For Christians, the ownership of Jerusalem is about prophecy and not politics. It is about what God has said concerning this city in the Bible. It is about Israel and Jerusalem being God’s center piece in his end time plan for the earth. This position is often misunderstood when taken out of context. The resent tawing of relations between three Arab countries (UAE, Bahrain and Sudan) and Israel is seen purely in this light. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia and Morocco may not be far behind. Saudi Arabi is taking baby steps but if what we read and see in the news is true, they are set to normalize relationship with Israel soon. How soon is anyone’s guess.
For Bible students this is a direct reference to Ezekiel’s (Chapter 38) prophecy about the coming war between Persia and its backers on one side and Israel supported by the young lions on the other side. It is remarkable that for more that twenty years no Arab country signed any peace treaty with Israel because of the Palestinian question however within one year three Arab Nations have while others are in the pipeline. The timeline below best captures this rapidly evolving development.
This rapprochement is not altruistic and did not start this year. In 2016, Saudi Arabia organized a military exercises made of 20 mostly Muslim countries. This was in response to the apparent Syrian and Iranian treat backed by Russia within the region. Today, Turkey is may be actively part of this coalition that Saudi Arabia perceives is a treat to their traditional sphere of influence in the gulf and its sovereignty. It is then no surprise to Bible scholars that in the year 2020, the area recognized in Ezekiel 38:13 as Sheba and Dedan are making peace with Israel. Make no mistake about this. In this prophecy, Sheba, Dedan, the merchant of Tarshis and the young lions are the ones that questions a Russian backed invasion of Israel. The purpose? To take a spoil – to loot Israel’s wealth.
This peace agreement is purely a response to the treat presented by Iran to the gulf state countries. In Israel they see a formidable partner against a common enemy, but we see prophecy being fulfilled piece by piece. We are indeed in interesting times.
