The article quoted a U.S. Navy Chaplain, "'On my first day here, I caught many people,' said U.S. Navy Chaplain, Cmdr. Emilio Marrero, a project official of the site. 'A few looters were arrested,' he added, 'and U.S. authorities "pushed everybody outside the gate so that we could preserve the city."'

"'Since, Babylon has been closed to the public, but the Marines hope to reopen the site within two months,' said Marrero, a New York City native. 'The Marines have created a major base at the city, calling it Camp Babylon.'" (The Gaston Gazette, July 28, 2003, Section A, Page 3. Original article from Associated Press.)

This is prophetic beyond description. The coalition, led by our nation of America, is helping set the stage for the coming of the Lord and the New World Order of the Antichrist. The following article is from my book, A Palace For the Antichrist. It was written several years ago and fully describes how Iraq and Babylon fit the prophecy of Holy Scripture.

Babylon, The Land of Shinar & The New World Order
The great city of Babylon, the same city that Nebuchadnezzar proudly called "the great city which I have built," shall soon be the capital of a new world leader. While Jerusalem is being prepared to be the capital of the King of kings, Babylon is being readied for the impostor who wants to take His place. These two cities are the two capitals or the two central cities of the universe. Their connection is fixed until the second city, Babylon, is judged by the great God Jehovah and sinks into the Euphrates. "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah." (Jeremiah 51:63-64) This has never been fulfilled, but it certainly will be in the near future.

A great prophet by the name of Zechariah set forth a precise picture of Babylon's rise in the last days. He called it "An house in the land of Shinar." This refers directly to Genesis 10:10, where the Scripture says, "And the beginning of his [Nimrod] kingdom was Babel [Babel = babilu, Babylon] ...in the land of Shinar."

The term "land of Shinar" is synonymous in Scripture with the name "Babylon." When Nebuchadnezzar brought Daniel from Jerusalem to Babylon, the Scripture stated, "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god." (Daniel 1: 2)

Nebuchadnezzar's capital was Babylon, the house of his gods was in this city, and it was to that city he brought Daniel and the vessels of the temple in Jerusalem. It was a mighty triumph for Nebuchadnezzar to actually rob the temple of the true God in Jerusalem and carry the temple treasures belonging to the revelations of truth and deposit them in the dark temple of Lucifer and demon spirits. Even before this fateful hour the future of Babylon was set. Without question, this act by Nebuchadnezzar would fix forever the ultimate fate of such a dark and blasphemous deed. The city of God, beautiful Jerusalem, would one day be vindicated. Babylon, in the land of Shinar, represents everything that is contrary to Jerusalem. This deed by Nebuchadnezzar and many additional acts of blasphemy since that date has yet to be judged. God is literally raising up a city from ruins to prepare for His final answer to the god of rebellion, Lucifer. Please look at the eleven verses of Zechariah chapter five for a picture of this resurrected city, "Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base." (Zechariah 5: 1-11)

Before we continue, please note the clear prophecy that this city will be resurrected and rebuilt. The prophet Zechariah was so emphatic that he stated that this prophecy was to "build a house in the land of Shinar." But that is not all he said. It was to be built upon the original foundation. He stated, "It shall be established, and set there upon her own base." You cannot be plainer than that.

Is that happening already? Absolutely! I have walked through those ruins and have seen repeatedly the ancient bricks of Nebuchadnezzar with the bricks of Saddam Hussein laid on top and workers proceeding to erect wall after wall and building after building. Every nuance of God's infallible Word is being fulfilled. I have never doubted that it would happen as God by revelation said that it would. I do not need the world's confirmation; nonetheless, two American news personalities have confirmed this story. Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson did an ABC "Primetime" special on June 28, 1990, from Iraq just before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Here are Sawyer's words from the transcript of that program, "And now, Saddam Hussein dreams of rebuilding that grandeur, reclaiming the vision. This is Babylon. Twenty-five hundred years ago, it was the dazzling center of a rich civilization. There were the Hanging Gardens, the palaces, all built by a man who managed to unite the country and rule with an iron hand. In fact, right over here there are bricks that bear an ancient stamp. It says, 'I am King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, king of everything from sea to far sea.' But there are new bricks here, too, imprinted with a different stamp. This one says, 'I am Saddam Hussein, president of the Republic of Iraq.'"

I watched Mrs. Sawyer and Mr. Donaldson actually show Saddam Hussein's bricks on top of the foundation laid by the workmen of Nebuchadnezzar. Absolutely incredible! The perfection of God's eternal revelations is exactly what we should expect of God's infallible Word in every instance. Isn't it amazing to see two skeptical American journalists confirm prophecy that is 2,500 years old? They had no idea what they were doing, but our great God did.

