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What is the Abomination of Desolation?
By Author Eli Kittim
Given that wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, pandemics, and increased lawlessness are not necessarily signs of the prophesied endtimes, since they’re arguably common in human history, there is nevertheless one sign that is unique to the imminent coming of Christ, namely, the sign of *the abomination of desolation* that is mentioned in Mark 13.14!
The Lukan “Desolation” Begins After Jerusalem Is Surrounded by Encamped Armies
The abomination of desolation is also mentioned in Matthew, but in Luke 21.20-21 (NRSV) we get additional information:
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then know that its desolation has
come near. Then those in Judea must flee
to the mountains, and those inside the city
must leave it, and those out in the country
must not enter it.
The key words of the Greek text are κυκλουμένην ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἰερουσαλήμ (Lk 21.20). The term κυκλουμένην means encircled or surrounded. The word ὑπὸ means “by” or “under,” while the word στρατοπέδων is a reference to military bases, camps, or encamped armies. Thus, this verse is explicitly telling us that when you see Jerusalem (Ἰερουσαλήμ) being encircled or surrounded by encamped armies, military bases or camps, “know that its desolation has come near.”
Luke further warns that when the inhabitants first see the encircled armies, “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24.15-16 similarly says:
So when you see the desolating sacrilege
standing in the holy place, as was spoken of
by the prophet Daniel [9.27] (let the reader
understand), then those in Judea must flee
to the mountains.
So what Matthew calls “the desolating sacrilege,” Luke calls *surrounding armies* which bring about Jerusalem’s desolation. The so-called “holy place” may simply be a general reference to the Holy Land, especially since there is no Temple in Israel at present, nor is one expected in the foreseeable future, given that the erection of a Jewish Temple would necessitate the demolition of both the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqṣā Mosque.
When Daniel refers to the Antichrist, saying that “at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation” (9.27), it could be a reference to a nuclear warhead that might be stored or set up on the *Temple Mount,* a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that is traditionally venerated as a holy site by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. The Temple Mount can certainly be referred to as a “holy place” (or as “the temple” for short). Continuing with the narrative, Matthew 24.21 (cf. Dan. 12.1) says:
For at that time there will be great suffering
[great tribulation], such as has not been
from the beginning of the world until now,
no, and never will be.
So, this “desolation” is an obvious reference to weapons of war and mass destruction, not to some sort of benign religious ritual that takes place inside a literal temple, as most Christian interpretations would have it. In other words, it isn’t simply offensive to religious sensibilities but rather deadly, lethal, and destructive. And this particular meaning would certainly conform to the usage of the term “desolation” in Scripture (see e.g. Ezek. 15.8; 33.29; Dan. 9.18; Zech. 7.14; Mt. 23.38). After all, the dictionary meaning of the word “desolation” is utter devastation, ruin, and destruction, or a barren wasteland.
Similarly, the definition of the word “sacrilege” is a violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred. This can certainly take the form of irreverence to sacred places. Nuclear weapons stored at a sacred site——like the Temple Mount, for example——would be a sacrilege (cf. Dan. 11.31). Such an act would be an abomination, that is to say, something that is decidedly disgraceful and horrific.
For those who are unsure as to whether the abomination of desolation already happened or not (i.e. whether it’s past or future), see my article “Preterism Debunked”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/633828381376544768/preterism-debunked
Is Zechariah Describing a Nuclear Attack Similar to that of Ezekiel 38 & 39?
There is a passage in Zechariah 14 that explicitly refers to the end-time when God will finally reign supreme (v. 9):
the Lord will become king over all the earth;
on that day the Lord will be one and his
name one.
Zechariah 14 is seemingly talking about the same climactic time-period that Matthew & Luke are describing. For example, Zechariah 14.1-2 mentions a unique “day [that] is coming” (cf. v.4 “On that day”) when God “will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle.” It issues the same caveat that we find in Luke, including a near verbal agreement, namely, that “you shall flee by the valley of the Lord's mountain” (v. 5) at that time (cf. Lk 21.21). In other words, it’s warning people to escape the blast radius. If that is the case, then it would be appropriate to discuss the aftereffects of that war as described by Scripture itself (Zech. 14.12):
This shall be the plague [blow] with which
the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage
war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot
[or dissolve] while they are still on their feet;
their eyes shall rot [dissolve] in their
sockets, and their tongues shall rot
[dissolve] in their mouths.
