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Tonight, while ruminating on Pres. Bush's ultimatum and what may follow in days to come, I had a rather awful thought. Those uninterested in, skeptical about, or inclined to argue with premillennial eschatology may choose to skip the following, because I'm not intending to open up a debate with this one (I haven't time for it, frankly), just musing aloud. But anyway:
Biblical end-time prophecy (i.e. the books of Daniel and Revelation, among others) really doesn't make reference to any nation or group that could be the United States. You can find verses that describe -- or outright name -- parts of Europe, Egypt and the Middle East (particularly, of course, Israel), Russia and even possibly the Orient, but no military and economic superpower from the West.
However, there is a great deal said about...
Babylon.
Yeah, the one in Iraq.
Of course, some commentators regard the "Babylon" references as most likely figurative, referring to an economic and cultural centre which merely resembles ancient Babylon in terms of its glory and influence. But on the other hand, Saddam Hussein has spent a great deal of money on rebuilding and restoring Babylon... and given sufficient time and geopolitical shifting, those references wouldn't necessarily have to be metaphorical.
Does this mean that I think Iraq is going to wipe the U.S. out of existence, either now or later? Well, as my husband observed, it's very unlikely that Saddam Hussein has enough missiles to do that kind of widespread damage, even if he were insane enough to try it. Militarily it looks like he's severely overmatched. But looking at the Biblical picture it does seem like something is going to take America out of the political endgame, and I can't help wondering what that could be, and whether the current conflict with Iraq might perhaps be the first step down that road...
Just a thought. And not a very cheerful one, either. Sorry.
Edited to correct "disinterested" to "uninterested" in the first para because Doug McNeil (rightly) mocks me every time I make that mistake. Oops.
Biblical end-time prophecy (i.e. the books of Daniel and Revelation, among others) really doesn't make reference to any nation or group that could be the United States. You can find verses that describe -- or outright name -- parts of Europe, Egypt and the Middle East (particularly, of course, Israel), Russia and even possibly the Orient, but no military and economic superpower from the West.
However, there is a great deal said about...
Babylon.
Yeah, the one in Iraq.
Of course, some commentators regard the "Babylon" references as most likely figurative, referring to an economic and cultural centre which merely resembles ancient Babylon in terms of its glory and influence. But on the other hand, Saddam Hussein has spent a great deal of money on rebuilding and restoring Babylon... and given sufficient time and geopolitical shifting, those references wouldn't necessarily have to be metaphorical.
Does this mean that I think Iraq is going to wipe the U.S. out of existence, either now or later? Well, as my husband observed, it's very unlikely that Saddam Hussein has enough missiles to do that kind of widespread damage, even if he were insane enough to try it. Militarily it looks like he's severely overmatched. But looking at the Biblical picture it does seem like something is going to take America out of the political endgame, and I can't help wondering what that could be, and whether the current conflict with Iraq might perhaps be the first step down that road...
Just a thought. And not a very cheerful one, either. Sorry.
Edited to correct "disinterested" to "uninterested" in the first para because Doug McNeil (rightly) mocks me every time I make that mistake. Oops.
