We are going to go in and develop the concept of the False Messiah even further. We are going to look at everything we can about him and develop his nature. We are also going to look at his character and various pictures of the False Messiah. What we are going to see is the greatest delusion ever told in the history of mankind. Once we have all the elements it is the hope that you will be able to see it. Then we will realize that this is the oldest deception in the world and the most powerful lie ever conceived and perpetrated upon mankind. It can be very overwhelming to the person when they first begin to see the enormity and size of it all.
Let’s review what we have so far. The empire of the False Messiah will be from the old Roman Empire. This empire has the qualities of all the kingdoms that preceded it. It will have wealth, royalty, size, speed and agility. It will be the most awesome kingdom the world has ever seen. The United States is destroyed in one day at the beginning of the Birth-pains. Panic overcomes Europe and an emergency meeting is called with representatives from ten European countries. Each of these representatives are not absolute rulers of their countries but are given authority to act in this meeting, and there is an eleventh ruler present. These ten rulers will give their power and authority to the eleventh ruler. He, in turn, makes them absolute rulers of their countries (dictators) under him. This is how the False Messiah will emerge.
The duration of this meeting is only one hour (or a very short time) and this shows the degree of emergency. The False Messiah will then make a military treaty with Israel to strengthen his position world wide, especially in the Middle East. It is a message to Russia who has attacked the United States and Europe thinks they are next. The False Messiah will be a great orator and has penetrating eyes. His appearance will be appealing to the people and he will be the people’s choice, like King Saul and Absalom were. The False Messiah will forbid the observance of the Torah and the biblical festivals, including the Sabbath and the New Moons. Yeshua will come for the living and the dead believers in the Gathering, or Natzal, on Rosh Ha Shanah, Tishri 1, Year 6001 from creation. His coronation as king will take place in Heaven. The United States will be destroyed around Tishri 8 and the False Messiah becomes ruler of Europe within hours. He then signs a military treaty with Israel on Tishri 10, the official beginning of the Birth-pains.
We don’t know when year 6001 from creation will be, nobody knows. However, this is described as “birth-pains.” The closer to birth, the signs will be evident. No doctor can tell you when the birth of a baby will be exactly, but you can know when it is here. At the beginning of the Birth-pains of the Messiah there are ten rulers with the False Messiah. Now, remember, the Day of the Lord, the last one thousand years, begins on Tishri 1. The Birth-pains, or the seven year Tribulation as Christians understand it, begins ten days later on Tishri 10.
By the half-way point of the Birth-pains (Nisan 10), three of the original ten rulers with the False Messiah have been “pluck up by the roots” or destroyed. The False Messiah becomes the most powerful ruler in the world at this point because the Russians have been destroyed by the Lord six months before this (Tishri 10), and the rest of the world cannot make war with him. It is at this point that the False Messiah makes war on the Jewish people (Rev 12.17) and all true believers who have a testimony of Yeshua and follow the Torah for the last three and a half years of the Birth-pains.
The Abomination of Desolation is set up at the halfway point of the Birth-pains (Nisan 10) and is made after the “beauty of a man.” The False Messiah will eventually be losing in his wars and much like Hitler, retreats to Jerusalem for a siege on the city. At this point it is Yom Kippur of the seventh year of the Birth-pains and Yeshua returns to the city. The False Messiah and the False Prophet will be judged on Yom Kippur, at the end of the Birth-pains. Now, let’s look at the concept of the Leviathan.
In Rev 13.1 we see a beast rise out of the sea (humanity-Isa 57.20) and note that it says on his “heads” was a blasphemous name. We are not told that this beast is Leviathan but we are told that it rises out of the sea and it has seven heads. In the Encyclopedia Judaica article “Leviathan” it says, “In the Bible and Talmudic literature the Leviathan denotes various marine animals, some real and others legendary, and others again both real and legendary. The word “Leviathan” seems to derive from the root “Levi” meaning to “coil”, which is further confirmation of its serpentine form. The Hittites knew it as the struggle between the dragon Illuyankas and the mortal Hupasiyas (Pritchard Texts, 125-126). In Mesopotamia it appears in several forms, of which the most famous is the Battle of Marduk and Tiamat in the creation epic. More relevant is the cylinder seal from Tell Asmar of the 24th Century B.C., which pictures two men fighting a seven headed serpent.”
