January 23 - 29, 2011

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s January 23 - 29, 2011 “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 January 23 - 29, 2011 • As unrest sweeps Egypt, President refuses to quit • Without Egypt, Israel will be friendless in Mideast • Oil prices surge on Middle East unrest • Iranian warships coming to Mediterranean • Ireland upgrades Palestinian territories relations • Moscow bombing: Carnage at Russian airport To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right

5. upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: I will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. As unrest sweeps Egypt, President refuses to quit Associated Press, January 29 , 2011 In his first response to the unrest sweeping his nation, Egypt's president fired his Cabinet Saturday and promised reforms but refused to step down, setting the stage for perhaps even heavier street battles with protesters calling for an end to his nearly 30 years in power. Four days of the largest anti-government protests in decades exploded into chaos hours earlier. Tens of thousands of Egyptians fed up with crushing poverty, unemployment and corruption poured out of mosques after Friday's noon prayers and battled police with stones and firebombs. By nightfall, they had burned down and looted the ruling party's headquarters along the banks of the Nile and set fire to many other buildings, roaming the streets of downtown Cairo in defiance of a night curfew enforced by the army. President Hosni Mubarak, confronted with the most dire threat to his three decades of authoritarian rule, faced his nation in a televised address at midnight, making vague promises of social reform in what is likely to be interpreted as an attempt to cling to power rather than a genuine pledge solve Egypt's pressing problems. EVENT Egypt is in trouble. A fifth day of rage has begun in Egypt with tens of thousands of people on the streets. Curfews are in place. The internet has been shut down across the nation. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers are on the streets of Cairo. Egypt has been one of the United States' closest allies in the region but this governments’ reign now looks increasingly likely to fail. This crisis follows the toppling of the Tunisian president a few weeks ago who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office. Surely we see distress of nations and the sea and waves roaring. The sea and waves are symbolic of people raging against each other. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Luke 21:25 - verse below Ezekiel 26:3)

6. Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast Haaretz, January 29, 2011 Without Egypt's Mubarak and with relations with Turkey in shambles, Israel will be forced to court new potential allies. The fading power of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's government leaves Israel in a state of strategic distress. Without Mubarak, Israel is left with almost no friends in the Middle East; last year, Israel saw its alliance with Turkey collapse. From now on, it will be hard for Israel to trust an Egyptian government torn apart by internal strife. Israel's increasing isolation in the region, coupled with a weakening United States, will force the government to court new potential allies. The images from Cairo and Tunisia surely send chills down the backs of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his cronies, despite the achievement they achieved with the new Hezbollah-backed Lebanon government. EVENT Everything could be about to change in the Middle East. Egypt has been Israel’s closest Middle East ally. Mubarak has worked with no less than 8 Israeli prime ministers and was of course the leader that signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1979. It was at that time that Egypt positioned itself on the side of Saudi Arabia, as head of the pro-American camp. But as we say it looks as this might be coming to a sudden and unexpected end. So what does the Bible say about Egypt in relation to the conflict over Israel. Egypt is not mentioned at all in Ezekiel 38 on either side. Saudi Arabia is mentioned as being on the side of America but no mention of Egypt. Northern African nations (like Libya) are mentioned on the side of Russia but again no mention of Egypt. So where is Egypt? Daniel 11 tells us that when Russia invades they sweep down through Israel into Egypt COMMENT And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. Egypt maybe in a state of chaos when the final invasion occurs BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 10:11)

7. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Let us remember these words as the uproar get closer and the kingdoms fall. The LORD is our fortress. HE will save those who wait for him. Oil prices surge on Middle East unrest Egypt Associated Press, January 28, 2011 The World Oil prices surged Friday as thousands continued to riot against the government in Egypt, and unrest threatened to spread across the Middle East. Prices shot up about $2 a barrel in less than half an hour at midday after the White House expressed its concern about the violence in Egypt. The State Department advised Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt, and many airlines cancelled flights in and out of the country. Anxious traders pulled money from other assets to buy oil, gold and the dollar, which are considered safer risks during uncertain times. "This is definitely a flight into safety," said Rich Ilczyszyn, a senior market strategist with futures brokers Lind-Waldock. The uprising in Egypt follows protests this month that forced out the president of Tunisia, who fled to Saudi Arabia. Anti-government protests have also rocked Lebanon and Yemen. "I think it's just kind of the feeling that this could continue to spread, or just the whole nervousness about the region, not that there's any specific cut-off of supplies or anything like that," said Tom Bentz, an analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures. EVENT The world looks on anxiously. The events in Egypt have had a direct impact on oil prices and in fact stock markets around the world. In London the FTSE 100 fell 1.4pc, as did the CAC in France, while in Wall Street, the Dow Jones was off 1.4pc despite improvement in the economy in the final quarter last year. The Cairo stock market, which has fallen 17pc this week, was closed on Friday. Egypt we know is symbolic itself of the world. We have left Egypt – passed through the Red Sea (baptism) and are heading to the promised land (the Kingdom). As we see the nation of Egypt fall apart we know that the greater Egypt (world) will also fall apart…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 46:6 NIV)

