And now even U.S. support for Israel is on the decline, largely driven by the need for Muslim oil.

As I look at Bible prophecy, I know certain things. First, Israel will survive as a nation. Second, in the tribulation period that immediately precedes the Second Coming of Jesus, they will have enormous wealth. According to prophet Ezekiel, this wealth will be so great that it attracts a desperate attack by Russia and the Muslim Confederacy. This attack will actually be the first battle of the war of Armageddon.

So what wealth is Ezekiel talking about? Israel has achieved an agricultural miracle in the land, as predicted. She also has developed a world class high-tech industry. But none of these have brought the kind of wealth that is forecasted by the Bible.

The one source of this kind of wealth that would achieve the conditions of the prophecies is OIL. A major oil discovery would not only deliver Israel from the tyranny of the Muslim oil weapon, but also provide the great wealth that is demanded by the prophecy of Ezekiel. If Israel had a major oil discovery, it would change the entire balance of power in the Middle East and the world.

I believe that just such a discovery is possible. Last year I reported on an exciting new oil exploration in Israel by Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (www.zionoil.com). It is the result of the persistence of a dedicated Christian named John Brown. He has been driven by a vision God gave him over twenty years ago. One miracle after another has enabled him to pull together a company of professionals that truly believe they are at the right place, at the right time to find a major oil reserve.

They are not operating on a ‘pipe dream’. The Jerusalem Post reported, “The oil potential of Israel was evaluated twice at the request of the Israeli government. In 1962, the former chief geologist at EXXON determined that ‘the potential ultimate oil resources of Israel should be of the order of 500 to 2,000 million barrels from primary recovery … In 1979, James Wilson, former chief geologist of SHELL (US) determined that on-shore Israel has a potential of 330 to 2,000 million barrels of recoverable oil. Both of these experts have been president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.”

Zion Oil has leased and is about to drill in what appears to be a recommended area for discovering oil. Geological records that now go back for decades have been carefully studied and plotted to verify this. But there is one geological source Zion Oil is using that I believe is the most important of all. It is the Bible itself. It so happens that the secular geological records coincide precisely with the area projected by the Bible.

In the early 1980s, John Brown was inspired by a series of messages given by a noted Bible teacher named James Spillman called, “The Treasures of the Deep.” He believes that God spoke to him and revealed that this was to be his mission in life.

He began to intensely study the Scriptures that predict certain riches would come to the descendents of two of Jacob’s sons in the “last days”. The first prophecy is made by the Patriarch, Jacob.

The time to which these prophecies apply is given, “And Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in THE LAST DAYS …” (Genesis 49:1 NKJ)

Here are some important excerpts from the prophecy concerning Joseph’s sons, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well … By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above [and the] BLESSINGS OF THE DEEP THAT LIES BENEATH …” (Deuteronomy 33:13-16 NKJ)

The place where these blessings will be bestowed is also specified, “The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and ON THE CROWN OF THE HEAD of him who was separate from his brothers.” (Genesis 49:26)

Remember this.

The second prophecy concerning Joseph is made by Moses, “And of Joseph he said: ‘Blessed of the Lord is HIS LAND, with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, AND FROM THE DEEP LYING BENEATH, with the precious fruits of the sun, with the precious produce of the months, with the best things of the ancient mountains, with the precious things of the everlasting hills, with the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph, and ON THE CROWN OF THE HEAD of him who was separate from his brothers.’” (Deuteronomy 33:13-16 NKJ)

The third relevant prophecy is also made by Moses. This one concerns Jacob’s son Asher, whose allotted tribal land adjoins Joseph’s sons’ land, “And of Asher he said: ‘Asher is most blessed of sons; Let him be favored by his brothers, and LET HIM DIP HIS FOOT IN OIL.’” (Deuteronomy 33:24 NKJ)

As you look at the map of Israel’s tribal lands, note that ‘the toe of Asher’s land’ juts out into the ocean at the foot of Mount Carmel. From ancient times it has been called ‘the foot of Asher.’

But what has been overlooked is the shape of lands of Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephriam. Follow the outline and it looks like a man’s head with a crown on top. The ‘crown’ is up against the ‘foot’ shape of Asher’s land. I believe with John Brown and James Spillman that this is the key to the prophecies about blessing Joseph and Asher with riches in the last days with the treasures of the deep. And Asher is to dip his foot in the oil of that area.

Geological studies of Israel’s oil potential show an underground oil bearing formation that is in this area. It is in the very heart of this region that Zion Oil is being led to drill an abandoned well to a deeper depth.

The well is called Ma’anit No. 1. Interestingly, it is located near the ruins of the ancient city of Megiddo, from which the apocalyptic name ‘Armageddon’ comes.