These are obviously the consequences of a nuclear explosion that cannot be explained by natural disasters or physical illnesses, as, for example, when people’s flesh disintegrates instantaneously before they can even hit the floor. Something similar happened when the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No wonder this period is called the Great tribulation (Mk 13.19; cf. Mt. 24.21; Rev. 8.7), and it’s no surprise that “in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Mk 13.24; cf. Joel 2.31)! Jerusalem will become a *barren wasteland,* as we’ve often seen in such post-apocalyptic films as Mad Max, The Book of Eli, & The Matrix (see 2 Pet. 3.10).
Luke’s pericope also reminds us of the Ezekiel 38 War in which many nations will come against Israel in the latter days (vv. 8-9):
in the latter years you shall go against a
land restored from war, a land where people
were gathered from many nations on the
mountains of Israel, which had long lain
waste; . . . You shall advance, coming on
like a storm; you shall be like a cloud
covering the land, you and all your troops,
and many peoples with you.
Incidentally, there are mentions in Ezekiel 38 & 39 that could be taken as references to a nuclear blast (see e.g. Ezekiel 38.19-20; 39.6-9).
For further details, see my paper “HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO THE GOG MAGOG WAR AND ARMAGEDDON?”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/132189853492/how-close-are-we-to-the-gog-magog-war-and
Conclusion
Most Biblical commentators view the abomination of desolation as a “religious” sacrilege, akin to the one perpetrated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167 bce when he outlawed Jewish rites and desecrated the Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus, according to 2 Maccabees 6.1–12. But today there is no Temple standing in Jerusalem! And although the future *sacrilege* that the gospel writers described certainly has religious overtones——given that the entire event seems to take place on or around the Temple Mount (which is historically considered sacred)——nevertheless it causes utter destruction and devastation, so much so that people have to run for their lives.
So, the answer to our original question (what is the abomination of desolation?) is, most probably, nuclear warheads that will be placed, and subsequently detonated, on the Temple Mount. This would certainly constitute the most horrible sacrilege in history.
Therefore, it’s important to watch the war that is currently taking place in Israel. Jerusalem is said to be the epicenter of the final global conflict that initiates the Great Tribulation! It is this unique sign, then, that heralds the imminent coming of Messiah! And the *Temple Mount,* which continues to be the center of much controversy, should be the focus of attention!
🚫 Millennialism Debunked
By Eli Kittim
The Contradictions of Millennialism
Millennialism is a belief that there will be a paradise here on earth before the final judgment. There are, of course, various scriptural discrepancies within this view, as I have often pointed out in my other papers. For example, how will people live here on earth if the earth itself will be destroyed in a great conflagration? 2 Pet. 3.10 reads:
“the heavens will pass away with a loud
noise, and the elements will be dissolved
with fire.”
Besides, there are other contradictions. For instance, how could the same people who would not be resurrected “until the thousand years were completed” (Rev. 20.5) simultaneously live and reign with Christ for a millennium? (Rev. 20.4). They cannot be both dead and alive at the same time! There are other contradictions as well. For example, Millennialism directly contradicts scripture by implying that there will be at least 2 additional comings of Christ, 2 appearances by Satan, 2 Great Wars, 2 Great tribulations, 2 resurrections, 2 apocalypses, 2 Armageddons, 2 judgments, 2 Great Ends, and so on. This is preposterous. In Scripture, there is only one of each. Scripture mentions only one resurrection (Dan. 12.2) and only one Armageddon (Rev. 16.16)! Where else does it mention a second resurrection or a second Armageddon? Besides, 1 Thess. 4.17 says that after the rapture “we will be with the Lord forever,” not just for 1,000 years. And the Book of Daniel is clear that both the Saved and the Damned will be resurrected simultaneously, not successively (12.2). Therefore, this DOUBLING of scriptural events is unwarranted and without merit! It is worth mentioning that the doctrine of millennialism was formally condemned at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 AD.
