The

ASSYRIAN ANTICHRIST

Appendix B – Antichrist – Reflections on the Desolator

by

Doug Krieger

NEITHER EASTERN NOR WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE – BUT THE FOURTH BEAST

The on-going debate between David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries and Phillip Goodman of Prophecy Watch regarding the origins of Antichrist (viz. from the Western or Eastern wings of the ancient Roman Empire boundaries) is purposefully truncated to get to the core of their contentions.  David Reagan states: 

“So, if the prophecy in Daniel 8 is pointing to the heritage of the Antichrist, it is indicating that he will be a Roman of Greek heritage.” 

On the other hand, Phillip Goodman contends that the literal location (viz. the Seleucid Empire of Antiochus IV Epiphanes) trumps Reagan’s “Roman of Greek” heritage in that Daniel 8:23 indicates Antichrist will arise “in the latter period of their rule” – ipso facto “their rule” is derived from Daniel 8:22 wherein “as for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation” -  this will place Antichrist’s whereabouts in the Eastern Leg of the ancient Roman Empire in what was known as Syria or Assyria’s old empire boundaries. This demands that, since one of those four kingdoms was in the Seleucia sector (i.e. Syria from whence Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled, and was most definitely the archetype of the latter-days’ Antichrist), therefore, credence of a latter-day Antichrist from Syria would be in keeping with the thrust of the passage. 

It is difficult to follow Goodman’s reasoning in that his claim of a Syrian Antichrist in the latter days based on the connection of Daniel 8:23 with Daniel 8:22 wherein in vs. 23 it says “and in the latter time of their kingdom” (clearly introducing Antichrist), must be connected to vs. 22 wherein “four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation” – so, “their kingdom” and “four kingdoms” are inter-connected; indeed, Antiochus appears to be the “little horn” which arises out of one of the four:  “And out of one of them (i.e. “the four notable ones”) came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land” (Daniel 8:9) – this one, given the additional verses in Daniel 8:10-14 clearly speaks of the latter-days’ Antichrist.

That said, however, “their kingdom” (i.e. “the four notable ones”) derived their kingdom beyond Daniel 8:22 – one must go back to Daniel 8:21 to find the SOURCE of the power, the authority from whence Antiochus IV Epiphanes secured his power base:  “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece.  The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king” (i.e. Alexander the Great).

But beyond that acknowledgement, which is clearly Greece, not Syria – though Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled over Syria as a Greek who Hellenized all he ruled – we are advised to deliberate over the first mentioning of the “little horn” recorded in Daniel 7, whose originations extend beyond Greece and represent the “seventh head” who had Ten Horns from whence “there was another horn, a younger one, coming up among them” – and, again, without contestation, this Eleventh Horn is the Antichrist of the latter days, but this initial time the “little horn” is solely connected to the Fourth Beast, not, if you would, the Third Beast (Greece); therefore, the Fourth Beast preempts, insofar as the “little” or “younger horn” concerns – i.e., the first mentioning of the “younger horn” takes precedence as to its meaning (viz. it is connected first to the Fourth Beast).

The Fourth Beast and “younger horn” of Daniel 7:7-8 is not described, that is true, as Rome per se.  Furthermore, although the Fourth Beast succeeds the Third Beast (i.e., the Roman Empire would by history juxtaposed to Israel’s engagement be the fourth empire in Daniel’s vision, coming after the Third Beast or Greece) – it, nevertheless, catapults us into the very Seventieth Week of Daniel, unto the time of the end itself…  “Until the Ancient of days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 7:22).

Therefore, it has an “immediate” and latter-day fulfillment.

 

The repetition of this Fourth Beast with ten horns and the outcropping of the Eleventh Horn as Antichrist takes place three separate times in Daniel 7 – Daniel 7:7-8; 7:19-22;  7:23-27 (perhaps these three occasions allude to the Beast’s ultimate manifestation in Revelation 13:2 wherein three parts alone are mentioned—again, the composite of Gentile World Power).  Each time this final manifestation of Gentile World Power is pitted in battle against “the people, the saints of the Most High” and, likewise, “persecutes the saints of the Most High . . . the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” – “he was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them” – clearly, and not only throughout history has this Fourth Beast persecuted the saints of the Most High, but most definitely, this Fourth Beast with Ten Horns shall produce the Eleventh Horn who shall be the Antichrist of the Latter Days.  The conclusion of his persecution shall be most grievous.

I would enjoin these brethren (Reagan and Goodman) to realize that it is neither the literal Assyrian somewhere within the Eastern Roman Empire nor a Roman prince from the Western Leg of the Roman Empire, but clearly the fulcrum or composite of Gentile World Power (yes, moving ever Westward, no doubt) but decisively this Fourth Beast is representative of all that the Kingdoms of this World can generate as the machine of war demands:  DREADFUL, TERRIBLE, EXCEEDINGLY STRONG, HUGE IRON TEETH, DEVOURING, BREAKING IN PIECES, TRAMPLING THE RESIDUE WITH ITS FEET…it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and IT HAD TEN HORNS (Daniel 7:7).

That there is a direct correlation, association, collaboration and organic union between the ten-toed image, the ten horns, ten kings and ten crowns atop this Fourth Beast and the “younger horn” known as the Antichrist, there can be little doubt.

Clearly, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Daniel initiates his discourse of the Latter Day Antichrist by inserting the Fourth Beast before his amplifications of the Abomination of Desolation in Daniel 8—and that is the core message given therein, not the origins of Antichrist hailing from ancient Assyria.  Likewise, the message on Daniel 7 – which appears that we have a Fourth Beast as the logical progression to be Rome in that the first beast is clearly Babylon (Lion), the second is Medo-Persia and the third is Greece; however, to adamantly say that the Fourth Beast is the Roman Empire is a quantum leap, a conjecture which cannot be sustained by any accurate reading of the original or translated languages of the text.  Again, this lends credibility to an ultimate manifestation of Gentile World Power embodied in the Beast Nation itself of the latter days; however, that said, one simply cannot recognize the Beast Nation without a full acknowledgement of the personification of the Beast himself – for every Empire demands an Emperor, every Kingdom a king (e.g., “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth” and “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth” – Daniel 7:17, 23 – which demonstrates the King/Kingdom principle, and calls attention to the ultimate Beast Nation which will be headed up by the Antichrist-Beast)

Rome is the successor of the Four-Horned Kingdom of Greece – and it does immediately interact with Jerusalem after Greece – but the Scriptures purposefully becloud the precise identity of the Fourth Beast (holding our attention to its near and belated fulfillment – i.e., Rome and the latter-day composite of Gentile World Power) by withholding any name whatsoever; whereas Daniel 8:20-21 clearly states that the “ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia” (Medo-Persian) and “the male goat is the kingdom of Greece…the large horn that is between its eyes is the first king” (Alexander the Great) – and insofar as the lion with wings concerns – this is the very national emblem of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom. 

