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PZ SPECIAL NEWS - Saudi King Abdullah Dead - Signals The Resurrection of The Mahdi
- Some Shiites Link Saudi King's Health To End-Times
- Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman moves quickly to settle future succession
- Prophetic Significance of King Abdullah's Death - By Bill Wilson
- YEMEN FALLS - Coup fears as Houthi rebels seize Yemen president's palace
- This Is The Beginning Of The End For The Euro - By Michael Snyder
Some Shiites Link Saudi King's Health To End-Times
In the last two years, media outlets have published conflicting reports on Saudi King Abdullah's health. Just last week, Saudi Arabia's Royal Court announced that the king has pneumonia and is temporarily using a breathing tube. In fact, every time the king's health deteriorates, news agencies speculate on what will become of the Saudi dynasty and its leadership after the king's death. But some Shiite scholars think differently about the matter, believing that Abdullah's death will mark the beginning of a chain of great events that will shock the world.
Some Shiite scholars believe that the Saudi king's death will signal the resurrection of the Mahdi and the beginning of the end-times.
Abdullah, the 10th son of King Abdulaziz, was born Aug. 1, 1924. His mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was a member of the Al Rashid family, longtime rivals of the Al Saud family and a historic dynasty in the Arabian Peninsula that ruled the emirate of Jabal Shammar. Abdullah ascended to the throne in 2005 following the death of his half-brother King Fahd, though power was already in his hands.
According to Shiite hadiths, after the death of a king named Abdullah in the Hijaz — a western region of present-day Saudi Arabia — no successor to the throne would be accepted, and disagreements would escalate and persist until the rise of Imam Mahdi.
The Shiites believe that divine Imams are heirs to the political and religious Ummah, or Islamic nation. These 12 imams are successors to the Prophet Muhammad and to the head of the caliphate, with Mahdi being the final Imam who disappeared, or went into occultation. Mahdi will be revealed only in the end-times, along with Jesus, to deliver peace to the world.
According to the book "250 Signs Until the Appearance of Imam Mahdi," Prophet Muhammad said: “On doomsday, a man who is carrying the name of an animal ascends to the throne, after which a man named Abdullah comes to the power. Whoever informs me of his death, I will inform him of the rise [of Mahdi]. After Abdullah passes away, for several days and months, the government will appear.”
A seminary teacher based in Qom told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "The animal-named man can be King Fahd because one meaning of Fahd’s [name] is rapacious animal and cheetah, which matches what Prophet Muhammad said."
The Bahar al-Anvar, a book of hadiths, quotes the sixth Shiite Imam Sadegh as saying: "When Abdullah dies, people will agree on no one, and this issue will be kept alive till the rise of Imam [Mahdi]. An age of a hundred-year reign comes to an end, and an age of a [kingdom lasting] a few days and months arrives."
The Shiite scholar in Qom said, "Currently, there is a possibility of a power struggle in Saudi Arabia, as King Abdullah has tried to make up the new post of deputy crown prince. Actually, with regard to [this], if Prince Salman becomes the king and Muqrin bin Abdulaziz is named the crown prince, the next deputy crown prince will be Mutaib bin Abdullah, so we can expect tensions between King Abdullah's sons and Salman's brothers to escalate after Abdullah passes away."
In 2012, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named crown prince, and two years later, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was introduced as deputy crown prince.
According to Al-Akhbar newspaper, past tradition dictated that the interior minister would be the most likely candidate for second deputy prime minister, and after that, the post of crown prince. But after upgrading the status of the National Guard, which is chaired by Mutaib bin Abdullah, and turning it into a ministry on par with the ministries of defense and interior, King Abdullah’s wing in the royal family is well-positioned to be a strong contender for the throne.
The Qom seminary teacher said that according to some hadiths, leaders in the Hijaz will hide news of the king's death for 40 days. Based on Abdullah's deteriorating health situation, this could have happened by now.
Some believe that the rise of terrorist groups in the Levant, along with their black flags, is another sign of Mahdi's resurrection.
