This is the land that has kept Christianity out for over 1400 years due to Islam.  Imagine the opportunity to bring the gospel to the land that was the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad and Islam.  

We are going to breakdown some of the geo-political developments that has created this opportunity for Christianity to bring the Gospel to this forbidden region.

There are two things that are at play here.  Arabs are worried about two things.

1. Their Golden Goose is Drying Out.

Arabs are very afraid that one day soon, oil will dry up and they have to diversify their economy to something other than liquid gold.  Therefore, they need to reform their economy and attract international commerce on something other than oil.  They need to reform their ways and join modernity and banish their hard line, archaic ways to attract foreign businesses to move to the region.

They have learned that the biggest hindrance is ISLAM, or least the fundamental, hardline rules created under Islam.

2. Islamic Fundamentalism is Toxic.

As fundamentalism has grown in the region, so has terrorism and Jihad.  They long for the Ottoman version of Islam that was kinder, peaceful and left the sword of Islam in the 7^th Century back with Muhammad. 

Fundamental Islam is also a hindrance to attracting the world to come live, play, and work in Saudi Arabia and is killing their dreams to join the rest of the world.  Also, fundamental Islam is toxic and has wrecked Syria, Iraq and Iran.  A growing number of Arab leaders have seen this and they want a change.

The Crowned Prince of Saudi Arabia is such a leader, and he is leading his nation into some amazing reforms.  Muhammad bin Salman, who is often known as MBS, has led Saudi Arabia for fourteen years and his reforms are nothing short of amazing and inspiring.  One thing they are not short of is money and he is investing it to build an appealing infrastructure that is second to none.

ECONOMIC CHANGES

He cast a vision for his nation called Vision 2030.  There are many projects underway that are simply spectacular.  One that has caught the world’s attention is their new city called NEOM.

Check out this link on Neom –   It’s going to start in the Aqaba be the most modern, zero-carbon, self-powered city in the world to house nine million residents. It’s a revolutionary type of living as it is three-dimensional living. 

It’s going to be 110 miles long, 660 feet wide and the walls of the city are going to be 1,600 feet tall. You live within its walls and will not need a car.  They have set aside $500 billion to begin the project. for this project.

Let’s put this in perspective and place this city in Florida.  If you start at Tampa on the Gulf coast and stretch all the way across the State to the Atlantic Coast and end up at Cape Canaveral.    The mirrored glass walls of the city will be taller than the Twin Towers that stood in New York City.

During the last four years, MBS has been talking about his desire to sign President Trump’s Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel.  Every nation that has joined the Abraham Accords has seen a dramatic growth in their economy without oil.  In short, the Arabs are learning the promise of Genesis 12:3, I will bless them that bless thee (Israel).

CULTURAL CHANGE

There are numerous reports of the Saudi’s loosening their strict rules and doing away with the religious police.  Perhaps the biggest move was removing 3,500 clerics for being too extreme and replacing them with moderates. 

They have invested over one billion dollars to acquire sports teams and bring entertainment to the region.  63% of the population is under the age of thirty.  When I was born in the 60’s the population was only four million.  Sixty years later, the population is over thirty million.

To truly reform Saudi Arabia and to attract the world to come live, work and play in his sandbox, MBS understands that he has got to do more than just tame fundamental Islam.  They have to truly allow freedom of religion which means allowing missionaries into Saudi Arabia.  Preparing for this, he has met with Christian leaders from the US.  A Christian Jew is largely responsible for this development, you might know him as a novelist, Joel Rosenberg.

Joel Rosenberg is not only an excellent novelist, but he is also a journalist. He is an American Jew who now lives in Jerusalem and often interviews national leaders in the region.

However, it was his work as a novelist that created a unique friendship with the King of Jordan, Abdullah II.  Rosenberg described in his book Enemies and Allies, how this friendship began and how it led him to bring a delegation of Evangelical leaders to meet not only the King of Jordan, but  also the President of Egypt, Al Sisi and the Crowned Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman. 

To understand more what happened, listen to my You Tube video how this meeting got set up and what it means for opening up of missions to Saudi Arabia.

Youtube Video: