August 31 – September 6, 2008

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s August 31 – September 6, 2008 “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 August 31 – September 6, 2008 • Brown fails to get EU sanctions against Russia • Cheney in withering attack on Russia • Georgian airfields to be used by Israel attacked • Experiment to unlock secrets of Big Bang • Media hails Damascus summit • Global warming making hurricanes fiercer To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty? Brown fails to get EU sanctions against Russia Daily Telegraph, September 2, 2008 Gordon Brown failed in his mission to secure tough action against Russia after France and Germany persuaded other European Union leaders to give Moscow a second chance. A crisis European Union summit in Brussels shied away from sanctions to punish Russia and set a new seven-day deadline to withdraw troops to pre-conflict positions in Georgia. With France the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, President Nicolas Sarkozy will travel to Moscow on Sept 8 and then to Tbilisi amid "signals" that Russia will pull back its military. President Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, have rallied the EU behind new Russian promises to implement six-point cease-fire in Georgia, negotiated by the France on Aug 12. EVENT COMMENT We reported last week that the UK was leading the way in calls for Russian sanctions. At the emergency summit in Europe this week, Gordon Brown, the UK prime minister, was the main voice there that wanted real sanctions. He failed in this. Mainly due to French and German opposition. They preferred to keep the situation calm. After all they depend on Russian gas. Russia even praised Europe after the meeting! In the end Europe's leaders agreed to postpone "partnership and co-operation" talks with Russia but only after lobbying by Gordon Brown. This event shows clearly how Tarshish WILL be one of the voices that opposes the Russian invasion of the Middle East when it happens. It is interesting that Gordon Brown is now seen as one of the weakest political leaders the UK has ever seen. He is seen as someone who cannot make decisions and dithers. IF he is still in power when Russia invades he MAY be the one who voices his concern but does nothing about it. BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13 NKJV)

6. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him Cheney in withering attack on Russia The Times, September 5, 2008 Dick Cheney delivered a bellicose warning to Russia yesterday during a brief visit to war-torn Georgia, promising that America's small Caucasus ally would one day join the Nato alliance . In combative mood, the US Vice-President stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian President, and bluntly reinforced Russia's worst fears — that Washington would not stop pushing for Georgian membership in Nato. He also attacked Moscow for trying to redraw the country's borders by force. “Georgia will be in our alliance,” he said, in defiance of the Kremlin, which has blamed the military alliance's expansion into Russia's traditional sphere of influence as one of the triggers for last month's five-day war in Georgia. “Russia's actions have cast grave doubts on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner,” Mr Cheney said, a day after the US pledged $1billion (£564million) to help Georgia to repair the damage inflicted by its huge neighbour. Mr Cheney's warm words for Georgia's Nato aspirations are likely to cause consternation in several European capitals, particularly Berlin and Paris. EVENT Sometimes in the newspapers you can read an article and it uses the same words as written in the Bible when speaking of the exact same event. This then helps to view the Bible not as an ancient book but a modern report of current events. The Bible becomes living and real and most of all exciting. Take the report above. We have Dick Cheney deliberately provoking Russia by going to Georgia and the Ukraine. The article says “Washington would not stop pushing for Georgian membership of Nato. He also attacked Moscow etc…” The Bible says “the king of the south will push at him (the king of the north)”. Same language, same event. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE king of south = US / UK him = Russia (Daniel 11:40)

7. and I will cause thee [Russia] to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel Russian units raid Georgian airfields for use in Israeli strike against Iran Israeli drone Debkafile Special Report, September 5, 2008 The raids were disclosed by UPI chief editor Arnaud de Borchgrave, who is also on the Washington Times staff, and picked up by the Iranian Fars news agency. The Russian raids of two Georgian airfields, which Tbilisi had allowed Israel to use for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, followed the Georgian offensive against South Ossetia on August 7. Under the secret agreement with Georgia, the airfields had been earmarked for use by Israeli fighter-bombers taking off to strike Iran in return for training and arms supplies. DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report that flying from S. Georgia over the Caspian Sea to Iran would sharply trim the distance to be spanned by Israeli fighter-bombers, reducing flying time to 3.5 hours. Northern Iran and the Tehran region, where most of the nuclear facilities are concentrated, would be within range, with no need to request US permission to pass through Iraq air space. Russian Special Forces also raided other Israeli facilities in southern Georgia and captured Israeli spy drones, says the report. EVENT It appears from this Debkafile report that Israel was planning to use Georgian airfields if it decided to strike Iran. Flying from Georgia would cut down Israel’s flying time and make the strike more effective. Note as well that Russia captured Israeli spy drones during the conflict. Before Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August few of us probably realised how Israel was involved in the area. We reported in the WWW on 08/08/08 how Israel had sent hundreds of military advisers to Georgia in recent months. Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Jerusalem halt its military assistance to Georgia. Perhaps the future Russian invasion of Israel is partly retribution for this. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 39:2)

