Transcript
Baghad falls. That was probably the biggest headline in the Dallas Morning News during the past week. Certainly a significant event in the world of politics and world affairs.
But the question naturally arises, does the fall of Baghdad have anything to do with us as Christians and in light of the prophecies of the Word of God? Or is there anything in the events of this week that is relevant to the Word of God?
I should begin by telling you what you probably already know upfront. The word Baghdad does not occur in the Bible. And so if we’re looking for a prophecy that Baghdad would fall, we will not find that kind of connection.
Then on the other hand, is the fall of the regime in Iraq anything that should interest us from the perspective of prophecy? And I hope to suggest to you this afternoon that it is. That it is something that should awaken interest and attention on our part.
My major text for doing this will be found in Micah. But before turning to Micah, I want to read as simply an introductory text some verses found in the book of Zechariah chapter 12. So if you have your Bibles and would like to follow this, I would recommend that you do that.
We won’t be talking very much about this passage, but it does serve as a preliminary for the passage that we are about to look at.
Zechariah chapter 12. It’s the next to last book in the Old Testament. I’m going to read the first nine verses of this and say just a couple of brief things about them. And then we will move immediately to our text in Micah.
Zechariah chapter 12, reading at verse 1. The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples. All who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces.
Though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will open my eyes on the house of Judah and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of Hosts their God.’ In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, like a fiery torch in the sheaves. They shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left.
But Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, Jerusalem. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.
In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David. And the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Now this passage deals with a theme that is prominent in the Old Testament prophecies, which is the gathering of all the nations of the world to fight against Jerusalem. And I think in the light of the New Testament we recognize that what is being described here is the Battle of Armageddon under the leadership of the beast and the false prophet.
All the nations of the earth are gathered into Israel and Jerusalem becomes the focus of their activity. But in this particular passage what I particularly wanted to note was the specific mention of the fact that the Jews who are on earth at this time will have an active part in the battle.
For the inhabitants of Judah, for example, the governors of Judah, they become a fierce force. In other words, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back he won’t do this all by himself or even exclusively with the help of the angelic hosts. But he will empower the Israelites on earth to take their part in the battle as well.
That’s an important observation to keep in mind as we turn to the passage in Micah.
And now let me ask that you turn back a little bit to Micah chapter 4. And we’re going to begin reading in Micah chapter 4 at verse 11. And I’m going to read slowly through this and comment on it as I go.
And when we’re finished with the passage we will then open it for discussion. But we’re going to go all the way from Micah 4:11 to Micah 5:6. All right. If you have Micah in front of you, let’s start with Micah 4 verses 11 and 12.
Now also many nations have gathered against you who say, ‘Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.’ But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, nor do they understand His counsel. For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
We are now describing the very same scene that we read about in Zechariah chapter 12, the gathering of the nations against Jerusalem, against Zion. Now notice that in the following verse in Micah 4:13, Jerusalem or Zion is called upon to take an active part in this battle.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion. For I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hooves bronze. You shall beat in pieces many peoples. I will consecrate their gain to the Lord, their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.
So now we see the prophecy of victory for Zion and for Israel and the defeat of the nations that have come to battle with Jerusalem.
Now we move on into chapter 5 verse 1.
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
Now God is continuing this call of Zion to rise and thresh. And so he says basically to Zion to gather yourself together in troops, in companies I would assume of soldiers, O daughter of troops. Get together. Get ready to fight.
He has laid siege against us. Now in your English Bibles, if you have a New King James Version, you will notice that there is a capital H on the word he which means that the translators understood this as a reference to God. However we need to keep in mind that capitals were not found in the Hebrew Old Testament.
And this is a matter of the editor deciding whether to capitalize or not. And I think the capital is a mistake here. And the Hebrew actually says something like this. There is one who has laid siege against us. There is one who has laid siege against us.
