Question: Who is Judas Iscariot?

His name:

Judas – the name Judas means “he shall be praised” and comes from Jacobs forth son, Also known as Judah, and Jude.

Though this is a man’s name it was past on with his descendants and eventually became the tribe of Judah and then the Nation.

Iscariot – his last name means “men of Kerioth”. Kerioth being a city of Moab (just a quick side note that I had read that there is a city in Judah named Kerioth as well, but I could not find this in the bible). Is and always has been a thorn in Israel’s side. The name means “of the mother’s father” the people are the descendants of the incestuous son of Lot.

Amos 2:1 “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2:2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet”:

1. Could Judas be from this line and still be a jew?

2. Is the name proof he was an enemy of Israel from the start?

3. could this be a loose interpretation of his name (he shall be praised by the men of Kerioth)

4. What does all this mean?

The son of perdition:

The Lord refers to Judas as the son of perdition, John 17:12 “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled”. The bible goes on to talk about the end of times and what shall take place in those days, 2Th 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition”.

Here the son of perdition is also called that man of sin. In the end times scenario the man of sin has another name, the Antichrist! In Rev 17:8 we see the beast (antichrist) will go into perdition. Rev 17:8 “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is”.

Notice also that it calls the beast he that was, and is not and yet is. Judas was (in the days of our Lord’s ministry), he is not (now), and yet is (if he returns and antichrist).

Jesus called him the son of perdition as we read in John 17, we also read that the beast would go into perdition. Now does the bible ever say Judas would go into perdition? No, it does not ever say that. But! The apostles do make a statement that is worth a look. In Acts1:25. “That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place”.

So now we know he was called this by the Lord Jesus him self. We also know the beast or antichrist is called by the same name. we see that the antichrist was, is not, yet is. We know the antichrist will go into perdition, and now we see Judas when he died went into his own place. I think now we should at least be able to see some possibilities. I am in no way saying he is the antichrist, only that there are some verses here that might need farther investigation.

One last note on this point…. When at the last supper Jesus said something like, he it is who will betray me whom after I have dipped the sop will eat of it. Sop… s.o.p, son of perdition!! Hmm?

For my next study I will look at his life as an apostle. I will look at what he saw day to day. See how he lived when under Jesus’ ministry. And muse the question, how can someone so close to life….die so badly