What does $4 gas have to do with chemical warfare, America’s future and the Antichrist? A prophecy in Daniel may explain.
There is no shortage of oil. There are oil tankers sitting in our waters off the coast, and they are not allowed to unload.” A CIA employee told my father this during the famous 1972 oil embargo. The OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, felt the United States had intervened in the Yom Kippur War, thus saving the nation of Israel from calamity. As punishment, the Arab oil barons united in an embargo to teach America a lesson.
At the time, a person’s license tag number determined the days that car owner could purchase gas—odd numbers only on one day, and even numbers the next. Americans demanded that our government become independent from Arabian oil. Eventually the crisis ended, the prices dropped, and the issue faded like a morning fog in the rising sun. The only good legislation passed was the decision to open an area called the strategic reserves, where oil would be stored in the event of a national catastrophe or an emergency.
Yet in 2008, pump prices again rose to record levels. The OPEC nations cut production to drive up prices during America’s highest driving season. During the summer months in America, a specific blend of gas was mandated, which could only be mixed by specific refineries. It was also pointed out that Americans were driving larger vehicles that demanded more fuel but got fewer miles per gallon. A combination of these factors, along with two major hurricanes, shot the price of fuel to more than $4 a gallon in many states.
Prices have since declined slightly, but America still faces a war at the pump and remains at the mercy of the OPEC nations for the bulk of our oil supply. Indeed, oil will continue to play a major role in the coming days not only for the U.S., but for the entire world.
Oil in Prophecy
It may come as a surprise to learn that a prophecy in Daniel may be a cryptic allusion to the power of oil and how the coming dictator called the Antichrist will control the nations with oil. Daniel 11:24 says: “He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time” (KJV).
Some would say, “How could this refer to our time? Oil wells didn’t exist in Daniel’s day.” This is correct, but the passage also serves as the amazing supernatural evidence of biblical prophecy. The prophetic visionaries saw things centuries before they occurred, yet wrote about them with pinpoint accuracy.
The prophecy’s setting involves a leader whom many identify as the Antichrist of Bible prophecy. The passage deals with the Antichrist taking possession of important land areas and promising to take the wealth of the region and divide it among his followers. In this prophecy, the word fattest is often translated as “richest” or “wealthiest.” However, the root word is shaman and can mean “oil” or “to shine.” With modern understanding, we could say the fattest places (bringing huge amounts of wealth) would be the oil states in the Persian Gulf region.
I believe this verse could allude to a future dictator who will control the places of oil in the Medina area. The largest oil producer in the Gulf is Saudi Arabia, which is also the heart of the world’s oil supply and the world headquarters of the Islamic religion. If an Islamic radical with a substantial following overthrew the royal house of the Saudi king, he could seize the oil wells, and within a few days the global oil markets would panic, sending the world’s stock markets into the abyss. All nations that depend upon oil, including America, would feel the immediate economic squeeze. Islamic fanatics would gladly grasp the opportunity to watch America’s economy plummet and American citizens spending their incomes to fill the coffers of this new Arabian king.
The passage in Daniel indicates the reason the future dictator will enter the “fattest [oily] places of the province.” His goal will be to redistribute the wealth from the wealthy to the common man. One translation says: “He will take the property of the rich and scatter it out among the people” (11:24, TLB). Another states it this way: “He will divide among his followers the goods and property he has captured in war” (GNT).
One of the primary complaints about the Saudi royal family is that they hoard the oil wealth for themselves and their families while many of the Arabs living in the huge desert nation remain in poverty. This is why Osama bin Laden had appeal among many common and simpleminded Muslims. Bin Laden was from a wealthy family and inherited millions before being expelled from Saudi Arabia. However, according to a Christian from Pakistan, bin Laden used part of his fortune to establish schools for students in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
I have several friends who have worked for oil companies in the Arabian Gulf and are very familiar with the Arabian mind-set. They’ve told me that large majorities of people actually despise the Saudi royal family. It’s only a matter of time until there is a major uprising in the Gulf, and one man will emerge as the new leader of the region. Oddly enough, the Islamic tradition states that the Mahdi (who many Christians believe will be the Antichrist) will appear in the area of Saudi Arabia.
The Black Wind of Death
It seems everyone in the world is seeing the need to drill and look for new sources of oil—except the legislative branch of government in America. Why are so many politicians afraid of opening up off shore drilling or even drilling in Alaska? The simple answer is that environmentalist groups from the West Coast have a strong influence over the media and have given large sums of money to political coffers to prevent the drilling process by blocking legislation through lobbyists or lawsuits.
Politics and biblical prophecies have often gone hand-in-hand as nations engage in a global chess match involving oil. Yet America’s involvement in this has, as the past 20 years prove, also placed us as prime targets for the threat of radical Islamic terrorists. All the individuals with whom I have spoken who are directly involved in counterterrorism or with Israeli or American military organizations say it’s only a matter of time before we experience another strike on America soil. Counterterrorism organizations who have intercepted “chatter” indicate that a plan to engage in the next attack will be much more dramatic and cost more lives than even 9/11.
I believe it’s possible that the second wave against the United States will come in the form of a chemical or a biological attack. I base this on intelligence information and upon a statement made by an al-Qaida leader that is part of an Islamic prophecy, predicted to occur at the end of days: “Then you watch for the Day that the sky will bring forth a kind of smoke (or mist) plainly visible, enveloping the people: this will be a grievous Penalty” (Surah 44:10-11).