In addition, Daniel clearly tells King Nebuchadnezzar that he is the first kingdom of the four:  “You are this head of gold” (Daniel 2:38).  Again, to surmise that the Fourth Beast is “exclusively” the Roman Empire does disservice to the prophet’s latter-day intention; and, to assume that the ultimate Beast Nation headed up by the Antichrist-Beast is somehow a revival of the immediate boundaries of the ancient Roman Empire (eastern and western legs) is contrary to Daniel’s progression which stands in immediate contrast to the “kingdoms of this world” – for just as “a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces . . . and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35), even so, the kingdom of the Fourth Beast whose latter-day depiction is first mentioned in Daniel 7 is, in eschatological progression, that kingdom found in Revelation 13:1-2 wherein “all the world marveled and followed the beast.”  It is this global contrast between the Kingdom of Christ vs. the Kingdom of the Beast that grips our attention, not the “known world of Rome.”

Furthermore, it precisely parallels John’s description of the Fourth Beast found in Revelation 13:1-2:  “Then I stood on the sand of the sea.  And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns and on his horns ten crowns, and on the heads a blasphemous name.”  This clearly is futuristic and having to do with the latter days and is the same Beast of Revelation 11:7 “that ascends out of the bottomless pit (who) will make war against them (i.e., the two Witnesses), overcome them, and kill them.” – undoubtedly, this takes place within the latter half of Daniel’s future Seventieth Week.) 

“Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard (Note:  Here the descriptions are reversed from those of Daniel 7:3-8 wherein you have the lion, bear and leopard – in Revelation you have the leopard, bear, and lion.), his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion” (Revelation 13:2).  Take note:  There is no “Fourth Beast” juxtaposed to the three of Daniel 7:3-8 wherein the distinction of the Fourth is clearly given.  No, what you have here is the Beast in his entirety – the Trinity, if you would, of Gentile World Power, three in one; even so, Babylon the Great is tri-partite in nature—apostate religion (Rev. 17); commercial exploitation (Rev. 18); and political power (Rev. 19). 

Here, the evolution of Gentile World Power has reached its zenith, but our focus in Revelation 13 goes beyond Empire, though it is that, unto the person of the Beast himself!  The Beast is the COMPOSITE expression of latter-day Gentile World Power.  He, in and of himself, is constituted as the final expression – and in that sense and that sense only can he be the fourth or hold any resemblance to the Fourth Beast of Daniel 7

 

In Daniel 7:7 we acknowledge that the “huge iron teeth” of the Fourth Beast is an allusion to the IRON legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s Image in Daniel 2:40 – “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.” Regarding the two legs of tghe image, we are not certain as to its representation – some say the Roman Empire’s two distinctive jurisdictions …Western and Eastern Roman Empire…but others say that the Roman Empire was a mixture of the Church and the State and of the “doctrine of the two swords” in which the “heavenly and the earthly” (priestly and kingly) came together as the “Kingdom of God” during the time of Constantine unto the final days of Rome’s ultimate fall in 1453 or beyond as manifested in the Holy Roman Empire extending to 1806 – and others say through Rome’s subsidiary manifestations during the Napoleonic Empire, the Tsars and the Kaisers…even unto Hitler’s Third Reich…and lastly unto America’s Imperial primacy as manifested in her cultural, commercial, technological and military supremacy —all of which bore and bear witness to Rome’s glory (i.e., The Glory that was Rome has NEVER extinguished – she
 lives and holds her head up high….).  The description of the Fourth Beast of Daniel 7 juxtaposed to the Beast of Revelation 11, 13 and 19 is striking:

“…for some time to come—for more than a generation—America’s status as the world’s premier power is unlikely to be contested by any single challenger.  No nation-state is likely to match America in the four key dimensions of power (military, economic, technological, and cultural) (Note:  Unwittingly this quote from Zbigniew Brzezinski, former Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, defines the three aspects of the Latter-days’ Babylon the Great:  Religious Apostasy (cultural, which normally includes the “religious character” of a people) as found in the “woman who rides the Beast” in Revelation 17; military power as found in Revelation 19 and subsequently judged – “Who is like the beast?  Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4); and, finally, commercial hegemony (i.e., economic and technological) and likewise, subsequently judged in Revelation 18)…that cumulatively produce decisive global political clout.  Short of a deliberate or unintentional American abdication, the only real alternative to American global leadership in the foreseeable future is international anarchy.  It is correct to assert that America has become, as President Clinton put it, the world’s ‘indispensable nation.’” (The Grand Chessboard – American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperative, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Perseus Books Group – Basic Books, New York, NY, 1997, p. 195)

 

I might follow that up in order to reinforce the cumulative Gentile World Power HEGEMON by this unbelievable but overtly undeniable (except from the Evangelical pundits who claim America is not in Bible prophecy) declaration from the pen of Brzezinski:

“American global primacy is unique in its scope and character.  It is a hegemony of a new type that reflects many of the features of the American democratic system:  it is pluralistic, permeable, and flexible.  Attained in the course of less than a century (i.e., “the younger horn” of Daniel 7:8, 20-21, 24-25), the principal geopolitical manifestation of that hegemony is America’s unprecedented role on the Eurasian landmass (Note:  Which includes Iraq, ancient Assyria or

Northern Iraq or at least its capitol, Nineveh.), hitherto the point of origin of all previous contenders for global power.  America is now Eurasia’s arbiter, with no major Eurasian issue soluble without America’s participation or contrary to America’s interests.” (Ibid. p. 194)

Yes, “the prince who is to come” (the IRON LEGS of the Image found in Daniel 2, as well as the HUGE IRON TEETH of the Fourth Beast found in Daniel 7:7) – yes, his people destroyed Jerusalem and the Herodian Temple (for they are of their father, the Dragon who awaits the Beast from the sea—Revelation 13:1—NIV). 

Well does Donald Grey Barnhouse expose him:  “And he (the Dragon) stood upon the sand of the sea” (Revelation 13:1 – Revelation, Donald Grey Barnhouse, pp. 233-4).  It is he who shall make a firm covenant, a defense pact, with Israel’s majority in the Latter Days for one week – and it is he in whom the Abomination of Desolation receives his title: THE BEAST; likewise, it shall take place as he seeks to desecrate the rebuilt Jewish Temple in the midst of the week; even so, shall the desolations continue until the 1,290th day (Daniel 12:11) when judgment is passed in favor of the saints at the coming of Messiah, the Prince, Who shall destroy “the prince who is to come.”

Look no further of logistics – of a Revived Western or Eastern Roman Empire, but of the full expression of Gentile World Power – and I think you know the seat of his power who now occupies the whole earth, as well as the ancient capitol of the Assyrians, Nineveh in Northern Iraq.