All right. We have the picture here do we not of the nations having gathered together against Jerusalem. But God says that’s a threshing floor for you all. But the fact is that someone has laid siege to us. Who is that? Not evident in this verse.
But the identity of this person I think becomes plain before we end the passage. Nevertheless there is someone who is besieging Jerusalem. Who is that in the light of the New Testament? Well in the light of the New Testament, the beast.
He is the leader of the world armies that go to fight with God and at Jerusalem. He has laid siege against us. There is one who has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
Now some interpreters of the book of Micah have understood the reference of the judge of Israel to be a reference to Christ. You will notice however that the translators do not take it that way because if they had they would have made a capital J for the word judge.
This I think is best understood of the action of the one who has laid siege to them or the action of his men or his minions. They will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod. What’s being referred to here?
But we need to remember that in the tribulation period the man of sin or the beast will have control over all the nations including Israel. And that under him will be all of the kings of the nations and the rulers of the nations and so on.
So there will be somebody who will be the head man in Israel. And I think this is a reference to whoever that may turn out to be in the future. He’s the judge of Israel. He’s the one who presides over Israel.
But as a result of the siege he is getting hurt. In other words the man of sin is basically betraying his own underling. The original call to gather the nations together is to fight with the Lamb and the returning Lord Jesus Christ, the one who sits on the horse.
But as the prophecies in the Old Testament make clear there is also now this descends into an attack on Jerusalem itself. And Zion will be terribly devastated by the attack. And so what I suggest is meant here is that the one who has laid siege to Jerusalem, namely the man of sin, will permit the striking of the leader of Israel on the cheek.
He will even care about it? No, he’s got other purposes in mind in connection with this battle.
Now at that point we see that the nation of Israel is called upon to stand up and fight. But there’s somebody who is against them with his forces. Where is their victory going to come from? How will they be victorious?
There follows in verse 2 a very famous passage that is a clear reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is so quoted in the New Testament. I’m going to read the passage.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Now, would you read Matthew 2 verses 4 to 6. But you will notice that when the wise men got to Jerusalem and Herod didn’t know where Jesus was to be born he went to the leaders of the Jewish people, the chief priests and the scribes.
And he said you know where the Messiah is supposed to be born. And they said in Bethlehem of Judah because that was written by the prophet. And then they quote the verse that we have here.
Now notice therefore that what we have here is Jerusalem under siege. The ruler of Israel at that time, the ruler, the judge of Israel at that time had been smitten on the cheek. Who is going to lead them? Who is going to give them victory?
Well the one born in Bethlehem will do that because out of Bethlehem will come the one who is to be ruler in Israel. Now notice verse 3. Therefore He shall give them up. Whoops! That was not expected, right?
And you will notice that the New King James Version I think correctly capitalizes the he there because the natural reference is to Christ. Christ is born in Bethlehem but then suddenly He gives them up. Why? Answer, they crucified him.
And for the time being as we know from the New Testament Israel has been set aside. A hardening in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. So temporarily this one who is to be their future leader and deliverer temporarily this one has given them up because they rejected him.
Therefore He shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth.
Glance up at chapter 4 and verse 10. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion. We also have a picture of Israel in the throes of labor pains in the book of Revelation.
So I think what this is saying here is in the end times Israel will be going through the labor pains of these final days. And the ruler has given them up until that time. But then he picks up with them again.
Therefore He shall give them up until the time that she, meaning Zion, who is in labor is given birth. Then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. What is this about?
I’ve asked Joel to read Revelation 12:17. And he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God. This is just one of several New Testament passages that reveals to us that during the Tribulation Period the remnant of the woman’s seed, the rest of the woman’s seed will be missionaries to the whole world.
This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world and then shall the end come. So this remnant of His brethren who go all over the world must first complete their mission. And when they finished it and can come back to Israel then the Lord is ready to exercise his deliverance.
So let’s get the whole picture in verse 3. Therefore He shall give them up, that is subsequent to their rejection of him, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth, till her birth pangs are finished. And the remnant of His brethren, the traveling missionaries I would suggest, come home.
