Searching for Black Gold in an Unlikely Place

A born-again Christian's search for oil takes him to Israel.

ByABC News
February 18, 2009, 9:42 PM

Oct. 31, 2007 — -- When I first heard about John Brown, the American born-again Christian looking for oil in Israel, I thought, "well he's obviously unhinged."

Everyone knows Israel doesn't have oil, right? I mean, Israel celebrates its 60th birthday next year, and if it had any of the black stuff, surely some clever person would have found it by now! So, it was with some skepticism that I approached this story and Brown.

The first impression I had of the man, himself, was that he was charming and not quite the wide-eyed evangelical I had expected. We picked him up at his hotel for the first of several meetings. He proved a good talker, and seemed honest and sincere.

(The story came to our attention when John Brown was profiled by Gabriel Sherman for Conde Nast's "Portfolio" magazine. Click here to read "Portfolio's" full article on John Brown and his search for oil in the Holy Land.)

With disarming candor, he described his former life as a high-powered businessman, and how he had run into drinking problems in the early 1980s. He said he had a religious experience in 1981 that changed his life.

"There were some things in my life that needed to be cleared up with the Lord. I felt like God actually took a hose and washed me, and I felt like the sin was actually rolling off me," Brown said, as we chatted, overlooking the holy sites of Jerusalem.

It wasn't long before Brown heard a sermon from a visiting preacher, talking about oil in Israel. It was another turning point in his life that began a 25-year journey.

Brown came to Israel in 1983, and it was there that he fell in love with the landscape and people, and found his mission. That mission was to find the hidden oil he believes is there. His unshakeable faith in the oil lies in the Scriptures. There are passages in the Bible which, for Brown, stand out like sign posts to the oil he hopes to find.

For example, in Genesis 49:25, Jacob promises Joseph "the almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, and the blessings of the deep that lieth under."

For Brown, those underground blessings can mean only one thing oil. Most biblical scholars believe other references to oil in the Bible refer to olive oil, but don't tell Brown that. His belief is unmovable, and his optimism unshakeable.