INTRODUCTION TO THE ASSYRIANS
Assyria was the dominant empire prior to the Babylonians and took the northern ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity.
2 Kings 17:5-6, “Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”
Why did God allow the nation of Israel to be taken into captivity? Because they had corrupted the worship of God. The kingdom of Judah was the only remnant of God's people in the Holy land at that time.
1 Kings 12:28-32, “…the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,like the feast that was in Judah…So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made.”
The first king of the northern ten tribes of Israel set up a counterfeit of God’s true Feast of Tabernacles and altered the date because of political insecurity. They set up a false priesthood of people who were not trained in biblical laws. This not only created a wedge between themselves and God but eventually they lost their very identity. While captives of the Assyrians, most forgot their heritage as Israelites. Few nominal Christians know any of the biblical historical information about Jeroboam, the first king of the ten “lost” tribes of Israel.
Amos 9:9, “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.”
These “lost” tribes still exist somewhere.
Who are the modern day descendants of the Assyrians? It is believed that the Assyrians migrated to central Europe and are primarily the Germanic peoples who took the ten tribes of the Northern kingdom of Israel with them. Teuton is the name given by the Romans to people of central Europe who were so very warlike, just like the violent ancient Assyrians. Deutschland is the Germanic pronunciation of Teuton or “spear thrower.” They were known as Iron Warriors. The highest military award in Germany is the IRON CROSS. This fits closely with end time prophecy.
THE BOOK OF NAHUM IS ABOUT THE FALL OF THE ASSYRIANS
The Assyrians fell to Babylon, but will also fall to Jesus at His second coming as the iron teeth of the final evil empire.
Nahum 1:7-8, “The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.”
Nahum 2:6-8, “The gates of the rivers are opened, And the palace is dissolved. 7 It is decreed: She shall be led away captive…8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water, Now they flee away. ‘Halt! Halt!’ they cry; But no one turns back.”
Nahum 3:1, “Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs. “
Verse 7, “It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?' Where shall I seek comforters for you?”
God used Assyria to punish northern Israel for forsaking Him, but like Babylon later, they enjoyed the cruelty too much. Therefore a flood was used to destroy the defensive walls of the capital of Assyria, Nineveh. But they have remained very warlike in spite of that fall from power and are likely the IRON TEETH of the final beast power.
Daniel 7:19, “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet;”
Verse 23, “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be A fourth kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other kingdoms, And shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.’”
The final empire will have some military component that crushes their opposition like iron.
THE IRON AND CLAY COMPOSITION OF THE FINAL EVIL EMPIRE
When one looks at the axis powers of WWII one thing is noteworthy: The Germanic militarists of central Europe were tough as Iron but their allies were soft as clay.
Daniel 2:40-43, “And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.”
Mussolini and Hitler called their empire a revival of the Holy Roman Empire. Clearly, Mussolini represented the clay and Hitler's Germany the Iron.
Verse 42 , “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.”
Iron cannot mix with miry clay, therefore this final empire will be weak in some areas.
Daniel 2:44-45"And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold –– the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this.”
Note, the Messiah will come and attack the strength of the beastly empire on the Iron toe. Churchill in WWII wisely saw this weakness and had the allies first big campaign against the weak under belly of the Axis powers, the clay. It worked.
Revelation 17:12-14, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
However the final Holy Roman Empire will have enough unity to be successful for a FEW YEARS and become the enemy of Jesus. CHRIST IS COMING to crush like grapes this final evil power and bring the world the paradisaic millennial reign of the Son of God.
