Question of the Month-September 2008

Our question this month comes from someone who asks, “I know this is going to sound a little crazy, but recently I got some emails from a couple of my friends who thought Barack Obama might be the antichrist. I wonder if you could comment on this issue from a Biblical perspective.”

Recently, I had the opportunity of listening to Senator Obama in person at a policy conference for Israel in Washington, D.C. The Senator himself indirectly dealt with this subject. He told the audience that he wasn’t half as scary or crazy as some of the emails out there about him. I think he had to deal with this issue publicly because there is a lot of stuff flying around about him, including the suggestion he might be the antichrist.

Anytime you have a close political election with a lot of emotion, you are going to have a lot of people throwing things around about the candidates for a variety of reasons. My sense is that the antichrist emails and talk on the Internet about this subject have come out for a couple of reasons. First of all, people are surprised and threatened by the stunning popularity of Obama, as well as his somewhat mysterious background. Obama is not the typical candidate. He is the first mixed race candidate with a father who was not an American. This, along with questions about his possible ties to Islam, in an age of terrorism and post 9-11 thinking, is bound to generate fear among many. Secondly, Senator Obama is only a first term senator from Illinois and many people have questions about his legislative track record and what he will do as President.

All of this ties into this speculation about Obama being the antichrist. Historically, the antichrist has been such a mysterious person in the Bible that Christians are deeply divided and confused about the subject. Some Christians believe the antichrist to be a real person, while others believe him to be more of a symbol of evil than a real person. Many Christians have never given the subject any serious thought or study. As a matter of fact, when you raise the subject in Christian circles, few know what to say and most say nothing out of ignorance or fear. As a result, it is no surprise that all of these issues find their way into American politics

The only way forward on this subject is to carefully study the Bible and see what it has to say. Sadly, most people have no interest in doing so. From my studies over the years, I think most people would be surprised to see how much the Bible has to say about this subject. It is more than you think! The Bible clearly mentions this subject over and over again through a series of direct references, as well as typologies of evil in both the Old and New Testaments. The most well known Scriptures that directly mention the antichrist are found in I John 4:2-3 and II Thessalonians 2:3-12. I encourage you to read those passages as a place to begin.

From my studies and understanding of what the Bible says about this subject, Barack Obama is not the antichrist. My reason for saying that is the Bible connects the antichrist with Europe and the revived Roman Empire according to the book of Daniel, not America. The book of Daniel has numerous references to the antichrist in passages such as Daniel 7:7-8, 9:27 and 11:36-45. The Bible portrays the antichrist as the “Last Caesar”, a political leader promising peace to a world that doesn’t want the Lord. You see this today in Europe where most of the people have outright rejected the Christian Faith. Europe can truly be said to be “post Christian” and looking for another king to rule them.

There is a lot more that could be said on this subject. I hope you will come out and study the book of Daniel with us this fall. That class should help to put some of this into perspective. I think the one thing this issue brings out is the need to know the Lord and His Word in an age of confusion and deception. People today cannot discern truth from error in a world of sound bites and biased media. Our Lord Jesus Himself warned us to “watch out” for “other christs”, lest we be deceived (Matthew 24:4-5). If there was ever a time to “test the spirits”, it is today. I hope this brief answer will challenge you to gain a better Biblical understanding of this subject.

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