Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz at Israel 365 News recently took the time to write an article and conduct an interview about the Jewish antichrist, Armilus.
The similarities with what the Bible says about the “antichrist” or “beast” or “worthless shepherd” are curious and striking.
Let’s compare and contrast…
1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
2,000 years ago, John tells us the spirit of the Antichrist was already on the scene. By the way our current world is trending, it appears that spirit is getting stronger and gaining power.
“This is a character if you ask most Jewish people, even observant ones who learn and study Torah, even Kabbalah, they’ve never heard of this individual. And yet we see this character called Armilus that the siddur is saying, by the way, be wary of this individual.” -Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
The earliest reliable authority to describe Armilus is Rav Saadia Gaon, the 10th-century head of the Babylonian academies, in the eighth chapter of his Emunot v’De’ot (Beliefs and Opinions). Rabbi Hajioff explained that Saadia Gaon describes a figure who appears just before the revelation of Mashiach ben David, the Messiah descended from King David.
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The Hebrew texts of the early medieval period fill in the portrait. The Sefer Zerubbavel (Book of Zerubbabel), composed in the seventh century, describes a marble statue of a beautiful woman in Rome, with whom Satan will cohabit to produce Armilus, a cruel tyrant who rules the world and marches on Jerusalem with nine other kings. The Midrash Vayosha describes him as a deformed figure, bald, with one large eye and one small, deaf in his right ear and maimed in his right arm.
Let’s look at a comparison of Armilus from the paragraph above and the “beast” or “worthless shepherd” from the Bible.
Revelation 13:3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.
Is this a fake death and false resurrection? Or does the antichrist really die and come back to life?
…as if it had been slain, “as if” or hos in the original Greek per Strong’s Concordance means: comparative, as, like, even as, etc.
The word for “slain” is sphazo. It means: to slay, slaughter, butcher to put to death by violence, or mortally wounded. Sphazo is the same word used to describe the death of Christ on the cross in Revelation 5:12 …Worthy is the Lamb that was slain… It is also the same word used to describe how Cain killed his brother Abel in 1 John 3:12.
… and his fatal wound was healed.
The word for “wound” in the original Greek is plege. It also means: blow or stripe. The wound is described as “fatal” or thanatos. The meaning of thanatos is as follows: the death of the body; that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by which the life on earth is ended; with the implied idea of future misery in hell; the power of death.
The antichrist or beast appears to be dead or literally, physically dies. Then, therapeuo, he is healed, cured, and restored to health.
There are two other verses in Revelation that allude to this “resurrection” event as well. They are reminders of what happened previously in 13:3-4.
Revelation 13:12b …And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
Revelation 13:14b … to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.
Does the antichrist beast demonstrate a resurrection from the dead? The bottom line, the event is convincing.
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Who is the worthless shepherd in Zechariah 11?
Zechariah 11:16-17 For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves. Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!”
Biblical Scholars have connected the dots from the “worthless shepherd” in Zechariah 11 to the “beast” in Revelation 13. Many scholars think this is the same person.
Both Armilus and the “worthless shepherd” have worthless right arms.
However Armilus is deaf in the right ear. But the “worthless shepherd” is blind in the right eye.
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Armilus, a cruel tyrant who rules the world and marches on Jerusalem with nine other kings.
Armilus plus nine equals 10 kings. Where have we heard that before?
Daniel 7:24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.
Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
Revelation 17:12 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.
Daniel 7, Revelation 13, and Revelation 17 are the same time period, same beast/kingdom, and same beast/antichrist.
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In these accounts, Armilus claims to be the Messiah and even God, and the descendants of Esau, meaning Christian Rome, accept him.
Jesus Himself warns others of a person who will come and claim to be God and make this proclamation in the temple.
Matthew 24:15 So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)… See also Mark 13:14
The Apostle Paul confirms Jesus is teachings.
2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Daniel, who Jesus quotes, has plenty to say about this future tyrant.
Daniel 11:36 And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
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Armilus also appears in the Aramaic translation of the Bible.
Isaiah 11:4 “But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and He shall smite the land with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.”
Where the Hebrew says rasha, “the wicked one,” the Targum attributed to Yonatan ben Uziel names him: “Armilus the wicked.” The Messiah descended from David kills him with words alone.
The New Testament has references to Jesus and the power of his mouth. There is power in His breath and the sword from His mouth.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
Revelation 19:15 And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Revelation 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse.
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Scholars connect Armilus to Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome. Rabbi Hajioff cited a kabbalistic source holding that the gematria (Hebrew numerical value) of Armilus equals that of Melech Romi, “king of Rome.” The letters of Armilus total 347, while Melech Romi totals 346, so the match works only with the kolel, the traditional practice of adding one for the word itself.
Many Christian scholars think the beast or antichrist will emerge from the west or the ancient Roman Empire.
I would submit the beast or antichrist will emerge from Greek Empire roots. The Roman Empire and Greek Empire overlap in places of geography.
However, Rome or modern day Italy was not part of the ancient Greek Empire. Modern day Greece is the country furthest west in the Greek Empire. This is suggestive the antichrist will not come from western Europe.
The world is aware of a coming antichrist, a really evil leader. The world is also looking for a savior to solve all its problems. The issue will be the world will confuse the bad guy for the good guy.
And he (the beast, the worthless shepherd, or Armilus if you like) will deceive many…
Daniel 8:23-25 “In the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue. His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people. And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence…
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