Cauldron Part No 6

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"And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil..." (Rev. 6:6)

Middle East soil can’t contain the petroleum substances that boil just beneath its surface. The tower of Babel builders found the sticky stuff—a thick, asphalt-like material they found in abundance on the plain of Shinar—to be a devilish blessing rather than a curse. They used it to paste together the bricks they made to build the ungodly structure Nimrod was determined to complete (see Genesis 11:2–3).

The boiling petroleum broth has been a constant part of some areas of the regions throughout recorded history. The south end of the Dead Sea was said to have looked like a boiling cauldron of asphalt as recently as the late nineteenth century.

Towers of Power

A number of years ago, Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, left Kuwait in a hurry when the Desert Storm coalition forces pulverized much of his military. Before he left that small country he had invaded for its oil riches, he set the oil wells on fire.

Millions of petrodollars went up in black, sky-darkening smoke. Oil fire specialists were called in to douse the flames. The Iraqi dictator knew exactly where he could hurt the Western industrial nations the most. The money lenders of the world—the great financiers who control world economies—were, for the moment, helpless to stop their losses. One big part of their tremendous power seemed to be literally going up in smoke.

Those black towers of steel represent, at least symbolically, the modern-day tower of Babel. The structures, looking like small Eiffel towers on the desert sand, serve as monuments to the one-world, gigantic monetary power structure being built today. As stated before, this was the primary reason all of those nations, including Saddam Hussein’s frightened neighbors, got together to stop the rampaging tyrant.

We watch and complain about the rising fuel prices. Oil and its costs affect us in so many ways that the topic itself would provide enough material to make a book. Gasoline is only one facet of oil-price considerations. Electricity and all that involves, plastics for every manufacturing process you can name, communications and its many aspects…all these and many more things are impacted by the price of petroleum. The United States is particularly a sitting target for price-increase tyranny. The American people will yet suffer the consequences of the one-world controllers’ intentions to gather to themselves the wealth of the world.

The vast riches of the Middle East must be preserved at all costs, even to the destruction of national economies and of human life. The Middle East is the one area of the world the one-world tower builders will control, no matter the price. Armageddon will be their final attempt to stop God from establishing Jesus Christ’s throne in the heart of that land.

Real Rags to Riches

As demonstrated in recent years, the economic well-being of entire nations depends upon availability of reasonably priced energy. California, itself having an economy as large as many nations, is a prime example just within the United States.

Political environmental extremists, by forbidding the building of new power plants and prohibiting the development of energy resources, have greatly affected California’s way of life. Rolling brownouts and blackouts of electricity in recent years have caused problems from inconvenience to hardship on many Californians.

OPEC (Oil Producing Exporting Countries) has the power to cause all nations to bend to its will in a similar and more troubling way. Its power is based upon the ability to control production, prices, and embargoes.

It is, in effect, a collective superpower, even despite the recent tremendous upheavals in the region. National economies rise and fall based upon the petroleum they can distribute and withhold. Oil is the lifeblood of the developed and developing nations of the world.

Even rumors of supply shortages threaten the lifestyles of people in America, Europe, and Japan, the nations having the most to lose. This is seen in recent years when Iran’s leadership threatens to block the Strait of Hormuz if Iran’s nuclear development facilities are attacked, or when OPEC threatens to turn down the flow of petroleum. Energy, far and away fueled by oil more than by any other source, is at the heart of the developing one-world order’s ability to control the citizenry.

Energy is at the center of the power and wealth that provide livelihoods—and luxuries. The book of Revelation has much to say about the end-time Babylonian system of economic control over people, as the following passage indicates:

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! (Revelation 18:11–18)

The very souls of men, women, and children are at the mercy of the elite who control buying and selling. That system of commerce depends upon the ability to deliver the goods. Therefore, those who control the oil used in the manufacturing and delivery of merchandise are the masters of this world system. The sheiks and leaders of the Middle East are in a commanding position as they deal with the one-world builders.

