January 20, 2008
Steve Collins
As many readers know, the Israeli nation has been handicapped by a lack of domestic energy reserves. That situation has just dramatically changed. The link below (from Israel National News) reports that a massive natural gas deposit has been discovered in the Mediterranean Sea just off-shore from Haifa, Israel. Indeed, it is called a gas find of “historic proportions” which will be able to “supply Israel’s energy needs for many decades to come.”
This could radically change world politics in several ways. If the Israelis become energy independent (or even close to it), their nation will be far less vulnerable to foreign pressure in matters involving Mideast politics. Since extensive natural gas deposits could also mean nearby oil reserves, the Israelis may even find themselves a oil field near the natural gas deposits. Just think how it could change world politics if nations which are now hostile to Israeli interests in the Mideast soon find themselves in need of obtaining natural gas shipments from the Israelis.
To be specific, you may recall that many European nations have been shivering in the cold recently due to the Russian-Ukrainian spat over natural gas shipments to Europe that pass through the Ukraine. Isn’t it interesting that at the very time that Europe is in dire need of locating a new source of natural gas supplies, a major natural gas supply is located in Israeli off-shore territory? If the Israelis became natural-gas exporters to European nations, it would greatly reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas deliveries, and it would reduce Russia’s ability to pressure European nations on energy matters. You can be sure that the news of a large natural gas discovery in Israeli territory is not being received as good news in Moscow!
Zechariah 12 contains a prophecy for the Israelis (“Judah and Jerusalem”) during the latter-days of our age. While the language of this prophecy foretells God’s rescue of the Israelis in a military conflict at the end of this age (see Zechariah 14 for more prophetic information about this event), the prophecy warns of global anti-Jewish/anti-Israeli sentiment in the latter days. This very timely discovery of a natural gas field to enable the Israelis to become energy-independent in the near future seems a “Godsend” at a time when the Israelis needed this very kind of help to enable them to resist diplomatic pressures to accept deals which would be harmful to Israeli security needs.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129476
