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Israel in the End-Time 5. The false messiah |
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In his prophetic visions on the isle of Patmos, the false messiah of the end-time was revealed as follows to John:
"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 his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marvelled and followed the beast. So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying: Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:1-4).
In Revelation 17 the relationship between the beast and the mother of harlots, a united body of false world religions, is described:
"So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev. 17:3-5).
John also explains the meaning of the beast's seven heads and ten horns, and he then describes how the false world religion will end:
"The seven heads are seven hills upon which the woman is sitting. And they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one still exists and is reigning; the other [the seventh] has not yet appeared, and when he does arrive he must stay but a brief time. And as for the beast that was, but now is no more, he [himself] is an eighth ruler, but he is of the seven and belongs to them, and he goes to perdition. Also the ten horns that you observed are ten rulers who have as yet received no royal dominion, but together they are to receive power and authority as rulers for a single hour, along with the beast. These have one common policy, and they deliver their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings... And the angel further said to me: The waters that you observed, where the harlot is seated, are races and multitudes and nations and dialects. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will [be the very ones to] hate the harlot; they will make her... desolate and they will strip her, and eat up her flesh and utterly consume her with fire" (Rev. 17:9-16 AB).
That the false messiah is described as a beast with seven heads, indicates that he arises from seven godless empires of which we read in the Bible. They are:
John says that the seven heads of the beast represent seven mountains, or kingdoms, on which the woman 'sits'. When he saw this vision in AD 95, the first five of the seven had already fallen. The sixth, the Roman Empire, was at the peak of its power and the empire of the false messiah was yet to come. The seven empires all stand under the influence of a godless world religion that is violently opposed to the true faith in God through the Messiah. Israel and the church of Jesus Christ will therefore be rejected and persecuted by the beast and the harlot who is the mother of all false religions.
Initially, the beast will head an alliance of ten Mediterranean countries. That will enable him to propagate his false peace initiatives with the assistance of religious leaders. An attempt to assassinate the beast will be made towards the middle of his term of office, and he will be fatally wounded. However, his demonic powers will enable him to recover, and he will then establish the world dictatorship of which we read in the prophecies. He will openly declare that he is the only ruler on earth, and that he is God (2 Thes. 2:4). He will also destroy the false world church, for it will have become redundant when he declares himself as the sole object of worship. The new totalitarian phase of his reign will be the eighth head of the beast, and will be characterised by the worst violence of all time.
Characteristics of the world empires
The six world empires that have come and gone already, were all fanatically hostile towards Israel and the kingdom of God, as they were all controlled by false religions. As such they laid the foundation for the future empire of the false messiah. The following are their main characteristics:
There is a definite similarity between the prophecies of Daniel and those of John as recorded in the book Revelation. Daniel, however, only refers to five empires, as he looked ahead from his situation within the Babylonian Empire. The image described in Daniel 2 and the animals we read about in Daniel 7 and 8, refer to the following wicked and tyrannical empires:
(According to Revelation 17:9-10, the seven heads of the beast symbolise seven kingdoms. In the time of Daniel, two of them, the ancient Babylonian Empire of Nimrod and the Assyrian Empire, had already fallen. Daniel lived during the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Many of the features of that empire are being revived in our time.)
Nebuchadnezzar sees these empires in his dream as majestic and illustrious. He also finds reason to boast of his own greatness. In the impressive image seen by him, the head of gold represents the Babylonian Empire, the chest and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian Empire, the belly and thighs of bronze represent the Grecian Empire and the legs of iron the Roman Empire, while the weak mixture of clay and iron in the ten toes represent the loose alliance of the end-time empire of the false messiah.
The pomp and pageantry of these world empires, as seen by Nebuchadnezzar, are in stark contrast to the way in which God depicts them as angry and ferocious beasts of prey fighting, destroying one another. Through visions, God depicted the Babylonian Empire to Daniel as a winged lion, the Medo-Persian Empire as a hungry bear with three ribs in its mouth, the Greek Empire as a winged leopard with four heads, and the Roman Empire as a fearsome beast with iron teeth and ten horns on its head. The kingdom of the false messiah arises from the ten horns:
"I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words" (Dan. 7:8).