8. I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them Iranian warships coming to Mediterranean Debkafile, January 23, 2011 Less than 24 hours after the breakdown of its nuclear dialogue with the six world powers in Istanbul, Iran announced plans Sunday, Jan. 23, to send a fleet of warships, including a home-made destroyer, on operational and intelligence-gathering missions to the Red Sea and on to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. Tehran is taking advantage of the lack of military and diplomatic momentum on the part of US and Israel for a naval thrust to expand its range of operations and encroach on their areas of control. It is also a rapid response to the arrival of the USS Enterprise carrier with a strike group carrying 6,000 sailors and marines and 80 warplanes in the Mediterranean at the end of last week on its way to the Arabian Sea opposite Iran. British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair's call on the West to stop apologizing and react to Iran with force was not lost on the rulers of the Islamic Republic. EVENT With Egypt in trouble and other Arab nations looking on perplexed. With the Israeli / Palestinian peace process in tatters. With Lebanon on the brink of collapse internally. In comes Iran! Sending warships to the Mediterranean. Debkafile's military sources report that parts of the fleet will in fact be deployed in the three waters around Israel's southern and western shores. There has (in the last week) been renewed calls for airstrikes on Iran from Western diplomats after the latest round of talks about Tehran's uranium enrichment broke down. We know Iran will certainly be part of the coming conflict. With its ships heading to the Mediterranean perhaps we are closer to that time than we may think…. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:4)

9. I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land Ireland upgrades Palestinian territories relations Associated Press, January 25, 2011 Ireland is upgrading its diplomatic relations with the Palestinian territories in recognition of progress being made by the Palestinian Authority, officials said Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said the Palestinian diplomatic representation will now be known as the Palestinian "mission," instead of the previous Palestinian "delegation." The delegation chief's title will also be amended to "ambassador, head of mission" from "delegate general," she added, speaking on customary condition of anonymity according to departmental protocol. The spokeswoman said the move is to recognize progress being made by the Palestinian Authority in building up institutions of a Palestinian state. The decision recognizes Ireland's long-standing support for Palestinian statehood, but does not involve any recognition of a Palestinian state and stops short of granting the mission full diplomatic privileges and immunities, she added. EVENT Israel's government condemned the Ireland’s new position regarding the Palestinian Authority, saying it was in line with "Ireland's biased policy on the Middle East." A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said it would make it even harder to make peace. Ireland of course (like the Latin American countries who have recognised a Palestinian state) is Catholic. As mentioned before the Catholic influence creates an anti Jewish- pro Arab outlook. All of these events are isolating Israel and actually increasing the chances of war. One by one the nations are nailing their colours to the mast and backing the division of God’s land. God will gather them to the land to judge them. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Joel 3:2)

10. Moscow bombing: Carnage at Russian airport BBConline, January 24, 2011 A bomb attack at Moscow's Domodedovo airport has killed at least 35 people and injured more than 100 - many of them critically, officials say. Investigators say the explosion, which happened in the arrivals hall, was caused by a suicide bomber. President Dmitry Medvedev vowed that those behind the attack would be tracked down and punished. He ordered increased security across Russia's capital, its airports and other transport hubs. Mr Medvedev also called an emergency meeting with officials and also postponed his planned departure for this week's World Economic Forum at Davos. The airport - the busiest serving Russia's capital - is 40km (25 miles) south-east of the city centre. Russian investigators said two Britons were among the dead. Footage from mobile phones showed the arrivals area filled with smoke, with bodies strewn across the floor, shortly after the attack around 1630 (1330 GMT).BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said immediate suspicion about Monday's attack would fall on militants from the Caucasus region. EVENT Violence. The scenes that perhaps 20 years ago would have shocked us to our core are now so regular and common place its just another suicide bombing. The world has become so violent that it must be similar to the days of Noah. When God looked down on the world around 4,500 years ago it was described as being “filled with violence”. The word violence means just that but also cruelty and injustice. As we see innocent victims blown up as they went about their own business we see extreme cruelty, total injustice and terrible violence. We live in the days of Noah COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Mathew 24:36-37)

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.