Is Saudi Arabia Heading For War With Iran? - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Is Saudi Arabia Heading For War With Iran?

Posted: 06 Nov 2017  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Is a major war in the Middle East looming on the horizon?  Most of us living in the western world simply do not realize how much Saudi Arabia and Iran truly hate one another.  Saudi Arabia is the global center for Sunni Islam, and Iran is the global center for Shia Islam, and the two major sects of Islam have a history of bad blood that literally goes back for over a thousand years. 

The Saudis and the Iranians are already engaged in “proxy wars” in Syria and in Yemen, and now a missile that was fired at Riyadh’s international airport threatens to turn the conflict between the two regional powers into a hot war.

If you are tempted to think that I am exaggerating one bit, just consider what the New York Times is saying about this…

Saudi Arabia charged Monday that Iran had committed “a blatant act of military aggression” by providing its Yemeni allies with a missile fired at the Saudi capital over the weekend, raising the threat of a direct military clash between the two regional heavyweights.

The accusations represent a new peak in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran at a time when they are already fighting proxy wars in Yemen and Syria, as well as battles for political power in Iraq and Lebanon.

And Yahoo is reporting that the Saudis are saying that this missile attack “may amount to an act of war”…

On Monday, a Saudi-led military coalition battling Tehran-backed rebels in Yemen said it reserved the “right to respond” to the missile attack on Riyadh at the weekend, calling it a “blatant military aggression by the Iranian regime which may amount to an act of war”.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also warned Tehran.
“Iranian interventions in the region are detrimental to the security of neighbouring countries and affect international peace and security. We will not allow any infringement on our national security,” Jubeir tweeted.

For those that have not grasped the implications of what I am saying yet, let me break this down very simply for you.

If Saudi Arabia and Iran go to war, the United States will be involved in that war on the side of the Saudis.

It would be a war unlike anything we have ever seen in the history of the Middle East, and it is almost a certainty that weapons of mass destruction would be used in such a war.

Essentially, what we are talking about is the potential for World War III to erupt in the Middle East.

And all of this comes at a time when the biggest “purge” in the modern history of Saudi Arabia is taking place…

A campaign of mass arrests of Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen expanded on Monday after a top entrepreneur was reportedly detained in the biggest anti-corruption purge of the kingdom’s affluent elite in its modern history.
The reported arrest of Nasser bin Aqeel al-Tayyar followed the detention of dozens of top Saudis including billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in a crackdown that the attorney general described as “phase one”.
The purge is the latest in a series of dramatic steps by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to assert Saudi influence internationally and amass more power for himself at home.

Some would say that the Saudis are “cracking down on corruption”, while others would say that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is “consolidating power” prior to going to war.
In any event, this situation deserves our full attention, because it could ultimately result in a major regional war in which the United States is directly involved.

Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

US VP Mike Pence to Include Israel in Pro-Christian Mideast Tour - Israel Today

US VP Mike Pence to Include Israel in Pro-Christian Mideast Tour

Sunday, October 29, 2017 |  Israel Today Staff

US Vice President Mike Pence will be visiting the Middle East in December to promote the safety and security of Christian minorities currently facing widespread persecution in the region.

Pence made the announcement last week during his keynote remarks at the "In Defense of Christians" annual solidarity dinner.

"Now is the time to bring an end the persecution of Christians and all religious minorities," Pence said of his upcoming trip.

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Pence will also be visiting Israel, the one place the Middle East where Christians are flourishing. It will serve as a stark contrast to how Christians are treated in neighboring Muslim nations.

He is also expected to address US policy toward Iran and highlight Israel’s space program.

Pence is viewed by many as one of the most pro-Israel Christians to ever hold high office in the United States, and the prospect of him one day becoming president is exciting, to say the least, for Israelis.

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Jews Speak Up For Christians - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Jews Speak Up For Christians

Thursday, October 26, 2017 |  Charles Gardner  ISRAEL TODAY

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Christians

A relatively new phenomenon has emerged on the Middle East scene in the form of Jews standing up for persecuted Christians.

It’s a true wonder, bearing in mind the shocking history of Jewish persecution at the hands of the ‘church’ over the centuries. But it is also no doubt a warm response to the growing worldwide support for Israel among Christian people, especially in Africa.

And so, keen to build on this developing friendship, the Israeli government has just hosted an unprecedented media summit in Jerusalem for Christian journalists from around the world.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the occasion to speak up for embattled Christians in Iran and neighbouring Syria. “Christians today have been lashed for sipping wine during prayer services,” he said, “brutally tortured for doing nothing more than practicing their faith. Some world leaders are willing to ignore this oppression and seek to appease Iran, but I am not one of them.”

