# Biblical Prophecy, Financial Armageddon, and why Barack Obama is (not) The Antichrist **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 13, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-prophecy-financial-armageddon-and-why-barack-obama-is-not-the-antichrist/472561 "2008-11-13T18:08:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-prophecy-financial-armageddon-and-why-barack-obama-is-not-the-antichrist/472561/21 "2008-11-14T13:04:10Z")
> [@smithsb](#): > > slight hijack// Wasn’t there a more recent translation of the text referring to the #666 and it turns out it wasn’t 666 at all? Might have been a later copy of the text. //end hijack It’s not recent at all. Many of my Bibles have that as a footnote explaining that appears in a minority of Greek texts. Why? Because the mixed Hebrew-Greek gematria of NeRON KaiSaR (a Hebraic spelling) is 666, and of NeRO KaiSaR is 616 (the capitalized letters being the Hebrew letters that have a numeric value). The media announces some big discovery that will rock Christianity & it’s usually something Bible scholars have known for years. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-prophecy-financial-armageddon-and-why-barack-obama-is-not-the-antichrist/472561/22 "2008-11-14T13:14:15Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > This may have been a dream, but when I read Revelation some odd years ago didn’t the Beast have a “second in command” that was described as human/charismatic/etc? I think it was around the part with the harlot/whore of Babylon. Though not mentioned by the name antichrist, it would bear a good resemblance to the traditional view of him. > > I’m, of course, not arguing Revelation is anything BUT an old allegory, or that Obama is this figure, it was more of a wonder if that’s where the main idea may have sprung from. In Revelation 13, the Beast most speak of is the first Beast who comes from the Sea (I think the Mediterranean) and is a composite of the Bestial empires of Daniel 7- Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece & it’s four-fold split, and Rome. The second Beast arises from the Earth (or Land, I think the Land of Israel) & appears Christlike (as a lamb) while inspired by Satan (the Dragon). He’s later referred to as the False Prophet & is kinda the anti-forerunner/Elijah/John the Baptist. A few interpreters regard the Sea Beast as being the AntiChrist Empire and the Land Beast as the individual who runs it. If indeed there is a future fulfillment, it may work out that way, but the view has never gained popularity. The popular view is of two individuals, one Imperial and one Clerical, who run the State & the Church of the AntiChrist Empire. To those speculating that this A.C. panic is “because he’s black”- name ONE End-Times novel that has a black man as the Beast or the False Prophet. It’s never been a factor in End-Times preaching, except maybe in some Identity circles. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-prophecy-financial-armageddon-and-why-barack-obama-is-not-the-antichrist/472561/23 "2008-11-14T16:46:50Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > In Revelation 13, the Beast most speak of is the first Beast who comes from the Sea (I think the Mediterranean) and is a composite of the Bestial empires of Daniel 7- Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece & it’s four-fold split, and Rome. The second Beast arises from the Earth (or Land, I think the Land of Israel) & appears Christlike (as a lamb) while inspired by Satan (the Dragon). He’s later referred to as the False Prophet & is kinda the anti-forerunner/Elijah/John the Baptist. Well, Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, a chain of islands in the middle of a vast ocean…plus, it’s a _volcanic_ island chain, which makes it a direct connection to the Bowels of the Earth itself, the closest analogy to “the Dragon” (Hades) which actually exists on our planet – OH NOES! IT’S TRUE!! 🆒 I’m also finding an interesting connection between the historical “Beast” (Nero) and the “future” Beast – history always repeats itself, and there are natural “cycles” to civilization and cultural evolution. Especially when you throw [Mayan Prophecy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_count#2012_and_the_Long_Count) into the mix… > [@](#): > > name ONE End-Times novel that has a black man as the Beast or the False Prophet. It’s never been a factor in End-Times preaching, except maybe in some Identity circles. Fundie Xtians retcon their predictions all the time. I can remember when the “Seven Trumpets” (1/3 of the earth burned, 1/3 of the water poisoned, etc.) was interpreted to specifically mean Nuclear War – but when the Cold War suddenly thawed out, the passage suddenly became interpreted as “global warming,” and my preachers told me that it was _always_ about global warming, and _never_ about nuclear war (and we’re at war with Eastasia, we’ve always been at war with Eastasia…) It was that sort of retconning that lead directly to my dismissal of Christian faith. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biblical-prophecy-financial-armageddon-and-why-barack-obama-is-not-the-antichrist/472561.md?page=1)