"No Natural Gas in Israel Until Further Notice"

In Ezekiel 38:1-2, 6,8-9 we read: "Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him...Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. ... 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, and 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 peoples with you.”

Chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel depict a climactic battle in which a confederation of armies sweep across Israel and almost decimates the nation. (Russia, Iran, Turkey/Armenia, Northern Africa including Libya and Ethiopia and environs, Saudi Arabia. It is climactic because it is at the moment of destruction that God Himself opens the veil between heaven and earth and personally saves Israel. It is this moment when Israel realizes how much she needs her God and returns to her old Covenant with Him. (Ez 38:18-23; Ez 39:7;22).

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When the Soviet Union collapsed and laid low for so many years it seemed that the Russian Bear was vanquished. The US was often stated to be the only global superpower. Oh, what a difference a few years make, but are as nothing in the timing of the Lord. Russia is back, and she is growling. In these news excerpts, notice how her growls are consistent with activities she is prophesied to take part in during the Tribulation:

With Russia's $650 billion rearmament plan, the bear sharpens its teeth
"Moscow – The graying bear is getting a make-over. Russia's military is launching its biggest rearmament effort since Soviet times, including a $650 billion program to procure 1,000 new helicopters, 600 combat planes, 100 warships, and 8 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Analysts say Russia, while already the world's fifth-largest military spender, needs strong conventional forces to reduce its overreliance on its aging Soviet-era nuclear missile deterrent. Valentin Rudenko, director of the independent Interfax-Military News Agency, says it could create "a whole new ballgame." "For about two decades we've had no real modernization, at least not like what's being proposed now," he says. "Russia will finally have a modern, top-level armed forces that are capable of protecting the country." [my note-- Or invading Israel…]

Your Jewish News: Russia launches universal ID and payment card.
"Imagine a piece of plastic that gets you a doctor's appointment, pays your bills, allows you to rent a car or buy a plane ticket and even get Moscow registration faster than the sham ads in the Moscow metro. President Dmitry Medvedev promised Monday that three years from now all Russians will have this magic card. He gave the government till May to make final calculations of the funds necessary to introduce the universal electronic card, or UEC, for all citizens and urged banks to not take advantage of card users at the meeting of the commission on modernization and technological development of the economy Monday."

The Gog-Magog battle seems to be sparked by the question in Ezekiel 38: 13- "Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, 'Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?'" We do not know what the 'great spoil' is that Russia and her allies seek to plunder, but it is reasonable to speculate that it could be oil. Israel knows the engine of the world is run by oil and that she, her neighbors, and Russia possess it. An article in the conservative Jewish newspaper Haaretz this week was headlined: "What about a revolution in oil dependency?" and it is noted,

"The repeated warnings that the world economy is relying on a dwindling resource lying deep down in the earth, underneath unstable states, are proving true before our very eyes. Global oil consumption is now at a record peak of about 88 million barrels a day. The two largest producers are Russia and Saudi Arabia, which together supply about one-quarter of the market. The largest proven reserves are also in Saudi Arabia. Only that country has surplus production capacity, by which it is able to take up the slack in the event that one of the smaller producers is in trouble - as is the case now in Libya. All the other exporters are pumping oil at their full capacity."

So oil is in short supply. In Israel, natural gas is too:

On March 3, 2011 the government of Israel and the Delek Gas company were in talks about how to deliver the bounty of gas the company had found late last year. Everything was rosy. "Israel's production of natural gas is set to soar in coming years following the discovery of two fields in the eastern Mediterranean that could provide the country with its natural gas needs for decades and even make it an energy exporter." The two fields are named Tamar and Leviathan. Then on March 5th we read this:

YNet News: Israel's natural gas supply cut off
"Israel has been cut off of its natural gas supply until further notice. A malfunction occurred in the Yam Tatis reservoir which is currently the sole gas supplier for Israeli power plants. It remains unclear when the malfunction will be fixed."

A few hours later we read in Arutz Sheva/Israel National News that "No Natural Gas in Israel Until Further Notice"
The Delek gas company says it's trying to find the problem, but whatever it is that went wrong at sea over the Sabbath, it has cut off Israel's natural gas supply. The "Yam Thetis" natural gas supplier underwent maintenance at its offshore gas deposit today, expecting to renew the supply immediately after. But it didn't work out that way, and while experts seek out the source of the problem, Israel remains gasless until further notice – hours, days, or weeks away. The Israel Electric Company will continue to supply electricity, but it will be fueled only by diesel fuel (soler) and mazut - causing ecological and other problems. It is thought that the problem might possibly be a computer fault. The gas deposit is jointly owned by Noble Energy, Delek, and Isramco. The works today were designed to prepare to increase the supply of gas to the electric company, in light of the uncertainty in the Egyptian gas market. Egypt's EMG company, which halted its gas supply to Israel a month ago, continues to waffle on when the supply will be renewed. Since 2008, Egypt has supplied Israel with 40% of its gas needs, used for 20% of Israel's electricity."

In energy news elsewhere, in the UK, electricity is predicted to be the issue-

UK Telegraph: Era of constant electricity at home is ending, says power chief
Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. ... "The days of permanently available electricity may be coming to an end, the head of the power network said yesterday." Under the so-called “smart grid” that the UK is developing, the government-regulated utility will be able to decide when and where power should be delivered, to ensure that it meets the highest social purpose. Governments may, for example, decide that the needs of key industries take precedence over others, or that the needs of industry trump that of residential consumers. Governments would also be able to price power prohibitively if it is used for non-essential purposes." (other source, Global Warming Policy Network)

What will happen when the oil/gas/electricity becomes scarce? I can hardly venture to guess the riots and unrest then. It becomes easier to envision a Psalm 83 battle, Isaiah 17:1 concluded and the Gog-Magog war on the horizon.

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