"Chavez and the 'Ezekial Option'"

World Net Daily columnist Hal Lindsey writes an interesting piece titled "Chavez and the 'Ezekiel Option'". I will be researching several of the items mentioned in the article to learn more.

Hugo Chavez is, of course, the President of Venezuela. Dictator might be a much better word. Be that as it may, Mr. Lindsey begins with the following:

This week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was handed unrestricted authority to rule his nation by decree. Venezuela's new parliament passed, and Chavez signed, the "Enabling Act" and put an end to any hopes of a democratic end to his rule.

Chavez is expected to exercise the absolute power granted him to nationalize all private oil and gas operations now operating in his territory.

Chavez also has plans to take state control of Venezuela's biggest telecommunications company and electricity providers, to revamp banking and zap the rich with new taxes with a goal of ensuring ''the equal distribution of wealth."

But that's not all:

Venezuela is America's fifth largest supplier of oil. And Chavez owns (or will soon own) all the oil companies.

Making the situation even more dangerous is Chavez's close alliance with Iran. Iran has sworn to wipe Israel from the map publicly, and on more than one occasion. Ahmadinejad recently sponsored a conference entitled, "A World Without Zionism" and subtitled, "A World Without America."

Also:

Iran is protected by its chief nuclear suppliers in Russia, complicating the situation even more. Moscow has hundreds of billions of dollars invested in Iran's nuclear programs. Iran's nuclear facilities are crawling with Russian scientists, advisers, technicians, security personnel – and their families.

The U.S. can't afford to move against Chavez without risking conflict with Iran – which ultimately risks dragging in the Russians. Chavez, on the other hand, can easily afford to wreak havoc on America's oil supply – and its economy – without fear of economic repercussion.

Mr. Lindsey winds up by writing:

The prophet Ezekiel predicted the development of a vast alliance that would include Russia, Persia (Iran) "and many people with thee" in the last days that would launch a surprise invasion of Israel.

So how does Israel fit into all this? A Texas oil company, Genco, recently announced the discovery of a large oil field near the Dead Sea. Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer called the strike "just the beginning."

British Natural Gas announced the discovery of a vast natural gas deposit 20 miles offshore of Tel Aviv. Initial estimates suggest some 3.5 trillion cubic feet in proved reserves.

Zion Oil has sunk eight exploratory wells, all of which have shown signs of oil and gas. Zion founder John Brown believes the amount of oil reserves hidden beneath Israel could rival that of Saudi Arabia.

A massive oil strike in Israel would completely change the balance of power in the Middle East. Such an oil- strike could potentially break the back of OPEC. It is unlikely OPEC would admit Israel as a member, regardless of how much oil she had.

That would seem to leave but one option, best expressed by my friend Joel Rosenberg's novel of the same name.

The Ezekiel Option.

Interesting, no? If there is oil and natural gas in Israel, that would change the world dynamics considerably. I will be looking for more information on this.

As for Chavez--between him and Ahmadinejad, there is plenty to worry about. I guess I am naive, but why in the world would Venezuela allow Chavez unrestricted power like that? More research for me to do.

Still, I thought the above article was very interesting and wanted to share it for that reason alone.