A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


June 13, 2014

Evil Is On the March

    As I write this, it is the afternoon of June 12th, 2014 and I am experiencing an overwhelming sense of futility and sadness as I reflect on the news coming out of Iraq.  The Daily Mail out of Britain has an in-depth article on the collapse of the city of Mosul. Combine that with the more recent fall of Tikrit, and the imminent assault on Baghdad, and it is quite clear that the war in Iraq is not over. While the photos show the heartbreak of families fleeing the brutal insurgency of a new terrorist group, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), I cannot help but think about the tremendous cost in lives and treasure.
     Reuters has reported that the U.S. war in Iraq has cost $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans; these are expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest.  But worth more than these overwhelming figures is the cost in human lives.  A total of 4,486 U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012.  University researchers in the U.S., Canada and Baghdad, along with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, have estimated that nearly half a million people in the country of Iraq have died since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.  These figures cover not only violent deaths, but other avoidable deaths linked to the invasion, insurgencies and subsequent social breakdown.
     So what happens now?  As trite as it sounds, only the Lord knows.  ISIS is not a name I was familiar with, but preliminary research has shown that they are so brutal, that even Al-Queda shuns them.  One headline announced the depth of their evil cruelty .... Marauding ISIS Militia Beheading Their Way to Baghdad.  What makes this group so frightening (and why Al-Queda has distanced themselves) is that these beheadings, crucifixions, and assassinations have been carried out against rival jihadist groups.  This all comes as the leader of this brutal group continues to attract hardline Islamic fighters from around the world.  Reports say that ISIS has in excess of 10,000 fighting men in its ranks. Many of its fighters are thought to be radicalized Western Muslims who have poured in from Europe and North America to join the fighting in Syria and elsewhere in the middle East.
     ISIS is being led by a shadowy figure known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  You can imagine my alarm when I heard retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters compare Osama bin Laden to John the Baptist, as the forerunner to this al-Baghdadi.  Are we looking at the emergence of an archetype of the Islamic Savior known as the Mahdi? Will he be able to unite the jihadists around the world and bring on another holocaust of God's people?  He has certainly manifested himself as a brutal power in a very rapid manner, and one cannot help but look back at history at the other representatives of Evil who appeared in similar circumstances.
     The news agencies spell out the danger that threatens to engulf the entire globe.  Reuters says, "Sunni rebels from an al Qaeda splinter group overran the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday and closed in on the biggest oil refinery in the country, making further gains in their rapid military advance against the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad."  Over half a million people fled the city of Mosul in the wake of that conquest.  And for those of us who see the headlines from a biblical perspective, we cannot dismiss the words of a police captain who fled the city of Tikrit, "We are fighting devils and not ordinary people".
     But I have to tell you that I think there is even more Biblical significance to what is happening.  The Christian Science Monitor reports that "It's well known that Mosul has been a target for ISIS... the city is the capital of northern Nineveh Province."  Now where have we heard that name Nineveh before?  Genesis 10:11 records that none other than Nimrod built the city of Nineveh.  And if you don't know who Nimrod is, well just suffice it to say that the root meaning of Nimrod in the Hebrew language is "the rebel".   And it is very possible that “Nimrod” may not be the name of an actual man, but is more likely a derisive term of a type, or a representative, of a system that is epitomized in rebellion against the Creator, the one true God.  We can identify his "type" throughout history in the personages of Antiochus Epiphanes, Gengis Khan, Stalin, and Hitler, amongst many others.
     It is also important that the city of Nineveh and the city of Babylon are closely tied together as Nimrod's power bases.  And would it surprise you to know that the ruins of ancient Babylon sit just 53 miles south of modern-day Baghdad?  There are those who will scoff at my implications, but the fact that the conquest of Iraq is happening so quickly in the wake of the more than $14 billion we spent in training Iraqi forces to defend themselves, cannot be easily dismissed.  I cannot disregard the ancient prophecy in Jeremiah 51:7-8:  "Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken...".  This corresponds with the End Times prophecy in Revelation 18:10 that foretells the fall of Babylon in one hour.  For the skeptics that will tell me Baghdad is not Babylon, I would say, the spirit of ancient prophecies rest upon this land, as well as future pronouncements regarding the End Times.  We would do well to pray for our deliverance from the consequences.
     And to those of you who do not see these world events through the lens of the Bible, I must tell you that I cannot see them otherwise.  It is my hope that the urgency of what is being reported would cause you to check out my assumptions; to examine the Bible yourself to see if it bears witness to what I suggest.  These events could have immediate effect upon all our lives through the takeover of strategic oil fields in Iraq, along with the possibility that any number of the North America jihadists lining up with ISIS might hold U.S. passports.  At the very least your comfortable American life might be headed for some serious and far-reaching changes.  But at the heart of my post is the hope that you will recognize that, most importantly, it is your eternal life that is in jeopardy.  Evil is obviously sweeping the Middle East, and why would it stop its campaign for world dominance at the borders of Iraq?  Now is the time to make preparations for your soul.

I Thessalonians 5:3    While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.


     
   
   

3 comments:

  1. The other part we in the US have failed to truly understand and admit is the ultimately-lethal split between Sunni and Shi'a Islam. The millennium-old blood feud between the two primary sects is as strong as their hatred of Jews. In the west, as a culture, we do not understand what that means.
    American-provided training tried to build a professional military from a perspective of service to the nation. Religion, Tribe, Clan and Family all trump nationalism in Iraq. Of course the police and security forces in Mosul and Tikrit melted away from ISIS: they are all Sunni. In Baghdad, I predict serious fighting because the Shi'a/Sunni mix is more equal. And I fully predict Shi'a Iran will enter the fighting to save the Shi'a-based al-Maliki government and stop the spread of Sunni ISIS. The Kurdish north of Iraq may end up with their own, de-facto country after all. Maybe all of those supporters of sub-dividing Iraq into Sunni west, Shi'a South/East, and Kurdish north weren't so wrong after all.
    I remember a certain Staff Officer at EUCOM and later CENTCOM who was told, in effect, "we can't focus on the Islam thing...they're all Muslim and we can't get into religious nuances." Another false assumption results in a disaster.

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    1. I was hoping you would comment on the Sunni/Shi'a factor, because I did not feel qualified. It seems as if we made a lot of wrong assumptions in fighting this war... the foremost being that it is over. It is quite obvious that we in the West do not understand "the Islam thing", and our enemies will only be too glad to exploit that.

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  2. "We are fighting devils and not ordinary people".

    The greatest minds and the most brilliant tacticians strategized how to fight the Iraqi war. In 1991 military might seemed to win the day but as Jinn said they did not understand the Islamic mind. How could they have failed so when it seemed obvious to so many in the USA. Amazingly the Bible gets it right every time. Jeremiah 25:4 says, "You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets," and again in in Ezekiel 12:2, “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. Without a Godly mindset our leaders did not understand that without a change of heart and principles for what had been removed and a filling of the vacuum that was created with the Godly things would only get worse later. Amazingly the Bible gets it right again. Matt. 12:43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person (or nation) is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

    My bloggerville friends, as Belle has said, we must examine our own souls to see where we have left a vacuum for godlessness to exist. If you fear the events and times she writes about then you must do as she exhorts and make preparation of your soul. If you do not know how to do that I am sure Belle would be glad to devote articles to how to prepare your soul for the times to come and that ultimate meeting with God. Don't be the one who has eyes to see, ears to hear, but does not see or hear. As the Bible says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

    Jim

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