PETER GOODGAME – AND THE ASSYRIAN ANTICHRIST

I warned you of the interminable nature of the Assyrian Antichrist debate.  However, it is a must that we consider the curious, yet intriguing, work of one, Peter Goodgame (similar to our Phillip Goodman but not related at all).  Peter launches a three-part series in what appears to be a reasoned exchange that somehow swings about eschatological concepts until he sounds marginally anti-Semitic; to wit:

“The Book of Revelation predicts the rise of a global superpower that will precede the coming of the Antichrist. The name of this world power is given as ‘Babylon the Great’ and so we see, from Babel in Genesis to Babylon in Revelation, that mankind's rebellion against God comes full circle. In this series of articles I will show that the theme of ‘full circle’ is applicable in more ways than one as we witness the fulfillment of prophetic events at the close of the Age.”

“Following the successful American invasion of Iraq, and subsequent occupation, there are many Bible scholars who are looking at the end-times prophecies of this region with renewed interest. Many of them believe that the Bible predicts the literal re-building of Babylon—the ‘great harlot’ of Revelation 17:1—along the banks of the Euphrates River. They follow along with the views of Arthur W. Pink who, in 1923 in his comprehensive study of the Antichrist, pointed to Zechariah 5:5-11 which speaks of the habitation of a wicked woman being established ‘in the land of Shinar.’ Will ancient Babylon be rebuilt in the last days and somehow emerge in control of the political and economic structures of the world in fulfillment of Revelation 17-18?”

“Of course now that the US Military controls Iraq we can be sure that if a rebuilt Babylon does emerge it will happen only through the support of the US Government! Despite the influence of the political Right within evangelical ranks the identity of ‘Babylon the Great’ continues to be highly debated among prophecy scholars.:  For many years I have believed that this entity is none other than the US Government in general and New York City in particular.”

(Krieger Note:  The veiled allusion to the “influence of the political Right within evangelical ranks” is obviously bringing attention to the obfuscations committed by a host of “patriotic prophets” contained within the pages of my text on the Rise or Fall of American Empire?...the Evangelical Cover-up of America in Bible Prophecy – indeed, Goodgame and I are in accord at least up to this part of his thesis.)

“And yes, I will admit that my conclusion has been influenced by the female symbolism of Mystery Babylon (Lady Liberty?), which also affects my personal expectation of who will be our next President!  Having said that, lately my thinking has been influenced by my exposure to certain evidence that suggests that the ‘great harlot’ of Revelation 17-18 is closely associated with ‘apostate Israel,’ as opposed to ‘faithful Israel’ described in Revelation 12.  From this perspective New York City may yet fulfill a prophetic role, seeing as it is the political and economic ‘capital of the world’ while at the same time it is the city with the world's largest Jewish population. Could the US invasion of Iraq and the establishment of numerous military bases somehow be the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy which predicted the building of a base for a wicked woman (Babylon the Harlot) in the ‘land of Shinar’?”

(Krieger Note:  The logic of this remark mystifies.  If the base is the USA, and the “wicked woman” of Zechariah is the “great harlot” or “apostate Israel” and that New York City fulfills this “prophetic role” with its large Jewish population, then does it follow if these Jews from NYC will be transported to Iraq/Babylon to sit atop the “base” prepared for them as the “wicked woman” by the USA-base-preparer – for some inexplicable reason I do not think the Jewish Community of Greater New York, estimated at 1.750 million,  really want to be transported to some place in Iraq…am I missing something here?  Furthermore, likening “apostate Israel” as a fulfillment of “Babylon the Great” constitutes a myopic understanding of the final apostate religious system countenancing the entire earth.) 

“Certainly our government’s critics are quick to point out how the invasion of Iraq suited Israel’s long-term agenda for the region. Whatever the case may be it does seem clear that the land of Shinar and the nation of Iraq have yet to experience the complete fulfillment of the Bible’s prophetic statements.”

(Krieger Note:  No, I’m not sure we have here someone who harbors anti-Semitic convictions – but some of his loosey-goosy interpretations border on the absurd.  For one, it is Goodgame who in Red Moon Rising is convinced that Nimrod will be reincarnated into the body of the Assyrian Antichrist; furthermore, Nimrod is actually the first Pharaoh of Egypt whose name was Osiris – first to be embalmed among the Pharaohs….Goodgame continues….)

 

“Note that it is the Messiah who will deliver Israel from the Assyrian (Hebrew-Asshur), and then Israel will experience their millennial blessings (Micah 5:7).  Furthermore, while Asshur is oppressing Israel they will be defended by ‘seven shepherds’ and/or ‘eight principal men.’ Are these numbers intended to draw attention to the Antichrist who will be ‘an eighth,’ yet ‘one of the seven,’ as it says in Rev. 17:11?  Concerning the context of Micah's prophecy, it is true that in the days of the prophets Israel was beset with the very real threat of the kingdom of Assyria

(Asshur). The northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian armies of King Shalmaneser V in 722 BC, and later in 701 the southern kingdom of Judah survived an Assyrian invasion under Sennacharib only through divine intervention. Yet this prophecy speaks of

Asshur invading the land of Israel at a time after the appearance of the Messiah. It is hard to avoid this prophecy’s end-times context.”  (Krieger Note:  And to these we concur.)

Later Goodgame connects the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14 to the King of Asshur or King of Assyria and ultimately to Nimrod – the thesis is circuitous and lengthy, well written with excellent logic to buttress his connections between Nimrod and Asshur, but “reincarnation”? – I don’t think so – I suggest if you wish to follow it in its entirety link to the site @ http://www.redmoonrising.com/Giza/raiders1.htm.  However, several of his 3-part series conclusions and especially noteworthy commentary will suffice:

“So who is ‘the Assyrian’?  Is this merely a title that should be taken only as a hint to his national identity or regional origin?  In future installments of this series we will see that the Antichrist does have a Mesopotamian origin, but not in the way that many people have been led to expect. It is my belief that the Hebrew name ‘Asshur’ should not be interpreted by the generalized and vague designation of ‘the Assyrian,’ but should be interpreted simply as ‘Asshur.’ The name is precise and specific and is much more than a mere hint. Asshur is Asshur. Asshur is the Antichrist.”

“The identity of the Antichrist cannot be discovered unless we first understand the way in which he will come. Because he ‘once was’ we can be certain that he existed in the past. Because he appears ‘out of the Abyss’ after being healed from a ‘deathly wound’ we know that he will be resurrected. Yet the questions remains... who is Asshur? And if his soul is currently locked away in the Abyss, then where is his body? This series will positively identify Asshur the soon-to-be-resurrected Antichrist King.”

(Krieger Note:  He “once was” has as much to do with his immediate assassination upon the declaration of his godhood in the temple of God in Jerusalem and subsequent “resurrection” (i.e., the “eighth”) - making him “out from the seven” and transforming him from the Antichrist to his new entitlement as the Beast due to the incarnation of Satan into the “temple” (i.e., the body) of Antichrist.  The Scriptures boldly declare but one resurrection and one only:  “It is appointed for men to DIE ONCE, but after this the judgment” – Hebrews 9:27.  Neither Judaism nor Christianity advocate reincarnation via the soul of a once dead human entering into the body of another human, even if that other human has died – the New Testament, however, does give the unique account of Satan “entering” into the body of Judas Iscariot to commit the dastardly betrayal of Jesus, while Judas was still alive.)

