In
recent years, Iran has been eclipsed by Iraq. The rise of Saddam
Hussein is described in Daniel 11:5
The King of the South will become, strong, but one of his
commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his
own kingdom with great power.
Saddam is the commander whose power will be greater than that
of Iran (Persia). One of his successors may be even stronger.
Saddam Hussein is also described in Daniel 8. The ram beside
the canal has two horns, that represent two rulers. Daniel says
that the horn that comes up second is longer, which means that it
is more powerful. However, the two horns still exist when the
empire is destroyed (v.7), so the ram represents two kingdoms side
by side. They are both dominated by the same spiritual power, the
Prince of Persia (Dan 10:11,13). The first horn is the Iranian and
Shiite spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomenei and his successors.
Iran had shown all the characteristics of the ram; no nation had
been able to stand against it (except Iraq). Daniel confirmed this
when he said that the ram is the Kings of Media and Persia (Dan
8:21). Persia is the site of modern day Iran.
The second horn is linked to the King of Media. In Daniel's
time, Babylon was conquered by Darius the Mede (Dan 5:31). The
city of Babylon was in what is modern day Iraq, ie, the area that
is now called Iraq was ruled by the King of the Medes. Saddam
Hussein was born in a village close to the ruins of Babylon. He
has had some of the old city rebuilt. I believe that he is
controlled by the same spirit as controlled Babylon in the time of
Daniel.
The second horn on the Ram is Saddam Hussein, and perhaps his
successor. He rose up later than the Ayatollah Khomenei, but he
has become more powerful. No nation will be able to stand against
him (until the time when he is to be destroyed by the long horned
goat). Thus the United States, the most powerful nation in the
world, was not able to get rid of Saddam Hussein, even though it
inflicted a defeat on his army in Kuwait. In the longer term
Saddam was the victor.
When warning his people to prepare for that war Saddam said, "Let everybody understand that this battle is going
to become the mother and father of all battles." This was a
prophetic. His machinations will eventually begin the series
of battles
between the King North and the King of the South and the Man of
Intrigue described in Daniel 11,12.
This pattern of a religious leader and a political leader in
tandem is a parallel to the Beast and the False Prophet in the
book of Revelation. Iran is
the spiritual and religious centre, and Iraq is the political and
military power. The two were united in 1990, when the leading
Iranian Ayatollah declared the Iraqi struggle against the United
States to be a 'Holy War'. They also settled their border dispute.
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