Weekly World Watch: October 22-28, 2017

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s October 22 - 28, 2017 “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 22 - 28, 2017 • Warning: Hezbollah war ‘a matter of time’ • Israel ‘will use force’ to stop nuclear Iran • Moscow decries 'hostility' over new sanctions • Russia under Vladimir Putin - A tsar is born • Catalonia could SINK eurozone 'grand EU plans' • Pope says Christians must revitalize Europe To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”…people from Philistia and Tyre. Assyria has joined them, too….Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth. • Warning: Hezbollah war ‘a matter of time’ Jerusalem Post, October 25, 2017 Former senior defence officials from Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Italy, Spain and the United States warn of an exceptionally dangerous conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that they believe likely will be sparked by miscalculation. Writing as members of the High Level Military Group, the former defence chiefs say in a report released on Wednesday that the Lebanese movement has stockpiled roughly 100,000 rockets and missiles since its last conflict with Israel in 2006; acquired antitank and unmanned aerial equipment; trained its men in combat alongside Bashar Assad in Syria; and spread its military assets among virtually every Shi’ite town in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, they say, “has begun engaging in operations along the border and started preparations inside Lebanon which may force Israel to react. “A new and grave conflict is only a matter of time,” they continue. EVENT Lord Richard Dannatt, former chief of staff of the British Army and member of the House of Lords who is part of this group said “we must work urgently to curtail Hezbollah’s activities to help avert a potentially imminent new Lebanon war.” Hezbollah have been emboldened with successes in Syria and now pose a real threat to Israel along its northern border. Israeli officials have warned that the next war will escalate quickly because Israel will be forced to pre-emptively strike at Hezbollah’s massive rocket stockpiles. Psalm 83 indicates there is an initial war between Israel and Hezbollah – which Israel wins but is left weakened. Some may ask if Psalm 83 has a latter day fulfilment. Careful reading says it does. The conclusion of the Psalm is this… that men may know that God is supreme over all the earth. That day is still to come. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Psalm 83:4, 7, 18 NLT)

6. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock To watch a video on Zechariah 12 and how it fits in CLICK HERE • Israel ‘will use force’ to stop nuclear Iran Sunday Times, October 27, 2017 Israel has threatened to attack Iran and end its nuclear weapons capability if the international deal designed to contain Tehran’s atomic ambitions fails. President Trump has criticised the deal, arguing that ultimately it will not prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama and other nations including the UK. Yisrael Katz, the Israeli intelligence affairs minister, said yesterday that “if international efforts . . . don’t help stop Iran attaining nuclear capabilities, Israel will act militarily by itself”. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said on Monday that the main challenge facing Israel “is the need to beat back Iran’s attempt to entrench militarily in Syria. At the same time, we are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” Iran has supported the Assad regime in Syria since the civil war began in 2011. Recently it has begun scouting for locations for a permanent airbase. EVENT COMMENT We reported a few weeks ago how Israel has said that it will not accept a permanent Iranian presence in Syria and Mr Netanyahu flew to Moscow to demand that President Putin use his influence to rein in Iran. We also reported how he failed to persuade Putin to change tack in Syria and Iran remains free to expand its influence in Syria. So will Israel attack Iran? We don’t know as the Bible doesn’t say. However the Bible does say that Persia (Iran) joins forces with Russia to invade Israel. This conflict comes AFTER the initial conflict between Israel and her surrounding neighbours. So even if Israel did attack Persia in the short term, Iran is left with enough strength and force to attack Israel with Russia in the future. It is possible that before Israel gets to attack Iran they have to resolve the “nearby nations” first – mentioned in Zechariah 12. BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 12:2 NLT)

7. “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. He will enter the glorious land of Israel • Moscow decries 'hostility' as Trump moves toward new Russia sanctions LA Times, October 27, 2017 The Russian government on Friday accused the United States of displaying “hostility” as the Trump administration belatedly took the first steps toward imposing new sanctions to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 presidential election. In early August, after considerable delay and with minimal fanfare, President Trump signed into law a measure that required the new sanctions, which target individuals and firms with ties to Russian defence and intelligence agencies. Under the law, companies that “knowingly engage in a significant transaction” with people or firms on the list could be subject to U.S. sanctions after Jan. 28. The law gave the administration until Oct. 1 to produce a list, and the administration has been under mounting pressure from Congress to do so after it missed that deadline. Late Thursday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson authorized officials to release the list to key members of Congress. On Friday, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on a conference call that the new sanctions had “echoes of hostility” in them. EVENT Moscow has slammed the idea to impose a fresh batch of US sanctions against Russian companies, saying they have “echoes of hostility.”“In any case, these are echoes of an unfriendly and even hostile attitude towards our country,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters. Trump promised to mend relations with Russia during his election. However the Bible tells us that at the time of the end there is a king of the north (Russia) versus king of the south (US/UK) situation in the Middle East with Israel between them. Therefore there cannot be a reconciliation between them – CLICK HERE to watch youtube on this. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 11:40 NLT)

8. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. To see how these verses apply to Putin CLICK HERE • Russia under Vladimir Putin - A tsar is born Reuters, October 19, 2017 SEVENTEEN years after Vladimir Putin first became president, his grip on Russia is stronger than ever. The West, which still sees Russia in post-Soviet terms, sometimes ranks him as his country’s most powerful leader since Stalin. Russians are increasingly looking to an earlier period of history. Both liberal reformers and conservative traditionalists in Moscow are talking about Mr Putin as a 21st-century tsar. Mr Putin has earned that title by lifting his country out of what many Russians see as the chaos in the 1990s and by making it count again in the world. Yet as the centenary of the October revolution draws near, the uncomfortable thought has surfaced that Mr Putin shares the tsars’ weaknesses, too. From spring 2018 when Mr Putin starts what is constitutionally his last six-year term in office after an election that he will surely win, speculation will begin about what comes next. And the fear will grow that, as with other Russian rulers, Tsar Vladimir will leave turbulence and upheaval in his wake. EVENT A tsar is born…Putin does indeed rule Russia as a tsar. The term is derived from the Latin word Caesar, which was intended to mean "Emperor”. It was a title given to those who ruled east Europe. Russia of course is eastern Europe. The Bible talks of a king called Gog at the time of the end who rules Russia. Gog means a “mountain”. Someone with that name is puffed up and sees themself as supreme ruler. Daniel 11:36-39 tells us more about Gog. A king who exalts himself above all. Who succeeds in all he does. He does not worship the god of his ancestors (communism) but instead worships the god of gold and expensive gifts. He works in a “stronghold” (Kremlin) and he rewards those who follow him. That man is Putin. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 11:36)

9. A bigger threat than Brexit' Catalonia could SINK eurozone and Juncker's 'grand EU plans' Express, October 28, 2017 EVENT Catalonia has provoked furious responses not just from the Spanish central government, but also from EU officials following its unilateral declaration of independence. The independence of the wealthy region would pose an unprecedented threat to the EU far worse than that of Brexit, in large part because of its eurozone membership. According to the BBC's economic correspondent, a crackdown on Catalan independence would be welcomed by eurozone states since the future of the single currency depends on it. Spain has imposed direct rule on Catalonia - which government officials have called a “rogue region”. Yesterday the Madrid government dismissed the Catalan government, took over the administration and called a new election after the region declared independence. They also sacked the chief of Catalan’s regional police force. Kamal Ahmed told Radio 4 Today: "Markets are quiet at the moment, but they will now determine whether this political crisis turns into an economic crisis. Catalonia is a small region in the north-eastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Spanish constitution, it is an autonomous community. This week (following a referendum) the Catalonia declared independence. The Spanish government has responded with imposing direct rule on the region. Interestingly some believe the name Catalonia derives from the word Gauthia which means land of the Goths. The Goths were an East Germanic people who played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe. Could there be a link here to the fall of the EU as we know it through this rebellious region? The Bible says there will emerge from a bottomless pit a new European Empire led by 10 kings. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13)

10. Pope says Christians must revitalize Europe RT, October 29, 2017 EVENT Europe is suffering from “dramatic sterility,” Pope Francis has said, urging Christians to preserve their moral values and to “revitalize” a continent that is increasingly being distinguished by a plurality of cultures and religions. “In our day, Christians are called to revitalize Europe and to revive its conscience, not by occupying spaces, but by generating processes capable of awakening new energies in society,” Pope Francis said addressing European political and church leaders at the Vatican. After two World Wars ripped through the continent, Europe deserves peace, the Pope said, expressing disappointment that “particular and national agendas risk thwarting the courageous dreams of the founders of Europe.” To preserve European values, the Argentinian-born leader of the Catholic Church urged his followers to rediscover their traditional identity, starting with the family, which, he said, “remains the most fundamental place for this process of discovery.” COMMENT The Pope is calling on the EU to rethink and to go back to its Christian roots. It is Christians who need to revitalize the continent. He does not like national agenda’s. He supports the “courageous dreams of the founders of Europe”. These founding fathers wanted to remove the national states. They wanted one empire with one government and one religion. This they believed would stop conflict. This is what the Pope wants as well. He does not want many governments and many religions. He wants one political government with one religious authority. This is exactly what the very first kingdom of man was. One political government with one religious authority. The problem was they were both godless. The woman and the beast are the same story. and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, BABYLON and BABEL are the SAME word in Hebrew. BIBLE QUOTE (Revelation 17:3-5)

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.