June 15 - 21, 2014

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s June 15 - 21, 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 June 15 - 21, 2014 • Nato warns Russia over fresh military build-up • Russia cuts gas supply to Ukraine • Iran threatens intervention in Iraq over Holy Sites • Obama sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq • ISIS, beheadings & the success of horrifying violence • Presbyterian Assembly: Gay Marriage Is Christian To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided….But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances…But they will not hold together… Nato warns Russia over fresh military build-up Financial Times, June 19, 2014 EVENT Nato's secretary-general on Thursday called a fresh Russian military build-up along the western border with Ukraine a very regrettable step as the west escalated warnings that Moscow's refusal to sever support for eastern Ukrainian separatists could trigger a fresh wave of sanctions. We now see a new Russian military build-up - at least a few thousand more Russian troops deployed to the Ukrainian border and we see troop manoeuvres in the neighbourhood of Ukraine, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in London. Mr Rasmussen warned that further intervention by Russia would require the west to respond with sanctions. Jack Lew, the US Treasury secretary, made similar comments in Berlin, demanding that Moscow stop funnelling arms, rebels and other forms of support to rebels in eastern Ukraine.If Russia is not willing to reverse course the international community is prepared to increase the costs, he said
 As the world’s attention has suddenly and dramatically switched to events in Iraq, the Kremlin has been increasing its support for the insurgents in eastern Ukraine. It took months of persuasion to get Russia to move its troops away from Ukraine’s eastern border and yet within 2 weeks of withdrawing them – they are back! Also Putin has ordered forces in Russia's central military district to be put on full combat alert for a week. A truce was announced by the new Ukrainian president this week but the Kremlin dismissed it, saying it was "not an invitation to peace and negotiations but an ultimatum". More sanctions are coming on Russia and the conflict shows no sign of abating. We are seeing the image of Daniel 2 before us. The divided legs of Europe – East and West. The division of course is straight through the centre of Ukraine. It is not a uniting of the two sides we are looking for - but a dividing. Clay and iron don’t mix! COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 2:41-43 NLT)

6. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power. Russia cuts gas supply to Ukraine Associated Press, June 16, 2014 EVENT Russia on Monday cut gas supplies to Ukraine as a payment deadline passed and negotiators failed to reach a deal on gas prices and unpaid bills amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine. The decision does not immediately affect the gas flow to Europe, but could disrupt the long-term energy supply to the region if the issue is not resolved, analysts said. Ukraine's Naftogaz company head Andriy Kobolev said Russia had cut the supply of gas to Ukraine, but that Ukraine can manage without Russian gas until December. Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said that since Ukraine had paid nothing for the gas by Monday, from now on the company would demand that Ukraine pay in advance for any future deliveries. Ukraine was ready to accept a compromise in talks in Kiev of paying $1 billion now and more later, but Russia didn't accept the offer, the European Commission said in a statement. COMMENT The impact of Russia’s move this week will not be felt for a few months. Ukraine has enough gas supplies to last until the winter. The trouble is that the gas supply for Europe goes through Ukraine. The gas for Ukraine and the gas for Europe is the same gas in the same pipeline. Therefore when Russia says it has switched off the gas what it means is that it is only sending enough gas through for Europe’s demands. However if Ukraine’s supplies run out they could take the gas that was destined for Europe. Gazprom (the Russian gas supplier) announced this week it suing Ukraine’s state gas company. And Ukraine’s state gas company announced it was suing Gazprom! The Russian bear is playing hard ball. It is being goaded and provoked. It will just not tolerate Europe operating in a nation that was once part of the USSR. Putin the master of deception will destroy many without warning. He will invade the Middle East… BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 8:24-25 NLT)

7. “Look, I will stir up the Medes against Babylon. They cannot be tempted by silver or bribed with gold. The attacking armies will shoot down the young men with arrows. They will have no mercy on helpless babies and will show no compassion for children.” Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, ….will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah Iran threatens intervention in Iraq over Holy Sites Associated Press, June 18, 2014 Iran will not hesitate to defend Shi'ite Muslim holy sites in neighbouring Iraq against "killers and terrorists", Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, following rapid advances by Sunni militants there over the past week. Speaking on live television, Rouhani said many people had signed up to go to Iraq to defend the sites and "put the terrorists in their place". He added that veteran fighters from Iraq's Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish communities were also "ready for sacrifice" against these militant forces. "Regarding the holy Shia shines in Karbala, Najaf, Khadhimiya and Samarra, we announce to the killers and terrorists that the big Iranian nation will not hesitate to protect holy shrines," he said, speaking to a crowd on a visit to western Lorestan province. "These terrorist groups, and those that fund them, both in the region and in the international arena, are nothing, and hopefully they will be put in their own place.”CLICK HERE to watch YouTube Presentation on Isaiah 13 EVENT Meanwhile Iraq is in flames…There is a key chapter in the Bible that describes exact events from 2003 to the present (and beyond). Isaiah 13. This is NOT just ancient history. Read verses 6-13. Every phrase is a latter day phrase. In fact in this one section are all the key themes to do with the time of trouble at the time of the end. Verse 1-5 explain the national nightmare of Babylon – Iraq. It describes nations attacking Iraq that come “from distant countries, from beyond the farthest horizons” v5. This all happened in 2003. v14 picks up events - people in Iraq will seek their own people – they flee to their own land. Anyone captured is killed. This is exactly what is happening as Iraq divides into its ethnic and religious races. But then notice v17. The Medes are stirred up! Iran attacks Iraq. It brings utter destruction on it like Sodom…. he COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 13:17-19 NLT)

