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Armilus (Hebrew:ארמילוס; also spelledArmilos andArmilius)[1] is ananti-messiah figure in medievalJewish eschatology who will conquer the whole Earth, centralizing in Jerusalem and persecuting the Jewish believers until his final defeat at the hands of theJewish Messiah. His believed destruction symbolizes the ultimate victory of the Jewish Messiah in theMessianic Age.
TheSefer Zerubbabel is probably from the 7th century CE. Armilus is thought to be acryptogram forHeraclius, a Byzantine emperor, and it is thought that the events described in the Sefer Zerubbabel coincide with theJewish revolt against Heraclius.[2]
The 11th-centuryMidrash Vayosha, which describes Armilus, was first published atConstantinople in 1519.
According to theJewish Encyclopedia, Armilus is "a king who will arise at the end of time against the Messiah, and will be conquered by him after having brought much distress upon Israel." He is spoken of in theMidrash Vayosha,Sefer Zerubbabel and other texts. He is an adversary similar toGog and Magog, and in some instances he is considered identical to Gog, but under another name.[3] In the Sefer Zerubbabel he takes the place of Magog and defeats theMessiah ben Joseph.[4]: 60
The origin of this figure, said to be the offspring ofSatan and a virgin, or Satan and a statue (or "stone"), is regarded as questionable by theJewish Encyclopedia, due to the variation and clear relation (if not parody) to Christian doctrine, legend, and scripture.[3] This reference to him beingborn of a virgin, evoking theVirgin Mary, would correlate with Jewish sources stating that he is seen by the Christians as their Messiah and as their God, further identifying him toJesus Christ.
TheJewish Encyclopedia also links the figure to Roman mythology, comparing the story of his birth from a stone to a similar legend about a living statue attributed toVirgil, and the figure's name and conflict with the Messiah to an account inEusebius'Chronicon in which a Roman leader (given the nameAmulius[5] or Armilus[3] in various translations, but listed as a successor toAgrippa in the place ofRomulus Silvius) wages war onJupiter and is destroyed by a storm.[3]
The name might be derived from that ofRomulus, one of the founders ofRome, or fromAhriman, the evil principle inZoroastrianism (Angra Mainyu).[3]
Midrash Vayosha depicts Armilus as bald, partially deaf, partially maimed, and partially leprous.[6]