Speaker Identification

Speaker 1 - Program Announcer: Opening and closing Bible News Prophecy / Continuing Church of God program identification.
Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: Co-host and interviewer for the Bible News Prophecy Program.
Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: Host/commentator, providing news analysis and Bible prophecy commentary.

Speaker 1 - Program Announcer: This is the Bible News Prophecy Program, bringing you news and analysis of world events in the light of Bible prophecy. The following program is brought to you by the Continuing Church of God.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: Greetings. This is Steve Dupuie for the Bible News Prophecy Program with Dr. Bob Thiel, bringing you news and analysis of world events in the light of Bible prophecy.

Dr. Thiel, off-air you were mentioning an Islamic NATO and the possible rise of the King of the South. Would you fill our audience in on that?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: Certainly. Many analysts are wondering if an Islamic NATO has actually started to form, but news sources have failed to connect this with prophecies.

Let me read a headline and news item from yesterday: "Islamic NATO: What Is the Military Might of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey?" Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed a landmark Mecca Joint Defense Agreement. With this move, the three Muslim nations bring together nearly 1.4 million active military personnel, more than 3,400 aircraft, and over 6,000 tanks.

"Islamic NATO" has become a buzzword since last week, when Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a new security alliance seeking to deter Iran. The defense pact binds three powerful Sunni countries with a NATO-style clause that considers an attack on one country to be an attack on all. Owing to the presence of the three Sunni Muslim nations, some pundits have called this agreement "NATO in the Middle East" or "Muslim NATO."

When it comes to manpower, the three nations combine for nearly 1.4 million active military personnel. Ankara has 481,000 in its fighting force, Riyadh 247,000, and Islamabad 660,000.

While officials from the three nations have repeatedly stated that the Mecca agreement is not directed at any one actor or threat, there is no doubt that it is a deterrent mainly against two other nations: Iran and Israel.

Since Islamic NATO has become a buzzword, has this agreement caught the world by surprise? Well, the idea is not new. Since at least 2018, I have warned about the coming Arab-Islamic NATO. Back then, we even made a video called Arab NATO and the Coming King of the South.

What is the relationship between this Mecca agreement and NATO? Well, it is not tied to any part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization itself. But one of the reasons the Mecca agreement is being called an Islamic NATO is because a Turkish government official basically quoted the NATO provision for how this agreement is supposed to work.

Here is another article from yesterday: "How Islamic NATO Shifts Global Geopolitics." They are calling the agreement the Islamic NATO because, among other things, it includes a NATO Article 5-style clause promising, in effect, that an attack on one is an attack on all. If it holds, the alliance could form a long-term defense structure for the region, and its ripples will be felt much farther - from India to China, to the United States, and to the world at large, a world that is very much in realignment.

The Middle East is becoming more coherent and more powerful and will have a significant effect, particularly in the region around the Middle East - India, China, and, to some extent, Europe. One day, by the way, Europe will be affected according to biblical prophecies.

Now, there is a view among many out there that this is not an Islamic NATO. But then I saw another interesting article from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. They hailed this as a NATO-style Muslim alliance. It says it is historic and a strategically significant step for the security of the wider Muslim world.

Their Secretary General, Hissein Brahim Taha, expressed what the organization described as his strong appreciation and support for the agreement, calling it an important strategic step that reflects the three countries' commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation. Taha described the pact as a fundamental pillar for supporting security and stability across the region and the Muslim world, and said it embodied a shared determination to confront growing security challenges. He said it will deepen solidarity among the Islamic member states. He praised the leadership of the three countries and voiced hope that the agreement would contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: Excuse me for interrupting, Dr. Thiel, but isn't the United States currently guaranteeing peace in that region?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: Well, to a degree, but the Iran war, as well as Israeli actions, are changing attitudes.

Going back to that article, it says: "Shifting security architecture." Analysts have described the agreement as a potential turning point in the security order of the Middle East and even South Asia. The Atlantic Council characterized it as an inflection point in an emerging multipolar order, noting that Ankara - that is Turkey's capital - broadens its protective umbrella, already extended to such allies as Qatar, Syria, and Libya, adding significant new resources to what amounts to an emerging Muslim collective defense mechanism.

Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Saudi-based Gulf Research Center, said the political symbolism of three of the Muslim world's most influential states convening at a moment of heightened uncertainty was significant in itself, demonstrating a growing willingness among regional powers to coordinate more closely on security.

It says that if institutionalized and translated into concrete cooperation, he argued, that framework could strengthen the three countries' collective diplomatic and defense weight and contribute to a more regional security architecture - one less dependent on outside powers like the United States. For the three governments, and for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, that is not a bug in the arrangement. That is precisely the point. At a moment when the region's traditional security guarantees look increasingly uncertain, three major Muslim states have chosen to bind their defense together and to do it in Islam's holiest city, where the symbolism could hardly be clearer.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: Could those three governments provide the same security as the United States?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: Not really. Additionally, it needs to be understood that more Sunni Muslim countries are invited and expected to join. In a video that was just released, Pakistan's defense minister called for other Islamic nations to join the Mecca Defense Agreement.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: How does this tie in biblically with the King of the South?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: While the Mecca alliance is already substantial, the Bible teaches in Daniel 11:25 that the King of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army.

