Recently, in an article by TIME Magazine, religious Democrats - who have formed a political action group called Matthew 25 - claim that the McCain camp was “Playing the Antichrist card” to quote a World Net Daily article, with regards to Barack Obama's charisma and worldly aspirations in a recent ad touting Obama as possibly “the One...but is he ready to lead?” The report goes on to reflect on the impression the ad had on Tony Campolo, a leading progressive Evangelical speaker and author. A short excerpt from this article is really quite telling:

“It first caught the attention of Democrats familiar with the Left Behind series, a fictionalized account of the end-time that debuted in the 1990s and has sold nearly 70 million books worldwide. "The language in there is so similar to the language in the Left Behind books..."Those books have created a subliminal language, and I think judgments will be made unconsciously about Barack Obama," he says. "It scares the daylights out of me."

It is very interesting that the term 'playing the -fill in the blank- card' would be chosen to represent the argument that Obama is being referred to as the Antichrist, since that phrase requires an element of truth to be the basis from which the idea springs. Logically, if one says that a person is 'playing the race card', the person in question must be guilty of possessing at least some attributes that lead one to make this assessment, regardless of the truth. The democrats who make this claim believe that McCain is purposely playing on certain character traits of his political foe to scare evangelicals into voting Republican at the polls. If this is true, McCain shows his lack of understanding of born again Christians who, if they do believe Obama is Satan's imp, are already looking to the clouds for our Savior's return. This could easily backfire for the GOP candidate if he is using such reasoning. That being said, the fact that these religious Democrats fear this tactic means that somewhere in the depths of their hearts, they know that their candidate resembles the Beast of Revelation to some degree, no matter how grand or minute. This is evident in the statements made by Mr. Campolo.

The McCain ad as uses imagery and language similar to the Left Behind Series' in their point of view, but this is really not surprising on any level. The fictional account of the Rapture and Tribulation period set in the end of times, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, uses language straight from the Word of God, so if their first impression has these Democrats worried, maybe it's because there is more truth to the ad that they are willing to admit. Regardless, I want to lay out some of the descriptions from the Bible of the man called 'the Beast' and let the reader decide for him/herself. In your opinion, does Obama's persona contain any of these?

Daniel 7:8 ...a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel 7:20 ...whose appearance [is] larger, above its companions

Daniel 7:24 ...and another {king} will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones...

Daniel 7:25 ...and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law...

Daniel 8:12 ...It {the little horn/diverse king} prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.

Daniel 8:23 In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise.

Daniel 8:25 "And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify {himself} in his heart, And he will destroy many while {they are} at ease...”

Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm a covenant with the many...(to be fair, this would have to take place after Obama is elected – the firming up of a peace accord between Israel, the nations and the Palestinians)

Daniel 11:32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the {New} covenant {through Christ}, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

Daniel 11:37 "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any {other} god; for he will magnify himself above {them} all.

I believe it is not a stretch of the imagination to say that Barack Hussein Obama has a mouth that speaks 'great things...who's appearance is above his companions' and who is currently rising in his power and influence and is 'different then the previous ones' intending to make 'alterations in times and law,' who is prospering 'in everything he does,' and I would make the argument that he has 'thrown the truth to the ground' (obviously in the Scriptural sense - as the world's truth is fluid and not absolute). Since our age is also arguably – as Jesus warned – as lawless, corrupt and full of violence as in Noah's day, one could say wickedness is flourishing and Obama is 'stern faced' and quite the 'master of intrigue.' The latter referred to Scriptural passages point to his power after his power has come to the full, which, Obama has not yet achieved, though I can see these things coming to pass word for word and deed for deed. That being said several of these latter references are still partially visible as Barack Obama could easily be defined as 'shrewd' and 'deceitful,' and has already begun to 'magnify himself in his heart.' As noted parenthetically above, if Obama comes into power by becoming the next US president (AKA “the most powerful man in the world” as has been the label of all American presidents from time immemorial), it will be at a time when Israel and the Palestinians are continuing to try to hammer out a peace agreement. His profession of Christian faith, if tested by the holy Spirit through the filter of Christ, proves to be false, so I would agree with Scripture that he has been able 'through flattery, to corrupt those who have violated the holy covenant,' and that we who know our God are and will continue to 'firmly resist him.' This may seem harsh to some, but I offer no apology for calling anyone who supports this man a false convert, as the Truth cannot possibly be in the one who overlooks the murder of innocence – giving Obama a pass on abortion – and says in his heart, “I can live with his stance on life.” It is also a persuasive argument that Obama has no 'regard for the gods of his fathers' since he is neither a Muslim, Jew or Christian and who has himself, in his speech in Germany recently, sought to bring all nations, tongues and religions under the all inclusive umbrella of “citizen of the world”. Many scholars point to the lack of desire for the 'regard for a woman' as a link to homosexuality, but I do not find this as concrete or dogmatic – just simply an opinion. It may be true that since he is married he has no craving to 'hook-up' - to borrow from the lingo of this world - with the groupies that follow him like a flock of goats.