Millennialism Repeats Events a Second Time; But Revelation is Recording Single Events
The same event that is mentioned in Ezekiel 38 is repeated in Revelation 20. The endtime Gog/Magog war that Satan is said to unleash at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20.8) is the exact same Gog/Magog war that is mentioned in Ezekiel 38, which is also alluded to in Luke 21.20! The Book of Revelation isn’t saying that the exact same Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel will repeat 1,000 years later. That’s ridiculous. It’s actually talking about one and the same Gog-Magog war; not 2. In fact, the phrase that is used to indicate that Satan will be released “for a little while” (Rev 20.3) is actually a reference to the Great Tribulation, which only lasts for “a little while,” namely, only 3 and a half years, or 42 months, or 1,260 days, or a time, and times, and half a time (cf. Rev. 11.2; 12.6, 14; 13.5)!
Moreover, the narrative in Rev 19 & 20 is basically telling the reader what will happen when God no longer restrains Satan (see 2 Thess 2.7)——that is, when the restrainer is removed——and the Antichrist is finally revealed at the end of a thousand years. That’s when Satan will be unleashed, once and for all, to wreak havoc “for a little while” (i.e. for 3 and a half years, during the Great Tribulation)!
Why would the Book of Revelation REPEAT the exact same story TWICE, like the film “Edge Of Tomorrow”? Why would Satan (Incarnated; Rev. 12.9) come out TWICE “to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth [from the exact same location, Gog & Magog (Ezekiel 38)] in order to gather them for the [exact same] battle” (Rev. 20.7-9)? And why is it that “fire came down from heaven and consumed them” (Rev 20.9) exactly as it did in Ezekiel 38.22? And why is it that they “surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city” exactly as they did in Luke 21.20? Are you kidding me? What is this, a repeat of “Groundhog Day”?
There’s an Interpretive Mixup: Millennialists Conflate Scenes that Occur Before 1,000 Years with Scenes that Occur After 1,000 Years
If Jesus appears BEFORE the millennium on a white horse, and the beast and his armies are killed, and the beast is then captured and “thrown alive into the lake of fire” (Rev 19.19-21), then how does Satan manage to escape “the lake of fire” and mount a comeback? Notice that following Christ’s FIRST encounter with the Beast, BEFORE the millennium (Rev. ch. 20), the Beast was captured & immediately “thrown alive into the lake of fire” (Rev. ch. 19)! But the lake of fire is the second death! It’s game over! No one survives the lake of fire and comes back to to tell stories about it. That’s another red flag. It would be a scriptural contradiction to state that AFTER being “thrown into the lake of fire,” the Antichrist escaped and mounted a comeback. That would constitute a scriptural contradiction. Notice the description of the “lake of fire” in Rev. 20.14:
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the
lake of fire.”
This event is final! It is the final separation of life and death. So, it’s completely bogus to say that Satan survived the lake of fire in chapter 19 & came back physically to fulfill chapter 20. It’s complete nonsense! Moreover, Satan’s activities in Rev. 20 suggest that he’s incarnate, otherwise how does a nonphysical being fight a war on earth? Besides, Rev. 12.9 tells us that Satan will be incarnated on earth! So, the Millennialists are mixing apples with oranges. They’re conflating scenes that happen BEFORE the 1,000 years (Rev. 19) with scenes that take place AFTER the 1,000 years (Rev. 20)! And if the description in Rev 20.10—-concerning what happens to Satan AFTER the supposed 1,000 years——turns out to be the exact same version of Rev 19.20—-about what happens to Satan BEFORE the 1,000 years——then we obviously have one story, not two!
Conclusion
The Bible never mentions the alleged “thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.” Only 2 verses mention those who “reigned with Christ a thousand years.” These are temporal signs that reveal the timing of Christ’s coming and of the apocalyptic events! In other words, when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be loosed for a little while (a reference to the 3 and a half year Great Tribulation). Then, the resurrection will occur, followed by the rapture, and the believers will henceforth reign with Christ forever!
