Monday, October 12, 2015

Israel's Massive Discovery Of Oil In Golan Heights: Joel Rosenberg Reflects









 It has been a dramatic month here in Israel, and we’re only eleven days in.


At the moment, we’re experiencing a rash of violence, including a series of stabbings by Arab terrorists, Arab rioting in various cities, and other attacks against Jewish people. Last night, terrorists in Gaza also fired a series of rockets at southern Israel. Fortunately, the Iron Dome system shot down one of the rockets and no one was injured by the others. 

The Prime Minister has deployed additional police and soldiers to increase security. He has also deployed additional Iron Dome batteries in the south. Please pray for a restoration of calm. We’re not worried. Life is going on nearly as usual here. But life is never dull here, and we need the Lord to move mightily to restrain the forces of evil.



That said, two much bigger stories have also captured people’s attention here in recent days.



  1. THE EMERGING RUSSIAN-IRANIAN MILITARY ALLIANCE ENTERS COMBAT. The first story I’ve already noted on this blog, but it’s importance cannot be overstated. We are witnessing a stunning move by Russia and Iran as they send military forces into combat in Syria. For the first time, these two nations — historic enemies — are operating together in a military alliance, one that will have profound consequences for the security of the region, and one that poses a grave danger to the security of Israel.
  2. ISRAEL MAKES MASSIVE DISCOVERY OF OIL. The second big story I have noted on Twitter but not yet on this blog. Israel this past week announced the discovery of a massive oil patch in the Golan Heights, along the border of Syria, that could make the Jewish state energy independent for decades to come. I have previously reported Israel’s discovery of massive amounts of natural gas off the Mediterranean coast. But while there has been speculation about the presence of oil in Israel, a major discovery has never been confirmed until now.
“Energy geologists estimate that billions of barrels of crude oil are available in shale in the occupied Golan Heights, but will Israel be able to get to it? If it can, the field could make the Jewish state self-sufficient in oil for years,” explains a news report from NASDAQ. “Afek Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of the U.S. company Genie Energy had been drilling in the southern Golan Heights for more than a year, and in September announced the discovery of the shale deposit. But the size of the field wasn’t confirmed until Oct. 7. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 News, the company’s chief geologist, Yuval Bartov, said, ‘We are talking about a strata which is 350 meters thick, and what is important is the thickness and the porosity….On average in the world strata are 20-30 meters thick, so this is 10 times as large as that, so we are talking about significant quantities. The important thing is to know the oil is in the rock and that’s what we now know.'”


Given that we are definitely seeing such headlines, is it possible that we are also going to see the “War of Gog & Magog” happen soon? As I stated in Part One of this series, it is too early to draw such a conclusion. More would have to happen to convince me the prophecies are definitively coming to pass in our lifetime. But given the trend lines, we cannot rule out the possibility that Ezekiel 38 & 39 will come true soon. It’s certainly possible.
Therefore, let’s continue to look carefully at what the text really says. Here, then, is Part Two of our study:



3 comments:

GG2013 said...

Watching and Praying

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. – Mark 13:33

It is the time of our Lord’s coming again to which these words refer. He is coming; but when, no one can know.
He will come suddenly, without warning. Since, then, we cannot know what moment the Lord may appear, we
must “take heed, watch and pray,” lest He come and surprise us unprepared. This does not mean that we are
always to be talking and thinking of the event and waiting for it in dreamy idleness and useless gazing. What
Christ wants us to do is so to live at all times that His coming at any moment of the day or night will not find
us unready.

For one thing, we should be sure of our personal salvation. If we are not saved now we should instantly see
to the matter; for He may come the next hour, and there will be no time then to seek salvation. We should
keep our work faithfully done, day by day, leaving nothing unfinished any evening; for before morning He
may come. We should live at peace with all men, never allowing the sun to go down on our wrath or on any
enmity or bitterness; for before another day dawns He may come, and we would not want Him to come and
find us in strife and bitterness. We should be careful what we do any hour; for he may come suddenly and
find us in sin. We should watch where we go, least His coming may surprise us in some place where we
would not want Him to find us.

This truth, kept ever as a living force in our consciousness, would be the weightiest motive to faithfulness
in every duty, and watchfulness against every sin. His coming will be so sudden and so unexpected that there
will be no time then to set wrong things right, to finish uncompleted tasks, to get sin-stains washed out, to undo
evil deeds. The only safe way to live is to make each task complete — a fit ending for all of life.

GG2013 said...

Watching and Praying

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. – Mark 13:33

It is the time of our Lord’s coming again to which these words refer. He is coming;
but when, no one can know. He will come suddenly, without warning. Since, then,
we cannot know what moment the Lord may appear, we must “take heed,
watch and pray,”

lest He come and surprise us unprepared. This does not mean that we are always
to be talking and thinking of the event and waiting for it in dreamy idleness and
useless gazing. What Christ wants us to do is so to live at all times that His coming
at any moment of the day or night will not find us unready.

For one thing, we should be sure of our personal salvation. If we are not saved
now we should instantly see to the matter; for He may come the next hour,
and there will be no time then to seek salvation. We should keep our work faithfully
done, day by day, leaving nothing unfinished any evening; for before morning
He may come. We should live at peace with all men, never
allowing the sun to go down on our wrath or on any enmity or bitterness;
for before another day dawns He may come, and we would not want Him to
come and find us in strife and bitterness. We should be careful what we
do any hour; for he may come suddenly and find us in sin. We should
watch where we go, least His coming may surprise us in some place where
we would not want Him to find us.

This truth, kept ever as a living force in our consciousness,
would be the weightiest motive to faithfulness in every duty,
and watchfulness against every sin. His coming will be so sudden
and so unexpected that there will be no time then to set wrong things
right, to finish uncompleted tasks, to get sin-stains washed out,
to undo evil deeds. The only safe way to live is to make each task
complete — a fit ending for all of life.

ally said...

Thanks GG for your uplifting. Scott, so many surprising things have happened in such odd ways the last few years that nothing would really surprise me.
But how much longer can things go down like this?
It's going to be war shortly, and it's going to be fierce and sudden.
Russian embassy just got flattened in Damascus. Putin isnt going to like that.
Jesus, Jesus,Jesus, please draw your people close to you. And hide us under your wing.