The Israeli economy has been hampered for many years due to its need to import energy. It has also been handicapped geopolitically because while the oil-rich Arab nations can export oil to nations who need energy, the Israelis had no energy to offer to other nations. Without having a valuable commodity to export to the world, the Israelis essentially “got no respect” from many nations in international matters because the Israelis had nothing essential to export to those other nations. This situation may be changing soon, and it could have a large impact on world politics.
In the two links below (one sent by a reader), there are new reports of very large discoveries of natural gas deposits off the coast of Israel. The two links differ in terms of the size of the natural gas discoveries (one says the natural gas deposits can supply Israeli natural gas needs for 20-35 years while the other report estimates it as a 50-70 year supply), it is evident that the Israelis may eventually become major supplies of natural gas to other nations once this natural gas deposit is developed commercially. The presence of so large a natural gas field also means that there may be an oil field underneath the natural gas deposit. If so, it would make the Israelis even more important to global commerce.
This large energy field will take time to become commercially available to either the Israelis or to other customer nations. One of the links observes that any ability of the Israelis to use and export natural gas export is “years and billions of dollars of infrastructure away.” Nevertheless, the fact that the Israelis can be major energy exporters in a matter of years will change the way that many nations look at the Israelis politically. If, in a few years, the Israelis can export natural gas, they can decide which nations will receive its energy exports. Knowing this, energy-hungry nations in Europe will have to consider that their knee-jerk, pro-Palestinian political stances might cripple their ability to obtain Israeli natural gas in the future. The Israelis will have a right to sell energy to friendly nations and a right to refuse to ship natural gas to those nations that have had anti-Israel policies.
There is no biblical prophecy I know of that either predicts this natural gas discovery or what role it may play in the future. However, because energy supplies are so vital to the global economy, the Israelis seem destined to become important players in the energy markets in the future. This will inevitably change the way some nations relate to Israel if they want to receive Israeli natural gas. For example, Europe’s main natural gas supplier is now Russia, which has been known to cut off gas supplies to other nations when it wishes to pressure them politically. The Israelis, part of the western world, could change the dynamics of European-Russian relationships when the Israelis can sell gas to other nations. If Europe could buy large quantities of natural gas from the Israelis, they would not need to buy so much Russian natural gas and would be more independent of Russia’s ability to pressure them politically via energy exports. You can be sure the discovery of large natural gas fields off the Israeli coast is not received as welcome news in the Kremlin. Depending on how many years this age has left, the Israeli gas deposits could become a factor in world geopolitics as the Gog-Magog alliance (headed by Russia) prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 becomes steadily more powerful on the world scene. A large gas (and possibly oil) field in the western world so close to Europe could weaken Russia’s current influence over Europe.