The Antichrist is Russian: Not Assyrian, Muslim, Or Jewish
By Independent Researcher 🎓 Eli Kittim
The Connection Between Daniel’s 4 empires & Russia
Daniel chapters 2 & 7 show 4 super empires, the last of which will last until the end of the world. According to history, we know that the first was Babylon (gold), the second was Medo-Persia (silver), the third was Greece (bronze), and the fourth was Rome (iron), which had 2 legs (representing East & West). Then, Daniel says that the 10 toes represent the final phase of that same empire (i.e. a revived Roman Empire), which the endtimes Christ will smash to pieces. We also know that the 2 legs of the Roman Empire were Rome and Constantinople. Rome (West) was sacked and conquered in the 5th century AD and ceased to be an empire. There was no western Roman Empire in the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries. According to Voltaire, “The Holy Roman Empire [of the 9th century] was neither Holy nor Roman, nor an Empire.” In fact, according to Wiki, “The exact term ‘Holy Roman Empire’ was not used until the 13th century.” So, the only remaining and legitimate Roman empire was the one at Constantinople, namely, the Eastern Roman Empire, aka Byzantium (East). So far, we are still talking about the 2 iron legs of Daniel’s composite statue. Then, in 1453, the Turks sacked Constantinople, and most of the Byzantine elites fled north to Moscow, where Moscow became the third Rome.
Chuck Missler pointed out that most commentators think that the Antichrist will come from the west (Rome), that is Europe, but they neglect the Eastern leg of the Roman Empire, namely Constantinople. And he was right. The Antichrist comes from the eastern part of the Roman Empire that moved to Moscow! In addition, Ivan the Great adopted the official emblem of the Byzantine Monarchy: the double-headed eagle. He then went on to marry Sophia Paleologue, the niece of the final Byzantine ruler Constantine XI. In the aftermath of the Ottoman Turks’ conquest of the Eastern Roman Empire and in an effort to salvage the last vestiges of Christianity, Ivan designated Moscow as the Third Rome in 1497 A.D. In effect, Moscow became the offspring of the Roman Empire; heirs to the legacy. Russia, then, becomes the link of the little horn (Antichrist) to the Roman Empire (cf. Daniel 7:7-8 f.). Ivan even called himself Tsar, which means “Caesar.” And he inherited all the symbols of Byzantium, including the Greek Orthodox Church. Russia is therefore the continuation of Daniel’s empires, or the revived Roman Empire after the 2 proverbial iron legs collapsed.
Mind you, Daniel only mentions a revived Roman Empire out of which the little horn will come. He doesn’t mention any Muslim or Assyrian nations. He doesn’t mention anything about a Jewish antichrist. For proper exegesis, we have to stick to the text of Daniel, not to what people are currently adding to it. And Daniel only alludes to a revived Roman Empire. So the notion of an Assyrian, Muslim, or Jewish antichrist is foreign to the text and completely bogus and misinformed.
Moreover, we know that the book of Daniel is referring to the endtimes——and that this revived Roman Empire will appear in the last days——because Daniel 12.4 talks explicitly about the endtimes, while Daniel 12.1 mentions the great tribulation which will be the worst event that has ever occurred on planet earth, and one that has not yet happened. We also know that the 10 final leaders will fight Jesus Christ (Rev. 17.14) and that the Antichrist will be annihilated by Christ himself at his coming (see 2 Thess. 2.8). So the little horn of Daniel is definitely a future antichrist!
The 7 empires of Revelation 17
Just to recap, Revelation 17.9-13 says that there will be 7 empires until the end of time. There will also be an 8th, but because it’s part of the seven, it’s not counted as an 8th. So let’s enumerate them. It’s not Assyria or Egypt, as some unskilled interpreters suggest. Daniel doesn’t mention them at all. Historically, the 7 empires are as follows: 1) Babylon, 2) Medo-Persia, 3) Greece, 4) Rome, 5) Constantinople, 6) Moscow, 7) Soviet Union (USSR), 8) Russian Federation, which is part of the 7, and is therefore still part of the 7th empire. And all this takes place in the endtimes because Rev. 17.14 says:
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and
the Lamb will overcome them.”
