by Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director
Editor's Note: When I wrote the following piece, it was meant to be tongue in cheek. Indeed, the column could have been written about Fidel Castro, Vladimir Putin or Alec Baldwin. However, those on the left were calling the surprisingly popular candidate, Barack Obama, the "savior"--a man who would supposedly put the world back on track and establish the United States as a moral beacon once again, if he were elected. I never expected to receive over 70,000 hits to this one column on RFFM.org. In addition, there are literally millions of results on the Yahoo search engine alone for the terms Obama and antichrist.
Now before the head of the Dept. of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, puts me on a list of possible terrorists, she needs to know I wrote a follow-up column on March 12, 2008, titled "Christians Need To Be Careful About Antichrist / Obama Comparisons" http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/03/christians-need.html in which I warn of such speculation. After all, Jesus Himself told the Church to watch for the signs and to rely on Scripture itself before coming to conclusions about the End of Days. Writing the first piece in February of 2008, I marveled at how so many Americans and people from around the world were praising a man who they loved, but knew little of due to liberal media bias; it was a phenomenon which played a significant role in my writing the commentary. The bottom line is millions of Christians came to their viewpoint on Barack Obama's sudden rise to power, his seemingly mystical influence on the world and how many believe his presidency is, in part, the fulfillment of Scripture. Obama may be the "savior" to some, while at the same time he is the dread of others.
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Are these the end times? Judeo-Christian Scripture tells us there will be signs and wonders at the end of the age, but I'm not sure the Bible had hard core politics in mind.
Some may be shocked at the title I have given this piece. To be honest, it took me about ten seconds to decide whether asking the ultimate question would violate some kind of Christian ethic. Let's just say I wrote this column with my tongue almost firmly planted in cheek.
The truth is, during the last six months, I have been searching for a rationale to describe the phenomenon concerning the meteoric political rise of Barack Hussein Obama. I have heard Republicans say they could vote for the junior Senator from Illinois in the November presidential election. I have witnessed the veritable dismantling of the Clinton political machine by a man who does not have the experience of most serving in the U.S. Congress. I have heard of women swooning just by being in Obama's presence and, quite frankly, I don't get it. I won't even admit Obama gives a good impression of the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., as some people swear he does.
It's as if a significant portion of the American public is under some sort of ungodly spell when it comes to Obama and someone needs to give me a good explanation for it. There is one thing I do know and that is Obama's popularity is similar to the cult of personality which surrounded a number of past leaders, many of whom were not exactly perfect citizens of the world. But I'm not going to go there. Let's stick with some striking comparisons given to us in Scripture.
The antichrist is mentioned in 1 John 2:18-19, 1 John 2:22-23, 1 John 4:2-3 and 2 John 1:7. Without going into the darker meaning of the antichrist's existence, for a moment let us talk about how he will come to power. Judeo-Christian teachings tell us the antichrist is a man who will have unbelievable charisma. This man of perdition will claim he is an emissary of peace and hope. The entire world will buy into his lies and deception. The antichrist will be given great spiritual powers by dark forces. However, he will also be given great political power by men who see him as a type of secular messiah. Eventually, the antichrist will reveal his true nature--after he has assumed authority over the entire world--and it will take God's intervention alone to defeat him.
Scripture goes one step further by saying, even those who know the truth will have the potential to be deceived by the antichrist--and some will. Now many will scoff at my commentary, saying I'm just another goofy Christian, playing out some sort of forecast of spiritual gloom and doom at the expense of a great man.
That's just it. Though a lot more would have to happen before I would truly believe Sen. Obama was a key player on the road to Armageddon, the nay-sayers would still have to "show me" even though I don't hail from Missouri.
Obama talks about bringing our nation together, but he doesn't explain how he would accomplish this lofty goal. For example, those who support abortion rights believe women should have access to this procedure upon demand. In contrast, people like myself actually believe the taking of an innocent unborn child's life is murder--or something very close to it. Indeed, Obama seems to be the person least qualified to bring unity over this subject because he and Hillary Rodham Clinton were arguing about which one of them would allow the killing of more unborn children.
Obama would grant "amnesty" or "a path to citizenship" to over 12 million who are in this nation illegally. Meanwhile, over 75% of Americans are against such a plan and want our nation's borders with Mexico secured. The Senator from Illinois has lofty aspirations regarding health care that would cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. Most Americans oppose any tax hike. Therefore, such a plan would be impossible to implement.
The litany goes on and on. Obama offers hope and change, change and hope, but, in reality, the political atmosphere in the United States says something completely different. There would be "hope" if only all Americans would agree with the practice of abortion. Will we finally experience change when a vast number of U.S. citizens say there should be no border with Mexico? Will we all come together, if we simply create dialogue with people who have sworn to kill us, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as Obama suggests?
These are some of the reasons why I have made the Obama antichrist analogy. It would take some sort of mesmerism to get me to believe that killing babies in the womb is a Constitutional right. But I don't think that is the way the antichrist will operate. Those who fall under his spell won't think about such subjects; the world will simply look at an aura which exists around an individual, but the aura will have no substance. There will be light, but no heat. There will be mass, but no form. The message will have a spiritual resonance, but be lacking in spiritual quality.
Doesn't this describe Barack Hussein Obama to the nth degree? No, I don't really think Obama is Satan's main man on the planet Earth. But until someone gives me a reasonable explanation for his popularity, I'm going to leave the door to this thought open, just a crack. Even if I am wrong, at least this will let some light shine through.
To view the original posting and comments from readers, go to: http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2008/02/obama-the-antic.html
NOTE: Comments to RFFM.org's blog which include ad hominems or personal attack will automatically be rejected. No hyperlinks allowed.
Seems as though you could make that claim for just about ANYONE and apply a justification to it. Obama speaks about all those things the U.S. has lost, Love, Hope, Grace, Humility, Peace, etc. Seems to me his message is right along with Jesus'. Is this NOT what Jesus also spoke about? I rest my case on that issue.
It is very easy to look for faults in those who stand up for what is tantamount to positive especially when the modality behind our contrivances are obfuscatory and divisive.
You're still stuck on abortion...? Do you also believe in the death penalty? Do you not kill other LIVING things to live. I'm totally lost on your hypocrisy. P.S. No one has a "RIGHT to life", if we did, everyone wouldn't HAVE to die.
Posted by: Snoop | April 24, 2009 at 07:17 AM
So many people will be deceived and one belief alone will deceive many. They believe that the rapture will happen before the Antichrist. No, this belief is a lie. The rapture will be at the last trumpet after all is said and done.
Let no man deceive you.
I believe that Obama could be The Antichrist Of The End of Days.
Posted by: koolmom21 | May 30, 2009 at 08:38 PM