Church of God News

Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud

COGwriter

Last June, Saudi Arabia changed who its crown prince would be: Mohammed bin Salman. This was reported on this COGwriter news page (see Saudi Crown Prince, Iran, and the King of the South).

A lot has been happening in Saudi Arabia:

November 12, 2017

Determination to roll back Iranian power unites the unlikely triumvirate: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s veteran premier; Mohammed Bin Salman, the ambitious young prince who’s seized the reins in Saudi Arabia and is casting aside its traditional caution; and the U.S. president.

They all express dismay at the victory of Iran’s ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the growing clout across the region that the Islamic Republic enjoys as a result. For years, “Assad must go” has been American and Saudi policy; instead he’s largely defeated the rebels they supported. Looking for another arena to push back, the triumvirate is zeroing in on Lebanon and its dominant party, which all three consider a terrorist group, Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Saudi protégé, had been governing in coalition with Hezbollah. Last weekend he flew to Riyadh — then unexpectedly quit, saying his life was in danger. “The hands of Iran in the region will be cut off,” Hariri said Nov. 4 on Saudi TV, announcing a resignation widely seen as a Saudi-orchestrated move. http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/national_world/despite-diplomatic-silence-israel-and-saudi-arabia-united-by-common/article_bd977175-8439-5b6f-89ad-7f0c70110df8.html

The Guardian reported the following:

Now, more than at any point in modern history, Iran and Saudi Arabia are squared off against each other as a race to consolidate influence nears a climax from Sana’a to Beirut and the tens of thousands of miles in between.

The standoff is seeing new ground conquered, previously unimaginable alliances being mooted and the risk of a devastating clash between two foes whose calculations had long been that shadow wars through proxies were safer than facing up directly.

The shift in approach has been led from Riyadh, where a new regime determined to put Saudi Arabia on an entirely different footing domestically, is also trying to overhaul how the kingdom projects itself regionally – and globally.

The ambitious, unusually powerful, crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been given a mandate by his father, King Salman, to take on what the kingdom and its allies in the United Arab Emirates see as an Iranian takeover of essential corners of the Sunni Arab world.

His role on the home front, meanwhile, appears to have few bounds. Cultural reforms, economic rehabilitation, overturning traditional forms of governance, and a corruption purge that has dragged in previously immune royal billionaires, have left Saudi society reeling.

Six months into his job, Prince Mohammed, and the UAE’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed, believe that the time has come to muscle up to Iran. Both insist that Iran’s arc of influence has conquered Baghdad, Damascus, Gaza and Lebanon, and is making inroads into Yemen and Manama, with the city states of Abu Dhabi and Dubai also within reach. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/11/lebanon-saudi-arabia-iran–power-struggle-saad-hariri-resignation

Chris Martenson wrote the following:

If The Saudi Arabia Situation Doesn’t Worry You, You’re Not Paying Attention

While turbulent during the best of times, gigantic waves of change are now sweeping across the Middle East. The magnitude is such that the impact on the global price of oil, as well as world markets, is likely to be enormous.

A dramatic geo-political realignment by Saudi Arabia is in full swing this month. It’s upending many decades of established strategic relationships among the world’s superpowers and, in particular, is throwing the Middle East into turmoil.

So much is currently in flux, especially in Saudi Arabia, that nearly anything can happen next. Which is precisely why this volatile situation should command our focused attention at this time.

The main elements currently in play are these:

• A sudden and intense purging of powerful Saudi insiders (arrests, deaths, & asset seizures)
• Huge changes in domestic policy and strategy
• A shift away from the US in all respects (politically, financially and militarily)
• Deepening ties to China
• A surprising turn towards Russia (economically and militarily)
• Increasing cooperation and alignment with Israel (the enemy of my enemy is my friend?)

Taken together, this is tectonic change happening at blazing speed.

That it’s receiving too little attention in the US press given the implications, is a tip off as to just how big a deal this is …

Kindom of Saudia Arabia {KSA} …  King Salman and his son are proving to be a lot nimbler than their predecessors.

Rather than continue a losing battle in Syria, they’ve instead turned their energies and attention to dramatically reshaping KSA’s internal power structures:

Saudi Arabia’s Saturday Night Massacre

For nearly a century, Saudi Arabia has been ruled by the elders of a royal family that now finds itself effectively controlled by a 32-year-old crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman. He helms the Defense Ministry, he has extravagant plans for economic development, and last week arranged for the arrest of some of the most powerful ministers and princes in the country.

