Obama Bin Laden?

I bet I have gotten 20 emails this week alone telling me that Barack Obama is probably the antichrist. The rest of them have been closely related, but didn't outright say he is the antichrist. At first, I thought these were jokes. That surely people did not believe that he was the antichrist. But alas, I have spoken directly to some of these people, and they really do believe it! Now, I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for yet. I'm trying to vote based on voting records, political stands, etc. But just to be sure I have done my homework, I did a little homework on the antichrist.

Here is the statement made by most of the emails I have received, "According to the book of Revelations, the antichrist will be a man, in his 40's, of muslim decent, and will deceive the nations with persuasive language and will have a massive following and Christ-like appeal . . . the prophecy says that people will flock to his promises of false hope and world peace and when he is in power, he will destroy everything."

Here is what I have to say about that:

First of all, get it right. It isn't the book of Revelations. It is "Revelation" no "s". That's nit-picky, but if you're going to quote the Bible as your means of slandering someone, you should get it right.

Two, don't use the Bible to sow fear. Most people who are spouting the junk have never even read the book of Revelation, but are just simply passing on stuff other people have sent to them. Oh, and by the way have you ever noticed most of the emails going around have no "author." If you feel that strongly about what you're saying, sign it!

Three, there is no use of the word antichrist in the book of Revelation. It is used in the Bible, just not there. The chapter most people are using for the prophecy of the antichrist (and rightly so) is Chapter 13. Read it.

Four, here's a little tidbit that'll surprise you. The Bible does not say that the antichrist will be of muslim decent. Islam was not a religion until 400 years after the book of Revelation was written. But, because it is a book of prophecy, the author could have stated that the antichrist will be of muslim decent, but he didn't.

I will confess, I am not a historian, nor a theologian, and I am sure that I don't have all the answers, and may not even be correct about what I've written here. But I am pretty sure that Barack Obama is not the antichrist. Here is a list of others who have been called the "antichrist." Hitler, Elvis, Bono, Henry Kissinger, Marilyn Manson, almost every pope, You Tube, rock and roll, and Bill Gates.

All that to say, come on people. When Christians say such things, it only makes us look like crazy, mean and malicious people. How about if we love one another and quit trying to figure out who the antichrist is? Oh, and do a little research on the candidates. Then vote based on THAT information. NOT based on silly emails that propagate hate.