The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest

Vol: 32 Issue: 8 - Saturday, May 08, 2004

Asher's Foot
by Jack Kinsella

"And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and
will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes
shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Genesis 17:20)

Later, when Ishmael's nephew, Esau, discovered that his brother Jacob had
usurped his blessing, Esau went to his father Isaac, and begged;

"Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my
father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling
shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it
shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt
break his yoke from off thy neck."  (Genesis 27:39-40)

The fulfillment of the promises of Scripture to Ishmael and Jacob are
nothing short of astonishing in their specificity.

Tracing the geneology of Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18) and that of Esau
(Genesis 27:38-39)  establish that the descendants of Ishmael and Esau
make up the modern-day Arab world. Most of the world's proven oil reserves
are to be found in the Arab Middle East.   The Arab world accounts for
some 99.4% of the total land mass of the Middle East.  And what they
control, they control absolutely.

Since the birth of Islam in the 5th century AD, the Muslim Middle East has
been the exclusive domain of the descendants of Ishmael and Esau.  Under
the banner of the crescent moon, Islam at one time controlled a vast
empire that extended well into Europe.  The Ottoman Empire (1417-1917)
under Suleiman the Magnificent, (1520-1566) was the most powerful empire
in the world.

During his reign, he more than doubled the Ottoman territories inherited
from his father, creating a multi-national multilingual empire stretching
from Vienna in the west to the upper Arab peninsula in the east, the
Crimea in the north to the Sudan in the south.

Architectural growth abounded. He had public baths, bridges, religious
schools, and grand mosque complexes erected.   Economic wealth spilled
over into other fine arts. At the Palace Studio, 29 painters, half of them
European, created a new aesthetic direction with their miniature
paintings.

After Suleiman, the Ottoman Empire fell into decline before finally being
defeated by the Allies in the First World War.  After the war, the
victorious Allies divided up the Ottoman Empire into individual states,
including Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Transjordan.

The Islamic Empire of the Ottomans was replaced by the Islamic oil
sheikdoms, but their oil afforded them wealth and global influence that
would have made Suleiman green with envy.

God kept His promise to Ishmael and Esau.

Assessment:

Hal Lindsey came into Toronto a day early so we could spend some time
visiting and sightseeing before he had to start his busy conference
schedule.  We spent most of Thursday and Friday together catching up on
mutual friends,  stories about our kids and their kids, etc., etc.

With Hal was his cousin and fellow evangelist, Ralph, of whom I had heard
much but had not yet met.  Ralph is also involved in the oil exploration
efforts ongoing in Israel.   Ralph directed me to the Scripture that has
guided Zion Oil and Gas to drill in a specific place in northern Israel.

What fascinated me was not that subsequent geological reports have
confirmed the existence of a vast oil field somewhere in the area,  but
that the company was founded based on a Scriptural promise in the first
place.

Zion founder John Brown, recognizing the literal fulfillment of promises
made to the sons of Ishmael,  examined the Scriptures regarding God's
promises to the sons of Jacob and struck oil, so to speak.

"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together,
that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather
yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel
your father." (Genesis 49:1-2)

The patriarch then gives specific prophecies concerning the posterity of
each of his twelve sons.  The most well-known of these was the prophecy of
the Messiah Who would come from the line of Judah:

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people
be." (49:10)

Of  his favorite son, Joseph,  Jacob prophesied, "Even by the God of thy
father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee
with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under,
blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father
have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound
of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the
crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (49:25-26)

Note several things here.  Joseph is to be blessed with the "blessings of
the deep that lieth under" the land of Israel.  The blessings shall be "on
the head of Joseph."

Deuteronomy 33:13 repeats the blessing and the prophecy:  "And of Joseph
he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of
heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath."

Finally, Ezekiel 47:13-14 allots Joseph a double portion of the land;
"Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall
inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall
have two portions."

Of Asher, Jacob prophesied,  "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he
shall yield royal dainties." (Genesis 49:20) In addition, Deuteronomy
33:24 records,  "And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children;
let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him DIP HIS FOOT IN OIL."

Ralph gave me a map showing where Asher's 'foot' touches Joseph's 'head'.
That is where Zion Oil  located its Ma'Anit well site.  Interestingly
enough, it is just outside Meggido (on the plains of Armageddon.)

http://www.omegaletter.com/images/articles/oil_map.jpg

According to Ralph, Zion expects to make a major oil strike, with reserves
expected to exceed several billion barrels.  Such as strike would make
Israel energy independent, and could well break the stranglehold on oil
production and pricing now held by the sons of Ishmael.

It could make Israel as wealthy as any Arab oil kingdom.  It is unlikely
that the Arab states would allow Israel membership to OPEC,  which could
easily signal the end of the oil cartel's power.

An oil strike in Israel would be catastrophic to the Arab oil economy, and
could easily result in another pan-Arab war against the Jewish State.

But a Jewish State in possession of huge proven oil reserves would be a
different enemy than the tiny energy-dependent pariah state whose only
real friend is the United States.  An oil-rich Israel would find itself
much more popular among the Europeans, as well.

About the only major world power who would NOT welcome a new source of
oil, from whatever source, would be the oil-rich but technologically-poor
Federation of Russian republics, whose largest oil reserves are in the
Islamic Republic of Chechnya.

So, let's add things up, shall we?   An Israeli oil strike would bring
down the wrath of the Islamic world,  threaten Russia's plans to use its
own oil as a future strategic weapon,  and earn Israel a new favored
status among the Europeans, bringing all the players in Ezekiel's
Gog-Magog invasion to center stage at the same time.

All that remains to be discovered is exactly where the 'blessings of the
deep' are located.  How likely is it that Zion Oil will strike Israel's
black gold?  The same God Who fulfilled His promise to Abraham regarding
Ishmael and Esau also promised that Asher "will dip his foot in oil."

"And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;
When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer
is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to
pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto
you, THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS AWAY, till ALL  be fulfilled."  (Luke
21:29-32)