“There are Assur and all his company: all his slain have been laid there: and their burial is in the depth of the pit, and his company are set around about his tomb: all the slain that fell by the sword, who had caused the fear of them to be upon the land of the living. (Ezekiel 32:22-23, LXX)”

“In Part One of this series I put forth some of the evidence that ‘The Assyrian’ referred to by Isaiah and Micah in the Old Testament is in fact the Antichrist.  His name is Asshur and as the false messiah he is often contrasted with Israel’s true Messiah (Note:  We totally concur.).  Isaiah prophesies (sic. prophesied) that Asshur will betray and attempt to destroy Israel, but the true Messiah will save Israel even though He will first be rejected and killed. In the end Asshur will be destroyed by the mere breath that comes from the mouth of the Messiah at the end of the Day of the Lord. Yet the question remains... who is Asshur?”

Now, Goodman gets to the meat of the matter:  Antichrist is Nimrod; he hails from Iraq because he founded Iraq.

“The conclusion that I have arrived at is that Asshur is simply another name for Nimrod.  Part One of this series asked, ‘Will the Antichrist come from Iraq?’ and the answer is, ‘Yes! The Antichrist founded Iraq!’ Nimrod's kingdom began in southern Mesopotamia with the cities of Babel and Erech (Uruk/Iraq), but then he invaded north and built Nineveh and the other cities that became the foundation of the kingdom of Asshur (Assyria).”

Goodman presents an outstanding connection between Asshur and Nimrod—it is very convincing…

“They generally read, ‘From that land he (Nimrod) went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh...’ The fact is that ‘Asshur’ can be read either as an individual or as the region of Assyria—we just don’t know for sure and the text alone does not prove either case.  However, because the name ‘Asshur’ is not modified by the preposition el or the directional heh (thus giving either el Asshur or Asshurah), which would confirm Asshur as a place, it remains a distinct possibility that Asshur is meant to be understood as an individual and as another name for Nimrod.”

(Krieger Note:  Finally, after a substantial argument of Nimrod’s connection to the Asshur or the Assyrian as the final Antichrist, Goodman can no longer equivocate – The Antichrist is the reincarnation of Nimrod!  Goodman further substantiates his hypothesis by archeological discoveries found in Sumer around 2800-2600 BC in which, as seen in the archeological graphic of the find, shows a royal figure slaying one the beast’s seven heads.  Goodman asserts that “scholars” affirm that the seven-headed beast is the “god known as Ninurta or Ningirsu, an early prototype of Marduk” – which in turn is another one of Nimrod’s names.  In sum:  Nimrod is Asshur (the Assyrian – the future Antichrist) – Nimrod is also Marduk – see Part III, The Mighty Hunter.)

“The point that must be noted about the references to the seven-headed dragon is that Sumerian scribes believed that this terrible beast had already been killed and no longer existed as a threat. In fact, those who were portrayed as slayers of the beast seem to be gods who had emerged as deifications of Nimrod himself. So by slaying the monster Nimrod is actually slaying himself! In this way the pagan influence greatly confused and corrupted the prophecy of the seven-headed dragon, and the long-term threat was effectively removed from humanity's consciousness as early as possible.”

“Nimrod’s life is not just a type or ‘template’ of what the future Antichrist will be like. He is the Antichrist. He is the one who ‘once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction.’  He is the antithesis of Jesus the One ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’ (Rev.1:8).  At the end of Revelation Jesus says, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End’ (Rev 22:13).  Jesus speaks of His eternal relationship to time and all Creation, while on the other hand Nimrod the Antichrist is ‘the first and the last’ of Satan’s seven kings, whose two appearances mark both ‘the Beginning and the End’ of the Pagan Era that began at Babel some 5,000 years ago.”

(Krieger’s Note:  Problematic with Goodgame’s hypothesis is “Satan’s seven kings” so mentioned seem unrelated to Revelation’s “wisdom” wherein “There are also seven kings…Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come…and when he comes, he must continue a short time.”  The traditional Premillenarian interpretation (not that it is impervious to misinterpretation) denotes five former empires juxtaposed to ancient Israel (Egypt, Assyria, Neo-Babylonia, Medo-Persian, Greece (“five have fallen” – and note, Assyria is not the first, but the second to interact with Israel), Rome (“one is” – which is the sixth at the time of John’s writing of the Apocalypse), and the other has not yet come (which is the seventh) and when he (both his person and empire) comes, he must continue a short time” (Revelation 17:10).  Furthermore, “The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of (or “out from”) the seven, and is going to perdition” (Revelation 17:11).  There is a much closer connectivity between the “beast that was” as the seventh whose “short time” is purposely cut short at the end of days, rather than the second empire, Assyria, which was encountered by Israel.  It is far more contextual to affirm that the final Antichrist (the seventh) whose lifeless body is incarnated by Satan himself is to become “the eighth” (the parody of the resurrection of Christ) for he is known as “going to perdition” a phrase and word used by both Jesus regarding the “son of perdition” in reference to the incarnation of Judas by Satan and by the Apostle Paul in II Thess. 2 as also the “Son of Perdition” clearly referring to the Man of Sin, the Antichrist, who “sits as God in the temple (naos) of God, showing himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:4).   Now the “temple of a man’s body” akin to the body of Jesus when discussing His death and resurrection with the religious leaders of His day – John 2:20-21 wherein “it has taken forty-six years to build this temple (hieron – the Herodian physical temple) juxtaposed to “He was speaking of the temple (naos) of His body”) is differentiated in the Greek language, giving credibility to the Abomination of Desolation as a future desecration of the “seventh king’s” physical body wherein through the incarnation of Satan he becomes the eighth who goes into perdition; thence, “the son of perdition” aforementioned by Paul.)

“The division of the nations at the Tower of Babel was a hugely significant event that was spiritual as well as linguistic. The life of Nimrod was intimately connected with this event and afterwards the memory of this ‘Dying God’ became institutionalized as a major part of pagan religion. Around this very same time, near the dawn of written history, we find the emergence of the prophetic symbolism of the seven-headed dragon. Pagan mythology places the life of this beast in the past, but the prophecies of Isaiah, Daniel, and the book of Revelation tell us that this threat still awaits its final destiny of destruction.  It is the symbol of Satan's seven kings, and we know that one of them, Asshur the Antichrist, will appear from the past to radically influence the future. Those who do not know the true Christ will find it hard to resist him.” (All of the above taken from Peter Goodgame’s four-part series entitled:  Part I:  Prophecies of ‘The Assyrian’:  Will the Antichrist Come From Iraq? - Part II: The Coming of the Antichrist – Part III:  The Mighty Hunter – Part IV:  Rulers of Darkness.  

CRITICS & SUPPORTERS OF GOODMAN AND GOODGAME

Critics of Goodman and Goodgame assert that the absence in Daniel of any allusion to Ashur, Asshur, Assyria or Assyrian diminishes a future Antichrist as Assyrian.  Frankly, arguing from this perspective is intellectually disingenuous and Biblically incompatible in that the Assyrian most definitely is one of Antichrist’s names, titles, regardless of its absence in Daniel – whether he is the reincarnation of Nimrod, as opposed to another prototype of the final Antichrist, is altogether another matter.  Both Isaiah and Micah were written before Daniel’s recordations.

