COGWriter, Dr Robert Thiel, wrote in “King of the South in Prophecy”:
Today, I was asked a question about the King of the South in prophecy as James Malm improperly posted something about me that was not correct.
So, here is what I sent James Malm about it:
Dear James:
Someone told me that you posted the following:
Bob Thiel over at COGWRITER.COM is writing that the present unrest in Egypt and the Islamic world may lead to what LCG and the other major COG Groups claim is a coalescing of Islamic Extremism into the King of the South. They claim that a group of Islamic mations will defeat the United States after which they shall fight Europe.
This is not really what we teach.
… [Addresses many points, including that it will be the King of the North that will overcome the US]…
We in the Living Church of God teach that the King of the South will be an Islamic power comprised mainly of people from the North Africa and the Middle East.
I noticed that James Malm partially corrected his statement in “The Building Storm!”:
Biob Thiel over at COGWRITER.COM is writing that the present unrest in Egypt and the Islamic world may lead to what LCG and the other major COG Groups claim is a coalescing of Islamic Extremism into the King of the South.
I guess it depends a lot upon what you call “Islamic Extremism”. Frankly, I’ve never heard it put that way before (from LCG or otherwise), and I don’t see why it has to be extremists. Even many moderate Muslims in the Middle East have no love for the US or for Europe, and many of them would welcome a coalition of Islamic states.
One thing that is certain is that things in the Middle East can change in the blink of an eye. Even in the WCG days, it was sometimes stated that Egypt “as it is today” could not be the King of the South. However, as fast as regimes crumble in the Middle East, there isn’t any reason it couldn’t regain significant power in time.
Regardless, the King of the North will be a coalition of powers. Is there some reason the King of the South would not? Perhaps even with Egypt as its head?
PCG teaches that Iran is the King of the South. I once had a link to a map on “Who Is the “King of the South”?”, but it appears that link is now dead. So, I will refer you to this map of the Middle East. I will also point out one slim possibility that I also pointed out in that article:
What I find surprising is that there is a large Arabic oil producing nation with a fundamentalist attitude towards Islam that lies directly to the south of Jerusalem, but that nation seems to be ignored by most COG groups! What country has always had an influential role within OPEC? What country produces the most oil? What country has 2 of the most holy sites according to Islam? What country claims the Qur’an is its constitution? What country has produced the most radical extremists of fundamentalist Islam that we see today? What country has produced the leader of the most feared terrorist network in existence? Saudi Arabia.
It shouldn’t have to be said, but I’m not prophesying here! I could be wrong. However, I believe it is a reasonable conclusion to draw based upon logic and not divine revelation.
The Saudis have been pretty moderate given US involvement in the Middle East. However, it should not be overlooked that it was this moderate view and cooperation that fueled Osama bin Laden’s campaign against both Saudi Arabia and the US. The Saudi government is a monarchy, but that has not stopped internal criticism against their policies towards the West (although obviously done quietly for health reasons). There may yet come a day when that moderate attitude will turn due to internal pressures.
In any event, I don’t see how either Saudi Arabia or Egypt could be left out of any conglomeration that wants to oppose “ten kings” to its north, nor do I see the King of the South being a single nation alone, although it makes sense that one country would dominate any coalition.