1. Andy Walton’s Weekly World Watch “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 March 30 – April 12 2008

2. What is this world watch all about? I decided each week to look at key events that had happened in that week and look at them with the Bible in hand. I hope to build up a picture of Gods hand working in the affairs of this world bringing about that day when all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem to battle which will be brought to end when the Lord Jesus Christ physically returns from heaven to set up Gods kingdom. The key areas which will crop up time and again will be 1.Israel – Middle East the growing conflict 2.Europe – the developing union / political and religious 3.Russia – continued turning back to anti west ways 4.The development of King of South – US & UK 5.Declining moral standards and increasing violence. A number of Bible Presentations have been produced and can be ordered by. The presentations are audio / visual powerpoint CD’s. Move your mouse around to get the arrow and click the green link. Clicking here

3. Weekly Developments These are just a few of the events that have caught my eye in the previous week. It is in no way meant to be exhaustive – just a look at those events I saw as significant from a Bible viewpoint. Headlines These are always headlines printed in the newspaper – the date is always given and which paper. Normally the Daily Telegraph. (DT) Event This is usually the newspapers take on the events that have happened. It will always be a direct quote from the newspaper. Comment This is my take on why it is interesting from a Bible point of view. The idea of this weekly world watch is to give a quick Biblical perspective without going into detail. If more detail is needed please email me. Bible Quote 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.

4. Weekly Developments Israel stages major terror drill Syria Plans Emergency Drill Iran joined militias in battle for Basra NATO Hands Russia a Small Victory Iran, Syria, Lebanon on military alert Food crisis being felt around world March 30 – April 12 2008 TO PRINT ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SLIDES JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE ON EACH SLIDE

5. Israel stages major terror drill Headline Israel stages major terror drill Headline BBConline April 8 2008 Event At 10am on Tuesday sirens wailed throughout Israel. Israelis had been given ample warning: "Don't panic, routine drill only." Everyone was urged to take part and to run as fast as possible to their nearest bomb shelter. I was walking along a busy Jerusalem street when the sirens sounded. But the general reaction was muted at best. I didn't see anyone running anywhere. Dubbed "Turning Point 2", this year's exercise includes simulated missile attacks - chemical and biological - on towns. Rescue services are to simulate mass evacuation from populated areas. Hospitals will practise treating thousands of casualties. Comment The Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, never tires of saying that, since 2006, Israel’s armed forces have restored their deterrent strength and the nation has never been more secure. Israel is confident it can overcome any attack. It is this over confidence that perhaps led to the muted response that the BBC reporter witnessed in Israel this week to the emergency drill. However this drill (the largest in Israel’s history) has shown many weaknesses. The sirens warning of attack were not heard in many parts of Israel, including the Knesset (the main government building!) Most people did not know where to find public shelters – none were marked. This drill was called “turning point 2”. A “turning point” is when the tide of war flows in a different direction. Israel believes that it is turning in their favour and they will defeat their enemies. God, however, says that Israel is rebellious. They do not trust in him but in the strength of worldly weapons. Israel will soon realise their folly. Bible Quote Isaiah 30 1 ¶ Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me.. 2….to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Israel trusts in worldly things not Godly ones.

6. Headline Syria Plans Emergency Drill amid Fears of War with Israel Headline Voice of America April 9 2008 Event As Israel conducts a big civil-defence drill this week, Syria will hold an unprecedented exercise to test the readiness of the home front for a possible Israeli attack. The drill was announced on state-run Radio Damascus. The announcement said the drill will take place in all of Syria's provinces and will test the country's readiness and ability to handle natural disasters and other emergencies. At the same time, Israel is conducting a five-day home front exercise to test preparedness for missile attacks with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The exercises in both countries point to escalating tensions. The armies of Israel and Syria have raised their alert levels, amid fears that Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon might launch an attack that could plunge the region into war. Comment There were many wars fought between Israel and Syria in ancient times. We see the hatred and mistrust continue even today. For this reason it is perhaps surprising that little is prophesied about Syria in the last days. We might have imagined Syria to play a key role in attacking Israel with Russia perhaps? Syria was part of the territory of the king of the north (the Seleucids) in Daniel 11 verses 5-35. There is a final king of the north that invades Israel but it is NOT Syria. Ezekiel 38 makes clear it is Russia. So what happens to Syria? Does it makes peace with Israel? Unlikely. Is it destroyed BEFORE Russia invades? Possibly. If Syria was destroyed before Russia invaded it would explain why Syria is not mentioned in Ezekiel 38. It would also fulfil passages such as the one below. It would also explain how and why Russia assumes the mantle of king of the north. It also helps explain why the war drums are beating right now – war may be close. Bible Quote Isaiah 17 1 ¶ The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. Syria Plans Emergency Drill

7. Headline Iran joined militias in battle for Basra Headline The Sunday Times April 9 2008 Event America's commander in Iraq warned today that Iranian support for Shi'ite militias posed the gravest threat to securing Iraq's stability. In hearings before two Senate committees in Washington, General David Petraeus said that the recent flare-up in violence in Basra and Baghdad by so-called "Special Groups" highlighted Tehran's malign influence among fellow Shi'ite armed factions. "Unchecked, the Special Groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a Democratic Iraq," he told the Senate armed services committee. "Iran has fuelled the violence in a particularly damaging way." Comment The top US military leader in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has also recommended a suspension of troop withdrawals after July to protect gains in Iraq. US troop levels in Iraq were due to be reduced by about 20,000 by July, but Mr Bush said afterwards, the "drawdown" process would be frozen. The graph above shows that America has some 160,000 troops in Iraq – more than when it invaded in 2003. So, America remains locked in Iraq and seriously overstretched from a military point of view. This is something we would expect with Bible in hand. America in a weak position militarily, unable to defend Israel from the invasion of the Gogian host. We also note the Iranian influence in Iran. Iran is stirring up trouble in Iraq forcing America to remain there. Isaiah 13 speaks of the latter day territory of Babylon (Iraq) being invaded by nations from a far. It speaks of the Medes (Iranians) being stirred up at this time. It speaks of a final and terrible destruction coming on Iraq. It is a destruction comparable with the destruction of Sodom. The destruction of Sodom was with fire and brimstone. A similar destruction is coming… Bible Quote Isaiah 13 17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Iran joined militias in battle for Basra

