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Considered by many to be the "Cradle of Civilization" Iraq is one of the oldest civilization’s in the world. Some believe that the Garden of Eden was located somewhere in this country.The descendants of Shem, Noah’s son, settled in this area bounded by the rivers Tigris and the Euphrates. Around 4000 years ago the Sumerian culture flourished in this land known as Mesopotamia

It is the land in which the city of Babel (to become known as Babylon) existed and later the Sumerian City of Ur of the Chaldees, the city of Abram’s (Abraham’s ) birth.  Following the decline of the Sumerian culture around 1700 BC, King Hammurabi of the city of Babylon ruled the entire land which also became known as Babylon. Following his death the land was ruled by the Assyrians (Syria) for the next 200 years and then restored to Babylon rule under King Nebuchadnezzar who built the famous hanging gardens and made Babylon one of the most famous cities of the ancient world.

Various invaders ruled the land following Nebuchadnezzar’s death including Cyrus the Great in 539BC and Alexander the Great in 331BC. From the second century BC until the 7th century AD the land was part of the Persian Empire. Arab Muslims then successfully invaded, moving the capital to Baghdad which became an important commercial and cultural centre. The Mongol’s attacked in 1258AD and murdered the Abbasid Caliph. Years of conflict followed until in the 17th century it was conquered by the Turks and became part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish rule continued until the end of the 19th century.

During the First World War British forces invaded the land, which was by this time again called Mesopotamia, occupied Baghdad, and turned the country into a British Mandate. Following unrest and an Arab uprising in 1920, the British Government drew up a new plan for the State of Iraq. It became a Kingdom under the rule of Emir Faisal and in 1932 the British mandate was officially terminated.

On the death of Faisal in 1933 his son Ghazi I became king. His rule lasted only three years when he was killed in a road accident and was succeeded by his three year old son, Faisal II. However Faisal II, a cousin of Jordan’s King Hussein, did not assume the throne until he reached his 18th birthday in 1953.

A military revolt in 1941 resulted in British troops landing at Basra. The war which followed between Britain and Iraq lasted less than a month and ended with Iraq conceding defeat. War in 1948, with the newly established nation of Israel, ended with a cease-fire agreement being signed 1n 1949. In the 1950’s Arab factions, bitterly opposed to any unions with the West, staged a successful coup which resulted in the death of King Faisal and the Premier, Nuri as-Said.

Declared a Republic, years of instability followed as one military coup followed another until in 1978 the existing President was replaced by Saddam Hussein who believes that he is the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar. Ongoing disputes with her neighbour, Iran, resulted in a costly and devastating war which lasted for eight years from 1980 to 1988.

In 1990 Iraq seized Kuwait and when Saddam refused to obey a UN Security Council directive to withdraw, a US backed coalition launched an attack against Iraq. Lasting only 6 weeks the Allied forces soundly defeated Iraq and forced it to withdraw from Kuwait.

For some strange reason the victorious Allied forces did not follow through on their success and they withdrew their forces from Iraq allowing the regime of Saddam Hussein to remain in control. Although the war was disastrous for Iraq the years following the cease fire have seen Saddam continuously refuse to comply with UN Security Council directives and he has used the time to re-build his armed forces.

The Bible is prolific in prophecies concerning Babylon and by inference the nation of Iraq. In fact there are so many prophecies of Babylon’s (Iraq’s) role in the last days that books have been written on this subject. There are probably more prophecies relating to the future fate of Babylon than that of any other nation except Israel. To address all of these prophecies is beyond the scope of this study so only the key passages will be referred to herein.

This city/nation has, since ancient times, been associated with evil. Both Ur of the Chaldees and Babylon were centres for idolatry, astrology and evil in the sight of God and The Bible tells us that Iraq will again be the centre of evil in the last days. As well as believing that he is Nebuchadnezzar reincarnated, Saddam Hussein also believes that he has been given a divine commission from Mohamed to destroy Israel.

Saddam also tried to rebuild the ancient city of Babylon including it’s temples of idolatrous worship. In Jeremiah Chapters 50 and 51 God predicts the destruction of Babylon. Although The Medo-Persian Empire fulfilled this prophecy in the past with their destruction of the city, this prophecy also has future fulfilment in the last days. The mention of Israel and Judah in verse 50:20 implies that the total fulfilment is yet to come. In those days (the last days) a remnant of both Israel and Judah will be found guiltless – an event yet to occur.

Jeremiah 51:60-62 and Isaiah 13 are clear that when Babylon is destroyed it will be "desolate forever" and will "sink to rise no more". Saddam is well on the way to restoring this city so this prophecy has not yet been entirely fulfilled. Either Saddam will not succeed in the full restoration of Babylon or, as seems more likely, Babylon (and Iraq) will be totally and finally destroyed in the last days as foretold in Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

Whilst many scholars equate the references to Babylon in Revelation as being a world system rather than an actual city, the Bible refers to Babylon as both an evil city and an immoral world centre for idol worship. As such we can expect these prophecies of destruction to be fulfilled on the actual city of Babylon, the nation of Iraq and to an evil world system which will reach its zenith in the last days.

Today Iraq is again in the world spotlight as one of US President Bush’s "Trio of Evil" nations and many expect that the US will, in the near future, again attack this land in an attempt to rid the world of Saddam Hussein and his support of terrorists and terrorism. Only time will tell if such an attack by the US will fulfil these prophecies resulting in the total destruction of Babylon/Iraq. ( It is quite feasible that actual Babylon could be destroyed at a different time than "spiritual Babylon.) If not, then rest assured that one way or another these prophecies will be fulfilled and it may very well be in our lifetime!

World events are coming together to fulfil Bible prophecy at an amazing speed – are you ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ?
This article is written by Rev BobHines

This article is written by Rev Bobhines
Email:- bobhines@paradise.net.nz

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