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Article extracted from the book:
THE LAST GENERATION
By Jim Simmons
“WHAT ABOUT RUSSIA, TURKEY, SYRIA, & IRAQ?” Continued
WHAT ABOUT IRAQ?
Iraq is another country that is not listed among the Russian allies of Ezekiel
38. As mentioned earlier, Russia had a strong Middle East foothold in Iraq
prior to the U.S. invasion. Currently, Iraq is in the process of stabilizing a
democratic form of government.
We know at least two certainties about Iraq. It will not be one of the allies of
the Russian-led invasion of Israel. It will not be destroyed, at least not
until the time of the tribulation period. Revelation 18 describes the vast
destruction of the city of Babylon. The city of Babylon is in Iraq.
In January 2009, the government of Iraq started a project to protect the
archaeological remains of the ancient city of Babylon in preparation for
building a modern city of Babylon. The Obama administration is contributing
$700,000 towards the “Future of Babylon Project” through the State Department’s budget. This was a project that the late Saddam Hussein had started (Posted
on: Keeping the Faith till He Comes Blog, U.S.TO HELP REBUILD CITY OF BABYLON IN IRAQ, February 14, 2009).
Many scholars have different opinions on the identity of the “Babylon” which will be destroyed in Revelation 18. Many believe it will be a spiritual
Babylon representing Rome or the one world religion of the tribulation period.
The very fact that there is a city of Babylon that is going to be rebuilt makes
a strong case for a literal city of Babylon. If this is a correct assumption,
this future Babylon may be the seat of the Antichrist’s kingdom and the one world government.
TIMING OF THE RUSSIAN-LED INVASION OF ISRAEL
The Bible does not lay out a specific period of time when this Russian invasion
will take place. Some scholars believe that it could happen prior to the
rapture, after the rapture, or during the tribulation period. We cannot know
for sure when this invasion will take place, but I lean toward the midpoint
during the tribulation period. It is my belief (based on Scripture) that this
Russian invasion of Israel cannot happen currently in spite of the volatile
Middle East situation, which includes Israel, Iran, Syria, and perhaps Russia.
This Middle East situation could explode any day now, but this is not the
Russian invasion. There are several reasons for this viewpoint. They include:
• This cannot happen until all of the prophesied countries of Ezekiel 38 have
allied themselves with Russia. Turkey is the only country that has not allied
itself with Russia, but it is moving in that way quickly.
• This invasion cannot happen until Israel is living in security in “unwalled villages” (Ezekiel 38:8, 11, 14). Israel is not living in security, nor is it living in
unwalled villages [City/Nation]. Israel has walls and is still building more
walls.
• From a human standpoint, Israel has to have something that the Russian
Confederacy wants. According to Ezekiel 38:12-13, the Russian Confederacy
invasion intends to take away spoil and seize plunder and will carry away
silver and gold. Over the last several years, oil and gas have been found in
Israel in abundance. Pumping it out of the ground and refining it will take
some time. Before the year 2000, there would be no attraction or reason for
this invasion. Currently Russia can get as much oil as it wants from the oil
rich Arab nations. This could all change if a group of Arab nations ally
themselves against Israel, including Iran and Syria.
In Psalm 83, there is a prophecy about a future war that precedes the Russian
invasion. It speaks of a plan by the Arab nations that border Israel to make a
covenant to destroy Israel, “… that the name of Israel be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4). The modern-day equivalent of this coming coalition (described in Psalm 83)
consists of the Palestinians, Hezbollah, Hamas, Saudis, Lebanese, Jordanians,
and the Egyptians. This represents the Arabs that have been a thorn in Israel’s side since May 14, 1948 (see Bill Salus’ 9-3-09 article on the BPT website.
THE LAST GENERATION
Consider the timing of all of the points discussed in this article. Whether it
is Turkey, Iran, Syria, or Iraq, they all happened in this last generation that
started with the birth of Israel as a nation in May 14, 1948. Prior to this
current/last generation, the prophecy puzzle would not have fallen into place.
This article is just a small piece that points to the last generation. This
article plus many more prophecy fulfillments give an abundance of evidence that
we are in that generation.
“But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).
A majority of this article was extracted from my book, The Last Generation: Prophecy, Current World Events, and the End Times. If you enjoyed reading the information here, you will find much more valuable
information in the book. Any information that is taken from outside sources, if
not footnoted here, is footnoted in my book. To order a copy of The Last Generation: Prophecy, Current World Events, and the End Times click on ORDER above.
