Andy Walton’s

Weekly World Watch

October 5 - 11, 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)

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

This is straight from a news report that caught my

HEADLINE
eye because it looked significant from a Biblical News
perspective, usually that of prophecy.
The source of the headline and the date are included.
Photo
EVENT 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.

COMMENT 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).

BIBLE 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.
QUOTE
Unless stated otherwise, all quotes are from the King James Version.
(Book, chapter, and verse)
 This Week’s Developments
October 5 - 11, 2008

• Financial crisis: Stock markets move to sheer panic

• Britain v Iceland: Fish now finance
• Iran celebrates global meltdown
• Israel to press Russia not to sell air defences to Iran
• Jewish-Arab riots shock Israeli city
• Russia withdraws from Georgian territory
To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right
 Financial crisis: Stock markets move to sheer panic
Daily Telegraph, October 10, 2008 London is a latter day Tyre
Ancient Tyre was destroyed / waves covered it!

EVENT "We can solve this crisis, and we will," declared George W Bush in the
hastily-convened press conference in the Rose Garden of the White
House. "The United States government is acting; we will continue to act
to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets."
Only problem was the US President didn't look like he believed it - after a week like
this one, why would he? Neither, for that matter, did the markets, which tumbled to
new lows on both sides of the Atlantic within minutes of the statement. It had been
the same story every day this week. Each day finance ministers and heads of state
from every corner of the Western world have emerged to assure voters that they will
bring an end to the financial crisis. It has done nothing to prevent shares from
plummeting, nor to reignite the frozen money markets, which underpin the entire
world economy.
There have been stock market crashes before, but never before has there been such
a prolonged and comprehensive shutdown of the arteries of finance.
COMMENT The are a number of references in the Bible to total financial collapse at the time of the
end. Money has become the god of the world. It has worshipped mammon and NOT
God. It is not surprising then that this “god” will be shown for what it is. WORTHLESS.
The verse below is talking of the final judgement of the world. In verses 5 / 6 (not
quoted) it speaks of the inhabitants of the earth breaking God’s commands and laws.
The previous chapter links to these final events and speaks of a latter day Tyre based
in Tarshish. Tyre was the ancient capital of Phoenicia and the centre of trade. Tyre
passes over to Tarshish (Britain). Ch 23:6. The capital of the UK is London and it too
has become the centre of trade. The last verse of ch23 speaks of her wealth being
lost!
BIBLE See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it…it will be the same for… seller as
QUOTE for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid
waste and totally plundered. (Isaiah 24:1-3 NIV)
 Britain v Iceland: Fish now finance
BBConline, October 10, 2008

EVENT Having fought three rather pointless - though at times bitter - little wars over fishing
limits, Britain and Iceland have now allowed a problem over British deposits in a failed
Icelandic bank to become a crisis.
Instead of two North Atlantic islands who are partners in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation and who both charged into financial danger zones quietly sorting this
out, prime ministers have swapped insults. Echoes of those cod wars are heard.
The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has publicly declared Icelandic actions to
be "effectively illegal" and "unacceptable" and the Icelandic Prime Minister, Gier
Haarde, has expressed his annoyance that the UK used anti-terrorism legislation to
seize assets in Britain of the one of the Icelandic banks.
COMMENT Iceland’s financial system collapsed on Thursday. We may imagine that such a small
country would have little impact on others. However this collapse has had instant
ramifications for the UK. Icesave, an Icelandic bank with branches in London went bust
this week. 300,000 UK investors were affected. The trouble was though that some UK
government councils had invested in this bank to the tune of ¾ of a billion pounds!
The Icelandic government then refused to bail out any investors.
This then puts a strain on public services in certain UK towns and cities unless the UK
government finds the lost money. Which is why Gordon Brown announced on
Wednesday that Britain would be taking legal action against the Icelandic government!
He then used anti terror laws to seize assets in the Icelandic bank.
This is just the beginning. We know that a “time of trouble such as never was” is
coming. With financial collapse we can see how tensions between nations would rise
quickly creating the environment for the final judgement of the world.
BIBLE Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
QUOTE (Proverbs 19:4)
 Iran celebrates global meltdown
BBConline, October 10, 2008

EVENT Amidst the financial wreckage around the world, one government is
celebrating. Watching the global gnashing of teeth, the Islamic Republic of Iran is
enjoying the ride.
"We are very happy that America's economy is in jeopardy and they are paying the
price for their misdeeds. God is punishing them."
That is the verdict from Ayatollah Jannati, one of the most senior clerics in Iran.
President Ahmadinejad has pronounced on the collapse of global capitalism, and
announced that Iranians should stand ready to manage the world.

COMMENT It is true that Iran cares little for capitalism. It’s wealth in the main comes from oil.
The president of Iran can therefore gloat at America’s financial upheaval. Iran’s stock
market is actually up 20% so far this year!
In Isaiah 13 we read of a war that takes place over Babylon. Nations from afar invade it
and bring destruction. At that time “the day of the LORD is at hand” (verse 6), “the
world will be punished for their evil” (verse 11), “the sun shall be darkened” (verse 10).
It is clear this is a war that occurs at the time of the end when the world is judged.
Babylon was situated in modern day Iraq and we have seen a war take place, with
nations from afar invading it. Therefore the “day of the LORD is at hand”.
The same chapter goes on to say that at the same time the Medes are stirred up
against them. The Medes are an ancient people that lived in modern day Iran.
The Bible is saying that the Iranians will be stirred up!
Now note the verse below. Iranians do NOT regard silver and as for gold they do NOT
delight in it. They do not care global capitalism is failing. They care nothing for it.

