Unleashing the Beast

F UTURE H EADQUARTERS OF THE B EAST , I RAQ / 209

Israel as its prize possession. A lengthy war with Iran canceled many of his plans, but not before Saddam began spending millions of dollars rebuilding ancient Babylon. T HE M YSTIQUE OF A NCIENT B ABYLON After Noah's flood, men began to rebuild cities in the plains and valleys. One of the first of the many cities was Babel, built by Nimrod, the grandson of Noah through his son, Ham (see Genesis 10:1-10). According to Josephus, Babel was built on the plains of Shinar as an act of rebellion against God for sending the flood and destroying the world. Nimrod began erecting a tall tower, intending it to be so high that any future flood waters would never reach the top. Josephus indicates that God destroyed the tower by sending a strong wind (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1.5.2). The tower was called "Tower of Babel," which can translate as "confusion," alluding to the incident where God scattered the people by confusing their languages. The modern area of Iraq became known in early history as Mesopotamia. The next reference to the plains of Shinar is during the time of Abraham when a war was raging between four kings from Canaan and five kings from Mesopotamia. The Caananite army was led by Amraphel, king of Shinar (Genesis 14:1). The four allies listed in Genesis 14 are:  Kedorlamour, king of Elam—this is modern Persia or Iraq  Tidal, king of the nations—this was a king over Gentile