A day before the arrests were announced, Houthi tribesmen in Yemen but allied with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival, fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh.

The Saudis claim the missile came from Iran and that its firing might be considered “an act of war.”

Saudi Arabia was created between the two world wars under British guidance. In the 1920s, a tribe known as the Sauds defeated the Hashemites, effectively annexing the exterior parts of Saudi Arabia they did not yet control. The United Kingdom recognized the Sauds’ claim shortly thereafter. But since then, the Saudi tribe has been torn by ambition, resentment and intrigue. The Saudi royal family has more in common with the Corleones than with a Norman Rockwell painting.

The direct attack was undoubtedly met with threats of a coup. Whether one was actually planned didn’t matter. Mohammed Bin Salman had to assume these threats were credible since so many interests were under attack. So he struck first, arresting princes and ex-minsters who constituted the Saudi elite. It was a dangerous gamble. A powerful opposition still exists, but he had no choice but to act. He could either strike as he did last Saturday night, or allow his enemies to choose the time and place of that attack. Nothing is secure yet, but with this strike, there is a chance he might have bought time. Any Saudi who would take on princes and clerics is obviously desperate, but he may well break the hold of the financial and religious elite.

(Source)

This 32 year-old prince, Mohammed bin Salman has struck first and deep, completely upending the internal power dynamics of Saudi Arabia.

He’s taken on the political, financial and religious elites head on. 11/10/17 https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/113426/if-saudi-arabia-situation-doesnt-worry-youre-not-paying-attention

For the past couple of weeks, I have been looking over news items related to Saudi Arabia. While they do not worry me (nor should they worry most people in the Western Hemisphere at this time), what they show is that the status quo is changing.

As far as Iran goes, several months ago, I  posted:

It is likely that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman … will take actions that Iran will not like. (Thiel B. Saudi Crown Prince, Iran, and the King of the South. COGwriter, June 22, 2017)

We are seeing some of that. I also posted:

Iran is committed to its religious agenda. An agenda that pushes Shia, as opposed to Sunni, Islam. Saudi Arabia is committed to Sunni Islam and that is one of the major conflicts it has with Iran. (Thiel B. Saudi Crown Prince, Iran, and the King of the South. COGwriter, June 22, 2017)

The situation with Saudi Arabia and Iran MUST change.

Why?

Consider the following scriptures related to a coming King of the South:

40 “In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land. 41 He will invade the beautiful land, and tens of thousands will be defeated. But Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites will escape from his power. 42 He will use his power against many countries. Even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will control gold and silver treasures and all Egypt’s treasuries. Libya and Sudan will surrender to him. (GOD’S WORD Translation)

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:

“‘Wail and say, “Alas for that day!” 3 For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near- a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. 4 A sword will come against Egypt, and anguish will come upon Cush. When the slain fall in Egypt, her wealth will be carried away and her foundations torn down.

5 Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with Egypt.

6 “‘This is what the LORD says:

“‘The allies of Egypt will fall and her proud strength will fail. From Migdol to Aswan they will fall by the sword within her, declares the Sovereign LORD. 7 “‘They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities. 8 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I set fire to Egypt and all her helpers are crushed.

9 “‘On that day messengers will go out from me in ships to frighten Cush out of her complacency. Anguish will take hold of them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is sure to come (Ezekiel 30:1-9, NIV).

The above verses indicate that the King of the South will arise, most likely to be an Egyptian–or perhaps an Arab with some Egyptian blood.

But when we look at the verses in Daniel 11, we see no verses related to Iran.

Thus, as I have written in the past, I believe that Iran will be somewhat neutralized.

It may well be that Saudi Arabia will play a role in that.

Anyway, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa must change for various biblical prophecies to be fulfilled.

The changes associated with Saudi Arabia not only confirm that it is possible, but also that changes can occur quickly.

Here is something else I posted several months ago:

The appointment of the new crown prince will somehow align with various biblical prophecies as in a sense, he and Donald Trump may ‘stir the pot’ in that region of the world. (Thiel B. Saudi Crown Prince, Iran, and the King of the South. COGwriter, June 22, 2017)

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is doing that.

This is not worrisome, but consistent with properly understood biblical prophecies.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 12th, 2017 at 8:30 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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