The Nahj al-Balagh, a collection of the first Shiite Imam Ali's sayings, quotes the imam as saying: “When you witness black flags, don’t move, because their calls are void and null and you shouldn’t help them. Their heart is like iron fillings, and they don’t honor their promise. Their names and monikers are taken from the names of cities.”
The Qom-based scholar explained the quotation, “Black flags can suggest the Islamic State, which is killing hundreds of innocent people in the region with brutality, and [regarding people named after cities], I can mention Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi or Omar al-Chechen.”
He added, “Many in the seminary of Qom believe that the rise of Imam Mahdi is imminent. Even important figures in the seminary have expressed their hope for this event to happen and has called for our readiness to help him.”
“What’s happening in the region is very similar to what our Imams have predicted about preconditions for the rise of Imam Mahdi, so the moment of truth may have come.”
Historian Muhammad Hossein Rajabi Davani told an Iranian newspaper: “With respect to promises in Shiite hadiths, we are certainly experiencing doomsday, but doomsday has no time frame and it’s not known when it begins and ends.”
Yet, certain Shiite narratives and hadiths contradict the aforementioned narratives, suggesting different signs for the rise of Imam Mahdi. Today, however, many are speculating about the events that will follow the Saudi king's death, as well as its impact on global developments. With the death of King Abdullah, according to some analyses, stability in Riyadh may come to an end, setting off a chain of prophecies and the resurrection of Mahdi.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/iran- saudi-arabia-king-abdullah- end-times.html
Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman moves quickly to settle future succession
Salman bin Abdulaziz also promises to continue the policies of his predecessors following death of Abdullah after nearly two decades in power
Saudi Arabia’s new king moved swiftly on Friday to name the country’s interior minister as deputy crown prince, making him the second-in-line to the throne, as he promised to continue the policies of his predecessors in a nationally televised speech.
King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s actions came as the oil-rich, Sunni-ruled kingdom began mourning King Abdullah, who died early on Friday at the age of 90. He had spent nearly two decades in power, though officially became king in 2005. Abdullah was buried following Friday’s afternoon prayer, which was attended by Muslim leaders, Saudi princes, powerful clerics and Arab businessmen.
Salman’s royal decree puts his nephew Prince Muhammad bin Nayef in line to ascend to the throne after his designated successor, Crown Prince Muqrin. Bin Nayef is the son of King Salman’s brother, Nayef. Like his father who was a formidable power in Saudi Arabia until his death in 2012, Bin Nayef is head of the powerful interior ministry that oversees the police.
“We will continue adhering to the correct policies which Saudi Arabia has followed since its establishment,” Salman said in the speech aired on the state-run Saudi television station.
Salman on Friday also appointed his son, Prince Muhammad, as defence minister. The prince, in his 30s, was head of his father’s royal court when Salman was crown prince and is among his most favoured sons.
The appointments point to significant change ahead – the start of the handover of power to a new generation of royals.
Salman, 79, and Muqrin, 69, are both sons of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who founded the conservative kingdom in the 1920s. Bin Nayef, the new deputy crown prince, is the first of the grandsons and great-nephews of Ibn Saud, who are jockeying for power in the future.
Bin Nayef, 55, has a reputation as a moderniser and is well-versed in the ways of the west. Governments in Washington and London admire him in his role as interior minister, having previously been in charge of Saudi counter-terrorist efforts; he survived a close-quarters assassination attempt by an al-Qaida suicide bomber.
Prince Muhammad’s appointment as defence minister also suggests that the direction of travel is clear: Muhammad was born in 1980, making him, at 34, almost an infant in a system hitherto dominated by men in their 70s and 80s.
During the past year, Salman had gradually taken on more of the king’s duties as Abdullah became more incapacitated. He has represented the country at important meetings abroad and also served as deputy prime minister and defence minister.
Salman is widely believed to be unwell, with speculation that he has dementia or Parkinson’s disease, though Saudis deny that.
Stability and continuity are likely to be his guiding principles, at a time of alarm over the rise of the extremist Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq and Syria, turmoil in neighbouring Yemen, the kingdom’s rivalry with Iran and controversy over its resisting calls for cuts in Opec production as the price of oil has plummeted.
