(Authors Note: Recently I was asked about my argument against the video claiming Barack Obama is the Antichrist. Isn’t the basic scholarship impressive in the video and aren’t the coincidences in it amazing? To help the person, I have constructed a parody argument in less than thirty minutes demonstrating the opposite point of view from the video: thinking Obama is the Antichrist is a bad thing to do. Such spurious arguments, like mine and those in the video, can be constructed quickly and endlessly if we leave the rules of exegesis and good scholarship behind for quick Internet/lexicon searches and “sound alike” scholarship.)
Recently videos have been posted warning Christians that our President may be the Antichrist. However, using the same level of textual sophistication has led many people to the opposite conclusion: the New Testament may reveal a warning to those who make such claims in our times.
I report. You decide.
Bottom line of this research: the New Testament may contain a hidden code warning modern speakers of English that claiming Barack Obama is the Antichrist may cause the name of Christians to be slandered amongst unbelievers for no good reason.
Which argument is stronger? You decide based on my evidence.
We do not know the inner nature of President Obama. How can we pry open the secret he might be hiding? God knows the secrets of the heart (Psalm 44:21)
We know only one thing for sure about President Obama: if we are US citizens, he is our president. What does the New Testament say our attitude toward leaders should be?
I Timothy (written in Greek) says, when translated into King James English:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
We are to “give thanks” for our leaders. The Greek word used here can be transliterated “eucharistia.” This “thankful” attitude is a form of praise of the person receiving thanks.
Paul, however, was a trained rabbi and would have known Hebrew. A Hebrew word that means praise (even of persons or good ideas: see I Samuel 25:33) can be transliterated: bawrak. Coincidence?
You decide, but be warned that another verse about our attitude toward authority (I Peter 2: 17) says we should “honor” the king (those in authority over us). The meaning of the Greek word used here includes the ideas of “revering” and “venerating” (Thayers). All of these are forms of “praise” . . . though of course the ultimate praise is to God alone.
So we know one thing for sure: if a Jewish rabbi were to command us in Hebrew to “bless” the King (following the command of the apostles Paul and Peter) he might tell us to “Barack” him.
This should give pause in associating the leader of the Free World with the Antichrist
But what of the name Obama?
This is where things become potentially exciting.
Some scholars believe the name “Obama” is amazingly like the joining of the Hebrew name for father (“ab”) and mother (“ama”). The name “Obama” contains a perfect Hebrew picture of the birth of each human: the child of a father and mother.
Many claim not to know where President Obama was born, but there is no question that he is the son of an earthly mother and father. This is another clue to the deep significance of his name. Obama may be symbolical word for all of us.
Some have argued that his English name (“Obama”) sounds like the Hebrew word “high place” (sometimes transliterated “bamah”). This is only true if we assume that an English “v” sound is like our English “b” sound and if we ignore the prominent long “o” sound in the President’s name!
Why?
Listen to the word for “high place” (bamah) pronounced in Hebrew and you will hear that the “b” sound is softer, more like a v, and not hard like our English “b.” A better sound-alike-transliteration for Hebrew of our President’s English name might be “d” which sounds a good bit like our English “b,” but is also hard sounding in Hebrew. Vowel sounds (not in the original text) are also tricky to capture in Hebrew.
How best then to capture the very prominent long-o and two short “a” sounds of the President’s name in order to make associations when we listen to Hebrew? Note that the word “bamah” does not even capture the most prominent vowel at all! Instead for consistency (and to come as close as possible), I believe using the “a” sound is best across the board.
Therefore the closest sounding word in Hebrew to our President’s last name would be most similar to the Hebrew “adama.” Amazingly even a child knows this is the name of the first man in the Bible: Adam.
In the New Testament “Adam” is often a figure for unregenerate man. Other times, the phrase “Gentiles” is used . . . though there is no Hebrew equivalent for Gentile (which is a later term).
In I Peter 2 where we are told to honor (barack?) the king and obey our rulers . . . it is because the Gentiles may have grounds to slander us if we do not. We will have a good reputation before all men when we “honor” the King.
It is amazing to consider the increase in the regard of non-Americans for America that followed the election of our President in this context. We elected a man of such character that he brings us the praise (Barack) of outsiders (Adama).
This cannot be denied:
A Hebrew speaking Christian, following Paul and Peter’s command to honor our leader, so that we would have a good reputation amongst all men, might form a sentence that could contain Hebrew words that sound a great deal like the name of our President.
Barack (honor/praise) your leader so that your reputation would be good amongst the unregenerate (children of Adama).
This from verses that certainly deal with the attitude of a believer toward their leader.
I report. You decide.
(Final Disclaimer: This is a parody. The same problems that are in the video claiming Jesus named the Antichrist, if we listen to his Aramaic words said in Hebrew as English speakers, are in this 30 minute spoof.)