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Is Obama the Antichrist?
by Dan WallaceAugust 14th, 2009
128 Comments
More than one Christian friend has suggested to me, in all seriousness, that President Obama is the Antichrist. I haven’t taken such suggestions too seriously, but recently a video has shown up on Youtube that seems to claim that Jesus identified Obama as the Antichrist. Some Christians have been startled by this (and the video is wildly popular) and believe that the evidence is compelling. The video is found here.
The anonymous narrator introduces his provocative four-minute video by asking if Jesus identified the name of the Antichrist, then says, “I will report the facts; you can decide” (reminiscent of Greta Van Susteren’s tagline on her show on Fox News). The narrator then notes that in Luke 10.18, Jesus says, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan falling from the heavens.”
He then begins to link several hypotheses together. First, he claims that Luke 10.18 was written originally in Greek, but that Jesus spoke these words in Aramaic, “which is the most ancient form of Hebrew.” Second, he observes that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and claims that the Aramaic that Jesus spoke would have been quite similar to the Hebrew that is spoken today and, presumably, similar to the Hebrew of the Old Testament. Third, he then says that Jesus spoke these words in Hebrew, and retranslates the text as follows: “I saw Satan falling as lightning from the heights, or from the heavens.” Fourth, he discusses the Hebrew words for ‘lightning’ and ‘heights.’ He notes that the word for ‘lightning’ is baraq. Fifth, he claims that Isaiah is the source of the Christian understanding of Satan or ‘Lucifer’ (Isa 14.12 in the KJV). Sixth, Isa 14.14 has Satan say, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Seventh, the Hebrew word in Isa 14.14 for ‘heights’ is bamaw, and this is surely what ‘heavens’ means in Luke 10.18. Eighth, the Hebrew letter waw is sometimes transliterated as a u or o. Ninth, the waw is used in Hebrew as a conjunction. Tenth, in Hebrew poetry baraq obamah literally is translated “lightning and the heights” or “lightning from the heights.” Eleventh, if Jesus’ words in Luke 10.18 were spoken in Hebrew by a Jewish Rabbi today he would say, “And I saw Satan as baraq ubamah.” He concludes his narration by asking, “Did Jesus reveal the name of the Antichrist? I report; you decide.” There is a disclaimer at the end of the video that simply says the correlation is striking, but not that the narrator is claiming that the President is the Antichrist.
This video was followed up by another by the same narrator. You can see it here.
It essentially argues the same point, but changes a couple of points (without warrant).
What can we say about these videos and the linguistic argument used? Of the eleven points noted above, the fourth and eighth are the only ones that are indisputable: the Hebrew word for lightning is baraq; and the waw is sometimes transliterated as a u or o. The seventh point comes close to being correct: the Hebrew word for height is bamah, but the plural is used in Isa 14.14, bamot (pronounced baw-moat). As for the rest of the points, some are debatable, while others are factually wrong. Taking them in order: (1) It is debatable whether Jesus spoke most of the time in Aramaic; he may have done much of his teaching in Greek. It is also not true that Aramaic is the oldest form of Hebrew. (2) and (3) A sleight of hand has occurred here: First, it is claimed that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, but then it is claimed that he spoke in Hebrew. Which is it? Although the characters for both languages are the same, the vocabulary has some key differences, especially in vowel points but also often in the very consonants used. (5) and (6) Is Isaiah really the source for the Christian view of Satan? It may contribute to our understanding, but even that is disputed. The one passage that may speak about Satan is indeed Isa 14. But part of the reason for this being so interpreted is due to the influence of the KJV. At v. 12 the King James says, “O Lucifer, son of the morning!” The word lucifer, however, is simply a transliteration of the Latin Vulgate at this point. It is not another name for Satan. The Hebrew word, helel means ‘morning star’ or ‘shining one.’ Most modern translations (the NKJV is the only exception I found of the translations I checked) do not translate helel as Lucifer; rather they have ‘shining one,’ ‘day star,’ ‘morning star,’ etc. (cf., e.g., NET, ASV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, TEV, REB, NIV, TNIV, NAB, NJB, HCSB). Of course, there are still excellent scholars who believe that Isa 14 is ultimately a reference to Satan, though in the historical context it was directed at the Babylonian king. (9) This is true, but irrelevant. To have the idea of ‘lightning from the heights’ would normally require a preposition, not a conjunction (see next point). (10) It seems to be an illegitimate leap to say ‘lightning and the heights’ means the same thing as ‘lightning from the heights.’ Indeed, there is a perfectly good Hebrew word that means ‘from’: min. But that would produce baraq min-bamot. It’s getting more difficult to see the validity of the narrator’s linguistic points. (11) When all is said and done, the evidence is simply bogus. Jesus didn’t speak in Hebrew, and the Hebrew that is given here does not mean ‘lightning from the heights.’ Baraq ubamah means ‘lightning and height.’ But that can hardly be the underlying Aramaic (which is not Hebrew) for the Greek text of Luke 10.18. Thus, a linguistic leap from Greek to Aramaic to Hebrew, with the grammar and vocabulary changing along the way, is required to make Luke 10.18 mean what the narrator wants it to mean. This is hardly a case of “I report; you decide.” It is rather a case of “I’ll tell you only part of the evidence, and will use some fancy exegetical gymnastics to make everything fit; and based on the skewered evidence, you decide.”
