The Iraqi Civil War Fulfills Prophecy

On Monday, June 9, an Iraqi army of insurgents (ISIS, or ISIL) took the city of Mosul, driving south toward Baghdad. Government forces in Mosul, led mostly by Shiite officers, had little or no incentive to defend a Sunni city, so they simply deserted or surrendered. The sleeping Western media finally took notice that a full-blown civil war had broken out in Iraq and that Baghdad itself was being threatened.

According to Derek Harvey, a former senior intelligence official with numerous assignments in Baghdad, and Michael Pregent, a former senior intelligence analyst,

“The collapse of the Iraqi government’s troops in Mosul and other northern cities in the face of Sunni militant resistance has been the predictable culmination of a long deterioration, brought on by the government’s politicization of its security forces.”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/opinion/pregent-harvey-northern-iraq-collapse/

These analysts go on to say that Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has been removing the Sunnis from all high positions in the military, even after making agreements to treat people equally. In 2008 Maliki began replacing Kurdish commanders in Mosul with his own Shiite friends. These are the ones who refused to defend the city when ISIS attacked it, Harvey and Pregent say. Fortunately, the situation is different in Baghdad:

“The Shiite troops unwilling to fight to hold onto Mosul will be far more motivated to fight to protect Shiite territories in central and southern Iraq and to defend the sectarian fault line.

“This is their home territory, where they have the advantage of local knowledge, and where they have successfully fought the Sunni insurgency for years.”

The Iraqi government forces also fled from the northern city of Kirkuk, which is at the heart of the huge oil industry. Years ago, Saddam Hussein expelled many or most of the Kurds and replaced them with Arabs. The Kurds have wanted to regain Kirkuk since that time, because it was their traditional capital. Now with the Iraqi army deserting the city, Kirkuk has come under the control of the Kurdish army, known as the Peshmerga.

“Meanwhile Iraqi Kurds seized control of the major northern oil city of Kirkuk today after the central government's army abandoned its posts.The Kurds - a semi-autonomous ethnic group based in the north - have their own 250,000-strong military, but have not used them to engage ISIS.

“Peshmerga fighters, the security forces of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish north, swept into Kirkuk after the army abandoned its posts there, a peshmerga spokesman said.

“'The whole of Kirkuk has fallen into the hands of peshmerga. No Iraqi army remains in Kirkuk now', said Jabbar Yawar. 

“Kurds have long dreamed of controlling Kirkuk, a city with huge oil reserves just outside their autonomous region, which they regard as their historical capital. 

“The swift move by their highly organised security forces demonstrates how this week's sudden advance by ISIS fighters has redrawn Iraq's map.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2655977/ISIS-militants-march-Baghdad-trademark-bullet-head-gets-way-control-north.html

The corruption and unequal policies of Prime Minister Maliki in the past eight years have brought Iraq to the boiling point. I have long believed that Iraq is a type of Babylon and that Iraq would eventually split into three parts: Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites. The Daily Mail article above acknowledges this situation in one of its bullet points at the top of the article, saying,

"Middle East experts raised the prospect of Iraq being carved into three - Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite - by the conflict"

My viewpoint is based on my interpretation of Revelation 16:19, “And the great city was split into three parts.” To me, the split will be a regional fulfillment of Babylon’s fall, which in turn will foreshadow the fall of the greater worldwide Mystery Babylon which currently rules most of the world.

For this reason, we should watch Iraq, because its split will be Part One of the fulfillment of prophecy in regard to Babylon’s fall.

Historic Patterns

I have written in earlier articles how the fall of Babylon in our generation should follow the historic pattern of the fall of Babylon in Daniel 5. History shows how the Euphrates River was diverted in order to drop the water level and allow the Persian troops to enter the city in the shallow water. The king of Babylon was having a party at the time, according to Daniel 5, and the biblical record shows that the king was killed that night.

Maliki is the current “king” of Iraq (Babylon). His name is derived from malik, or melek, which is the Hebrew word for “king.” In my view, when we see Maliki lose his position as Prime Minister—however it happens—this will mark the fulfillment of Daniel 5:30. He may even be killed or executed.

The recent elections in Iraq were supposed to be validated earlier this week, and the new Members of Parliament are supposed to be seated tomorrow, June 14. Their first order of business is to elect a new Prime Minister. Maliki has been fighting for his political life, knowing that if he is not elected PM, he will lose his legal immunity for all of his crimes and will probably face the death penalty. For this reason, he has already moved his family to London and has probably already made plans to flee the country if necessary.

Now this Civil War is threatening to split the nation into three parts. All of the ingredients are now in place to fulfill the prophecy. So we ought to watch the situation very carefully, as these are momentous events that will affect the whole world—especially in Part Two of the fulfillment of prophecy.

Meanwhile, I expect to see this a specific order of events according to the historic pattern.

