Weekly World Watch: Israel, Europe, Russia, UK and US, Moral Standards, Natural Disasters

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s January 28 – February 10, 2018 “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 January 28 – February 10, 2018 • There is increasing talk of war all around Israel • Israeli fighter jet downed by Syrian fire, says military • Amid rising tensions, US troops in Israel for missile drill • Israel, Lebanon step up war talk over oil, gas fields • Pope, Erdogan discuss shared views on Jerusalem • US wants smaller nukes to counter Russia To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem….. I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, Israel WINS the initial war with the surrounding peoples There is increasing talk of war all around Israel The Economist, February 8, 2018 There is increasing talk of war on both sides of the expanse, and elsewhere around Israel. "Everyday there is aggression and terror [by Israel]," says Daoud Shihab of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group that has fired rockets into Israel. "The situation could explode at any moment." Some of Gaza's leaders believe Israel will use a coming military exercise with America as cover for an attack. They put the chances of a new war at 95%, according to Al Hayat, an Arabic newspaper. There is talk of impending conflicts on Israel's northern borders, too. On January 28th the IDF's spokesman, Ronen Manelis, wrote an op-ed, published by Lebanese websites, in which he warned Lebanon not to allow Iran to produce precision missiles in the country. Israel has repeatedly struck Iranian arms convoys bound for Lebanon. The IDF has been training on the northern front. "As we have proven in recent years...our security red lines are clearly demarcated," wrote General Manelis. "The choice is yours, people of Lebanon." EVENT This article in the Economist shows how the talk of war could lead to war itself. Israeli leaders have increased their warnings to Hezbollah, Lebanon and Iran in recent weeks. Hezbollah has an arsenal of an estimated 130,000 to 150,000 short, medium and long-range missiles and rockets and a fighting force of an estimated 50,000 soldiers, including reservists. “The amount of power that will be deployed will be nothing similar to the Second Lebanon War,” said Dr. Gabi Siboni, a retired colonel in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) last week. The Bible says there will be an initial war between Israel and what Zechariah 12 calls “surrounding peoples” in the NKJV. The peoples that surround Israel are Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Gaza Strip. This war is coming soon. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 12:2 NKJV)

6. Look, the city of Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins. The towns of Aroer will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away. The fortified towns of Ephraim [Northern Israel] will also be destroyed, Israeli fighter jet downed by Syrian fire, says military The Guardian, February 10, 2018 An Israeli F-16 fighter has crashed after being shot at by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles on a raid to destroy Iranian facilities accused of launching a drone into Israel. The Israeli military claimed it shot down the drone and struck Iranian targets in Syria after what it called a “severe and irregular violation of Israeli sovereignty”. The military said its planes faced multiple anti-aircraft missiles from Syria that forced Israeli pilots to abandon an F-16 jet that crashed in the Jezreel valley in northern Israel. It said the ejected pilots were evacuated to hospital. Sirens sounded in northern Israel as a result of Syrian fire and local media. It was one of the most serious incidents involving Israel, Iran and Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war almost eight years ago. Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Twitter that Iran was “responsible for this severe violation of Israeli sovereignty”. EVENT We wake up this morning with news that Syrian anti-craft missiles have shot down an Israeli fighter jet. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Israel was responding to an Iranian drone capable of carrying smart bombs. In fact on Monday Iran announced it had started mass producing a new weaponized drone. Interestingly the missiles that shot down the Israeli jet are part of a system operated with and commanded by the Russians from their Kheimim air base. In other words Russia is assisting Syria in being able to shoot down Israeli jets! Israel has struck back by hitting 12 Iranian, Hezbollah sites in Syria. We wait to see how things develop. But we know that Israel will get drawn into the Syria conflict. We have reported this for over 6 years and now we may be very close to this happening… COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Isaiah 17:2-3 NLT)

7. Amid rising tensions, US troops in Israel for missile drill Jerusalem Post, February 4, 2018 With tensions high on both the northern and southern fronts, US troops are in Israel and have deployed anti-missile defence systems across the country ahead of the biennial Juniper Cobra military exercise. The large-scale, five-day drill will simulate a massive missile attack on Israel from both fronts and will be led by the Israel Air Force, the IDF confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. “Such exercises are part of a long-term strategy and part of the ongoing cooperation between the IDF and the US military,” read the statement by the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit. The joint exercise with the US Army European Command (EUCOM) is aimed at strengthening military cooperation against regional threats and promoting long-term security for Israel. While the IDF said the drill, which has occurred every two years since 2001, is part of the annual training to maintain the readiness of troops, it comes amid a war of words with Hezbollah, which is thought to have an arsenal of between 100,000 and 150,000 missiles. EVENT COMMENT On the back of these military drills between Israel and the US, Hamas' chief Yahya Sinwar has ordered the Gaza-based Islamist militant group on high alert, indicating that war is a "95 percent probability" and it could erupt in hours or within days. The Israel / US exercise will imitate a massive simultaneous missile attack on Israel from southern and northern fronts, according to Channel 10 News Agency and involve more than 3000 US troops. We know from Ezekiel 38 that America (one of the young lions of Tarshish) is on Israel’s side when Russia invades with Iran and other nations. However America is not able to stop the invasion. This must mean that the US is either not totally committed (or weakened in some way) when Russia invades. Sheba, Dedan, 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, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”’ BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13 NKJV)