Yes, even much of the Western church is silent on the issue, apparently indifferent to their suffering.

Canon Andrew White, known as the ‘Vicar of Baghdad’ and also speaking in Jerusalem, asked why, adding: “Here we see Jews standing with us, but where is the Church?”

White saw much of his large congregation murdered in the crisis that followed the invasion of Iraq, and thousands of Christians have been forced to flee in the face of the Islamic State advance.

Does this weak response to the plight of persecuted Christians reflect the flabbiness of our faith? Do we simply fail to comprehend what it must be like because we are so comfortable and thus unable to identify with what suffering for Christ means? For the most part, we are not even willing to stand up for what we believe – for the gospel and the truth of the Bible – in case we should be arrested for ‘hate speech’ or ‘homophobia’.

While some indeed have spoken out, and paid dearly for it, the rest of us have been intimidated into silence as we retreat into our holy huddles. But if we can’t stand the low heat now, how will we fare when the temperature is turned up and we are called to endure the kind of persecution Jesus predicted for his followers?

“Be on your guard,” he warned. “You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues…You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10. 17, 22) Many Christians remained silent while Jews were hauled off to the gas chambers and, although now somewhat more secure in their own state, they are still in grave danger, and we mustn’t fail them this time. And yet they are prepared to help us!

It’s time to forsake cowardice and take on the sort of courage which Christians in some parts of the world are having to exhibit in bucketloads. Take the believers in Iran, for example, to which Mr Netanyahu drew the media’s attention. Despite the danger of following Jesus there, 20 Iranian Christians recently nailed their colours to the mast in a mass baptism. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for nearly nine years,” said one convert. “This was my wish before I die,” said another. Christianity is growing there by leaps and bounds amid reports of Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams and visions. “We have been praying for years that Iranian people believe in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) and get baptized. Now this dream is coming true,” said a convert whose brother was murdered for his faith in 1994.

Another highly dangerous place to be a Christian is North Korea, where believers are actually meeting in holes in the ground, just as the faith heroes of old had done according to Hebrews 11.38.

A missionary friend of mine sometimes travels to a part of Africa that is equally dangerous, infested as it is by the Al Shabaab terror organization. As a result, some Christians are forced to sleep in the forest! But my friend was determined to bring comfort to them with his inspiring teaching skills, so he made his way there despite Foreign Office warnings to avoid the region, and the fact he could not even be covered by travel insurance for that part of his journey. On top of that, he nearly died from an infection he picked up on his last visit to the area!

That takes courage, but he said it was worth it just to see the sheer joy on the faces of his brothers so happy and encouraged by his visit.

I conclude with the heartwarming story of Israeli tennis player Dudi Sela who, due to the courage of his religious convictions, turned down the chance of reaching the semi-finals of an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour event. Just eight minutes into the deciding set, he realised it was almost sunset, which marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (the holiest day of the year for Jews). So the 32-year-old informed the umpire of his decision to retire and left the court.

The match was originally scheduled for Yom Kippur itself (i.e. the following day), but was changed to start before the fast following pressure from Israeli tennis officials. Unfortunately for Dudi (ranked 77 in the world), his quarter-final clash went to three sets and couldn’t be finished in time.

The Day of Atonement, when Jews seek forgiveness for sins committed over the past year, is ultimately fulfilled by the coming of Yeshua, their Messiah, who atoned for our sins through his death on the cross as the perfect Lamb of God. (Isaiah 53.6; 1 John 2.2)

Pray for Dudi.

For more information on the plight of persecuted Christians and how you can help, see www.barnabasfund.org

---

Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com

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On the eve of Yom Kippur, “Putin in Ankara to forge alliance of Russia, Turkey & Iran.” Here’s why that’s interesting. - Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

On the eve of Yom Kippur, “Putin in Ankara to forge alliance of Russia, Turkey & Iran.” Here’s why that’s interesting.  by joelcrosenberg  Sept. 29, 2017

>> I'm speaking Saturday evening in Denver on the threats posed by Radical Islam, Russia and North Korea. Q&A will follow. Tickets are $25. Best is to register online, but you can buy a ticket at the door. Click here for more details.

(Denver, Colorado) -- Readers of my novel, The Ezekiel Option, and non-fiction book, Epicenter, and this blog know how interested I am in the ancient prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 and what is known by rabbis, pastors and Bible scholars as the "War of Gog and Magog."

The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel wrote some 2,500 years ago that in the "last days" of history, the Jewish people will be gathered back to the land of Israel from all the nations where they have been scattered and exiled, they will rebuild the State of Israel, and they will create a nation of ever-increasing security and prosperity.