First, I expect to see the river diverted, or “be dried up,” as Isaiah 44:27 says. Not only is this literally happening since Turkey began hoarding water from the river, but also I believe this signifies the revaluation of the Iraqi dinar, which will divert the currency (river current). The flow of currency is the life blood of Mystery Babylon, pictured here as the River Euphrates.

Second, I expect to see Maliki fall from power and possibly lose his life.

Thirdly, I expect to see Iraq split into three parts.

Looking at it this way, it seems likely that the revaluation of the dinar will be a last-ditch effort to hold the nation together by enriching its citizens. However, Maliki’s divisive policies, I believe, have already done too much damage to Iraqi unity. So I do not expect the dinar to hold its value for long.

With Maliki in grave danger of losing his position and even his life in the next few weeks or months, we could take this as a sign of the impending revaluation. Likewise, with the nation’s split looming, our view of prophetic events is gaining credibility. Of course, there is always the possibility that the insurgents will be put down, that conditions will improve, and that the split will be put off for another day. But it does not look like that will happen this time.

The Timing

The year 2014 is also the end of the “seven times” of Babylonian “beast” rule, after adding the lost century where the Grecian beast was deprived of its mandate from 163-63 B.C. The year 2014 is also the end of 1,480 years given to the “little horn,” as I have shown in other articles. So the year 2014 is certainly the strongest candidate for the fall of Babylon.

I think, then, it is likely that ISIS will be put down long enough for Iraq to revalue its currency, but after a short time, the nation will split along its sectarian fault lines. All three parts will disavow the present currency and issue their own separate currencies.

It seems to me that Iraq (and Babylon itself) is running out of time. The present world order, which men call The New World Order, is hastening toward its date with destiny.

The Role of Iran

President Obama says he will not send troops to Iraq. However, with the largest US embassy in the world located in Baghdad, it is highly unlikely that the US would leave that embassy unprotected in the face of such dire threats from ISIS. News reports from Iraq itself say that the US has already sent 4,000 troops to Baghdad from its military base in Turkey. Other reports say that 8,000 US troops have arrived. These reports seem to be far more realistic and credible than Obama’s statement.

What is also interesting is that the Western media is also reporting that Iran is sending troops to Iraq. One of the bullet points at the top of the Daily Mail article above reads:

"Iran has sent special forces and a unit of elite troops to Iraq to assist the Iraqi government halt the advance"

This is creating a very interesting situation, where the US and Iran find themselves as allies against ISIS. Iran is interested in maintaining Shiite control in Iraq, while the US is interested in maintaining stability in Iraq, with or without the Shiite PM, Nuri al-Maliki. This new development alone tells everyone in Iraq of Iran’s interest, and in the long term, both the Sunni center and the northern Kurds (who are also Sunni Muslims) will use this as an argument for independence.

The Unity Question

Since Pentecost of 2014, my revelation has been focused upon the basis of true unity. It is obvious that Iraq—and by extension, Babylon itself—is fraying apart and can no longer maintain unity by its current tactics and policies. But herein lies our opportunity to show the contrast.

By the Old Covenant mindset, unity is achieved through fear and death threats. By the New Covenant mindset, unity is achieved through love, and where men fail to show love, there is a legal procedure to follow that is summarized in Matthew 18:15-35.

In Iraq and elsewhere, the world is being given a panoramic view of the carnal mindset that functions by the principles of the Old Covenant. Where the carnal mind is strongest, we can expect to see unity enforced by fear. Fear is needed, because most of the people disagree with the powers that are enforcing their will upon others. Hence, we see the ruthlessness and carnage of ISIS, whose leaders believe that they are doing God’s will.

On the other hand, we are being trained in another way. Even though the majority of Christians seem to have very little knowledge of New Covenant principles, the prospective overcomers are being trained in love, rather than in fear. Whole groups of people are bound by love and friendship, rather than by the denominational threat of excommunication or hellfire if anyone dares to disagree with the official creed or if they follow a different leader.

The Sunni-Shia split occurred after the death of their prophet Muhammad in 632 A.D. In the battles over succession, the final breach occurred after the Battle of Karbala, when the ruling Umayyad Calif, Yazid I, killed Hussein ibn Ali and his household in 680. (Ali was the grandson of Muhammad.) His death became the rallying cry of the Shia faction for revenge, and this permanently divided Islam into two main denominations.

Given the fact that all have to contend with a carnal mind, it is inevitable that offenses will occur. The real question is how to resolve offenses. Since carnal minds seek their own advantage, they try to use the law to their own advantage, which usually perpetuates resentment. Spiritual minds, on the other hand, are rooted in love and seek true unity. The spiritual mind does not abandon the law, but follows it with the mind of Christ.

This is, of course, a very large topic, which cannot be covered in a postscript of this short article. Nonetheless, this is an issue that God is raising at this time in order to prepare our hearts for the transfer of authority that will be decreed in the Divine Court on October 16, 2014.