PODCAST FOR THIS EPISODE:
Scripture to consider before the news:
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
The he that will confirm the covenant is the prince of the covenant from the book of Daniel and the beast from the book of Revelation. One of the many he confirms the covenant with is Israel and that is looking to be the existing Abraham Accords because it says he will confirm thee covenant, not make a new one.
More news is coming out on how Israel is openly now trying to normalize relations with the birthplace of Islam and the kingdom of the royal family of Saud.
Now unto the news:
Do recent reports indicate that Israel and Saudi Arabia are inching closer to normalization?
A series of reports from recent days indicates that relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia seem to be warming up and, while it is still too early to tell if the current progress can lead to a full normalization of ties, these developments are considered groundbreaking.
Channel 12 News reported that a senior Israeli official visited Saudi Arabia recently for talks of growing cooperation between the two countries, including in the field of security. The visit reportedly included meetings at the palace in Riyadh.
In another report, an unnamed Israeli official confirmed to Israel Hayom newspaper that there are indeed direct contacts with the Saudis.
“Except for the Iranians, we talk to almost everyone in the region, including Saudi Arabia,” he said. The official did not comment on specific reports.
Another Israeli outlet, Globes, quoted a source familiar with the matter.
“We have had indirect contacts with Saudi Arabia for more than 20 years, but I do not remember a boom like in recent months,” the source said.
Jerusalem and Riyadh do not have diplomatic relations, but the kingdom recently allowed certain Israeli flights to pass through its airspace.
Beyond that, ties between the two countries have remained secret and unofficial.
While Riyadh acknowledges the Abraham Accords normalization treaties between it neighboring Gulf states – the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – with Israel, it has so far refrained from following suit.
However, back in March, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (commonly referred to as MBS) said: “We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together.”
On Thursday, Globes reported of such interests at play. The Israeli website published that in recent months Saudi Arabia has allowed Israeli businessmen to enter the country using their Israeli passports, after receiving special entry visas. Most of those businessmen are representatives and managers of Israeli technology companies, who were invited by the Saudis. The report mentioned that a big change is being felt not only in the removal of entry ban to Israelis, but also in how easily their visas are approved.
The Israeli businessmen visited the capital Riyadh and Neom, the “City of the Future,” that the Saudis are building on the coast of the Red Sea. It is considered a flagship project of the Saudi crown prince. The visits have already yielded quite a few deals worth millions of dollars, according to Globes. Two of them involve Israeli water technology necessary for the Saudi desert and agri-tech technologies.
In 2020, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also visited in Neom, when he attended a trilateral meeting with MBS and then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
These reports emerge as U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to travel to the Middle East next month. Biden’s upcoming trip will include a visit in Israel with a potential stop in East Jerusalem and a possible meeting with MBS in Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Israeli Journalist Barak Ravid reported on Axios that the U.S. is pushing for a deal between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel that could act as a stepping stone to normalizing ties between Tel Aviv and Riyadh. To that end, two U.S. officials – White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and the State Department’s energy envoy Amos Hochstein – traveled to Saudi Arabia to discuss the terms.
The trilateral agreement in the works is also expected to involve the transfer of two strategic islands — Tiran and Sanafir — in the Red Sea from Egyptian to Saudi sovereignty with Israeli consent, Axios reported.
The agreement is also meant to increase oil production and improve Washington and Riyadh’s bilateral relationship, according to the report. If fulfilled, Israel could be proven to play a significant card in the U.S. dialogue with Saudi Arabia over oil and amending diplomatic ties.
The Biden administration has been making overtures toward the Saudis lately, in an attempt to pressure the Kingdom to increase oil production and ease global supply, amid the crisis with Russia. In early March, the World Street Journal reported that the Saudis refused to take a call from the White House to discuss rapprochement and boosting of oil exports. They were reportedly disappointed from the White House’s laconic rhetoric and inaction, after a series of attacks by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen on Saudi territory.
Earlier this month, the Saudi Arabian Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington around the same time as Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The timing raised speculation that Israel is coordinating strategy with both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as the current American administration is discussing a potential revival of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
In other news: Interreligious meeting by the Vatican in Saudi Arabia.
