Prophetic significance of King Abdullah's death
While Saudi Arabia has on the outside looked like a kingdom that was at peace with Israel, on the inside it bred and evangelized one of the most radical sects of Islam--Wahhabism. It persecuted Christians and Jews. It controlled the world's oil market. It was the mixture of Islamic wealth and modernism with the archaic medieval brutality that serves as the foundation to Islam. Religious freedom, women's rights, freedom of speech, and other freedoms--all the things that undergird liberty were not found in Saudi Arabia as they are not found in the Koran. Saudi Arabia is the home of Mecca, Islam's most "holy" city. The leaders of the world bowed to its king. King Abdullah's death has prophetic significance.
The things we see on the surface are not always what is real. For years, the Western media has speculated on the secession plan for the inevitable. Questions arise about oil production and the type of Islamic conservatism that would come in the aftermath of Abdullah's death. There have been rumblings of rebellion and the King's troops brutally bringing such rumors into submission. The Sunni kingdom saw Shiite Iran as its rival. And while it may appear that Saudi Arabia allied with the US and Israel, Abdullah was more likely using these nations to hold in check his Persian rivals rather than having any friendly ties. Remember, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of al Qaeda. There are no allegiances to non-Islamists.
Ezekiel 38 describes the colossal end time battle where Gog, the chief prince of Magog (modern Turkey), leads a coalition of Islamists against Israel. Included in that group is modern Iran (Persia) and parts of Saudi Arabia. 38:13 says, "Sheba, and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshis, with all the young lions 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?" Ancient Dedan and Sheba are located in what is now Saudi Arabia. The Ismaelites mentioned as enemies of Israel in Psalm 83 are also considered to be from the regional area of Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah's death brings some uncertainty to the region. Already oil prices have risen. Coincidentally or not, the Islamic State has called for Islamists in Saudi Arabia to rise up against the kingdom. Reuters reported in November 2014 that IS leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi said in a speech, "O sons of al-Haramayn (Saudi Arabia)...the serpent's head and the stronghold of the disease are there...draw your swords and divorce life, because there should be no security for the Saloul (a derogatory name for the Saudi leadership)." Certainly, the prize of the new Caliphate is Mecca. Those who watch prophecy would do well to keep an eye on Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State, and Iran in the months ahead.
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