However, the false messiah is not only described as a ruler emerging from the revived Roman Empire. From the perspective of the other empires, specific features are attributed to him as he is a combination of all four of the beasts mentioned (see Rev. 13:1-2). The most obvious similarities between the false messiah and the previous world empires, are the following:
Babylonian
The beast has the mouth of a lion. In his Babylonian connection the false messiah will become a modern Nebuchadnezzar who will rise to a position of undisputed world leadership. Any form of disloyalty towards him will be regarded as treason and be punishable with death. He will also deify himself, have an image of himself made and force people to bow before the image and worship him. Those who refuse will be cast into a furnace of tribulation and be executed. He will elevate Babylon to the position of a famous world city and the seat of his government. Furthermore, he will revive the religious system of ancient Babylon, which was based on astrology, contact with cosmic forces, occultism, magic, the deification of spiritual and political leaders, and the worshipping of the sun-god, the goddess of heaven and her child. Politics and religion will, therefore, be closely teamed up in order to effect the complete domination of all his subjects.
Medo-Persian
The false messiah will be a beast with the feet of a bear. One of his aims will be to trample upon and ruthlessly oppress all nations. He will rule with an iron fist, declare himself as the head of a world government and rule with the unchangeable laws of the Medes and Persians. King Ahasuerus gave Haman irrevocable power to kill the Jews, because their leader, Mordechai, would not bow before him: "When Haman saw that Mordechai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordechai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordechai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus" (Esth. 3:5-6).
The false messiah will likewise issue a decree allowing the killing of all those who refuse to submit to his authority, and to worship him as the universal God of this world.
Greek
The beast of the great tribulation has the body of a winged leopard. This indicates the mobility and efficiency of his military power. Alexander the Great conquered the entire Persian Empire in just four years. The false messiah will also achieve remarkable success as a military conqueror and subject all his challengers in a short time: "And all the world marvelled and followed the beast... saying: Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev. 13:3-4).
Roman
The beast has ten horns on its head that have the same significance as the ten toes of the image of Nebuchadnezzar, pointing towards an end-time alliance of ten countries from the old Roman Empire. That was a Mediterranean Empire which included countries from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The false messiah's group of ten will come from the same region, thus suggesting the political unification of Western and Eastern Europe, as well as the inclusion of Arab countries in the union. It will be a loose alliance (like iron and clay) and the false messiah will remove the borders between three of the countries (most likely Arab countries) and unite them. In the manner of the Roman Empire (the vicious animal with the iron teeth), the false messiah will be merciless and act with devastating results.
Connotations with the Greek Empire
A very clear identification of the person, place of origin and typical actions of the false messiah is done against the background of events in the Greek Empire. The four heads of the leopard indicate the division of the Greek Empire into four provinces, and from one of them the false messiah will emerge. In Daniel 8, the fall of the Medo-Persian Empire and the rise of the Greek Empire is likened to two rams barging into one another. The ram with the two horns (the Medo-Persian Empire) was attacked by the hairy he-goat with the one big horn between his eyes (depicting Alexander the Great). The two-horned ram was destroyed by the goat:
"Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up towards the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land ... The ram which you saw, having the two horns - they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall rise out of that nation, but not with its power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human hand" (Dan. 8:8-9, 20-25).
In this passage, several important statements are made. Some of these prophecies have already been fulfilled, while others clearly refer to end-time events when a similar polarisation will occur in this part of the former Greek Empire:
The prophetic significance of the events described in Daniel 8, are such that they are discussed in even greater detail in Daniel 11 - particularly events in the two provinces to the north and south of Israel. We will now briefly review the contents of this chapter:
In Daniel 11:3, Alexander the Great is the mighty king who rose against the Persians, and whose kingdom was divided into the following four parts:
From verse 5 onwards, the long power-struggle between the kings of the North and the South is described. The consummation of this struggle occurs only during the end-time reign of the false messiah.