Scripture to consider:
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”
The final pope which could be the first jesuit pope will be the second beast of Revelation 13. He aids the first beast of Revelation into his global kingdom after he receives a deadly wound of a sword and yet lives. The following official clip from this historic meeting shows you how the Vatican and their harlot Islam is coming together in preparation to when the two beasts of Revelation 13 will meet to fulfill Revelation 13, they are also called the beast and the false prophet who are the first two CAST into the lake of fire on the Lord’s return.
Back to the news:
Muslim scholars, Catholic, Jewish and Hindu leaders meet at a forum in Saudi Arabia to discuss common values and express shared commitments, at which Cardinal Parolin spoke in a video message and participants issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the forum outlining common commitments and goals.
The Muslim World League (MWL) convened the first meeting on “Shared Values among Followers of Religions” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Vatican, leaders of evangelical churches, internationally renowned rabbis, and other prominent leaders. The forum featured panel discussions on international religious issues, provided an opportunity to establish cross-cultural partnerships among the faiths, and produced an official communiqué outlining the basic agreements endorsed by all the faiths represented.
The communiqué notes that the collective objectives of the Forum were to reach a universal consensus in the context of a shared vision of civilisation to strengthen cooperation and trust among global spiritual leaders, to build on what is shared by underscoring respect for the common principles of human values, the promotion of values of moderation and harmony, giving concrete support to efforts that advance tolerance and peace, and to establish rational intellectual frameworks to immunise against the dangers of extremist ideology and behaviour, regardless of its source.
The communiqué goes on to list areas of agreement for religious policy reached at the summit, including the fundamental role of religion for society, the spiritual basis for fundamental human rights, and the rejection of a vision of an ‘inevitable clash of civilisations’ due to religious issues. They also agreed that attempts to gain religious, cultural, political and economic advantages without respect for rights or ethics, and through forms of extremism, arrogance and racism, must be opposed.
Among the participants were the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, and the President of the Congress of Christian Leaders, Johnnie Moore Jr. The Archbishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ivan Zoria, also attended the event, as well as the Secretary General of the World Muslim League, Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, considered by many to be the leading voice against extremism worldwide.
In related news: Leading interfaith rabbi David Rosen dubs Saudi conference ‘hopeful’ amid speeches from religious heads across the planet.
Scripture to consider:
“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”
Soon the world will worship the beast 42 months after he confirms the covenant with Israel and is slain of a sword and yet lives.
The uniting of world religions, particularly the ones that deal with the patriarch Abraham are coming together in preparation for the beast after he ascends from the bottomless pit and goeth into perdition, who is the son of perdition, Judas Iscariot, that is of the seven kings of Saudi Arabia, as it is written in Revelation 17.
Back to the news:
A globally respected rabbi has hailed the opening of an interfaith conference in Saudi Arabia as “a breakthrough”.
The Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers, in Riyadh will hear from Muslim councils, Roman Catholic, evangelical and orthodox Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.
It is the first such interfaith conference held in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques, in Mecca and Medina.
And it is a massive step forward in a country whose identity is built around strict religious observance.
A 12-strong Jewish delegation, 10 of whom are Orthodox rabbis, has been fed by a masgiach who has kashered a whole kosher kitchen with the full co-operation of the Muslim World League.
Rabbi Rosen said “There is a sense of elation and a very nice atmosphere. There is a sense of community of people from different religions traditions, promoting a better world for all.
“This is a a very significant milestone. It is being hosted by a member of the Muslim League and and a secretary general, who is very close to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“It is a breakthrough to be here for the first time. Saudi Arabia is the bedrock of Islam and has always sought to portray itself in the purity of that faith – so for them to advance pluralistic approach is amazing and shows her far they have come. This is truly a momentous event.
“I am hopeful. If things were to change in respect of the Palestinian question, then I think the other dominos towards progress in the Middle East might come into play.”
Lastly in the news: Israeli president says he would be happy to openly visit Saudi Arabia.
“The Saudis need to join the family of the Abraham Accords and I would definitely be happy to openly visit Saudi Arabia,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told the Israel Hayom daily in a special interview to be published in full on Israel’s Independence Day.
“The accession process depends not only on Israel, but also on internal processes in Saudi Arabia and the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States,” he said.
