Is President Obama The Antichrist?
So I was minding my own business the other day and a friend called. As we enjoyed one of our usual wide-ranging discussions on how much better looking and smarter I am than he is (at least that’s how I remember it), he mentioned that he had seen a video on YouTube that asked the question, “Is President Obama the Antichrist”? I started laughing and he told me, “No, it’s really there.”
I took that in for a moment and decided it was time to check out the situation. As it turns out, the video is by a guy named P.P. Simmons, who has a number of videos devoted to endtime theology and, of course, President Obama.
After watching Mr. Simmons’ video, a link to which is provided below, I had to admit that, on some level, President Obama did, as asserted, meet 12 of the 19 signs of the antichrist. However, several people I’ve had the displeasure of working with over the years could easily knock off 15 or 16 of those signs and at least one of the women I went out with back in the day could probably make it 18 out of 19 (She never suffered a head wound while I knew her, although if she had one before I met her, it might have explained a few things!).
I suppose my interest in this apocryphal video would have ended right there had I not noticed that P.P. Simmons was only one of a wide assortment of people on YouTube earnestly asking whether our president was the antichrist. Friends, there are a LOT of people, apparently, who see the president’s indifferent attitude toward cherished “mainstream” values as a sign of the end. I’ll grant you that he comes off as a pompous ass a lot of the time, and he definitely didn’t shy away from all of the “messiah” talk back in the 2008 campaign but, seriously, if he can’t get us out of Afghanistan, how powerful is he, really? I mean, if you’re going for Dark Lord of the Sith status, aren’t you at least going to give people a reason to follow you to hell? It seems to me that success matters in these sorts of careers and, frankly, as an antichrist, he just kind of sucks.
Perhaps I have missed some part of the concept here, but when I think antichrist, I go back to the bible, which, after all, is where the term comes from and where folks like P.P. Simmons get their mojo. I John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”
Based on John’s testimony, anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is, or perhaps more properly, is possessed by the spirit of, the antichrist. If this is so, and I have no reason to doubt Jesus's best friend, then there is a world full of potential antichrists. Frankly, while it is always good politics to demonize your adversary, there just seem to be too many better potential candidates for the title “antichrist” than to actually stick it on President Obama. As I said, he may come off as a pompous ass, but what top-tier politician doesn’t? Besides, and this is critical, he hasn’t denied that Jesus is the Christ. Quite the opposite, in fact. He declares himself to be a Christian and proclaims his faith in Jesus. Other Christians may want to question President Obama’s faith, but I have yet to hear him deny that Jesus is the Christ.
No, kids, I think that, while the spirit of the antichrist is, by all appearances, alive and well in the world today, we’re going to have to look further for an actual political figure who meets the necessary criteria for causing people to worship him. Obama had it going on for awhile but, even before the 2008 election, he only managed to get about half the country (although more of the global community) to buy into his shtick. I’m thinking that anybody going for the title of antichrist would have to be more compelling as a leader, would have to deny that Jesus is the Christ, and, especially, would have to enjoy big-time success for at least three and a half years (see Daniel 9:27). Our president hasn’t managed to keep even the worshipful throngs from 2008 on his side since the election and he certainly hasn’t enjoyed the kind of success that would cause the world to follow him with religious fervor—despite the fevered dreams of some conservative Christians.
As a Christian and a conservative libertarian, I can sympathize with the zeal many Evangelical Christians have as they look expectantly for the return of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. However, the all too frequent identification as the antichrist of any prominent person who appears to disagree with their worldview is just silly. It seems to me that we would all be better off focusing on Jesus and His call to “seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness” and let Him worry about who is, or is not, the antichrist. Of course, that said, I’ll still be watching for any signs of political/religious ambitions on the part of my old girlfriend!
Thomas A. Hall