July 6 - 12, 2014

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s July 6 - 12, 2014 “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 July 6 - 12, 2014 • Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem • Israel orders preparations for invasion of Gaza • Hostilities surge as rockets from Lebanon strike Israel • Russia threatens nuclear strikes over Crimea • Iraqi army incapable of counteroffensive against ISIL • Germany asks CIA chief in Berlin to leave country To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. the Philistines [Hamas] with the inhabitants of Tyre [Hezbollah] Hamas fires rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Daily Telegraph, July 9, 2014 EVENT Militant group Hamas fired rockets at major cities across Israel on Tuesday night in response to an aerial offensive on Gaza, in the group’s deepest ever attack on the country. In what marked the biggest escalation of the conflict between the two since the 2012 war, the military arm of the group claimed to have fired over 140 rockets at targets in the capital Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. Residents in the the holy city ran for cover as loud explosions were heard and air-raid sirens sounded, however there were no reports of injuries or damage. Residents, some in just swimwear, were seen running through the city for cover. A tweet from the Israeli military said ‘Confirmed: A rocket fired from Gaza hit Jerusalem.’ Until now, one hit has been identified in an open area near Ramat Raziel, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said. COMMENT This week has seen a dramatic escalation in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. About a month ago the peace process ground to total halt as the 9 month deadline for making peace came to an end with no solution. Following this collapse of the peace process the Palestinian group Fatah that governs Palestinians in the West Bank made a unity deal with Hamas – much to Israel’s dismay. And now, after just a few weeks, hostilities have broken out. Hamas of course calls for the total destruction of Israel. We have been here before. Back in 2012 there was a similar conflict – then before that back in 2007. But this time maybe different. Very different. Egypt on previous occasions has persuaded Hamas to stop the firing of rockets. The trouble is the current leadership in Egypt are busy rounding up and sentencing to death members of the Muslim brotherhood. Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim brotherhood. So Egypt is not in a position to act as mediator. Psalm 83 might be about to be fulfilled…. BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 83:2,4,7)

6. But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Israel orders preparations for invasion of Gaza Daily Telegraph, July 8, 2014 EVENT Israel is laying preparations for an invasion of Gaza as its latest conflict with Hamas intensifies, it was reported on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, issued the orders to the Israeli army for a possible ground offensive in a three-hour meeting with defence chiefs, according to Israel's Haaretz newspaper. "The prime minister's instruction by the end of the meeting was to prepare for a thorough, long, continuous and strong campaign in Gaza," a senior Israeli official told Haaretz. "The prime minister instructed the army to be ready to go all in. A ground offensive is on the table.” News of the orders came as Israel escalated its bombardment of Gaza early on Tuesday, hitting 50 targets including several houses in response to a barrage of rocket fire that it blamed on the territory's Hamas rulers. COMMENT Netanyahu is acting cautiously. He does not want to send ground troops into Gaza. It would undoubtedly see Israeli soldier casualties. However, he has said that the ALL rockets being fired at Israel must stop and Israel will continue this war until this occurs. This has set the bar very high and he is now committed to finally removing this thorn in Israel’s side. It seems highly likely that a ground invasion may come at some point. Reporters on Tuesday saw a convoy of 12 vehicles, including tanks and tracked infantry carriers, heading in the direction of Gaza on the route three motorway in Israel. Netanyahu has also said this week that if Israel pulled out of the West Bank this would lead to 30 Gaza’s on Israel eastern border. He is right of course. When Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 it bought conflict not peace. Gaza is part of the land that God gave to Israel. We are told this in Exodus 23:31. God makes clear in the verse below the consequences of not holding on to the whole land. Israel should have kept Gaza. BIBLE QUOTE (Numbers 33:55)

7. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim [Northern Israel], and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob [Israel] shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. Israel will be greatly weakened • Hostilities surge as rockets from Lebanon strike Israel Washington Times, July 11, 2014 Israel fielded more rocket  fire on Friday ­ but this time, from Lebanon, driving fears that a new set of militants may have jumped aboard the Hamas bandwagon to assault the Jewish nation. A military spokesman from Lebanon said three rockets were fired at Israel in the early morning hours and landed in a northern section of the nation, Fox News reported. Israel, in turn, fired about 25 artillery shells back at Lebanon. Troops with Lebanon’s government then joined with peacekeepers from the United Nations to search the area for signs of who ­ or which group ­ launched the attack, Fox News said. Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said his nation had been half expecting militants from Lebanon to join in the Hamas attack, but that analysts weren’t yet clear if the attack was symbolic or something more substantial, Fox News reported EVENT he COMMENT The conflict between Israel and Hamas has the ability of becoming a far wider confrontation. This week has seen the first rockets launched from Lebanon into Israel. Hezbollah have the same mantra as Hamas – to see the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah are backed by Syria and Iran. It is easy to see how Syria could be dragged into this war as well. Imagine for a moment that things continue to get out of control. On every front Israel could be fighting against incoming rockets – from Lebanon, from Gaza and quite possibly from the Golan border with Syria. Under such a bombardment Israel would lash out with immense ferocity of the like we have not seen yet. Isaiah 17 talks about Israel being greatly weakened in a conflict with Syria that also sees Damascus completely destroyed as a city. This war between Israel and its surrounding neighbours comes BEFORE the Russian invasion. There are 3 stages of war coming. War Pt1 – Israel’s immediate neighbours …War Pt2 – Russia, Iran … War Pt3 – Europe BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:3-4)

8. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. This is talking about the latter day king of the north (the original was Antiochus Ephanese). The latter day man is Gog (Putin). Notice that he destroys “wonderfully”. “Wonderfully” means “unsurpassing”, “extraordinary”, “difficult to contemplate” nuclear war?? ” Russia threatens nuclear strikes over Crimea Washington TImes, July 11, 2014 A senior Russian official appeared to issue a nuclear threat against Ukraine over Crimea on Wednesday. In recent weeks, numerous senior level Ukrainian officials have promised to return Crimea to Ukraine despite Russia’s decision to annex it earlier this year. Following his appointment as Ukraine’s new minister of defence, Colonel General Valeriy Heletey promised the parliament in Kiev he would work to retake Crimea from Russia. When asked about these comments at a press conference on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded, ”If it comes to aggression against Russian territory, which Crimea and Sevastopol are parts of, I would not advise anyone to do this.” He then added, “We have the doctrine of national security, and it very clearly regulates the actions, which will be taken in this case.”” This is a not-so-subtle threat to use nuclear weapons to retain Crimea. EVENT COMMENT The “doctrine of national security” that Lavrov is referring to is about the Russian doctrine on first use of nuclear weapons. Before the year 2000 Russia had the same nuclear doctrine as all other nuclear nations. It basically said that Russia had a no first strike policy. In other words Russia would never fire a nuclear weapon first. That doctrine changed. When Putin came into power on the first day of the new millennium his very first edict was to change this doctrine. He changed Russia’s nuclear doctrine to say that if very existence of the state is under threat they could use nuclear weapons. So this week Lavrov said in effect that if Ukraine tries to take Crimea back Russia would see that as opening the possibility of nuclear weapons being used against Ukraine! Would Putin use nuclear weapons? There seems little doubt he would do so… BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:12-13)

9. Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance….. the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: 118 times Assur is translated Assyria, 19 times Assyrian, 10 times Assur Iraqi Army Incapable of Counteroffensive Against ISIL Reuters, July 11, 2014 The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are incapable of launching a counteroffensive against a radical jihadist group that now controls large swaths of the country without substantially more assistance from the United States, experts said on Friday. Retired Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) who formerly trained the ISF, said Iraq’s army suffers from ineffective military leadership in the face of a violent insurgency from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has eroded the chain of command by superseding the traditional army joint chiefs with his own personal office of the commander-in-chief, Dubik said at an ISW event. Officer appointments lower down the chain of command were replaced with political appointees loyal to Maliki. ISIL continues its march toward Baghdad after seizing the cities of Tikrit and Mosul. EVENT he COMMENT It’s amazing that no one appears able or willing to stop this newly declared Islamic State. This organisation of militant Muslims are that aggressive and brutal that even Al Qaeda wanted nothing to do with them! They are ultra violent and defeat through fear. They have taken over several oil installations in Syria and Iraq and experts say they are now making £1m a day by selling oil on the black markets. The territory captured responds accurately to that of the ancient Assyrians – who were also a brutal people. In fact ISIL stands of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. The territory of Levant is interesting. It covers Jordan, Lebanon, Southern Turkey and ISRAEL. Is it coincidence that in these last days we have a new state suddenly appear without warning that corresponds to the ancient Assyrians? We are told in Psalm 83 that the people who want to destroy Israel are helped by Assur – the Assyrians! BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 83:4,7-8)

10. For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: • Germany asks CIA chief in Berlin to leave country Daily Telegraph, July 10, 2014 Germany today asked the CIA's station chief in Berlin to leave the country in a dramatic rebuke to Washington after its security services uncovered two cases of alleged American spying in a week. The American intelligence official was told he was no longer welcome in a public signal of Angela Merkel's fury over US spying on Germany. It is highly unusual for a European ally to oust a CIA station chief and the move is the most dramatic response from Germany since it was disclosed last year that the NSA was monitoring Mrs Merkel's phone. "The representative of the US intelligence services at the United States embassy has been asked to leave Germany," a German government spokesman said. The two alleged cases of American espionage in Germany have added a new chill to the already-strained relationship between Washington and Berlin on intelligence matters. EVENT Relationships are breaking down around the world. We have Russia and America at loggerheads over Syria and Ukraine. We have Europe and Russia at loggerheads over Crimea. We have America and Europe (Germany) at loggerheads over the spying row. We have the whole of the Middle East in turmoil. Even out in the far east we have growing tension between China and Japan and North Korea and South Korea. Even without Bible in hand it must be clear to anyone who is watching that things are spiralling out of control. The whole of the world is on the brink. The vortex ultimately of course will be Jerusalem. But all the events described above lead us to Armageddon. War comes about when trust is broken and communication fails. If God was not in control the future of the earth would be total destruction. But God is in control. Although Armageddon is coming Jesus will intervene. Peace will come after the conflict... COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 62:1-2)

11. 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. Please take a look at this excellent Christadelphian Prophecy website Just click the image To watch again, click here.