Now, to be sure, the President did say at one public meeting that the rumors that he was born in a manger are not true (!). I didn’t care for that comment (though it was in reaction to what many pundits, conservative politicians, and comedians had sarcastically said), nor do I care for many, if not most, of his policies. Perhaps he’s a little full of himself. And certainly there has been hype about him that goes beyond reason, some that is even blasphemous (e.g., Evan Thomas, of Newsweek, who said that Obama was ‘sort of God’ on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, to which Matthews replied, ‘yeah.’ It’s that kind of rhetoric that is more persuasive than the video, since it reflects the opinions of so many Americans and even the global community). But is he the Antichrist? In the least, the linguistic torturing required to make the biblical evidence say this is beyond the pale of reason and, perhaps, sanity.
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128 Comments
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I say he is a picture of the kind of aura and deceptive power that the antichrist is going to have. He is a testing ground in my opinion for satan as he gets ready to fulfill this purpose in prophecy. I thought he might be the antichrist because of his lineage and how fast he came to power as an unknown and the fact that the world seems to worship him. The controversy about where he was born and how he lies in order to appease whoever he is talking to but behind the scenes is doing the opposite of what he says he believes or wants done. It seems that his movement away from support of Israel is another red flag.
This brings up a question. Are we going to know who he is when he comes on the scene or is it going to be a mystery?
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“More than one Christian friend has suggested to me, in all seriousness, that President Obama is the Antichrist.”
you’ve got to be kidding!
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Great post, Dan.
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Holy paragraph-breaks, Batman!
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I saw that video a while back, and thought about dignifying it with a response in a Facebook note, in about the same terms you used. I finally decided it wasn’t worthy of a response, but that doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of yours. Thanks!
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I almost couldn’t sit through the whole thing. Pathetic video is pathetic.
This sort of screwball-thinking makes it harder for me to appreciate certain others’ eschatological views that are different than mine.
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If I’m not mistaken, there will be many antichrists, not just a single one. So they’re wrong right off the bat.
Jeff
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I’m an amillenial idealist right now, so I can see Obama as AN anti-Christ, but probably not the last “big” one…and that video is just ridiculous lol.
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I thought the anti-Christ was suppose to deny that Jesus was Savior and God. Presedent has not did this but confessed Jesus to be Savior and God. So I can’t see the link if this is supposed to happen according to scripture.
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Since Matthew 24 talks about no one knowing when the end times will begin, doesn’t that mean Satan doesn’t know either? And so he has to have many “false witnesses” (vs. 5, 11) who will try to deceive as many people as possible.
The video was bogus, but I’m not discounting Obama as a “false prophet” spreading lies.
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I wasn’t aware Luke 10:18 was speaking about the Antichrist ???
As is written…Judas went out and hanged himself….go ye likewise and do the same.
You can make scripture say whatever you want if you twist and tweek it enough.
But that was an imaginative and fun twist!
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You know me and my brother have an acquaintance who exaggerates and changes everything in order to make himself look better or tell a better story. You can’t believe anything that comes out of his mouth. That being said his stories are great and often funny and entertaining if completely untrue. So we’ve all just figured out that this guy is a “fiction” guy, you just sit back and enjoy the stories knowing that they are as preposterous and ridiculous as half the movies that come out of Hollywood. So it is with this video. It’s complete fiction and nonsense, but its entertaining to watch this guy try to string together words to make the Bible say Barack Obama and then link him to Satan. The disturbing part is that anyone would take this seriously. There is gullible written on the ceiling by the way.
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[...] Parchment and Pen has an excellent takedown of this video purporting to show that Jesus Christ himself identified Barack Obama as the Antichrist. I’m no fan of our Socialist-in-Chief, but to call him the Antichrist does him too much credit. He may be evil, but he’s not Evil. Share and Enjoy: [...]
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I was starting to formulate my own response to that video. You did a much better job than I would have done. I did decide to do a test case in ridiculousness and see if such atrocious exegetical methods could be used to prove Big Bird was the antichrist. Turns out…he might just be
– http://mattdabbs.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/big-bird-might-just-be-the-antichrist/
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Less credible than Edgar Whisenant.