The Compendium of Muslim Texts, an Islamic commentary, elaborates on this: “Smoke will appear all over the earth, which will cause believers to catch something similar to a slight cold, whereas the unbelievers will be hit harder by it.”
The sign of “smoke” is mentioned in Islamic predictions as one of the signs of the last days. Some Islamic writers take it as a supernatural sign sent by Allah against the unbelievers. Others indicate it will be something Muslims will initiate; however, they will be protected from this chastisement by Allah. This portent is one of the many signs that, according to Islamic teachers, will precede the arrival of the Mahdi. One is a black wind that some believe will kill up to one-third of the population.
I believe this prediction could actually become self-fulfilling—that is, a group of Islamic fanatics will develop a chemical or biological agent that will manifest as a visible form of smoke or a type of bomb that will cause death to those with whom it comes in contact.
Abu Salma al-Hijazi, reportedly a close commander to Osama bin Laden, was interviewed in Iraq months after the liberation by the United States and its coalition forces. When asked about a large-scale future strike against the U.S., this al-Qaida commander was quoted as saying: “A huge and very courageous strike will take place and that the number of infidels expected to be killed in this attack, according to primary estimates, exceeds 100,000.” He added that the attack will be carried out in a way that will “amaze the world and turn al-Qaida into [an organization that] horrifies the world until the law of Allah is implemented, actually implemented, and not just in words, on His land. … You wait and see that the balance of power between al-Qaida and its rivals will change, all of sudden, Allah willing.”
Apocalyptic Muslims are as certain that their predictions will come to pass as religious Jews who believe in a coming Messiah and Christians who believe in the biblical signs of Christ’s return. By initiating such an attack, it will be a global “sign” to all Muslims that the last days are here and their long-awaited leader who will soon bring the world under Islamic dominion is about to arise.
Attacking the American Economy
The crackdown on illegal immigration, new laws governing entering and exiting America, and the institution of the Patriot Act have made it more difficult for Islamic fanatics to hide within America without being detected or observed. But there are still ways from abroad in which these radical Muslims are attempting to cripple the U.S., including attacking its economy. Aside from controlling the future oil crisis, the two other main areas are:
1) Exchanging the dollar for the euro. Since the European Union (EU) introduced the euro currency several years ago, it’s now common for the euro to maintain an equal or higher value than the dollar. For years the nations of the world desired to have hard currency in hand, and the dollar was the premium currency.
I recall visiting Bulgaria and Romania after the fall of communism and seeing firsthand how much a U.S. dollar could buy (in Romania, it was equivalent to 600 Romanian dollars). The same strength is seen in many third-world countries. Since World War II, the dollar has sustained the buying power in nations of the world. But the euro has now changed the equation.
The euro is becoming a desired investment and currency in much of Europe. It appears that Muslims who are angry at America for entering Afghanistan and Iraq are now spreading word that Islamic nations should avoid using dollars and begin to use euros as their international currency. Though the change is difficult for many because some Arab leaders have huge amounts of cash (American dollars) stored away in vaults in secret places, the rising tide of voices against the American dollar is increasing in volume.
2) Hoarding gold. Gold is key to Islamic apocalyptic traditions. The Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal states: “Abu Bakr ibn Abi Maryam reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah … say: ‘A time is certainly coming over mankind in which there will be nothing [left] which will be of use save a dinar and a dirham.’”
In early Islamic history, a minted gold coin was called a dinar. After the collapse of the Ottoman Turkish Empire in 1924, there was a lapse in the Islamic currency, as most Muslim countries accepted the currency of the Western nations, including the British pound and the American dollar. Several years ago, an Islamic group in West Malaysia began minting the gold dinar again. Meetings have been conducted in Egypt and in Arabia discussing the need for Muslims to accept the new coinage as the official coin of the Islamic nations. In brief, many apocalyptic Muslims who hold traditions concerning the last days believe there will be a worldwide economic crisis in which all paper money will be useless. The only money of value will be money consisting of gold and silver.
Many speculate that this is one reason why gold and silver prices have, from time to time, risen by 40 to 50 percent in a short time. In early 2003, the price of gold and silver was rising, but after the invasion of Iraq, the price increased by about 30 percent! There was no explanation for this, since the stock market was rising, the jobless rate decreasing and the economy was again on the move. The explanation may be found when exploring who is hoarding the gold and silver.
Intelligence research indicates that Muslims are now telling fellow Muslim businessmen to purchase as much gold as possible and get an edge on the market. Huge amounts of gold would provide enough material to produce large numbers of the thin gold dinars, which, through an Islamic banking system, could then be sold to fellow Muslims.
Before you think this sounds too far-fetched, remember that in the 1980s silver went to $50 an ounce and gold spiked at over $800 an ounce. History confirms that when a major economic crisis blankets the world, precious metals such as gold and silver are sought after by investors, businessmen and private individuals.
Though gold and silver may rise and fall in their worth, biblical prophecy seems to indicate that it is oil that will become the most sought-after commodity as end-time events begin to take place. This is only one of many reasons why America must become oil independent by using our natural resources.
Perry Stone has written more than 40 books, including Unleashing the Beast, which releases in October and from which this article is adapted.
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