That’s the point at which this new leader will take over. Now notice his role as a leader now in verses 4 and the first part of 5.
And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they shall abide, for He shall be great to the ends of the earth. And this one shall be peace.
Notice we had, we start this passage with war. The nations gathered together against Israel, against Jerusalem. The ruler or the judge of Israel is slapped on the cheek. But there is another ruler who’s already been born as it happens two thousand years before.
And he will return to the nation and he will feed his flock. He will be great to the ends of the earth and he will bring them the peace that they need. We sometimes pray, I think we frequently pray for the nation of Israel right now which is going through so much trial and difficulty.
And one of the things that I pray is that maybe God may be pleased to bring them some measure of peace. I pray for the end of the suicide bombings. But I know that we cannot expect them to have permanent peace until the Lord Jesus Christ has come back.
And there are many awful things ahead of Israel. The suicide bombings are just a kind of a premonition of the dreadful things that lie ahead of this nation. And the nation will never have peace until Jesus is here to reign over it.
So Jesus comes and defeats its enemies and then he will stand in the strength of the Lord and feed the flock. And this one shall be their peace.
Well I hope that is for the nation as it is buffeted by the hatred and by the antagonism that is all around them and even some of it in this country. I’m shocked that some of the anti-Israeli positions taken by people in our own country.
And fortunately we have a president who doesn’t share that as far as I can tell. But nevertheless many of the awful things that lie ahead. And no permanent peace will come to Israel until the Lord Jesus Christ is here to reign.
Now the next part of this prophecy is a surprise and the Hebrew is very abrupt. Because in the next statement the English reads “when the Assyrian comes into our land.” But the Hebrew reads Asher before it says that. Even Asher when he comes into our land.
Now let’s speak for a few minutes about the Assyrian. Interpreters of the book of Micah who correctly understand that we are in a prophetic section here are sometimes puzzled by the reference to the Assyrian. They are puzzled by that because what role can Assyria play in the end times?
The nation of Assyria is long gone. There is no nation called Assyria. So how can the prophet here speak as we shall see of the oppression of the Assyrian? What is he talking about?
And then they begin by telling you that the word that is translated here as the Assyrian is simply the word Asher. Asher the first time this word occurs in the Bible it’s in Genesis chapter 2. You remember there were four rivers that went out from the Garden of Eden and one went to the east of Assyria.
And then we find out that when Noah has come out of the ark, remembering he had three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, when the sons of Shem are listed the first son that is listed is Elam. And there was a powerful people named the Elamites at one time in the Middle East.
The next son that is mentioned is Asshur and Asshur is the ancestor of the Assyrian race. And the next son that is mentioned is Arphaxad who is an ancestor of Abraham. So the Assyrians and the Jews are related back through Shem the son of Noah.
Now the word Asher is very flexible therefore. It can refer to the ancestor of the whole race. His name was Asshur. It can refer to the nation of Assyria. It can even refer to the city called Asshur. There was an ancient city called Asshur.
Then a third of a land. You say what’s this all got to do with what you started with? The heartland of Assyria was in Iraq and that is where the Assyrian power developed. Asshur the city was in Iraq and the Assyrians expanded their empire from their base in Iraq.
And so it’s very important for us to notice that once we have mentioned Asshur here we’ve gotten into Iraq. That’s readable further showing. And I’m instead of using the term Assyria I’m going to use the term Asshur.
When Asshur comes into our land and when he treads in our palaces. And we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men.
Notice the words he and him now. Because Asshur can refer to a nation the English could have been translated “and when they tread in our palaces we will raise against them.”
But I think the English is right here and that the singulars are correct because the forms in Hebrew are certainly singular. So I want to keep the he and the him. When Asshur comes into our land and when he treads in our palaces then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men.
