On what is, apparently, the eve of war with Iraq, I note:
1. The power behind Iraq is not Saddam Hussein. The spiritual King of Babylon is Lucifer himself. See, Isaiah 14:4 & 12. Thus, it appears we will be attacking the Devil himself, in his own home territory, with all of the military might of the United States. This says something about our chances of ultimate success, unless the Church in this country repents of its idolatry, fully trusts God, and starts to seek in prayer God's will for the people of Iraq (for whom Christ also died). The battle is a spiritual battle and will certainly *NOT* be won by our soldiers (even if they do manage to oust Saddam). Without a spiritual victory over the dark spirit of Iraq, Saddam's replacement will be worse than Saddam.
2. I note also that, in the day Lucifer is deposed and banished to Hell, Jerusalem will have peace. This is the message of the entirety of the 14th chapter of Isaiah. When God again has compassion on Jacob, he will put down the oppressor, the (spiritual) King of Babylon, and he will no longer weaken the nations any more.
3. However, it is God Himself who will destroy Babylon and its power with fire and apocalyptic plagues. Revelation 18. The time for this, in the timetable of Revelation, does not yet appear to have come.
4. When God destroys the power of Babylon, He will restore Israel, Egypt ("my people") and Assyria (now divided Kurdistan)("the work of my hands") and make them together "a blessing in the midst of the earth." Isaiah 19. At that same time, He will reconcile Isaac and Ishmael. See, e.g., Jeremiah 9:23-26 and 12:14-17; Ezekiel 47:22-23. The time for this also does not appear to be here quite yet.
Added Note 8/16/04: My sources of historical information have improved since I wrote the above material and I feel a definite need to clarify one vitally important point. The ancient Assyrian homeland is in an area, mostly in Iraq, now claimed by the Kurds. Indeed, Nineveh, the ancient capitol of Assyria during its golden age, was very near modern Mosul. But the modern Kurds are not the descendants of the ancient Assyrians. The Assyrians are a separate people, now numbering about 6 million worldwide, who have maintained their cultural identity through the centuries. A part of that cultural identity is their religion. As a group, the Assyrians are Christians. According to tradition, the Assyrian Church was founded by three of the original Apostles not many years after the Resurrection, and the Assyrians were one of the first Gentile people groups to convert en masse to Christianity. In the succeeding centuries, the Assyrian Church was the force responsible for much of the evangelistic work that occurred throughout Asia. Assyrian missionaries were preaching Jesus in Central Asia and China centuries before European Christians even knew that these lands existed. This missionary work even continued during the first few centuries of Moslem Arab rule of the Assyrian homeland; apparently, it did not stop until Tamerlane conquered the entire mission area in the 13th Century and put a stop to it.
The modern Assyrians are still Christians. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, they have come once more under increasing and violent persecution, but they cling to their faith. See Assyrian Christian News for more information about their present plight. But also note God's promise to restore them.
The paradox of our war in Iraq is this: The more force we put into pacifying Iraq, the more mindless violence our enemies there inflict to prevent peace. We intend to create a peaceful, democratic regime in Iraq, then leave as quickly as possible. Once we leave, if the Iraqi people subsequently choose an Islamic regime or another dictatorship for themselves, that will be their choice, and we will not interfere. We have declared this intention repeatedly, and even our enemies there understand this to be our intention. Yet, the violence continues to escalate, as if our enemies want us to stay in their country.
The explanation of the paradox is this: the real force behind the war is a spiritual one, the spiritual King of Babylon, the devil himself, as I stated nearly two years ago. On a human level, our enemies in Iraq really want us to leave. But Lucifer wants us to stay, and has lied to those he has blinded in Iraq, telling them that the way to remove us from their country is to drive us from it by escalating violence until we leave. (Recall that Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44). Of course, that is exactly the course of action that will force us to stay longer, since we believe we cannot afford to leave Iraq in failure.
So, who wins from this situation? We lose. The Iraqi people lose. Even our human enemies in that country lose. Humanly, everyone loses. The winner is Satan. He is a murderer, and is the one who speaks into men the lust to murder each other. John 8:44. Through Al Qaida, the Hussein regime in Iraq, and our response to them, the devil has created a long-term murder factory. As long as we hate each other, we are blinded to God's truth. I John 2:10-12. Our ongoing occupation of Iraq is reinforcing hatred on both sides of the conflict. However, it is most pointedly giving leaders of radical sects of Islam, who preach hatred against the United States, Americans, the West and indigenous Christians in Islamic countries, an audience among large numbers of Moslems who had previously ignored them. The military situation is helping Satan kill thousands of people outright and plunge millions of others into hatred and deep darkness. Satan is the big winner.
Please note that these comments are not intended to imply that the United States or any of its leaders or allies is solely or even primarily to blame for this situation. We were attacked, and then, while wounded and hysterical, systematically deceived into identifying the wrong enemy and taking a military action that could not succeed by military force alone. (It could not succeed because of the nature of the spiritual forces that control Iraq, as previously described). Satan artfully manipulated all of the parties to create the situation, and all share some blame for listening to his lies.
Neither are these comments presented in order to suggest what our present government policy toward Iraq should be. I leave that to the President and to Congress.
Rather, these remarks are intended to show that it is Satan who has controlled the situation to date and has used it very effectively to serve his own ends. This should help Christians, worldwide, know better how to pray concerning this war and the situation that has created it. As long as Satan continues to be the big winner from the situation, we will continue to see violence escalating and will continue to feel that we cannot pull out without losing face, regardless of which party owns the White House. It is only when the cycle of deception, murder and hatred is broken spiritually, through the united prayer of God's people in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Iraq, that Satan will be forced to let the war end.
The real solution to the Palestinian, Arab and Israeli conflict.
Prayer for Christians in Iraq and Afghanistan January 15, 2008.
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