Jeremiah 50:14-16 “Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against Jehovah. Shout against her round about: she hath submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Jehovah: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.
Comment: Hundreds of missiles were fired every day during the Gulf War. Certainly no missiles were spared as each plane returned for more. The foreigners who were working in Iraq at the time were scattered trying to get home to their own countries.
Jeremiah 51:1-4 “Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in Leb-kamai, a destroying wind. And I will send unto Babylon strangers, that shall winnow her; and they shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host. And they shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and thrust through in her streets.”
Comment: This could be referring to the terrorists who are coming from other countries to defeat the United States and keep Iraq from becoming a democratic country.
Jeremiah 51:8-9 “Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.”
Comment: When the US and the coalition forces entered Iraq, Iraq was easily defeated and now it is in the process of being rebuilt. Currently there is little progress in rebuilding Iraq as a democratic nation. American troops are not yet able to return to the States. In the end the nations give up and return to their own countries. The fall of Babylon is an event that will take time to complete. In the end Iraq will not be rebuilt as a nation.
Jeremiah 51:30-32 “The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they remain in their strongholds; their might hath failed; they are become as women: her dwelling-places are set on fire; her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every quarter: and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.”
Comment: During the Gulf War, the Iraqi soldiers stayed in their bunkers and were bombed daily. They tried to protect the bridges from being bombed by setting fires that made a lot of smoke, so the airplanes could not see where the bridges were.
Isaiah 13:10 “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine.”
Comment: This passage can be illustrated by the burning of the oil wells in Kuwait. The people there needed their headlights on at noon to see to drive.
Isaiah 13:14-16 “And it shall come to pass, that as the chased roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is taken shall fall by the sword. Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished.”
Comment: During the Gulf War, there were several hundred thousand people who were massed on the Jordanian border trying to get out of the country to return to their home country. Some were running from one house to another hiding, trying not to get caught. Iraq reinstated the law that the foreigners and those harboring them should be killed. In Kuwait some of the children caught at the mall were taken home and shot in front of their families.
Isaiah 14:1-2 “For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
Comment: During the Gulf War, when Israel closed its borders it caused a problem, as the Palestine people were unable to go to work in the homes of Israelis. These verses are not yet completely fulfilled, but illustrate how the Palestinians are workers in the Israeli homes.
Isaiah 14:16-21 “They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home? All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulcher like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evildoers shall not be named forever. Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.”
Comment: During the Gulf War, the nations were guarding the oil wells and other interests because of the threats Saddam was making. This was done because they were afraid of what he might do. Saddam was executed; he did not receive the burial of a king. However, US President Gerald Ford’s funeral happened at about the same time and he received the burial of a king. When they pulled down Saddam’s statue, they dragged it through the streets while hitting its head with their shoes. It should be noted that before the king of Babylon can be cast out of his sepulcher he must have been buried first. Saddam was executed because he gassed the Kurds. Saddam’s sons were just as cruel as he was and were wanted dead or alive. They were gunned down.
Isaiah 21:9 “and, behold, here cometh a troop of men horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.”
Comment: It is interesting to note the fighter jets going to bomb Iraq were flown by a pilot and a co-pilot.
Summary: World Events
Many aspects of the prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon can be illustrated by recent news reports. Even though we do not know how the war in Iraq will end, we need to pay special attention to the prophecies. It is possible that we are now in the process of experiencing the fulfillment of prophecies written over two thousand years ago. There are many different ways the prophetic verses of Babylon can be interpreted. All possibilities should be considered. At the same time, we should reject world events where the Scriptures reveal that they do not fit. Today there are more world events in Iraq illustrated in the Scriptures than when Babylon fell the first time.