Remember that John “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1.10), not physically in the body. And he heard and saw visions pertaining to the day of the Lord. So when he says——there “are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while,” (Rev. 17.10)——the one that exists (or the “one [that] is”) during this prophetic time period that John sees is not Rome (which was the 4th empire), but rather the 6th (Moscow)! Why Russia? Because John is “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1.10). He is showing us where the Antichrist comes from. He is giving us a prophetic clue. That’s exactly why the 7th empire “has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while.” That would be the USSR, which remained a little while, approximately only 70 years. Here’s the passage in Rev. 17: 9-14:
“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains upon
which the woman sits, and they are seven
kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has
not yet come; and when he comes, he must
remain a little while. The beast which was,
and is not, is himself also an eighth and is
one of the seven, and he goes to
destruction. The ten horns which you saw
are ten kings who have not yet received a
kingdom, but they receive authority as kings
with the beast for one hour. These have one
purpose, and they give their power and
authority to the beast. These will wage war
against the Lamb, and the Lamb will
overcome them because He is Lord of lords
and King of kings.”
The 10 toes at the bottom of Daniel’s statue represent the 10 leaders that will emerge out of this revived Roman Empire. And the 7th great superpower that emerged out of Russia was the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, 3 more figures emerged, totalling 10 leaders, plus an 11th (Putin), exactly as foretold in Daniel’s prophecy (Dan 7.19-22). The “three of the previous horns [that] were plucked out” (Dan. 7.8) represent the 3 leaders of the Russian Federation which came out of Soviet Russia.
The 10 Kings of Daniel 7.20 & Revelation 17.12
From its inception in 1917 until 1991, the Soviet Union had 8 leaders:
1) Vladimir Lenin
2) Joseph Stalin
3) Georgy Malenkov
4) Nikita Khrushchev
5) Leonid Brezhnev
6) Yuri Andropov
7) Konstantin Chernenko
8) Mikhail Gorbachev
The succeeding Russian Federation has only had 3 leaders since its formation on December 25, 1991 (cf. Daniel 7.8):
9) Boris Yeltsin
10) Dmitry Medvedev
11) Vladimir Putin
There you have it. Putin is the 11th horn (the 11th king) of Daniel 7.20, “to make room for which three [kings] . . . fell out” (emphasizing the last 3 leaders of the new federal republic that arose out of the former USSR)!
Ezekiel 38: The War of Gog & Magog
We have much more evidence that Ezekiel 38 is referring to Russia not only because of historical studies but also because of the language that is used in the Septuagint, not to mention the evidence from Josephus and other historians linking the inhabitants of Magog to the Scythians. The evidence pointing to Russia is overwhelming. For further evidence, see the following article:
What’s more, Ezekiel 38 talks about Russia invading countries in the last days, the so-called Gog/Magog war. That’s why the Septuagint (LXX) of Ezekiel 38.2 has the words Ρώς and Μοσόχ that stand for Ρωσία and Μόσχα in Greek, which are translated as Russia and Moscow respectively! Thus, it’s the Eastern rather than the Western leg of the Roman Empire that is considered to be Daniel’s Revived Roman Empire of Bible Prophecy, which was supplanted by Russia after the fall of Byzantium in 1453. And, as I have shown, Russia is also the final empire of Revelation 17, the one with the aforementioned ten kings!
This is the most accurate exegetical explanation of the 10 horns (which also includes the 11th horn, the Antichrist) and the only one that fits with all the details in the prophecies of Daniel 2 & 7, Ezekiel 38, Luke 21, and Revelation 12 & 17. That’s why the final empire is depicted as a red 7-headed dragon with 10 horns in Revelation 12. It’s the exact same Red Empire of the USSR that has morphed and continues to the present day. See the second seal of revelation, the red horse, which represents the Russian empire that will take peace away from the earth by starting world war 3!
Besides the fact that this position solves the biblical puzzle completely, one can also see that the current events fit perfectly as well. Russia is allied with Turkey, Iran, and many Muslim nations, just as prophesied in Ezekiel 38, and Putin has begun his military invasion of the west and is repeatedly threatening **nuclear war.** in fact, in New York City, ads about what to do in case of a nuclear explosion have begun to be seen on television. You have to be literally asleep not to notice that Putin is the person who has begun to invade countries and threaten **nuclear war,** and that a Russian Antichrist has already been foretold in the Bible! Daniel 8.23 calls the Antichrist “a master of intrigue,” while Daniel 8.25 refers to him as “a master of deception,” obviously implying that he’s trained in secret plans, underhand plots and schemes. In short, a spy! So, you can, in effect, hold the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, and they match!
