
www.cbn.com | 02 May 2003
CBN.com - America has succeeded in liberating Iraq from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. But pastor and intercessor Dutch Sheets says the Iraq war was ultimately about God's plan to bring down the spirit of Babylon and open the door for the Gospel to reach Muslims. And even though the U.S. is feeling good about winning the war, Dutch believes America could still miss the big picture and lose out on its destiny. Earlier this week, Pat Robertson spoke with Dutch about how Christians should be praying at this pivotal time in history.
PAT ROBERTSON: This is a special day, April the 29th. This is the day when our first English-speaking American settlers officially launched a new nation. And as we look back on that time and realize we're only four years away from 400 years of our existence, we ask, what is America's destiny? Where does our nation stand before God and what are the spiritual implications of the Iraq war? Well, joining us now from Washington to talk about those questions and more is our dear friend, Dutch Sheets. He's pastor and author of Praying for America. Dutch, always good to have you back with us.
DUTCH SHEETS: Thank you, Pat. Good to be with you.
ROBERTSON: Listen, this land- You pointed out in one of your books about a saying of Marx, that if you could take away a country's history, you could also take away their freedom. We are looking back to the planting of a cross in the Virginia soil almost 400 years ago where this land was dedicated to Jesus. Have we lost our destiny? Have we lost our history?
SHEETS: Well, we certainly haven't lost our history, but I believe we are in great danger of losing our destiny. But I'm grateful that the Lord says He's not only a God who keeps covenant, but keeps mercy. Because I don't think we understand, probably, we don't understand how much we have the right to appeal to the God of covenant to say, "Lord, we have, we make an appeal to you based on the covenants that were made to you years ago." When Nehemiah was trying to restore Jerusalem he said to Sanballat and Tobiah, "You don't have any historical right to this land or this city, but I do." And he was using a justice word. Actually, it was a courtroom judicial term. He said, "I am appealing to God based on the covenant He made with my fathers, and I have a legal right in God to this land; you don't." And we can do that. I think we're in great danger of losing our destiny if we don't do that.
But that's why what you're doing today is important. We have to go back to those early days and say, "Lord, You're a God that keeps covenant, and thank heavens, You're a God that keeps mercy. We're appealing to the God of covenant. We're appealing to You based on Your destiny for this nation, what You said You wanted to do. Not what we want, what You want. And, Lord, based on that, we're asking You to heal this land and restore us, just as You did Israel many times, to our purposes and destiny as a nation."
ROBERTSON: I met just a few days ago with the Foreign Minister of Israel and also the Israeli ambassador. Both of them said, in their opinion, that the Bush administration, this current Bush administration, was the most friendly to Israel maybe since Harry Truman, or maybe ever. And yet, we're talking about a "road map" that is being pushed by the United States of America that will set up a Palestinian state which has never existed, and possibly take away half of Jerusalem. You want to comment on your feelings, and maybe the Lord showed you something about that?
SHEETS: Well, I just, I don't consider myself an expert. My opinion is that it won't happen. I just don't see that in Bible prophecy. I believe that we need to pray diligently that our leaders and our President will not violate what I believe the Scriptures teach, and divide the land. I'm just not an expert on it, but in my heart I believe that if we stand with Israel and keep that land united under them, that we're going to stay in favor with the Lord. The Lord said, "I'm going to bless those that bless you, and I'll curse those that curse you," to Abraham. And I believe that that land belongs to them and that we should pray that way.
ROBERTSON: What about the Iraq War? Have you discerned any significance about this war that you want to share?
SHEETS: Well, yes. I mean, I spent several days and hours praying about it beforehand. I knew we were going to war. I just knew it in my spirit. And I feel that the Lord said to me that this was all about the spirit of Babylon. I believe we've come full circle back to Genesis. That spirit that has arisen from way back in the beginning that has opposed the Lord, that says, "I'm not going to submit to You." And that spirit that goes all the way through Revelation where God says, "Fallen is Babylon the Great." I believe that we are coming into the season where God has determined, "I am now going to deal with the spirit of Babylon." And I believe, Pat, that the spirit of Babylon is the ruling spirit behind Islam.
You know, the Lord loves those people, and I believe that He has very passionate love for them, but we believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. And I believe that God is in the process now of bringing down that stronghold that has blinded people to the Gospel. And I believe we're now coming into the greatest harvest among the Muslim people, that we've heard about for so long, and I believe this is what it's all about. The Lord said to me before we ever went to war, "I have declared war on the spirit of Babylon," and that's when I knew we were going, and I believe that's what it's all about. It's not about a man. It's not about a people. It's about a spirit, and liberating people from that spirit.
ROBERTSON: Dutch has got a book called Praying For America: How Your Prayers Can Change the Course of a Nation. This has been out for a couple years, but it's available now. We can get it to you from our website, CBN.com. And it's always good to have Dutch with us. God bless you.
SHEETS: Thank you, Pat. It's good to be with you.