How can the Antichrist come from Russia and yet fulfil the prophecy that he will come from one of the nations of the broken up Grecian Empire: Egypt, Assyria, Turkey, or Greece?
Can we speculate? How did Jesus
fulfil the Old Testament prophecies about his “birthplace?” Let’s look
at three of the different prophecies used in the New Testament and
claimed to be fulfilled in Jesus. We will be reading from the book of Matthew.
Matthew 2
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of
Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for
we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
“Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
“When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
“And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
“When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Hosea 11:1)
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. (Jeremiah 31:15)
“But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
“And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” (End of Matthew 2)
From the text we can see how Jesus was able to fulfil three seemingly contrary prophecies about the Messiah. Micah prophesied the Messiah would come from Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come
forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting.”
In Matthew 2:5-6 we find the fulfilment: “And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”
We know form Matthew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, Matthew also quotes from Hosea 11:1 indicating that the verse was prophetic of Jesus also.
Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:15 “Out of Egypt have I called My son.”
Though Jesus was born in Bethlehem, his parents fled to Egypt because Herod sought to kill the child. Later, after Herod’s death, they returned from Egypt, fulfilling the prophecy. However, Herod’s son was ruling in Jerusalem, therefore, fearing him, they travelled north and made Nazareth their home and in turn fulfilled the prophecy about the Branch being a “shoot” or “netzar,” which in Hebrew is very similar to the name Nazareth.
Isaiah 11:1-5 “And there shall come forth a rod (or shoot) out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”
Clearly, the passage is a prophecy
about the Messiah which Jesus fulfilled.
In Hebrew the word for “shoot” or
“branch” found in Isaiah 11:1 has a similar sound as the town of
Nazareth. In Google search we find,
(In Hebrew, "Nazare" or "Nazarene" (Ναζαρέθ in Greek) refers to a person from the city of Nazareth or a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. The name Nazareth itself is believed to have roots in Hebrew words meaning "branch" or "shoot," potentially linking it to prophetic texts about the Messiah.)
(Isaiah 11:1, which prophesies a "shoot" springing from Jesse's stump and a "branch" bearing fruit, is interpreted by Matthew as a fulfilment of the prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene. Matthew's Gospel states that Jesus went to live in Nazareth, a town, for this very reason. The Hebrew word "netzer" (which translates to "branch" in Isaiah 11:1 is also the root of the name "Nazareth".)
Google search continues,
(The Hebrew word "netzer" (נֵצֶר) means "branch" or "shoot," often associated with the messianic prophecies in the Bible. It's used in Isaiah 11:1 to describe a "branch" that will grow from the stem of Jesse, symbolizing a future ruler and deliverer. The word "Netzer" is also linked to the name "Nazareth," as in Matthew 2:23, where Jesus is called a "Nazarene".)
Matthew 2:23 “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
We see Jesus fulfils three different prophecies concerning where he
comes from. The Jewish authorities believed he was from Galilee and couldn’t be
the Messiah, who they thought would come from Bethlehem. In John’s Gospel we
find the exchange.
John 7:39-52 “Many of the people therefore, when
they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others
said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
Has not the scripture said, That Christ comes of the
seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So,
there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them
would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
“Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Does our law judge any man, before it hears him, and knows what he has done? They answered and said unto him, Are you also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee arises no prophet.”
Jesus’ real birthplace was Bethlehem, but it was hidden from the religious authorities. Jesus ended up fulfilling three seemingly different prophecies which seem to conflict with one another, but in truth were synchronized.
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In a like manner, the Antichrist
could be born in Assyria, for example, by a Russian father and a Syrian mother.
The Russian pilots came down from Moscow to help train Assad’s pilots during
the years when Russia and Syria were closely aligned. It was in 1956 that the
Soviet Union sent Russian pilots to Damascus to help train the Syrian pilots to
be able to fly the Russian MIGS-17 jets. By the end of 1957, two MiG-17 squadrons
were established at Mezzeh Military Airport in Damascus, according to Google. However, during
the Arab spring years in 2015 when America was trying to destabilize Syria and
remove Assad, many of the Russian pilots’ wives moved to Russia with their children.
Therefore, a son of a Russian father and Syrian mother born in Syria, but growing up in Russia could eventually grow into our Antichrist figure and become a military and political ruler in Russia and lead an invasion force against Israel at some future date. A child born in 1960, four years after the Russian pilots originally were stationed in Damascus, would today be 65 years old. A child born in 2015, the year that many Russia/Syrian families moved to Russia would only be 10 years old today.
Here's a link to an article explaining how Russian children living in refugee camps in Syria, Turkey and Iraq are being repatriated to Russia
If Russia manages to terminate her war with Ukraine in victory, she would be able to change her focus to the Middle East and her former Arab/ Muslim friends whom she has not been able to give much attention during the prolonged war with Ukraine.
Russia has been getting back on her feet from the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1989. Now, with a stronger military, and with military experience from the Ukraine war, Russia could be learning all she needs to be capable of making a future invasion of Israel a possibility. With the continued abuse of the Palestinian people to the point of genocide, the world may very well accept such an intervention by Russia in the Middle East as a God send.
In the next part, we will look at the major characteristics of the Antichrist?
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