There are various outrageous reports by some on the internet, claiming the Bible says the Antichrist will be “a man in his forties who is Muslim,” however, this is pure conjecture and unschooled, poorly researched supposition which only serves to muddy the proverbial waters and confuse the masses. I beg anyone who is curious about these statements to prove or disprove them by reading their Bible...including everything that I have said.

These are just a few of the prophecies regarding the man of lawlessness who is governed by the spirit of Antichrist found in the holy Scriptures, and while mockers will jest and unbelievers will scoff at the predictions made in the Bible, remember this; every prophecy that has already been fulfilled can be proven by historical and archaeological data without exception, if the skeptic will spend as much time researching the facts as he does poking fun at we who are “small/closed minded” and “believers in fairy-tales.” While I cannot say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man is the puppet of Satan.....yet, I do believe there is enough evidence to at least become extremely alert and ever watchful as each day goes by, looking to the Bible as the only source of Truth - testing all things through the holy Spirit.

So, reader...what's the verdict? Will you dismiss the awareness of Christians who are connecting the dots of Scripture as mere coincidence, wild imagination, lunacy or downright craziness, or might you begin to look at the world with a discerning eye, trying to decipher the clues left behind by the prophets of old, Jesus Christ Himself and his chosen Apostles – heeding the warning of believers who love you enough to endure the criticism and humiliation of the world at large to warn you of the impending judgments that are closing in on the inhabitants of this earth? You will choose. You absolutely will take a side...for or against the Father of lights, YHWH, the God of all creation – through His only begotten Son, Yeshua Ha'Moshiach, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.



The Good News:
The Bible explains that everyone has strayed from God and is condemned to suffer for eternity...unless you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. To the skeptical unbeliever, all of this talk of lamb's blood and eternity in Heaven or Hell very possibly seems like a bunch of nonsense, but consider this; our perception of 'goodness' or 'righteousness' is skewed because, before we submit to the gift of salvation, our pride makes us look at the world through the haze of selfishness. We believe that our good deeds outweigh our bad and that if there really is a God, He will forgive us all because we are 'basically good' in our heart, but we have to look at things from the proper vantage point..from the lofty perch of the heavenly throne of God. In the eyes of God, Mother Teresa and Hitler are no different without His gift of grace – Saul, known as the apostle Paul is equal to Osama bin Laden (quite literally!) in thought and deed unless redemption has been achieved through Christ.

Our hearts are exceedingly wicked, deceitful, prideful, hateful, lustful and on and on. Our very nature is truly grotesque when viewed in the mirror of the ten commandments. Everyone who has reached the age of maturity is guilty of breaking every single command. If you are intellectually honest with yourself, you will admit in your heart that you:

1 – have not always looked at God as being number one in your life;
2 – have made possessions a god before Him and served them instead of Him
3 – have blasphemed His name, either by using it without respect or as a curse word
4 – have not remembered the Sabbath, and kept it set apart (holy)
5 – have dishonored your parents – this is done as a dependent child by not showing respect and obeying at all times without fail, as an adult child by disrespecting them in your heart
6 – have committed murder – as Jesus said that to be angry with your brother without cause is equal to killing him in your heart
7 – have committed adultery – as Jesus said that to even look at another human being with sexual desire is equal to adultery in your heart
8 – have been a thief – everyone is guilty of stealing from someone, at sometime in their life; there is no pass for age or lack of frequency – if you lie you steal trust, if you kill you steal life, if you disrespect you steal honor, if you commit adultery you steal fidelity, etc.
9 – have lied – we all know that we have lied; you may try to mislead others but you know you are guilty of deceitfulness in your heart if you are painfully honest
10 – are covetousness – to look upon another's possessions with a desire to have them, be it a mate, a car, house, money, etc. - we have all wanted what others have