The Assyrian of prophecy is the end time ruler of Assyria. (it may come as a surprise to many to learn that a very large number of modern individuals still ethnically identify themselves as "Assyrians.")
This end time individual is missed by many students because they assume these prophecies deal only with the ancient Sennacherib, king of Assyria. (Isaiah 36-37) There can be no doubt that Sennacherib was the occasion of these prophecies; but they are filled with details that go far beyond him to the last days.
1 Peter 1:10-11 says that “the prophets... who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,” “inquired and searched carefully... searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” Both suffering and glory were prophesied for the Messiah. But how could both be true? Since the time of the New Testament, we now know these prophecies applied to two different times, separated by thousands of years. This mixture of prophecies concerning widely separated times is very common in scripture, as becomes evident when we study the Assyrian.
Sennacherib attacked Judah during the righteous reign of king Hezekiah, who “trusted in the LORD God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.” (2 Kings 18:5-6) “Also the hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 30:12) But “after these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself.” (2 Chronicles 32:1) Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, who answered him, “I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.” (Isaiah 37:35)
But in Isaiah 10:6, the Lord says of the king of Assyria that “I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” Both Hezekiah and his people had been righteous and the Lord promised to save them from Sennacherib. But in the day described in Isaiah 10 the nation will have been ungodly and He will send Assyria to punish them. The first Assyrian was an enemy of God, while the second will actually be His agent.
But this latter day Assyrian does not intend to serve God, “nor does his heart think so.” (Isaiah 10:7) He will therefore be punished “when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem.” (verse 12) “And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of ·Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” (verse 20) These details clearly apply to the last days. The Lord's “work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem” will not be finished until all prophecy concerning them has been fulfilled, and even to this day Israel has not learned to “depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.”
In Micah 5:5-6 we read that “When the Assyrian comes into our land, And when he treads in our palaces, Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men. They shall waste with the sword the land of Assyria, And the land of Nimrod at its entrances; Thus He shall deliver us from the Assyrian, When he comes into our land And when he treads within our borders.” This prophecy, which was given at about the same time as that of Isaiah, was never fulfilled in ancient times. When Sennacherib invaded Judea, no one rose to oppose him, much less “Seven shepherds and eight princely men.” And Israel has never wasted “the land of Assyria” “with the sword.”
In Isaiah 14, immediately after saying the Assyrian would be destroyed, (verses 24-27) the Lord added, “do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper, And its ·offspring will be a fiery flying serpent... Wail, O gate! Cry, O city! All you of Philistia are dissolved; For smoke will come from the north, And no one will be alone in his appointed times.” (verses 29-31) In stating that “out of the serpent's roots will come forth a viper” and that “its ·offspring will be a fiery flying serpent,” this passage clearly sets forth two separate attacks, one in the past (relative to the time referred to) and one in the future. These two attacks are separated in time by an unspecified number of generations, as the second attacker is the “·offspring” of the first.
Shortly after this prophecy was given, Sennacherib attacked the land of the Philistines. Some might think this was the second attack mentioned in this prophecy. But this would require that the first attack be one that had been made by either Tiglath-Pileser III or Sargon II. Each of these previous Assyrian kings had been an ancestor of Sennacherib. Each of them had conquered Philistia. And both of them were dead. But the words “the rod that struck you is broken” could not realistically be applied to either of them. The power of Assyria had not been “broken” when either of these kings had died. On the other hand, both Isaiah 37:35 and 2 Kings 19:35 tell of a most remarkable destruction of Sennacherib’s army by “the angel of the Lord.” The words “the rod that struck you is broken” clearly fit this defeat. These facts make it clear that Sennacherib is the first attacker in this prophecy, not the second one.
In the first chapter of Nahum “one Who plots evil against the LORD, A wicked counselor,” (verse 11) comes forth from Nineveh, (Nahum 2:8 and 3:7) the ancient capitol of Assyria. In the next to the last verse of the prophecy, this “wicked counselor” is expressly called the “king of Assyria.” (Nahum 3:18) The Lord declares that He will make “an utter end” of this invasion, adding that “affliction will not rise up a second time.” (Nahum 1:9) He then tells His people that “though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.” (verse 12) The Divine history and many prophecies clearly show that Judah’s affliction did not end at the destruction of Sennacherib. The Assyrian invasion was only the beginning of her great and long affliction, which has not yet ended. Indeed, their greatest affliction is still future.
Both the severity and the long duration of this affliction are stressed in the fifth through the tenth chapters of Isaiah. The twenty-fifth verse of the fifth chapter tells us, “Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them.” Then follow the words; “For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.” These last words are repeated over and over in the following chapters. (Isaiah 9:12, 9:17, 9:21, and 10:4) The significance of this doleful refrain finally appears in Isaiah 10:24-25: “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: ‘O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.’”
The Lord's indignation against His people who dwell “in Zion,” that is, “Jerusalem,” (verse 32) will continue until “the Assyrian” is destroyed. When this takes place, however, the indignation will cease and His anger will finally be “turned away.” How fitting it is that the first of the gentile conquerors of God's people should also be the last; that Judah's thousands of years of suffering should finally be ended in the destruction of their first great oppressor.