The Beast or Antichrist in the Old Testament Pt.4

We have been looking at the various names by which the beast is called. There is not a lot in the next few chapters presented, but as He is mentioned and there is other interesting information, we will take a look at them. The first is another mention of “the Assyrian” in Isaiah 31.

Verse 1-5 “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses,and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord! Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.”

Here we find a passage that tells us how Israel seek “Egypt's” help. It tells how it will not do them any good, as the “Egyptians” are just men, not God, and that both they and the Israelites will fall. It is the Lord who will come down and fight for Mount Zion. He will defend and deliver Jerusalem. Because we find in the prophecies that the land mentioned is not always the land meant in the second fulfillment, that it could be “spiritual Egypt” in this case, it is difficult to know for certain who is being referred to here. In the Scriptures, we find that Egypt is not on antichrist's side, as he goes after them to destroy them. (Daniel 11:42-43). At the moment to think of Egypt being on Israel's side is clearly not something one would consider, as the people want the peace treaty revoked, if it has not been already. From this, if taken literally, it appears that they side with Israel, and that some of the Jews flee to Egypt during the tribulation. In Isaiah 52, which I will cover in a moment says this in verse 4 “For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.” Here we see another reference to the Assyrian, and we will see when that chapter is covered shortly that it is referring to the end times. The question is, is it truly Egypt that is meant, or is it spiritual Egypt, just as America is today spiritual Babylon?

Isaiah 31:6-9 “Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.”

God warns Israel to turn back to God, from whom they have turned, instead of looking for human help in the day of distress, when the nations will come against them. Notice the idols of gold and silver being thrown away. We saw that men cast away their idols of gold and silver on the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2). This gives us a time frame, as the Day of the Lord is toward the end of Daniel's 70^th week. The beast falls by a sword, but not the sword of a mighty or mean man. We know from Daniel and Revelation that it is the Lord who defeats the beast. He tries to flee from the Lord to his own refuge, and his minions will be afraid of the signs of the Lord's coming after them, but the Lord will prevail as he burns His enemies in His Holy Land.

Here we see the beast again referred to as “the Assyrian.” There is not much other identifying characteristics except that he does have a fortress type of refuge or something akin to a palace or place where someone who aspires to be the world leader would live.

Now on to chapter 52. While this chapter only contains one little reference to the beast, the chapter is very informative and deserves to be studied.

Verses 1-6 “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? They that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold it is I.”

In the first verse we are told that the holy city of Jerusalem will no more see the uncircumcised (spiritually definitely and physically possibly) and unclean (definitely spiritually and again possibly meaning ceremonially unclean) come into her. She is also told to put on her beautiful garments. This clearly is a reference to the end of times and the millennium when this will be the condition of Jerusalem. She is told to shake the dust off and take the bands of her captivity off. She is finally free from having the infidels (to borrow a Muslim term) rule over her. She is told that she sold herself (making peace treaties with all her enemies) for nothing, as she will be redeemed without money or having to pay a price (in today's case – land). She will be redeemed by the Lord. Again there is the verse that mentions that she has gone down into Egypt. As from the context the time frame concerns the end times, it is clear that there must be some Jews who run to “Egypt” whomever that may refer to spiritually. As we know the beast (again called the Assyrian) does go down into Egypt and oppresses everyone there, it may possibly fit that it is Egypt. God then asks what is going on? Have his people gone down there for nothing? Those there only give them tribulation and make them howl, and for what purpose? The purpose is then made clear. They will know the Lord's name (Yeshua) and know that it is He who is God, and who is speaking to them. Yeshua is as much the “I am” as is the Father. He is also a part of the Godhead. Again, we know that it is only at the end when He returns that Israel realizes who He is. So we see another clear identifier as to the time frame of this passage.

Verses 7-10 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

This is a famous verse that is much quoted. It is about the Lord's first coming and the bringing of the gospel message. That is what the word “gospel” means, “good news.” But there is more than His first coming in these verses. The Lord shall bring Zion back. He shall redeem Jerusalem and comfort His people. That is about the Lord's Second Coming. Jerusalem will have been laid waste by the nations and the destroyer, but she will rejoice in the return of her Savior. The Lord will bare His arm against the nations. To bare one's arm is to roll up your sleeves for a good fight. At that time the entire world will see the salvation of the Lord.

Verses 11-12 “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.”(this word is not a typo of the word “reward”, the word means rearguard or the guard of your backside).