From Tent to High Rent

Although much of the tremendous oil riches lie beneath the land promised to Abraham’s bloodline, Israel has refused to fully claim that Promised Land. Worse, God’s chosen people have disobeyed God’s instructions on a number of occasions. When they do so, they are put out of the portions of the original land grant territory they have occupied.

Other peoples have moved in and occupied the area; in fact, intruders still hold on to the majority of Israel’s property today. But, their land grab will always be illegal in God’s perfect sight. Just as Jeremiah prophesied, the land has yielded its “substance” and “treasures” to those other than God’s disobedient people (17:3–4). Oil is the “substance” and “treasure” in our day. The mostly Islamic Arabs now have the riches, as foretold in that passage.

With the second industrial revolution in the mid-1800s to mid-1900s came an explosion of wealth for many of the tent-dwelling Arabs and others in that land of oil. The most powerful of those people suddenly found themselves among the richest in the world because their petroleum was needed to run the motorized machinery of industry’s production lines. The sheiks and kings of the Middle East literally did go from rags to riches…from “tent” to “high rent.”

At the same time however, despite their nations’ riches from oil sales, the majority remains under the oppressive, dark force of Islam. Most of the Arabs and other populations of the Middle East live as poorly as their ancestors. Royal families and other privileged people in high places enjoy the limousines, the jet planes, and palaces. You might say, “That’s the way it is in America, too. Only the few have the wealth.” But the difference is that Americans—at least for the moment—have the opportunity to work and worship as they please. 

Anti-Christian religious unity, under the umbrella of government, doesn’t yet hold an iron grip around the throats of our people (although the trend in that evil direction is becoming more and more evident). Our heritage is filled with rags-to-riches stories concerning men and women who have achieved great wealth.

The right to worship without fear of having our heads chopped off for believing in a way different from the state religion is at the heart of our true wealth. This is a right we must not take for granted. There will come a time when the whole world will be forced to live as many of the poor unfortunates in much of the Middle East live today. The story of that future horror can be found in Revelation 13.

Blessings Cause Curse

Riches seem to most of us a blessing. We think of how wonderful it would be to come into a lot of money. This covetousness is easily seen in the popularity of such past and recent TV programs as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? andThe Million Second Quiz.

Daydreaming about lots of money has not just recently become part of our culture. Some of us remember a program that aired in the late fifties called The Millionaire. In this series of stories, an unknown donor gave away a million dollars each week to a very surprised person. It was, of course, fiction, but it was a very popular show. The stories sometimes portrayed that the million-dollar gift ended up being a source of unhappiness rather than joy.

Ishmael—remember him? Abraham’s son by Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid, was promised great blessings by God. Many of the Arab people today legitimately claim Abraham as their father. Some prophecy students believe that because the Arab nations have the greatest amount of oil, that fact is fulfillment of God’s promise to bless Abraham’s descendants—in this case, his descendants by Keturah, whom the patriarch married following Sarah’s death.

But we must look at the truth of the matter. The oil riches cannot be a blessing from God. He didn’t promise this part of Abraham’s family the land they presently occupy. Much of that land is rightfully the Jews’ land; it belongs to Israel because God promised it to them. Abraham’s family by Hagar and Keturah will come into their full blessing during the Millennium. They will then become a great nation just as the Lord promised. Today, however, they are under a curse, not a blessing. The Arab people today continue to live under the curse of radical Islamic fundamentalists, who would just as soon murder their own as the Jews they hate so much.

The one-world builders more often than not look the other way when these poor, hapless people suffer atrocities by those over them. The world wants the vast oil deposits the Islamic tyrants hold in their bloodstained hands.

Is Oil Gog’s “Spoil”?

War has been the way of life for people of the Middle East for centuries. We know from news reports that the people there live every day under threat of a breakout of fighting. Many times the fighting involves gunfire, and people are killed. Or, terrorist bombs are used to murder both Arabs and Jews who only want to live in peace.

