Sunday, September 7, 2025
Friday, June 13, 2025
Why Trump Cannot Be the Antichrist! Part 3
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.
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?
Sunday, December 8, 2024
It's Time to Give Peace a Chance!
HRVP Blog - The death of Yahya Sinwar should mark a turning point at a
moment when a new cycle of violence is engulfing the entire Middle East. Europe
has a responsibility - and interest - in helping make ceasefires in Gaza and
Lebanon and the release of hostages possible. We must also help Palestinians
and Israelis move from mutual rejection to mutual recognition and assist the
Lebanese in rebuilding their state.
© European Union, 2024
The
anniversary of the 7 October terrorist attack on Israel took place amid an
ongoing escalation on several fronts. A new cycle of violence, hatred, and
revenge has increasingly engulfed the entire Middle East, bringing the region
is to the brink of an all-out war.
In this
dangerous context, the death of Yahya Sinwar should mark a turning point. He
was an EU-listed terrorist, responsible for the heinous attack of 7 October,
and one of the obstacles to the urgently needed ceasefire and the unconditional
release of all hostages.
There must
now be an end to the wars in Gaza, the West bank and in Lebanon, The hostages
must be freed and the suffering of the Palestinian people must end. As I
outlined to the Members of the European Parliament, the EU needs to work on
five dimensions:
1. Israel has a right and duty to protect its
citizens
As former
Defence Minister Gantz recently wrote, Israel’s trauma extends beyond the
events of 7 October 2023. It covers not only the 1,200 dead and 250 hostages,
of whom around 100 are still held captive, but also the immediate Hezbollah
attack on northern Israel, forcing 70,000 Israelis to leave their homes.
Additionally there were also Iran’s attacks – first on 13 April and then on 1
October, forcing millions of Israelis into bomb shelters. We have immediately,
and repeatedly condemned these attacks in the strongest possible terms and
recognised Israel’s right and duty to defend and protect its citizens against
terrorist attacks. Israel cannot look to its future without ensuring that 7
October will never be repeated.
2. Every right has its limits
However,
like any right, the inherent right to defend oneself against attacks has its
limits. We cannot ignore the fact that 7 October was also the beginning of
other tragedies and horrors. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in
the course of Israel’s military retaliation; almost 100,000 Palestinians have
been injured, 60 % of the buildings in the enclave destroyed.
Kamala
Harris recently stated that “no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly 2
weeks”. Almost the entire population of Gaza is displaced and malnourished,
humanitarian access has reached a new low, famine and disease are spreading.
Almost everything that makes a society function has been reduced to rubble.
There is a right to self-defence, but there is no right to revenge.
We are now
increasingly seeing Israel replicating this conduct of war in the West Bank and
Lebanon. In the West Bank, which is under illegal occupation and where illegal
settlers have been spreading terror among local communities with total
impunity, we are now witnessing Israeli airstrikes and the destruction of
civilian infrastructure.
The bombing
of the Tulkarem refugee camp, killing 18 people, was the deadliest in the
occupied West Bank in two decades. The disproportionate manner in which Israel
has been operating in Gaza does not bode well for the protection of civilians
in the West Bank and Lebanon. It has to stop.
3. Delivering humanitarian assistance
The
European Union has been providing over € 330 million humanitarian assistance to
Gaza in 2023 and 2024. We have sent more than 60 flights in our humanitarian
airlift and have activated our Civil Protection Unit more than ten times since
7 October. Together with the Member States, we are the largest donors of
humanitarian aid to Gaza.
However,
this humanitarian aid must be distributed on the ground. UNRWA is the only UN
agency able to provide essential services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza
at the required scale. Across the region, it delivers food, shelter, and
healthcare to a majority of Gaza’s population and over 650,000 children attend
its schools.
The draft
bill on banning UNRWA, currently discussed in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament,
is very alarming. If passed, it may bring down the humanitarian response in
Gaza and would have disastrous consequences for the civilian population of the
enclave and of the West Bank.
Banning the
very organisation that ensures that Palestine refugees receive quality
education and healthcare will only worsen an already tense situation, with
negative consequences not only for Palestinians, but also for Israel and
eventually Europe.
4. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs a
political solution
What we
need most urgently now is a ceasefire and the return of a political process, in
Gaza as well as in Lebanon. No military action alone can bring a safe future to
the people of the region. No military action can be legitimate in the absence
of any attempt at finding a political solution to the conflict that caused it.
Only a political settlement will bring security and peace.
However,
never before has there been so little prospect for a political solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We all know the parameters for resolving this
conflict. The international community has backed it many times, overwhelmingly:
it is the establishment of a state for each of the two peoples. One state
already exists, a strong state with immense military and economic capacity. The
other does not.
Unfortunately,
this solution – the only one we know that could bring peace – does not have the
support of one of the most critical parties to the conflict: the current
Israeli government.
