After Khashoggi’s Murder, End-Times Evangelicals Meet And Pray For Saudi’s Crown Prince

Last week a group of end-times U.S. evangelicals spearheaded by former Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN) suddenly appeared in Saudi Arabia. Besides holding a rare meeting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman at his palace, “Raw Story” reported the delegations communication strategists Joel Rosenberg, who’s known for his violent and war-like apocalyptic views of the end of the world that focuses on the Middle East and Jerusalem, met with other evangelical organizations with strong ties to Israel.

Blessed Are Those Implicated In Killing Others
The delegation confessed they were under no illusion about the challenges Saudi Arabia faces. To the surprise of some, he then said “It’s respectful to go and listen to leaders who have the opportunity to make life better for Christians and Muslims and potentially for Israel, as well and who are against the crazies in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.” This included praying for the crown prince, Jordanian king, and the people of Saudi Arabia which accordingly was the right and just thing to do.

The unusual visit came a day short of the one-month anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance while visiting the Saudi consulate in Instanbul. Turkish police claim the Washington Post columnist was “dissolved” after he was murdered and dismembered by Saudi officials and that they have tapes of the murder. Since he had described the journalist as a dangerous Islamist and threat to the state, others suspect the crown prince ordered his murder. He was, after all, censored and blacklisted by the Saudi Regime.

No Stranger To Violence, Fear…And Sept. 11s
The American right-wing Christian delegation, which included Mike Evans, founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Team, is no stranger to violence and murder. Indeed, They believe that President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was another indication of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. A prophecy that spells doom for those left behind after Christians are Raptured. In fact, Joel Rosenberg warned that a lot of people will start seeing global chaos and carnage on a massive scale.

Critics say that such violent and cataclysmic scenarios play into human nature’s most basic emotion: fear. They warn many Americans have already been conditioned to fear, namely though decades of perpetual war and events like Sept. 11. They also accuse groups like the Jerusalem Prayer Team and others of using scare tactics as a way to either raise more money or take naïve Christians on overpriced trips to Jerusalem. This includes a focus on enemies, conspiracies, and a desire to help usher in the Second Coming.

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Indeed, Joel Rosenberg also said that Israel’s rebirth in 1948 was a major prophetic fulfillment and that Jerusalem was the place where Israel’s re-emergence is prophesied. “Gog of the land of Magog” is moreover a forewarning of a leader from Russia, similar to Vladimir Putin who’s more evil than Radical Islam. “The one-day, future evil leader of Russia is going to form an alliance with Iran, Turkey and some other hostile countries-China possibly-to come and surround and attack Israel in the last days” he said.

Critics question such views since they’ve repeatedly changed over time to fit different historical contexts or the whims of the most popular Christian trends. During World War II, for example, Gog and Magog was the German-Italy-Japan Axis. Then it was Russia and China during the Cold War. Next, far-right seers focused on Iraq and Afghanistan, and then ISIS and other Islamic jihadists. A Russia-Iran-Turkey Axis is consequently the latest view of many. Meanwhile, those who disagree are either excluded or condemned.

Unholy Preemptive Inspirations
But Joel Rosenberg didn’t stop there. He announced that though these events might be hundreds of years away, it’s likely they’ll start to happen any day. He pointed to Russia’s activities in Syria, Iran’s activities in Yemen and Gaza, and their relations with other dangerous players like North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. He also stressed how “more Christians have been slaughtered in the last century than at any other time in human history-and that’s saying something because we’ve been often slaughtered.”

Others notice how end-times evangelicals have adopted the role of a righteous victim, including marrying their faith with politics. They’ve not only advised and pushed for the Trump Administration to overthrow Iran’s rulers but to invade the nation and turn back the threat of Islamic Republics and Mahdi. This not so holy preemptive inspiration comes from thinking that it’s more practical to take out the leadership of a country rather than spend billions and billions of dollars on a war that harms innocent civilians.

Dogmatism: The Anti-Christ Of Learning About Others
Critics warn that this is a very dangerous doctrine. To be sure, recall that after the attacks on Sept. 11 President George W. Bush first prayed to God and then decided that God wanted him to invade Iraq. The marriage of religion and politics almost always compromises the gospels. Consequently, some think end-times evangelicals would further the Christian message if they spent more time visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and liberating the poor. This entails emphasizing peace and justice.

As for Jerusalem, many seem oblivious to the suffering caused by the ongoing clashes between Gazans and Israeli Defense Forces. This includes a contentious geography and history of the region that’s extremely complex and the crossroads of three continents. One end-times evangelical even told me his pastor said: “There’s no gray area when it comes to salvation and Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. You’re either among the chosen or destined suffer.” It’s this kind of radical dogmatism that many fear may lead to war.

Whole New Meaning For “Pray For Those Who Persecute You”
Some were upset the delegation met and prayed with the crown prince so soon after Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Whether this sanctioned an act of state-sponsored terror, it did give a whole new meaning to “Pray for those who persecute you.” It also endorsed the Saudi war in Yemen, a war that’s led to thousands of deaths and mass starvation. Not surprisingly, the delegation and crown prince discussed military action against Iran. Jerusalem and the Middle East may not be the only future focal point. So too might Tehran and Asia.

the Saudi regime has moreover committed numerous human rights violations, something the end-times delegation failed to mention. Not only is Saudi Arabia known for its public beheadings and floggings, arbitrary executions, false imprisonments, and torture, but it’s renowned for jailing political reformers and opponents who criticize the Royal Family and its belief system: Wahhabism. It censors the freedoms of speech, press, petition, assembly, and the Internet; and allows human trafficking used for slave labor.

The Politics Of Revelation And Evil
Some evangelicals opt for a different view of “revelation” and “The Book of Revelation.” They reject focusing on humanity’s sinful nature at the expense of its goodness. They also believe God’s self-disclosure is a free gift, a grace, and its purpose is salvation. It’s done in many ways like creation, a covenant relationship, or helping the oppressed. Since it’s a process, it doesn’t end violently or with an all-out war. Besides, “Revelation” may have been fulfilled in the first century when the Roman Empire destroyed the Jewish Temple.

Others warn that if end-times evangelicals think they’re choosing the “lesser of two evils,” Saudi Arabia versus Iran or Russia, it may come back to haunt them-including other Christians residing in those countries. To be sure, the world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of those who believe in their self-righteous causes. Thinking they were doing good, history is filled with examples of people who were in fact promoting evil.

Can the same be said of end-times evangelicals who met and prayed for Saudi’s crown prince after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder?

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.