There is coming a time when God Himself will intervene directly into this matter of Mideast war and peace. Ezekiel foretells this coming time:

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. (Ezekiel 38:1–3)

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Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,

To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. (Ezekiel 38:10–12)

The prophet predicts the reason the festering boil of hostility will come to a head. God will allow the leader of those who hate Israel, “Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,” to “think an evil thought” that will involve some sort of “spoil.” What is a “spoil”? This particular meaning of the word refers to the material rewards of victory in war. Gog will lust after something in the heart of Palestine that will promise him great riches as his reward for victory.

The Land of Magog

There is some disagreement among biblical scholars as to the exact location of the land called in the Ezekiel passages “Magog.” For example, some believe it to be in Russia: “‘Magog’ is a real nation occupying a territory that was known to Ezekiel and his Jewish readers in the fifth century before Christ,” noted biblical prophecy scholar and author Grant Jeffrey. “I believe the evidence supports the conclusion that Magog refers to the territory that is currently occupied by the present nation of Russia, including several of the southern republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (formerly the USSR).”[ii]

Jeffrey notes that others challenge this identification of Magog’s location as being in Russia, however:

Some scholars suggest that Magog was connected with some small tribal groups in ancient Mesopotamia in the area presently occupied by Iran. Others suggest Magog is connected with the tribes led by an ancient king known as Gyges in the area of ancient Lydia (present-day Turkey) to the south of Russia. The ancient historian Pliny claimed the Syrians thought the name God was the same as Gyges, a king of Lydia whose country was named from him—Gygea, or Gog’s land.[iii]

It is my belief that Russia does seem to be at the center of the military force prophesied to invade Palestine. Do we have any indications today that Russia and its surrounding neighbors might invade the Middle East? One thing for sure: Russia is certainly in great need of some things.

The seventy-four years of Communist rule following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution were bad enough. Russian people were either murdered by Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and their successors, or were nearly starved due to wars, failing agriculture, and other Soviet socialist policies. Sadly, the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 didn’t bring much better prospects for the Russian people.

Today, the Russians, although somewhat better off than in the days of Stalin and his immediate successors, still are not happy and fulfilled under the oppression they continue to endure. They want the things the Western nations have. Getting these things for the huge Russian population will involve money—lots of it.

Presently, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is on the hot seat. He has conducted his grip on power in Russia in ways that could easily be construed as god-like. He no doubt realizes he must produce, and soon, or he will find his dacha (country house) on the Black Sea and all other perks given to someone who will produce the improved conditions the Russian people demand.

Despite hype to the contrary by the Russian propaganda establishment and some Western journalists’ willingness to parrot those lies, Russia is in ruin. Its military men and women are living at the poverty level. A number of Russian officers have committed suicide because of alcoholism and the despair of not being able to adequately feed, clothe, and house their families.

The top generals become more anti-West and anti-Israel as their economic plight becomes worse and worse. Many of the highest leaders in the military want to get back to the glory days when they were admired by their people and feared by the rest of the world.

Surrounding peoples who populate the region within what the Bible calls Magog are in similar circumstance to the Russians. They need food and want material things they have no hope of getting short of conquering some who do have these things. The history of that area is one of plunder. Throughout the ages they have taken what they want, when they wanted—if and when they became strong enough to do so.

When God told Ezekiel to prophesy against Gog, the chief prince of Rosh (Russia), He indicated that the leader’s “evil thought” would be in the “latter days,” or the end of the time just before the climax of human history. At that time, all the people surrounding Palestine and other people throughout the world will question Gog and those of his coalition forces. They will ask: “Have you come to take great spoil?” Some think this indicates there will be no more resistance to this force than that of a formal diplomatic note of protest.

Ne’er-Do-Well Neighbors

The invasion will be massive, according to Ezekiel’s prophecy:

And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee….

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. (Ezekiel 38:4–6, 9)

Some prophecy experts perceive the words “like a cloud to cover the land” as representing flight after flight of Russia’s air force, along with paratroopers. That description, plus the words, “shalt ascend,” provides good evidence to back up such thought. Gog’s military will be like a storm.

