As the crowds of protesters in Cairo grew from thousands, to tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands, the price of oil shot upward.

The price of benchmark Brent crude oil this week surged to $100, up 5 percent since the beginning of last week, when violence spread from Tunisia to Egypt. It’s the first time oil has gone that high in two years.

But Egypt itself is not an oil exporter. So why has oil risen in price?

One answer is simply Egypt’s position on the map. As Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tells Voice of America:

“It’s in a strategic position. The Suez Canal flows through Egypt and there is also a significant oil pipeline which stretches from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,” Henderson said. “So the oil markets are apprehensive of disruption here. So far there hasn’t been any, but oil markets tweak up the price because of what they see as sensitivity.”

For now, the canal — which offers the most direct shipping route between Asia and Europe — remains open. Britain’s “Financial Times” reported today that a special Egyptian military authority has taken charge of the Canal Zone to guarantee the safety of shipping.

But Egypt’s risky geographic location is not the only thing driving up oil prices. More importantly, there is fear that the unrest in Egypt could spread to the other Arab countries which are major oil exporters, such as the Gulf states.

Friday is expected to see the biggest protests yet in Cairo as it marks the start of the weekend in Egypt. The protests are scheduled to begin as mosques let out after Friday Prayers.

Source; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

My comments;

When the price of oil goes up, the price of everything else goes up along with it, because the energy provided by oil is the foundation for everything else in the global economy.

Most people have no idea how fragile their lives are. Westerners in particular are often clueless about the fact that the high quality of life they enjoy is not something they should take for granted. It all depends on a lot of things that are interconnected and any shock to the system can send the entire edifice crashing to the ground faster than anyone can imagine.

If you think there has been hard economic times in the last couple of years, you should prepare yourself for the fact that things are about to get a lot worse.

The situation in the world is bad and it’s not going to get any better.

The economy is not going to recover, the wars are not going to end, the earthquakes, hurricanes, forest fires and floods are not going to stop happening. These things are going to continue and intensify and feed into each other.

As Yeshua (Jesus) said in Mark 13: 7-8;

When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

The good news is, there is hope, and His name is Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Jesus Christ)

He will return, and He will put an end to the devastation and the suffering

Mark 13: 24-27;

But in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

When He has returned, or when you’re dead, it’s too late to accept His free gift of Grace which is the only thing which can save us from the wrath to come. Accept it now, and enter into the promise of His Salvation.

As Yeshua said in Matthew 11:28;

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Written by Aaron