May 21 - 27, 2017

1. Weekly World Watch Andy Walton’s May 21 - 27, 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 May 21 - 27, 2017 • Trump seeks greater collaboration with Saudi Arabia • Trump leaves Israel with hope for peace, but no plan • President Trump meets Pope Francis in Rome • NATO reels from harsh Trump reality show • Terror bombing kills 22 in Manchester Arena • Evidence of 2,000-year-old battle for Jerusalem To print any of the event slides that follow, click the picture on the upper right PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE

5. Sheba [Saudi Arabia], and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions [US] thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? Trump seeks greater collaboration with Saudi Arabia Washington Post, May 25, 2017 On Sunday in Saudi Arabia, President Trump announced an agreement to sell his hosts at least $110 billion worth of weapons and expressed an eagerness to ally with Sunni autocrats against Shiite Iran, which he accused of fuelling the fires of sectarian conflict and terrorism in the region. Whether the arms deal clears Congress, which has blocked sales in the past, remains to be seen, and experts believe the ultimate amount actually sold to Saudi Arabia may be far lower. Nevertheless, some analysts suggested that Trump’s visit and the deliverables he promised could pay dividends on counterterrorism. In his speech, Trump identified areas where he sought greater efforts from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region: “starving terrorists of their territory, their funding and the false allure of their craven ideology.” Success on these fronts, he said, would be the basis for defeating the terrorists. EVENT COMMENT This week President Trump went on a 9 day tour around the world. His first stop was Saudi Arabia. Trump picked this nation as the very first foreign country he would visit. While there he announced a huge arms deal between the US and Saudi. But why is Trump backing Saudi Arabia? The main reason is that Trump sees Saudi as a major regional ally which needs supporting to counter Iran. Iran and Saudi are sworn enemies. Interestingly Russia backs Iran whilst the US backs Saudi Arabia. We see here the nations lining up exactly as God said they would. Ezekiel 38 puts these nations in precisely this position. Russia (Magog, Meschech, Tubal) with Iran (Persia) on the one side. Saudi Arabia (Sheba) with Tarshish (UK) and young lions (US) on the other. All this gives our faith a boost and increases confidence that God is in control… BIBLE QUOTE (Ezekiel 38:13)

6. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. • Trump leaves Israel with hope for peace, but no plan New York Times, May 23, 2017 In case there was any doubt, President Trump made it exceedingly clear: He wants a deal. “I intend to do everything I can,” he said on Tuesday. Moreover, he left after a 28-hour visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank convinced that he has partners in peace after meeting with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. “President Abbas assures me he is ready to work toward that goal in good faith,” Mr. Trump said in Bethlehem with Mr. Abbas by his side. “And Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised the same.” What Mr. Trump did not do was reveal the least hint of what, if anything, was behind it: He put little public pressure on either leader. There was none of the usual talk of borders, of settlements, of incitement of terrorism or of the long and gnarled history of two peoples on the same land. He did not say anything about moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem or recognize the city as Israel’s capital. Nor was there a process for what comes next. EVENT Trump would love to make a peace deal with the Palestinians and Israel. He believes (like many US presidents before him) that he is the man who can do it. However there is no plan on how he is going to do this. One key thing that Trump pledged during his election campaign was that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. There was no announcement about this while he visited Israel. However his officials said he was still thinking about it. On the 1st June he does have to decide what to do - whether to move it or keep it where it is. Every 6 months the US president has to make this decision. We wait to see what he does. He if doesn’t move it he breaks a pledge. If he does move it could spark a major intifada. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 12:3)

7. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. • President Trump meets Pope Francis in Rome CBS News, May 24, 2017 President Donald Trump has met Pope Francis, the famously humble pontiff with whom he has publicly clashed, concluding his tour of the ancestral homes of the world's three largest monotheistic religions. Mr. Trump, midway through his gruelling nine-day maiden international journey, called upon the pontiff at the Vatican early Wednesday where the two had a private 30-minute meeting laden with religious symbolism and ancient protocol. The president, accompanied by his wife and several aides, arrived at the Vatican just after 8 a.m. local time. The president greeted Francis in Sala del Tronetto, the room of the little throne, on the second floor of Apostolic Palace Wednesday morning. Mr. Trump later told Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni that his meeting with the Pope was "fantastic" adding, "He is something. He is really great." EVENT Trump visited Jerusalem and prayed at the waling wall. Jerusalem and the Temple mount site are the where God’s heart is. Jerusalem is the centre of God’s plan and purpose. It is the future capital of the world where righteousness under the rule of Jesus will spring forth. But Trump left this place and went to Rome – to the Vatican. And in so doing travelled to the heart of the false religion of Babel / Babylon. He arrived at another temple. The seat of false Christian worship / the apostasy. And here Trump bowed before the “man of sin”. All rulers end up bowing to this man who calls himself the “Holy Father”. This is because they want the influence of someone who controls the hearts and minds of billions of people. There is an in-depth talk by Brother Roger Lewis called “The Mysterious Tale of Two Temples”. It deals with how the Babylonian religion moved to Rome. CLICK HERE to listen to it. It will download the file (15mb). COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