He made an oblique reference in his televised speech to the chaos gripping the greater Middle East as Isis now holds a third of both Iraq and Syria. “The Arab and the Islamic nations are in dire need of solidarity and cohesion,” the king said.
Lagarde calls King Abdullah ‘advocate of women’ - despite ban on driving
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Leaders from around the world expressed their condolences. US president Barack Obama described him as a candid leader who had the courage of his convictions, including “his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond”.
The president of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said in a statement that Abdullah “generously gave a lot to his people and his nation”.
In Egypt, the government showed its gratitude for Abdullah’s staunch support for the current Egyptian regime by declaring seven days of mourning, four days longer than the mourning periods in the aftermath of other recent deaths.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s office said in a statement: “History will never forget his numerous achievements in the defence of Arabism and Islam; acts, which he performed with honour, honesty and sincerity, guided by truth, justice, chivalry and courage.
“The Egyptian people will never forget the historic positions of late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz toward Egypt and its people.”
Under Abdullah, Saudi Arabia sent billions of dollars in aid to Egypt after Sisi toppled the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi in 2013, in an attempt to ensure the long-term erosion of the Brotherhood’s regional influence. The Saudi royal family view the Brotherhood as a threat to their own authority in Riyadh.
Aware that Abdullah’s death could raise questions about Saudi Arabia’s continued commitment to Egypt, Sisi’s statement asserted “full confidence” that Abdullah’s successor King Salman “will continue the late king’s legacy to serve the causes of the Arab and Islamic nations”.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/saudi- arabia-king-salman-succession- abdullah?CMP=share_btn_fb
Prophetic Significance of King Abdullah's Death
By Bill Wilson
While Saudi Arabia has on the outside looked like a kingdom that was at peace with Israel, on the inside it bred and evangelized one of the most radical sects of Islam--Wahhabism. It persecuted Christians and Jews. It controlled the world's oil market. It was the mixture of Islamic wealth and modernism with the archaic medieval brutality that serves as the foundation to Islam. Religious freedom, women's rights, freedom of speech, and other freedoms--all the things that undergird liberty were not found in Saudi Arabia as they are not found in the Koran. Saudi Arabia is the home of Mecca, Islam's most "holy" city. The leaders of the world bowed to its king. King Abdullah's death has prophetic significance.
The things we see on the surface are not always what is real. For years, the Western media has speculated on the secession plan for the inevitable. Questions arise about oil production and the type of Islamic conservatism that would come in the aftermath of Abdullah's death. There have been rumblings of rebellion and the King's troops brutally bringing such rumors into submission. The Sunni kingdom saw Shiite Iran as its rival. And while it may appear that Saudi Arabia allied with the US and Israel, Abdullah was more likely using these nations to hold in check his Persian rivals rather than having any friendly ties. Remember, Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of al Qaeda. There are no allegiances to non-Islamists.
Ezekiel 38 describes the colossal end time battle where Gog, the chief prince of Magog (modern Turkey), leads a coalition of Islamists against Israel. Included in that group is modern Iran (Persia) and parts of Saudi Arabia. 38:13 says, "Sheba, and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshis, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" Ancient Dedan and Sheba are located in what is now Saudi Arabia. The Ismaelites mentioned as enemies of Israel in Psalm 83 are also considered to be from the regional area of Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah's death brings some uncertainty to the region. Already oil prices have risen. Coincidentally or not, the Islamic State has called for Islamists in Saudi Arabia to rise up against the kingdom. Reuters reported in November 2014 that IS leader Abu Bakr Baghdadi said in a speech, "O sons of al-Haramayn (Saudi Arabia)...the serpent's head and the stronghold of the disease are there...draw your swords and divorce life, because there should be no security for the Saloul (a derogatory name for the Saudi leadership)." Certainly, the prize of the new Caliphate is Mecca. Those who watch prophecy would do well to keep an eye on Saudi Arabia, the Islamic State, and Iran in the months ahead.
ANOTHER BLOG FROM NEVILLE STEPHENS ON BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY.
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