.bmp)
.bmp)
In 1974, in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, Dr. John Walvoord predicted that oil would play a key role in end time events. His book Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East Crisis sold over 2 million copies in its original release and a subsequent release in 1990 in conjunction with the Gulf War.In light of all that’s happened in the last 35 years, one would think that the world’s growing economies would have worked hard to find suitable substitutes for crude oil. But actually the reverse has occurred. The world’s thirst for oil continues to increase with no end in sight. And one of the chief culprits is China. In the new updated release of Dr. Walvoord’s bestseller, titled Armageddon, Oil and Terror, there’s an entire chapter devoted to “fueling the dragon” and its possible implications for the end times. Here’s an excerpt from the book that helps put China’s oil quest into perspective:One of the most dramatic results of the rise of China is its influence on world oil markets. China is already the world’s second largest consumer of oil, and its consumption increases by 7.5 percent a year, seven times faster than the United States. By 2010 China will have ninety times more cars than it had just in 1990. At the current rate of growth, China’s thirst for oil will increase by 150 percent by 2020. By 2030 China’s projected oil imports will equal those of the United States. In this same year it’s projected that the number of cars in China will surpass that in the United States. What does this mean?Clearly, China is actively pursuing every opportunity to secure her energy resources for the future. Chinese officials already know what’s finally beginning to dawn on everyone else—China’ growing appetite for oil will be insatiable as her economy explodes. Here’s one more fact about China’s impact on the world oil market. At present about 58 percent of China’s oil imports come from the Middle East, but by 2015 about 70 percent of her oil must come from that region.The New York Times (8/13/07) has a front page story about China’s global ambitions and its bold quest to satisfy its thirst for more oil. The very long New York Times article chronicles China’s exploration and drilling activities in the African nation of Chad and its plans to scour the African continent for other possible sources of oil. But it’s highly unlikely that Africa will yield the amounts of oil necessary to drive the burgeoning Chinese economic engine.What’s the prophetic significance of this? Here’s another quote from Armageddon, Oil and Terror.All this will have a dramatic impact in at least three ways. First, China will continue to expand and siphon off more and more of the available crude from Iran, Russia, and the world market.Second, it will further concentrate the United States’ and Europe’s attention on the Middle East, as they will become more dependent than ever on oil from key allies in the Middle East. And third, because of its rapid growth, China will inevitably be forced to compete directly with the West for the oil in the Middle East.Revelation 16 says that in the end times “the kings of the east” will move westward into the Middle East where they ultimately face the returning King at Armageddon. But why would China make this Middle East move? It’s very possible that oil could be the reason for this final, fatal choice. Oil could be the magnet that draws the kings of the east to their doom. The magnet that draws it to the only place on earth with enough reserves to meet its insatiable demand.by Mark Hitchcock -
As in the days of Noah...