8. 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. • NATO reels from harsh Trump reality show News Asia, May 27, 2017 US President Donald Trump's performance at a "shocking" NATO summit has dealt a major blow to the alliance and may hand a win to Vladimir Putin, analysts say. Whether shoving aside Montenegro's PM or having handshake wars with France's new leader, Trump created chaos at what was meant to be a diplomatic showpiece. But optics aside, Trump failed to publicly endorse NATO's founding mutual defence guarantee and instead castigated the allies for failing to pay their way. The contrast with an upbeat Mideast visit, including a trip to Saudi Arabia in which he did big deals with no mention of human rights concerns, was striking. Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund think-tank in Brussels told AFP the failure to explicitly back the Article Five defence pledge "is going to be immensely disappointing to NATO leaders". EVENT COMMENT NATO is a military alliance between several North American and European states. NATO is basically a collective defence mechanism whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. Many believe that it is NATO that has managed to keep peace in Europe since it came into being in 1949. But Trump is rattling the NATO cage. He wants Europe to pay up and contribute their fair share towards costs. Trump’s speech made the EU leaders squirm in discomfort - there were no tributes to shared trans-Atlantic values, no remarks on the history of the trans-Atlantic alliance nothing but an undiplomatic demand for more money. What might be the outcome of this type of approach by Mr Trump? Well one outcome could be EU leaders deciding to create their own military force and their own superstate. The Bible says there will be a resurrected empire in Europe. BIBLE QUOTE (Revelation 17:12-13)

9. Terror bombing kills 22 in Manchester Arena Financial Times, May 26, 2017 EVENT A man with an “improvised” bomb killed at least 22 people and injured 59 outside a concert arena filled with teenagers in central Manchester on Monday night, in the worst terrorism incident in the UK since 2005. Police said the bomber, who died in the explosion, detonated the device around 10.30pm, shortly after the concert by US pop star Ariana Grande at Manchester Arena. Among the dead were young children, police said. Isis claimed responsibility for the attack, although the jihadi group has in the past taken credit for terror incidents that were later found to be unconnected. Dan Coats, the US director of national intelligence, said Isis’s role had yet to be confirmed, adding: “They claim responsibility for virtually every attack.” Prime Minister Theresa May said security services believed they knew the identity of the bomber behind the “callous terrorist attack”, which was “among the worst terrorism we have experienced in the United Kingdom”. Yet another shocking terrorist attack and this time in Britain. This one was targeted specifically at children who had been to a pop concert in Manchester. This made it all the more horrific as it marked yet another step downwards in the terrorist search for creating fear and panic. The response of the British government is to put troops on the streets of major cities. The military presence will be a reminder in human form that the terrorist threat level has been raised from severe to critical for the first time in a decade. Jesus said we would live in a time when there would be distress on the nations with perplexity. That men’s hearts would fail them for fear when they looked at things happening on earth. We see the world in this state now. Jesus will return soon. COMMENT BIBLE QUOTE and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21:25-26)

10. Evidence of 2,000-year-old battle for Jerusalem Israel National News, May 25, 2017 EVENT On the occasion of Jerusalem Day and the jubilee celebrations commemorating the reunification of the city, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Nature and Parks Authority are unveiling evidence from 2,000 year ago of the battle of Jerusalem on the eve of the destruction of the Second Temple, at the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park. Arrowheads and stone ballista balls were discovered on the main street that ascended from the city’s gates and the Pool of Siloam to the Temple, which was excavated in recent years with funding provided by the City of David Society (Elad). These finds tell the story of the last battle between the Roman forces and the Jewish rebels who had barricaded themselves in the city, a battle that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem. This battle is described by the historian Flavius Josephus: "On the following day the Romans, having routed the brigands from the town, set the whole on fire as far as Siloam" (Josephus, Wars, Book 6:363) Jerusalem Day is the day when Israel remembers the day in 1967 when Jerusalem was reunified under Jewish control. From 1948 when Israel was founded as a state, Jerusalem was split into east and west. In the 6 Day War Israel recaptured east Jerusalem and for the first time in 1897 years Jerusalem was controlled by the Jews. So what happened 1897 years before? The answer is of course the events of AD70. This is what the article above is talking about. The time when Jerusalem fell to the Roman armies and the Temple was completely destroyed. It is interesting that at this time evidence of the battle that took place is being unveiled. Another great war is coming on Israel which will be even worse than that of AD70. COMMENT I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. BIBLE QUOTE (Zechariah 14:2 NLT)

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.