THE NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR

MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 18th - Sunday 24th March 2024

WHAT ARE THE LEGS OF IRON?
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. (Dan. 2: 40).

Over the years, Bible scholars have sought to interpret the dream of Nebuchadnezzar by concluding that the legs of iron in that revelation refer to the Roman Empire. While the Bible clarified the head of gold in that dream as representing Babylon, the breast and arms of silver as the Medo-Persian Empire, and the belly and thighs as the Grecian Empire, no mention was made of the identity of the legs of irons. However, a careful study of the Roman Empire and contemporary world events reveal that the empire described as the legs of iron could not be the old Roman Empire. The following few points could be considered:

▪️Several Bible scholars subscribe to a revived Roman Empire in the last days. Undoubtedly, we are in the “last days,” but there is no military build-up in Italy. The last military strongman there was Benito Mussolini who appeared during the 2nd World War, 79 years ago.
▪️The devastation and destruction credited to the legs of iron were not typical of the Roman Empire. When the Romans conquered any place, they did not engage in wholesale destruction. Rather, they preserved the cultural artifacts and paved the way for civilization. That was how the saying came, that “all roads lead to Rome”. Unlike the Roman tradition of preserving their conquered places, the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar's dream did "break in pieces and bruise.”
▪️The nations that will fight Christ in the Battle of Armageddon are Islamic nations. When we read of Teman, Dedan, Cush, Midian, Moab, Amon, Put, Elam, and so on, they are the current-day Islamic nations.
▪️In the prophecy of Gog in Ezekiel 38, the eight locations that will invade Israel, are today’s Islamic nations. Five of the locations are in Turkey, while Elam is Iran, Put is Libya, and Cush is Sudan.
▪️The “feet and toes … iron mixed with miry clay” represent Islamism and secularism. The word “mixed” is the Hebrew word Ereb  and the Aramaic word Arab.  The Arabs are the mixed tribes of the desert. Islam is their unifying factor. 

Islamism - that is, political Islam - is responsible for global insecurity and bloodshed, while secularism is the root of moral perversion and widespread sexual immorality. Nigeria is in a precarious situation. Islamism is coming from the North while secularism is spreading from the South. The Church is caught in-between.

▪️Mystery Babylon in Rev. 17 could not be Rome. John was carried in the spirit to the desert (wilderness) to see the woman. Rome is not in the desert. The Salafi and Wahhabi ideology that is at the root of Islamic terrorism is based in Saudi Arabia.
▪️According to Dan. 8:21–25, the antichrist will come from the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great. The four nations that represent that empire today are: Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece.
▪️The head of the beast that was “wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed" (Rev. 13: 3) could only be the Caliphate.

The Islamic Caliphate is the historical Islamic Government or empire, which began with the Rashidun Caliphate in 632 AD shortly after the death of the prophet of Islam, and culminated in the Ottoman Empire, which officially came to an end in 1924. The leader of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal, the Atatürk, dismantled the Caliphate in 1924 and adopted Western civilization so that Turkey could develop. A group of Islamic fundamentalists, led by Hassan Al-Banna, felt that the decision of the Atatürk was a betrayal of Islam. In 1928, they met in a village named Ismaila, in Egypt, and founded the Islamic Brotherhood. The Islamic Brotherhood had two objectives at its foundation:

1.    To implement Sharia worldwide
2.    To re-establish the global Islamic state known as the Caliphate

The Caliphate was the beast that was wounded to death (in 1924) and was healed (in 1928). The whole world is now wondering after it, in UK, Europe, USA, and of course, in Africa. The Western powers treat Islam like a religion while Israel responds to it as an empire. Consequently, Islam has conquered the West without waging conventional war.

The global upsurge in Islamic terrorism and global expansion of the religion are the direct result of the activities of the Islamic Brotherhood. The goal is to make Sharia a global ideology. In effect, while Islam is outwardly a religion, it is inwardly a world empire, a ruler of the gentiles in the category of Babylon, Assyria, Medo-Persia, and Greece. As an empire, the Caliphate is bent on territorial conquest and global domination. Nigeria has been marked by the Caliphate for conquest because the capture of Nigeria signifies the capture of Africa.

Repeatedly, the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has warned Nigerians, particularly the Christians, that the problem of Nigeria is primarily the conflict between Democracy and Sharia in the country. This conflict was smuggled into the 1999 Constitution, producing a sovereign document with dual conflicting ideologies for the country. It is these dual ideologies that are tearing Nigeria apart. For example, the 2023 election was not a democratic exercise. It was Sharia. Every democratic norm was violated in the 2023 elections.

To date, the indigenous ethnic nationalities and the Christian community, are underestimating the Caliphate. The goal is to build the coalition of the antichrist that will face Christ at the battle of Armageddon. According to Biblical eschatology, Christians are expecting an antichrist at the end of the age. In like manner, the Muslims are expecting a saviour at the end of the age. His name is Imam Mahdi. Authorities on this subject believe that the antichrist the Christians are expecting is the leader the Muslims are expecting. It is natural that Satan will want Nigeria in that coalition since God has designated Nigeria a sheep-nation that will spearhead the last days harvest of souls into the kingdom of God. Satan always opposes whatever God initiates.

The battle going on now over Nigeria is intense in the spirit realm, and Christians must be careful where they stand and how they live. There is a titanic struggle going on for Nigeria, and many saints are falling due to greed, covetousness, carelessness, and love for the vanities of the world. It is time for Christians to rebuild the ancient altars of truth and righteousness in the land because the army of darkness is on the move. Only the truth can stop them.

In addition to intense prayers, Christians should participate in the agitation for return to regionalism in the country, so that a multi-layer security architecture can be built from the national to the community level. The terrorists should not be perceived as a rag-tag group of thugs. They are the advance forces. They are globally coordinated, well-funded, and strategically deployed to deliver Nigeria to the Caliphate. This would be at the expense of Christian lives. Not only are Christians at risk, even the indigenous ethnic nationalities, irrespective of religion, are equally at risk. As can be seen from the mass murder of Hausa Muslims in Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Kaduna, and Katsina, even the indigenous Muslims are not safe.

While we take solace in the assurance of God that Nigeria will not be handed over to Islam, the Caliphate will inflict maximum damage in the attempt. Every effort must be made to mitigate the damage. Prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

PRAYER POINTS

1.    Ps. 124 
Thank God for holding back the flood of the fury of the Caliphate against Nigeria. If not for the Lord Who was on our side, the Caliphate would  have devastated Nigeria.

2.    Jer. 10:11 
Pray that all the forces gathering against Nigeria, both in the spirit realm and in the physical realm, shall be destroyed by the power of God. 

3.    Lam. 3:37 
Nullify the spells, sorceries, divinations, incantations, satanic rituals, and blood sacrifices going on in the country to weaken and destroy Nigerians. Plead the Blood of Jesus against every incantation and enchantment in the atmosphere.

4.    Heb. 1:14 
Pray for angelic support for Nigeria Christians in the wake of terrorist attacks all over the country. Pray that God shall release His angels to drive these forces of evil out of Nigeria, the same way Lucifer and his forces were driven out of heaven.

5.    Hosea 4:6 
Pray for more understanding in the Church about the program and purpose of God in this season.

6.    John 8:32 
Pray that the truth shall make Nigeria Christians free from doctrinal errors and political manipulations.

7.    Acts 1:8 
Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.

END