For as long as I've been studying Bible prophecy, I've heard people talk about the possibility of oil riches being discovered in Israel. Because so much error and outright fraud are being promoted in the name of Bible prophecy, I have decided to offer my view on this subject.
By today's standards, it might seem odd that God would direct Moses to a land flowing with milk and honey and not petroleum. Of course, ancient Israel would have no need for oil. If I were living in the second century B.C., I'd certainly pick Judah over the sweat box we now call the Persian Gulf.
Now that oil has become a precious commodity, second guessers would seem to think that Moses & Co. should have kept on walking. There are some who suggest that God didn't leave the Israelis out of the oil bonanza. The oil prize is there, waiting for someone to discover it.
Some Christians have said that prophecy suggests that oil wealth will come to the Jews. They point to a desire to steal Israel 's oil wealth as what will trigger the Gog invasion. The prophecies in Ezekiel make no reference to oil being the reason for the attack.
In the past decade, several oil companies have been founded with the goal of finding biblical oil in Israel. None of them has had any success.
I've become very concerned about these types of companies. They often come to churches telling members about how their firms are about to strike "the big one," and that the churches can get in on the action by buying shares of the companies.
The result is always the same. A few years down the road, the ventures go bust, and the Christians who foolishly buy into these Bible-based oil schemes typically end up losing all of their investments.
Over the years, these firms have become rather sophisticated in attracting investors. I know of two firms that traded on the major stock exchanges, and several others were listed as penny stocks.
Ness Energy International is one example. In the late 1990s, a Texas oilman by the name "Hayseed" Stevens was promoting the idea that a vast reservoir of oil was under that Dead Sea region.
Mr. Stevens based his conclusions on ideas that would make any respected geologist pull his hair out. He told people at a series of prophecy meetings that the earth contains a layer of hydrocarbons and that the southern part of the Dead Sea is the fountainhead of this oil reservoir. Stevens also said there is a plumbing system that would eventually drain the Arabian oil fields. Yes, all this time the Arabs have been stealing Israel 's oil.
The undoing of Stevens’ eccentric theories came when he began drilling. After punching through a salt plug that was said to be capping the oil, nothing was found. I remember him sending out one update to reassure investors, saying that the drillers had found oil; but it wasn't the right kind oil they were looking for. I thought oil was oil. Did they hit a pocket of vegetable, mineral, or baby oil?
The curtain call for Ness Energy came in January when a stock report said, "Mr. Stephens tendered his resignation as Director and President effective immediately."
Dennis Stricklin, listed as the new director of the firm, issued the following report: "Presently the company has debts that we have identified in the $2 million range with possibilities that it could be as high as $3 million with there being no major identifiable assets of value.”
Zion Oil & Gas Inc. is another such company. Last month, I happened to meet some of the members of this firm in Tulsa. They steadfastly believe they are going to find "the big one" in Israel. The stock price of their company shows the reality of their progress. At its January 2007 IPO, Zion Oil’s stock traded at the $12 range. Today, it’s down by 50 percent at 6 bucks a share.
A huge factor working against any hope of a major oil find in Israel is the nation's size; it is too small to accommodate a major oil field. Most large-scale oil finds take up an area encompassing dozens of square miles. The East Texas Oilfield, the United States' most productive field, is 218 square miles. After years of drilling that only resulted in dry wells, it's not practical to assume that a similar find can be located in Israel.
I think the greatest argument against oil wealth in Israel is the amazing history behind the nation. The Jewish state is at a huge disadvantage to its Arab neighbors. It has very little natural resources, and yet it has greater prosperity than any Gulf state. Israel 's affluence can only be explained by God's grace.
If
Israel were to suddenly hit the mother lode in oil, the material wealth
would largely void the supernatural work that God has accomplished in this
nation. The blessing of God is worth far greater than a billion barrels of
that black gooey stuff.