The directions of the kingdoms indicated here are as observed from Israel. The king of the North is the ruler of the Syrian province, while the king of the South refers to the ruler of Egypt. During the establishment of the four independent provinces in the Greek Empire, Ptolemy was appointed over Egypt and Seleucus over Syria. Israel lies between these two kingdoms, and often suffered severely as a result of the conflicts and wars between them, and was mostly controlled by the Syrian Province.
The relationship between the successors of Ptolemy and Seleucus was characterised by divergent actions ranging from peace negotiations, treaties of friendship, marriages between members of the two families (for example Antiochus III who gave his daughter, Cleopatra, in marriage to Ptolemy V), to insidious conspiracies, false pretences, assassinations and open military confrontations. Peace pacts were mainly concluded to mislead the other party, and to win enough time to prepare for the next round of confrontation.
Seleucus and his successors were strict adherents to the Greek world culture, Hellenism. They took strong measures to enforce it upon their subjects. Tremendous pressure was also exerted on the Jewish culture and religion, and although there was widespread resistance, many Jews apostatised and worshipped the Greek gods. Religious polarisation was responsible for deep divisions within the Jewish community.
One of the most prominent false messiah figures in the dynasty of the kings of the North is Antiochus IV, who called himself Epiphanes (The Magnificent One). However, he was nicknamed Epimanes (The Madman). In Daniel 11:21-35, his rule as king of the North is described.
Antiochus Epiphanes masterminded several conspiracies against the king of the South and waged two wars against him, of which he won the first and lost the last one. The frustration caused by his defeat induced him, on his way back, to extend his wrath against Israel and wage a holy war against them.
Antiochus was not only irritated because of the Jewish hostility against his rule, but was infuriated by the continued observance of their religion. In his campaign against the Jews he managed to get the support of those who had forsaken the law. He obtained the co-operation of an apostate high priest, and then clamped down on the Jews and their holy places:
"... he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits" (Dan. 11:30-32).
The temple was the main target, as it was a spiritual as well as physical stronghold in Jerusalem. The abomination of desolation that was erected in the temple, was a statue of the Greek God, Zeus, together with an altar on which sacrifices to him could be made. The whole aim with the promotion of idolatry was that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob should no longer be worshipped, but a Greek god instead. A world religion was to be accepted and practised instead of Israel's unique form of worship.
A royal decree was promulgated by Antiochus, banning Judaism. Any Jew who continued to observe the Sabbath and persisted in studying the Torah, was killed. Parents who had their children circumcised, were executed with them. They were pushed from the walls of the city to fall to their death. Antiochus continued on his blasphemous course by sacrificing pigs on the altar in the temple, and poured the sauce in which they were cooked over the scrolls of the Law. He saw to it that the temple was converted into a place of drinking and fornication. Prostitutes were invited to join the parties.
Throughout the rest of the land, altars were erected on which unclean animals were sacrificed to heathen gods. However, thousands of Jews remained faithful to the Law of God, and were prepared to die rather than to serve other gods.
Verse 35 is a transitional verse in which the lines are extended from Antiochus' Jewish persecution to the end-time campaign of the false messiah:
"And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purge them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time" (Dan. 11:35).
In accordance with this statement, the further history of Israel was indeed characterised by persecution and hardships. Still, the end of the gruesome road of anti-Semitism, which to the remnant of Israel is meant to be a process of purification through suffering, has not yet come. Under the rule of the coming false messiah, this nation will experience a time of unprecedented tribulation - even worse than the Russian pogroms and the Holocaust of World War II.
In view of this decisive period ahead of us, a clear distinction must be made between the prophecies that have already been fulfilled, and those that explicitly relate to the end of this dispensation. Biblical promises about the end-time restoration of Israel, the rebuilding of the temple and its profanation by the coming false messiah, are a clear refutation of the views held in historicism. According to the historicists, all prophecies of Daniel 11 regarding the king of the North and his tyranny towards the Jewish people and their holy places, have already been fulfilled in the Old Testament times.
