Unless you live on a deserted island, you know by now that the price of gasoline hovers around $4.00 per gallon, and the price of a barrel of oil is in a range of $115 to $145. Since I worked in the petrochemical for many years, several people have asked me about the cause of this, and will there be any relief from the high prices. Briefly, I will answer this, and then, I will tell you about a scenario that MAY happen before the end of this year, and this event will skyrocket oil prices.
What is causing today’s high price of oil? Politicians bash oil companies, but what they are saying just isn’t so. Here are some of the real reasons for the high prices. First, supply and demand in the world markets are tight. Every day, 20,000 new cars are put on the road in China. Throwing their bicycles away, the Chinese are buying all types of vehicles including SUVs. How can they afford this? Well, the government of China subsidizes the price of gasoline. At the same time, India and other countries want their share of oil for their booming economies.
Other factors that affect the price of oil are weather, the civil strife in Nigeria, Venezuela, OPEC decisions, Iran threatening to destroy Israel, speculators, and the value of the dollar. Every time the dollar falls in relation to the euro, the price of oil goes up. Why? Because the price of a barrel of oil is based on the dollar. Recently, OPEC made a decision to pump an additional 200,000 barrels of oil daily. This is like adding a drop of oil to an empty barrel. Gasoline prices may ease up a little if we don’t have any major hurricanes that knock out oil rigs in the Gulf or destroy refineries along the Gulf Coast.
Now, let me tell you about a scary scenario that may happen before the end of this year. While I am neither a preacher, nor a prophet, I do watch trends in the world, and I do read the Bible. Here is the scenario.
In early June, Israel carried out a long-range practice mission with more than hundred F16 and F15 fighter jets. The maneuvers were over the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece. The fighter jets had to be refueled in mid-air. The mission was a success.
After the world press found out about it, an Israeli official told The Times of London that the Iranians should “read the writing on the wall. This was a dress rehearsal, and the Iranians should read the script before they continue with their program for nuclear weapons. If diplomacy does not yield results, Israel will take military steps to halt Tehran’s production of bomb-grade uranium.” Israel will not allow a terrorist nation such as Iran to have a nuclear bomb.
Because of Russia’s supply to Iran of a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system, Israel only has a small window of opportunity to knock out the nuclear facilities in Iran. This missile system will be activated and ready by December of this year, 2008.
Israel knows that the United States will not do this job for them. The United States is in a weakened position because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, President Bush will be out of the office at the end of this year. If Obama is elected president, Israel will no longer have a friend in the White House. So Israel has a decision to make, and this decision may be made soon. Knowing that the stock markets around the world will plunge, and the oil markets will go ballistic, Israel may make the decision anyway. It can’t afford to have a nuclear bomb dropped on its land.
Israel knows it will be tough. Most of the nuclear facilities are underground. Israel will lose many pilots and fighter jets. Syria, Lebanon, and other Arab countries will attack them. During this time, the Persian Gulf could be shut down to oil tanker traffic. Russia could end up assisting Iran. The United States, Great Britain, China, and Russia will send warships into the Persian Gulf in order to protect the oil. This volatiles situation may escalate and explode into an unmanageable conflict. The United Nations will be convened to settle it.
Strangely, the Bible speaks of a scenario like this. You can read about it in Ezekiel 38 and 39. According to the prophecy, Russia (Gog) and Persia (Iran) with a coalition of other Arab countries will come against Israel in the last days. Sometimes prophecies have two or more fulfillment. Let us hope that this will not be one of them, and let us pray that diplomacy will work with Iran. One thing seems certain, oil will play a part in bringing these prophecies to past in the near future.
As Christians, we need to make sure we have the “Oil” of the Holy Spirit in our vessels for we know not when the Bridegroom will come to the church. The gospel song The Eastern Gate puts it like this:
Keep your lamps all trimmed and burning,
For the Bridegroom watch and wait,
He’ll be with us at the meeting,
Just inside the Eastern Gate.
copyright June 2008 Jerry Depew
