THE VISION OF THE EPHAH: THE BURDEN OF BABYLON, THE FUTURE OF IRAQ

The burden of the word of the Lord to His people concerning Babylon. It is written in Zech 5:5-11 “ Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. ”

Saints of God and people of the earth, hear the counsel of the Lord concerning Babylon, concerning what is to come shortly in the land of Shinar, concerning the future of Iraq. This is the word of the Lord of the whole earth. Surely it shall come to pass for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them . The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. Your counsel shall be done and you will do all your pleasure O Lord. Let your people fear you O Lord. May they fear your holy name. May they tremble at your Word and do your statutes. Blessed be the Lord forever more. Amen and Amen.

In Zech 5:5-11 cited above, Zechariah the Prophet was shown a vision by the Lord concerning the future of the Land of Shinar. According to the word of the Lord concerning Babylon which we have written to you just recently, the land of Shinar is Babylon in Iraq, the one Nebuchadnezzar reigned from in the distant past. This is the Babylon concerning which this vision refers, upon which it shall be done.

In this vision, an angel of the Lord commanded Zechariah the prophet to lift up his eyes and see what is going forth. Immediately, Zechariah lifted up his eyes and saw in a vision an ephah with a woman inside it (Zech 5:5-8). What is an ephah? An ephah is same as a bath (Isa 5:10). It is a measuring bowl. It is like a normal bowl used for measuring grains, liquid, etc in market places. It has a measure of about 1 bushel and 3 pints (8 gallons and 3 pints). This ephah was a bowl that has a lid on it to cover it. Upon seeing the ephah, the prophet inquired from the angel of the Lord as to what it was and what it meant for he did not understand. Then, he was told of the woman in the middle of the ephah (bowl), for this ephah had a lid made of lead (a heavy metallic material) placed upon it to cover it. So, this was a covered bowl having a woman sitting inside it. According to Zech 5:7, when the lid that covered this bowl, which was made of a talent of lead, was lifted up, a woman was seen sitting in the midst of the bowl. Amazingly, a talent of lead weighed over 122 lbs. This is an extreme weight for a lid to provide covering for a bowl, for this bowl’s measure was just barely above 8 gallons. Why would a seemingly small bowl have a cover or lid weighing over 122 lbs? Even in the real world, this bowl would collapse under the weight of such a heavy lid. But yet, this bowl did not collapse, for there was a woman sitting inside it. As revealed in the vision, this woman sitting inside the bowl was being contained inside the bowl so that she would not come out. This is why such a heavy lid was placed upon the bowl to cover it. Though the lid of the bowl was so heavy, it could not hold this woman down for the Scripture says the lid was lifted up (Zech 5:7). That the lid though so heavy could not hold the woman down illustrates THE POWER OF WICKEDNESS. The woman sitting in the midst of the bowl represented WICKEDNESS. This, the angel of the Lord explained to Zechariah (Zech 5:8). This woman symbolizing wickedness is being contained within the ephah so she might not manifest herself. This is why a heavy lid was placed upon the ephah; that this wickedness may be contained for a time.

In Zech 5:9, the prophet looked and saw two women appear with wings; these women lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven; they carried it. And then Zechariah asked the angel of the Lord where these women were carrying the ephah to? And this is what the angel said to him “ To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base” . These two women literally carried the ephah to the land of Shinar and there, they set it upon her base. This land of Shinar is Babylon in IRAQ. This is where they carried the ephah with wickedness in the midst of it. The two women carrying the ephah seemed to be borne forward by the wind (verse 9). These two women had wings like that of a stork. What they symbolized is not stated directly in the vision; neither did the vision state directly what the wind which carried them represented. But the message of the vision was clear to the prophet: Wickedness was going to build a house for itself in iraq. This house of wickedness was to be established upon its base in the land of Shinar which is literal Iraq (verse 9-11). This is according to the Word of the Lord. Now, understand and know that this vision concerning Babylon was revealed to Zechariah the prophet between 557-525 B.C. He was one of 3 prophets raised up by God in Israel after they were exiled to Babylon, the others being Haggai and Malachi (Zech 1:1, 7, 4:8, 6:9, 7:8). At the time of this vision, Babylon had already fallen, for Darius the Mede had already taken it in those days (Zech 1:1). So then, the prophecies of God concerning the fall of Babylon to Medo-Persia had already been fulfilled before the days of this vision. In the days of this vision, Babylon was no longer in power. She had already fallen. Zech 5:11 makes it very clear that this wickedness and commerce shall be established in ancient Babylon in Iraq. It was going to happen in the future. Not anytime in the past for it has never happened to this day.

