Oil in the Last Days (6-24-08)

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, 'Come and see'. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 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 you hurt not the OIL and the wine'." (Rev. 6: 5,6)

The critics and opponents of the Bible's being God's inspired word; used to point to certain prophetic verses of Scripture which seemed, at the time, impossible to be fulfilled literally; to prove that the Holy Scriptures were of no predictive value to us. Two examples of this should suffice: (1) all the promises made to the nation of Israel when, for 1,915 years there was NO NATION of Israel (from 33 A.D. when the Roman Empire scattered the Jewish people throughout the world, until Israel became a sovereign nation again in 1948); and, (2) the impossibilty, seemingly at the time, that Revelation 1:7 could be fulfilled literally, which states: "Behold, he [Jesus] comes with clouds; and EVERY EYE shall SEE him...". Now that television has been invented; this verse obviously can now be fulfilled literally. So it is, also, with OIL.

Historically, oil was for the most part, not a very important commodity until the Industrial Revolution came along in the mid-1800s. Automobiles began being mass-produced by France and the United States in 1900. Up to this point, the Middle East was, as it had always been, of interest militarily to world powers because of its strategic location as being the gate to the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa: but was of little value, economically. This began to radically change when large quantities of oil was discovered in Persia (Iraq changed their name from this in 1935); and then Saudia Arabia in 1938. Suddenly, the Middle East became not only a profit center of the world's powers; but became the center of attention to the Western and Eastern governments of the world. This, also, was predicted in the Bible thousands of years ago; in particular, how the tiny and massively outnumbered (compared to the Arab masses surrounding them on every side) nation of the Jews--Israel--would be the focal point of all nations in the last days.

"The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel...Behold, I WILL MAKE Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about...And in that day will I make Jerusalem a BURDENSOME STONE for all people..." (Zech. 12: 1-3)

Oil has become the very foundation of 21st century civilization. The militaries of the world would be powerless, without oil to operate everyone's equipment. The world has removed all currencies from the gold standard, and instead, have tied all currencies to the U.S. dollar: which in turn is the reserve currency of the entire world--meaning that ALL oil transactions, globally, must be conducted in dollars. This in essence means that our dollar--and every other currency in the world that's tied to it--is BASED UPON, oil. So anyone who's planning any hostile military activities in the Middle East; have to strategize not "hurting" the oil fields. It's a common denominator for every country in the world; because all nations need it equally.

There are many prophecy "experts" out there who attempt to make the prophetic scriptures FIT INTO today's news headlines. This invariably leads to speculation and the mishandling of the prophetic scriptures. How so? Let's say you have a 30 minute prophecy program on television and/or radio; and NOTHING OF PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE happens during that time. What do you talk about? You HAVE TO FIND SOMETHING in the headlines to talk about, don't you? But if nothing's there: what's the natural thing to do? FIND SOMETHING to talk about: even when nothing is there! This is the financial trap so many of these "experts" find themselves in, regularly. And this opens the door to all sorts of speculation and wild "theories".

I've always thought of the prophetic scriptures as a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. You have 3 types of "pieces": the border pieces, the 4-corner pieces, and the rest of the puzzle. The 4 border pieces are easy and quick to find because they'll have 2 straight edges. The other border pieces are fairly easy to put together because they'll have one straight edge. Once you have the "border" assembled (say, 50 "pieces"); you're then left with 450 pieces that, in my opinion, you won't be able to "fit" into the "puzzle" until AFTER they have occurred. Also, one's view of the timing of end time events, like the rapture, and the Lord's return to the earth to reign; will skew your interpretation of the prophetic events and the headline interpretation you employ on your prophecy program. The money factor is key also. If you are required to bring in large sums of money to keep the program on the air, you will have a difficult time of it if you do not promote whatever prophetic view is MOST POPULAR among the masses! It's a simple fact of marketing and economics!! People are not going to financially support something--or someone--they do not agree with themselves, are they? So rather than getting to TRUTH; most "experts" want to propagate what's POPULAR with the greatest number of people.

As for oil in the last days, as mentioned when the third seal is opened on the little scroll; let's examine the CONTEXT. The first seal saw the "Anti-Christ" come forth conquering by establishing himself as a man of peace, when he negotiated a 7 year peace treaty with the nation of Israel and a 10-nation confederacy. (Rev. 6:1,2; Dan. 7:2-7; Rev. 13: 1,2) The second seal's opening brings with it the quick end of the peace which the "Anti-christ" had negotiated and promised. He is still protecting Israel though, because he doesn't break that 7 year agreement until the midpoint. So we are still within the first half (3 1/2 years) of that agreement, as the third seal is opened. What we have revealed here corresponds to what Jesus said in Matthew 24:7, when he said:

"...and there shall be FAMINES..."