At that time, Ezekiel indicates an evil dictator identified as "Gog" will rise up in Russia (known in Biblical times as "Magog") who will form an alliance with Iran (known in Biblical times as "Persia"), Turkey (known in Biblical times as "Gomer"), and several other Middle Eastern and North African countries. Together, this alliance will surround and then seek to attack and consume Israel and the Jewish people.

Skeptics of the Bible dismiss all talk of prophecy as uneducated, unsophisticated and downright ridiculous, despite the fact that over the last century we've been seeing one Bible prophecy after another come to pass:

• Jews from all over the world have been streaming back to live in the Land of Israel (myself included)
• Israelis have been rebuilding the ancient ruins and building a modern, flourishing, prosperous economy.
• Israelis have been creating the strongest and most successful military in the entire Middle East, have forged an enduring alliance with the world's only superpower, and feel more secure today than ever in their modern existence.

So some of us find headlines like these particularly interesting:

• "Putin in Ankara to forge alliance of Russia, Turkey and Iran" -- Al Arabiya
• "Russia’s Putin visits Turkey as ties between nation’s deepen" -- Washington Post

Keep in mind that tensions between Russia and Turkey (a NATO member) have been running quite high in recent years.

• In November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin strongly condemned Turkey, saying Turkish leaders were "accomplices of terrorists" and warned of "serious consequences."
• In December 2015, Putin imposed harsh economic sanctions on Turkey and announced the cancellation of major investment projects.
• By February 2016, the Financial Times published a story headlined, "Tensions between Russia and Turkey reach new peak." The article noted that, "Tension between Russia and Turkey has reached a new peak as the two countries step up military action in Syria in support of opposing sides, edging closer to direct confrontation in the country’s increasingly internationalised war....'Putin is furious with Turkey,' said [a] European official. 'The situation is really incredibly serious.'"
• If that weren't enough, in December 2016, Russia's ambassador to Turkey was assassinated in Ankara by a Turkish police officer.

So it's not exactly obvious that Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan would be meeting in the Turkish capital to forge an alliance together, much less with Iran.

Yet that's exactly what happened this week.

Consider excerpts from Al Arabiya:

• Putin’s visit to Ankara comes a few days prior to the scheduled visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s to Moscow on October 5-7, 2017. After patching up an acrimonious row between the countries over the downing of a Russian jetfighter in November 2015 over Syria, both leaders have pledged to restore their political and economic relations to pre-crisis levels....
• Moscow called for a peace conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which involved Turkey and Iran. The countries formed a diplomatic triad for setting up de-escalation zones in Syria in order to end the war and stop the division of the country. Russia chose Astana as a venue for the talks to send a message to the US that it should not get close to Russian borders through former republics of the Soviet Union....
• Turkish leadership is seeking strategic relationship with Russia to replace the loss of its Western alliance. In other words, Ankara is effecting a shift toward a more “Eurasian-ist” orientation due to the proximity of the region, the overlapping of interests, common cultural values and language.
• After winning the war in Syria, Russia is now seeking to ensure its peace – a mission no less difficult than going to war. Initially, Russia used Turkey as a key partner to make the Syrian opposition accept a truce and join peace talks for reaching a political settlement....
• Russian-Turkish bilateral relations have several common traits: pragmatism, multi-faceted approach, commonalities, reliance on energy resources, geopolitical power, military performance, circumspection toward the West. All of this has fueled the Russian and Turkish pursuit to play a pivotal role at the Eurasian and Middle Eastern landscapes....
• In 2014, Putin and Erdogan signed several agreements on bilateral trade with the two countries hoping that their annual trade volume would reach $100 billion by 2020. However, the most important achievement of the meeting was the agreement to expand cooperation in natural gas trade. Russia aimed through these agreements to also increase its gas exports to Turkey by more than 3 billion cubic meters because of the latter’s increasing need for energy.
• Turkey imports 93 percent of its energy needs, 97 percent of which is natural gas. Ankara buy 60 percent of its gas from Russia, which makes it the second largest importer of Russian natural gas after Germany. The value of Turkish exports to Russia does not exceed $6 billion....
• The recent military rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow with the S-400 deal has upset NATO officials because the Russian system, an anti-air defense system, is incompatible with NATO’s. With this deal, Russia will be the third biggest arms exporter to Turkey after Germany and the US.
• Erdogan, who plans to visit Iran in October to bolster military cooperation, will also be discussing the repercussions of any independent Kurdish state that might inflame separatist tensions in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria....

