Stirring the Medes

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By Daymond Duck

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On August 2, 1990, Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein’s military invaded the tiny oil-rich kingdom of Kuwait. His troops seized control and he annexed Kuwait to Iraq. The international community was irate, hastily condemning the invasion. The U.N. quickly approved economic sanctions, and President George H. W. Bush told Saddam Hussein to remove his troops or they would be evicted.

Saddam ignored President Bush so Mr. Bush assembled a coalition of nations and launched an aerial attack on Iraq on January 17, 1991. He followed that up with a ground attack on February 24, 1991. Coalition troops immediately overran the Iraqi positions and just one-hundred hours later they were moving toward Baghdad at great speed. A dispute arose over the conditions of a cease fire and the coalition troops suddenly stopped.

This war caught the attention of prophecy teachers. Many believed the coalition invasion of Iraq is prophesied in the Bible (Isa. 13:1-5; Jer. 50:9). They believed the coalition of nations was ordained by God to overthrow the nation of Babylon (Iraq).

I believed this war met some of the conditions, but it seemed clear to me that it didn’t meet all of the conditions. Iraq’s leaders were not captured (Isa. 13:2), the entire land of Iraq was not destroyed (Isa. 13:5); the Medes (Kurds) were not involved (Isa. 13:17), and the ancient city of Babylon wasn’t overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa. 13:19; Jer. 50:38-40), and more.

In 1992, I started writing my first book , On the Brink, (1995). On pages 123-124, I wrote about Babylon’s Future: “Babylon (Iraq) will go through several wars before it reaches the end of the road. The nation will have to fight the Medes (probably the Kurds), an assembly of great nations from the north country (probably the United Nations or Antichrist) and God’s battle ax (Israel).”

“At some point, before the city’s ultimate destruction, foreigners will take over and turn it into a center for religion and trade. It is unrealistic to believe they will worship or invest much money there under the present conditions so they are likely to use war to clear out the Iraqis and secure the area before they move in...When that happens, Babylon will no longer be a tourist attraction. The Antichrist will make it his seat of power.”

It seems to me that God was saying He will cause the Medes (Kurds) to play a major role in the destruction of Iraq and the ancient city of Babylon. He clearly said, “I will stir up the Medes against them” (Isa. 13:17). He will use the Medes (Kurds) to put end-of-the-age events into action in Iraq and use them again to destroy the rebuilt city of Babylon.

In the 1970s, there was a large population of Kurds in and around the city of Kirkuk, Iraq and God began to stir them up. This was part of their ancient tribal homeland and they wanted control over it. But Saddam Hussein wouldn’t allow it.

In the late 70s and early 80s, he drove many of them out of the area. In the late 80s, he was accused of killing 3,000-5,000 and injuring 7,000-10,000 Kurds with poison gas. They have never forgotten the Iraqis did.

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, the Kurds helped the U.S. and even fought alongside the American troops. When the time came to form a government we allowed the Shiite government of Nouri al-Maliki to take power. The Kurds believed he discriminated against them; he lied about them, he falsely arrested and oppressed them, he was too close to Iran and more. The animosity grew to the point that gunfire broke out between Iraqi troops and Kurdish troops in December 2012 and the Kurds were threatening to start a civil war.

More was stirring when the Kurds built an oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey so they could sell their own oil without going through the Iraqi government. Nouri al-Maliki opposed their pipeline and threatened the oil companies that were seeking to drill the Kurdish wells. He warned them not to drill wells for the Kurds or they would not be allowed to drill wells in any other oil field in Iraq. He tied up money that was supposed to go to the Kurds and his government now has several billion dollars that belongs to them.

The KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) may have the most powerful military in Iraq (the peshmerga fighters). But when Nouri al-Maliki asked them to help fight those who are trying to take over Iraq today (ISIS) the Kurds refused. Their refusal fits perfectly into God’s plan to use them to change the situation in Iraq.
In June 2014, ISIS forces (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) attacked Mosul, and the Iraqi army abandoned their weapons, turned tail and ran. Even though no one attacked the Iraqi army in Kirkuk and the surrounding area the Iraqi troops turned tail and ran from there too. The Kurdish peshmerga (militias) quickly moved in and took over.

This expanded their oil-rich Kurdish controlled area of Iraq by about 40 percent. It is almost certain that Iraq will demand it back and it is also a good bet that the Kurds will say no. Keeping all of that land and oil will definitely incite more animosity between Iraq and the Kurds.

So I am not looking for a Muslim Antichrist, Muslim world government or a Muslim world religion. I am looking for the strife in Iraq to intensify and spread. I believe it is needed to clear the way for the rebuilding of Babylon as a global economic and religious center. Rebuilt Babylon will eventually be destroyed by fire in one hour and God’s stirred up Kurds will definitely play a major role in the fulfillment of that.

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