Continuing our study of Jeremiah Chapters 50 & 51 for these last days we pick up were we left off at verse 27 of Chapter 51.
In verse 27 God calls for a banner to be set up in the land of Iraq for the nations to rally to. This call for a banner (or flag) is reminiscent of God's call in verse 12 of Jer. 51 for a standard to be set in place upon the walls of Babylon. This banner could be the flag of the United Nations, the EU or perhaps the United States.
The raising of this flag reveals a profound change in attitude toward Iraq's sovereignty than had been demonstrated in the early victory of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
An American flag placed over the face of a statue of Saddam Hussein before it was toppled during the capture of Baghdad was quickly removed because of the unfavorable perception that the US was laying claim to Iraq.
In this later prophesied stage of the war there will be no reservation in raising a banner of conquest.
Among the ancient named nations prophesied to rally around this flag are Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. These would encompass the areas of modern day Turkey, Russia, Iran and Germany.
This revelation effectively discounts any teaching that this war is for the Tribulation Period or that the Anti-Christ will rule out of Babylon, Iraq; for the devastating defeat of the nations which come against Israel during the first part of the Tribulation, as recorded in Ezekiel Chapters 38 & 39, includes the exact same nations under the names of Togarmah, Magog, Persia and Gomer. For further information see our message, "The Scythians Victory's and Defeat."
The contrast in attitude to be shown by these future invading nations when compared with how they felt about joining in an attack on Iraq during "Operation Iraqi Freedom" shows a dramatic about face.
Iran has never offered any assistance, Turkey would not allow its US ally to bring troops or supplies through their country, nor fly out of any of its established bases, while Russia and Germany resolutely opposed US efforts in every way possible.
This invasion from Iraq's north is visually compared to bristling locusts in this prophecy, a vivid picture of an overwhelming hoard of attackers.' Last, but not least, Jer. 51:27 mentions the appointment of a "marshal" to head up the invasion. An individual entrusted with such exalted authority will be a person to take note of. Such a person could be a candidate to eventually receive the title of the end time world dictator known as Anti-Christ.
A marshal can be a high official in a royal court, which the European Union is abundant in.
Moving on to verse 28 of Jer. 51 we find an apparent second mention of this dominating individual. God again calls for the assembling of the nations against Iraq. He then also calls forth the rulers of the divergent groups of the Medes, which we shared in a previous study are the ancestry of the modern day Kurds. God then seems to corporately address these nations as being under the dominion of the marshal.
Verse 29 then dispels any notion that this prophesied war had been fulfilled in past history. Not only has there never been a union of confederates such as this against ancient Iraq, but God declares that after this war the land of Babylon, Iraq will be "a desolation without inhabitant."
As we shared in a previous study, Babylon has never in history experienced such devastation.
Verse 30 gives great insight when considered along with the revelations of current events.
God says that during the final stage of this Iraqi war the mighty men of Babylon will cease fighting and that they will remain in their strongholds.
To the world it would appear that this has already taken place in"Operation Iraqi Freedom," but as we have been showing, God's Word refutes this notion. Reports now confirm that Saddam's elite military units did not just give up as many had thought, but were ordered by the highest levels of the Iraqi regime to just go home ("Baghdad defenders ordered to withdraw" Denver Post, 5/20/03).
Tens or even hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers are unaccounted for.
On May 7, 2003, CNN reported the surfacing of a new audio tape by Saddam Hussein.
In the tape Saddam reportedly has put the Iraqi people on notice that the war is not over and that at the appropriate time he will retaliate and they are to be prepared to fight.
Consider how many trained and armed soldiers freely wander about among the allied troops in Baghdad and other occupied cities. The danger level increases as daily reports are made that members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party are being but back in power.
On May 6, 2003 a Denver Post headline read, "Iraqi ex-general picked as Mosul's mayor." The article reported that "Opposition leaders, who boycotted the vote, called it undemocratic and said it gave power to several supporters of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime."
The May 6, 2003 Denver Post also reported that, using a letter from Saddam Hussein, Saddam's son Qusia Hussein removed one billion dollars in cash from Iraq's central bank less than 48 hours before the first American air assault. The $900 million in US $100 dollar bills and as much as $100 million worth of euros were hauled off in three tractor-trailers.
What is of greatest concern according to the report is the likelihood that this incredible amount of cash is being used to finance hidden remnants of Saddam Hussein's deposed government.
The Lord has prophesied that one day the mighty men of Babylon will cease fighting and they will remain in their strongholds, but that day has not come yet.
In this age of bunker buster bombs that penetrate deep underground, it can be theorized why the mighty men of Babylon might never come up out from their strongholds.