All right. We’ve already been told that the nation of Israel rise and fight. And so this is saying that we’re going to fight Asshur. We’re going to fight Asshur when he comes into our land, when he treads in our palaces. We’re going to raise up leaders to lead forces against him.
They shall waste with the sword the land of Asshur and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. And the land of Nimrod is apparently associated in the land of Asshur referring to the same general area.
Thus he, notice this doesn’t say we will deliver ourselves from Asshur even though they’re fighting. Thus He shall deliver us from Asshur when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders.
Notice what the prophet has done. The prophet has given us a portrait of this mighty king who is to be a deliverer of Israel.
And he says that this one will be peace. Or that we have peace when we are trodden down as the nation of Israel will be in the tribulation by Asshur. He will deliver us from Asshur. Under his leadership we will defeat Asshur.
We will even go into Asshur’s land and devastate it. That’s what they’re saying.
Now to get a clearer picture here I’ve asked Vince to read a passage that is relevant here in Daniel 11 verses 44 and 45. There Vince reads this. Let me point out to you that this is the famous passage in Daniel 11 where the king of the north is presented, the end-time figure.
And he comes down and fights with Egypt. He defeats Egypt. He hears tidings out of the north and out of the east, that is in the direction of Jerusalem. And he’s very unhappy with what he hears.
And he goes back and he plants the tents of his palace outside of Jerusalem. Would you read this for us please, Vince?
But news from the east and the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
So in which you also read the first two verses and the next one. At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.
That’s good. Thank you very much.
What is pictured here apparently is something like this. The king of the north comes sweeping down into Egypt, defeats Egypt. Then he hears something from the northeast that he doesn’t like, apparently from Jerusalem.
He swings up, plants the tents of his palace outside of Jerusalem. And then the prophet Daniel tells us that he’s going to be destroyed. At that time Michael will stand up and that will be the time of great trouble for Israel.
This is the Great Tribulation Period. But your people shall be delivered.
Let me try to put all this together. If we study Daniel 11 I think we will draw the conclusion that the king of the north rules in the general area that is now covered by Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, maybe portions of Turkey. But in that general area.
Because that is the area to which the king of the north comes and from which he comes once he has conquered Egypt and goes to Jerusalem. Apparently he stays there. There’s no indication that he moves anywhere during the three and a half years.
What is he doing during the time that he has his tents planted outside of Jerusalem? And he’s doing what they say here. He comes into our land. Daniel speaks of when he treads in our palaces.
The nation will be subject to him. What can they do? They are helpless. And he could walk into Jerusalem. He will walk into Jerusalem and kill the two prophets. He will go into the temple that is in existence at that time in Jerusalem and proclaim himself as God.
He will be welcomed in all of the governmental offices of Israel. He will tread in our palaces. He will be the master of Israel in those days. You see the picture here.
This is the king of the north. But now we add the interesting little insight that the king of the north is also to be identified as Asshur. That is he’s an Assyrian. He’s an Assyrian.
We have in the Bible a number of titles are given to the man of sin. For example the Apostle Paul calls him the man of sin, the son of perdition. The book of Revelation calls him the beast, the wild animal. The book of Daniel calls him the king of the north.
And the book of Micah calls him Asshur. He personifies his people. Now where does this get us into Iraq? We already are in Iraq a little bit.
But a good friend of mine, Al Valdez, sent me an email which consisted of an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times very recently. In the Los Angeles Times we’ve also had Los Angeles Times interviewed an Assyrian activist who lives in California whose name was Sargon something. I don’t remember the last part.
But I sure do remember Sargon because Sargon is the name of one of the famous Assyrian kings. And according to the article, I’m not sure whether this is right or not but at least according to the article, the name Sargon means king of light.
Now this activist has actually at one time been targeted by a hit man from Saddam Hussein because of his troublesome behavior. And what emerged from this article was that there are approximately one million Assyrians in Iraq.
There are also apparently about four million Assyrians in the western countries, Europe and the United States. And this Iraqi Assyrian that was being interviewed said he is very hopeful for the future of the Assyrians now.
