December 21 - 27, 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)

Weekly World Watch

Andy Walton’s

To skip the introductory slides and go straight to this weeks developments click here.

What is a Weekly World Watch?

• 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.

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.

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.

• Increasing natural disasters: including earthquake, famine etc

The following six themes will appear repeatedly in WWW:

HEADLINE

EVENT

COMMENT

News Photo

The source of the headline and the date are included.

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.

What is in a Weekly World Watch?

BIBLEQUOTE

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)

This is straight from a news report that caught my eye because it looked significant from a Biblical perspective, usually that of prophecy.

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.

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.

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).

This Week’s Developments

To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

• Era of cheap gas ending, says Putin

• Medvedev issues warning to ex-Soviet states

• Pakistan deploys 20,000 troops to India border

• Israel cancels army leave on northern border

• Protectionist dominoes are beginning to tumble

December 21 – 27, 2008

• Red Sea water will bring Dead Sea back to life

Era of cheap gas ending, says Putin

Mr Putin was speaking at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) a loose grouping of gas producers that was formalised at the meeting this week into what has been described as the “gas Opec”. Opec is a group of oil producing nations that have formed a cartel to control supply and therefore prices.The GECF was established in Tehran in 2001. Until the seventh ministerial meeting in Moscow this week, it operated without charter and fixed membership structure. The seventh ministerial meeting, held on 23 December 2008 in Moscow, adapted the organization's charter.In the news item above is says that Russia is “forging an alliance with other suppliers including Iran and Libya”!! The Bible speaks of Russia acting with Iran and Libya in Ezekiel 38. The book of Ezekiel was written circa 2600 years ago and yet the prophet was able to say what would happen so accurately in the “latter days”. How could he know that Russia would ally itself to Iran and Libya, two very distant nations? He could do this because “the word of the LORD came unto” him. Let us trust in His word.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned consumers that the "era of cheap gas" is coming to an end, in a keynote speech to a meeting of gas exporting countries in Moscow. His warning coincided with his latest attempt to gain a stranglehold on energy supplies to the West by forging an alliance with other suppliers including Iran and Libya. Major consumers fear the body will set output quotas, like the oil cartel Opec but Russian officials have denied such plans.Mr Putin's comments followed warnings from Russia yesterday that gas supplies to Europe could be cut if Ukraine fails to resolve its payment row with Gazprom.

Daily Telegraph, December 24, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog ……Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

BIBLEQUOTE

(Ezekiel 38 38:1, 2, 5)

Medvedev issues warning to ex-Soviet states

The Russian bear is becoming increasingly agitated. It feels caged in. NATO is expanding to its western border. Ex Soviet satellite states are joining Europe. America is supporting Georgia on Russia’s southern border. On top of this Russia’s economy is nose diving and their currency is devaluing due to the huge drop in oil price. The pressure is on. Medvedev said this week that Russia will not sit back and continue to allow these things to happen. “Russia’s interest must be secured by ALL means available”, “an element of force would be necessary”, he said. One website on bears says “bears when threatened, will behave ferociously. It is recommended to give all bears a wide berth because they are behaviourally unpredictable.”

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued harsh warnings to the country's ex-Soviet neighbours in an interview heavy with nationalism that aired on Russia's three state-run television channels late on Wednesday."Russia's interest must be secured by all means available," Mr Medvedev said, saying if tools of compromise didn't work then an "element of force" would be necessary."If there is an attack on the lives and dignity of Russian citizens, then Russia's position will be simple and rather tough. It will be to protect and stand up for the interests of our citizens wherever they may be," he said.The program, an interview with the heads of Russia's three state-run television stations, opened with angry words over the August war with Georgia and closed with Mr Medvedev revelling in Russia's success in sports over the past year.In between, he attempted to calm an increasingly anxious population that the financial crisis sweeping the country would not affect social services.

Daily Telegraph, December 24, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

You know your father and his men; they are fighters, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubsAnd there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

BIBLEQUOTE

(2 Samuel 17:8 NIV & 2 Kings 2:24)

Pakistan deploys 20,000 troops to India border

There have been 3 major wars fought between India and Pakistan over the disputed area of Kashmir. The first began in October 1947. The second began in 1965. The third began in 1971. In 1999 there was a flare up over Kashmir as well when Kashmiri insurgents began shelling Indian positions. Since then India has suffered several terror attacks. Interestingly there have been 3 major wars between Israel and surrounding Arab nations over disputed land. The first began in May 1948. The second began in 1967. The third began in 1973. In the year 2000 there was a flare up over Jerusalem and the intifada began. Since then Israel has suffered terror attacks. There seems to be a very similar pattern. If conflict is close with India it may also be close with Israel.

Pakistan deployed an extra 20,000 troops to its border with India as tensions rose between the nuclear rivals.The announcement by Pakistani officials that the army had cancelled all leave and redeployed troops was quickly followed by the Indian government warning its citizens against all travel to its northern neighbour.Tension between the two countries has risen dramatically since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai a month ago, which left more than 170 people dead. India has accused Pakistan of allowing the Lahore-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to operate unchecked and accused LeT of masterminding and launching the attack.The nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars in the last 60 years, with as many as an estimated million soldiers massing on the border as they have headed towards - and then pulled back from - war in recent years, with the disputed territory of Kashmir at the heart of their differences.