About this important transitional point between historical and end-time events in Daniel 11, Professors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck say in The Bible Knowledge Commentary (pp. 1370-71):
"All the events described thus far in chapter 11 (v. 1-35) are past. The intricate details of the conflicts between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies were fulfilled literally, exactly as Daniel had predicted. So detailed are the facts that sceptics have denied that the book was written by Daniel in the sixth century BC... However, the God who knows the end from the beginning, was able to reveal details of the forthcoming history to Daniel. In verses 36-45, a leader is described who is introduced simply as 'the king'. Some suggest that this is Antiochus IV Epiphanes and that the verses describe additional incursions of his into Israel. However, the details given in these verses were not fulfilled by Antiochus. True, Antiochus was a foreshadowing of a king who will come. But the two are not the same. One is past and the other is future. The coming king's... rise to prominence by satanic power is described in Revelation 13:1-8 where he is called a 'beast'... The events recorded in verses 36-45 will occur during the final seven years of the 70 sevens (Dan. 9:24-27)."
During the first century, the Lord Jesus confirmed that some of Daniel's prophecies will indeed only be fulfilled at the end of the dispensation of the church when Israel is restored as a nation. When the disciples asked Him what the sign of His coming and of the end of this age would be, He said, among other things:
"Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains... For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved" (Mt. 24:15-16, 21-22).
A futuristic interpretation must therefore be made of the prophecies in Daniel 11 from verse 36 onwards, as they do not deal with types or forerunners of the false messiah, but directly with this dictator himself:
"The king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above them all. But in their place he shall honour a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honour with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
"At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the East and the North shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him" (Dan. 11:36-45).
The following characteristics and actions of the false messiah are mentioned in this passage:
From the historical survey above, it is evident that the false messiah, as the end-time king of the North, will rise from the same territory where his predecessors once ruled. That territory is larger than the present Syria and includes Iraq and Lebanon. The kingdom of the North is therefore also a continuation of the old Assyrian Empire stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It included Babylonia, or Mesopotamia (the Land Between Two Rivers), called Iraq in Arabic. Considering these facts, it is more than likely that the false messiah will consolidate the territories of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq to re-establish the kingdom of the North, and to have direct access to two oceans with his fleet.
It is clear, therefore, that the king of the North is not to be confused with the leader of Russia, as he comes from the far north (see Ezek. 39:1-4).
Although Russia will no doubt ally itself with radical Arab countries for its prophesied invasion of Israel, the final king of the North will arise from the Middle East, from a country that formed part of the ancient Babylonian, Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek as well as Roman world empires. He is not to be seen as emerging from the revived Roman Empire alone, as many aspects of the other world empires will also manifest in his reign of terror.
Apart from Daniel's reference to the king of the North, there are other prophecies in the Bible that support this view by referring to the false messiah as the Assyrian. The most notable one is that of the prophet Isaiah:
"Therefore, it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say: I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks. For he says: By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; also I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasuries; so I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was no one who moved his wing, nor opened his mouth with even a peep...
"And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God... Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: O my people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will my anger in their destruction" (Is. 10:12-14, 20-25).
These prophecies are clearly placed within an end-time context of the day of the Lord - that is the great tribulation and the second coming when the Lord will judge the nations. This is the time of Israel's final restoration from their international dispersion, the occurring of their oppression by the Assyrian for a short while, and also the time when the measure of their sin will be filled. The Lord will reveal Himself in power and glory to the remnant of Israel, but in wrath to her enemies. This prophetic scenario, with the Assyrian as the leader of Israel's enemies during the judgements of the end-time when the true Messiah will come to establish His reign of peace in Jerusalem, is also described in Micah 5.
Considering these and other Biblical prophecies, the following events can be expected regarding the actions of the false messiah during and just prior to the coming tribulation period:
Establishing of a power-base
An end-time Assyrian prince must arise, establish a strong power-base and endeavour to incorporate his neighbouring states to expand his area of direct control. He must have a strong army, and his military power and martial rage must be feared by others.
Conflict with Egypt
He will develop a tense and conflicting relationship with Egypt (the king of the South), thereby causing a serious political and military polarisation within the Arab world. He will be joined by the radical countries, while the moderate Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia will align themselves with Egypt to form a distinct power bloc.
