A reader asked in response to my article about the Obama-Antichrist speculation whether I thought that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin could be the Antichrist. I suppose the reasoning behind this question is that I stated that my research suggests that Antichrist is going to rise from Russia.
Vladimir Putin has been the central figure of Russian politics for the past decade and potentially could remain the central figure in the next decade.
- Although Putin is no longer the President of Russia, there is a loophole which makes him eligible to run for a new six-year presidential term in 2012. Even if Putin chooses to remain Prime Minister of Russia, he still would wield a lot of influence. In fact, some argue that Putin is still the man that runs the country and that the current Russian President is just a figurehead.
Given Putin’s position of power in an important country like Russia, asking whether Putin is the Antichrist is a good question. It’s a topic that I’ve wanted to write about in the past, but have not found a good way to introduce it. Therefore, in this blog post I’ll address whether Vladimir Putin is the Antichrist.
There are a few reasons why I do not believe Putin is the Antichrist.
- The Antichrist is characterized as the “little horn” in Daniel 7:8, which implies he is a leader who arises out of relative obscurity. Putin is a well known leader throughout the world.
- Recall that Antichrist will not desire women (Daniel 11:37). Vladimir Putin was married and was rumored to marry again in the future.
- Like Obama, I highly doubt that Putin is a past leader who has been falsely resurrected.
Putin also lacks the charisma that Antichrist likely is going to have. Although Putin speaks fluent German and Russian, he does not have a command of the English language. It is difficult for a person to gain the support and trust of English-speaking people when he or she lacks the ability to communicate effectively in English.
Vladimir Putin’s role in history is to help prepare Russia for the rise of Antichrist and to ensure that Russia remains a major adversary to the United States and Israel:
- Israel and the United States can blame Putin for making the decision to startup Iran’s nuclear reactor this past weekend.
- The biggest thing that I believe Putin has done so far since his rise to power is engineer the Georgian-Russian War in 2008 because that war brought the territory of South Ossetia under the control of Russia. The absorption of South Ossetia into Russia is very important because researchers profiled in a National Geographic article believe that the surviving remnants of the Scythians, the people whom Flavius Josephus identified as Magog, are located in South Ossetia (and North Ossetia). In effect, the land of Magog is now contained within the boundaries of Russia because of Putin’s war. The war makes it possible for Antichrist to originate in the land of Magog and to take control of Russia… More on this can be found at this link
Antichrist’s rise out of obscurity will involve the overthrowing of three leaders.
- Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
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- Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
It is possible that Antichrist overthrows Putin though I think there is a less than 50% chance that Putin is in power when it is time for Antichrist to begin his ascent.
- The future is going to be highly unstable so it is going to be very difficult for any leader to maintain their position of power. Putin’s political survival is going to depend on his ability to suppress future civil unrest and his ability to manage Russia through a time of global turmoil. However, Putin will eventually be replaced… The question is whether he will be replaced peacefully or violently. If Putin is replaced by Antichrist it’s probably going to be violent…
