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THE STUDY OF PROPHECY

                     SADDAM HUSSEIN & IRAQ

Extract “Kingdom of the Beast” by Stephen J. Smith 1994 ISBN 0949047 Pub. ELE Ltd. Brendale. Aust.
 

“THE RISE OF THE KING OF THE NORTH
 I believe that many commentators today have underestimated the power and Influence of Syria. While the world's attention was focused on Iraq en the war of 1991, Israel's hands were effectively tied both because of its involvement and because of American military activity in Palestine. Taking advantage of this, Syria proceeded to capture East Beirut and thus effectively brought Lebanon back under Syrian control

 Christians were massacred in this action and whole families were butchered, but it has gone practically unnoticed by the world The president of Lebanon has always been virtually a Syrian puppet, and the Syrians now believe that they have taken the first real step in their plan to create a greater Syria.

 This is the first stage. The "buffer" state of Lebanon has now effectively disappeared and the hatred the Syrians have for the Jews is as deadly and implacable as that of any other Arab state.

 The map shows the area occupied by the ancient Assyrian empire. It would be, of course, easy to argue that
on this basis, an Iraqi leader, equally as well as a Syrian, could be the "Assyrian," but we must remember that all the way through Daniel 11, which is the chapter dealing with the history of the "king of the north" and the "king of the south," these have been presented as Syria and Egypt. In addition to this, Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king, was the type of the future military opponent of Israel.

 These observations, added to the fact that nowhere in prophecy do we read of the Assyrian empire undergoing a revival in the last seven years, seems to suggest quite strongly that the 'little horn," the military nemesis who arises from one of the horns of the he-goat, does so from the Seleucid horn and from its principal country, the land of Syria, in particular. This being the case, the term the "Assyrian" is applied to him as he is the personification of all that that empire was to the children of Israel in former times.

If the Russian invasion of Israel takes place before the Assyrian
attack, then the nations surrounding Syria (which will not be participating), will be even further weakened, and I believe that it is quite literally this nation, as it has always been in the past, that will fulfil the description of the "king of the north"—the deadly military opponent of Israel in the last days.

 If the nations involved in the Russian invasion are militarily decimated, look at the map above and see just who is left in control both to the north and the south of Israel.

 Saddam Hussein was defeated in the 1991 war, and if Iraq manages to reImages as a significant power at present, then it will certainly be demolished as such in the Gog and Magog invasion. If commentators are right in their assumption that a rebuilt Babylon is going to be the capital for the one-world empire, then this strongly suggests that Iraq is going to be occupied by western powers sooner rather than later.

 So, to summarize, after the destruction of much of the Muslim World Egypt will be left as the undisputed leader of the Arab-African states. On the other side, to the north of Palestine, will be the kingdom of Syria. With the Baltic states, Iran and Iraq demolished as military powers, Syria will be the undisputed power in the north.

 The scene will then be set for these two ancient enemies of Israel to make their own moves and this, I believe, will precipitate the Armageddon campaign. The map below shows the four world power blocs after the Gog and Magog invasion. We shall refer to this as we consider the wars which lead up to the return of Christ.