The Interior Minister for Israel has signed the necessary order for Israeli citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia for up to 90 days; The order will also allow Israeli Muslims to travel to Mecca; This news signals the warming ties between the two countries.
Over the weekend, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri signed an order that will now allow Israeli citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia, putting an end to the indefinite travel ban that has been in place for years. This new order will allow Israeli’s to travel there for up to 90 days, and additionally, Israeli Muslims will be able to make their pilgrimage to Mecca.
There are conditions attached to this order that is allowing the first Israeli citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia. These conditions can be seen in that those who are going are entrepreneurs who are seeking out new investment territory. Not only does Israel have to approve their travel, but so does the Saudi government.
In recent times, the Israeli-Saudi relationship has really grown on a positive level. A political leader from Saudi Arabia even visited the Auschwitz concentration camp the same day of the World Holocaust Forum. Additionally, both countries are on common ground when it comes to dealing with their mutual enemy-Iran.
God’s Providence
What if God had something to say about the warming ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia? What if He had something to say approximately 2,500 years ago? He did.
In the context of the coming Ezekiel 38 invasion of the land of Israel, the LORD spoke through the prophet, making it clear not only as to who the invading parties would be but also those who would protest the invasion; Saudi Arabia is one of the latter. That being said, your Bible doesn’t say Saudi Arabia, it says Sheba & Dedan. We know this is a reference to modern-day Saudi Arabia because of where these ancient tribes settled after the flood (Genesis 10) and that is where their descendants resided in Ezekiel’s lifetime. Ezekiel 38 reads:
You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’ (Ezekiel 38:11-13)
Not only has Israel’s relationship improved in recent times with other former enemies such as Egypt and Jordan, but now they’re finding new common ground with Saudi Arabia and countries in southern Europe-and God said that this would happen, and this relationship is likely to improve, especially economically.
Isaiah 46:10 reads:
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
As we continue to watch God’s prophetic declarations from millennia past unfold, we will continue to better understand where we are on the biblical timeline.