The tremendous Russian mechanized army (tanks, etc.) will thunder toward Palestine, with greedy hearts and eyes on the riches of the Middle East. Combined with all of its partners in crime from Magog and many neighboring nations, the thousands upon thousands of vehicles and ground troops will no doubt raise a huge, boiling amount of dust. It will indeed look like a “cloud to cover the land”!  

I believe this will be a literal invasion by literal military forces—something far beyond the scope of the 1991 Desert Storm military action. How do we know this will be literal?

Such a thing has never happened in the Middle East on this scale. Individuals in their own nations and regions have always been too busy warring with each other to mount such an attack. It is said this will be in the “latter days.” All other signals show that we are most likely in that predicted time today. Most importantly, God said He Himself will bring this great mass of humanity into the Middle East, where He will destroy all but one-sixth of them. He will do so for a very special purpose.

“Here we have Russia moving with powerful forces in a program of conquest of the South,” says Dave Breese. He continues:

We also learn that Russia will take to itself certain allies who will be a part of this attempted program of conquest. Especially we note that Persia will be an ally of Russia [Ezekiel 38:5]. One of the frightening developments of our time is the furnishing of nuclear weapons and materials to modern-day Iran—once known as Persia. The recent leaders of Israel have frequently said, “Our real concern in the Middle East is not with Syria or Lebanon or the Saudis but with Persia. Persia, or Iran, is considered a rogue nation steeped in Islamic fundamentalism and led by near-insane leaders who would stop at nothing.”[iv]

The Invasion Equation

Ezekiel’s prophecy reveals that we can be certain of one thing: This attack is specifically on the nation Israel. It is a satanic attack, bent on once and for all ridding the world of the chosen people of God. The Lord will bring things to a head, as described here:

Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?

And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.(Ezekiel 38:14–16)

The prophecy foretells in no uncertain terms that the Lord Himself will completely defeat Israel’s attackers, proving beyond any reasonable doubt that He is God—and that Israel is His chosen.

This attack will come when Israel is at peace—or, at least, when the Jews are living as if they are at peace. Do we see a peace process in the Middle East today? Yes! And it has really become intense in the past several years. But it is a false peace the haters of Israel seek.

The current efforts to bring an end to hostilities in the Middle East might very well bring about the “covenant made with death and hell” of Daniel 9:26–27. The Antichrist could be waiting in the wings of world diplomacy, ready to come forward when the false peace process is ripe.

The Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy about the Gog-Magog invasion also indicates that Israel will have little or no defense. That is certainly not the situation at present. Most geopolitical observers say Israel’s military is the fourth, maybe the third, most powerful in the world today. Its nuclear-weapons capability gives the small nation that status.

Israel’s “Samson Option,” well known by Israel’s enemies, is the vow of the nation’s military leaders to bring everybody and everything down around Israel, should it be attacked by overwhelming force. Israel will use its nuclear arsenal. Ezekiel’s prophecy states that, sadly, like Samson, the immensely strong judge of Israel, the nation will be seduced into letting down its great military strength. Israel will be shorn of its nuclear force at some point.

When the false-peace, diplomatic Delilahs get through, Israel will be “without bars or gates” and an “unwalled village.” The nation will be a sitting duck.

The invasion equation involves the following:

1) Israel must be back in the land of promise.

2) Its neighbors, especially Russia, must be in need and full of greed.

3) Israel and the land it occupies must have “spoil” of a significant nature.

4) There must be some sort of peace that puts Israel at ease.

5) Diplomats and others must be able to realize that an attack is about to take place (perhaps through spy satellite technology).

While the Middle East boils in turmoil, it is reasonable to assume that lust for the riches oil will provide the “evil thought” that enters (has entered?) Gog’s mind.

Watch the peace process and other developments in the region, and know that a satanic scheme is set to unfold that ultimately pits the mightiest forces of good against evil.

TO BE CONTINUED

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