8. I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein…. Landmark experiment to unlock secrets of Big Bang could cause end of the world Daily Mail, September 1, 2008 to view more go to http://www.lhc.ac.uk/ It has cost £4.4billion and is designed to unlock the secrets of the Big Bang. But rather than providing vital information about the beginning of life, the world's biggest experiment could cause the end of the world, say scientists. They fear that the Large Hadron Collider - due to be switched on in nine days' time - will create a black hole that could swallow the planet. By smashing sub-atomic particles together at close to the speed of light, the LHC aims to recreate the conditions that existed a fraction of a second after the birth of the universe or Big Bang, shedding light on the building blocks of life. But critics claim that the 'time machine', which has been built 300ft beneath the French-Swiss border near Geneva, could instead spawn a shower of mini-black holes. EVENT It is the largest, most complex scientific experiment in man’s history. It is an 18 mile long underground tunnel that will fire particles at each other at the speed of light. When they collide, scientists believe they will create a mini Big Bang. The exact conditions that they believe caused the creation of the universe. The concern by some is that this could cause unknown consequences. On the official website it says “The LHC will let us see how matter behaved a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Researchers have some ideas of what to expect – but also expect the unexpected!” The LHC will be switched on this week. What really confuses scientists is how the universe is held together. Why stars do not fly off in all directions. They call it dark matter. They want to see this unknown power - it accounts for 96% of the universe! The thing is this. We know what the unknown power is. It is God. It is his power that holds all things together. This audacious experiment may have unexpected consequences. God will soon be declared. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Acts 17:23-24)

9. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. Media hails Damascus summit BBConline, September 5, 2008 Commentators in France and the Middle East give a positive verdict on Thursday's four-way summit between Syria, France, Turkey and Qatar. Most of them welcome the return of Syria from the diplomatic wilderness, and see the summit as a chance to move toward peace in the Middle East. One Iranian commentator believes French President Nicolas Sarkozy's attendance at the summit means that Europe is shifting away from US policies in the region, while another in Lebanon insists the Syrian government can still not be trusted. EVENT COMMENT French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined the leaders of Syria, Turkey and Qatar on Thursday for a summit aimed at promoting peace and stability in a turbulent Middle East. The discussions in Syria's capital followed a one-on-one meeting between Sarkozy and Syrian President Bashar Assad a day earlier to discuss prospects for direct peace talks between Syria and its ancient enemy – Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported as follows "Something is afoot in Syria, though to judge its significance is a matter of no small complexity. Yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Damascus on the first visit by a Western leader to Syria since the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. In an interview on Tuesday with France-3 television, meanwhile, Assad declared that the indirect negotiations with Israel have brought "the possibility of peace," although the two countries still have quite a way to go toward that goal. "Today, we can only say that we have opened the door to peace," he said.” Lots of talk about the opportunity to make peace. Israel though would have to give up the Golan Heights. It may not want to do this. The talk of peace may lead to war. BIBLE QUOTE (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

10. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet Global warming making hurricanes fiercer, and the Worst is Yet to Come Discovery, September 5, 2008 In the destructive heart of hurricane season, climate scientists have come out with some alarming news: the most powerful storms have gained wind strength over the past 25 years as a result of gradually warming ocean waters, and global warming is likely to continue that trend. It’s hardly welcome news, as Gulf Coast residents are still recovering from this week’s close call with Hurricane Gustav and Caribbean islanders are warily eyeing several new tropical storms gaining strength over the Atlantic EVENT COMMENT Gustav caused “pure terror” for those living in Cuba. 100,000 houses were damaged, over 6,000 are beyond repair. Almost 500 bodies have been found in the port city of Gonaives, Haiti, after floodwaters caused by recent storms receded, according to reports. One of the biggest evacuations in American history was completed last week after about 2 million people fled New Orleans and other coastal communities across the country's south to escape Hurricane Gustav. Three years ago hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It occurred as over 100,000 gay and lesbian people attended the “Southern Decadence” event. This years event was planned to go ahead until the very last minute. The evacuation of New Orleans meant the “Southern Decadence 2008” was called off. The dictionary says that decadence means a lack of moral discipline. It describes the corrosive decline and erosion of necessary moral traditions. God has used (many times throughout history) the weather that he ultimately controls to bring about his plan and purpose. Nahum 1:2 says that God is slow to anger but will take vengeance on his enemies. His way is in the storm. His judgements are coming. BIBLE QUOTE (Nahum 1:3)

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.