Anciently, an ensign was a banner made of wood or metal that was raised upon a hilltop by generals to direct their troops in battle. The Hebrew word, nes, is often translated as “standard.” The word has no connotation of good nor bad, positive or negative, and Isaiah uses the word in a neutral way for two different men, a wicked ensign from a foreign land leading an innumerable army (Isa. 5:26), and a righteous servant of Christ (Isa. 11:12; D&C 113:5-6). The wicked, or counterfeit, ensign appears first: “And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss [call] unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly” (Isa 5:26; see also Isa. 13:4-6).

Some may assume that because the Lord is raising this man up that he must be the herald of a righteous cause; however, the Lord says that this man, the “Assyrian,” will be raised up to be “the rod of mine anger” sent “against an hypocritical nation” (Isa. 10:5-6). The Lord further says that this man will be sent “against the people of my wrath . . . to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (ibid). This echoes an earlier description of this man’s army: “Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe [to their own place], and none shall deliver it” (Isa. 5:29).

Despite these terms of war, many Latter-day Saints consider this ensign to be a missionary effort raised up to gather Israel (see commentary for Isaiah 5:26). Although Isaiah does prophesy of such an ensign (the righteous servant of Christ and those assisting him, Isa. 11: 11:12), the context of these and other passages strongly suggests a wicked leader of a violent army. Later we learn that this Assyrian king will erase the borders of nations and kill or subjugate many people (Isa. 10:12-14). Indeed, in nearly every way he answers to the description of the first “beast” in Revelation 11:7 and 13:1-8. (Some scholars believe that the second beast is actually the “anti-Christ” [Rev. 13:10-17], though it appears that both men will be anti-Christs. The prophet Ezekiel refers to this man as “Gog” [Ezek. 38:1-2]. In this work I often refer to this tyrant as the anti-Christ.) Although the JST likens “the beast” to “the kingdoms of the earth,” perhaps like a super Axis of nations, John also likens the beast to a man, often using the pronouns “him” and “his.” This personification seems to indicate a man, almost certainly Isaiah’s “Assyrian” (Isa. 7:17-18, 20; 10:5).

The Lord also gives this man other titles, such as “hand” (Isa. 5:25), “ax” (Isa. 10:15), and a “besom of destruction” to sweep the wicked from the face of the earth “(Isa. 14:23). This tyrant will have no moral compunction and will show no mercy. Under his leadership, his army will delight in all manner of mayhem:

Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children (Isa. 13:15-18).

Again, it is the Lord who raises this wicked ensign up, that the wicked may slay the wicked: “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it (Isa. 13:9; see also Isa. 13:12-16).
According to Isaiah’s timeline, this ensign will not threaten the world until after the “nation of the Lord’s house” has been weakened by severe earthquakes and internal strife, which will reduce many people to living in family clans (Isa. 3:1-8). As with most counterfeits, this wicked despot will appear first, before the righteous ensign appears on the world stage. In the end, this tyrant, whose presumption will lead him to boast that he is greater than God (Isa. 10:15; 14:13-15; 2 Thess. 2:3-4) will suffer an ignominious death and be thrust down to hell, where he will commune with other fallen tyrants, including Lucifer himself (Isa. 14:15-20).