Oil war!

From WWII to this very moment, any nation without adequate supplies of oil is, in a conventional sense, militarily powerless and at the mercy of its enemies.

The Middle East is an explosion waiting to happen. Muslim and Western powers are throwing matches back and forth as if over an open oil well. Radical Islamic clerics are using any available pretext to incite their followers to mob violence, attempting to further their goal of a united, modern caliphate, stretching from Afghanistan to Morocco.

This new Muslim empire will come about—and sooner than most can imagine! How do we know? Because God's word says it will happen: "Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the South, and say to the forest of the South, 'Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched"'" (Ezekiel 20:46–48).

In Scripture, all compass directions are given in relation to Jerusalem. Keeping this in mind, where does "south" bring us? Strong's Concordance (#5045) tells us that the Hebrew word negeb – "south" – comes from a root meaning "to be parched" (as if from drought, or as if desert). The Bible uses this word to describe not only the desert portions of southern Judah (e.g. the Negev Desert), but also sometimes Egypt, another desert land to the south of Jerusalem. The word negeb also can refer more generally to lands south of Jerusalem.

The recent Palestinian election in the West Bank and Gaza has brought the radical Hamas movement to power. Elected Palestinian leadership is now coming from a political-terrorist movement largely funded by supporters outside Palestine – particularly from Iran. Iran's president Ahmadinejad has spoken openly of his wish to see Muslim power increase across his region, a goal reminiscent of al Qaeda's plan to unite all Muslims under one banner and then use its control of oil to force its will on the United States, Europe and the rest of the world.

Bible prophecy shows that Muslim powers will unite into a "kingdom" in the south, seeking to work together for world dominance. But this quest for overlordship will be their ruin! The old "Crusader" nations of Europe will not be bullied, and will take the oil they need to survive: "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon [none of which have oil!]. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels" (Daniel 11:40–43). (For more in-depth information, read our booklet The Middle East in Prophecy)

The world is running out of oil, and the last great oil reserves are in the Middle East. Religion is the key that will unite the kingdom of the south, in response to which Europe will come together under the banner of a great church: "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:11–13).

In the name of religion, the masses on both sides will be whipped into a frenzy, ready to fight for Allah or the cross, all because of men's greed for the black gold – oil!

Greed and false religions will bring the world to the brink of cosmocide and only the coming of Christ will stop the slaughter. We wait with eager anticipation for that day!