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Scripture Zealot,
I think you’re half-mistaken. Yes, there will be many anti-christs. That doesn’t mean there won’t be the main, final one. (Kind of like how there are many tribulations, but there will also be the tribulation.)
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Uhm…not to legitimize this with a rational critique…but “Satan” and “the Anti-Christ” are not the same… so using a passage about “Satan” as one’s sole method of identifying “The anti-Christ” seems rather dubious from the start.
By the same reasoning, one could claim James and John ["Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17)] are the dragon and beast (Revelation 13:1).
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David,
You mean Obama is really Satan?!?!?!
Shocking!
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Obama said it.
I disbelieve it.
That settles it!
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Obama is not the anti-Christ.
He is the anti-free market President.
In some ways I think I’d rather have him be the anti-Christ.
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I don’t know, has anyone else noticed all the six’s in the new “The Theology Program” advertisment in the upper right of this page? It could be pointing at something (or one) and if it is what I’m thinking Obama is off the hook!
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“the”? — no
“an”? — probably
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[...] if you have seen this video, be sure to read this thorough rebuttal (link to the video is included in article). Don’t be taken up by everything you here. [...]
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of course he is – and DW proved it himself!
Most modern translations (the NKJV is the only exception I found of the translations I checked) do not translate helel as Lucifer; rather they have ‘shining one,’ ‘day star,’ ‘morning star,’ etc. (cf., e.g., NET, ASV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, TEV, REB, NIV, TNIV, NAB, NJB, HCSB).
As the KJ is the AUTHORIZED VERSION (see, its true, i used all caps), and all the other translations have had the true meaning STRICKEN from them in a CONSPIRACY, ergo, Obama = Anti Christ
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All I’ll say is praise God we have scholars like you that don’t simply know that these are stupid claims- but can also back your arguments with Scriptural, Historical, and contextual proof.
Thanks for the post!
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It is irrelevant if the words “Barak Obama” have a different meaning in whatever language they come from (?Arabic). Meaning, not similarity of sound it what counts.
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It is unfortunate that Dan would have to go to this length to disprove such an obvious stretch of the biblical text. Reminds me of the so called “code” that was embedded in the Bible. If it takes that much work and linguistic gymnastics to get there, it is almost guaranteed to be arbitrary and not true.
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David Rudel, very thoughtful comment. It’s true that the Antichrist is not Satan, but is his human emissary. However, it might not be too much of a stretch to see Satan falling in the person of the Antichrist in Luke 10.8, though most interpreters read this text otherwise. I take it that Jesus is speaking proleptically: Satan’s doom is sure and the cross will seal it. I should have mentioned the ellipsis in the logical step of the narrator, but didn’t. Thanks for catching it!
As for others who have said that there will be many antichrists, well, that is true, but there will also be THE antichrist that the others are pointing toward. We have seen throughout church history many people who would seem to quality as the antichrist, yet all missed the mark. But there will be one who rise to the top, someone who will come looking like a good guy, someone who will not coming explicitly against Christ but someone who will be viewed as the Messiah–a replacement Messiah, if you will. That’s what the Greek prepositional prefix, anti-, means: not against, but in place of. The ultimate antichrist is known as the beast in Rev 13.18; he’s the one to really watch out for.
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“Is Obama the Antichrist?”
No, but he’s a power hungry, common senseless, lefty ego- maniac.
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Dan, you just don’t want Christ returning in the next year and making all that manuscript photography work to be moot. Give us an opinion from someone without a vested interest, like the folks on youtube.
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The fear of change has become ridiculous in this country right now..but this is the worst. The Christian right would solve a lot of the problem by simply obeying God and praying for the leader God has put over us. The command was not directed to us as we agree with leadership..but especially when we disagree.
This feels like the struggle Peter had when his “jewishness” came in conflict with his call to preach the gospel to all creatures. Paul himself had to rebuke this hypocrisy.
Obama may not be the antichrist but he sure shows the beginning of the ‘nation against nation’ prophecy..prejudice is a deep and bitter root.
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We are in the process of moving. As part of the move, I uncovered in the attic a 25 year old paperback whose author claimed that Gorbachev was the anti-Christ. The basis of the claim was a similar type of twisted linguistics (using Greek, rather than Hebrew) whereby the numerical value of the Soviet leader’s name equaled 666. Unfortunately, premillenialists have given their amillenialists a lot of ammunition by their rash statements about the identity of the anti-Christ, such as those on Obama or Gorbachev. When the current President leaves office, and the world and our country are perhaps somewhat worse than when he entered office but not at the precipice of destruction, amillenialists, and for that matter, opponents of the Christian faith, will point to the failed prophecy in derision.