The term or derivatives to the Assyrian occur approximately 135 times in the Old Testament – so since Daniel does not mention any of these derivations - the Assyrian is therefore disqualified as a probable figure of the end-time Antichrist.  This too is a Non sequitur. 

Bill Salus

“Some, like Joel Rosenberg, Dr. David Reagan, myself (Bill Salus), and others, have suggested that in the aftermath of the fulfillment of the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 prophecies, Islam is dramatically diminished. The theory is that both of these prophecies likely occur before the Antichrist arrives on the world scene and that the 19 populations involved in these two major sequential prophetic events, which go down in defeat, are all predominately Islamic. Thus the conclusion can be drawn that when the Beast from the West arrives, he will find Islam as a religion largely irrelevant and of little utility in his bid for world dominance.  Needless to say, the Assyrian advocates have to group the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 events all into the Antichrist’s Armageddon campaign for this reason. Islam cannot be diminished prior to Armageddon since, in their estimation, the Antichrist is a Muslim.” (Does Daniel Debunk the Assyrian Antichrist? Bill Salus, Prophecy Depot, Jan. 8, 2009)

(Krieger Note:  I would concur with this criticism – Islam simply cannot be diminished if the Islamic Assyrian Antichrist as Gog is defeated in the Gog-Magog War.  We have elaborately differentiated between the Gog-Magog Conflict and the Armageddon Campaign—they are two distinctly unique conflicts in the prophetic time table (See:  Antichrist and the Gog-Magog War).  The Gog-Magog War pits Islamic states against the Antichrist (Daniel 11:40-43) and Israel (Ezekiel 38:1-23; 39:1-16).  This is precisely why in Daniel 11:44 “news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many” – thus begins the Armageddon “Campaign” – and this final struggle is duplicated after the Gog-Magog War in Ezekiel 39:17-20 known as “My sacrificial meal” and referred to in Revelation 19:17 as the “supper of the great God” or “great supper of God.”  A literal Islamic Antichrist, as the so-called Assyrian, simply cannot abide these chronologies because after Gog-Magog’s defeat, Armageddon’s Campaign ensues; unless, of course, one vainly attempts to merge the two incompatible conflicts into one!

Of interest is the fact that the “literal Assyrian” and its counterpart, the “literal Assyrian” incarnation of Nimrod into an Assyrian body as Antichrist, is pulling toward the East or Eastern Roman Empire; whereas, this writer is pulling westward to Western Civilization’s (i.e., Greco-Roman Man’s) final outburst, the United States of America as undisputed Hegemon with unquestioned geopolitical world primacy.)

Grace thru Faith (Jack Kelley)

“Since I don’t subscribe to the Assyrian Anti-Christ idea, I can only tell you why I don’t.  I think proponents of this theory have two major problems.   One is their misinterpretation of Isaiah 52:4 that I described in detail in this week’s feature article, The End Times According to Isaiah, Part 11.”

“The other is their claim that since the Roman Army that destroyed the Temple in 70 AD was supposedly made up largely of Assyrian conscripts, and since Daniel 9:26 hints that the Anti-Christ will come from the people who destroyed the Temple, that means the Anti-Christ has to be Assyrian.”

“Let’s say the Roman Legions really were filled with Assyrian soldiers.  Assyria was part of the Roman Empire, their leaders were Roman, they were fighting under direct orders from Rome, they wore Roman uniforms and they were paid by Rome.   Were it not for Rome the Assyrians wouldn’t have even been there.  Simple logic would say it was the Romans who destroyed the Temple.” (An Assyrian Antichrist? – gracethrufaith.com) (Krieger Note:  And Jack Kelley is absolutely correct.)

TribWatch.com

“It is this little clue that permits us to find the anti-Christ identified as ‘Assyria’ in four other chapters of Isaiah (10, 19, 30 and 31), in Micah 5:5-6, and Nahum 3:18. Historians, including many Christians, don't realize that Isaiah 10 is referring to a second Assyrian assault on Jerusalem, still to our future. This failure is quite amazing because Isaiah elsewhere depicts an end-time Assyria.”

“Concerning ancient Assyria in its invasion of Jerusalem, Isaiah said: ‘So YHWH says this of the king of Assyria, he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow here...I will defend over this city to save it’ (Isa. 37:33, 35).  But because the Assyria in Isaiah 10 invades Jerusalem (i.e. ‘Mount Zion’) successfully (v 6), as God’s wrath poured out on the Jews yet, the prophecy cannot concern the ancient Assyria that God protected Jerusalem from. As of today, there has not yet been a successful invasion of Jerusalem by an Assyrian, wherefore Isaiah 10 has yet to be fulfilled.”

“Note that the Isaiah 14 statement referring to end-time Assyria matches Gog’s destruction on Israel’s mountains: ‘to break Assyria in My Land, and trample him on My mountains’ (Isaiah 14:25).  We find in the very same verse that the destruction of Assyria pertains to Armageddon: ‘This is the purpose that is purposed on all the earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out on all the nations’ (Isa. 14:25).”

(Krieger Note:  Here, once again, not only does this writer attempt to compare Isaiah 14:24-27 with Gog – a “mountainous comparison” which simply does not fit – Gog-Magog’s conflict does not cover the face of the whole earth (Ezekiel 38:1-23; 39:1-16 gives very specific nations aligned with Gog against Israel; the same goes for Daniel 11:40-43) – the “whole earth” is not engaged until Ezekiel 39:17-20, a clear demarcation from the specificities found in the Gog-Magog Conflict in the earlier part of Ezekiel 38:1-23; 39:1-16.)

“Here’s the anger of God against Israel: ‘Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger! And My fury is the staff in their hand.  I will send them against an ungodly nation [Israel], and against the people of My wrath.  I will command him TO PLUNDER A PLUNDER, AND TO SPOIL A SPOIL’ (Isaiah 10:5-6).  And look at what Gog comes to Israel to do according to Ezekiel: TO PLUNDER A PLUNDER, AND TO SPOIL A SPOIL’ (38:12).  Same Hebrew words in both texts. The question is: why are both Gog and end-time Assyria to plunder Israel as per the LORD’S will, and both to be destroyed at Armageddon on the mountains of Israel?  One answer is: they are one and the same. Some prophecy educators are willing to view the Assyrian of Isaiah as the anti-Christ, but not as Gog, even though the location of ancient Assyria is in the face of modern Russia and ancient Magog.” (The Nationality of Anti-Christ, taken from TribWatch.com, 1997)

