To get this blog going again, I will be re-posting some of the most popular theology material from my former blog. This is from October 2008.

I just received an email that was quite intriguing to me. I have received versions of this before. It’s not on Snopes in its entirety yet, so I thought I would take the opportunity to challenge it. Here’s version I received:

Read all of this one, it is interesting!!
Near the bottom will give you GOOSEBUMPS!!!
You don’t want to miss this! ((*_*) )
VERY INTERESTING-

1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq
2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!
3. Noah built the ark in Iraq
4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq
5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq
6. Isaac’s wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq
7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq
8. Jonah preached in Nineveh – which is in Iraq
9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel
10. Amos cried out in Iraq
11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem
12. Daniel was in the lion’s den in Iraq
13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery Furnace!)
14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the ‘writing on the wall’ in Iraq
15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq
16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq
17. The wise men were from Iraq
18. Peter preached in Iraq
19. The ‘Empire of Man’ described in Revelation is called Babylon –which was a city in Iraq

And you have probably seen this one: Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq !

However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon , Land of Shinar, and Mesopotamia … The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris And Euphrates Rivers ..

The name Iraq means country with deep roots. Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel , has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq

And also, This is something to think about: Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages …

The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

Koran ( 9:11 ) – For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle.. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; And there was peace.

(Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!

You will notice as we proceed that this email, as with most falsehoods, has much truth. For quick synopsis, I will put three asterisks (***) before points that are entirely true, two (**) before those that are partially true and one (*) before those that are entirely false.

(**) 1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq.

The Garden of Eden was located at the convergence of the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers. The latter two flow from Turkey to the Persian Gulf in Iraq. Thus based on the location of the former two rivers (which is unknown) the Garden could be anywhere between the highlands of Turkey and the bottom of the Persian Gulf.

(***) 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!

Mesopotamia included more land than just modern Iraq, but the statement is generally true.

(**) 3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.

The biblical account of the building of the ark mentions no location whatsoever. However, this assumption is not unreasonable.

(***) 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq.

The Tower of Babel was in the land of Shinar, likely southern Iraq.

(***) 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq.

Yep

(**) 6. Isaac’s wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq.

Nahor was a person, Abraham’s brother. Nahor’s city was in Mesopotamia, but that could be anything between Turkey, Syria, or Iraq.

(***) 7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq.

Jacob met her in “the lands of the east“. The people there said they were from some of the cities in southern Iraq.

(***) 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh – which is in Iraq.

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and is presently located in Northern Iraq.

(***) 9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel.

See above.

(*) 10. Amos cried out in Iraq.

Several locations are mentioned in the book of Amos, but whenever they are referring to where the man Amos presently is, they always point to Judah or Israel. In fact there is a point (Amos 8:12-13) that the king tells Amos to leave Israel, therefore he must have been there.

(**) 11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.

It would be more accurate to say that Iraq is in Babylon as Babylon is bigger. However, the rest is true.

(*) 12. Daniel was in the lion’s den in Iraq.

By this point Babylon had been overthrown by the Persians. The new capital, where Daniel was likely located was East, in Persia (Iran).

(*) 13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery Furnace!)

The location is the same as Daniel. Whether Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael (Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego) were children is a curious question. Also, whether Jesus was in fact the fourth man belongs to the realm of Theophany.

(***) 14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the ‘writing on the wall’ in Iraq.

See 12.

(***) 15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.

Same as above.

(***) 16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.

Babylon, yeah.

(**) 17. The wise men were from Iraq.

Matthew 2 indicates that the “wise men” that visited Jesus were from the “East”. This could be Iraq or the region of Persia–modern day Iran.

(**) 18. Peter preached in Iraq

If the “Babylon” referred to in 1 Peter 5:13 is literal, then yes.

(*) 19. The ‘Empire of Man’ described in Revelation is called Babylon –which was a city in Iraq.

First, “empire of man” is not a phrase that exists anywhere in any English translation of the Bible. Secondly, in much prophetic literature city names are symbolic. Babylon is a common reference in Revelation but it likely referred to contemporary Rome or some other future powerful city.

(*) And you have probably seen this one: Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq !

Actually, Egypt is mentioned way more, even if you include the alternate names for the region of Iraq.

(*)The name Iraq means country with deep roots. Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible. No other nation, except Israel , has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq

Iraq is usually translated as “by the river” or “by the source.” It is a significant historical region. The land does have much history but the country does not. Prophecies are hard to associate with this region as it is impossible to determine how symbolic they are until they are fulfilled.

Another thing to remember is that Iraq didn’t exist as a country until the 1920s. It is a result of the carving up of the Ottoman Empire by the allied powers of WWI. It has no history as a unified nation before that, unless it was part of some other, larger empire (which it often was).

(*)And also, This is something to think about: Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages … The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)

(*)Koran ( 9:11 ) – For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle.. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; And there was peace.

Wow. This is bad. Thanks to an article on Snopes I discovered this is totally false.

Surah 9:11 actually says, “But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith; and We make the communications clear for a people who know.”

There is no quote like the one mentioned in this email.

So, what’s the point? The region that Iraq sits in has rich history; however, the nation itself is relatively new and does not have the significance that we often give it.

P.S. I found another source who has addressed this same issue very well that you should check out.