One of the things that is not brought out in most prophecy teaching is the fact that the Jordanian Arabs and the Beduin Moslems will become believers in Yeshua along with Israel. In between the time Gog and Magog invades and is defeated, and the false messiah enters Jerusalem, there will be 180 days, or from Tishri 10 to Nisan 10. This will be winter, from September/October to March/ April. Ezekiel 39.1-6 says that fire will be sent on Magog and this will be done by Europe and the false messiah, who have been fighting Russia for three years. Micah 5.5-6 says that seven shepherds (the remaining seven kings with the false messiah and his ten kings) and eight princely men (including the false messiah for a total of eight) shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria. Num 24.20-24 says that Asshur (Assyria) will be afflicted by Kittim (Rome/Europe). The false messiah will invade Russia after it is defeated by God, and Europe and the false messiah will become the most powerful military power in the world. It attacks Russia in the winter and the false messiah will rule 42 months (Rev 13).
There are certain characters in history that give us a picture of the false messiah, and we are going to go into length talking about him, along with the false prophet. Europe and Russia have fought wars before. Napoleon tried to invade and failed, so did Hitler. Charlemagne, Napoleon and Hitler tried to unify Europe. Now, Napoleon was not French, but Corsican. Hitler was not German, but Austrian. The false messiah will be Jewish. There was a belief in the first century that this figure was going to be from the tribe of Dan (Lev 24.10-14) and it was the tribe of Dan that led Israel into idolatry (Judges 18). In the first and second century, this was also the belief of Christianity. The symbol for the tribe of Dan is a serpent (Gen 49) and it is from that belief that the term “a snake in the grass” came from. A type of the false messiah in the Scriptures is Pharaoh, and he wore a serpent on his crown (Isa 30.6-7; Ezek 29.1-16; Ezek 32.1-32). Another type in the Scriptures was Leviathan, the twisted serpent (Job 41.1-34; Isa 27.1; Psa 74 13.14).
Other references to the false messiah is Micah 2.4 where he is called the “apostate.” Additional references include: Deut 29.18 with Isa 14.29; Hos 13.15; Nahum 1.15; Psa 104.26; 2 Kings 25.25; Nahum 1.4; Job 3.8 with John 5.43; Dan 11.36-37; Jer 8.16-17; Job 26.13; Zech 11.6-17; Hab 2.18, 3.13; 1 Kings 12.25-33; Isa 14.4-21; Dan 9.24-27; Dan 7 (the fourth beast); Isa 19.4 and Num 14.4. So, let’s meet the false messiah and the false prophet and talk about them.
Rev 13.1-10 gives us a picture of the false messiah. He is a military and political leader, and a composite of Dan 7.1-6. The Jewish encyclopedia has a lot of information about him. He will be a European, Jewish man. Rev 13.11-18 talks about the false prophet. He has two horns like a lamb, which symbolize his power as a “prophet/priest” meaning he appears as a believer, but really isn’t. He speaks like a “dragon”, meaning “lies” and the power behind him is Satan. Those in the Birth-pains will need to test his words according to Deut 13.1-5. He will be a religious leader out of Europe, and he will also be Jewish. He will be a false “Elijah” and the “forerunner” of the false messiah. He will work similar miracles to deceive many. Remember, Elijah is expected to come by the Jewish people before the Messiah comes. The “mark” of the Beast will be a false Hebrew letter “shin” that is a counterfeit to the true shin, the name of God and the seal of God. The “image” in Greek is the word “icon” and it means a likeness, a religious image painted on a wooden panel. Bible references to this image include: Dan 9.27; Dan 11.31; Dan 12.11; Matt 24.15; Mark 13.14. This “image” will stand erect in the Holy Place (the Ha Kodesh) of the Temple. The term “Abomination of Desolation” is “Shikutz Somem” (Dan 9.27, 11.31, 12.11) and means an idol, and it corresponds to Rev 13 where the false prophet will have an image of the false messiah made. So, let’s look at this term “abomination of desolation.”
In an article in Tyndales Bible Dictionary it says that this is an idol offensive to God, and a contemptuous equivalent to “Ba’al Samem” which means “the Lord of Heaven.” It is a play on words. Samem means “heaven” but he “desolates”, or “samem.” The name has in view the action of Antiochus Epiphanes and customs derived from idolatry (Jer 16.18). Shikutz is related to the Hebrew word “sheketz” which means “detestable” and it is used in the dietary laws of Lev 11, and used for foods that are not “kosher.” Antiochus placed an idol on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place, and this idol is described in 1 Maccabees 1.54. The image was of Zeus Kyrios with the face of Antiochus on it. Statues from Greece ever since have been made with the face of Antiochus, and this is the same face which is on the Shroud of Turin (more on that later).
As we have said, the false messiah will be ruler of Europe, a “Christian” continent. All true believers have been taken out at the Natzal, or “rapture.” New believers are born all the time, and the people following the false messiah are not believers but are deceived by the military victories, the signs and the wonders. Look at who followed Hitler. Under the false messiah, the “faith” will be “Christian” and the false prophet will be from “Christiandom.” Let’s talk about the face of Antiochus. There are coins early in his reign that have him with no beard, but later he has a beard. When you see pictures of him with a beard, who does he look like? It is the same face and image as the Shroud of Turin. A Duke University professor did an analysis on the face of a statue of Zeus from 30 AD to try and prove that the shroud was used as a model for this statue. He evaluated the face on the statue of Zeus with the face of Antiochus, and the face on the shroud, and came to the conclusion it was the same face with enough points of similarity to prove an identity. Remember, the statue had the face of Antiochus. Therefore, the face on the statue is the same face as the one on the Shroud of Turin.
The shroud is not the burial cloth of Yeshua because they did not use a single cloth, they wrapped him like a mummy (see the burial cloth of Lazarus). Two coins were found over the eyes of the man on the shroud, which was a pagan practice. God would never have allowed that to happen to his Messiah. People are being geared towards what Satan wants them to think Yeshua looked like. Yeshua was wrapped in winding cloth with about 100 pounds of a gummy mixture of myrrh and aloes, and each strip was wrapped around the body. The shroud showed that it was over his face, but if the shroud was real, there would be no face on the shroud. The wounds on the shroud do not correspond to Yeshua’s wounds in Scripture. You could not even recognize who he was (Isa 50, 52, 53, Psa 22). In John 20, this mixture hardens and forms a hard shell. When Yeshua resurrected, his body left, but it left behind an empty shell, with the face cloth off to the side so they could see into the “cocoon” left behind with the contour of his body. This is what caused Peter and John to look into the tomb and believe. The Shroud of Turin is part of the deception about the false messiah (2 Thes 2.1-13). In Part 9, we will pick up here and continue discussing the Abomination of Desolation
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