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The tendency of the media to connect any major Middle East event to biblical prophecy has itself become predictable. Since the first bombs began falling in Baghdad, journalists working the end-of-the-world beat have been calling evangelicals for comment.

"War in Babylon has evangelicals seeing Earth's final days," says the San Francisco Chronicle. "Direst of predictions for war in Iraq," a Washington Post headline reads. Even Connecticut's Norwich Bulletin says, "Are these the last days? Some Christians say so."

Do many evangelicals really see end times indicators in this second U.S. invasion of Iraq?

To find out, Christianity Today assistant online editor Todd Hertz interviewed two representatives of dispensationalism, a movement known for speculating about end-times prophecy: Todd Strandberg, the founder of the online Rapture Index and Dr. Mark Bailey president of Dallas Theological Seminary, a school widely known for dispensationalist teaching.

Bailey began at Dallas in 1987 as a professor, and in 2001 became the seminary's fifth president. Bailey's writings include essays in the books Countdown to Armageddon (Harvest House, 1999) and The Road to Armageddon (Word, 1999).

Have you seen much media attention regarding biblical prophecy and the war in Iraq?

Our faculty has had ten major media interviews in the last week. We have been in touch with Time magazine and a number of both local and national media outlets. There is always interest when there is war in the Middle East.

How does the amount of evangelical speculation differ now compared to the first Iraq war?

It is not a lot different now. Because [the first Iraq war] was so quick and new, there was probably a bigger splash. With this new conflict and the absence of Israeli events, the discussions seem less speculative.

Because the first was in the Persian Gulf region, involved others in the Middle East, and with a present city and old ruins of Babylon being located in Iraq, you had a lot of speculation in 1991. Part of that then was Hussein-created because he claimed to be the new Nebuchadnezzar of a neo-Babylonian empire. There were a number of books dialoguing with that.

Does war with Iraq appear in end-times prophecy?

I don't think Iraq or the United States are specifically identified within Scripture. So is war between the United States and Iraq predicted in the Bible? No.

What the Bible speaks to is the invasion of Israel from the North, from the East, and the coalition from the West. The regions are referred to as they relate to Israel, but there are no specific identities that would be identified as Iraq or the United States.

Jesus in Mathew 24 said that as we approach the time of his return to the Earth, there would be an increase in wars. He said these things must happen. Jesus predicted the frequency of wars, but he is the same one who said, "You don't know the day or the hour." Therefore, date setting is not a part of our priorities.

With this in mind, how should Christians respond to this war?

What we as Christians ought to be praying for are peace, righteousness, and justice. If America or any other participant in this war will obey God and do it God's way, then the result will be peace, righteousness, and justice.

From a Christian perspective, it is not whether one nation wins or loses. The question is: What does God require? A man who does justice, loves kindness, and walks humbly. Since Christ's reign will be demonstrated, according to Scriptures, by peace, righteousness, and justice, that ought to be what we pray for.

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47