BIBLE Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they
QUOTE shall not delight in it.
(Isaiah 13:17)
 Israel to press Russia not to sell air defences to Iran
Daily Telegraph, October 7, 2008

EVENT Ehud Olmert, on his final foreign trip as prime minister before a new
coalition government is confirmed, flew to Moscow to urge
Mr Medvedev not to sell weapons to "irresponsible elements".
It is feared Israel will see the proposed sale of a sophisticated version of the S-300
surface-to-air missile system as a reason to expedite plans for an attack on Iran.
"We will remind them again of matters that trouble us greatly," Mr Olmert said.
As East-West relations have deteriorated in the aftermath of Russia's brief war with
Georgia in August, fears have mounted that Moscow could choose to goad
Washington by selling Iran a version of the S-300.
Considered at least as sophisticated as the American Patriot, the S-300 can
simultaneously track 100 different targets and is capable of shooting down aircraft
over a range of over 90 miles and altitudes of up to 90,000 feet.
The establishment of so powerful a system would make it much harder to bomb Iran's
atomic installations, leading some security analysts to predict that Israel could launch
a pre-emptive attack if Tehran acquired the missiles.

COMMENT Where does Ehud Olmert decide to make his final foreign trip before standing down as
prime minster of Israel? To Russia! to meet the Russian president Mr Medvedev.
If Russia were to supply these missiles to Iran it would “be a game-changer in military
thinking for tackling Iran,” as one Pentagon official put it.
What we can see here is how accurate the Bible is. In Ezekiel 38 we read that Persia
(modern day Iran) is going to invade Israel with Russia. We also read that Russia will
act as a “guard” to those nations that invade with it. A guard can be a prison guard or
someone who protects. We see Russia protecting Iran - the invasion will also happen.
BIBLE Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto
thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:7)
 Jewish-Arab riots shock Israeli city
BBConline, October 10, 2008

EVENT Israeli forces have quelled a third round of clashes between Jews
and Arabs in the northern city of Acre, first ignited after an Israeli Arab man drove
into a Jewish neighbourhood on Yom Kippur on Wednesday.
No one has been killed or seriously injured but riot squads have used water cannon
and tear gas to break up the violence, the worst in this mixed, northern coastal town
in years. About 100 cars and 40 shops have been heavily damaged in the fighting,
with at least three people injured and more than a dozen arrests.
About 700 police have been brought into Acre to maintain calm while police in other
parts of the country are also out in force, for fear clashes will spread ahead of the
Jewish Sabbath.
"We are planning ahead for the scenario of, God forbid, violence spreading to other
places. I call on leaders, both in the Jewish community and Arab community, to act
sensibly," the Israeli interior minister, Avi Dichter, said.
The Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who is expected to succeed Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert after winning the ruling Kadima party primary last month, also visited
Acre and called for calm.
COMMENT The Jews are descendants of Abraham’s son Isaac. The Arabs are descendants of
Abraham’s son Ishmael. With Ishmael being the son of a slave woman (Genesis 16:1-
16) and Isaac being the promised son who would inherit the promises to Abraham
(Genesis 21:1-3), animosity between the two sons was almost inevitable.
In fact an angel even prophesied to Hagar that Ishmael would “live in hostility toward
all his brothers” (Genesis 16:11-12).
This hostility as prophesied continues to this day. It will be ended when Christ returns.
BIBLE his hand (Ishmael’s) will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in
QUOTE hostility toward all his brothers.
(Genesis 16:12)
 Russia withdraws from Georgian territory
Daily Telegraph, October 10, 2008

EVENT Russia has met a deadline to withdraw its troops from undisputed Georgian territory
but remains in violation of a ceasefire deal that ended August's war in the Caucasus,
France's foreign minister said.
Russian soldiers pulled out of two buffer zones around the rebel enclaves of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia that were occupied after Russia and Georgia signed a truce to
end the five-day war.
Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, confirmed that Russia had finally kept
its word by withdrawing the last of its forces on Wednesday.
But he warned that the Kremlin was still in violation of the terms of the deal, which
called on Russia to return its forces to the positions they held before the conflict
erupted.

COMMENT So we have seen Russia pull back out of Georgia. However it has not pulled back to
where it was before the conflict started.
Georgia's foreign minister, warned that Europe must keep up the pressure on Moscow,
"It will be very dangerous and short-sighted to return to business-as-usual with Russia
unless Russia commits to return its troops to their positions before the Russian
invasion of Georgia," she said.
In a sense Russia has come out of her land and has now turned back. It pushed
forward and has now retreated. Could we see in a literal reading of the words in
Ezekiel 38 God turning them back only then to being them forth?
The “turning back” of Russia is undoubtedly the returning of the nation to anti west,
totalitarian, authoritarian days but it is interesting we see a literal turning back (though
on a very small scale) here as well. One day they WILL come forth….
BIBLE And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine
army
QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:4)
 The end of this week’s
Weekly World Watch

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