Maimonides was a Jewish scholar of the 12th Century. His thinking and writing have had tremendous influence on modern Judaism. Of particular interest is his argument that there are 13 fundamental tenants which all those of the Jewish faith must adhere to. There is one tenant that is particularly significant for the prophecies of Revelation. Maimonides holds that all those of Jewish faith must believe in the coming of the Jewish secular Messiah (aka moshiach in Hebrew), and that they must ‘await’ his coming. Over the past 800 years, many Jewish scholars and thinkers have expounded on the meaning of this tenant and its implications. In the modern Jewish community, it is now commonly believed that it is the religious duty of all Jewish people to actively work to bring about the coming of the Jewish moshiach. In order to understand the implication of this and how this is relevant to the prophecies of Revelation and the End of Days, we must first understand the Jewish concept of the moshiach (aka Messiah).
Though there are many areas of debate in regards to the Jewish moshiach, there is general agreement among Jewish scholars that the Jewish secular messiah will:
— be from the House of David, i.e. he will be Jewish and of royal blood.
— be the head of a secular world government, where he will hold political control over both Jew and gentile.
— rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Mount.
— abolish all other religions and establish Judaism as the sole world religion.
As all those of the Jewish faith are expected to help bring about the rise of their secular Messiah, Jews have come to believe that it is their religious duty to work towards the goals as outlined above. For this reason, those of the Jewish faith will do anything within their power to accomplish their political agenda, as by doing so, they believe that they are helping to bring about the rise of the Jewish moshicah and the Jewish messianic period.
Though the Jewish people may believe they are performing their religious duty by trying to work for the rise of the moshiach, the prophecies of Revelation gives us a dramatically different perspective on their activities. Revelation tells us of the coming of the Beast, the Anti-Christ, who will come to power over a 10-nation confederation (Revelation 13:1), and beyond that, Revelation 13:17 says:
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Just as the Jewish people believe their moshiach will be a king that will lead a world government, Revelation tells us that the Beast (aka Anti-Christ) will have power over all nations. Similarly, just as the Jewish people believe that their moshiach will rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Mount and will establish Judaism as the sole religion of the world, Paul tells us that the Anti-Christ (aka the “man of sin”) will use the Jewish Temple as his platform to proclaim his godhood to the world. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 says,
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Paul tells us that the Anti-Christ will proclaim himself as God, and in doing so, the Beast will abolish all other religions. Given this, from the perspective of the Book of Revelation, we can see that the Anti-Christ will pose as the Jewish secular messiah. All of the Jewish activists working for the rise of their moshiach are actually helping to bring about the coming of the Beast. This has implications on another prophecy found in Revelation. The book of Revelation, Revelation 17:1-5, tells us about the whore of Babylon:
1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Traditionally, many have argued that the whore of Babylon represents the Catholic church, or some other universal religion, who will help the Beast. Given our arguments, we can see that the whore of Babylon actually represents those working for the rise of the secular Jewish messiah. These Jewish activists believe that they are working for God, but they are actually working to bring about the reign of Satan’s human incarnation, as foretold in Revelation 13:2-4:
2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Just as Hitler murdered the leaders of the socialist wing of the Nazi Party when he achieved power, the Beast will betray those Jews who mistakenly thought they were doing God’s work, as foretold in Revelation 17:16,
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Given the political agenda of the Jewish activists working to bring about the rise of a secular Jewish messiah, it could be argued that it is the “religious duty” of all Believers to actively seek to slow/resist these Jewish activists. Though at some point, the Beast will eventually rise to political power, all Believers should work to delay that eventuality for as long as possible. We must give our children as much time as possible to grow up and grow stronger in their faith. The Beast and his agents will seek to literally bring about Hell on Earth. We must try to protect our children and the world, for as long as possible.