With the death toll mounting in Egypt, the media is asking the question: Is Egypt the next Syria? It’s a valid question. After all, will Egypt lead to mass unrest and extensive bloodshed? Perhaps—but one key difference between Syria and Egypt exists that will radically change how this latest crisis unfolds.

That difference is simple. Although Syria’s unrest has lasted for the past two years, has it directly affected you? For 99.9 percent of those reading this, the answer is no. Tens of thousands have died and over a million have been made homeless, but all that unrest has made no difference to your life—at least not in a direct way.

Not so with Egypt. The violence has only been going on for a few days in Egypt, yet you’ve probably already seen the results if you filled up your fuel tank over the last few days—you’ve probably paid a bit extra because of Egypt. Helped by the unrest, oil prices hit their highest point in four months.

Egypt is such an important choke point in the global oil industry that just the risk of disruption of oil supplies was enough to send prices up.

What’s true for individuals is also true for nations. Europe, the United States and other nations around the world can afford to dither on Syria. What happens there does affect them—the West has good long-term and strategic reasons to get rid of Bashar Assad—but they can still get away with ignoring it for now. It doesn’t make enough of an immediate difference to force the West to pay attention.

Egypt, however, is a different kettle of fish. If Egypt’s unrest follows the Syrian path, it will have an immediate, clear and direct effect on pretty much every nation around the world. It would knock billions of euros off Europe’s economic growth. It could add percentage points to its unemployment.

Seven percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 13 percent of its liquefied natural gas comes through Egypt. It is the vital gateway between Europe and the entire Eastern Hemisphere. For the first few thousand years of man’s history, Egypt was a superpower. Its geography, at the crossroads of three continents, guarantees that it will always be of major importance.

How will that affect what happens next in Egypt? Potentially in dozens of different ways. It means the West will pay more attention and the enemies of the West will do more to disrupt Egypt. While it may not force Europe to take direct action, for example, it could force it to better unify its military so that it has the ability to intervene if it needs to.

As you watch Egypt, keep in mind that you also have to watch how Iran, Europe and even the U.S. and China respond to what happens. What happens in Egypt will provoke changes in countries and alliances around the world.

The Bible supports this. Daniel 11 tells us that Egypt will end up aligned with Iran—a prophecy the Trumpet has used as its guide to events in the Middle East since before Hosni Mubarak fell. With Egypt as part of the Islamic alliance, Iran will be powerful enough to push against Europe, which will provoke a furious response. Ultimately this alliance instigates World War iii.

For more information on Egypt’s strategic significance, see Trumpet columnist Joel Hilliker’s article “Will the Muslim Brotherhood Close the Suez Canal?”