Here's a News Flash: President Obama is Not the Anti-Christ

One of the few perks of flying these days is the off-hand chance that you can score a seat in the exit row. This means that there is a good chance that you will have feeling in your legs and feet by flight’s end. I scored just such a blessing a couple of weeks ago. An added touch was that my 2 row partners were 16 year old twin sisters whose combined size and weight were smaller than me. Ahhhhh….I immediately planned a nap.

The Holy Spirit had other plans. He downloaded a wide variety of insight to the treasure of the hearts of these two young ladies. I know better than to pretend to be asleep when the Spirit has other plans. But before I could start a conversation, the girls introduced themselves to me and a two hour verbal flurry began.

Everything I had heard the Spirit speak in my heart, these twins told me on their own…thus eliminating any opportunity on my part to catch their attention with any revealed information. So I listened to their stories, which were very interesting. They were traveling to Europe, had deep interests in art, music, photography, poetry and had aspirations to star in Broadway productions. “So, Mr. Dean….what do you do?”

I’ve answered that question thousands of times over the past 35 years. The answer will either propel the conversation forward or kill it dead. For a few years in my 30’s I tried answering that by dodging it all together. Until one day at a high school when a group of students started to think I was a “narc” (an undercover drug cop). Anyway, back to the flight….

I told them that I was a pastor and that I was on my way to Mexico to lead a pastor’s conference. Both of these teens immediately looked puzzled. “What do you teach?” one asked. “Christianity ”, I answered. “Oh…so you believe that Obama is the Anti-Christ?” Note: this was their first and immediate reflection of what it means to be a Christian in 2009.

The remainder of that exchange was dominated by my apology to them for the loud failure of high profile teachers in the church who routinely mangle scriptures and the character of God to fit their prejudices and cynicism. I told them that the Jesus I know is in a far better mood than that.

These young ladies confided to me that they were a mixture of Buddhism and atheism. Some might wonder if I took the time to lead them into the “Four Spiritual Laws” or if I asked them to pray the sinner’s prayer or if I warned them about hell. I did none of that. My witness to them was one of repentance on behalf of the Body of Christ for whatever it is we’ve done to give two very intelligent and gifted teenagers the distinct impression that Christians everywhere believe that our president is the Anti-Christ.

What I did “win” in that flight was two new friends. I even had the chance to be a comforting grandfather figure when the air got choppy! I told them, “God isn’t finished with me and that makes this a safe airplane!” When we landed the twin nearest me asked, “Can I give you a hug?”

Please read my previous blog entries about ending the end-times hysteria. Go to www.ibethel.org and order Kris Vallotton’s message, “Apostolic Eschatology”. Read “Paradise Restored” by David Chilton. What ever you do, please keep fresh air flowing through your heart and mind. Let’s RE-present Jesus to world, all over again.

For too long there has been a perverted pleasure for some in the church over the real or perceived bad news of our times. Do you know why? Because it takes no effort and no faith to predict bad things and, you can come off as looking spiritually profound when you point out all the bad things as being a fulfillment of your astonishing insight. Remember Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies? I loved his summation of ignorant people, “Pity-full….just pity-full…”

The narrative of I John 2:1824 describes the antichrist. Interestingly, part of the greek definition for “anti” is to be a contrast. THE Christ went about “doing good and healing all” (Acts 10:38). You see, “doing good and healing all” is hard work. It requires a massive challenge to your faith value system. It demands action in the face of any and all bad news.

The contrast to “doing good and healing all” is doing nothing. Nothing, that is, except to chalk up the bad news to being a “sign of the times”. I John says that “many antichrists have arisen” and that, “they went out from us”. I hope you are following me at this point.

The contrast to THE Christ who went about, “doing good and healing all” are those who go out “from us” doing nothing and healing none. Hmmm…

Thirty some odd years ago, when it was popular in Christian circles to hate Henry Kissinger, he was the anti-christ. The numerology of his name even confirmed it. Now, in some Christian circles, it is popular to hate President Obama. I’m sure the numerology will be distorted to underline the ignorance. That’s just pity-full.

I did not vote for Barack Obama, but I like him, nevertheless. I despise his pro-choice practices, but I love his pro-active mentality. His philosophy of governing is different than my own but the fact that I can put my disagreement in print makes me proud to be a citizen of the United States. I am honored to be alive with the first African American in the White House and I honor him for the guts and the grit it took to get there.

If honoring him puts me at odds with a noisy segment of the church, I will happily accept their disdain. It’s time for the courageous among us to admit that most end-times teaching has done nothing but embarrass us over the past century. Once again, it has raised its ugly head and the Name of Christ is suffering abuse due to our neglect. Half measures to silence this nonsense will avail us nothing.

Its time to own it and apologize for it, and then, move onward and upward toward, “doing good and healing all”….that’s the fruit of THE Christ.