Oil or Spoil? The Middle East Again
The majority of this material was written almost ten years ago. I have updated some parts because of current events. It is a small portion of a booklet I wrote titled “Look Up: Your Redemption Draws Near”. You can find it on my website at (watchman-ga.org). Interestingly this booklet ended up in the hands of Israeli Air Force pilots who thought it was interesting and wanted to make copies for their ground crew.
We are posting a number of e-letters Make Sure Ministries has received from David Henke, founder of Watchman Fellowship, Inc., an apologetics ministry, on a variety of subjects. They will post on Tuesdays into the foreseeable future. As always, we appreciate your comments. Please consider clicking on the link following this blog to learn more about Watchman Fellowship and what they have to offer. E-letters have been slightly edited for clarity.
There is a question asked in Ezekiel 38:13 that has Sheba and Dedan, oil rich Arabian Peninsula countries, asking if the Magog coalition is coming to take a spoil. Could the spoil be Middle East oil? Could it be Israeli oil and gas?
The joke is told by Jewish people that when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt he should have turned right instead of left to Canaan. If they had turned right they would possess the oil fields of the Arabian Peninsula.
It was always thought that Israel had no oil deposits. However, in recent years, even as recently as 2011, reports are that Israel has potentially as much oil as all the known reserves in Saudi Arabia. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 5, 2011 that shale deposits southwest of Jerusalem could contain 250 billion barrels of oil, just slightly less than the proven reserves in Saudi Arabia.
After these discoveries Israel found a rich oil field in the Golan Heights which is still claimed by Syria but has been annexed by Israel for national defense reasons. Syria used the high elevation of the Golan to shell Israeli settlements in the Galilee below. Israel will not trust Syria with the safety of its people again.
Then there are gas finds off the coast of Israel. Lebanon is contesting the ownership of two of these fields that may lead to serious problems. Turkey, one of the Magog coalition members, is supporting Lebanon in this contention. The smaller field, named Tamar, will be used to supply Israel while the largest, Leviathan, will be used for export.
Concerning the size of these gas fields the Wall Street Journal said this on December 30, 2010, “In March, the U.S. Geological Survey released its first assessment of the zone, estimating it contained 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of gas. That’s equal to half the proven gas reserves of the U.S.”
Wilfred Hahn, a board member and a speaker on economics in prophecy with Midnight Call ministry, is described as “a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst and one-time head of a large global investment company….” In 2011 Mr. Hahn learned of the significant oil and gas discoveries in Israel and said, “This changes everything.”
FoxNews.com reported on January 31, 2013, “Right now production is still tiny, but as fracking technology continues to advance Israel could soon move beyond its declared goal of energy independence, and become a major oil exporting country–including to oil-poor neighbors like Egypt and Syria and Lebanon. The implications are nothing less than staggering. Instead of an embattled and isolated outpost of Western democracy, Israel would look like the Middle East’s new economic colossus. Instead of shunning Israel for fear of offending oil-rich Arab states, Western Europeans could find themselves beating a path to Israel’s oil shale fields–and rethinking who they want as their ally in the region, and who they don’t.”
Western Europe gets much of its natural gas from Russia. This has been a problematic source for Europe because of Russia’s threat to shut down the pipeline when the Ukraine became delinquent in its payments for gas. This was reported in The Sunday Times on December 31, 2008. If Western Europe should switch to the Israelis as a more reliable source of gas Russia would be hurt badly by the loss of its biggest customer. This could motivate them to “take a spoil.” The economic survival of a nation has often led to war as a solution.
When the USA objected to the Japanese invasion of China the U.S.A. did two things that provoked Japan to resort to military action. The first move was to cut off Japan from U.S. oil. Japan got 80% of its oil from the U.S.. The second provocation was moving our Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor. In the eyes of the Japanese this placed a dagger at the heart of Japan’s security. The result was the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Russia could be similarly squeezed and that might set the “hook in the jaw.” With the current Russian invasion of Ukraine the NATO nations are responding with military air to Ukraine. But more important in the long run is the Western sanctions on Russia which could eventually lead to forsaking the purchase of Russian gas.
Israel is building a gas pipeline from its Leviathan gas field to Cyprus and from Cyprus to Greece where it will connect with a major pipeline coming from Russia through Ukraine to Western Europe.
Again, this is a speculation based upon comparison of Ezekiel’s prophecy with current developments in the news. But this can be said, there is no conflict between Ezekiel’s prophecy and current economic and political conditions. It is time for Christians to brush up on prophecy so we don’t miss the signs of the Lord’s work in the Last Days.
April 1, 2022 E-Letter
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