The phrase "a measure of wheat for a penny" is refering to a loaf of bread (a "measure", or about a quart of wheat) costing a day's pay (a "penny" in bible times was the wages for a 12 hour work day; see: Matthew 20: 1,2). The cause for these "famines", contextually, is the "wars and rumors of wars" (Matt. 24:6) that are alluded to in the opening of the second seal, when the temporary peace of the Anti-christ gives way to the taking of "peace from the earth" (Rev. 6:4). Just look at what America's war with Iraq has done to the price of oil! The skyrocketing price of oil is also causing food prices to skyrocket. In pre-Hitler Germany, hyper-inflation produced a picture of a man with a wheelbarrow-full-of-money: taking it to the grocery store to buy food! These famines will NOT be world-wide in scope, however, because Jesus said the famines would be "...in divers [various] places." (Matt. 24:7) Also interesting to note is what Jesus said specifically about these "wars and rumors of wars". He said, of this time frame:

"For NATION shall rise against NATION, and kingdom against kingdom..." (Matt. 24:7)

The word he used translated as "nation" (twice) is the Greek word "ethnos"; from which we get our word "ethnic", as in "ethnic groups". It literally means: "races or tribes". In other words, the lid will be taken off, so to speak, of ethnic and racial conflicts at this time. Do we see this beginning to happen today? Look at what our invasion and occupation of Iraq has done to the delicate balance of power in the Middle East. Iran (predominately Shiite) and Iraq (also, predominately Shiite) used to be enemies, because of Saddam Hussein's partiality to minority Sunnis. Now the Shiites are in control and moving gradually toward Iran--and away from the U.S.!

"To sum up, Iraq and Iran are growing CLOSER and CLOSER. The two regimes see their interests increasingly INTERTWINED. It turns out that, if the American invasion and occupation have done one thing, they have PUSHED IRAQ AND IRAN TOGETHER and made them forget the 1980s (when the nations were at war with each other). In short, they have finally found COMMON GROUND--against us...Do we really expect the Iraqis, with their history of great civilizations destroyed from outside, to deal more easily with INVADERS from far away than with the country next door, made up of COMMON Shiite relatives and friends?...They [our political leaders] still want to think they are liberators, when in fact they are looked upon in Iraq and Iran more as direct descendants of the British colonialists who RULED THAT REGION for so long. That is why Maliki goes to Tehran and is welcomed; that is why Ahmadinejad goes to Baghdad and is cheered. Get out your map. It's really quite simple." (Chicago Tribune; 6-16-08; "Geography explains blossoming Iran-Iraq alliance")

The Persian Empire covered both, what is today, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Iraq still went by the name "Persia" until 1935. Now, thanks to America, these countries are being pushed back together, again. Coincidence? "Persia" will go with Russia and others, to invade Israel in the "latter years" (Ezek. 38) Has it occurred to any of our leaders--or Americans in general for that matter--that every empire in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD, has attempted to control the Middle East: and came to regret that decision, sooner or later? America is attempting to do that today by establishing a permanent military presence in the Middle East--beginning with Iraq. What makes us think we are any better than every other "world superpower" that's tried this before us, and lived to regret that decision? Arrogance? Stupidity? Or are we being used as a tool in the hand of Him who will accomplish His complete will on the earth, as soon as the day He's appointed, arrives?

In conclusion, the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and her Arab neighbors (who are in reality, half-brothers), began with the births of two sons of Abraham: Ishmael (by an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar), and Isaac (by Abraham's wife, Sarah). The word of God said this about Ishmael and his descendants about 5,000 years ago. You tell me if this description is accurate of the Arabs and Arab nations as a whole since then--right up to today. If it is, then ask yourself how the bible could have predicted this so precisely, unless it is in fact a "more sure word of prophecy" that we should all give heed to. (2 Pet. 1:16-21)

"And the angel of the Lord said unto her [Hagar], I will multiply your seed exceedingly...you shall call his name Ishmael...and he will be a WILD man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence [literally, in the FACE OF] all his brethren." (Gen. 16: 10-12)

Have the Arabs and Arab nations historically been "in the face" of all those who surround them? Have they, for the most part, been "wild" and "against" everyone who's not like them? And yet, 75% of the world's OIL RESERVES, turned out to be under their land and under their control. If you'd have said 120 years ago, that the Arab nations of the Middle East would one day hold all the geopolitical cards--economically: you'd have been labeled a lunatic! But oil in the last days has made them THE major players in end time events. As the last days begin to unfold, and the Antichrist's promised "peace and safety" (1 Thes. 5: 3) leads only to wars, famines, and hyperinflation: mankind will turn to drunkenness. The biblical intoxicant is WINE.

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and DRINKING [continually]...until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be...But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and DRINK WITH THE DRUNKEN, the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 24: 37-39, 48-51)

You may contact me at Ray@thewildernessvoice.net