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Obama is undoubtedly the most “Antichrist” figure we have seen. His “Christianity” is more than questionable, as is his myriad of radical associations with people who oppose the basis of our founding as a nation. The scary thing is that the growing opposition to him is painfully slow. Dale
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Well done, Dan!
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Obama is not the anti-Christ. Anti Christ is much smarter , slicker, with much more power.
I will give you that Obama is an exceedingly evil man, and would probably love to be the Anti Christ, but it is not yet time for the man of lawlessness to be revealed. Rather, Obama is a “type” of the Anti Christ. Having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Many people thought Adolf Hitler was the Anti Christ and he came to nothing. Not yet time.
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This is exactly why I abandoned dispensationalism!
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[...] Dan Wallace has disposed of this one in fairly short order. You can read it here. Wallace concludes this [...]
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The Antichrist:
In the 80s, it was Gorbachev.
In the early 90s, it was Hussein.
In the mid to late 90s, it was Bill Clinton.
In the early 2000s, it was bin Laden.
In the mid 2000s, it was Hussein again.
In the late 2000s, it is Obama.
And then there are some who enjoy Standing Antichrist status:
The Pope / The Roman Catholic Church
Hitler
Napoleon
Constantine
(reincarnation anyone?)
I think we need to have an Antichrist Index just like we have a Rapture Index.
And we wonder why the world doesn’t take us seriously …
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It doesn’t matter except as a reminder that we are in the End Times. Let us therefore be exhorted to be about our Father’s business. Let us focus on living incarnationally in a way that glorifies our Lord.
Maranatha
0BC
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To quote David Jeremiah:
“If you really think you’ve identified the Anti-Christ, then you’ve been left behind”.
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Thank God for some sanity! Well done for taking time to expose this nonsense.
If Obama is the Antichrist (and I am in no way saying he is) this video goes a long way to making people think he isn’t. Because of this guy’s twisting of words and languages from one to the other to prove his incredibly tenuous point any one with half a brain cell will watch it and laugh out loud at his stupid logic.
I can just hear the Lord Jesus 2,000 years ago leaving is a clue by saying “I saw Satan fall like Barak…”
Yeah, yawn, right.
Scripture tells us plainly when he will be revealed and it is mid way through the final 7 years when he stops the sacrifices and sits in the Temple. Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4.
Of course the other problem is that many will watch this video and be turned off of bible prophecy altogether. When in reality it is a most fascinating and rewarding study.
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This reminds me of one of those spoofs that Paul Shanklin does which get broadcast on the Rush Limbaugh show. It may be entertaining and even make a point, but don’t look for serious fact in it.
I’m somewhat amazed that you even take the time and effort to post this. This is one of the most ridiculous modes of interpreting the scripture that can be found so I wouldn’t want to encourage its adoption (though there are far too many out there who do just the same as this guy). I think some will look to scripture and torture it to attempt to discover how many sheets of toilet paper they should use. I haven’t watched the video. I think your description is sufficient to let me know that I’m not interested in wasting my time with it. I need that time since my car needs washing. Important things first.
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[...] Anyway, the reason for my post is to point you towards a very good rebuttal of the video by Dan Wallace of Reclaiming the Mind ministries. You can find it here. [...]
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[...] the most obvious implication that appears to come from the vid is that Obama is the Antichrist.). Dan Wallace writes up a nice response to the videos–and provides the links to both videos as [...]
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Wow – great write-up Dan. Hard to believe that so many people are quick to believe such statements and twisting of the truth. I cannot believe the rating of the Youtube video.
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Gee Dan, thanks for ruining my sermon for tomorrow!
Seriously, thanks for taking time to deal with this stuff.
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You know I’m probably going to get flamed for this, but I really don’t think Obama is anymore wicked then any of us posting on this forum. Is Obama a left wing nut who is hopelessly mislead about the nature of economics and beginnings of human life among (many) other things??? Absolutely!!! Is he evil??? No more so then you or me. In the end game Obama probably genuinely believes that the actions he is taking are what is best for the country just as George W. Bush did before him. He may be wrong (just as Bush was on more than a few occasions), but there’s a difference between being wrong and deceived, and intentionally and knowingly destroying the country.
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Obama is intentionally destroying the ‘American way’. He is “changing” it.
The Left’s ways are not the ways of the American founders.
Does that make him evil? I wouldn’t go that far, but he is doing his best to destroy a great system of government and the last best hope for mankind on this earth. (The hope of Christ is for another world)
Are we all wicked in our sinfulness? Of course. Are we all setting out to bring more opression upon millions of people?
May be some of us are unwitting helpers in that wrongheaded pursuit.
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