(Krieger Note:  Here I would, once again, refute the author’s assertions wherein the Gog-Magog Conflict is blended together with the Armageddon Campaign—they are NOT the same conflict – to this a host of Premillenarians have so written.  It may be that the Assyrian is destroyed at Armageddon’s conclusion as a prototype of Antichrist, but blending these conflicts serves no eschatological purpose but to confuse – the entire Seventieth Week of Daniel is fraught with war – the first 40 days of which is the Gog-Magog Conflict wherein a host of Islamic States are defeated via divine intervention, while Antichrist takes credit, and the rest of the week unto the 30 days of the 1,290 days of desolations is filled with the Armageddon Campaign.  War is war – the same Hebrew words may be used – for war always involves plunder and spoil.  I am far more inclined to associate the Assyrian with Antichrist—for this archetype is most definitely this character; however, by associating the Assyrian Antichrist with Gog simply confuses the final conflicts and destroys the passages in Daniel 11:40-44 wherein the Antichrist has defeated Gog-Magog and commences the Armageddon Campaign to “annihilate many.”  In sum:  Antichrist, be he the Assyrian or the King of Tyre or King of Babylon – all of his entitlements – is missing one obvious title at this stage of human history:  Gog!  It is not until we reach Revelation 20:8-10 wherein “Gog and Magog…to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea…they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city…And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them” that he apparently reappears. 

Now, pray tell, how is this possible after in point of glaring Biblical fact (Revelation 19:11-21) Antichrist-Beast, and the False Prophet Second Beast have both been “cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev. 19:20) and the millenarian reign of a thousand years has transpired?  These same individuals who blend both wars claim that this final, final conflict of Gog-Magog is also the same war of Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon is but the same as well.  This (Rev. 20:8-10) is not a flashback to Revelation 19:17-21.)

The question persists:  Is the Gog referred to in Revelation 20 the same as the one in Ezekiel 38-39?  Indeed, there are obvious similarities; however, in Revelation 20 there is no “individual commander” mentioned or supreme ruler.  Both names (Gog and Magog) are simply shown to apply to “those nations in the four corners of the earth” who allow themselves to be deceived, once again, by Satan after he is released from the abyss.  The opposing forces in both Ezekiel and Revelation are simply numerous; they attack on the basis of a widespread conspiracy and they are directed against God’s servants.  I believe that a greater meaning of Gog and Magog’s reappearance at the end of the thousand years is discerned by the great Bible expositor, Donald G. Barnhouse.):

 

 

“The thousand years most certainly follow the incidents concerning Gog and Magog in Ezekiel’s prophecy.  But we also see, in Ezekiel, that Gog and all his multitude is buried (Ezek. 39:11) at the time he is destroyed.  This would give clear indication that there is a human being involved.  But we believe that there is more than this.  Not from speculation but from legitimate inference we can discern one or two other details.  In Ezekiel we have two beings, Gog and Magog, who are leaders in the revolt against God and His people.  They come under the wrath of God and their forces are destroyed.  But a thousand years later, in the end of the final test of man, we find Satan loosed from his prison and somehow involved with characters with these same names.  We believe, therefore, that just as Satan entered into Judas (John 13:27), whether personally or through one of his mighty principalities and powers we do not know, and as Satan clothed the human being called the wild beast, with his power, his throne, and great authority (Rev. 13:2), thus making him the Antichrist, so Satan possesses some princeling, perhaps named Gog, through one of his mighty angels who own his sway.  A more striking example may be found elsewhere in Ezekiel where we see a being who is clearly a man, the prince of Tyre, leading us on to a description of another being, the king of Tyre, who is clearly Satan.”

“That, then, which has satisfied our minds in this matter, is that some of Satan’s mighty angels, principalities, or powers which rule the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12), take hold of earth’s dictators, use them for their ends, and are defeated by God at the great conflict of the destruction at Armageddon.  The human instrumentalities are destroyed, but the demon forces live on, held back by the power of God until Satan is released after the thousand years.  Whereupon they seize again some willing earthling and seek to lead the peoples against God in their final rebellion” (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Revelation, An Expositional Commentary, Zondervan Publishing House, pp. 387-8)

(Krieger Note:  This is a rare insight into Gog and Magog which we have rarely seen in evangelical eschatology, and, I might add, one of the finest.  Suffice it to say, the Gog-Magog conflagration mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39 is not the same as the one mentioned in Revelation 20 – the two are wholly separated by over a thousand years; likewise, neither is the Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and portions of Ezekiel 39  (vs. 1-16) connected to the Armageddon Campaign – these two are wholly separate conflicts within the crucible of the Seventieth Week of Daniel; thereby is the distinct and impossible identification of the literal, ethnic Assyrian – Nimrod – the Muslim – connected with Armageddon as Gog-Magog (lest Gog-Magog, the King of the North and his southern allies, the King of the South find themselves as the Assyrian Antichrist fighting themselves and not, as stated in Daniel 11:40-44 wherein Gog-Magog “shall attack him: and “shall come against him” only to be defeated by Antichrist who shall in turn pursue “news from the east and the north” which “shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many”).  Gog-Magog of Ezekiel 38-39 is comprised of those nations which today are primarily Islamic states.  Their demise at the commencement of Daniel’s Seventieth Week by divine intervention as they come up against Israel (the target of the Islamic Allied forces) in Ezekiel 38-39 AND as they come up against Antichrist, who appears in league with Israel at the commencement of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, and who shall obviously take credit for the divine intervention!

Furthermore, the Merchants or Ships of Tarshish (Ezekiel 38:13) – the Western trading nations, undoubtedly at this stage headed up by the King of Tyre himself, the great exploiter of wealth and commerce – along with their trading allies of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula, Sheba and Dedan, who are also entitled as “traders and merchants” (Ezekiel 27:15-23) – find it in their interest, and under the guise as Israel’s protector(s), to question the intentions of Gog.  It is no small observation that the lament for Tyre and of the King of Tyre transfigures the place and the person into the Satanic figure who was “in Eden, the garden of God…the anointed cherub who covers…till iniquity was found in you” (Ezekiel 28:13-16) whose “abundance of trading became filled with violence” (for world trade and those who so piously tout the praises of globalism are quick to enforce their quest through the prosecution of war).  It is no small thing, therefore, when the “Merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions” in league with Sheba and Dedan, resist the Islamic hoards headed up by Gog as chief intimidator of Israel in Ezekiel 38.)

