The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, was commissioned by Prussian King Frederick William II, and depicts a four-horse chariot driven by the Roman goddess of victory.
Image Credit:Felix Garcia Vila / iStock via Getty Images
In previous posts, we learned that, like the ancient Assyrians, modern Assyrians possess great potential for both good and evil.
In this post, we’ll explore the Assyrians’ origins in Genesis and their traits from the beginning, which will reappear in the end times. What started with Assyria will end with Assyria. Christ will return to end its dominance and establish the Kingdom of God.
Who was Assyria?
Assyria, located east of Israel in present-day Iraq, became a powerful empire from 900 to 600 B.C. It was founded by Asshur, Shem’s second son (Genesis 10:22).
The Hebrew name for Assyria is “Asshur,” which is the same as the name of the progenitor of the nation. Ashur was also the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, its religious center and the name of its chief god.
Another principal city of Assyria, Nimrud, bears a close resemblance to the biblical Nimrod.
Ancient Nineveh. This 19th-century artist’s rendition of Nineveh depicts what the city may have looked like at the peak of Assyrian power. The Monuments of Nineveh by Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1853, via Wikimedia Commons
After God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel, the peoples dispersed (Genesis 11:8). Where did Nimrod go? The Bible reveals: “From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh” (Genesis 10:11).
Nineveh became the administrative capital of Assyria, where its kings dwelled. This is why Jonah was sent to Nineveh to warn the Assyrian king (Jonah 1:1-2; 3:6). Nahum’s prophecy condemns the city for its wickedness (Nahum 1:1).
From Assyria’s earliest days, two key cities emerged—one religious and one political—founded by men who exalted themselves above God.
The city of Ashur was the spiritual center with its priests, and Nineveh, the political capital with its kings. This union of political and religious power mirrors the end-time alliance described in Revelation, where the beast and the false prophet—two figures who oppose God—join forces in an attempt to deceive and dominate the world (Revelation 16:13; 19:20).
As discussed earlier in this series, Germany—end-time Assyria—is poised to lead the beast (the final revival of the Holy Roman Empire) in alliance with Rome, which will provide its religious authority.
This reveals a recurring pattern from Assyria’s earliest history that will repeat in the end times—a prophetic cycle in which the end mirrors the beginning.
Israel’s sickness
God uses Assyria as a tool, the “rod of My anger,” to discipline the “ungodly nation” of Israel for its disobedience, and this pattern will occur again. God announced He would send Assyria against His people (Isaiah 10:5-6).
The book of Isaiah opens with a series of woes pronounced upon Israel for its moral decline.
The prophet warns those who are shameless in their sin, who “declare their sin as Sodom” and “do not hide it” (Isaiah 3:9).
God will once again punish the Israelites through captivity, using end-time Assyria as the instrument of His punishment.
He condemns the wicked—those who forsake the righteous path for destructive ways (verses 11-12), those who greedily add house to house and field to field to enrich themselves at others’ expense (Isaiah 5:8), those who live in constant drunkenness (verse 11), and those who distort morality and “call evil good, and good evil” (verse 20).
These issues were not limited to ancient Israel; they are also present in the modern Israelite nations (see our infographic “Abraham’s Descendants”). Isaiah describes Israel’s condition as a sickness (Isaiah 1:5-6). It is a “sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers” (verse 4).
Our Western English-speaking countries, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, exhibit these same conditions, if not even worse. (To learn more, read “The Spiritual Decline of the English-Speaking Nations.”)
God will once again punish these nations through captivity, using end-time Assyria as the instrument of His punishment.
Assyria’s three waves
God used ancient Assyria to punish His people in three successive waves—twice against Israel and once against Judah.
The first came under Tiglath-Pileser III, who invaded Israel and carried away the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Kings 15:17-20, 29).
His son Shalmaneser V launched the second assault, besieging Samaria and taking the entire kingdom of Israel into captivity (2 Kings 17:1-6; 18:9-11).
The third wave struck Judah, when Sennacherib captured numerous fortified cities and laid siege to Jerusalem. In response to Hezekiah’s prayers, God sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army, forcing Sennacherib to retreat in defeat (2 Kings 18:13; 19:35-36).
Although God delivered Judah from Assyria in the third wave, Judah did not escape judgment forever.
About a century later, Babylon rose to power and repeated the same pattern of three waves of invasion. During the first wave, Daniel and his companions were taken captive to Babylon. By the third wave, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the people were carried away into exile.
Germany’s three waves
This pattern of three waves has been repeated in modern times. The Germans have come against the modern Israelites—primarily Britain and America—twice: once in World War I and again in World War II. (To learn more about the modern Israelites, see “Who Are the United States and Britain in Prophecy?”)
After World War II, Germany was in ruins and divided. Its cities were devastated by Allied bombings, its economy was in tatters, and millions were displaced. The nation was also divided—with the west controlled by the U.S., the U.K. and France, and the east controlled by the Soviet Union.
German power in Europe. EU and German flags fly before the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, symbolizing the nation’s rise from postwar ruin to Europe’s leading power. JARAMA / iStock via Getty Images
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of the nation that followed, Germany reemerged as a united and dominant force in Europe—economically, politically and technologically. Margaret Thatcher once remarked, “We beat the Germans twice, and now they’re back.”