In spite of the mention of Egypt, this section (chapters 40-66) of the book of Isaiah was originally written to foretell the Babylonian captivity, so in that context all the literal first fulfillment passages would be addressing this situation. We have been looking at it from the second future fulfillment position, which is about the end times. Therefore, the countries mentioned may be spiritually referring to another land. In the context of this chapter it is strange, as Babylon is not mentioned even though these chapters address that captivity. It is Egypt that is mentioned. So the question comes, is it talking about Babylon (America) or Egypt? Whichever country it is (and we know that the Jews do come to America to escape the beast), they are told to depart from the country. We do know from previous Scriptures that they are told to come out of Babylon at the end before she is destroyed.

So they are to depart out of “Egypt” or in the case of the fact that it is addressing the Babylonian captivity, to come out of Babylon, and not to touch any “unclean” thing. They are to separate themselves from anything that is spiritually and physically unclean. As the time of this departure will be at a time when the world will be suffering under terrible cataclysms, there will probably be a lot of diseased and dying people, as well as spiritually unclean people around them. They are to keep their distance from them. This is very important because of the following. Now comes an interesting phrase. They bear the vessels of the Lord. This is very important. Right now in Israel, the Temple Institute and the Temple Mount Faithful have been preparing everything for the third temple. From what I have read, all of the temple vessels and accoutrements have been made. This includes not only the candlesticks, bowls, and things like that, but musical instruments, clothing, etc. An altar for sacrifice has been built according to the Law, and there is a foundation stone hewn according to the Law that is dragged up to the Temple Mount several times a year at feast times to try to lay the cornerstone of the new temple. The priests have all been found and trained (Kohanin or Cohens – meaning descendents of Aaron who can be priests. Just being a Levite does not suffice). I understand a red heifer has now been born and may be ready to prepare for the ashes. I hear the temple is pre-fab for easy and quick construction, so there appears to be nothing in the way except permission to build it. Apparently as these vessels and such take a long time to make (they've been at it for years) and they will be needed immediately in the millennial temple, God will see fit to preserve them by removing them from the temple in the tribulation diaspora when they flee. They are to bring them back at the time of the regathering after the tribulation. But this time, unlike when they had to flee for their lives, they will not go back in haste or by flight. They will be following the Lord as He LEADS them back to Jerusalem. And He will also be behind them. One is reminded of the pillar of fire and the cloud that led them out of Egypt. This time Yeshua will be in front, and the Holy Spirit will be in the rear protecting them front and back.

Verses 13-15 “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee, his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men; So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”

God says that His Servant (Yeshua) will deal wisely with all. He will be exalted and praised, as He should have been right from the start. Many will be taken by surprise. Now we see a prophecy that was fulfilled at His first coming. His face was so marred more than any other man. We know from Scripture that Christ was not a comely (handsome) man to begin with. Isaiah 53:2 “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” But now we see that His face is terribly marred. This is from the horrible beating that He received at the time of the crucifixion. Whether those marks still remain as do the nail prints in His hand I do not know. But this tells us that His torture was great at that time. And his form (body) also. His skin was torn off His body right down to the bone. Now it says that the kings will shut their mouths at their astonishment, for what they have not known about Him they shall see with their own eyes and what they haven't heard about Him they will now be forced to consider as truth.

The Beast or Antichrist in the Old Testament Pt.3

In continuing our study of the references in the Old Testament about the antichrist we find a few more verses in the book of Isaiah.

In Isaiah 30 we find another interesting reference we have seen before. In Isaiah 14:29 we saw the verse, “ Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.” It was seen that from Satan would come forth another snake, and from him or alongside him would come the antichrist or the fiery flying serpent. We find the same reference in Isaiah 30. In this chapter, Israel is being chastised for putting their confidence in an alliance with Egypt.

Verses 1- 7 “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that, cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.”

God is calling Israel rebellious children. This is not exactly a new problem. They go and take counsel or make agreements with Egypt against God's explicit command. He has most certainly told them to not do this. They do this to try to strengthen themselves by making allies of Egypt. On the contrary instead of making them strong, it adds to their shame before God and to the confusion of the entire situation in the Middle East. The Egyptians were not really proud of this alliance, but saw it as a reproach on themselves. This certainly speaks for the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt today, which since the recent uprising in Egypt appears to be null and void. And just as it says in verse 7, they will not get any help from the Egyptians in spite of their efforts for peace. There are two ways to interpret who sits still. In the first, God tells Israel that their strength would lie in sitting still and not looking for help from any, but trusting in God which they will not do. In the second, Egypt's strength lies in sitting back and not getting involved even after saying they would. This is how they protect themselves. From a later verse though it would appear that the first interpretation is the more correct. Vs. 15 “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.”

