I’ll never forget a student coming up to me with his cell phone and keying in Obama’s name on the number pad. O =6; b = 2; a = 2; m = 6; a = 2. Add the three twos together and you get 6. The total is 666. This student was absolutely full of energy when he told me that Obama was the Antichrist. This incident happened when Obama was in his first year of office, and since then I have noticed that many within the Christian community think that President Barack Obama is the Antichrist. So, is President Obama the Antichrist? Let’s take a look.

Obama is powerful, has given the world hope, and is fighting tooth-and-nail against Biblical Christianity, and everyone (almost) seems to love him. Since these are all traits that the Antichrist will have, then surely Obama is the Antichrist. To add to all of this, the Obama Administration is trying to pass into law a RFID chip that will be implanted into every person. This is clearly the Mark of the Beast according to many. Thus, Obama has to be the Antichrist.

There are many reasons why Obama is not the Antichrist. First off, we must understand just because someone has some of the characteristics of the Antichrist does not mean that particular person is the Antichrist. Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Hirohito (the emperor of Japan during World War II) had many of those same traits; as did many other rulers throughout history.

Second, when we study the Bible in context, it seems that the Antichrist will come from the Middle East, not the United States. Daniel 2 and 7 (the two major passages) teach that the Antichrist will come from an empire that conquers the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The most common interpretation is that Rome fulfills this prophecy, but Rome never conquered Persia and most of the Greek Empire. The only empire in history that accomplished this was the Islamic Caliphate (a Middle Eastern Kingdom).

Other chapters in the Bible also teach about the Middle Eastern origins of the Antichrist. Daniel 8 and 11 seem to indicate that the Antichrist will come from the lands once ruled by the Seleucid Empire that ruled most of the Middle East. Ezekiel 38-39 teach that the Antichrist will come from the land of Magog, and will be the ruler of Meshech and Tubal. All three of these nations are in the present-day country of Turkey, not America.

It seems that every generation thinks that the Antichrist has been found. Some people who didn’t like George W. Bush thought he was the Antichrist. There are even some people who think that Prince Harry is the coming dictator of the world (type both of these names into a search engine with “antichrist” and you will be amazed at what you will find). Christians must remember that the Bible teaches that there are many antichrists and false prophets (1 John 2:18-27; Matthew 24:11). The man who will be the Antichrist will fulfill all the prophecies about himself.