Just as ancient Assyria confronted Judah in the third wave, so Germany will confront the modern-day nations of Israel and Judah in the third wave. This will trigger the worst time in human history, the time known as the Great Tribulation.
The German-led beast power will defeat the modern descendants of Joseph—America and Britain—and lead them into captivity. Afterward, the beast will target his wrath toward the Middle East.
Daniel’s prophecy states that an end-time battle will be triggered when the king of the South attacks the king of the North, the revived Roman Empire led by Germany. In response, the king of the North will move south, overpowering the king of the South, which will include Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia (Daniel 11:40-43).
The king of the North will “enter the Glorious Land” (Daniel 11:41), beginning the “times of the Gentiles” when “Jerusalem [is] surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20-24).
God will use Assyria to bring Israel back to Himself
When Israel is defeated and taken captive by the Assyrian-led beast power, it will be a difficult time, known as “Jacob’s trouble.”
But God will work with Israel to lead them to repentance. They will face the Great Tribulation, but will be “saved out of it” (Jeremiah 30:7). Afterward, they will seek God: “They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them” (Jeremiah 31:9).
Unfortunately, this lesson will be learned too late, after correction has come from the Assyrians. Then, as Jeremiah prophesied: “I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah” (Jeremiah 30:3, compare Isaiah 10:20-21; 11:11, 16).
Hosea said that through “affliction” His people will seek God (Hosea 5:15). Then, they will return to God (Hosea 6:1).
“They shall come with weeping, and with supplications” (Jeremiah 31:9). And then the prophecy will come to pass: “In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God’” (Hosea 1:10, compare Isaiah 27:13).
Once they learn their lesson, God will remember the sins of Assyria.
The arrogant heart of Assyria
The end-time beast power “shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished” (Daniel 11:36), after which God will “punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 10:12).
So, when the tool in God’s hand has finished the work God wanted it to accomplish, He’ll punish the arrogant heart of its leader.
The end-time leader will wield absolute authority, having “gathered all the earth” under an unparalleled system of economic, political and religious control. Isaiah portrays this power as exercising total dominance over humanity—dominance so complete that there will be “no one who moved his wing” or “opened his mouth with even a peep” without his awareness (Isaiah 10:14; compare Isaiah 14:26).
This oppressive system will enforce the mark of the beast, restricting all buying and selling to those who submit to its rule.
God will punish the Assyrian leader for exalting himself and failing to recognize that he is merely a tool in God’s hand. Zechariah declared, “The pride of Assyria shall be brought down” (Zechariah 10:11). In Isaiah 10:15, Assyria is likened to an axe, a saw, a rod and a staff—instruments wielded by God to accomplish His purpose.
Yet Assyria arrogantly boasts as though it acts by its own power, echoing Nebuchadnezzar’s self-exaltation in Daniel 4:30.
Assyria’s downfall
God will bring about Assyria’s downfall by supernatural means: “Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, and a sword not of mankind shall devour him” (Isaiah 31:8).
In both World Wars, Germany appeared unstoppable. It was only near the end of both wars that its collapse seemed probable. When that again has happened, nations “will clap their hands” and rejoice because this global tyranny has finally ended (Nahum 3:19; Isaiah 30:32).
When Christ returns, the Assyrian leader, known as the “beast,” along with the “false prophet,” will be captured and cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20, compare Isaiah 30:30-31).
A remarkable transformation
After God saves the modern nations of Israel from Assyrian captivity, He will restore them (Isaiah 11:11). But even though the Assyrians will be punished for their arrogance and cruelty, the Bible shows God will eventually restore Assyria and heal it of its arrogant and violent nature.
Ultimately, under Jesus Christ’s rule, the nation that was historically the enemy of God’s people and that waged war against many nations will become peaceful.
A highway of peace. Isaiah foretells a future highway linking Assyria, Egypt and Israel—symbolizing the peace that will unite these civilizations that have historically been at war. Milos-Muller / iStock via Getty Images
This is much bigger than just a highway linking two nations. It represents the healing of civilizations that have been in turmoil for thousands of years—the Arab and North African civilizations (led by Egypt) and the European civilizations (led by Germany).
The prophecy goes on to show this newfound unity and peace will include Israel: “In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land” (verse 24).
Three civilizations that have historically been at odds will live in harmony and work together under Jesus Christ!
They will then be blessed by God: “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance” (verse 25).
At this time, Assyria will no longer focus on war but will use its gifts to help other nations. This transformation will be truly remarkable! God’s Kingdom will grow to include all nations.
As these enemy nations change from the inside out, the entire earth will be transformed into a place of peace—with the wars these nations have fought becoming a distant relic of history.
Read the previous three blogs in this series:
- Germany in Prophecy, Part 1: Germany Dominates the Holy Roman Empire
- Germany in Prophecy, Part 2: A Rod of Correction
- Germany in Prophecy, Part 3: A Tale of Two Hearts
Date Posted: February 25, 2026
About the Author
Isaac Khalil
Isaac Khalil is husband to his lovely wife, Natasha, and father to son Eli and daughter Abigal. He loves to spend time with family and friends doing various things like watching movies, playing chess, playing board games and going out. He enjoys studying biblical topics and discussing the Bible with his friends. He is also a news junkie and is constantly reading and sharing news connected with Bible prophecy.