8. Israel, Lebanon step up war talk over oil, gas fields Press TV, February 4, 2018 EVENT Lebanon and Israel have nearly come to blows over Beirut’s offshore oil and gas exploration projects, a running standoff that has kept the Middle East on edge considering the tumultuous history between the two sides. It all started last week, when Israel described as “very provocative” a Lebanese tender for projects in two of its 10 offshore blocks in the Mediterranean Sea. In December, the cabinet of Prime Minister Saad Hariri granted licenses to a consortium of three international companies -- Italy’s Eni, France’s Total and Russia’s Novatek -- to carry out exploratory drilling in Lebanon’s Block 4 and Block 9 territorial waters and determine whether they contain oil and gas reserves. The announcement did not go down well in Tel Aviv, which claims sovereignty over Block 9.“When they issue a tender on a gas field, including Block 9, which by any standard is ours ... this is very, very challenging and provocative conduct here,” said Israel’s minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman. COMMENT As if the situation in Syria and Iran wasn’t enough there is suddenly talk of war between Israel and Lebanon over oil and gas fields. Lebanon said on Friday it had signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production agreements for two blocks, including a block disputed by neighbouring Israel. Defence News headline this week was “Oil and gas field could be the last straw for Israel and Lebanon”. Zechariah 11 talks about great destruction coming on Lebanon. Isaiah 2 tells us the cedars of Lebanon will be brought low when the Day of the Lord comes. Hezbollah is based in Lebanon in the city of Tyre. The inhabitants of Tyre are mentioned in Psalm 83 as wanting to destroy Israel. There is great trouble coming on Lebanon. BIBLE QUOTE Open your doors, O Lebanon, That fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the thick forest has come down. There is the sound of wailing shepherds! (Zechariah 11:1-2 NKJV)

9. Pope, Erdogan discuss shared views on Jerusalem Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2018 EVENT Pope Francis received Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a meeting Monday that highlighted their shared objection to U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It was the first visit by a Turkish president to the Vatican since 1959. As protesters demonstrated near the Vatican against Turkish military strikes in Syria, the leaders met for an unusually long 50 minutes, compared with the typical half hour for papal encounters with heads of state. The Vatican afterward issued a short statement emphasizing points of agreement, particularly on Jerusalem, which Mr. Erdogan had said would be his “top priority” in his meeting with the pope. Since President Donald Trump announced in December that the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Pope Francis has restated several times the Vatican’s long-held position that the city’s status should remain contingent on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These two enemies of Israel met to discuss Jerusalem. The holy city of Jerusalem's status should be maintained as per the United Nations resolutions and international law, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pope Francis agreed on during their closed-door meeting at the Vatican this week. The Vatican do NOT want Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital. This invalidates their claim that Rome is the new Jerusalem. The Vatican doesn’t mind if it split down the middle or internationalised as long as it does not totally belong to Israel. Turkey’s President wants east Jerusalem to be a Palestinian State – so these two men are aligned. Turkey is of course Togarmah of Ezekiel 38 who invade Israel with Russia. The Pope is the little horn of Daniel 7 who makes war on Christ and the saints. COMMENT that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favour of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom. BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 7:20-22 NKJV)

10. US wants smaller nukes to counter Russia BBC, February 2, 2018 EVENT The US military has proposed diversifying its nuclear arsenal and developing new, smaller atomic bombs, largely to counter Russia. The latest thinking was revealed in a Pentagon policy statement known as the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).The US military is concerned Moscow sees US nuclear weapons as too big to be used - meaning they are no longer an effective deterrent. Developing smaller nukes would challenge that assumption, it argues. Low-yield weapons are smaller, less powerful bombs with a strength below 20 kilotons. They are still devastating, however. The atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki at the end of World War Two had about the same explosive power, and killed more than 70,000 people. "Our strategy will ensure Russia understands that any use of nuclear weapons, however limited, is unacceptable," the document said. US Deputy Secretary of Defence, Patrick Shanahan, said the country's nuclear arsenal had kept it safe for over 70 years. COMMENT Russia has reacted furiously to this new US doctrine over nuclear weapons. In essence Trump believes that more nuclear weapons are better. He has promised to expand America’s nuclear arsenal. But now instead of building bigger nuclear bombs the idea is to build smaller ones that could be used tactically. The thinking is that (because no one believes a nation would use a huge nuke) by having smaller ones they are more likely to be used and therefore more of a deterrent! The Kremlin slammed the proposal, calling it "bellicose" and "anti-Russian," and vowed to defend itself. The Bible says that without the intervention of Jesus Christ – no flesh would be saved. Nothing would survive. We can see how this terrible event would happen. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. BIBLE QUOTE (Matthew 24:21-22 NKJV)

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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.