Growing the Mecca alliance, which already has almost 1.4 million people in the army - or something like it - is going to result in the great prophesied army that Daniel wrote about. Most of the other eleven nations that also aligned with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan the day before they signed a naval agreement may join that Mecca alliance as well.

Consider further that Egypt itself has been working on some type of alliance like this for some time. Turkey, by the way, has said it expects Egypt to join the Mecca alliance.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: How does Egypt fit into all of this?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: It was the position of the old Radio Church of God that Egypt very well could have the final leader who is the King of the South, but it would take a very long time for this to be the case.

I am going to read a quote from a 1963 Plain Truth article by the late Garner Ted Armstrong. Here is what he wrote:

Daniel was given specific visions of events to occur in our time. Notice the time of the end - absolutely dated, the time of the end. The King of the South pushed against the King of the North. The King of the North will come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, with horsemen, with many ships. He will enter into the countries and overflow and pass over.

Bible scholars recognize the first typical fulfillment of this surprising prophecy, but they fail to see its literal application for the end time. What about modern powers by these designations? If you look at a map, you find two towers of power that fit this. Who else could the King of the North be except the coming United States of Europe, which, by the way, we have seen happening, which is a resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire - rearmed Germany heading a final union in Europe. This is the biblical King of the North.

Since he wrote this in the 1960s, we have the European Union and related developments going on.

Then he goes to the next part: "The King of the South? Egypt, of course, but not Egypt of today." So not Egypt from 1963, but Egypt years from now, as she continues to expand various things and bring more of the North African Muslim nations into an Afro-Arabian power bloc. That is what was published in 1963.

Whether or not the King of the South himself will actually be Egyptian, the Bible is absolutely clear that Egypt will be part of the King of the South confederation.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: What other countries might join this new NATO?

Speaker 3 - Dr. Bob Thiel: They have talked about Libya, Algeria, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen. All of those things have been discussed as countries that may join. Also, even parts of Sudan, because we are obviously talking about Cushites, who are darker-skinned people, as opposed to the Arab countries that are mentioned.

In late 2025, I did a sermon where I went over items to watch in 2026, and I want to read part of my number 19: "Steps toward the formation of the King of the South will occur." The formation of the King of the South is something to look for.

Then the article quotes Daniel 11:40-43, which says that at the time of the end, the King of the South shall attack him, and the King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will enter the countries, overthrow them, and pass through. He will also enter the Glorious Land - that would be like Israel - and many countries will be overthrown, but these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. This is talking about people in Jordan and probably the Emirates.

He will stretch out his hand against the countries, but the land of Egypt will not escape. Then he will have power over the treasures of gold and silver and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will follow at his heels.

Both U.S. and European politicians have long told people that we need this to form. We need an Islamic group over there to deal with things like terrorism and so forth. Some have wondered if the Abraham Accords were going to do this. Those accords do help some of the Islamic nations get closer together. But a prophecy about them all coming together is going to happen. The Bible says it is going to happen. And the lands and peoples that are mentioned as supporting the King of the South in Daniel 11 are basically dominated by Sunni Islam right now.

I have long warned that the coming King of the South would rise up after Iran became somewhat weakened or neutralized militarily. Now, in the news today, RT reported that, in Moscow, experts at the Middle East Studies Center analyzed the pact - the Mecca agreement - and broke down its implications. Writing exclusively for RT, the center's president, Murad Sadygzade, explained how its members will have the task of deterring both Israel and Iran, all without overt U.S. involvement.

So, yes, this alliance looks to be taking place because of Iran and Israel. Although the King of the South leader himself has not yet risen to prominence, we are seeing more military cooperation among Arab and Islamic nations. And yes, this Mecca alliance will tie in with the rise of the final King of the South of Bible prophecy. Biblical prophecies are coming to pass.

Remember, the Apostle Paul warned Christians in 1 Thessalonians 5:20, "Do not despise prophecies." We in the Continuing Church of God are striving to watch, as Jesus told His followers to do, and to report as a watchman, like God told Ezekiel to do.

Speaker 2 - Steve Dupuie: Thank you, Dr. Thiel. For more interviews with Dr. Thiel, in addition to written as well as audio articles, visit our website at BibleNewsProphecy.net. This is Steve Dupuie for the Bible News Prophecy Program.

Speaker 1 - Program Announcer: This Bible News Prophecy Program was sponsored by the Continuing Church of God. For more information, including access to our free literature, visit BibleNewsProphecy.net or www.CCOG.org. You can also reach us by email. Our address is BibleNewsProphecy@gmail.com.