Andy Waltons Weekly World Watch July 30 August

Andy Walton’s Weekly World Watch July 30 – August 5, 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.

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 Power. Point 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. HEADLINE This is straight from a news report that caught my eye because it looked significant from a Biblical perspective, usually that of prophecy. The source of the headline and the date are included. EVENT News Photo 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. COMMENT 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. This is normally one verse which backs up why the event that has occurred BIBLE 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 July 30 – August 5, 2017 • Putin orders 755 US diplomatic staff to be cut • Trump grudgingly signs Russia sanctions bill • Israel to Russia: We are concerned with tensions • Russia flies 2, 000 mercenary troops into Syria • Russia’s military drills near NATO border raise fears • Russia shows off its largest warships at Navy Day To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

Putin orders 755 US diplomatic staff to be cut BBC, July 31, 2017 EVENT Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that 755 staff must leave US diplomatic missions, in retaliation for new US sanctions against Moscow. The decision to cut staff was made on Friday, but Mr Putin has now confirmed the number who must go by 1 September. It brings staff levels to 455, the same as Russia's complement in Washington. This is thought to be the largest action against diplomatic staff from any country in modern history, says the BBC's Laura Bicker in Washington. The number includes Russian employees of the US diplomatic missions across Russia, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow adds. Staff in the embassy in Moscow as well as the consulates in Ekaterinburg, Vladivostok and St Petersburg are affected, she says. COMMENT We reported last week that Putin was gearing up to retaliate against the proposed US sanctions. This week the retaliation began with the largest diplomatic reduction in modern history as 755 US staff were told to leave. The US said the move was a "regrettable and uncalled for act”. "We are assessing the impact of such a limitation and how we will respond to it, " a state department official said. Putin said he was also considering other measures as well. What Putin wanted with Trump in power was a new deal between Russia and the US that would acknowledge Moscow as an equal diplomatic partner. Putin’s hopes have come to nothing. The king of the north (Russia) versus king of the south (US/UK) is now firmly back on the table as God said it would be at the time of the end. All the pieces are lining up precisely as prophesied. BIBLE QUOTE 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; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11: 40)

Trump grudgingly signs Russia sanctions bill Daily Telegraph, August 2, 2017 EVENT Donald Trump reluctantly signed a bill imposing new sanctions on Russia yesterday, with Moscow saying the move ended hopes for better relations between the two countries. The US president himself called the measure “seriously flawed” and attacked Congress forcing his hand. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, said the new sanctions were tantamount to a "full-scale trade war". He said that the move showed the Trump administration was utterly powerless. "The hope that our relations with the new American administration would improve is finished, " he wrote on Facebook. The Russian prime minister suggested the sanctions were an attempt by the "US establishment" to remove Mr Trump from power. "The issue of new sanctions came about, primarily, as another way to knock Trump down a peg. New steps are to come, and they will ultimately aim to remove him from power, " he wrote. COMMENT Trump has truly been backed into a corner over his relationship with Moscow. Trump came to power promising to reset relations with Russia. This attempt has now come to a complete end. But it is not the end of the story. The vultures are circling around the Trump inner circle as investigations grow into Russian US election interference and Trump’s involvement. A grand jury has been put in place that ultimately could lead to the impeachment of the president. This is a long way off but this is a president under growing pressure – and who knows how Trump will react to all this. Interestingly Donald means “ruler of the world”. Vladimir (Putin) means “universal ruler”. Both these men have egos that make them believe they can rule the world. However both with fail and be replaced with the true ruler of the world – the coming Messiah – Jesus Christ. BIBLE QUOTE “But what about you? ” he asked. “Who do you say I am? ” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. ” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew 16: 15 -17)

Israel to Russia: We are concerned your tensions with the US might endanger our border Jerusalem Post, July 29, 2017 EVENT MOSCOW – Israel could become collateral damage to the growing tensions between the US and Russia, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said following a meeting on Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “If you’re standing next to a boxing match between two heavyweights, you might get elbowed, ” he quipped. Edelstein – a former refusenik who in 1984 was sentenced to hard labour – is on an official visit to Moscow, during which he addressed the Russian parliament in Hebrew, the language he had been arrested for teaching. “Israel has an interest in good relations between the US and Russia. We don’t like the militant talk, ” Edelstein said. “If the US and Russia are working out their issues right on our northern border, we will be hit by the spillover. The tension is not good for Israel. ” Edelstein also spoke to Lavrov about Israel’s security concerns related to Iran and the fighting in Syria, urging him to warn Tehran against threatening to destroy Israel. COMMENT This is a really interesting article in relation to current events and Daniel chapter 11. Israel’s Knesset speaker in Moscow talked of Israel becoming squashed between “two heavy weights” ie Russia and the US. As the two superpowers continue to move closer to conflict Israel see itself as potentially being caught quite literally between the two. Notice how Edelstein points to how Israel could get drawn into a war if the Russia v US conflict in Syria spills over into Northern Israel. This is exactly what Isaiah 17 says WILL happen. When Damascus falls (and it will) northern Israel is drawn into the conflict and left weakened. Into the void that is left Russia comes down like a great tsunami wave crushing and destroying everything in its path. BIBLE QUOTE Woe to the many nations that rage— they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar — they roar like the roaring of great waters! Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, (Isaiah 17: 12 -13)

