Posted on 10/25/2009 8:39:26 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK_zh-X21f0
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 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDRl3QNkExA
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.
This Op-Ed was originally published at Parchment and Pen, a theology blog hosted by Reclaiming the Mind Ministries.
___________________________________________________________
Dr. Daniel B. Wallace is a professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary who influences students across the country through his textbook on intermediate Greek grammar, which is used in more than two-thirds of the nation’s schools that teach that subject. Dr. Wallace is also the senior New Testament editor of the NET Bible and coeditor of the NET-Nestle Greek-English diglot.
I don’t know about King Obama being the anti-Christ, but he damn well is the most self centered rotten communists this Country has ever seen. He is beyond redemption for the damage he has done to millions of Americans and he did it willingly. He is a child that never grew up and is just a rank playboy with a new toy..
Ping for later.
Obama is too much of a pussy to be the Anti-Christ. I can’t seem to find anything in the Bible about a cowardly anti-Christ. Maybe I’m missing something.
I doubt the Anti-Christ needs a teleprompter.
Hussein is a cult leader. No dispute there. I actually know several people who regard him as a spiritual leader of our age.
“I actually know several people who regard him as a spiritual leader of our age.”
Louis Farakhan referred to him as “the messiah.”
A most fortuitious joining of words, if this is in fact some kind of revelation.
Or it might just be just another unrelated incident. Or a piece of the puzzle that won’t be solved until just a few minutes too late.
Good point; at least not a visible one.
As I’ve said I don’t think he is but so many here on FR think he is definitely NOT that I am starting to wonder.
Here are some more similarities:
Is Obama the antichrist?
During his campaign in Europe he put his slogans on the Wailing Wall:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=70454
The term 666 refers to how much money Salomon got in taxes one year after he ‘went rouge’ on God. This was considered an unbearable burden on the people of ancient Israel. Obama raised close to 666 million dollars and his policies will eventually raise taxes to an unbearable level.
So John with this in mind says: “His number will be a number of man. His sign will be that he will place unbearable taxes on the people”.
Jesus says in Luke 10:18: “I saw Satan as Barack Obama…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttIBKxI2W6s
He will be considered a man of peace. Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The bible mentions a “Head Wound” as one of the things about the Antichrist.
This means something that is a mortal wound, that will stop you in your tracks, that will make normal life impossible.
Could it be the fact that legally he is ineligible to serve?
Certainly that would have been a mortal wound for most presidential campaigns.
It has been reported that one of his first major acts as President was to federally fund stem cell research (which is superfluous since adults stem cells will do) and to fund abortions worldwide. Not only does this sound exactly like the first thing that the AntiChrist would do, Europe is already in danger of going to Sharia law because of low birth rates of Christians compared to Muslims.
While it is widely accepted that the Catholic Church will be the instrument of the devil in the end days, actually the antichrist will have a confrontation with the Catholic Church. This story broke recently:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-081111bishops,0,3307557.story
And there are ongoing conflicts with the Catholic Church and 0bama.
Nostradamus on the AntiChrist:
“When his time comes he will take advantage of the political situation
in a country to rise to power. It will not matter that he is not a
native of the country. He will take advantage of loopholes and
contrive positions. He may aggressively and audaciously seize a
position in a military organization…”
Vol 1 Pg 180
The antichrist is expected to be rather hard on Israel. This looks like it might be shaping up. It also looks like he will use the ‘fairness doctrine’ to silence talk radio, the Internet and Fox news. He has talked about a ‘civilian force as well funded as the military’ that will NOT be like Nazi brown shirts. They will be “green shirts”.The Third Secret of Fatima in addition to predicting JohnPaul II’s attempted assignation predicted that the FOLLOWING POPE would be the last. Pope Benedict XVI is now 80.
Well I am not saying he is the antichrist I am just mentioning this for consideration.
And hopefully he’ll be out of office in 2012.
Wait a minute that is the end of the Mayan Calendar!
Ping
maybe it’s the teleprompter needs a mouthpiece...
This means something that is a mortal wound, that will stop you in your tracks, that will make normal life impossible.
This is it !!! When he is proven to be the unserper, all of Europe and Asia want him to be the world ruler, this is after he recovers.
Farakhan is a Muslim. They are waiting on their Mehdi, messiah of evil , we know him as the anti Christ....
I sure haven’t seen anything about Obama that is pro Christ.
[[As I understand it, the Anti-Christ will appeal to people like you and me.]]
Where does it say the antiChrist will appeal to Christians? Obama certainly appeals to most of the world, with some nations bowing down, and cheering him on and singign about him (heck- they even have our kids singign songs about him now)- He does fit some profiles of antiChrist, yet doesn’t in other areas- but I’ve never heard that the AntiChrist is goign to appeal to true Christians?
[[This is it !!! When he is proven to be the unserper, all of Europe and Asia want him to be the world ruler, this is after he recovers.]]
Very interesting Scenario— but I think the bible is talking about literally being dead i nthe streets for several days, so that there is no doubt about his death- The bible also talks of peopel viewing the body- I beleive it’s talking literally dead- but perhaps I’m wrong
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