Nimrod the Assyrian: Asshur

NIMROD THE ASSYRIAN

It is interesting that the exploits of Nimrod are presented in the Bible immediately preceding the calling of Abram (Abraham) from an area around the Babel (Babylon) area.  Just prior to Abraham’s calling by God, the inhabitants of Babylon underwent a transformation of their single language into 70 different languages.  The Lord God then assigned each of the various language groups the governance of one of 70 angels comprising the Divine Council.  Some of these governing angels were mentioned in the book of Daniel:  the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece. 

Genesis 10:8 first mentions Nimrod as the son of Cush.  Verse 10 lists the cities of his kingdom, in the land of Shinar.  Immediately after Nimrod’s cities, Verse 11 speaks of Asshur and his building of cities in the Assyrian area.  A son of Shem, named Asshur, is not mentioned until verse 22.  The Asshur of verse 11 is considered to be another name for Nimrod.  Peter Goodgame comments that names such as Asshur were commonly duplicated in family lines.  He states that Asshur is the name given to Nimrod when he traveled to Assyria and founded cities.  It is generally accepted that Nimrod founded Ninevah and Calah, which is now known as Nimrud.  Archaeologists have discovered a stele of Asshur (Nimrod) holding a flail and a club in excavations around old Nimrud.

Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.  (Genesis 10:11-12 KJV)

Micah 5:6 appears to connect Nimrod with Assyria

And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

(Micah 5:6 KJV)

Abraham was promised the land of Israel and several years later, the Hebrew people were taken from Egypt and placed in the land of Canaan.  In a type of prophetic parallel, after the wrath of God, the Israelites will once again be gathered from the areas of the world and brought again to the land of Israel perhaps from the areas listed in the scriptures below.

At that time the sovereign master will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts.   (Isaiah 11:11 NET)

At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.   (Jeremiah 3:18 NET)

Arthur Pink, a pastor and writer, states that one like Nimrod will arise and fill the picture outlined by the life of Nimrod.  The name of Nimrod means “the rebel” similar to a name of the antichrist that is “the lawless one” who “shall oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God.”  Scripture states he “began to be a mighty one in the earth” meaning he obtained this might by force.  In like manner the little horn of Daniel subdues three horns with the remaining seven ascending to his will and authority.  The Biblical phrase “the mighty hunter before the Lord” means he pursued his dictatorship in defiance of God when he built a city to contain the inhabitants rather than allowing them to inhabit the earth.  The purpose of the tower was to design a type of star gate to permit an avenue for additional Watchers to inhabit earth and to allow the deluded Nimrod to ascend to the heavenly dimension and do battle with God.  Nimrod’s purpose was to become the new god of the earthly humans as the antichrist will magnify himself above every deity and god and will declare himself to be “god”.

"Then the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur.   (Daniel 11:36 NET)

Chronicles 1:10 says “And Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a mighty warrior on the earth.”  A document termed the Chaldean Paraphrase is a targum written in Aramaic of the Hebrew Bible.  The paraphrase of the Chronicles 1:10 scripture according to Arthur Pink is:  “Cush begat Nimrod who began to prevail in wickedness for he slew innocent blood and rebelled against Jehovah.”

The Beast

The Revelation names the last world empire empowered by the dragon as the beast.  The name “beast” will also be applied to the last world emperor, who most likely will be Apollo/Osiris/Nimrod who ascends from the bottomless pit.  Regardless of the empire or antichrist’s original identity, let’s look at the word “beast” which is the word therion in transliterated Greek.

thērion

Thayer Definition:  1) an animal  2) a wild animal, wild beast, beast  3) metaphorically a brutal, bestial man, savage, ferocious

As can be seen in the Thayer Greek Dictionary a beast is any animal and specifically a wild animal.  Metaphorically, it is a person with bestial, savage, and ferocious attributes.  Several exegetes have surmised, based on extra-Biblical texts, that pre-flood Watchers and human cohorts experimented with animal-human DNA cloning.  This could account for so-called mythological entities as:  satyrs; minotaurs; centaurs; griffins; unicorns; and many others.  Satyrs, unicorns, cockatrices, and lion men are mentioned in the Bible.

Is there a possibility that Nimrod contained animal DNA?  Was he part animal?  Thomas Horn suggests that a genetic splice of animal DNA may be initially applied to the antichrist and later become a part of the mark of the beast.  After all, the giants or Nephilim were partially non-human and thus did not have the spirit of God.  Upon their death the non-human spirits which they contained were left to roam the earth as evil spirits or demons.

Isaiah 10:5 NLT  "What sorrow awaits Assyria, the rod of My anger. I use it as a club to express My anger.

Nimrod As The Assyrian

Micah 5:1-6 KJV  Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 

(2)  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.  (3)  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.  (4)  And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 

(5)  And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 

(6)  And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

Micah begins with a siege against Jerusalem by someone referred to as “he”.  Verse 2 is a well-known Messianic prophecy found in Matthew 2:6.  When Herod was visited by the wise men, he inquired of the religious leaders concerning the child in question.  One of them quoted the scripture of Micah 5:2.

"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"   (Matthew 2:6 NIV)

The last sentence of the passage for not quoted by the religious leader, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”  This indicates the Messiah Jesus is eternal.  V3 The Lord will temporarily be distant from the people of Israel.  I view this period as the 70^th week of Daniel when Israel (and the world) will be engulfed by the beast.  After the wrath of God, the remnant of Israel will be gathered into the land of Israel.  V4 appears to be descriptive of the Millennium rest.

Verse 5 states the “man of peace” or the Lord Jesus will establish peace when the Assyrian comes into the land which is most likely referring to the Armageddon non-battle.  The Hebrew for the Assyrian does not contain the definite article “the” and the Septuagint translates the word as Asshur which agrees with the Hebrew dictionaries.

And he shall have peace when Assur shall come into your land, and when he shall come up upon your country; and there shall be raised up against him seven shepherds, and eight attacks of men. (Micah 5:5 Brenton)

Peter Goodgame made the comment in his book The Second Coming of the Antichrist that interpreters may have had a problem with the Hebrew word “ashshûr” without knowledge or the understanding of Assyrian history or mythology so they just translated it as “the Assyrian”.  This particular translation of “the Assyrian” has caused some confusion in recent eschatology.  Asshur is the name of the chief Assyrian god who was originally called Nimrod in the Bible.

Micah 5:5 could read as, “The Messiah, Jesus will establish peace when Nimrod, known as Asshur, comes into your land.”  Daniel 11:45 indicates the antichrist will place his palace and headquarters around Jerusalem.  The antichrist is the one who comes into the land and Peter Goodgame, Rob Skiba, Gary Stearman, and others claim that his name is Nimrod also known as Asshur.