Scenario for a world war
The Middle Eastern situation will soon become a focal point where the whole world will polarise into two antagonistic power blocs. The USA and other moderate countries will align themselves with the king of the South, while the king of the North will gain the support of major powers such as Red China and possibly Russia. A world-wide military build-up will occur in the Middle East, where first a regional war and later a third world war will suddenly erupt. The Gulf War has demonstrated how swiftly other nations can be drawn into a regional war.
Unpredictable strategies
In his struggle against Egypt and other southerly oriented powers, the king of the North will, in a shrewd and treacherous way, make use of false promises, so-called peaceful solutions, and various treaties of co-operation, while never abandoning subversive tactics such as conspiracies and bribery. At unexpected moments he will break his non-aggression pacts and attack his neighbour in the South. Even his own subjects will not always know what to expect from him, and live in continuous fear for their lives. An assassination attempt will be made on the false messiah in the middle of the tribulation period. According to Revelation 13:3, he will miraculously recover from the fatal wound and continue with his march to world leadership.
Anti-Semitism as political principle
As part of his program of deception, the false messiah will conclude a covenant with Israel when he offers himself as universal Prince of Peace at the beginning of his career. However, in his heart he will be a fanatical Jew-baiter. When the inevitable happens and he breaks his covenant with Israel, anti-Semitism will be used to its full extent to establish Arab unity based on common hatred of the Jews. A jihad will be declared against Israel and its allies.
Promotion of a world religion
He will revive the old Babylonian world religion and incorporate Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, apostate Christianity, and all other religions into his unified world religion. He will declare himself the common messiah of all religions and institute strong measures against dissidents. Particularly the fundamental Jews and Christians who reject the eclectic religion of the new world order, will be severely persecuted.
Revival of the Babylonian world empire
He will rebuild the city of Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates River in Iraq as a symbol of political, economic and religious world unity (Rev. 17, 18). He will see himself as the modern Nebuchadnezzar who will be satisfied with nothing less than the conquering of all his adversaries, and the securing of a position of undisputed world leadership. Diplomatic efforts to achieve this objective will take precedence, only to be followed by strong military action when the peace talks fail.
Alliances with other countries
Along with the re-establishing of the Assyrian Empire, he will join the European Community to participate in the revival of the Roman Empire. After being elected leader of the confederacy, he will also be elected the head of a united world government. He will be greatly honoured because of his successful diplomacy in solving conflicts, and his ability to heal the serious breaches in the international community. He will be embraced with both arms by a world weakened by poor leaders.
Economic control
It will be one of his immediate objectives to control the economic wealth of the Middle East. He will seize all oil fields, mineral sources, gold and monetary reserves, and immediately be in a position to manipulate the ailing world economy. Under his guidance and personal control, a cashless international monetary system will be instituted in which no person will be allowed to buy or sell without first accepting the number of the false messiah on his right hand or forehead (Rev. 13:16-18). In succumbing to the economic pressure exerted upon them, people will accept the false messiah not only as an economic and political leader, but also as god of this world. In so doing, they will sell their souls to Satan and become the objects of God's wrath (Rev. 14:9-11).
Satan worship
He will reject and blaspheme the true God and only serve the god of fortresses - Satan. Under his leadership, Satanism will be practised world-wide under the pretext that Lucifer is God. The false messiah will ascribe his extraordinary spiritual and psychical powers to Lucifer, induce all people to practise these powers, and persuade them to worship him as well as Lucifer, who is the ultimate source of these cosmic powers (Eph. 6:12).
With the dawning of the last decade of this millennium, the world has quickened its pace considerably in its run-up to the New World Order and the revelation of the false messiah. The Middle East is not only the focal point of world events, but Saddam Hussein's personal contribution in reviving the Assyrian/Babylonian Empire and paving the way for the final world dictator, is absolutely astounding. In the process, Hussein is playing the typical role of the end-time king of the North:
The great deception of the coming false messiah lies in the fact that his appearance on the world scene will be as a Prince of Peace. In a dramatic and astounding way he will solve the destructive military, political, economic and religious crises that have plagued this world for so long. He will be exceedingly accommodating and universalistic in his outlook, and he will soon establish (false) international peace and unity. This will be followed by the institution of a one-world government for all the denationalised planetary citizens of the New World Order. His display of psychical powers will elevate him to a religious leadership position of world messiah, while his skills in the economic sphere will place him at the head of a new cashless economic order for the world.