An ephah was a measure of commerce. Symbolically, it represented commerce; and where it was to be established is stated in the vision: in the land of Shinar which is ancient Babylon in Iraq. One thing is certain: Babylon will be the center of activities in the Middle East in the last days preceding the second coming of Christ, in commerce, religion, and politics. This will come to pass. Iraq is already in the center of Middle East politics today, and it shall be for many days, even unto the second coming of Christ, for the end has already begun. A site synonymous with ancient Babylon, the city, will be rebuilt in Iraq and will become the capital of the Antichrist. He will come from ancient Assyria which will take in Babylon in those days, for the Assyrian division of the old Grecian Empire included the countries of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. The coming of the Antichrist from ancient Assyria ( Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq) and Babylon is in perfect harmony with all Scriptures. This, we have written to you in times past . We see from Isa 13-14, Jer 50-51, Rev 14:8, 16:17-21, 17:1-18, 18:1-24 that Iraq (Babylon) will play a great part in latter-day events. Not only as the political capital of the kingdom of the Antichrist, but as the headquarters of a religious system called Mystery Babylon. Antichrist will reign over Babylon until he conquers Jerusalem in the middle of Daniel’s 70 th week. From Jerusalem, he will reign for 42 months over all nations (Dan 9:27, 11:40-45, Rev 13:5, 17:12-17). There, he shall come to his end and none shall help him.

Wickedness shall build herself a house in Iraq in the last days. It shall be built there and established there upon her base. This is according to the word of the Lord. This vision narrates the restoration of Babylon in Iraq as the seat of wickedness in the last days. Iraq will be the final concentration of martyrdoms and reigns of terror in the last days. This wickedness is already beginning to unfold itself as people die daily in this place every day. Bodies are mutilated and beheaded day by day in this place. Saints of God, you must understand and know that this is a shadow of things to come. Great persecution shall arise after the rapture of the church. There shall be wars and famine, and death, and pestilences. It shall cover the earth. Islam shall thrive and prosper in those days in many countries; in Africa, in the Middle-East, in many parts of Europe and Asia. The Antichrist shall make war on Christians in those days and shall behead many of them. Though he comes as a man of peace, he shall make war on the saints of God and shall prevail against them until judgment shall sit and his dominion taken away. This is that which is purposed on the whole earth and it shall be done. The counsel of the Lord shall be done and none shall hinder it.

Therefore beloved, having foreknowledge of all these things which shall shortly come to pass, we ought to be diligent, fervent, sober, and watch unto prayer, abiding in the Lord always, and totally submissive to His Spirit in us according to His word. We must preach the word, be instant in season and out of season. We must rebuke, reprove, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time is already come when men will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. Come out from amongst them and hearken to the truth which you have learnt, which we have written to you according as it is written in the Holy Scriptures. Not according to the doctrines of men which soon faileth and is forgotten. Stick to the written Word of God that faileth not. Cease from exalting man above God and His word. Cease from believing that your pastor’s opinion is most supreme over all. Is he not also flesh? Is he not also like grass and his glory as flowers of grass that withers and falls away? What then is man without the Spirit of God? Are we not all like them that go down the pit without the Spirit of God in us? Live and walk then in the Spirit and believe in the written word of God that abides forever. When you hear ministers of the gospel teach the word, be like the Berea Christians. Check whether the things they speak are written in the Word. This way, you also become established. We are in the seasons of the Lord’s coming and yet many do not know. The Lord has commanded us to sound the alarm. This we shall do for yet a little longer and thereafter we shall go to Him that sent us. Repent O ye people. Repent of every sin in you for the master of the house soon cometh. Watch and be Awake, lest ye enter into temptation. For at the hour that you think not, the Son of man cometh. Therefore, Watch and Pray, lest He comes and find you sleeping. Grace be unto you all. Amen.