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It is breathtaking to watch a
culture that almost everyone perceived to be dead to suddenly
experience a rebirth. There is no question but this is presently
happening to the ancient Assyrians. It is happening because it
had to happen by prophetic design. There are two prophetic facts
that demand an Assyrian presents in this world and especially in
Iraq. The antichrist will be an Assyrian and will be known to
the world by that identification. Second, the Assyrian culture
will progressively rise to dominance in Northern Iraq until
during the Millenium of Jesus Christ on this earth. They will be
one of only three main nations in the Middle East during this
coming thousand years of perfect peace. The prophet Isaiah
settled this twenty-seven hundred years ago.
Let's look at this incredible
prophesy. "In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to
Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the
Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall serve with the
Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and
with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:" (Isaiah
19:23-24)
When you learn the continuation of
this Assyrian culture with its clear distinction for twenty-six
hundred years since they were decimated by a coalition of armies
in 612 B.C. (another date given is 603 B.C.), it shows the
Sovereign Hand of God in everything. I have been studying and
learning of the many different events during these long years
for these descendants of this distinct society and it's nothing
less than supernatural that they have survived. They claim that
they were one of the first homogenous groups to embrace
Christianity in the first century of the Christian faith. There
are presently five_small church denominations linked together
representing Assyrians. All of them claim an orthodox form of
Christianity.
The Assyrian churches claimed great
success during the first five hundred years of Christianity.
They supported several colleges and were part of spreading the
faith until the fall of Constantinople to the Muslim aggressors.
After Mohammed founded the Islam faith and sought to subdue the
entire Middle East for the Moslem religion, their fortune has
been up and down depending on the tolerance of each different
ruler. The Assyrians are practically the only true Mesopotamians
living in Iraq at present. The Arabs' first empire in Iraq did
not occur until the sixth century after Christ.
There are approximately one-and
one-half million Assyrians living presently in Iraq. In l935
A.D., the League of Nations settled a great number of Assyrians
in an area presently governed by Syria. This appeared to have
been an appeasement effort because the Assyrian people were left
out of the original configuration of nations. Saddam Hussein
destroyed many of their villages and massacred thousands of
their citizens. Their history is clearly one of survival amidst
incredible suffering and privation. Their statistics place over
four hundred thousand Assyrians presently living in America.
Already, there are beautiful stories of Assyrians returning to
their homeland from different countries where they had migrated
to survive.
One present member of the Iraqi
Governing Council is an Assyrian. His name is Younadim Kana. The
Assyrians held a World Assyrian Conference in Moscow on May
10-11, 2002. These distinct people are uniting and seeking a
specific geographical area as an Assyrian state in the country
of Iraq. Their success appears to be very limited at this point.
Every movement that has Biblical significance experiences
tremendous resistance. The Devil hates the Word of God and
probably knows it better than most Christians. Every ounce of
progress by Biblical truth will be measured and attacked but it
will prevail on God's schedule.
The Assyrians appear to be America's
best friends in the entire country of Iraq. The sole Assyrian on
the Iraqi Council recently stated in his plea to Washington, "We
are calling on...America not to stop; to go on with us on this
blessed mission, which the Iraq people will never forget: this
blessed mission of liberation, of democracy, and of freedom."
They document that over 90% of the Assyrians support the
Coalition and America.
The Antichrist
I have documented in other articles that the antichrist will be
of Assyrian nationality. Bible prophecy leaves no doubt for
those who take prophecy literally. Probably the reason this idea
has been rejected by almost every prophecy teacher is that most
teachers wait for the facts to begin to unfold before they dare
to speak. The Word of God can be trusted when there is not one
proof in sight. Prophecy is history written in advance. This
fact by no means suggests or accuses the Assyrian people as a
culture of being anti-christ themselves. In fact, the opposite
is true.
Daniel shows us that the antichrist
comes from a people that believe in the God of Holy Scripture.
He plainly teaches that the antichrist rejects the God of his
fathers. Daniel prophesies, "Neither shall he regard the God of
his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he
shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he
honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not
shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones,
and pleasant things." (Daniel 11:37-38).
The word "fathers" suggest that this
evil dictator comes from a lineage of people that believed in
the God of the Holy Bible. It fits perfectly as always when God
said it by His Infallible Book.
The Assyrians have a glorious
future. They will be revived, thoroughly renewed to fundamental
Christianity and become a great nation during the Millenium..
They will serve the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings and will
help make the Middle East the center of a Millenium theocracy.
The utopia for which men have dreamed, armies have fought and
billions have died will fill this earth. The earth will become a
Garden of Eden. |
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