August 9 - 29, 2009

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s August 9 - 29, 2009 “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 9 - 29, 2009 • Obama to revive Middle East talks next month • Obama Plan: Temple Mount under Arab sovereignty • ‘Crippling sanctions’ needed against Iran • Russia and Ukraine in intensifying standoff • Russia may review sale of S-300 missiles to Iran • Israel ‘Super Gas’ field is world’s largest in 18 months To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. 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. Obama to revive Middle East talks next month Daily Telegraph, August 26, 2009 A breakthrough meeting between President Barack Obama, his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, to announce a resumption of Middle East peace talks could take place next month, according to diplomats. The prospect for the meeting rose as Mr Netanyahu indicated in London that he was ready to compromise on US demands for Israelis to stop construction of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian West Bank. The Israelis have been taken aback by Mr Obama's insistence that settlement-building should stop before talks are held, and have insisted that in return for a full or partial halt that the US and its international partners should significantly raise the pressure on Iran, whose leadership has repeatedly threatened the Jewish state's existence. Britain and Germany are among the many states to back the US demand, seeing it as key for reviving the peace talks which were halted last December when Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip ruled by the militant Palestinian group Hamas. EVENT The resumption of peace talks could take place at the UN General Assembly which begins in the last week of September. Mr Obama has stressed his determination to secure the peace deal in the Middle East that has eluded his predecessors but has so far received little help from the Israelis or the Palestinians. From recent reports he appears to be inching towards compromises that would make talks possible. The next slide looks at what Obama might have in mind and why this final push for peace could lead to all out war. The Bible is clear that there will be a time when people shall “say” peace and safety – and when they are talking about it - destruction comes... COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

6. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. Obama Plan: Temple Mount under Arab sovereignty Israel National News, August 23, 2009 The Middle East peace plan that United States President Barack Obama will unveil soon involves the creation of a Palestinian Authority state by 2011 and the transfer of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem [presumably including the Temple Mount – ed.] to Arab-Muslim sovereignty, Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz has learned. According to the report published Sunday in Al-Ukaz, the plan also includes the following elements: * Some parts of eastern Jerusalem would be transferred to Israeli control. * There would be an international presence in the Jordan Valley and other parts of Judea and Samaria. * The Palestinian Authority terror organizations would be disbanded and turn into political parties. * The large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria would not be dismantled. * The fate of smaller Jewish settlement areas would be decided in a three-month-long negotiation period. EVENT We must never underestimate the significance of the Temple Mount site in Jerusalem. It is the site of the first and second Jewish temples. God said that his eyes and heart would be there perpetually (see verse below). It is the site where Abraham sacrificed Isaac. It is the site where a new Temple will be built in the coming kingdom. Zechariah 1:14 tells us that God is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. It is not a site that Obama or any other worldly king can give to another people. We see from Obama’s plan that Jerusalem is to be divided, the Temple Mount taken away from the Jews and the West Bank settlements to be dismantled. These plans will bring the fury of God. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (1 Kings 9:3)

7. therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them ‘Crippling sanctions’ needed against Iran Daily Telegraph, August 28, 2009 The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for 'crippling sanctions' against Iran to stop its nuclear programme. After talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to Germany, he said: "There is not much time. "I think the most important thing that can be put in place is what the US secretary of state [Hillary Clinton] called crippling sanctions. It is possible to put real pressure, real economic pressure, on this regime if the major powers of the world unite." Even if the United Nations Security Council fails to approve tougher sanctions against Tehran over its sensitive nuclear work due to opposition from Russia or China, a "coalition of the willing" could enact its own measures, he added. Mrs Merkel said that if Iran failed to meet international obligations by next month, then "more serious steps" including energy sanctions would have to be considered. EVENT Benjamin Netanyahu stopped off in Germany following his meeting with Gordon Brown in London. The UK PM pressed the Israeli PM to freeze settlement expansion. On his visit to Germany, Benjamin Netanyahu tried to persuade the German Chancellor to back his demand for “crippling sanctions” to be placed on Iran. The German Chancellor however reiterated that Israel must “halt construction of settlements”. What is clear in all these conversations is that Israel feels increasingly isolated. In the Daily Telegraph this week Con Coughlin writes that the more Israelis feel isolated and can no longer rely on Washington to protect them, the more likely they are to contemplate launching unilateral military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability. All people (including nations who were her “friends”) will be gathered against Israel. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 16:37 NIV)

8. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, Russia and Ukraine in intensifying standoff New York Times, August 27, 2009 A year after its war with Georgia, Russia is engaging in an increasingly hostile standoff with another pro-Western neighbour, Ukraine. Relations between the two countries are more troubled than at any time since the Soviet collapse, as both sides resort to provocations and recriminations. And it is here on the Crimean Peninsula, home to a Russian naval base, where the tensions are perhaps most in danger of bursting into open conflict. Late last month, the Ukrainian police briefly detained Russian military personnel who were driving truckloads of missiles through this port city, as if they were smugglers who had come ashore with a haul of contraband. Local officials, it seemed, were seeking to make clear that this was no longer friendly terrain. Ukraine has in recent years been at the forefront of the effort by some former Soviet republics to switch their alliances to the West, and it appears that the Kremlin has, in some sense, had enough. EVENT On the 11th August Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a scathing attack on Ukraine's president, accusing him of "anti-Russian" behaviour. Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko has forged close links with the EU, US and Nato since coming to power in 2004. What is interesting about the Ukraine is that is covers some of the territory of ancient Magog. In “A History of Russia” we read “From the northern shores of the Black Sea they [the Magogites] held sway inland for a distance travelled in the course of twenty days journey.” Gog is of the land of Magog and therefore we could expect Russia to control this area of land. It already has a major naval base on the Crimean Peninsula. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:2 RSV)

9. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. Russia may review sale of S-300 missiles to Iran UPI, August 19, 2009 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defence missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel -- and the United States for that matter -- launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish state considers Tehran's acquisition of nuclear weapons to be an existential threat. Russia says it has not delivered any the missiles to Iran yet, but it may yet do so to up the ante in its growing confrontation with the United States. Medvedev's pledge may be little more than a tactic to force the Israelis to stop providing arms and intelligence to Georgia, Azerbaijan and other former Soviet republics that are defying Moscow. EVENT While the Israeli prime minister visited the UK and Europe, the Israeli president (Shimon Peres) visited Russia. These were informal talks about very serious issues. With the USA going cold on Israel, Israel needs Russia to understand how it feels about Iran. Mr Medvedev promised to review sending air-defence missiles to Iran. However with Bible in hand we know that Russia will act as a guard to Iran. We are also told that their words are often lies and they do the exact opposite of what they say. At their meeting they also spoke of Russia’s involvement in hosting a Mideast peace conference. Amazingly Israel is involving Russia as America becomes more distant. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 8:25 NIV)

10. I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey Israel ‘Super Gas’ field is world’s largest in 18 months Israel National News, August 26, 2009 The Tamar gas field, 50 miles off the Haifa coast, keeps getting bigger with every report, and the gas discovery now is estimated to be the world’s largest in 18 months. The Scotland-based Wood Mackenzie research and consulting firm assessed the value of the field at $8 billion, approximately double that of local analysts. The latest upside projection comes less than two weeks after another revised estimate that the reserves are 16 percent higher than previously thought. Changing gas prices could make the gas worth anywhere between $3.5-$17 billion in the future, and partners in the offshore project are preparing for the first deliveries of gas in 2012. The future impact of the gas field on the Israeli economy is enormous. "Few doubt that the country, which for decades has been dependent on importing nearly all of its energy needs, has entered a new era of far greater economic independence,” Business Week commented in its current issue. EVENT The map above shows the enormous extent of the gas field that has been discovered. It is huge and could supply a large proportion of Israel’s energy needs for 20 years! As Israel would become more self-sufficient this would make the shekel more attractive. A stronger shekel would make imports cheaper for consumers. It would also lead to stronger balance of payments. In other words the knock on impact of this find could transform the Israeli economy and reduce their dependence on other nations. However the world does not want an Israel that is strong and independent. Hungry eyes from the north will look at this new found wealth and develop a plan to take it for their own. The northern host will see a great spoil for the taking - and will take it…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:11,12)

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.