And that he would hope that the Assyrians will be given an autonomous area in Iraq. Obviously they’ve been under the thumb of Saddam Hussein for a long time just like the Kurds have.
And as we know the nation of Iraq has a number of ethnic groups in it and a number of religious groups in it. And it’s not inconceivable that the final form of the democratic government that we are hoping to establish there will involve a series of semi-autonomous regions.
So the Assyrians might have one. The Kurds might have one. The Shiites might have one. The Sunnis might have one. And we get them all together in some kind of a parliament and with some kind of a government.
Now please be careful not to make me say something I’m not saying. I am not saying that the figure in California is likely to be the man of sin. I don’t really think he will be.
If I am correct my guess is the man of sin will be a Bedouin, a nomad. But there are plenty of Bedouins in that part of the country. So if the Assyrians get an autonomous region of their own they will have a leader.
And I’m not saying that their next leader will be the man of sin. We don’t know how close we are and we might be a long long way away. But it’s one of the things that should now be obvious to us is that as long as Saddam Hussein was in control of Iraq there was no hope of an Assyrian leader arising in that area. Isn’t that right?
That’s obvious. But now there is hope for the Assyrians and they see it as hope. This is a chance to escape the long-term oppression under which they had lived. Not to mention the Kurds as well.
And they hope they will see better days. And it may well be that eventually the leader of Iraq will be an Assyrian. That’s a possibility. Or that may develop in some other way.
Maybe the democratic government will exist for a while and be replaced by an autocracy or another dictatorship. We don’t know. I’m not trying to predict this. I am only saying that what has happened in Iraq potentially clears the way for the emergence of this figure.
Let me say that again. What has happened in Iraq potentially clears the way for the emergence of this end-time figure, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the beast, Asshur. The one who will be the end-time oppressor of Israel.
As of course the ancient Assyrians were the oppressors of the Northern Kingdom and invaded also the Southern Kingdom but didn’t overthrow it. He will be the end-time oppressor. And he will be the leader of all the nations of the world who come together against Jerusalem.
And he will be defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, rejected by his people but coming back to deliver them. And his people will join in the battle successfully under his leadership.
They will be triumphant. They will invade Iraq according to this passage. They will go up and devastate the land of Nimrod. They will devastate the land of Asshur.
Oh Iraq has another invasion coming at the very end of the Great Tribulation Period.
Now before I make just a couple of closing comments I’m just going to read verses 7 and 8. You can see how this sets the whole thing once again in the context of the ultimate triumph of Israel through its deliverer.
Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like showers from the Lord on the grass that tarry for no man nor wait for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, both treads down and tears in pieces, and none can deliver.
Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.
Israel has a large number of enemies and they will multiply from here to the end of the tribulation period. But they all have a dim future. They’re all going to be cut off. They’re all going to be defeated.
And the Lord Jesus Christ will lead his people to victory.
What does this mean to us then as we watch the events in Iraq? Let’s remember that they do have some hard times coming to them but there is an ultimate victory which the very one in whom we have believed for eternal life is going to bring to them.
Let’s watch the events in Israel because we may be moving in the direction of some kind of a peace settlement that could possibly bring to the surface the treaty that prophecy has spoken of. But let’s also watch Iraq, shall we?
And let’s watch what emerges from the invasion and the victory that God has given to the United States over this nation and over this dictator. Let’s watch carefully what emerges and keep our eyes out for the emergence of the Assyrians and potentially the emergence of Assyria.
One of the things about prophecy is that we don’t know how much we will see before the Lord comes. We may not see any of the emergence of the Assyrians because it might be the Lord will come next week, next month, next year. Or we might see it. You follow me?
But the more we see the closer it indicates that the coming of the Lord is approaching. So I invite you as a result of the events in Iraq read in the light of Scripture to be on the tiptoes of your expectation for the return of Jesus Christ. Or to put it another way, keep looking up.