8. Headline NATO Hands Russia a Small Victory Headline Stratfor April 6 2008 Event At its summit in Bucharest, NATO decided not to move Ukraine and Georgia into the Membership Action Plan, telling the two states that at sometime in the future they would get their invitations to membership, but just not now. Instead, NATO focused its membership drive on the Balkans, offering invitations to Albania and Croatia. While Russia may claim victory in keeping NATO out of Ukraine and Georgia for now, the support for missile defence and the whole-scale move into the Balkans was a clear demonstration of NATO’s challenge to Russia’s claims to influence and power. Russia could not stop the missile defence plan, and its warnings on Kosovo independence have gone unheeded (and unfulfilled). Comment There is a lot here which is significant. Firstly NATO decided NOT to move into Georgia. NATO is a military alliance that says if one nation in NATO is attacked then it is treated as an attack on all nations in NATO. Georgia is the territory through which Russia will descend when it attacks Israel. It is also part of the ancient territory of Magog. If Georgia had joined NATO then at the point Russia invades Georgia, the rest of Europe would have had to defend Georgia against Russia. This would then have bought Europe and Russia at war against each other. This is not what the scriptures foretell. Therefore Georgia remains outside NATO. The other interesting element is summed up in the cartoon above. America is pumping up the balloon (NATO) and it is pushing against the Ural mountains of Russia. The bear (Russia) is aiming a catapult at the balloon, obviously intending to burst it. The Bible speaks of Russia being PUSHED at by the king of the south (America, UK etc). It is a push from the king of the south that persuades Russia in its anger to invade Israel. Bible Quote Daniel 11 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships. NATO Hands Russia a Small Victory

9. Headline Iran, Syria, Lebanon on military alert Headline Debkafile April 11 2008 Event According to British media, the US is set to attack Iranian military facilities. DEBKAfile’s military sources add that the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Force is heading for the Persian Gulf. War tensions in the Middle East have shot up - not only over the signals flashing between Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, but also on the US-Iranian front in Iraq in the wake of rising in violence around the Basra conflagration. Saturday, US defence secretary Robert Gates turned up in Oman, the site of big American air bases, for talks with Sultan Qaboos. He then flew straight back to Washington. While Gates insisted to correspondents aboard his plane that the US is committed to a diplomatic solution for Iran’s covert nuclear program, the surprise visit struck sparks in the already fraught regional atmosphere. Comment DebkaFile reporting relies heavily on apparently well-placed sources within the Israeli military and intelligence communities. It is Jerusalem based. Its analysis this week summed up the first few slides in this weeks WWW that the main press have reported. War tensions are high at this time. Tehran and Damascus (Debkafile reports) believe the following. 1. US is preparing to attack the Iranian military installations linked to subversion in Iraq. The operation will widen out into strikes on the Islamic Republic’s suspect nuclear sites. 2. Israel will use the chance for a concurrent attack on Syria. 3. Israel will attack Hizballah’s strongholds in Lebanon. Iran and Syria view Israel’s four-day home defence exercise against missile attack, conventional or non-conventional, beginning Sunday, as setting the stage for these attacks. Both believe Washington and Jerusalem are in close military step. Bible Quote Joel 3 9 ¶ 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: Iran, Syria, Lebanon on military alert

10. Headline Food crisis being felt around world Headline National Post April 2 2008 Event Sharply rising prices have triggered food riots in recent weeks in Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Guinea, Mauritania and Yemen, and aid agencies around the world worry they may be unable to feed the poorest of the poor. In the Philippines, officials are raiding warehouses in Manila looking for unscrupulous traders hoarding rice, while in South Korea, panicked housewives recently stripped grocery-store shelves of food when the cost of ramen, an instant noodle made from wheat, suddenly rose. The shadow of "a new hunger" that has made food too expensive for millions is the result of a sudden and dramatic surge in food prices around the world. Rising prices for all the world's crucial cereal crops and growing fears of scarcity are careening through international markets, creating turmoil. Comment At the same time we see a financial crisis in the world we now see a food crisis. India announced this week that it was halting all rice exports to other countries in an attempt to keep prices down for the millions who depend on this staple diet. Riots have begun to break out around the world in the poorest areas as people cannot afford the increased food costs. Panic buying by those who have money makes matters worse. Back in the days of Joseph there was a terrible famine. The people of Egypt had to turn to Joseph to save them. Food failed and money failed. Eventually the people of Egypt had to give their own land to Joseph and so the whole land became Pharaoh's land. We see the word (symbolic Egypt) with a food and money crisis. Only Jesus (Joseph) can save the world and restore the world and ultimately hand it to God. (Pharaoh). Bible Quote Genesis 47 13 …for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. 15 And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph….. Food crisis being felt around world

11. THE END WORLD WATCH WILL BE EMAILED TO YOU EACH WEEK. PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF ANY OTHER PEOPLE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED. PLEASE SEND ME THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS AND I WILL PUT THEM ON THE REGULAR WEEKLY EMAIL ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS OR COMMENTS WELCOME. www.weeklyworldwatch.co.uk To watch again click here