Tanak Foundations-Concepts on the Natzal (Rapture)-Part 27

After the False Messiah takes control of Europe he enters into a military treaty with Israel, now that the USA is gone (Dan 9.27). Russia has already attacked the USA (nuclear) and later they will attack Europe in a conventional war, not nuclear, because they want Europe intact. This treaty will strengthen his military position also. This treaty will be for a “shavuah” (seven years) but after three and a half years he will turn on Israel, put an end to the korbanot (offerings) and set up the Abomination of Desolation and declare himself God (2 Thes 2).

Now, remember, we talked about the False Messiah being one of the seven, but is himself also an eighth (Rev 17.11). This concept can also be seen in Micah 5.5. When the Assyrian (Russia) invades Israel (Ezek 38-39), Israel will raise against Assyria “seven shepherds and eight princely men.” We started out with ten kings or “shepherds”, but how do we end up with seven kings or shepherds?

The False Messiah has ten rulers with him at the start of the Birth-pains. By the halfway point there are only seven rulers and there are a number of passages that show this. Dan 7.7-8 tells us we had ten horns, then a “little horn” arises among them and three horns are pulled out, leaving seven. If you add the little horn (False Messiah) it gives you eight kings, rulers or shepherds.

Dan 7.19-20 basically tells us the same thing. You have ten horns, then a little horn arises and three horns fall or are subdued, leaving seven. The little horn (False Messiah) gives you eight kings, rulers or shepherds. Dan 7.24 says the same thing. Dan 7.25 tells us about the False Messiah who will speak out against the Lord and he will make changes in “times” (festivals) and “law” (Torah). They (the tzadikim/saints/true believers) will be given into his hands for a time (one year), times (two years) and a half a time (six months), for a total of three and a half years, which is the second half of the Birth-pains. This equals 1260 days or 42 months on the biblical calendar.

The False Messiah will make war with the tzadikim (saints), so who are the “saints?” They are the ones who have become believers since the resurrection of the righteous (Natzal/Rapture) on Rosh Ha Shanah, year 6001 from creation. We have had three and a half years for many to become believers in Yeshua, including the nation of Israel. Many non-Jews will be questioning the False Messiah and start to check everything out. Eventually, the lies of the False Messiah will not be believed by everyone.

So, what happened to the three horns of Dan 7.7-8, 19-20, 24? Zech 11.8 says, “I dismissed the three shepherds (kings) in one month. My soul loathed them and their soul also abhorred me.” In the Peshat (literal) level, this is referring to the removal of some civil or religious authorities, but it alludes to the removal of three rulers who were initially with the False Messiah in the Sowd (secret) level.

Rev 13.1 says, “Then I stood on the sand of the sea and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.” In this passage, the ten crowns represent the rulers, and the ten horns represent the country. But when we see the same beast in Rev 12.1-3 there are seven crowns. This is another piece of evidence that Revelation is not written in chronological order. Rev 12.3 says, “And another sign appeared in heaven; behold, a great fiery red dragon having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns on his head.” We have lost three “shepherds” (kings, rulers).

Now, there is an important passage in Mic 5.5-6 that we want to look at. It says, “When the Assyrian comes into our land (this is Russia/Gog and Magog), and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princely men. They will waste with the sword the land of Assyria (Russia/Gog and Magog), and the land of Nimrod at its entrances (borders); thus he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and when he treads within our borders.” As a side note, H.A. Ironside, the head of Moody Bible Institute wrote a book in 1913 identifying Assyria as Gog and Magog.

We see two things here. The False Messiah and Europe will not be allowed to help Israel much when Russia attacks Israel. We will show you why, using an example from ancient history when Assyria invaded Israel. The False Messiah may try to help Israel but will be stopped by Yehovah. Secondly, we see that the False Messiah will attack the land of Gog and Magog (Russia) as seen in our Mic 5.5-6 passage about Assyria, and in Ezek 39.6. In other words, when Gog and Magog (Assyria/Russia) comes into the land, Israel will call on the False Messiah and Europe for help, based on the military treaty they have with them, but Yehovah will not let them help (Dan 9.27).