Now, let's look at the entire passage of revelation by Zechariah. First, he saw a flying roll, which the angel identified as "the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth." This is the end-time wickedness, which will totally envelope the world and has already begun. This world is going to have a baptism of filth unparalleled. The lie being told about worldwide revival is designed to mislead and confuse worldly professing Christians. True biblical believers are going to be fewer and fewer in number as we near the end. In verse five, he speaks of judgment against those, "who swareth falsely by my [God's] name."

False prophesies, false visions, and false dreams have never been as multiple as our present time. A pastor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recently testified that God showed him a vision in which the Beatles' damnable music was called the "music of the end-time revival from God." A Prophetic Perspective publication carried a vision by the wife of that minister. It was called "Off to See the Wizard." She said the Holy Spirit said to her that he (the Holy Spirit) was Toto, the dog, in the "Wizard of Oz" story, and that Oz, the wizard (a sorcerer), was God. All of this is said by this publication to have come from God. This kind of demonic activity is more and more being attributed to visions, revelations, and events taking place in apostate churches. Even sadder is the fact that people will believe such tales. (Prophetic Perspective, Vol. 5, Part V, Mahesh Chavda Ministries International, P.O. Box 472009, Charlotte, NC 28247-2009.)

This wickedness is centered in an "ephah," which is a commercial symbol. An ephah is a grain container of one bushel and three pints. The picture of this ephah suggests that wealth, trade, and riches, including the divination of the prosperity gospel, will be the vehicle that propels this worldwide wickedness. It will be human desire for things totally out of control. It is amazing how the whole Middle East crisis and recent war relate to one thing, "Our lifestyle of the abundance of things centered in oil."

The entire One World Order that is developing is basically a lust for money, control, and power. Every aspect of our worldwide economy is uniting together for unprecedented growth and wealth. The developing identification systems are already being connected worldwide. Mass control of everything of value is not just possible; it is almost final.

Two women will carry this commercial system, destined to control the whole world, to Babylon with the wind (speed and haste) in their wings. It will happen with great speed. The whole world systems will first focus their attention on this area (already happening) and will then swiftly move its political and military operations to be centered in the vicinity of Babylon. It will happen so fast that no one will have time to resist or even prepare an argument. While we must never set dates, I believe it will happen so swiftly that there is at best a few years before it will all culminate and the seven years of wrath begin. That judgment will end at the "Battle of Armageddon" and the glorious return of Jesus to establish His earthly kingdom.

Let us identify these two women in the text who bear the commercial systems (ephah) to their destiny in Babylon. They are the two women of Revelation 17 and 18. One is Mystery Babylon, the mother of religious harlotry. The second is the political systems, the One World government that will eventually give their powers to this god-king and coming Antichrist.

Mystery Babylon is the pagan religions of the world united with apostate Catholicism and Protestantism. The religious world is in worse shape than the political. Deception, compromise, false unity, and tolerance are the basic motivations of the church. Denominations in the past have existed to sustain themselves and have directed almost their whole powers in self-centered pursuits. This is changing. Now, everything is centering on unity and ecumenicalism and all convictions and distinctions are giving way to total tolerance. It is amazing to watch as the Catholic Pope, the Dalai Lamas of the Buddhists, the New Agers, and the Pentecostals/Charismatics, plus many other strange religious leaders, meet together to promote peace and world harmony. This is Mystery Babylon already uniting for her present and future role.

The second woman is the political systems of many stripes, including democracies, dictators, kings and Communists all working together to create a New World Order. Their goal is world peace, international trade, and prosperity, but the ultimate design is a one-world government headed by the last world dictator. Almost every political figure of note is involved in this idea of a "New World Order." Many of our past and present presidents have been dedicated to a worldwide discussion of this idea. Former President Bush's top foreign advisor, Brent Snowcroft, said on prime time news, "We are watching the emergence of a 'New World Order.'" This is the second of the two women that bear the commercial system on her wings to build it a house in Shinar.

Even more amazing is to see President Saddam Hussein with his godless religious zeal as a prime mover in this whole scenario. This man shows all the signs of being a John the Baptist of the Antichrist kingdom. He is either the forerunner or at least one of the forerunners.

