April , 2009 “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.clicking here 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? 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. 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 me:

This Week’s Developments To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right Russia moves troops closer to Georgia's capital Germany's slump risks 'explosive' mood UN walkout as Ahmadinejad calls Israel racist Clinton in Iraq amid new violence Mexico swine flu deaths spur global epidemic fears April , 2009 Scientists warn sun has dimmed

Russia moves troops closer to Georgia's capital It seems likely that Russia is fermenting trouble in Georgia. For over two weeks there have been thousands of people on the streets calling for the Georgian President, Mr Saakashvili to step down. Russia hates this man. (He is the main reason that Russia invaded Georgia last August. Mr Medvedev has called him “a political corpse”). Meanwhile Russia sends troops and tanks within 25 miles of the Georgian capital. The map above shows the Scythian Empire (light green above Black Sea). According to Josephus the Scythians = Magogites. Therefore ancient Magog was southern Russia and it stopped at the Caucasus mountains. These mountains are the current northern border of Georgia. Think of these mountains like a dam holding Russia back. However this dam will break one day and Russia will pour through – down to Israel…. Russia has troops just 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the Georgian capital, in violation of the European Union-brokered cease-fire that ended last year's brief war. And in recent weeks, it has put even more soldiers and armored vehicles within striking distance of the city ahead of street protests against Georgia's president. The protests, which began April 9, drew about 10,000 people Tuesday, and opposition leaders said they would continue daily until President Mikhail Saakashvili resigned. The demonstrations have been fed by public anger over Georgia's humiliating defeat in the August war, which left Russian troops on previously Georgian-controlled territory and drove tens of thousands of Georgians from their homes. By reinforcing its military presence at a time of potential political instability, Russia appears determined to maintain pressure on Saakashvili, whom Moscow has openly said must be replaced before relations can be repaired. Associated Press, April 22, 2009 EVENT COMMENT Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:2) Sycthian Empire 500BC Caucasus Mountains Modern Georgia

Germany's slump risks 'explosive' mood as second banking crisis looms Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:21 of a time coming on this earth that will see “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of this world, no, nor ever shall be.” There can only ever be one time of trouble such as never was. There can’t be two! It seems clear that this time of trouble such as never was comes at the very end - with the final judgements of God on the earth. Daniel 12:1 speaks of this very same time and then tells us the dead are raised at this time – when Christ returns. The time of trouble certainly involves great war and conflict. It may well also involve immense social unrest as the financial systems collapse. Only Christ can save us. A clutch of political and labour leaders in Germany have raised the spectre of civil unrest after the country's leading institutes forecast a 6pc contraction of gross domestic product this year, a slump reminiscent of 1931 and bad enough to drive unemployment to 4.7m by Michael Sommer, leader of the DGB trade union federation, called the latest wave of sackings a "declaration of war" against Germany's workers. "Social unrest can no longer be ruled out," he said. Gesine Swann, presidential candidate for the Social Democrats, said "the mood could turn explosive" over the next three months unless the government takes drastic action. While authorities have belatedly agreed to create a "bad bank" to absorb toxic loans and stabilise the credit system, further financial troubles are almost certainly in the pipeline. Swiss risk advisers Independent Credit View said a "second wave" of debt stress is likely to hit the UK and Europe this year as the turmoil moves from mortgage securities to old-fashioned bank loans. Daily Telegraph, April 24, 2009 EVENT COMMENT and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. BIBLE QUOTE (Daniel 12:1)

UN walkout as Ahmadinejad calls Israel racist Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. With Bible in hand we can see that God DID make nations different. They DO have different characters. God said that Ishmael would become a great nation. He became father of many Arab nations. God also said he would be a wild man and his hand would be against every man. This was a prophecy of the character of these nations. Is it true? Again with Bible in hand we can see that God CHOSE Israel. Does this make God racist? No. He did not choose them because they were better, or stronger or more holy. He chose them because he loved them AND because he promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would make a kingdom from them. God has NOT cast off Israel and never will. They are his chosen people as long as the universe cannot be measured! The UN’s second conference on racism descended into farce yesterday when President Ahmadinejad of Iran used his address to single out Israel as the “most cruel and racist regime”. Dozens of angry European diplomats, including the British delegation, stormed out as Mr Ahmadinejad used a rambling speech in Geneva to condemn the US and Europe for establishing Israel after the Second World War. He said: “Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering. “They sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine. In fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.” The Times, April 21, 2009 EVENT COMMENT If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. BIBLE QUOTE (Jeremiah 31:37)