Isa 30.1-7 tells us that Israel was not to seek help from Egypt (Europe) and Pharaoh (False Messiah) because it is in vain. God will cause Egypt to sit idle. The key to understanding why God will not allow Europe and the False Messiah to help when Russia attacks can be found in a story by Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, Book 10, Chapter 1.4. It talks about the time when Assyria invaded Israel in the time of Hezekiah and Sennacherib.

Josephus writes, “About the same time also the king of Assyria wrote an epistle to Hezekiah, in which he said he was a foolish man in supposing that he should escape from being his servant, since he had already brought under many and great nations; and he threatened, that, when he took him he would utterly destroy him, unless he now opened the gates, and willingly received his army into Jerusalem. When he had read this epistle, he despised it, on account of the trust that he had in God; but he rolled up the epistle, and laid it up within the Temple; and as he made his further prayers to God for the city, and for the preservation of all the people, the prophet Isaiah said that God had heard his prayer, and that he should not at this time be besieged by the king of Assyria; that for the future he might be secure of not being at all disturbed by him; and that the people might go on peacefully, and without fear, with their husbandry and other affairs; but after a little while, the king of Assyria, when he had failed of his treacherous designs against the Egyptians, returned home without success on the following occasion.””  He spent a long time in the siege of Pelusium (east Nile Delta) when the banks that he had raised over against the walls were of a great height, and when he was ready to make an immediate assault upon them, but heard that Tirhakah, king of the Ethiopians (or “Cush” of the 25th dynasty) was coming, and bringing great forces to aid the Egyptians, and was resolved to march through the desert, and so to fall directly upon the Assyrians, this king Sennacherib was disturbed at the news; and, as I said before, left Pelusium and returned back without success.”

“Now concerning this Sennacherib, Herodotus also says, in the second book of his histories, now this ‘king came against the Egyptian king, who was a priest of Vulcan’ and that as he was besieging Pelusium, Herodotus was mistaken he broke up the siege in the following occasion. This Egyptian priest prayed to God, and God heard his prayer, and sent a judgment on the Arabian king. But in this Herodotus was mistaken when he called this king not of the Assyrians, but of the Arabians; for he said that ‘a multitude of mice gnawed to pieces on one night both the bows and the rest of the armor of the Assyrians; and that was on the account that the king, when he had no bows left, drew his army from Pelusium.'”

In other words, the Assyrians came down to Israel under Sennacherib because Hezekiah tried to overthrow the Assyrian yoke. He forms an alliance with the Egyptian Pharaoh Tirhakah who had joined with the 25th dynasty of Ethiopia. Sennacherib comes down and Hezekiah calls on Egypt and Pharaoh to come for help. So Tirhakah marches out of Egypt and gets to about Beersheba, and the Assyrians have come down to stop him from the Shephelah Valley, and the two armies camp and will fight the next day. During the night a horde of mice come through the Assyrian camp and ate the feathers of the arrows, the bowstrings and the leather slings. The Assyrians wake up to find that their weapons are ruined and it was not the time to fight.

What is strange is the Assyrians could have defeated Tirhakah if they attacked, but Tirhakah made the decision during the night to pull back and return to Egypt. He did not come to the aid of Israel at all, and the question is, “Why?” It is because God was not going to allow Egypt and Pharaoh to help Israel, and so he sent the mice to disturb the Assyrians. God had his own plan about all of this. He was going to destroy the Assyrian army himself, in one night. He did not want Israel to think they were delivered by Egypt and Pharaoh. In the same way, God will not allow the False Messiah and Europe to help Israel when Russia invades. He will destroy Russia himself and Israel will know they were delivered by the hand of God alone (Ezek 39.22).  As a result of this defeat, however, God will allow the False Messiah and Europe to exploit the situation and they will attack the land of Russia and subdue them under his authority (Ezek 39.6; Mic 5.6).

We will pick up here in Part 28.

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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