8. But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?’We know that Saudi Arabia (Sheba & Dedan) is on the opposite side of the conflict to Iran. Obama sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq Associated Press, June 19, 2014 President Barack Obama on Thursday said he was dispatching up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help quell the rising insurgency in the crumbling state. He called on Iraqi leaders to govern with a more "inclusive agenda" to ensure the country does not descend into civil war. Though not specifically mentioning airstrikes, an option the U.S. has been considering, Obama said he was leaving open the possibility of "targeted" military action in the future. He said the U.S. also would increase its intelligence efforts in Iraq and was creating joint operations centres with Iraqis. When coupled with previously announced steps, Obama's actions could put about 600 additional U.S. troops back on the ground in Iraq. The 300 military advisers he announced Thursday would join up to 275 being positioned in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and other American interests. But he was adamant that U.S. troops would not be returning to combat. EVENT Saudi Arabia will oppose any US and British or regional intervention in Iraq against the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the country's ambassador to London told the Daily Telegraph newspaper this week. It was also seen as a firm statement against Iran getting involved as well. What we really have here is a Sunni v Shia war. Saudi Arabia is Sunni. Iran is Shia. Iraq is divided between the two. The government is Shia. ISIS (insurgency) is Sunni. Iran wont tolerate Sunni’s in power in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was Sunni and Iran fought a decade long war with him. America can do very little now. Iraq is finished as a nation. It is breaking up. It will end up completely destroyed. Babylon - home of sin and death (Eden) and false religion will be removed completely. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13)

9. “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you—these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites; Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites and people from Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them, too, ISIS, beheadings & the success of horrifying violence Washington Post, June 13, 2014 The stories, the videos, the acts of unfathomable brutality have become a defining aspect of ISIS, which controls a nation-size tract of land and has now pushed Iraq to the precipice of dissolution. Its adherents kill with such abandon that even the leader of al-Qaeda has disavowed them. “Clearly, [leader Ayman] al-Zawahiri believes that ISIS is a liability to the al-Qaeda brand,” Aaron Zelin, who analyzes jihadist movements for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told The Washington Post. One video captures militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) herding hundreds of boys and Iraqi soldiers down a highway to an unknown fate. One reporter said an Iraqi woman in Mosul claimed to have seen a “row of decapitated soldiers and policemen” on the street. Other reports spoke of “mass beheadings.” The UN Human Rights chief said the summary executions “may run into the hundreds” EVENT he COMMENT So who are ISIS? The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has emerged from radical Sunni jihadists in Iraq who fought under the banner “al-Qaeda in Iraq”. Their goal since being founded in 2004 is to create a hardline Islamic state crossing over the borders of Syria and Iraq. Notice in the article that they now control a “nation-size tract of land”. Now what is interesting about this tract of land is this….it corresponds almost exactly to the heart of the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians were renowned for their cruelty – as one Bible dictionary puts it…"The Assyrians were noted for their brutality, and their kings were often depicted as gloating over the gruesome punishments inflicted on conquered peoples. They conducted their wars with shocking ferocity, uprooting whole populations and deporting them to other parts of the empire." We see this with ISIS. We also read in Psalm 83 that Assur (Assyrians) join forces against Israel…. BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 83:4-8 NLT)

10. “Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” • Presbyterian Assembly: Gay Marriage Is Christian Associated Press, June 19, 2014 The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted by large margins to recognize same-sex marriage as Christian in the church constitution, adding language that marriage can be the union of "two people," not just "a man and a woman.” The amendment approved Thursday by the Presbyterian General Assembly requires approval from a majority of the 172 regional presbyteries, which will vote on the change over the next year. But in a separate policy change that takes effect at the end of this week's meeting, delegates voted to allow ministers to preside at gay weddings in states where the unions are legal and local congregational leaders approve. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage. The votes, during a national meeting in Detroit, were a sweeping victory for Presbyterian gay-rights advocates. EVENT This is a sign we are truly in the very last days. These are people who purportedly read the Bible, worship God and accept Christ as their saviour. And yet they have come to the conclusion that a homosexual marriage is Christian. A Christian is someone who professes belief in Jesus as Christ and lives a life based on the life and teachings of Jesus. So what did Jesus say about marriage? He said “Haven’t you read that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So Jesus clearly states marriage is between a man and a woman. Not a man and a man. In the same passage Jesus uses the word “porneia”. Porneia according to Strong’s concordance means any adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, beastiliality etc. A man marrying a man therefore is NOT Christian behaviour – it is godless… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Matthew 19:4-6 NLT)

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.