October 23 - 29, 2016

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s October 23 - 29, 2016 “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 October 23 - 29, 2016 • Russia: 'Satan 2' missile could 'wipe out UK or France’ • Putin sneaks nuclear ships to Baltic • British UN official attacks 'selfish, inhuman' Russia • Britain to send hundreds more troops to Russia border • World facing biggest mass extinction since dinosaurs • Oldest-known reference to Jerusalem proves city Jewish 1,300 years before birth of Islam To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. These verses are about the time of the end not AD70. AD70 is not the time of trouble such as never was. To see how Matthew 24 and Luke 21 fit together please CLICK HERE • Russia unveils 'Satan 2' missile powerful enough to 'wipe out UK, France or Texas' Daily Telegraph, October 25, 2016 Russia has released the first image of its new nuclear missile, a weapon so powerful that it could wipe out nearly all of the United Kingdom or France. The RS-28 Sarmat thermonuclear-armed ballistic missile was commissioned in 2011 and is expected to come into service in 2018. The first images of the massive missile were declassified on Sunday and have now been published for the first time. It has been dubbed "Satan 2", as it will replace the RS-36M, the 1970s-era weapon referred to by Nato as the Satan missile. Sputnik, the Russian government-controlled news agency, reported in May that the missile could destroy an area "the size of Texas or France”. Russian media report that the missile will weigh up to 10 tons with the capacity to carry up to 10 tons of nuclear cargo. With that type of payload, it could deliver a blast some 2,000 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. EVENT It is almost impossible to imagine the scale of destruction that this missile (if used) would cause - 2000 times greater in strength than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Russia reportedly tested a hypersonic warhead in April that is apparently intended for use on the Satan 2 missiles. It is designed to be impossible to intercept because it does not move on a set trajectory. How can mankind have invented and created such horrors? Surely the “imagination of the thoughts if his heart is only evil continually.” Genesis 6v5. It is only with the recent invention of weapons such as these that mankind now has the ability to literally destroy the planet and all life on it. Jesus says clearly that unless God intervenes at the time of the end – NO FLESH would survive. No flesh means no man, animals, birds or fish. But God will intervene and send His Son. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Matthew 24:21-22)

6. 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. This man is the latter day Antiochus Epiphanes – the original king of the north. Putin is the latter day king of the north. Notice how he is master of deception and destroys without warning! • Putin sneaks nuclear ships to Baltic The Times, October 25, 2016 Russia is quietly moving two small nuclear-capable warships to the Baltic Sea, with a longer range than a land-based system recently dispatched to the area. The deployment will alarm Nato, particularly because the Kremlin has failed to make a public announcement about the move, analysts said. The Buyan-M-class corvettes, heading north through the North Sea, were tracked by a Royal Navy destroyer last week as the world’s attention was focused on the passage of President Putin’s ageing aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and its escorts, which were travelling in the opposite direction to join the Syrian bombing campaign. Ben Nimmo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank, said that Russia had put out false information on the destination of the two smaller vessels, saying last month that they were heading for the Mediterranean. Instead, after stops in Malta and Spain, “lo and behold, they pop up going to the Baltic,” Mr Nimmo said. EVENT We reported last week how Russia was sending many warships (including its only aircraft carrier) down through the English Channel on their way to Syria. We quoted a military analyst that said Russia often does high profile distraction events to divert attention from other more secret manoeuvres. It was no surprise then when this headline appeared a few days later. As one paper put it “Putin used the frenzy created by the routing of an eight-strong flotilla of warships though the English Channel last week as cover for the movements. There is a lot of tension in the Baltic already. With two long-range cruise missile-armed ships appearing when there is no word about what they are meant to be doing there is somewhat disturbing.” Putin is master of deception! COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 8:26 NLT)

7. This message was given concerning Damascus. This is what the Lord says: “The towns of Hamath and Arpad [Aleppo] are struck with fear, for they have heard the news of their destruction. Their hearts are troubled like a wild sea in a raging storm. Damascus has become feeble, and all her people turn to flee. Fear, anguish, and pain have gripped her as they grip a woman in labour. 'Incandescent with rage' British UN official attacks 'selfish, inhuman' Russia in fiery Security Council meeting Daily Telegraph, October 27, 2016 The British head of the UN's humanitarian office has launched a searing attack on Russia and Syria for the continued bombardment of Aleppo, telling the Security Council he was "incandescent with rage" about the diplomatic stalemate, and sparking one of the most stormy and confrontational UN meetings of recent times. Stephen O'Brien, head of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the 15-member body that "the buck stops with you" - drawing parallels with Srebrenica, Cambodia and Rwanda. "Month after month, worse and worse, and nothing is actually happening to stop the war, stop the suffering," he said. And he despaired at the Russian vetoing of a succession of resolutions, noting how "selfish, inhuman interests have trumped the moral and humanitarian imperative." EVENT COMMENT Diplomatic protocol and language is being thrown to the wind. So furious are the British and the US that they are openly accusing Russia of being immoral and of war crimes. The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, also reacted with fury to Mr O’Brien’s statement, accusing him of arrogance and dishonesty. His comments, he said, were fabrication and should be “put in a novel.” Russia has been dropping leaflets on eastern Aleppo which read…“This is your last hope. Save yourselves. If you do not leave these areas urgently, you will be annihilated. You know that everyone has given up on you. They left you alone to face your doom and nobody will give you any help.” Stephen O’Brien (quoted in the article above) said Russia was determined to wipe out the population of Aleppo. The final onslaught of Aleppo might come before the US presidential election. The Bible speaks of the fear right now in Aleppo. BIBLE QUOTE (Jeremiah 49:23-24 NLT)

8. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised a world filled with God’s righteousness. • Britain to send hundreds more troops to Russia border as Cold War tension escalates across Europe Daily Telegraph, October 27, 2016 EVENT Britain will send hundreds more troops close to Russia’s border, the Government has said, as the Prime Minister also called for “pressure” on Moscow over the Syria crisis. Around 800 soldiers along with tanks, armoured vehicles and drones will now head to Estonia in the spring in a Nato effort to reassure the Baltic states over Russian aggression. The boosted mission, up from 500 announced earlier this year, will be Britain’s largest long-term deployment to one of Russia’s neighbours since the end of the Cold War. Defence sources said the six-month deployment to Tapa army base, around 100 miles from the border, was the start of a persistent UK presence in the country. The British troops will form one of four Nato battalions being deployed in response to a perceived threat from Russia to the alliance's eastern allies. The announcement came as Russia abandoned plans to refuel and provision warships headed for the war in Syria at a Spanish port following international pressure on Spain. “Britain’s largest long-term deployment to one of Russia’s neighbours since the end of the Cold War.” Clearly the tension with Russia is not only over Syria but also with eastern Europe as well. This is why Russia is sending its warships into the Baltic to counteract the increase in NATO’s military hardware in the region. On Friday, Lithuania published a manual for its three million citizens on how to defend their homeland in the event of invasion. The 75 page guide explains to to all citizens on what to do if the country is invaded by Russia. The government of Lithuania also sent a message to Russia - If you invade, don't expect our people to make it easy for you. Poland and Sweden are also on edge and tensions mount. How long before this world descends into war? How long before Jesus returns? We pray not long. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (2 Peter 3:11-13 NLT)

9. World facing biggest mass extinction since dinosaurs - with two thirds of animals wiped out in 50 years Daily Telegraph, October 27, 2016 EVENT The world is facing the biggest extinction since the dinosaurs, with seven in 10 mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles wiped out in just 50 years, a new report warns. The latest Living Planet report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) estimates that by 2020 populations of vertebrates will have fallen by 67 per cent since 1970. Extinction rates are now running at 100 times their natural level because of deforestation, hunting, pollution, overfishing and climate change. The largest ever analysis of 14,152 populations of 3,706 species of vertebrates from around the world showed a 58 per cent fall in animals between 1970 and 2012 - with no sign that the average two per cent drop in numbers each year will slow. "For the first time since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, we face a global mass extinction of wildlife,” said Mike Barrett, director of science and policy at WWF-UK. COMMENT World wildlife has fallen 58% in the past 40 years this report published this week said. Human activity, including habitat loss, wildlife trade, pollution and climate change contributed to the declines. Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, said: “We are entering a new era in Earth’s history, the Anthropocene, an era in which humans rather than natural forces are the primary drivers of planetary change. Across land, freshwater and the oceans, human activities are forcing species populations and natural systems to the edge.” The population of the world is increasing exponentially while wildlife numbers are falling fast. There was another time when the population of the earth increased enormously. That was at the time of Noah’s flood. There comes a point that man’s numbers coupled by his wickedness means God has to intervene. That time is coming again…. He [God] used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. The world has deliberately forgotten that God once before judged the entire earth. The last time was with water – the next time (coming soon) will be with fire. BIBLE QUOTE (2 Peter 3:6-6 NLT)

10. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. • Papyrus with oldest-known Hebrew reference to Jerusalem proves city Jewish 1,300 years before birth of Islam Israel National News, October 27, 2016 EVENT A 2,700-year-old papyrus that is the oldest known non-Biblical Hebrew reference to Jerusalem has been found, announced the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) on Wednesday. The papyrus, originally stolen by antiquities thieves, was put on display in Jerusalem on Wednesday, coinciding with the second UNESCO resolution attempting to deny Judaism’s connection to its most holy city – a connection this ancient artefact so graphically proves. The two lines of writing on the tiny scrap of papyrus (4.3 inches by 1 inch) are surprisingly clear: “From the king’s maidservant, from Naharta, jars of wine, to Jerusalem.” The scroll was originally plundered from a cave in Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea by antiquities thieves. Professor Shmuel Ahituv of Ben-Gurion University studied the papyrus when it was first recovered. He spoke at the IAA press conference, noting that on the papyrus, the name of the city was spelled with a letter ‘yud’, as it is in modern Hebrew. Pronounced ‘Yerushalayim’, Ahituv noted that it is spelled this way only four times in the entire Bible. Not only is this papyrus the most ancient external biblical source that mentions Jerusalem in Hebrew script, but also, until now, no papyrus documents from the First Temple period have been found in the Land of Israel except one from Murabat creek. The city of Na'arata, or Naarah is mentioned in Joshua 16:7. The gift of wine was sent either to King Manasseh, King Amon or King Josiah - who reigned during this period. The document highlights the centrality of Jerusalem as the economic capital of the kingdom in the first half of the 7th century BC. We know Jerusalem will soon become the worldwide capital when Christ returns. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 122:6-7)

11. Weekly World Watch YouTube Videos

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.