Russia flies 2, 000 mercenary troops into Syria Debkafile, August 2, 2017 EVENT Russia is engaged in a major buildup in Syria, both in support of the de-escalation zones established in conjunction with the United States, and in order to solidify its military control of the country. Debkafile's military and intelligence sources reported exclusively on Wednesday, August 2, that 2, 000 mercenaries had just been airlifted into the country, boosting to a total of 5, 000 the number of mercenaries on hire from the Wagner Group private contractors for service under the Russian flag in Syria. They are all retirees from elite units of the Russian ground forces, air force or navy. In another new Russian project, our military sources also report the arrival in the past few days of Muslim troops from the republic of Ingushetia. Although clad in Russian military police uniforms, they are actually commandoes trained in anti-terror warfare. They have been posted as "ceasefire monitors" at the three de-escalation zones established by Russia and the United States along the Syrian borders with Israel, Jordan and Iraq. COMMENT Syria is not in news to the extent it has been in recent years. The fighting (though still continuing) has slowed down. During this lull Russia is sending even more fighters into Syria to strengthen its position. Notice how these troops are acting a ceasefire monitors along the border of Israel. Russia and a small part of its army are right up against Israel. How excited would our brothers and sisters be who lived long ago to see things we are seeing now! For so long we have interpreted the Bible correctly by seeing Gog, Magog, Meshech and Tubal as being Russia. But until now Russia was in reality a long way from Israel. Many other religions have mocked Christadelphians for believing Russia would one day descend on Israel. But we can now see how close we are to this. BIBLE QUOTE When Russia makes its grand move for the building-up of its Image-empire, then let the reader know that the end of all things, as at present constituted, is at hand. The long-expected, but stealthy advent of the King of Israel, will be on the eve of becoming a fact. (ELPIS ISRAEL – written by John Thomas in 1849 )

Russia’s military drills near NATO border raise fears New York Times, July 31, 2017 EVENT Russia is preparing to send as many as 100, 000 troops to the eastern edge of NATO territory at the end of the summer, one of the biggest steps yet in the military buildup undertaken by President Vladimir V. Putin and an exercise in intimidation that recalls the most ominous days of the Cold War. The troops are conducting military manoeuvres known as Zapad, Russian for "west, " in Belarus, the Baltic Sea, western Russia and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The drills will feature a reconstituted armored force named for a storied Soviet military unit, the First Guards Tank Army. Its establishment represents the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that so much offensive power has been concentrated in a single command. The military exercise, planned for many months, is not a reaction to sweeping new economic sanctions on Russia that Congress passed last week. So far, Russia has retaliated against the sanctions by forcing the expulsion of hundreds of employees in US diplomatic posts in the country. COMMENT Russia is preparing for war. This is a massive military exercise and one that is very concerning to Poland other Eastern European countries. "We have every reason to believe that it may be substantially more troops participating than the official reported numbers, " Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary general, said in July. Adding to the concern, the Russians have yet to agree that international observers can monitor the Zapad exercise. The question NATO officials are asking is whether all of the troops and equipment in Belarus will leave. Ezekiel 38 tells us that Russia would prepare for war and that it would mobilise its troops. Surely we are seeing this happen at this time. How much longer before the preparation turns to actual conflict. BIBLE QUOTE “Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. (Ezekiel 38: 7 -8 NLT)

Russia shows off its largest warships at Navy Day parade as tensions with West heighten Daily Telegraph, July 30, 2017 EVENT Forty warships and submarines, including two of Russia’s largest nuclear-powered vessels, were on show at the Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday, the biggest naval show Russia has put up in recent years. Attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the parade was described by the state-run media as “the first principle naval parade in the newest Russia history. ” The event comes amid heightened tensions with the West, on the heels of the US Senate approving new sanctions against Russia, and is aimed at reminding the rest of the world that Russia is a maritime force the be reckoned with. Russia's history is marked by numerous victories of the country's "fearless navy, " Mr Putin said at the parade. "The country's status as a mighty maritime power was earned by the courage of seamen and navy officers, " he said. “Today the navy not only tackles tasks traditional for it – it also rises to new challenges and contributes to the fight against terrorism and piracy, ” Mr Putin said at the parade. COMMENT The scale and the pomp of this enormous Russian naval parade has not been seen for decades. Many put it down to the looming 2018 presidential election and Mr Putin's campaign. “There is no big anniversary or any other memorable date this year” that could warrant such grandeur, says Andrei Frolov, editor in chief of the Russian magazine Export Vooruzheny (“Arms Export”). Last week Putin signed a new naval doctrine. “This document is a way of showing the navy that the president is with them, ” the expert said. The Bible says that Gog would have a vast navy that also descends on Israel when it invades. Again this naval parade is yet another piece to put in place with regards the Russia prophetical jigsaw puzzle. Not many pieces are left to put in place! BIBLE QUOTE 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 (Daniel 11: 40 NLT)

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