Due to the general perception of a false messiah as a self-declared god, a ruthless dictator, a war-lord and killer of Jews (which he will in fact be during the second half of the tribulation), very few people expect him as a Prince of Peace. They will therefore not recognise him for what he really is, because he will initially disguise himself as a philanthropist and champion of liberty and universal human rights. All major world leaders will endorse his peace initiatives.
Although he will be a fanatical hater of the Jews, he will pretend to be their promised Messiah in order to deceive them into accepting and worshipping him. Jesus warned them against this terrible misjudging, when He said:
"I have come in my Father's name and with His power and you do not receive Me... But if another comes in his own name and his own power and with no other authority but himself, you will receive him and give him your approval" (Jn. 5:43 AB).
Poor knowledge of the prophetic word cost the majority of the Jewish people dearly during the first coming of the Lord Jesus. Because they didn't expect the suffering Messiah of Psalm 22, Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 9:9, but the conquering Messiah accompanied by heavenly hosts (Zech. 14), they didn't recognise Jesus and instead of accepting, they rejected Him. The same type of prophetical misapprehension will lead to the accepting of the false messiah as true Messiah, instead of outrightly rejecting him.
The present generation of Jews, with the exception of a minority of Messianic Jews, is already being exposed to strong spiritual deception regarding the coming Messiah. During the Gulf War a prominent rabbi from the USA told his followers not to fear the military action, as the promised Messiah will follow closely on the heels of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein. He will dispel the war clouds from the whole region and lead Israel into a dispensation of peace. The true Messiah will definitely not come from this region; therefore, prophecies of this nature are highly deceiving. John said: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 Jn. 4:1). Subject all prophecies to a Scripture test! Arab dictators like Hussein, who are champions of the jihad against Israel, are indeed forerunners for an important world leader. However, the leader for whom they are paving the way is not the Messiah, but a false messiah. He will, in a crooked way, pretend to be a direct descendant of King David, conclude a covenant with the political and religious leaders of the state of Israel, and allow them to rebuild the temple. After three and a half years of his reign as self-appointed messiah, he will declare himself God in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and have a statue of himself erected in the Holy of Holies. He will force all people, including the Jews, to worship him as God and to give honour to Lucifer. Of this treacherous time the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, warned the people of Israel in particular when he said:
"Many of you shall fall back into sin and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. Sin will be rampant everywhere and will cool the love of many. But those enduring to the end shall be saved... Then if anyone tells you: The Messiah has arrived at such and such a place, or has appeared here or there, don't believe it. For false Christs shall arise, and false prophets, and will do wonderful miracles, so that if it were possible, even God's chosen ones will be deceived. See, I have warned you. So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don't bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding in a certain place, don't believe it! For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall My coming be, when I, the Messiah, return" (Mt. 24:10-13, 23- 27 LB).
During the middle of the tribulation period, just after the desecration of the temple by the false messiah, many of the Jews will flee and take refuge in the mountain fortress of Petra for three and a half years, and then realise that the true Messiah of Israel is yet to come.
The tremendous satanic deception that will be unleashed in the whole world during the coming tribulation period, and particularly among the Jews, is one of the main reasons why this book has been written. Please take the admonition serious not to accept something very evil (the ideology of the unity of all things, including religious unity) and somebody very evil (the self-declared messiah of all religions who will be a wolf in sheep's clothing) as good and advantageous to humanity. Face-value alone is an insufficient criterion to judge the ideologies and leaders that will soon be offered to the international community. A nice appearance and good sounding promises will be utilised as a deceptive smoke-screen to hide a satanic conspiracy that will have a lethal effect on millions of people. In every country of the world large numbers of false prophets are now joining forces in anticipation of the coming of their international leader. You are also warned against them:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Mt. 7:15).
These wolves are eagerly preparing the way for the appearance of the false messiah.