Not to notice either the Bible prophecies or the current geopolitical situation of the world, and the constant threat of nuclear war, is equal to being completely ignorant and misinformed! Now let’s look at some faulty and erroneous interpretations that are not based on Daniel or Revelation, or on the canonical context. I will not even bother refuting the Seventh-Day Adventist position——that the Antichrist is the Pope and that the Mark of the Beast is Sunday-observance of the Sabbath——since it is too ridiculous for any one to take seriously, and also because it falls of its own accord.
The Assyrian vs. the Russian Antichrist
The Bible never links the Antichrist to a Muslim country. All lines of evidence link him to a revived Roman Empire. In Isaiah 10.5, for example, the text uses the term Asshur (Assyria)——which once invaded the northern kingdom of Israel——as a type, or symbol, of the final Antichrist who will invade Israel in the latter years (see Ezek. 38). The Bible uses a typology to indicate that an Assyrian-like figure will invade the land. Not that he is literally Assyrian. This is demonstrated in the Book of Isaiah, which shows that the title Assyrian does not refer to a person from the land of Assyria. In this particular verse, the so-called Assyrian is actually an Egyptian Pharaoh who is said to have oppressed the Hebrews while they were in Egypt. Isaiah 52.4 reads: “My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.” You can’t just take a literal historical figure in the Bible and claim they are the Antichrist. That is not a credible exegesis. If that were so, then we can equally say that Cyrus was the messiah, and not Jesus Christ. Cyrus is called God’s anointed in Isaiah 45.1. Besides, the name Asshur or Assyrian may be a cryptic *anagram* for Russia, or for the word Russian. The word Asshur can also be used as a semordnilap, a word that has a different meaning when read in reverse (or backwards). For example, Asshur in reverse is Ruhssa (i.e. Russia)! Today, the idea that Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Turkey will become superpowers and take over the world is not taken seriously. They don’t fit the bill. They’re neither Roman, nor do they have the necessary qualifications (11 kings). Yet Revelation 13 says that the Antichrist will conquer, subjugate, and control the entire world. Only a superpower like Russia, allied with many powers, such as China, can achieve these aims. Moreover, the Biblical evidence always points to Russia, as I have already demonstrated! There are many hermeneutical mistakes in the Assyrian interpretation. For example, Daniel never mentions any other kingdom in connection to the little horn besides the Roman Empire (see Daniel 7.23-25). Still others argue that the antichrist comes from the 3rd kingdom (the Hellenistic empire). But the Hellenistic connection in Daniel 8 simply points back to Byzantium because *tiny Thrace* (the symbol of the little horn with its ruler General Lysimachus) later became the seat of the Byzantine Romans, namely, Constantinople. So we’re back to Daniel 7 again. These interpreters confuse the details with the big picture, as well as Daniel’s chronological sequence of succeeding empires. Daniel chapter 8 is simply *zooming in* to give us some specific details. But Daniel chapters 2 & 7 give us *the big picture* and cannot be ignored because they clearly indicate a 4th kingdom that will arise AFTER Greece, out of which the little horn will come (Dan. 7.24)!
And modern day Iran is not Assyria. Both names (Assyria & Persia) are clearly distinguished in the Old Testament as 2 separate and distinct nations. Assyria (not Persia) is the nation that attacked the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:3–6), while Iran is called Persia, not Assyria, in Ezek. 38.5! Today, both Syria and Iraq (which were once part of ancient Assyria) are in ruins. Neither one of them is a superpower that can take over the world (Rev 13). Many interpreters are deliberately ignoring the Book of Daniel, which speaks of the little horn coming out of one of the 2 legs of the Roman Empire. Daniel doesn’t imply anything other than the Roman empire. To add extra-Biblical material about “Muslims” (which are not in the text) is not a proper methodology. And these misleading interpreters don’t know history either, how, for instance, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, Moscow became the Third Rome. Moscow adopted the Byzantine customs, rituals & religion, as well as the doubleheaded eagle as their insignia, & the Russian leaders called themselves czars, which means “Caesar.” In fact, the double-headed eagle, which has Byzantine antecedents, is still in the coat of arms of Russia!