RODRIGO SILVA AND THE HAPLESS KURDS – THE ANCIENT ASSYRIANS & THE ISLAMIC 10 KINGS

“‘From you, O Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the LORD and counsels wickedness.’ (Nahum 1:11) NIV”

“Assyria on the other hand does not exist as a nation. The Assyrian people were preserved after going through much genocide and today live in the Nineveh Plains of North Iraq near the city of Mosul. If the Bible refers to the Antichrist as an Assyrian and tells us that Assyria will play a major role in the end times, it is plausible to conclude that Assyria must become an independent state in Northern Iraq. I strongly believe it will be the eleventh horn to rise after the 10 horns which we have already mentioned above. The resurrection of Assyria will make it the eighth head of the beast which was one of the seven and the eleventh horn of Daniel 7 after the first ten are already in place of authority in the Middle East. One thing that is also very intriguing is the fact that Assyria joins a confederacy of Arab nations in Psalm 83 where we read:

“There have been talks about dividing Iraq in three main regional sectors between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. The Assyrians are begging the Western powers to allow them to have their own autonomous state in Iraq and this is not far from becoming a reality.  The defenders of the

Roman (European Antichrist) theory do not seem to see this reality before their eyes. They insist that the Antichrist must be a Roman since it was the Roman army that destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple in 70 AD just as Daniel predicted that the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. This prophecy was fulfilled when the Roman army under Titus invaded Jerusalem destroying the city and the Temple. Yes, the soldiers were wearing Roman uniforms but they were not Europeans (Italians, French, Germans) as many assume. The majority of the soldiers of the legions 5, 10, 12 and 15 were Syrians. These legions came from the Syrian province of the Roman empire which recruited locals to be members of their garrisons.”

(Krieger Note:  The Legio V Macedonica was definitely Greek and primarily stationed in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia; the 10th Legion originally was Roman but moved to Syria… X Fretensis moved to Syria. In 6 AD it was stationed in that province together with legions III Gallica, VI Ferrata, and XII Fulminata.  Furthermore, it would appear that the Legio XV Apollinaris was decidedly Roman (Italian/European) in ethnicity, although it was moved by Nero to Syria in 61 or 62 AD.  The origins of all the legions which destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple did not have their beginnings in Syria.  The arrival of the Legio XV Apollinaris just prior to Jerusalem’s demise is telling; therefore, to say these legions were of Syrian ethnicity is a stretch of “legion history.” Silva has no qualms in convincing us that not only is the Assyrian from a reconstituted Assyria from amongst today’s Kurds, but that the 10 Kings who are given authority by the Beast (the 11th Horn or Antichrist, the Assyrian or Kurdish state) are all Islamic states.)

“I personally believe that the term ‘Assyrian'’ refers to a literal Assyrian leader to rise out of a new Assyrian nation to be reborn in Northern Iraq to be the eighth head of the beast which was wounded but will be resurrected and to be the eleventh horn of the beast of Daniel 7 to rise among 10 kings which will be already in power whom I suspect could be 1-Syria 2-Turkey 3-Egypt 4-Jordan 5-Lebanon 6-Sudan or Libya 7-Iraq 8-Iran 9-Pakistan 10-Afghanistan as mentioned in our article titled: The 10 Kings of the Beast: They Come From The East.  Rodrigo Silva, 9/15/08)”

(Krieger Note:  The Bible also refers to Antichrist as the King of Babylon and as the King of Tyre – neither one of these two designations has anything to do with the land of ancient Assyria (aside from the fact that both were within the Assyrian Empire at one point; however, the composition of the Beast found in Revelation 13 constitutes those empires far in expanse of the original territorial boundaries of ancient Assyria—Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece.  For the whole earth to follow after the Assyrian Beast is simply so farfetched that it flies in the face of all prophetic sensibilities and, most definitely, geopolitical realities.  I know of no other eschatologists who identify the ten nations so described by Silva to be these Islamic states, none.)

THE ASSYRIAN NAZI

Just when you thought we’ve exhausted our search for The Assyrian we come to this:  The Assyrian is the Antichrist from Germany?

“As the title suggests, there are two parts of the question.  Part one, the Assyrian, is much more cut and dry for this word is mentioned, ironically, thirteen times and all of them are located in the Old Covenant.  The Assyrian (Antichrist) has been mentioned in 13 Scriptures, here are the other references the Antichrist is located: Micah 5:5, 6; Ezekiel 31:3; Isaiah 23:13; 30:31; 31:8; and 52:4.  Zechariah 10:11 says that he will pass through the sea with affliction and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.  The Assyrians were the first builders of major paved roads for logistical support of the armies to invade their neighbors.  Also, the Assyrians were the first to use iron chariots (i.e., mechanized vehicles of war).  They were superb warriors like their SS counterparts in World War II.  Note in the pictures below similarities of the winged God of the Assyrians overlooking the scene, and the symbol of the Nazi Regime.  Could it be possible that Germany is the descendants of the Assyrians?”

(Assyria and Germany in Anglo-Israelism, from Wikipedia – also, Steve Quayle from his article entitled:  The Assyrian: An Antichrist from Germany)

(Krieger Note:  This does not end here – the Germans cannot escape “the Assyrian Connection” . . . again, according to Steve Quayle (and, trust me, he’s not alone in this association of Germans with Assyria) – I include this obscurity, not for its scholarship, but nigh as urban myth and the endless search for the Assyrian Antichrist. The following paragraphs have been quoted in the aforementioned author in his article called “Germany in Prophecy”.)

“According to Peter Salemi, in his article ‘Germany in Prophecy’, the Assyrians migrated North into the mountains towards Europe and credits the Book of Nahum 3:18, which said, ‘….thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.’  The Causcaus Mountains between the Black and the Caspian Sea are near the region of Assyria.  In II Kings 19:36-37, when Adrammelech and Sharezer smote their father and they escaped into the land of Armenia which has been translated to render ‘Ararat’ which is between the Black and the Caspian sea just NORTH of Assyria.” (Ibid.)

“According to the Roman historian, Pliny, ‘…a warlike people called the Assyriani that inhabited the region NORTH of the Black Sea’.  At that time, the Roman historians attached a name to these ‘warlike’ people. They named them ‘Teutons.’ The Romans whose unaccustomed ears tried to translate into their own tongue the names of these fierce Germanic-peoples rendered the ‘Deutschen’ as the ‘Teutons.’”

“German historians are united in their description of an hostile, warlike people inhabiting central Europe who came into confrontation with an expanding Roman Empire, causing the Romans to build their famous limes (defense positions and walls) and station legions along their northern borders to stop the advancing warlike hordes. Jerome (Latin scholar c.340-420), who lived at the time when the Indo-Germanic tribes were invading Europe, gives the answer: ‘For ‘Assur (the Assyrian) also is joined with them [Cimbric Tribes] invading Western Europe, ALONG THE RHINE’! (Letter 123, § 16; from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.)”

“The Germans refer to themselves as DEUTSCHE, and to their country as DEUTSCHLAND. Why?  Let’s turn back the pages of history for the answer. The Assyrians anciently called their land Athur -- the Indo-Germanic form of the Semitic word ‘Asshur’ (Encyclopedia Britannica, article, Mesopotamia).  Sometimes the name Athur was shortened simply to Tyr in the Indo-European tongue.  Asshur or Tyr was worshipped as the god of war by all the ancient world.”