In ancient times, Israel loaded up camels and beasts of burden to carry treasures down to Egypt for the cause of this alliance. Today it is more a case of giving away the land to get a false sense of peace. But notice in verse 6 a curious reference. The young and old lion, and the viper and fiery flying serpent are said to come from Egypt. It has already been discussed that the beast, by virtue of having inhabited all the kings of the seven previous heads of the beast is in turn referred to as coming from each of these lands. This is why it has been so difficult to ascertain exactly from which country the beast of our day will hail. In this passage we are told that both the viper (the cockatrice) and the fiery flying serpent come from the same place, in this case Egypt. It may very well be that the flying serpent is a descendant of the viper, who appears to have been a forerunner of the beast. As Antiochus Epiphanes is the forerunner that Christ refers to in Matthew, it implies that the serpent may be from the same bloodline. The other new reference we are introduced to is the old and young lion. As these two references seem to apply to the same two people as the serpents, we see that the young lion is the same as the fiery flying serpent. This is the second time the beast is referenced as a fiery flying serpent, so it appears it is necessary to consider something that I wished to avoid at this point. The fact is, we know there are fallen angels, demonic spirits, nephilim, and hybrid creatures that exist according to Scripture. In Revelation we are shown that God will allow the release of creatures from the abyss to torture people. The idea of aliens and UFOs has been orchestrated by Satan for purpose. I believe part of the end times deception involves the appearance of these various beings and creatures to convince people that aliens are invading. This seems to be the plan to get people to go along with the idea of a one world government to fight a common foe, the aliens. Much is being done to promote this idea from books, to television shows, to movies, etc. There is a great deal of evidence to support the idea that Satan is reptilian in appearance. It also appears that before the fall he possibly had beautiful wings, of which he was stripped and now he has to crawl around on his belly. This fiery flying serpent may only be of partial human origin. He may be what people will view as an alien, and literally have wings. His serpentine heritage comes from his father THE original serpent of Genesis. At this point, almost anything is possible, so while this is total speculation, it is wise to consider all possibilities, so that when he appears we are not deceived and can reconcile what may appear a completely unexpected circumstance. Most people would never expect something of this nature, but if it is in the back of one's mind as a possibility, one can quickly adapt and accept it as a deception and not be deceived.

Later in verse 31 there is a reference to the beast as the “Assyrian” again. “For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.” This is cross referencing Isaiah 10:5 which said “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.” Now the beast will be beaten down, as he beat others. Verses 32-33 “And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” When the Lord goes to punish the Assyrian, everywhere that the Lord makes him pass through the people will be rejoicing with tabrets (type of tambourine) and harps. It would appear from some research that the term "grounded staff" (we have seen the beast called the staff before) is something scholars have not been able to understand. The word "grounded" is a puzzle to them as it has a meaning of foundation. On one hand it might mean that the entire world government rests on the foundation of this man, so he is the foundation of it. In English it has another connotation. When something that flies is grounded, it flies no more. Satan was grounded when God forced him to now crawl on his belly. This fiery flying serpent may also be stripped of his ability to fly.

The reference to Tophet is to a valley near Jerusalem where fires burned continually to destroy things that were offensive. It is also where people offered their children in the fire to Moloch. It is essentially a reference to the fires of hell or the lake of fire, the latter of which has been prepared to throw the beast into after Armageddon.

The Beast or Antichrist in the Old Testament Pt.2

Continuing on with the various identities of the beast (otherwise known as antichrist) we find what may be a reference to him in Isaiah 16.

Verse 4 “Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. We have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.”

We have seen in previous postings that 1) Moab is a place where Israel runs at the time of the abomination of desolation, 2) Moab escapes out of the beast's hand during that time, and 3) that when the Lord returns and brings Israel back into the land, He will then punish Moab. We had also seen the possibility that the beast has been born in Jordan (Ammon). Remembering that Moab, Edom, and Ammon all now comprise Jordan, the fact that all three escape the beast's hand at that time (Daniel 11:41) indicates that the prophecies addressed to one them most probably is addressed to all of them, as they now are one country.