That’s why the Septuagint (LXX) of Ezekiel 38.2 has the words Ρώς and Μοσόχ in Greek that stand for Ρωσία and Μόσχα, which are translated as Russia and Moscow respectively! This is the nation that will invade Israel and conquer it “in the last days” (Ezek. 38.16). So, the interpreters who advance the theory of an Assyrian Antichrist are obviously ignorant of the historical studies that link this great end-times Ezekiel 38 invasion to Russia!
There are many other prophecies that support Ezek. 38, and link Russia to the 7-headed dragon with 10 horns (cf. Rev. 12), just as the sequence of Daniel’s empires leads to a seventh and final empire in Rev. 17. Starting from Babylon in Daniel 2, the USSR was the 7th empire, and there have been 10 leaders since Lenin, with Putin being the 11th, the so-called little horn. Hence why these “ten kings receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour [one century]” (Rev. 17.12)! That’s the last days seven-headed empire with 10 horns. Which other nation can fit the bill? None! Once you have the pieces of the exegetical puzzle together, you can zero in on the Antichrist!
The 10 Horns Are 10 Human Kings (not 10 Spirits)
Then there are some who have proposed that the 10 kings are not Humans but Spirits. However, both Dan. 7.9 & 7.11 do not refer to a spirit but rather to a human being that is represented by a “horn” (in this case, the little horn). In fact, in Daniel 7.24, in the Old Testament, Daniel asks the angel what the 10 horns are. Here’s the angel’s reply:
“As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten
kings shall arise, and another shall arise
after them.”
Notice that they don’t come out of different kingdoms but out of the same kingdom. Moreover, the 10 horns represent 10 actual kings, not 10 spirits. This is multiply attested in the New Testament as well. In Rev 17.12-14, the angel provides an interpretation in which the 10 kings are not only human but they will also go to war against Christ:
“And the ten horns that you saw are ten
kings who have not yet received a kingdom,
but they are to receive authority as kings for
one hour, together with the beast. These
are united in yielding their power and
authority to the beast; they will make war
on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer
them, for he is Lord of lords and King of
kings.”
Moreover, in referring to the figure that we call the Antichrist, Daniel 7.20 describes an actual human being, not a spirit, who will control the earth for 3 and a half years (cf. Rev. 11.2; 13.5). What is more, Daniel 7.25 is rather explicit that it’s a male figure (not a spirit) who will blaspheme God and who will persecute the faithful:
“He shall speak words against the Most
High, shall wear out the holy ones of the
Most High, and shall attempt to change the
sacred seasons and the law; and they shall
be given into his power for a time, two
times, and half a time.”
Further evidence can be found in Revelation 13.18, which tells us that 666 is the number of a human being. It says that 666 is the number of ἀνθρώπου (a human being/ not a spirit, which would have been “pneuma” in Koine Greek if that were the case). And it also refers to him as a male figure (αὐτοῦ), which is a personal/possessive pronoun, genitive masculine 3rd person singular (him/his).
So we’re talking about a man, not a spirit. Second Thessalonians 2.3 calls him the “lawless one” who will be revealed on the world stage, and verse 2.4 goes on to say “that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.” These are actual events that will take place by a real ipso facto human being (the so-called “Antichrist”; 1 Jn 2.18).
Conclusion
The 7 heads are seven empires, the last of which is Russia, which, according to Ezekiel 38, will invade Israel with a large coalition. Watch this short video:
This invasion is also prophesied in Zechariah 14 and Luke 21 as well. Astonishingly, the incumbent president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, came to power at the turn of the century, in 1999 [666], which also marks the end of a thousand-year period. This important timeframe coincides with a Biblical prophecy in which the Antichrist will not appear “until the thousand years . . . [have] ended” (Rev. 20.3, 7-8)!
So when you see references to the red 7-headed dragon with 10 horns, for example, in Revelation 12, it is a reference to Russia as the final superpower that will dominate the world and create a New World Order (Rev 13)!