January 3, 2016 - A. V. Rauf
Tensions Escalating Between Shiite Iran & Sunni Saudi Arabia (Is Isaiah 21 Not Far From Being Fulfilled???)
Isaiah 21—The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.
The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come. The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.
In Islam, the title Ayatollah in Arabic translates to “Sign of Allah”. It is also the highest ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics after the Grand Ayatollah. Ayatollahs are considered experts in Islamic jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy. Currently, there are only 47 Ayatollahs in the world. Out of the 47 Ayatollahs, 17 of them are assigned to 8 Muslim countries outside Iran .
Just this weekend, the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman, decided to behead one of the Ayatollahs, Nimr Al-Nimr. Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, 56, was among a group of 47 people put to death in 12 different cities around the country, either by firing squad or beheading, according to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry.
As a result, much havoc was unleashed. For example, Shiites instigated rioting in several countries and the Saudi Embassy in Mashhad, Iran was set ablaze with calls to destroy Saudi Arabia which echoed throughout the Shiite world while Iran vowed to destroy Al-Saud and the Iranian government stated Saudi Arabia would pay a “high price” for the executions.
The former prime minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki, has said that the execution of the prominent Shi’ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia will be the downfall of the Gulf kingdom’s government.
Mr al-Maliki, who was prime minister of Iraq between 2006 and 2014, said in a statement that his countrymen “strongly condemn these detestable sectarian practices and affirm that the crime of executing Sheikh al-Nimr will topple the Saudi regime as the crime of executing the martyr al-Sadr did to Saddam,” referencing the death of another prominent cleric in Iraq in 1980.
Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are major rivals in the Middle East and are arrayed on opposing sides in several regional conflicts. The rivalry between these two is not new, withSaudi Arabia having destroyed Shiite holy places and Iran making countless claims of persecution. Iran has recently forbidden its citizens from traveling to Mecca to practice the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam. Iran’s prohibition on traveling to Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, could allude to the possibility that Iran will even eventually abandon Mecca altogether.
Is it possible that 2016 has begun with what may result in a paradigm shift in the Middle East. according to Jewish Rabbis it is Iran that will pose a final threat to Israel prior to the advent of the Messiah. Iranian leaders have repeatedly stated that their goal is to wipe Israel off the map.
The stage is being set where Iran is set against Saudi Arabia. Everything is working in accordance God’s prophetic time clock. After all that occurred in 2015, expect an even greater acceleration of prophetic fulfillment as the return of the LORD draws neigh.