Yet, this
should not stop us from preparing a better future. This is why, in September,
on the sidelines of the last UN General Assembly, I launched together with
Prince Faisal from Saudi Arabia and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide from
Norway a Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. A
total of 90 UN Member States and intergovernmental organisations and almost 60
foreign ministers from around the world attended.
This Global
Alliance will serve as an umbrella, under which each participant will
contribute to incentivise the implementation of the two-state solution. This
ranges from the 'unprecedented package of political, economic and security
support' that the EU promised already eleven years ago, to support for
Palestinian state-building, contributions to regional security, or a concrete
plan for regional cooperation. We will organise in coming weeks a series of
working meetings, starting in Riyadh and Brussels.
We also
need to foster dialogue between the civil societies of Israel, Palestine, and
Europe. We have already convened three such meetings. On 27 October, we will do
so again in Barcelona, within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean.
It may seem
naïve to think that, after so much confrontation, so much pain, and so much
hatred, it might be possible to build bridges between these two peoples. But as
Yitzhak Rabin told us, “You don't make peace with friends. You make it with
your enemies”. I believe it is Europe's responsibility - and interest - to help
both peoples move from mutual rejection to mutual recognition.
5. We must avoid further regional escalation
We cannot
abandon Lebanon. It was already a deeply destabilized country. Additionally,
the Israeli ground invasion already killed 2,500 Lebanese and has displaced 20%
of the population, a total of 1,2 million people. Lebanon has been threatened
to be “turned into a second Gaza”. This new war has already created tremendous
human suffering and could at any moment spread in the whole region.
The EU has already mobilised €40 million in humanitarian aid to assist those
affected and will continue to work relentless towards a ceasefire, supporting
the mediation efforts led by France and the United States. However, without a
strong commitment to political reform from the Lebanese political class there
is no long-term solution for Lebanon. It is on them to take control of the
state and lead. This must begin with the election of a President of the
Republic, a process, which has been stalled for more than two years.
The
Lebanese army must return to southern Lebanon. The UNSC Resolution 1701
provides the legal framework for this redeployment. Through the European Peace
Facility, we are currently helping the Lebanese Army build the capacity it
needs to protect the country’s borders.
With the shelling of UNFIL units – and wounding of four soldiers - the Israel
Defence Forces have crossed a red line. All 27 EU Member States have condemned
it, nobody is asking for UNFIL to withdraw. In the future, UNIFIL should be
given a stronger mandate to ensure peace at the border.
Israel needs to withdraw from Lebanese territory. Israel has already invaded
Lebanon three times: in 1978, from 1982 to 2000, and in 2006. Each time, these
tactical victories have evolved at the end of the day in strategic defeats for
Israel.
Even within
Israel’s own security establishment, some have argued that these invasions not
only failed to make Israel safer, they destabilised Israel’s northern border
and strengthened Hezbollah. What would make anybody believe that another
military occupation will yield largely different results?
History has shown that there are no military solutions to the deeply rooted
conflicts in the Middle East – not in Gaza, not in the West Bank, not in
Lebanon. Peace is the only long-term security guarantee.
Israel’s
peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt have demonstrated this for decades. They
should serve as blueprints, including with a Palestinian state. It is time to
give peace a chance.
General Assembly Adopts Three Resolutions to Advance Middle East Peace, Two-State Solution
Seventy-ninth Session,
45th & 46th Meetings (AM & PM) 3 December 2024
‘Bury the Hatchet’, Assembly President Appeals to Warring Parties, as Delegates Demand Ceasefire, More Aid Deliveries in Gaza ahead of Winter
The General Assembly today emphasized that a two-State solution remains the “only path to lasting peace” in the Middle East, adopting three resolutions to advance this goal, with speakers overwhelmingly urging a Gaza ceasefire and pressing Israel to permit food and aid deliveries into the enclave ahead of the cold winter months.
“Peace and security will never be achieved through force or occupation,” Assembly President Philemon Yang (Cameroon) stressed, as he emphasized that the continued denial of Palestinian statehood “has only perpetuated cycles of violence and deepened despair”. It has been over a year of hostilities that have caused thousands of deaths and widespread destruction. Now is the time for all to “bury the hatchet for once and for all”, he stressed, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages.
The Assembly adopted a resolution titled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine” (document A/79/L.23), as orally revised, with 157 votes in favour, 8 against (Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, United States) and 7 abstentions (Cameroon, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine, Uruguay). By terms of that text, the 193‑member organ stressed the need to urgently commit to a Middle East peace process. Israel, the occupying Power, must comply with international law, including ceasing all settlement activities and evacuating settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the text demanded.
Adopting a text titled “Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat” (document A/79/L.24) by a recorded vote of 101 votes in favour, 27 against and 42 abstentions, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General continue to provide resources and ensure that the Division continues to effectively carry out its work.
The Assembly also adopted by 97 votes in favour to 8 against (Australia, Canada, Israel, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, United Kingdom, United States), with 64 abstentions, a resolution on “The Syrian Golan” (document A/79/L.19), declaring that Israel has failed to comply with Security Council resolution 497 (1981). Israel’s decision to impose its jurisdiction on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void, the text declared, calling on Israel to resume talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to withdraw from all occupied Syrian Golan.