To be clear, I'm not saying that as Yom Kippur begins this year, Israel faces an imminent threat of attack from Russia, Turkey or Iran. Nor am I saying that this week's meeting between Putin and Erdogan necessarily fulfills Biblical prophecy. It's simply too early to say whether the alliances that are forming between have Biblical significance. Likewise, it's also too early to say that Putin is Gog, though he certainly seems "Gog-esque." We simply don't have enough information, so we should not be quick to draw conclusions.

That said, even skeptics of the Bible should find recent events not only troubling geopolitically, but also curiously consistent with the words of the ancient Hebrew prophet Ezekiel. I certainly do.

————————

• September 30 — I’ll be speaking in Denver on Sept. 30 on the latest threats from Radical Islam, Russia & North Korea. Please register today.
• October 6 & 7 — I’ll be speaking at the 2017 Epicenter Conference in Orange County, California. The focus of the conference is, “What does the Future Hold for Israel and Her Neighbors?” Please register today.
• October 12 — I’ll be speaking in chapel at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Please click here for more information.
• October 10 through 14 — I’ll be speaking at Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (in chapels, classes, and public events in local churches) in joint-conferences on “The Gospel and the Middle East.” Please click here for more information and to register.

———————

>> To pre-order a copy of The Kremlin Conspiracy (which releases March 6th), please click here.

• Would you like to make a secure, tax deductible investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net)? This is the non-profit organization that my wife, Lynn, and I founded in 2006 to educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, to care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, care for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. The Joshua Fund is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Please click here to learn more. Thanks so much!
• Click here to read the 2016 Joshua Fund Donor Report — and watch the short videos, as well
• Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. 

joelcrosenberg | September 29, 2017 at 6:12 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-8tP

Why the Church Must Respond to Isaiah's Prophetic Call in This Hour - RON ALLEN

August 21, we will see another solar eclipse. (Pexels)

Why the Church Must Respond to Isaiah's Prophetic Call in This Hour

1:00PM EDT 7/15/2017 RON ALLEN

Thanks to a nice bit of search by Fredrick Baltz, reported in the July/August 2017 issue of Biblical Archeology Review, an important ancient solar eclipse has been brought to light.

The year was 702 B.C. The Assyrian Empire has destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel some 20 years before and now was setting its sights on Hezekiah's kingdom of Judah. Then, with the Assyrian threat hanging over his head, King Hezekiah became deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah told him to put his house in order, for he was going to die. But, the king cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Isaiah back to the king.

Through Isaiah, God told Hezekiah that He had heard his prayer and would give him is more years of life. Even more, God promised to save Jerusalem from the Assyrians. As a sign, God made the sunlight move backwards on the stairway of Ahaz. Scholars have puzzled over the backwards movement of sunlight, but Fredrick Baltz has shown that the apparent backwards movement of sunlight and shade occurs during solar eclipses. Such an eclipse crossed over the Middle East on March 5, 702 B.C. Later that year there was an eclipse on the first day of the Hebrew repentance season of Teshuvah, inviting the nation to return to God.

Hezekiah's healing apparently emboldened him to stand against the Assyrian army the next year, and as He had promised, God destroyed the Assyrian army surrounding Jerusalem. However, the Bible tells us that Hezekiah became proud (2 Chron. 32:25). He bragged about his wealth to the Babylonians and was rebuked by the prophet Isaiah but was content to avoid disaster in his own lifetime rather than seek revival to save in Israel. Then during the 15 years of life God gave him, he had a son, an heir, but did not train him up in the ways of the Lord. It was his son Manasseh who became the most wicked king of Judah and led the people into the rebellion against God which culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonians.

Now in 2017, on August 21, God is sending us another Teshuvah eclipse and another chance to repent and return to Him. Like Hezekiah, we have received prophetic words to put our house in order. We have been called to cry out to God as Hezekiah did, and we pray for deliverance. But we must not stop short as Hezekiah did, being content to see peace only in our own lifetime. No, we must ask for nothing less than revival and train up the next generation to carry it forward.

We are asking the church to humble itself and seek God's face, as Hezekiah did, during the 40 days of Teshuvah 2017 which begins with the solar eclipse spanning America on August 21. For more information see our recently released book Teshuvah Eclipses or our website at Teshuvah2017.com.

The time is short, and the enemy is at the gate. Join us in praying for revival, unity of the church and healing of our land. 

Ron Allen is a Christian businessman, CPA and author who serves in local, national and international ministries spreading a message of reconciliation to God, to men and between believers. He is founder of the International Star Bible Society, telling how the heavens declare the glory of God, and the Emancipation Network, which helps people escape from financial bondage, and co-founder with his wife, Pat, of Corporate Prayer Resources, dedicated to helping intercessors.

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