BABYLON, NINEVEH, EDEN AND HISTORY AS WE KNOW IT.
About all we hear when we tune into the daily news concerns “The War with Iraq.” Will we go to war” Or will we not? The issue is front page news on every newspaper in the world – it is the lead story on every news program on TV – As I was writing these thoughts down – the TV was on in the other room – and the name of Saddam Hussein was named at least twenty-five times.
The prophet Amos said, “I am not a prophet – nor the son of a prophet.” (Amos 7:14) Neither am I. I fear the war – I’m afraid of war – I don’t like it – and I don’t want it. I am not a good enough politician to know what is best. The threat of Iraq as that country is led by Saddam Hussein is real. Is it enough of a threat so as to justify the horror that a war may bring – I don’t know. Which is worse – to ignore the threat and maybe it will go away – which is what The French, Germans and Russians would do – or take matters in our own hands and go after the threat and disarm it. We have – at the last count I heard – 200,000 troops in the area – five aircraft carriers – hundreds of tanks – fighter planes – stealth bombers – our troops are trained in bacteriological and chemical warfare. We believe we may be prepared for any eventuality that comes our way.
I am not a prophet – nor the son of a prophet. And I am not eager to point to current events and say – this is surely the events that will trigger the end of time as we know it. I would like to say that – it looks like it might be – it has many of the elements in it – that point to the teaching of last things as they are taught by the word of God – but I am not a prophet – nor the son of a prophet.
However – Prophet or not, I would like to point out a few facts – that just cannot be ignored. God said in Ezekiel 33 - Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ’When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
So, If the sword is coming – and I, as the watchman on the wall, see the possibility of it coming and if I don’t sound the trumpet – and somebody doesn’t take warning – and the sword come and take him away in his sins, I will be held accountable. So – with that in mind – let’s read together Revelation 18:1-11
Back to this week’s news reports – Saddam Hussein is moving 10,000 of his Republican Guard troops – the best men he has – from the city of Mosul – south – evidentially moving them to Baghdad – where he will attempt to force the invading army to fight – not in the desert – with tanks and airplanes – but in the city of Baghdad – with troops – hand to hand – block by block – street by street, house by hours, and he has told the international news that he will make the city of Baghdad a circle of death for any invading army.
It is very, very interesting to note the location for this impending action. Now please remember, I am not a prophet – nor the son of a prophet. But Baghdad is located in the fertile crescent – near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers – in what is called The Fertile Crescent – which is believed to be the cradle of civilization. This is where civilization began.
Saddam Hussein has ordered the citizens of Baghdad to dig trenches in their gardens – to protect themselves from the enemies bombs. He did that just this week.
We don’t know where the Garden of Eden was – specifically. It was near the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers – somewhere in this general area of Iraq. This is such an important part of bible history.
1. The Garden of Eden was somewhere near here – where the first murder was committed – when Cain killed his brother Abel – and was banished from the garden. The tree of life was here – as was the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
2. Ur of the Chaldees is here – where Abraham lived with his idolatrous father and was ordered by God to leave for a land that he would show him later – and Abraham was led by God Himself – to the land of Milk and Honey – the land that would come to be called Palestine – and God made a covenant with Abraham – that he was giving it to him and to his descendents forever. Now – this is the place that the Nation of Israel occupies now and the Arabs say the Jews have no right to it.
3. I wish we had a map – Many churches are using pull-down screens in worship – and a projector they can use to help make the worship service visible. And maybe we’ll talk about doing this – We need all the help we can get. But also in the news is the city of Mosul. I found it on the map – it’s north of Baghdad – near the Turkish border. And there’s something about Mosul. Listen to this now. The modern day city of Mosel – is just across the Tigris river from the ancient city of Nineveh. There is a very old tower here – in honor of the prophet Jonah – a whale bone is part of the tower. Now remember - I am not a prophet – nor the son of a prophet – but Jonah was a prophet – and he was called of God to go to Nineveh – then a very great city – and prophesy to it – he hated those people – and didn’t want to see them saved – he wanted the judgment of God to fall on them so rather than warn them he ran away to Tarsus – but you know the story – there was a storm at sea – and Jonah was thrown overboard and God prepared a huge fish to swallow him – and vomit him up on the seashore near Nineveh – and Jonah went – and prophesied – and the people of the city repented in sackcloth and ashes and was delivered from it’s scheduled destruction – because one prophet went – and did what God told him to do. Reluctantly, but he did it. And the modern city of Mosul – where Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard has been billeted is the location of the ancient city of Nineveh.
4. Now – we come to Babylon – It is here as well. The existing city of Babylon is located about 30 miles south of Baghdad. So I am not implying that Baghdad is the biblical Babylon. But I am saying that the leader of Iraq – fancies himself as a modern day Nebuchadnezzar who was the King of the Babylonian empire in it’s heyday. It was the most powerful kingdom on earth – they conquered their world – they laid waste to Israel – they burned the temple – and carried the people back to Babylon as slaves. So Nebuchadnezzar the first was a power to be reckoned with.
Saddam sees himself as the modern Nebuchadnezzar. All over Iraq there are billboards depicting Saddam Hussein with Nebuchadnezzar. Some of the billboards do the same with Saddam and Hammurabbi, the ancient Babylonian lawgiver.
Hussein identifies with Nebuchadnezzar because Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the world of his day, and especially Israel. Saddam has the same ambitions. He can’t compete with the military power of the United States and Britain – and knows that he never could. But – with germs and chemicals and a delivery system – he just might do it.
It is also significant that Saddam has been rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon. Twelve years ago, over sixty million bricks had been laid in the reconstruction of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar’s fabled city. Saddam Hussein has ignored the objections of archaeologists who consider it a crime to build over ancient ruins. He has also ignored biblical demands that the city never be rebuilt.
(Isaiah 13:19-22) 19 Babylon, the most glorious of kingdoms, the flower of Chaldean culture, will be devastated like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them. 20 Babylon will never rise again. Generation after generation will come and go, but the land will never again be lived in. Nomads will refuse to camp there, and shepherds will not allow their sheep to stay overnight. 21 Wild animals of the desert will move into the ruined city. The houses will be haunted by howling creatures. Ostriches will live among the ruins, and wild goats will come there to dance. 22 Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make their dens in its palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive
And the modern day Nebuchadnezzar is digging into the city of Baghdad – to make his last stand. He is assembling his best soldiers – he is instructing his people – the invading army must be defeated – we will make a circle of death for those who dare to conquer us.
All of this is happening – in the general vicinity of where it all began. The tower of Babel was here – The Garden of Eden was here – Nineveh was here – Ur of the Chaldees was here - This is where history began – It’s a chilling thought to consider – “In the place where history as we know it began – could it be the place – where life as we know it – will end?
