“Why are the nations in an uproar?”  The psalmist asked this question three thousand years ago. (Psalm 2:1)  At the dawn of 2016, it continues to be a most relevant thought to ponder.  Saudi Arabia and Iran glare at each other with clenched fists and burning rage across the Persian Gulf.  A few days ago Saudi Arabia, which is a Sunni Muslim nation executed a leading Shiite cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, on charges of inciting terrorism and threatening the security of the Saudi kingdom.

The execution set off protests in Iran.  On the evening of January 2 a mob stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and burned it.  Saudi Arabia responded by breaking diplomatic relations with Iran and gave Iran’s diplomatic staff 42 hours to leave the country.  Iran retaliated by declaring that it welcomed war and placed troops on the alert.  In Iraq, Shiite terrorists bombed two Sunni mosques, and Shiite protestors demanded that the new Saudi Embassy be closed.  On January 3 Bahrain and Sudan followed Saudi Arabia’s example and cut diplomatic ties with Tehran.  The United Arab Emirates recalled its ambassador from Iran.  On January 4 Saudi Arabia suspended all air traffic to Iran and shut off economic transactions. 

Across the world, nations recoiled.  Middle Eastern stock markets plummeted as much as two and a half percent.  In the United States the New York Stock Exchange opened on Monday and dropped 450 points by mid-morning.  China shut down its stock markets to prevent panic.

And so it stands as this is written.  This conflict would merely be about two countries acting out their animosities and venting their long time strains, except for two factors.  The first is oil.  If the crisis escalates, the prime target for Iran will be Saudi Arabia’s oil fields.  Iran will seek to close down the Strait of Hormuz.  The Strait of Hormuz is 23 miles wide at its narrow point and through it passes 20 percent of the world’s oil and 34 percent of all oil shipped by sea.  It is a choke point.  It will seek to provoke unrest in the oil region, where many Shiites live, with intent to destroy Saudi oil production.  That spreads the crisis to Europe and the United States and other parts of the world, including China and Japan, which depend on Saudi Arabian oil to fuel their economies.  Some experts predict the loss of Saudi oil could rocket the price of oil to over $300 a barrel.  And that likely will plunge the world into economic depression or collapse.

The second factor is the political alliances.  Iran is supported by Russia which cherishes dreams of recapturing the old Soviet Empire.  The United States is allied with Saudi Arabia, but seems now to be tilting toward Iran, pushing the Saudis to feel the need to act unilaterally in its own defense.  That’s where the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria enters the picture.  Saudi Arabia is part of the coalition fighting ISIS.  ISIS is backed by Iran.   So a proxy war between the two is already being waged.  It could easily escalate.  Russia is in the mix.  Turkey sits on the border with Iraq and opposes Iranian expansion.  Turkey and Russia are close enough to armed conflict, ever since the Turks shot down a Russian fighter a few weeks ago, that a small additional spark could set it off.   The United States and Europe are bound through the NATO alliance to come to Turkey’s aid in the event of a war.  With stakes so high, perhaps tensions can be dialed back.  But it is not difficult to see a scenario where the nations of the world could be drawn into a war, even against their wills.

Part of the equation, of course, involves Israel.  A hot war in the Middle East offers a very good opportunity to launch massive Muslim attacks against Israel, which many Islamic nations have lusted to do for two generations.  The nations hostile to America and the West look at the weakness of the United States and the fact that America is so far in debt that it cannot afford a major war.  They know they have a year left in which they can assume a dithering and indecisive United States response.  All of this may persuade them that now is the time to move if they are ever going to.   The world situation could not be more precarious.

So we return to the question with which we began: “Why are the nations in an uproar?”  The reasons are not hard to see.  But the psalmist has a deeper analysis.  He says, “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. (That is, Christ.)  ‘Let us tear their fetters apart, and cast away their cords from us.’”  (v 2-3) He is saying that at bottom, the conflicts and wars of the earth stem from men’s attempts to break free from the rule of God and to establish their own.  What is now developing is part of a cosmic struggle.

As we view these events and hold our breaths, and as diplomats scramble to placate old grievances and patch the world order together for a bit longer, the queasy thought invades our hearts that this could be it.  This could be the big one, the war that will engulf all the peoples and bring an end to world order as we have known it.  This may not be.  But the Bible says that one day it will come.   And present world events appear in such a manner that they could be lining up.  We cannot know.

But instead of living fearfully, we need to listen for and strain to hear the voice of God for our times.  The psalmist says that as God watches the machinations of the nations, “He who sits in the heavens laughs.  The Lord scoffs at them.”  (v 4)  Pray that you might hear a mighty roll of laughter echoing on the air.  And that “the peace of God that passes all understanding may guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

Dr. Rick Perrin is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and Chairman of the Board of World Reformed Fellowship..  He writes a weekly blog called ReTHINK which may be accessed at www.rethinkingnews.wordpress.com. He may be contacted directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..