An article in the Chattanooga New-Free Press of April 5, 1987, stated the following. "From Genesis to the last chapters of Revelation, Babylon was a byword for splendor and sin to the biblical authors, whose views were colored by the Hebrews' forced exile here under King Nebuchadnezzar II, the last great Babylonian king. But to modern Iraqis, Babylon is a monument to the region's history as the birthplace of writing and law, and they have begun a task likely to take many years to restore the city that dates from around 2000 B.C. Officials have set no time limit nor do they give any idea how much it will cost. The Iraqis have begun rebuilding several major structures from Nebuchadnezzar's time and plan to unveil them this summer in an international culture festival. The ancient Temple of lshtar has been rebricked, replastered, and whitewashed. A new 4,000-seat Greek theater is rising on the site of the old. Workmen on scaffolds are topping the ancient bricks of Nebuchadnezzar's palace with blocks from the government brick works. One of Babylon's great monuments, the Ishtar Gate, stands in an East German museum today. Only the foundations of the gate, some 120 feet across, are now visible in Babylon. Carved into the bricks are reliefs of oxen and a mythical beast called the mushrishu, with the head of a serpent, body of a fish, front legs of a lion, and back legs of an eagle."
Surely, these documented accounts are convincing.

Babylon of Mesopotarnia (the cradle of civilization) is destined to be the center of man's final effort at human government. Baghdad has already built hundreds of eight to ten-story office building complexes. They are only partially used at present. I rode on an unfinished six-lane superhighway leading from the Persian Gulf toward Babylon and Baghdad. It was lined with many small parks, such as we enjoy in the West, and it was lighted at the intersections. No one can visit that country as I did and not see his or her design for something momentous.

No one knows the exact movements of the coming months or years. The Master chess player is the Designer of eternity. Other prophecies will unfold as the events transpire. One thing is certain, He that predicts the future thousands of years in advance will not miss a detail. Babylon and the Land of Shinar will be the center of coming events. God will judge her at the appropriate moment and she will sink, as did Sodom and Gomorrah. "As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein" (Jeremiah 50:40)

The following is a large edited portion of the booklet printed by the Iraqi Ministry of Information and Culture. "Babylon rises again. Glorious in a glorious time. She is the lady of reviving centuries. Rising dignified and holy. Showing the great history of Iraq. Adding to its magnificence. And emphasizing its originality.

"The Phoenix of the new time rising alive from the ashes of the past to face the bright present that places it on a golden throne and bringing back to it its charming youth and unique glory.

"Babylon was not a city made of rocks and bricks and full of events. It was not a forgotten place of the ancient past. In fact, Babylon is something else. Since its birth Babylon has stretched its arm to the future to be the place of wisdom and to represent the first civilization and to remain as a glittering lighthouse in the dark nights of history. Here is Bab-ilu...

"It survived the ages, defied all times and overcame whatever threatened its existence. It won the battles by virtue of its great heritage and the formidable men, who carried that heritage, and defended it throughout the ages that produced unique heroes who know the originality of their city as it rises and revives to add to human civilization something new in writing, law, astronomy, medicine, arts, literature, commerce, agriculture, education, and mathematics. So history can start with it so that it remains the compass throughout the ages.

"When Babylon was consisted of small city-states and separate dynasties, Hammurabi waged successive wars to unite these city-states so that Babylon remains as one city, as the bright light of civilization.

"However, it suffered more and more from repeated attacks until Nebuchadnezzar came to power and reconstructed. He built temples and high walls as he realized it was the pulpit of the first Iraqi civilization.

"Today looks exactly like yesterday.

"After long periods of darkness that enveloped the land of Babylon and concealed its characteristics, Saddam Hussein emerges from Mesopotamia, as Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar had emerged, at a time to shake the century old dust off its face.

"Saddam Hussein, the grandson of the Babylonians, the son of this great land, is leaving his fingerprints everywhere. He directs his attention to the civilization of the ancestors and the historical cities of exceptional significance in the history of Iraq. Thus, Babylon revives everyday and its buried antiquities are revealed by unceasing efforts supervised by President Saddam Hussein, who fully realizes Babylon's great landmarks and glory and who reconstructed it after Persian attempts to eliminate it from the face of the earth throughout history.

"It is not easy to sum up the history of Babylon since the history of such an ancient city requires many writings reviving throughout the time and since incessant excavation campaigns always reveal exciting aspects of its history.

"However, what is available before us is not little because archaeologists and specialists in Iraq's ancient history wrote a great deal about Babylon. Thus old Babylonian periods, which lasted for more than five thousand years, were full of events, were ruled by many kings and were subject to foreign domination for successive decades. So most of its buildings turned into mere ruins. Yet, from time to time, it came back to the limelight with the emergence of a number of kings who brought it back to its glory, to play its role in human civilization and to add new pages to the intellectual, national, and human history. Therefore, it is difficult to sum up Babylon's eventful history and to give a complete picture of its daily life. However we shall trace the remotest point in the old Babylonian periods and stop at certain dynasties to emphasize the role of the most distinguished kings, who ruled, protected, and restored the city.

"President Saddam Hussein Brings Babylon To Life - Excavations at the archaeological sites in Babylon started in the 1950s. But they were slow and the efforts could not match the greatness of the buried treasures, which took the world by surprise when they were dug up.

"As soon as President Saddam Hussein assumed responsibility archaeological excavations won the same amount of attention as all aspects of life in Iraq. His Excellency took a direct interest in the excavation operations and paid them a special attention as shown by his regular directives to the supervisors of the archaeological operations, his defining the objectives to be attained, providing the requirements of success to expand the excavation site, and reduce the required time.

"Therefore, the new discoveries in Babylon and elsewhere, and the process of restoring Babylon are simply the fruit of the president's directives. Indeed, the president's role went beyond giving directives, to outlining the goals to be achieved such as his orders to restore Babylon, its mountains, lakes, tourist facilities, restaurants, and roads, etc.

"The president used to pay regular visits to the work sites to superintend the proper implementation of his directives. His Excellency would discuss them with the engineers and the archaeologists and draw up sketches for carrying out the plans. These visits played a decisive role in ensuring the restoration of Babylon and providing it with better tourist facilities.

"President Saddam Hussein was acting in his capacity as heir to this great civilization, and descendant of those Arab dynasties, which gave the world a great deal in all walks of life.

"His Excellency realized the distinguished role Babylon played, through its patriotic kings, to ward off the successive dangers, which threatened its existence. His Excellency was also aware of the great human role, which brought forth the greatest human civilization, which still illuminates the world and offers it unlimited achievements in various human aspects.

"President Saddam Hussein's supervision of Babylon's restoration is a definite proof that the new generations inherit the profound human concepts, which revealed and always will, the essential link between a glorious history and a radiant future. Meanwhile, His Excellency draws many and greater lessons from that history to interpret them into rich details which will remain an outstanding lesson for the distant future.

"When excavation started in Babylon earlier in this century, archaeologists did not expect to see the ruins of the city in such a deplorable state. The baked bricks from which the city's palaces had been built had disappeared. They had been extracted from within the walls over hundreds of years. Besides, the rest of the city's buildings having been built of mud bricks (especially temples and walls), they were gradually eroded by subterranean water. Moreover, salts, winds, and rains left their marks on this ancient city. Today it is almost lying under palm groves or below the level of salty marshes, which appear in Winter and Spring. Or under the sandy hills which cover the important archaeological sites in the city. The ancient Euphrates has changed its course more than once. Nowadays, Shattal Hilla flows far away from its historical course leaving the original riverbed bone dry.

"Within the 21-square-mile archaeological city there are several modern villages now such as Sinjar, Al-Jumjuma, and Anana. Babylon revival project aims to rediscover the important parts of the city and restore them. Over the past few years the work concentrated on investigating the damage to the foundations of the walls of the discovered palaces, the gates, and temples, as well as the private houses, the Babylonian amphitheater and its annex, the acting Palace. Most of Nebuchadnezzar II's palace, which covers an area of 52,000 square meters, was discovered and the important parts of its walls were maintained. Restoration and maintenance works also covered three temples: Ishtar, Nabu, and Ninmakh. The recent discovery of a small temple, Nabushakbari, by Iraqi scientists is a unique achievement in the field of archaeology and excavations. Furthermore, most of the Procession Street was also discovered while reconstruction works were carried out on the Babylonian Amphitheater, and the Acting Palace and most of their structures were restored. They have been prepared to host festivals and great festivities. Soon enough Nebuchadnezzar's bridge will be built, and maintenance of the Procession Street will be carried on as far as the bridge gate and work on the city's gates and walls will be finished.
"So far, a lot has been achieved to revive Babylon and the restoration works continue in every part according to stages planned beforehand?" (Excerpted from booklet, From Nebuchadnezzar to Saddam Hussein, Babylon Rises Again, printed by Al-Hurriya Press, published by Ministry of Information and Culture, Department of Information.)

Reading the above booklet from Iraq is breathtaking. Saddam Hussein actually believes he is destined to make Iraq a world-class nation. Ancient Babylon is probably a mystery to him, but somehow this mystery drives him to dream incredible dreams. How big his part will be in the New World Order is better left to witness firsthand rather than to speculation.

Conclusion
Now, that America has freed Iraq of Saddam, this city can move quickly toward its destiny. The entire world is focusing on this small country that is the cradle of civilization. I just heard a report that tourism has already become an interest. With the United Nations preparing to send in a multilateral force of troops, the universalization of this nation will progress rapidly. Iraq has already served to divide the East from the West in political rhetoric.