There are those who say that President Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq, that he is a warmonger. Now one of the Democratic Senators, Pete Stark of California, has stated that President Bush has sent our troops to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's "amusement." How evil and ludicrous can you get?
We are a nation divided over the Iraq issue and people are wondering if there will ever be a solution. Our soldiers are risking their lives for our freedom while our liberal government leaders and their followers continue to call for us to pull out of Iraq. They degrade and criticize our military and its leaders, meet with terrorist leaders, and bring disgrace upon our country with their ungodly words and actions. But what about the war in Iraq? Should we have gotten involved and initiated it?
President Bush has stated that God told him to go to war in Iraq, but could that really be true? Did God speak to him about it, or did he have other motives behind the invasion? Regardless, I want to address this issue, see if there is any outside proof of President Bush's statement that God told him to do it, and if so, "Why?" To do this, we will examine the importance of Iraq down through the centuries, and then present three different areas of reason as to why President Bush could have possibly heard from God to invade Iraq.
The Importance of Iraq
Iraq, in the Bible, is called by different names, as Babylon, the Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia, and was the cradle of civilization. It was part of the Fertile Crescent, a region extending from Egypt, to the north of the Syria desert, into southeastern Turkey, southwestern Iran, all the way down to the Persian Gulf. The name "Iraq” means "country with deep roots," and surely it has deep roots. Iraq is the second most mentioned nation in the Bible, second only to Israel. There is no nation, other than Israel, that has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq.
Let's look at some facts about Iraq. Did you know that the Garden of Eden was in Iraq, and that is where Satan's attack of religious deception took place against Adam and Eve. Satan's ungodly kingdom was established in Iraq, under the leadership of Nimrod and his mother Semiramis. Noah built the ark in Iraq, the Tower of Babel was in Iraq, Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, was from Southern Iraq, the Assyrian empire originated in Iraq, with its capital Nineveh (modern day Mosul), Daniel was thrown in the lion's den in Iraq, the Jews were carried captive to Iraq, and Islam and the Koran, which are causing havoc and destruction throughout the world, were birthed in Iraq.
These are only a few facts as to the importance of Iraq. But what about today? Why is Iraq so important, and is President Bush's invasion of Iraq a fulfillment of biblical prophecy?
Reason One — Saddam Hussein
On April 28, 1937, a baby was born in Iraq, in the town of Al Awja, about 8 miles from Tikrit, by the name of Saddam Hussein. His name means "One who confronts”. He was from a family of shepherds and was ultimately raised by his uncle Talfah, a militant Iraqi nationalist. At the age of 20 Saddam joined the revolutionary Ba'ath Party where he rose to power, and in 1979 assumed the presidency of Iraq. Without going into a lot of detail as to "why” on September 20, 1980, Iraq entered into a war with Iran which continued for eight years. During that time Saddam accrued a staggering war debt of $75 billion, borrowing from the United States approximately $40 billion and from Arab states billions. Saddam felt that the war with Iran had also been for the benefit of the Persian Gulf Arab states as well as for Iraq, and he asked Kuwait to forgive his $30 billion debt, but they refused.
Saddam tried to raise oil prices by cutting back production, and tried to get Kuwait to do the same, but they refused. Saddam also believed that Kuwait was historically part of Iraq, that Kuwait had come into existence through British Imperialism and the boundary line between the two countries was cutting Iraq off from the sea. Saddam also knew that Iraq and Kuwait held 20 per cent of the worlds oil resources. With these thoughts in mind, Saddam invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The United States, along with coalition forces from the U.N., drove Saddam out of Kuwait, fearing that Saddam's control of the oil resources would bring about control of the world's economy.
Hussein, who went into hiding after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, was captured on the outskirts of his home town, Tikrit, on 13 December 2003. |
Another of Saddam's goals was to destroy Israel. He felt that he could lead the charge against Israel, thus bringing the Arab states into his court and be recognized as the leader of the Arab nations. To initiate this plan, Saddam began to launch missile attacks against Israel. Only by God's intervention was no one killed. After the war, Saddam began building weapons of mass destruction, along with biochemical methods of warfare. He had already used poison gas on the Kurdish village of Halabjah, killing 5,000 Kurds, mostly women and children so the United Nations began sending Inspection Teams into Iraq to stop Saddam. They were deceived time and again as Saddam continued to hide these destructive devices. In 1998 Congress passed the Iraq Liberation Act, calling for a governmental change in Iraq and the deposing of Saddam Hussein. On September 11, 2001, an attack on the United States was carried out as Islamic radicals flew planes into the two World Trade Center Towers in New York City and the Pentagon, killing over 3,000 people. It forever changed the course of the United States.
