As a minister of the Gospel and a student of the Scripture, I’m frequently asked if Barack Obama could be the antichrist. I know that such a question is absolutely appalling to most modern-day Americans, who speciously believe that our current president is antithetical to anything antichrist. However, if we rub the stardust out of our eyes and see our present-president in the true light of the Scripture, we’ll be surprised to see that he foots the bill of an antichrist rather nicely. Now, this is not to say that I believe he is the antichrist—I DO NOT—but it is to say that he is definitely, according to the Bible, an antichrist!

Everyone knows that the Greek prefix translated “anti” in the King James Version of the Bible means to be “against.” What most folks don’t know, however, is that it also means “instead of.” Thus, antichrists are not just those who are antagonistic toward Christ, but everyone who offers alternatives to Christ, whether it be themselves, another or something else.

To become a true Christian one must first meet the scriptural prerequisite of “calling upon the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:6; Romans 10:13; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:19). The name of the Lord—“Jesus”—means “the salvation of Jehovah.” To be saved from our sins we must call upon Christ as God’s only means of salvation. We must give up on any notion that we can earn our own salvation or obtain it by some other means apart from faith in Christ.

To suggest an alternative path to salvation apart from faith in Christ makes one an antichrist. No one making such a suggestion can possibly be a Christian, since such a belief belies one’s believing in and calling upon the name of the Lord. While Barack Obama professes to be a Christian, he belies his Christian profession by stating his belief in “many paths to the same place” for all who believe in “a higher power.” By making such a pronouncement, he actually proves himself an antichrist, someone offering alternatives to Christ.

In addition to the above, our president often attempts to personally usurp the place of Christ. For instance, in an economic speech at Georgetown University, Mr. Obama substituted himself for the Savior and his economic policies for the Scripture. He commandeered Christ’s famous Sermon on the Mount in order to twist the text and teach us that our only hope of building our nation’s future upon a rock is by doing what he says, not by doing what Jesus said. In another glaring example of our president’s occasional illusions of divine grandeur, he outlandishly promised during his campaign for the presidency that if elected he would “slow the rise of the oceans, lower the earth’s temperature and heal our planet.” And I thought that only Jesus could command “the wind and the sea” (Mark 4:41).

Have you seen Michael D’Antuono’s painting “The Truth”? Painted to commemorate President Obama’s 100th day in office, the painting portrays our president uncovering the presidential seal behind him by lifting up a dark veil with outstretched hands in crucifix form. To eliminate any doubt that the artist intended to depict our president as our Savior, D’Antuono added a painted crown of thorns on Mr. Obama’s bowed head. Though thousands protested the portrait, no protest was ever heard from the Oval Office, despite its occupant’s avowed devotion to the one who declared Himself to be “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

While I believe our president is definitely an antichrist, I don’t believe he is the antichrist.  I do believe, however, that he is a harbinger of the one to come. For instance, consider the fact that Mr. Obama’s current approval numbers are at an all-time low; yet, he remains popular with more than three-fourths of the American populace. How do you explain such a contradiction? If this were George Bush, his popularity would definitely ebb and flow with his job approval numbers, but not Barack Obama. Obama’s popularity appears immune to his poor job performance and lack of actual accomplishments.

President Obama is the true American idol. Despite his totally unimpressive resume, he sends thrills up journalists’ legs, he is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he is fawned over in Europe, where the London Times recently compared him to the great statesman Winston Churchill, and he is idolized here at home by the gullible masses for his so-called “cool.” He truly is, as Don Terry, a writer at the Chicago Tribune once said, “a Rorschach test.” He is whatever people imagine him to be, regardless of the facts and of reality.

How primed this planet is for the consummate end-time illusion, a world ruler who will be seen to be whatever the masses imagine. He’ll be seen as our savior rather than the antichrist. He’ll be seen as one leading our world into its long dreamed of utopia rather than into its darkest and most terrifying nightmare. And he’ll be a wonder rather than a worry to the whole wide world, as Revelation 13:3 forewarns us, “…and all the world wondered after the beast.”