Clinton in Iraq amid new violence The land of Iraq is hugely significant from a Bible perspective. It is the home of the Garden of Eden where sin and death entered the world. It is the home of the first kingdom on earth - man’s kingdom (Babel) ruled by Nimrod (whose name means rebellion). It was also the home of Abraham. A man who (according to ancient Jewish writings) refused to bow down to Nimrod. God told Abraham to go to a new land where a new kingdom would one day be established. He brought him to Canaan / ISRAEL. Iraq is still full of violence and death. Man will never solve its problems. Only Jesus can. Hillary Clinton has landed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for her first visit to the country as US secretary of state. Her visit comes in the wake of two days of suicide bomb attacks on Baghdad and other Iraqi towns which killed at least 155 people and wounded many others. Mrs Clinton said she wanted to help identify how to counter the violence. President Barack Obama, who visited Iraq a couple of weeks ago, has committed the US to withdrawing troops from Iraqi cities by the end of June. All combat brigades are to leave by next summer. Violence fell sharply in Iraq in the last year. But because of the recent attacks, there will be a lot of head-scratching about whether the timetables should be stuck to or whether they should be flexible, the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says. The attacks do not yet seem to be a sustained trend, but they seem to be starting to take on a rhythm which is truly alarming for the Iraqi government and for the Americans, our correspondent says. BBConline, April 25, 2009 EVENT COMMENT Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel,…. in the land of Shinar. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country BIBLE QUOTE (Genesis 10:10 & 12:1) Babel / Babylon Ur / Abraham’s home Garden of Eden

Mexico swine flu deaths spur global epidemic fears An unusual strain of swine flu is being blamed in the deaths of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, libraries and theaters in the capital Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has raised concerns of a global flu epidemic. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordoba said 68 people have died of flu, and the new swine flu strain had been confirmed in 20 of those deaths. At least 1,004 people were sick from the suspected flu, he said. The virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers haven't seen before — also sickened at least eight people in Central Texas and California, though all have recovered. "We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus, and it has spread from human to human.... It's all hands on deck at the moment." In Texas, state and local officials are working to stop the spread of the swine flu. Daily Telegraph, April 16, 2009 EVENT COMMENT For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. BIBLE QUOTE (Matthew 24:7) The World Health Organisation is right to be “very, very concerned”. Swine flu is not like bird flu that has been in the news over the last few years. Swine flu is different because it can easily pass from human to human. Therefore this disease / plague can quite quickly become an epidemic. The disciples came to Jesus and said “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus then told the disciples many things they should be watching for. One of the things he mentions (as a sign of his coming and the end of the world) is pestilence. Pestilence = plague! Interesting that as man becomes ever more like beasts (without God in their lives) we are being effected ever more by animal disease!

Scientists warn sun has dimmed The sun is the dimmest and quietest it has been for a century. Scientists say images from its surface show a marked decline in events such as sunspots and solar flares, but they say it will not be enough to prevent global warming. There are no sunspots, very few solar flares - and our nearest star is the quietest it has been for a very long time. The observations are baffling astronomers, who are due to study new pictures of the Sun, taken from space, at the UK National Astronomy Meeting. The Sun normally undergoes an 11-year cycle of activity. At its peak, it has a tumultuous boiling atmosphere that spits out flares and planet-sized chunks of super- hot gas. This is followed by a calmer period. Last year, it was expected that it would have been hotting up after a quiet spell. But instead it hit a 50-year low in solar wind pressure, a 55-year low in radio emissions, and a 100-year low in sunspot activity. BBConline, April 21, 2009 EVENT COMMENT Immediately after [with] the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, …… And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven BIBLE QUOTE (Matthew 24:29) In Matthew 24 (the prophecy given by Jesus to his disciples on the Mount of Olives) there is another sign that he tells us to look for. Signs in the SUN! Jesus tells us that the sun will go dark, the moon will not give her light etc. Undoubtedly this is symbolic - the sun represents the leaders of the world in prophecy. The moon represents the religious leaders of the world. With sun and moon going dark we expect to see world and religious leaders becoming dark – without God in their hearts and minds or in any decision they make. But it could also be literal. Many prophecies have both literal and symbolic meaning. With the sun beginning to dim it is surely a sign to us that one day it will go dark. Click here to view video on this

ANDY Click here (Move the mouse until the cursor appears.) To watch again, click here. WWW will be ed to you each week. Please forward the addresses of others who may be interested. I will include them in the list of recipients. Comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome. Weekly World Watch The end of this week’s