“His name was placed on the THIRD DAY of the week -- called ‘Tuesday’ in the English-speaking world. Tuesday is Asshur’s day. Tuesday is from an old Saxon word meaning Tiw’s day.  Tiw was the god of war of the Germanic people of Europe. Tiw, or Tiwe, was also known by the name Tyr -- that is, Asshur.  Tiw is another name of Asshur!  The Assyrians knew Asshur or Tyr was their ancestor. We should expect, therefore, that when they migrated to Europe they would still be known as the sons of Tyr or Tiw, that is, Asshur.  And what do we find?   When the Germans appeared in Europe, they claimed Tyr or Tiw as their ancestor!   But what has the name Deutsche to do with Tiw?  The modern German word Deutsche -- as educated Germans know -- is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word Tiw. (See any thorough book on etymology and word derivations.)  Whenever a German calls himself Deutsche, he is saying he is Tiw’s or Asshur’s son -- an Assyrian.  And when he terms his country Deutschland, he is saying Tiw’s or Asshur’s land -- Assyria!  Even ancient Hindu literature uses both the word Asgras and Daityas to refer to the Assyrians. Daityas is but a Sanskrit word for Deutsch -- a name applied to the Assyrians over 1500 years before the birth of Christ!  The Assyrians were the first builders of major paved roads for logistical support of the armies to invade their neighbors.  Also, the Assyrians were the first to use iron chariots (i.e., mechanized vehicles of war).  They were superb warriors like their SS counterparts in World War II.” (Taken from The World of Steve Quayle) (Krieger Note:  A casual search of German origins does not bear witness to any Assyrian connection.)

CONCLUSION

Truly, we have traversed the expanse of the Assyrian – and, unfortunately, there is much more to this mysterious figure in his relationship to the final Antichrist.  In sum, the Antichrist is the Assyrian, but he is likewise, the King of Babylon, King of Tyre, the Willful King, the Little Horn, the Beast, the “prince who is to come” – and the Antichrist – along with many more entitlements.  He is the “prince of the people who shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (my quotes).  I found it, once again, debilitating and unbelievable that the vast audience of eschatologists have absolutely no inkling that the Assyrian of the Last Days, the one who bears the mark of Nimrod, the first warrior named the “mighty hunter against the Lord” – the originator of the Seven-headed Beast of Revelation 13:1 – has anything to do with the presence of the zenith of civilization which occupies the land of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians and who is the current Protector of Israel, as well as the one who bears the hatred of the Islamic street, while commanding the subservience of the NATO Alliance and demanding through her international globalist trade policies all trade flows because of her wealth.  What poverty of insight belies the prophetic pundits, so few, so very few grasp the times in which we live…

Now, be it stated, it is this one who stands in total opposition to the plans and purposes of the Almighty, whom, we are enjoined, to “resist steadfast in the faith.”  In this finality of the Rise or Fall of American Empire? may I quote from G. H. Lang’s 1950, 4th Edition of The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel (originally written in 1940 during the Battle of Britain):

“Certain prominent conditions which in acme are to mark the End Days seem to have set in.

I.        In Christendom—(i) A vast apostasy among Protestants from the apostolic faith; (ii) A consequent immense turning to spiritism in its various guises (Note:  The New Age Movement); (iii) A powerful movement toward reunion of denominations that may well develop into ‘Mystery Babylon the great’ (Rev. 17).

II.    In Jewry—(i) The lapse of multitudes from any acknowledgement of the God of Israel; (ii) A steady resettlement in their own land in this unbelief; (iii) The establishment of a Jewish State, which can make treaties.

III. In the world—(i) the re-opening of the Middle East, and the tendency of world politics to center there; (ii) The intense and sinister nationalism which precipitates international strife; (iii) Yet the effort after co-operation which may issue in the ‘ten horns’; (iv) The fermenting and awakening in the Far East, in preparation for its part at the end time.

IV. Among true Christians—(i) The searching into prophecy; (ii) The longing after practical holiness, the indispensable condition for meeting the Lord in peace when He comes; (iii) The zeal in spreading the gospel among all nations.”

“But in spite of this cumulating ground of hope that the End nears, the past teaches caution, more caution, yea, much more caution than many writers and speakers show.  Quotations enough could be given from good men who long since thought that conditions would culminate very speedily and the Lord’s return.  Events have often moved strikingly and rapidly, but then there have as often come periods of slowing down.  It may be so again.  And it at least remains uncertain whether the vast wars in the Mediterranean and Near East outlined in Daniel 7 and 11 as to usher in the End, have yet come and therefore whether the End Time has yet commenced.”

“The final and chief practical lesson is, that the personal return and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s solution for earth’s misery.  Let us be ever looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God (II Peter 3:12); let us, with John and Christ, James and Jude, Peter and Paul preach persistently the good news of the kingdom of God, and not merely that part of it which announces the forgiveness of sins.  It is the only message of salvation for the individual; it is equally the needed and blessed message of hope for the race corporate.”

“‘Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own steadfastness.  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  TO HIM BE THE GLORY BOTH NOW AND FOR EVER, AMEN’” (II Peter 3:17, 18) (The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel, G. H. Lang, pp. 185-6)

CHRIST vs. ANTICHRIST – MICAH 5

As the dust clears from our determined research regarding the identity of “the Assyrian” – let it be abundantly clear, his original capture of the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel, brings him into abundant focus as the archetype of the Antichrist and his title of the Asshur and Nimrod substantiate his identity as supreme foe “against the Lord.” 

Micah’s juxtapositions are astounding – for the initial herald of the Messiah and his Second Coming could not be made plainer; nor can the deliberate contrast of Israel’s archfiend, the Antichrist, as the Assyrian, so dramatically contrasted.

His first coming…

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (lit. “days of eternity”) (Micah 5:2; John 7:42; Isa. 9:6).

This is immediately followed by Israel’s dispersion and ultimate regathering and the Second Coming of Messiah:

“Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel.  And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace” (Micah 5:3-5a).

It is in diametric contrast that THE ASSYRIAN – the final Antichrist – shall confront the remnant of Israel at the end of days:

“When the Assyrian comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men.  They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, and the land of Nimrod at its entrance” (Micah 5:5b-6a).

And, it is at this time that “this One” (the Messiah of Israel – for “the Deliverer shall come forth out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob” – Romans 11:26) … “Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders” (Micah 5:6b). 

Furthermore, once the final deliverance is affected…

“Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, that tarry for no man nor wait for the sons of men.  And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, who, if he passes through, both treads down and tears in pieces, and none can deliver.  Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off” (Micah 5:7-9).

This is the fulfillment of His commitment to Jacob – “For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:27; Isaiah 27:9).

It is an uncontested truth that the Messiah of Israel on that day shall defeat the Assyrian, the final Antichrist because THIS ONE is Lord of lords, and King of kings and He shall reign forever and ever in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God – for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be peace – for without Him there is no peace!

With this conclusion – may I ask you bluntly:   Have you surrendered to “this One” to His peace?  Bethlehem’s manger brought forth in obscurity the Ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from the days of eternity – for “before Abraham was I am” (John 8:58).  But He, “being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men…and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross…therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).

His death on the cross was for you, for me – have you bowed your knee to Jesus? – You can, you must; don’t hesitate – acknowledge His cross as the end of your effort to deliver yourself, to save yourself; and as doubting Thomas declared in that room, even so do we all:  MY LORD AND MY GOD!

 

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