Iraq In The Bible
Part 5 – The World’s Greatest Revival Was In Iraq
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 1/29/03
We have seen that many vital Biblical events took place
in the area now called Iraq. In this
study, we will see that…
- The World’s Greatest Revival Took Place in Iraq
 For years, many who professed to be Bible scholars (though they did not
believe what the Bible said), questioned the existence of Nineveh. All
that changed when A. H. Layard and H. Rassam uncovered Nineveh between
1845 and 1854. In fact, as they excavated, they established the fact that
the area had been occupied since 3100 B.C.
Nineveh was the greatest of the capitals of the ancient
Assyrian Empire, which flourished from about 800 to 612 B.C. It was
located on the left bank of the Tigris River in northeastern Mesopotamia
(Iraq today). There are some who claim that Nimrod founded this city. In
order to pull this off, they do some slight of hand with Genesis
10:8-12 "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the
earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is
said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10 And the
beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in
the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and
builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, 12 And Resen
between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city." In verse 11
they add an into and claim Asshur is actually Assyria,
making it read like this – "Out of that land went forth into
Asshuria, and builded Nineveh…"
  I hold that Nineveh was founded by Asshur, just at it
is written in the King James Bible – "Out of that land went forth
Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and
Calah." The key Bible event that took place at the city is recorded in the
book of Jonah. The greatest revival the world has ever known took place
there. Jonah was active in the reign of Jeroboam II (about 785-745
B.C.) so this would be the era in which this revival took place. Nineveh
was a "great city." The 40 to 50 foot city wall had fifteen main gates. We
see from Jonah 3:3 that it took three days to walk around the city…
"So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.
Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." As
I read about this ancient authors disagree on the population. I have read
population figures as low as 500,000 and as high as 4 million. We do know
for sure that there were 120,000 young children in the city…Jonah 4:11
"And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than
sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand
and their left hand; and also much cattle?" There are those, among
myself, who believe that the phrase "cannot discern between their right
hand and their left…" is a metaphor for not being able to tell the
difference between right and wrong. Obviously young children are in focus.
You should know that Assyria was an utterly pagan
nation and Nineveh, being the capital city, was in the forefront. They
worshipped the fertility goddess Ishtar (Asherah) whose symbol was an
erect tree trunk with an evergreen top. You still see Asherah poles
through Europe today and young girls still dance around them on May Day.
To make a long story short, Jonah was a prophet of the
LORD God of heaven. Turn to Jonah 1:1-2 "Now the word of the
LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to
Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come
up before me."
The problem was, Jonah did not want to go and preach to
the people in that Iraqi city. He did not want them to repent of their
wickedness! He wanted God to destroy the inhabitance (Jonah 4:2b).
Therefore he ran away to Tarshish. Most likely the geographic designation
of Tarshish is Tartessus at the southern tip of Spain. You will remember
what happened then.
Jonah 1:17 "Now the LORD had prepared a great
fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three
days and three nights."
Jonah 2:10 "And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out
Jonah upon the dry land."
Jonah 3:1-2 "And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second
time, saying, 2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and
preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."
In fact, Jonah did go and preach to those who lived in
the city and told them they only had forty days to repent or be destroyed.
We can see that the citizens of the city, from the greatest to the least
did repent and turn to God. Therefore the Lord spared the city (Jonah 3).
All this took place in Iraq.
- The Book of Nahum Is A Prophecy Against In Iraq
About a century and a half after Nineveh repented, the
city was destroyed because it had gone back to its old violent and pagan
ways (in 612 B.C.). Nahum was the prophet of Nineveh’s doom. He begins in
verse 1 with this statement: "The burden of Nineveh." That is a
general reference to the coming judgment against Nineveh that God reveals
to Nahum. Nahum 2:13, 3:1a & 5-7 makes it explicit
-- "Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will
burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young
lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy
messengers shall no more be heard. 3:1 Woe to the bloody city… 5
Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will
discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the nations thy
nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. 6 And I will cast abominable
filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
7 And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee
shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her?
whence shall I seek comforters for thee?"
In this era Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Assyria
was the scourge of the nations; every nation feared her and tried to win
her approval. Assyria was a ruthless enemy that practiced brutality on
men, women, and children. Their armies destroyed and looted; they buried
their enemies alive and even skinned them alive; they impaled people on
sharp poles and left them to burn in the sun. Assyria had been used of God
to chasten the Northern Kingdom of Israel; that happened in 721 B.C. In
701 B.C., the Assyrians tried to conquer Judah, but God intervened and
destroyed their army (Isaiah 36-37). Finally in 612 B.C., the Medes and
the Babylonians destroyed Nineveh and the destruction was so complete that
the ruins of the city remained undiscovered until 1842. Remember, Nineveh
was in what is today called Iraq.
So, there you have it. Many of the events recorded in
the Bible took place in Iraq.
Eden was in Iraq
Adam & Ever were created in Iraq
Satan made his first recorded appearance in Iraq
Nimrod established the Babylon & erected the Tower of
Babel in Iraq
The confusion of the languages took place in Iraq
Abram (Abraham) Came From Ur of the Chaldees
Isaac’s Bride Came From Iraq
Jacob Spent 20 Years In Iraq
The First World Empire Was In Iraq
The Events Recorded In The Book of Esther Took Place
In Iraq
The World’s Greatest Revival Took Place in Iraq
The Book of Nahum Was A Prophecy Against Iraq
(If you want to listen to this sermon go
www.sermonaudio.com/fbcoc)
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"Neither
is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."