So, picture Yochanon who is shown a vision from the Lord, and he sees a seven headed beast coming out of the sea. He is not going to think, “Oh my, who is this and who has heard of such a thing!” He is going to think “Oh, it’s the Leviathan!” Every Jewish person would know of Leviathan, and everyone from Mesopotamia to Israel knew. The article on “Leviathan” from the Encyclopedia Judaica continues, “In the Bible it is used interchangeably with several other sea monsters-Tannin (dragon), Rahab, and Yam (“sea”, of which the last named alternatives with Neharim (flood) in Hab 3.8)-all of whom are represented as supernatural enemies of God. This hostility directly reflects a myth widely known in pre-Biblical sources of primordial combat between the creator deity and the forces of the sea, personifying chaos, which the former most overcome to create and control the universe (see “Creation”).”
So, we have three basic terms besides the primary term Leviathan. We have “Tannin”, usually “serpent” but can be translated “dragon” or “monster.” We have “Rahab”, which is a term for Egypt, broad wall, prostitute and pride. We also have “Yam” which means “sea” and we will find this name communicates several messages. In Isa 27.1 you will have ‘Leviathan the fleeing serpent” (nachash) and “dragon” (Tannin), and remember “Nachash.” We also have the word “sea” (Yam). So, in this verse alone we have three names other names for Leviathan. Let’s develop Tannin first. In the Brown, Drier, Briggs Hebrew Lexicon it is number 10590 (Strongs 8577). In Ezek 29.3, we have the “great monster that lies in the midst of the rivers.” In Aramaic, “Tanniynun” is a loan word from “Taniyna” (Exo 7.9; Ezek 29.3, 32.2; Gen 1.21). Tannin is another name for Leviathan, the seven headed beast that rises out of the sea (Yam). This seven headed beast is the False Messiah and his kingdom.
Genesis 1 starts telling us about the characters of the end times. In Gen 1.1, the verse has seven words (7000 years, a “menorah”). The fourth and sixth word is “Aleph and Tav” meaning the “head of the covenant” and a term for the Messiah (Rev 1.8). This alludes to the coming of the Messiah at the year 4000 and at the end of the year 6000. In Gen 1.21 we have “Tannin”, a term for the False Messiah. The Lord is telling us this story right at the beginning. He is weaving this story into the first chapter and if you know what to look for it will be an adventure for us and it will add so much to our understanding. This is what takes away from fear, doubt and confusion, which are tools of the enemy.
So, we have the Tannin (serpent, dragon, sea monster) and we are going to see it will also be a term for Egypt. Isa 51.9 says, “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord (Messiah- Isa 53.1)! Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Are you not the arm that cut Rahab (Egypt) apart, and wounded the serpent (Tannin)?” In Psa 74.13-14 it says, “Thou didst divide the sea by they strength; thou didst break the heads (plural=seven heads) of the sea monsters in the waters. Thou didst crush the heads (plural) of Leviathan (Pharaoh); thou didst give him as food for the creatures of the wilderness (Feast of Leviathan).” Here, Leviathan is identified as Pharaoh.
The word “Tannin” is seen as “serpent” in Psa 91.13; Exo 7.9, 10, 12. It is seen as a “dragon” that devours in Jer 51.34 and a gate in Neh 2.13. It is seen as a sea monster or river monster in Gen 1.21; Job 7.12; Psa 74.13 (Egyptians); Isa 27.1, 51.9 (a mythical personification of chaos-Rahab). In Ezek 29.3 we see the great sea monster (Ha Tannim Ha Gadol) and it claims to be God, the creator (“I have made it”). This alludes to 2 Thes 2.4 where it says that the “man of lawlessness” is “displaying himself as being God.” In Ezek 32.2 we have the “monster in the seas” which is the same as Leviathan. So, there are several terms for the False Messiah like Leviathan, Tannin, Rahab, Yam and Nachash. The same terminology is applied to Pharaoh.
In Part 8, we will pick up here and talk about the First Redemption and a shaliach named Moses, who went against the Leviathan, Pharaoh. This will give us insight into the Second Redemption and a shaliach named Yeshua, who will go against the Leviathan, the False Messiah.
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