Many antichrists
Short answer: No, he may be an antichrist because the Apostle John says that there are many antichrists1 but he is not the Antichrist that is prophesied in the Bible to arise in the last 3 ½ years. And that really is the point–the Antichrist is not revealed until the midpoint of the seven year tribulation. The Bible also says that he comes up out of the abyss and we see in Rev. 9:1 that the abyss is not opened until the 5th trumpet at the halfway point. Besides this fact, the Antichrist or the beast is a man from history who is resurrected and a dictator or leader from one of the seven Gentile mountain kingdoms.2 So, he has to be a historical leader from either Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome or Nazi Germany. These are the only possibilities according to Scripture. Vladimir Putin, although undoubtedly evil, is not the beast or Antichrist. He has not been resurrected and he has not been a dictator from one of these seven mountain kingdoms.
Putin says he is chosen by the devil
The issue though is very topical at the moment because of the war in Ukraine. A news article came to my attention recently which states in its headline, “Putin Reveals to Senior Aide That He is the Next Antichrist.” Upon carefully reading the article there are a few clues that help us decipher the difference between the Antichrist or beast to come and Putin being one of many antichrists. I certainly believe that Putin is one of many antichrists because effectively there is no doubt that he is evil and against or “anti” Christ. There is a statement in the article which backs up what I am saying as follows:
The Antichrist is many, it is a force that runs through only those who have been chosen, as I have,” Putin said whilst staring down the assembled men.
Note the word, “many.” Supposedly even Putin himself according to the article says that antichrists are many. The devil to be sure has used many evil leaders throughout history. But even Satan himself knows that there is coming a future time when there will be a man completely aligned and possessed who will be completely and utterly diabolical. But that man is not Putin. There is no doubt that he serves the devil’s purposes at this point in time and history. There is another interesting statement in this article saying…
“And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise."
Interesting because supposedly Putin said this in the meeting with his senior aides as well. From the article it appears as if this is the devil talking through Putin to his senior aides referring to the future Antichrist or beast of Revelation. Putin may have understood that he was talking about himself but the devil probably knows that he is referring to another man to come, a king of bold face one who understands riddles. To understand who exactly the beast is one has to examine clues and ironically there is a riddle in the Bible that gives a massive clue to who the beast will actually be. The riddle is as follows:
This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
The riddle to be solved
The riddle is that the beast to come once was (existed before), now is not (does not exist now) and is an eighth king (will exist again meaning that he will come back from the dead). This man will be the final beast or Antichrist. A historical dictator is coming back to life and he comes back to life at the halfway point of the last seven years. The riddle continues because this man belongs to one of the seven kingdoms. The choice is extremely limited and cannot include Putin by definition because Russia is not one of the seven kingdoms/mountains that has oppressed the Jews. In my opinion the only dictator/man/ruler who matches all of the clues is Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler killed six million Jews and the riddle explains that he will come back to life and astonish the world.3 There would be nothing more astonishing in my view than seeing Hitler come back to life and establishing the so called Fourth Reich.
The Jews would not accept Hitler
The most common argument against this theory often leveled at me is that the world and the Jews would never accept Adolf Hitler as the world ruler. In today’s thinking that may appear to be true but if a man came back from the dead after 90 odd years having apparently conquered death and solved the mystery of eternal life, that would be a powerful sign and after-all the Jews seek after signs.4 Besides who says that the Jews will have any choice. He will be a strongman who will enforce his will upon the world–a king of bold face. Daniel talks about a stern faced king who will succeed in whatever he does.5 The idea that the Antichrist will be a man of peace is a false notion. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.5 He arises out of the abyss with power and straight away murders the Two Witnesses.6 That fact alone will garner the support of the Jews because the world will celebrate the man who is able to stop these two prophets who had been tormenting those who live on the earth.7 He will virtually straight away declare himself to be God and sit on the throne in the future Jewish temple and none will be able to stop him.8 Besides, God will send a powerful delusion so that the people of the earth at that time will believe the lie–the lie Satan told to Eve in the beginning that mankind can be like God and live eternally. The only requirement perhaps will be to take a piece of the beast’s DNA or mark of the beast.
Conclusion
No, Putin is not the Antichrist or beast to come–he doesn’t match all the clues of the riddle and even the article hints that there is another “bold faced” man to come. There are many types of antichrists but only one Antichrist of the end times and we won’t know for sure until the midpoint of the last seven years. The countdown will begin once we see the Two Witnesses begin prophesying at the start of this seven years. I see no reason to change my belief at this stage that the beast to come is a resurrected Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s last words to his valet Heinz Linge before he committed suicide in response to what they should do now and for whom shall they now fight for, were…9
"(Fight) for the man who comes after me."
2 Responses
To some it may be interesting to speculate about the identity of the antichrist. However, for me there is something much more important, something the Bible commands us to do in many ways. So many people have speculated about the identity of the antichrist and got it wrong, again and again. That’s why I stay with what the bible says and I look for the coming of Christ my Saviour instead of the antichrist. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ… Titus 2:13
Hi Grace,
Thanks for your comment. If you are pre-trib then yes the very next thing you are looking for is Jesus and the “imminent” rapture. But the Bible gives many verses and clues about the identity of the Antichrist or beast. The question is why? That is because I believe we can work it out which will become clearer as we move towards the end and the unsealing of the scroll.(Dan. 12:4). If one takes a post-trib view which I believe is the correct view then the identity of the AC is very important because he comes before the return of Jesus and this will help us to not be deceived. Revelation talks so much about this subject that it is impossible for it not to be important. We are instructed by Jesus Himself to watch for the signs which includes watching out that you are not fooled by pseudo-Christs and other deceptions. The antidote to deception is working out the truth. I too am waiting for Christ as a post-tribber but there is much water to go under the bridge yet. What we do is we match up all the clues with each person and we say yes or no depending on how closely each candidate matches the clues. I stand by my current study and understanding that Adolf Hitler is the one who matches all the clues as the best candidate for the AC.