The Apocalypse of Armilus

On 11 April 2026, a Muslim website published an article by Jewish Rabbi Allen Maller entitled “Can Mahdi and Messiah Overcome Hot Wars?”.  In the article, Rabbi Maller wrote: “Many Islamic traditions (Ahadith) say that Prophet Jesus, will return and will join forces with the Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, in a battle against a false messiah, the cruel one eyed Dajjal, called Armilos in Jewish tradition.”  Since I dealt with the subject of the Dajjal in my previous article, it is helpful to provide some background on Armilos (also Armilus).  But first, we need to go all the way back to ancient Rome.  

As you may be aware, many legends surround the founding of Rome. The most popular account involves twin brothers named Romulus and Remus who, it was taught, were fathered by Mars, the mythical god of war.  A wicked king ordered their drowning but the servant in charge of the task took pity on them and instead placed the twins into a basket and pushed them down the Tiber River where they were safely carried to the area of the seven hills.  According to legend, they were discovered by a ferocious she-wolf who raised them. They later killed the king that ordered their death and sought a place to establish a city of their own. When Remus did not approve of the chosen site, a quarrel ensued, and Romulus killed him. Subsequently, in the marshlands near the mouth of the Tiber River, a crude settlement was formed in 753 BC. It was called Rome, in honour of Romulus.

Throughout the centuries, rulers, dictators and emperors, such as Julius Caesar and Octavian, have been drawn to ruling in the spirit of Romulus.  In 1920, the founder of Italian Fascism, Benito Mussolini, even called on Italy to adopt the mantle of Ancient Rome.  Sixteen years later, while celebrating military victory over Ethiopia, he promised an empire of peace, civilisation, and humanity in the “tradition of Rome” exhorting his people to celebrate “the reappearance of the Empire on the fated hills of Rome”.  As part of his reforms, he ordered his Fascist militia to adopt Roman names and symbols, reinstituted the Roman salute and form of address, placed the Roman Eagle on the capitol, and formed a youth organisation called “Figli della Lupa” meaning “ “Sons of the She-Wolf,” a direct reference to Romulus and Remus.  Targeting those between the ages of 6 and 8 the group focused on "moral and physical education," aiming to develop a future generation loyal to the Fascist state through "rigorous" training.

As you are no doubt aware, Daniel 7 sets out visions which the prophet describes as different Gentile kingdoms which would precede the long-awaited Messianic Kingdom.  Most reliable Bible scholars believe the fourth beast, a beast so terrifying and ferocious that there was no living animal which could represent it, refers to the Roman Empire.  This is also consistent with rabbinical writings such as Talmud Abodah Zarah 2b which also saw the fourth beast as the Roman Empire.  The revived form of the Roman Empire will become Satan’s powerful and merciless instrument to make humanity serve him.  It is here that we see a connection between Romulus and the aforementioned future apocalyptic figure prevalent in ancient Jewish writings known in full as Armilus ben Belial.

In the Hebrew Bible, the word “Belial” was used to describe people characterised by worthlessness or corruption.  In other words, it was used in connection with the personification of wickedness.  Not surprisingly, in the New Testament, this term is applied to Satan.  For example, 2 Corinthians 6:15 reads: And what accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?  So, quite literally, Armilus ben Belial may be read as Armilus son of wickedness or son of Satan.

Armilus is mentioned in Sefer Zerubavel (The Book of Zerubbabel), a Hebrew apocalypse written around the 7^th century AD, in which he is called “the son of Satan”.  He is depicted as a grotesque man—bald with a leprous forehead, one small eye and one large one, his right arm unnaturally short and his left unnaturally long, his left ear open and his right ear closed.  Of importance to the narrative (but entirely bemusing at the same time) is the fact that the Sefer Zerubavel claims Armilus is the progeny of Satan’s intimate relationship with “a marble stone in the shape of a maiden” (perhaps as a wicked counterfeit version of the virgin birth).      

In another ancient apocalyptic text, Otot HaMashiach (meaning “Signs of the Messiah”), it says (with shades of Revelation 19): “Armilos will hear that a king has arisen for Israel, and he will say: ‘How long will this despicable and contemptible nation behave this way?’ He will immediately muster all the forces of the nations of the world and come to do battle with the Lord’s Messiah. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will deem it unnecessary for him (i.e., the Messiah) to engage in battle. Instead, He will say to him: ‘Remain by My right hand!’ (Ps 110:1), and He will inform Israel: ‘Stand still and behold the Lord’s deliverance which He effects for you today!’ (Exodus 14:13).” 

In Jewish apocalyptic thought, the name Armilus is a veiled corruption of the name Romulus, symbolising the Roman Empire as the enduring Jewish enemy.  Interestingly, though Armilus does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 11:4 was re-worded in the Targum Jonathan (an ancient Aramaic translation of the Nevi'im—the Prophets) to refer to him directly.  In the New King James Version, Isaiah 11:4 (referring to Messiah’s rule) ends with these words: And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.  However, the Targum Jonathan reads: And with the speech of His lips he shall slay Armilus the wicked.  Why the change?  Because rabbis of the past have viewed this passage as a prediction of the destruction of the Jewish antichrist.  Which is of interest when you read 2 Thessalonians 2:8: And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

Although much of the information regarding Armilus is steeped in mystery and speculation, what we see are glimpses of the fact that throughout Jewish history, there is an awareness of a coming apocalyptic figure which mirrors who we know as the Antichrist.  For instance, in the T’fillat R. Shim’on ben Yohai, BhM 4:124-26 (The Prayer of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai) he writes of Armilus claiming divinity: “I am the Lord your God and I am your Messiah and your God”.   Furthermore, in the works of Saadia Gaon (882-942) he mentions Armilus by name, warning that he is a king who will bring terrible suffering upon the house of Israel.  But importantly, who destroys Armilus?  According to Jewish literature it is Messiah ben David.  Though many Jews continue to reject Jesus as Messiah, it was no accident that the Gospel of Matthew opens as follows: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. 

Despite the fact that the time of Jacob’s Trouble will involve horrific persecution, we rejoice that there is coming a day when a remnant of ethnic Israel will come to recognise Jesus as their King. Zechariah 12:10: And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.  Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieve for a firstborn.  Until then, let us continue our fervent prayers for God’s chosen people.