Threat From The South

Not too long into the war against Hamas, Hezbollah started attacking Israel. Then a group of terrorists that were declassified as such by the US in 2021 for humanitarian reasons decided in November of 2023 to also attack Israel and Israeli affiliated ships in the Red Sea until Israel stopped their attacks on Hamas. They then simply decided to block the shipping lanes altogether and when military vessels came to intervene, they attacked them. They also tried mostly unsuccessfully to launch attacks on Israeli cities with bombs and drones as well. Just where did they get these high-end technology? Think Iran and then Iran-backed China. Although the international community tried to contain the Houthi rebels in Yemen they just defiantly kept being a nuisance. Israel decided to get in the fray until the re-election of Donald Trump. Once he was in office and got his Secretary of Defense in place the US started hammering the Houthis and have been battering them ever since. So how will this threat be defeated? Well it is most likely going to be the US who will do it, but don’t be surprised if Israel has to join in if troops on the ground are needed. But is this tiny country seen in Bible prophecy? It will but not like one would think.

Putting Them On The International Map

The country known as modern day Yemen became the home of the Shiite branch of Islam and in a civil war took over roughly 80% of the nation. In an article about them and the nation in Bible prophecy we get a little more information:

An article published in late December by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) states, “The Houthi movement’s ideology is deeply rooted in antisemitic, Islamic fundamentalist, anti-American sentiment, as reflected in the slogan on its flag…”

The slogan on the Houthi flag reads: “Allah is great, death to the USA, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam.” That pretty well summarizes what they’re all about.

AJC further noted that “the Houthis are an extremist Shia-Islamist movement and terrorist army.”

As I briefly mentioned, these terrorists are Shiite and backed by Iran:

Only about 15% of Muslims in the world are Shiites, and about 85% are Sunnis. There are only three nations in the world that have a majority of Shiite Muslims—Iraq, Iran, and Bahrain. The Houthis are part of this Shiite wing of Islam.

“Backed by Iran, this organization controls approximately one-third of Yemen’s territory and more than two-thirds of the country’s population,” the article continues, “It has emerged as a prominent player in the Israel-Hamas war.”

And as I also mentioned, they are still wanting to attack Israel and anyone who get in their way. But those days may be ending if the US has their way. But is their demise seen in the Bible?

Yemen Is In The Bible

The article by Bible scholar Mark Hitchcock notes where we see this nation show up:

It’s interesting that Yemen, where the Houthis are located, is likely the area referred to in the Bible as “Sheba.” That probably rings a bell with many who have heard of the Queen of Sheba, who came and visited King Solomon. Some believe that Sheba may be in Saudi Arabia, but most commentators, scholars, historians, and geographers believe that Yemen is the region in which ancient Sheba was located.

There are nine books and twenty-three verses in the Old Testament that mention Sheba. The area was also referenced in the New Testament, when Jesus mentions the Queen of Sheba, and other places in the Gospels.

The nation first is seen in Genesis 10 and the last time in the infamous war of Gog and Magog:

The first time that Sheba is addressed in the Bible is back in Genesis chapter 10, with the table of the nations that were scattered from Babel. The last time she was mentioned in the Old Testament is in Ezekiel 38:13, as part of this Gog Magog war.

While mentioned, they aren’t seen as a military threat:

Ezekiel 38 says that when these Gog Magog nations—Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, and Sudan—invade Israel in the end times, there are some nations that are going to sit on the sidelines and issue a kind of lame protest to what’s happening. Those nations are identified as Sheba, Dedan, and the young lions of Tarshish.

Hitchcock delineates the tiny country from Saudi Arabia:

Dedan is likely Saudi Arabia and the other more moderate Arab and Gulf states. The young lions of Tarshish are presumably the nations of Western Europe. Sheba could be part of Saudi Arabia, but it’s probably Yemen.

In the verse bringing up Sheba or Yemen, they aren’t wanting a fight although the coalition of nations are planning on attacking Israel. Instead they are trying a more diplomatic approach. For a nation now run by Houthis and publicly seeking Israel’s death that is a stark change.

The Houthis Will Be Taken Down

Hitchcock sees something happening to the Houthis and I see the current hammering by the US as the means to that end:

If that’s true, then something is going to have to happen in Yemen to neutralize these Houthi rebels. As mentioned earlier, if the Houthis keep making these attacks in the Red Sea, NATO has stated that they are prepared to take them out. There may be a lot of twists and turns before we get to the end, but Yemen is going to be a much different nation in the end times than they are today, becoming neutral or even on the Israeli side in the Ezekiel 38 war against the Jewish State.

But Yemen is seen going a step further in their approach to Israel. Much further:

Any discussion of Sheba or modern Yemen is not complete unless we look at a couple of passages in the Old Testament. King Solomon wrote two Psalms, one of which is Psalm 72, which looks at the great and glorious golden age of Israel when Solomon reigned. Writing this Psalm, he goes beyond himself, looking at the ultimate “King’s son,” who will be the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who is going to rule the world. He writes, “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.” This is a foreshadowing of the coming millennial reign of Christ.

Isaiah 60:1-6 says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.”

He then makes a nice sidenote about Yemen worshipping Jesus:

You know, when they came to worship the baby Jesus, they brought gold, which speaks of His deity, frankincense, Which speaks of His perfect life, and myrrh, which is used for embalming bodies, speaking of His death. You’ll notice here in the millennial reign of Christ when they come, it says they bring gold and incense. There’s no myrrh. Jesus died once, never to die again.

Right now the Houthis are Israel’s sworn enemy, but they are going to change:

We look forward to that day when the nations will stream to the land of Israel to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Sheba today in Yemen are firing ballistic missiles and drones into Israel, but the day is going to come when they’re going to bring gifts to the land of Israel to worship the Messiah. What a reversal that is going to be, and we pray that it will come soon.

The Houthis reign of terror is going to stop, And this war could very well be the reason.