The United States Invades

Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress (Daniel 11:9,10).

Verse 9 was fulfilled in Desert Storm when George Bush was president of the United States.  Verse 10 says that his son or sons (some commentators say this is singular) will prepare an enormous army.  Daniel is referring to the son, George W Bush, who is now president. The word translated as prepare for war literally means to be "stirred up". George W Bush became very "stirred up" about Saddam Hussein and assembled a great military force in the Middle East. We have seen Daniel 11:10 being fulfilled as the United States and British armies advanced rapidly into Iraq.

Daniel said that this great army would sweep through Iraq like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as the fortress.  This is what happened.  Iraq was conquered in three week in a very quick victory.

The fortress refers to Baghdad where Saddam Hussein had his headquarters. He has stationed his republican guards around Baghdad to protect his government.  As Daniel predicted, Saddam Hussein's army collapsed without putting up any serious resistance.

I believe that Daniel 11:10 is a really important prophecy for our time. nce. We have seen this prophecy fulfilled in the latest war in Iraq.

Daniel 11 describes an ongoing battle between the King of the North and the King of the South.  Acting as the King of the North, the United States has been gradually invading the Middle East.  During this invasion, it has usually been accompanied by other European nations that are also part of the Kingdom of North.  This invasion began with the CIA organising a coup in Iran in 1953 and Iraq in 1958.  

The first major step was the Gulf War, when the United States attacked Iraq to defend Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.  US forces had remained in Saudi Arabia since then.  The next step was the invasion of Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban.  A key fulfilment was the invasion of Iraq.  Having taken control of Iraq, the United States has  enormous power over the surrounding countries of the Middle East.

Prophecy and Morality

President George W Bush and his advisors were very intent on invading Iraq, even though there was only limited support for an invasion. The reason they are so determined is that, unwittingly, they are fulfilling the prophecies of Daniel. 

However, the fact that an act is a fulfilment of prophecy does not mean that it is morally justified. Many prophecies describe the acts if evil men. These prophecies are true, but they do not justify the evil.  

The same principle applies to the invasion of Iraq. The United States invasion was prophesied by Daniel, but this does not mean it is morally justified.  The only justification for war is defence (see Defence and War).  Iraq had not attacked the United States, so there wass no justification for war. Forcing a "regime change" is not a legitimate use of military power. God determines the boundaries of the nations (Acts 17:26), so the United States does not have the right to determine who should govern Iraq or any other nation.

I have been surprised at the number of Christians who believe that this war is justified.

The War on Terrorism
The primary reason for building up military forces in the Middle East and invading Iraq was to defeat terrorism and maintain world order.   However, an invasion of the Middle East is morally wrong, so it will eventually result in embarrassment for the United States.  If it fights with military weapons, it will lose its peace.  When it repents and turns to fight with spiritual weapons, faith, love and the power of the gospel, it will be secure and participate in the Victory of the Lord. 

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