War Declared on Iraq
In President Bush's 2002 State of the Union speech, he stated that he was considering taking action to topple Saddam and his government, who he considered was part of the "Axis of Evil," along with Iran and North Korea. I think it is most interesting that President Bush never included Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, three of the greatest terrorist groups in the world, in his fight against this evil. As I stated earlier, on March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. The reports, dating back to the Clinton administration, supported the fact that weapons of mass destruction, anthrax, nerve gas, and nuclear weapons had been developed by Saddam, and President Bush was determined to put a stop to it and bring down this despot of a leader. Coalition forces made up of troops from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Denmark, and others invaded Iraq from the north and south. In the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 50 and 51 it talks about a coalition of nations coming against Iraq. Jeremiah 50:41-43 says
Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
Commentators say that the above scriptures refer to the Persian invasion of Iraq (Babylon) in 539 B.C., but it seems to me that these scriptures also refer to the United States and its coalition forces in the present war with Iraq. There are two reasons why this could be so. First, Jeremiah 50;4-5 refers to God bringing the Jewish people, Israel and Judah, back to Zion at the time of this war in chapters 50 and 51. That did not happen during the Persian invasion of 539 B.C. because only Judah had been carried away captive to Babylon in 606 B.C. and 586 B.C. It also says that Israel will join themselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant which has not yet happened.
In those days, and at that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Second, Jeremiah 50:41 says that these kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. The "coasts of the earth” does not fit with the Persian invasion of 539 B.C., but it does fit with Great Britain, the United States, Denmark, Australia, etc. If this be true, then President Bush could have heard from God to invade Iraq, and fulfill biblical prophecy.
Soon after the invasion, Saddam Hussein disappeared and was nowhere to be found. In July of 2003, Saddam's two evil sons, Uday and Qusay were found and killed by U.S. troops in a gun battle that lasted for three hours. Then, on December 14 of the same year Saddam was found, hiding in a pit at a farmhouse near Tikrit. When the U.S. soldiers uncovered the pit they found Saddam huddled down like a cowering dog, unshaven and dirty. The mighty Saddam, who had terrorized millions, had killed his closest friends and his two sons-in-law, had ruled Iraq with an iron fist, lived in palatial mansions, had controlled billions of dollars, and hosted leaders of the nations of the world, was now reduced to a mere semblance of a man.
After the capture of Saddam Hussein, the United States helped the Iraqi people hold an election and establish an interim government until a permanent one could be set up. I do not remember the date that the election was held, but I do know it was on a Sunday, U.S. time, because I remember waking up and the Holy Spirit dealing with me about the election-- that it was one of the most important times in the history of Iraq. The election marked a milestone for Iraq and for biblical prophecy being fulfilled. After Saddam Hussein was captured, a Jewish Rabbi stated that Saddam had fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 14:4-6, 15-17.
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: 'How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and none hindereth.' King James Bible.
Verses 14 through 17 say,"Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?" New King James Bible.
Saddam considered himself the king of Babylon, a possible a reincarnation of King Nebuchadnezzar who ruled the old Babylonian Empire. Of course we know this not true. There is no such thing as reincarnation. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Saddam had one chance in life to get it right, to serve the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by making Jesus Christ Savior and Lord of his life, just like the rest of us, but he refused, and now will spend eternity in hell. On November 6, 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of war crimes and was sentenced to die by hanging. On December 30, 2006, he was hanged by the neck until dead.
Does the Quran have anything to say about a possible invasion of Iraq by the United States. As we know, the United States is represented by the eagle, our national bird. In the Quran, Surah 9:11 it says,
"For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle wold be felt throughout the lands of Allan and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace."
The reason for bringing down Saddam Hussein was to ultimately bring peace to that part of the world. This has not yet happened, but progress is being made. I think it is interesting that Iraq is not mentioned in the coalition of Islamic nations that come against Israel in the Battle of Gog and Magog of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. |