Reports of Saddam Hussein's penchant for building underground adds credence to this possibility and also where he has hidden his weapons of mass destruction.
An April 6, 2003 Denver Post article which headlined, "Bunkers, tunnels crisscross Baghdad-hardened complexes difficult to destroy" brings home the reality of Saddam's capability and devotion to accomplish such feats of concealment.
We quote, "Over the past 20 years, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is believed to have constructed an elaborate series of underground tunnels and bunkers around Baghdad where he, his leadership and the elite troops that guard them are able to move about virtually undetected and nearly impervious to U.S. munitions, according to Iraq experts, a former Iraqi scientist and western construction officials whose companies helped build the warrens.
Among the more extensive tunnel complexes are those described by Hussein Shahristani, once Iraq's top nuclear scientist, who was tortured and imprisoned in Iraq.
Shahristani, who escaped Iraq during the first Gulf war, said subway plans developed by several foreign firms were actually used by the Iraqi military to hide and transport the country's chemical and biological weapons.
Shahristani told CBS' "60 Minutes" in February, that he believed Iraq had "more than 100 kilometers of very complex network, multi-layer tunnels."...Many of Iraq's military tunnels are believed to have been built by Aeroinzenjering, a Serbian engineering firm once run by the former Yugoslav military. Hussein maintained a close relationship with then Communist leader Josip Tito and with former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, whose underground tunnels and bunkers bedeviled U.S. and NATO commanders during the 1999 Kosovo air war.
The company's website boasts that it has constructed a 450,000-square-meter facility described as "special airport underground fortification structures, sheltering complete military units and equipment." But it does not say where the facility was built...Finding tunnels and bunkers has become a priority for the U.S. military and intelligence community."
Verses 31 & 32 of Jer. 51 then describe how the king of Babylon, Iraq will receive communications for how badly the war is going for him. We are told that one runner will run to meet another and one messenger will meet with another messenger.
With Saddam's modern means of electronic communications destroyed or else being monitored, it makes perfect sense that he would have messages personally delivered to him in much the same fashion as the old pony express.
We are told that the news he will receive is terrifying to his men of war. He will be told that his city is being taken on all sides, the passages are blocked and that the reeds have been burned with fire.
As the war progressed in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" we considered the possibility that the taking of Baghdad or Saddam's tribal town of Tikrit might bring on the fulfillment of this prophecy, but dismissed this idea after the invasion against these cities did not come mainly from the north as God has prophesied.
To a great extent we can see God's Word fulfilled in the taking of Baghdad and Tikrit. Both can be considered Saddam's city in some fashion. One his Capital and the other in essence his hometown. Both cities were surrounded and both had their passageways blocked.
Besides the fact that these cities were not taken during a major invasion from the north as is prophesied in Jer. 50:32 & 41, we have the absence of the fulfillment of Jer. 51:32 where the reeds are to be burned with fire. Central Iraq is the locale most noted for its "giant reeds" called Arunda Donax by botanists. This reed, found in the Mediterranean region can grow to a height of 20 feet.
Saddam Hussein had large areas of these "giant reeds" destroyed over the years because rebel Shiite Muslims found welcomed concealment in the prodigious grass which can easily hide large numbers of troops and equipment.
The urgency expressed by the messengers to Saddam concerning the burning of these reeds cause one to suspect that the centrally located city of Babylon may well be the hidden residence of this king of Babylon.
Time will soon reveal whatever else might be hidden within the flowing veil growing in Iraq's marshlands.
We now conclude our present study at verse 33 of Jer. 51. After foretelling the destruction of Iraq's reed stands the God of Israel as He refers to Himself, then gives an analogy for Babylon in comparison to the threshing of grain.
Wheat plants for example are gathered and then put through what might be described as a violent beating process to separate the grain from the chaff.
God initially distinguishes the modern day Babylon from the one of ancient history by calling her "the daughter of Babylon." He then compares her to a threshing floor waiting for the harvest to be brought in. He then concludes by assuring those who hear His prophecy, "Yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come."
We firmly believe that time is at hand.
The May 10, 2003 headline of the Colorado Springs Gazette read, "U.S. troops find second suspected weapons lab-equipment uncovered at Iraqi rocket factory."
These are the last days that Jesus and the prophets warned would close out this present age of man. At any time the trumpet of God could sound and the dead and living in Christ will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air at the event known as the Rapture (I Thess. 4:15-18).
This very moment this glorious promise can be yours to believe and trust in by just a simple act of faith. This promise is for all who trust in the Risen Son of God, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Don't put it off, there is a point of rejection within a man's heart that will never be overcome.