So we see that Israel dwells with Moab to be hidden from the “spoiler,” and the “extortioner.” We have seen the beast called the spoiler before, but now we add extortioner to his list of names. We know from Daniel that the antichrist will plunder many nations of their treasures, gold, silver, etc. It may be that the way he gets these things is through extortion, just as mobsters extort protection money from small businessmen. As long as they hand over the money, they leave them alone, but the threat of great bodily harm or worse is always there if the money is not turned over to them. This most certainly would fit the personality of this person. We also see that he is called the pride of Moab. This would be a second indication that he comes from Jordan. He is their home boy, so he is their pride and joy, so to speak. Just as any town loves to claim their famous progeny, so Moab is proud of having produced this phenomena. This is a description we have seen used before of the antichrist or beast. In Daniel it says he has a mouth speaking great things (7:8, 20, 25; 11:36-37) and also in Revelation (13:5,6). He is full of pride (Daniel 8:10,11; 11:36-37) and magnifies himself above all gods even to God Himself. We know that the wrath of the beast will be great, as he is the cause of all the horrors of the tribulation and we know he is a liar (Daniel 11:27). All of these descriptions fit this person from Moab, and it tells us the timing is that time when the throne of David is again established, which happens when Christ comes back to reign. We find another clue of the timing of this person's existence by the last verse of this chapter. (16:14) “But now the Lord hath spoken, saying Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, (contemned means despise with mockery or show contempt for) with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.” The time that the beast will reign will be 3 ½ years or by years alone, three years. Within three years from the time he sets up himself in pride, he will brought down. He will be mocked (we saw this from the inhabitants of hell when he joins them in Isaiah 14), as well as destroyed, along with the great multitude that follow him, when the Lord returns. The remnant left over from the Day of the Lord will be very small and weak after this is over. And here we have another name for the beast, “the glory of Moab.” So by all of the clues, it would seem that this pride or glory of Moab being spoken of is the beast.

In Isaiah Chapter 19 we find a reference to the antichrist concerning Egypt. From Daniel 11:42 we know that he will go down and plunder Egypt. “He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.” In Isaiah 19:4 we find a reference to the same event. “And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.” We find one of these same titles used again in Daniel 8:23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences shall stand up.” So we know that the beast will be a cruel and fierce king as well as being of fierce countenance or having a very stern forbidding look about him.

While Isaiah Chapter 20 is a prophecy for the captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia by the ancient king of Assyria, we know that prophecies have dual fulfillments, and we also know that one of the beast's titles is king of Assyria, so we need to see if there is any reason to look at this passage also. From Daniel 11:43 we know that not only Egypt will not escape from his hand, but also Libya and Ethiopia will suffer, so there are now two reasons to consider this chapter. It is a very short chapter, and the gist of it is that Isaiah is told to walk barefoot for three years as a sign to Egypt and Ethiopia of their captivity at the hands of the king of Assyria. Notice again the three year time period as in the previous passage. Also others will look at this event and consider that they should expect the same fate. They do not know how to escape and be delivered from the king of Assyria. vs.3-6 “And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?” This passage then seems to go along with the prophecy in Daniel that says that these countries will suffer under the reign of antichrist. Given that Egypt's government has fallen and now appears to be undergoing a change into a government with the “Muslim brotherhood” (and sharia law) most likely in charge, it would almost seem strange that Egypt would suffer under the beast's reign, as it would appear that the Muslim Mahdi is the beast. The events in Egypt bear watching as do all the countries in the Middle East right now.

The results of the passages studied in these few chapters of Isaiah would appear to show us the following: 1) a confirmation that the beast comes from the Ammon/Moab area, today known as Jordan, and 2) that Egypt and Ethiopia will suffer terribly under his reign. 3) We also saw additional names to add to the list of his monikers – spoiler (again), extortioner, pride of Moab, glory of Moab, king of Assyria (again), a cruel lord, a fierce king, a king of fierce countenance. These things tell us his character as well as some of his actions. He plunders lands and steals their wealth, he extorts their wealth, he is prideful and full of himself, he is the pride of his nation, he is cruel and without compassion, he is fierce and fierce looking, and he takes prisoners from the lands he conquers.

Now we are starting to build a profile of the man which will help us to spot him when he comes on the scene. When we get to the end of the passages, I will compile a list of all the characteristics of the beast.