this can only lead to the erosion of economic and political sovereignty among the countries that use the euro. EVENT In Daniel chapter 2 there is the remarkable vision detailed out that God himself gave to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The vision of the man made of metals shows specific kingdoms and empires of the world that exist to the time Christ returns. The final kingdom is a divided kingdom made up of iron and clay. One way simple of looking at this mixture is strong and weak. The final kingdom is made up of strong and weak nations. It makes everything unstable.Europe is this divided weak/strong kingdom COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 2:41,42)

10. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. Anti-Semitic attacks against Jews 'rise in the UK BBConline, February 5, 2010 Attacks on Jews in the UK reached record levels in 2009, according to figures compiled within the community. The Community Security Trust (CST) said it had recorded 924 incidents over the year, 55% more than the previous high of 598 incidents in 2006. The organisation, which monitors incidents against Jewish people and organisations, said the rise was linked to last year's Gaza conflict. Prime Minister Gordon Brown described the figures as "deeply troubling". The CST is a Jewish community organisation which collects figures on attacks and advises organisations such as synagogues on security. In a statement issued through the CST, Gordon Brown said: "The increase in anti-Semitic incidents recorded by CST in the early part of last year is deeply troubling and I want to be unequivocal today. "I am a proud friend of Israel and welcome a robust debate about how we ensure both a secure Israel and a viable Palestinian state existing side by side.” EVENT As we get closer and closer to the time when all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem to battle we may well expect the general hatred of the Jews within the nations of the world to increase. It is good for us to look past this time of hatred of God’s people to the time when the Jews are reconciled to Christ. To the time described below. When ten gentile men will take hold of a Jew not to beat him or kill him or ridicule him but to ask him to lead them. Why? Because the ten gentile men realise (at this future time) that God is with the Jew. Let us pray that this wonderful time of worldwide learning of God’s ways is close. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 8:23)

11. Weekly World Watch The end of this week’s WWW will be e-mailed to you each week. Please forward the e-mail addresses of others who may be interested. I will include them in the list of recipients. Comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. E-MAIL ANDY Click here (Move the mouse until the cursor appears.) To watch again, click here.