Daily Telegraph, December 26, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.Even if the above dating is a coincidence at the very least we see the Gentiles preparing for war.

BIBLEQUOTE

(Joel 3:9)

Israel cancels army leave on northern border

The previous slide noted the similarity of the dates of the wars between India and Pakistan and Israel and the surrounding Arab nations. The headline on the previous slide was “Pakistan sends 20,000 troops to India’s border”. The same day we have a headline “Israel cancels army leave on northern border”. It appears Hezbollah are gearing up for an attack on Israel soon while Israel’s attention is diverted towards GazaAs I am typing this on Saturday morning there are reports coming in of a large Israeli air strike on Gaza using F-16 bombers. The BBC reports that scores of people have been killed. In recent days Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel. They have not killed anyone but have caused damage to houses and infrastructure. Many have been treated for shock. Israel threatened to retaliate. We see conflict drawing near.

Just hours after The Media Line exclusively reported on Israel’s military heading into a heightened state of alert on the country’s border with Lebanon, Beirut said it discovered rockets ready to be fired towards Israel. The Lebanese army said it found eight Katyushas fitted with timers, which would have been launched on Friday. The rockets were located close to the border in an area in which only the Lebanese army is permitted to carry weapons, according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. The Lebanese army was aided by the U.N.’s UNIFIL force in dismantling the devices. It is not clear who was behind the planned strike. Meanwhile TML has learned the Israeli army has cancelled leave for many soldiers currently posted to the northern border. Jerusalem fears the Lebanese-based Hezbollah may launch an attack while Israel’s military focus is on the distant Gaza Strip and its battle against Hamas.

Middle East Newsline, December 26, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head

BIBLEQUOTE

(Joel 3:4)

Protectionist dominoes are beginning to tumble across the world

The riots have begun. Civil protest is breaking out in cities across Russia, China, and beyond. Greece has been in turmoil for 11 days. The mood seems to have turned "pre-insurrectionary" in parts of Athens - to borrow from the Marxist handbook.This is a foretaste of what the world may face as the "crisis of capitalism" - another Marxist phase making a comeback - starts to turn two hundred million lives upside down.We are advancing to the political stage of this global train wreck. Regimes are being tested. Those relying on perma-boom to mask a lack of democratic or ancestral legitimacy may try to gain time by the usual methods: trade barriers, sabre-rattling, and barbed wire.Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, is worried enough to ditch a half-century of IMF orthodoxy, calling for a fiscal boost worth 2pc of world GDP to "prevent global depression"."If we are not able to do that, then social unrest may happen in many countries, including advanced economies. We are facing an unprecedented decline in output. All around the planet, the people have reacted with feelings going from surprise to anger, and from anger to fear," he said.

Daily Telegraph, December 22, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;.. Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: …And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

BIBLEQUOTE (Luke 21:25,26)

As we reach the end of 2008 we stand on the very brink of “the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation”. Daniel 12:1.The warning from the head of the IMF is amazing. People are angry and fearful. Governments will be tested. Social unrest may happen even in “advanced” nations.Jesus said that these would be the very conditions on the earth when he returned.Let us look up for our redemption must be drawing very near….

Red Sea water will bring Dead Sea back to life

The Dead Sea is the world's saltiest body of water, found at the lowest point on the Earth's surface. It is said that it will disappear in 50 years' time unless more water is pumped into it. It is the area where Sodom and Gomorrah were probably situated and subsequently destroyed. It has become symbolic of mankind and sin and death. It is interesting to note that even the little water there is drying up and though futile efforts will be made to save it we know that only the coming of our Lord Jesus will restore it. For it is only Jesus who can save man from his sin and make him alive again. We long for the time when the Dead Sea shall be restored to a living sea.

The Dead Sea could be saved from drying up under a groundbreaking plan to flood millions of gallons of seawater in from the Red Sea more than 110 miles away.Funding has been secured for a feasibility study into the ambitious and controversial scheme to reverse falling water levels.The scheme involves a 110-mile long canal, dubbed 'Red To Dead', that would channel roughly five million tonnes of seawater each day into the Dead Sea.While schemes on a similar scale have been tried before for fresh water, this is by far the most ambitious seawater canalisation programme ever envisaged.The new water is needed to avoid the complete disappearance of the Dead Sea, an event the World Bank warns would represent "an environmental calamity".Overuse by farmers of water from the Jordan River, the only major influx into the Dead Sea, and climate change mean the level of the Dead Sea plunges by about three feet every year. Its surface area has shrunk by a third to just 240 square miles in the last forty years and vast areas of foreshore have been exposed, pockmarked with dangerous sink holes.

Daily Telegraph, December 25, 2008

EVENT

COMMENT

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: former sea = The Dead Sea

BIBLEQUOTE

(Zechariah 14:8)

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Weekly World Watch

The end of this week’s