Could this be the “booty of Ezekiel 38-39?

Many of you know that we just returned from leading our 26th Israel/Feast of Tabernacles teaching Tour. Our group always tours the Golan Heights and stops at biblical sites, visit local Israeli organizations and meet the people of the Golan.

We love the Golan. It is land God promised to the half tribe of Manasseh. The Golan is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the east and Jordan to the south. It is absolutely necessary for Israeli security. You can see all this from strategic border stops on the tour. Look it up on the internet.

It is the location of three streams that form the headwaters of the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s main source of fresh water. A dear friend, really more like a sister to us, born in Texas, has been a long-time resident of the Golan. We enjoyed Passover in her home several years back.

A few days after our return home, it was reported that huge amounts of oil has been discovered on the Golan. The report says that there is enough oil to make Israel “oil independent” for years to come.

The company with drilling rights on the Golan is Afek Oil  and Gas which is an Israeli subsidiary of a U. S. company, Genie Industries. The chief geologist, Dr. Yuval Bartov reported the finding, “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 ten 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.”

The company has drilled in three different locations in the southern Golan Heights. The main drilling site is near the town of Katzrin which is the capital of the Golan. Katzrin is a nice place to visit. Our ministry has supported a children’s center in Katzrin.

While this is certainly encouraging news, there are numerous challenges that could delay for many years actual production of the oil. The main challenge is the location northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The area of possible drilling is near the Hula Valley which is the resting place sanctuary of millions of birds making their yearly migration from Africa to Europe. It is also near the nature reserve of Gamla where in AD 67; Jewish zealots held off the Romans and jumped off the cliffs rather than being taking by the Romans.

Another challenge is that the international community considers the Golan, which Israel liberated in 1967, to be occupied Syrian territory. As such they do not recognize Israeli sovereignty of the Golan.

Another challenge relating to its location is that it borders Syria which is collapsing and has lost control of its own country. This means that terrorist groups such as Hamas, ISIS, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are all fighting just across the Golan border. Any oil fields would be easy targets almost impossible to protect.

In addition to its navy base in Tartus, Syria, Russia has now entered Syria with planes, tanks and “boots on the ground.” I am certain that Vladimir Putin does not care about nature reserves, migrating birds, environmental concerns, Jewish and Roman wars, Israel’s security needs for the Golan, etc. He cares about expanding Russia’s power, control and wealth.

With American in retreat, there is no nation that can stop him. Putin will soon be in control of Syria and since the international community considers the Golan to be Syrian territory, well, you can figure it out.

But in Putin’s arrogance, the Almighty is allowing this situation as “hooks in Putin’s jaw” drawing him into a divine trap that will destroy Putin, the Russian military and all the forces allied with him including Islam and their god. It won’t be America coming to Israel’s rescue; it will be the God of Israel. God has put Putin and the American presidential retreat in place “for such a time as this.” Keep this in mind and please don’t be overly anxious or alarmed about world events.

Bible students know this as Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39. American political and news media leaders don’t have a clue and hate the Bible, the God of the Bible, and those who love the Bible.

But listen to these words to the Russian leader, “After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and
many people with you.”

“Thus says the LORD God: ‘On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people… to take plunder and to take booty…’” (Ezekiel 38:8-12). Could that Golan oil be what Ezekiel has in mind?

Ezekiel 39 describes how God will so completely destroy the Russian army and its coalition – Iran, Turkey and others Ezekiel mentions. No doubt the anti-God, anti-Israel media will do its best to put their spin on the news. But the One True God will write the headlines, “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:23).

“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My have which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward” (39:21-22).

If you truly love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with all your heart, and have a personal relationship with Him, here is some good news, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the Kingdom is the LORD’s, and He rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:27-28).