Presenting the report of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for the period 2 September 2023 to 31 August 2024 (document A/79/35), Chair Cheikh Niang pledged to protect Palestinian rights and revive a two-State solution. The Committee strongly condemns the indiscriminate Israeli military campaign in Gaza, he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave. The State of Palestine must become a full UN member. Israel must rescind its classification of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization, he added.
“Every single day — from sunrise to sunset, from sunset to sunrise — has been a journey of struggle and survival, of pain and agony, of loss and death,” said the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine. Israel has spared no means in its destruction of the Palestinian people. The question of Palestine has been on the UN agenda since the Organization’s inception and remains the most critical test to the very existence of an international law-based order.
“It is the question of a people denied the very rights that lie at the heart of the UN Charter,” he went on to say. Solidarity with the Palestinian people must be translated into this decisive action to uphold international law. The Israeli Government's plan is obvious — destroy and displace the people to annex the land. “This illegal occupation must end,” he said, calling for “supremacist ideologies” to be defeated.
Israel’s representative said that in the upcoming week the Assembly will convene three meetings to discuss the Middle East and resolutions based on a “reckless disregard for the truth”. “In the wake of Hamas' 7 October massacre, now over more than a year ago, the UN's entrenched anti-Israeli bias has been laid bare for all to see,” she added. Hamas’ murder, rape and torture of 1,200 people, and the kidnapping of 240 remain insufficiently addressed by the UN. Instead, the Assembly fixates on resolutions sponsored by Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Venezuela and the Syrian regime.
If they were “truly interested in bringing solutions to the war-torn region, they would abandon their obsessive efforts to delegitimize Israel”, she said. They would also focus on how to bring home the hostages, how to dismantle Hamas and how to get the hatred of Israel out of the Palestinian school system. “Is it not time to hold Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations accountable for the blood they have spilled,” she asked.
Many Member States urged a ceasefire in Gaza, spotlighting the plight and suffering of the Palestinian people. Lebanon’s delegate, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, expressed alarm that people in Gaza are going through genocide and warned that the onset of the winter will certainly aggravate the suffering and add to the current humanitarian crisis. He welcomed the entering into force of the stoppage of hostilities in Lebanon and expressed hope that that pause in fighting would bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and prevent escalation in the West Bank.
Israel’s attacks against the Palestinian people are intensifying even as the death toll stands at 44,000 lives, Qatar’s delegate said. “We are at a turning point on the Palestinian question,” she added. Türkiye’s delegate called the toll on human life in the Gaza Strip unconscionable, stressing that the breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law “cannot be tolerated any longer”.
Speakers expressed concern that the UN has not done more to combat crimes committed against the Palestinian people, with the delegate from Malaysia stressing that the Organization has failed to translate words into action. “We have remained impotent as injustice persists,” he stressed.
Jordan’s speaker, echoing a similar sentiment, said that Israel’s actions are the result of the international community’s failure to confront “Israeli arrogance”. Member States must do more to prevent Israel’s access to weapons. Egypt’s delegate said Israeli aggression has expanded to include Lebanon, Syria and other countries in the region, complicating and compounding crises in the Middle East.
“These measures could not continue without the unlimited and multifaceted support that Israel receives from the United States,” Syria’s delegate pointed out. Washington D.C. is constantly trying to prevent any accountability for “Israeli war criminals” and its repeated use of the veto in the Council is an example of “being blind”. Recent attacks on Syria are “part of a continued Zionist plot”, he added.
Representing the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, Venezuela’s speaker also condemned the latest veto by the United States which he said “amounts to further complicity” with Israels’ policy and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
However, “one-sided resolutions will not help advance a durable peace or bring us closer to a two-State solution”, the delegate of the United States said, also adding that they only perpetuate long-standing divisions at a time “when we urgently need to work together”. Because the draft texts neither achieve this objective nor create conditions for direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, his delegation will vote against all three resolutions, he said, calling for a stabilization of the situation and the need for accountability.
Other delegations such as Chile’s speaker condemned Israel’s expansionist policy in the West Bank and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Hamas hostages. He also urged Member States to continue contributing to UNRWA so it can maintain its operations.
Other delegations pointed out initiatives they have taken to improve the situation on the ground and hold perpetrators accountable. South Africa’s delegate, recalling the decision to turn to the International Court of Justice to seek an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide in Gaza, welcomed the recent International Criminal Court’s issuance of warrants of arrest for Israel and Hamas’ senior leadership.
Saudi Arabia’s representative said his country, in partnership with the European Union and Norway, has launched the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which held its first meeting in Riyadh on 30 and 31 October. He urged countries to support the initiative to hold an international conference in 2025 under the auspices of the Assembly, with the chairmanship of his country and France to implement the relevant UN resolutions and the two-State formula.










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